Текст книги "Once Kissed"

Автор книги: Cecy Robson

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Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 20 страниц)

Lety waves. “ ’Bye, Curran,” she calls through her laughter.

Tess’s spine straightens as she slowly turns to find me standing there. I wrap my arm around her waist and take her hand, dancing with her as I lead her further away from her date.

“Hi,” I tell her when we’re a good distance away. “I know I probably shouldn’t be in here, but yeah, hi.”

Okay, not the smoothest thing I’ll ever say, but I hadn’t given much thought to what I’d tell her.

“Hi,” she says, smiling softly. I lean forward when her arms circle my neck and she melts against me. It’s then I know that coming in here was the right thing to do. She needs me.

And maybe I need to know that.

My arms pull her closer in time for a slow dance. Neither of us says anything for the longest time. “You look beautiful,” I finally tell her, because she does, even in this old-lady getup.

“Thank you,” she says. “But God, I really hate this dress.”

I laugh and whisper close in her ear. “It’s kind of hot. You got support hose on beneath all that paisley?”

Her voice gathers a husky edge. “Do you want to find out?”

My hold on her tightens. “Yeah. I do.”

“What time is your shift over?”

I glance up at the clock. “I got another forty minutes.”

“Enough time to return to my apartment.” She leans back so I can see her face. The heat in her eyes stops me dead where I stand. “What say we head back so you can help me out of this dress?”

Chapter 15

Tess

I don’t say goodbye to Spencer and never bother to find my father, even though I know he’s here. Instead I hold tight to Curran’s hand as he leads me out of the ballroom, both of us laughing as we cross the street and reach his truck.

He opens the door for me and helps me inside. I can’t stop smiling, especially when he slides into the driver’s seat and gives me a quick kiss. “Thank you,” I whisper against his mouth.

Curran returns my grin, stroking the side of my face. “You’re welcome, angel face,” he tells me.

I lean against his shoulder. This awful evening is now behind me, thanks to this man I can’t stop thinking about. But our night together? Well, that’s only just begun.

“Is Lu on watch tonight?” I ask.

Curran laughs, but it lacks some of its humor. “Yup. She’s on.”

He cranks the engine and pulls out of the lot. I place my hand on his leg. “I don’t want to get you in trouble,” I tell him truthfully.

He rolls to a stop at the first light. “And I don’t want to pretend like there’s nothing between us when there obviously is.”

“There’s something between us?” I muse.

He shrugs. “Considering we’ve been miserable apart, I’m guessing there might be.”

“Oh, hell,” I say, trying my best to imitate him. “We’re not going to have the ‘are you my boyfriend’ talk, are we?” I lift my arms and drop them like they weigh a ton. “Oh, we are, aren’t we?”

He throws back his head, laughing as he steps on the gas, but then his good nature fades. “That Spencer guy, your date.”

The name alone erases my grin. “What about him?”

“I didn’t like you with him.”

“I don’t like him with me, either,” I mutter.

“Good,” he says, sounding satisfied. He taps the screen to his Bluetooth. “Hey, Lu,” he says when she answers.

“I’ll be at the hotel in thirty,” she says by way of a greeting.

“Don’t. Tess is headed back to her place.”

There’s a pause before she says, “I take it you’re headed back with her?”

Curran doesn’t hesitate. “Yup.”

“You sweeping her apartment?”

“Right again, Lu. She’s safe. We’ve got no tails. If anything changes I’ll call you back. Otherwise, I’ll meet you in the parking lot of her building.”

She mumbles a few curses, most of which I’ve never said. “This is your damn signoff. Isn’t it, O’Brien?”

Curran steals a glance my way. “Right again, Lu.”

“Christ,” she mutters, and disconnects.

We don’t say much once his “cop” face returns and he resumes his vigilant guard, checking for anyone who might be following us. Thirty minutes later, he pulls into the lot of my building, his eyes sweeping the area for any unfamiliar cars or potential threats.

He backs into a spot beside Lu. “Wait till I come for you,” he says.

He hops out and marches to Lu’s vehicle. She lowers her window and says something to which he immediately responds. Whatever he tells her earns him a stiff middle finger.

I clasp my hand over my mouth, laughing. Curran opens my door and helps me out, grinning when he sees me. “Come on, angel face.”

I smile at Lu and lean into Curran when he puts his arm around me, my way of assuring her that I want him with me. The last thing I want is Curran getting into trouble with his superiors, especially knowing I’m already in trouble myself.

Yet I don’t think about my father now. He’s not here. Curran is. And he’s all that matters.

Curran keeps his cop persona until he emerges from my bedroom, following a thorough sweep of my apartment. In the time he took to conduct his search, I removed my coat and placed two glasses of water on the coffee table.

He walks to me slowly, taking each of my hands, one at a time, his light blue eyes sizzling with desire. “You still want me to help you out of that dress?” he asks.

I move in closer, barely managing a nod when he hauls me to him.

Curran doesn’t help me out of my dress.

He tears it off me.

I fumble with the buttons of his dress shirt, and then the zipper of his pants.

My hands reach for his erection in time for him to pull off my panties and drag me to the floor. He angles our bodies, shoving my hips down to his face and granting me the perfect view of what I long to taste. My head dips down, my lips eager and my throat already moaning from the motions of Curran’s tongue.

It’s not a race. We have all night, but the speed with which we’re working each other up tells a different tale, as does the way my hips rock against his suckling lips. I break my seal when Curran’s fingers join the frantic efforts of his tongue.

“I want you,” I whimper. “God, I want you so much.”

My words mark the start of a long night. Curran rolls me on my back, reaching for something near his abandoned jacket. I grip his shoulder, yanking him in for a long kiss while my hand continues to rile him. Something I do lures a particularly hard groan. So I do it again, and again, and again.

“Fuck,” he says, using his teeth to rip open the small foil package. He lifts off me, breathing hard as he takes in my face. “Are you ready for me?”

I reach for the condom and curl forward, giving him one last slow pull with my mouth. He gasps when my fingers roll the condom in place, releasing my hair to fall along my face. It’s then that he cradles me, spreading me parallel to the couch and tossing my leg over his shoulder.

This time, he doesn’t kiss me. Instead he fastens his eyes onto mine as he eases his way inside. My spine arches, tilting my breasts upward with each of his presses. The wait, along with each subtle stretch of my body, is almost too much to take. But Curran takes his time filling me, using care and going deep. He’s quiet. I’m not. As I receive his full length and thickness, I’m the one swearing, and shaking with desire.

His right arm slips behind my lower back, keeping me in position, while his other hand holds my face so I can’t escape his stare.

But I don’t want to escape. Not from him.

He withdraws slowly, then returns fast, repeating the motion. Each thrust is harder, faster, until his body slaps against me and I’m screaming from lust and the sensual agony overtaking me.

One massive orgasm overpowers the other until Curran falls forward, his throaty moans cutting through his clenched teeth.

My extended leg is lowered. Curran pants above me, smiling playfully as he bends to kiss me. I can’t move; my heart is beating out of control and my legs are quivering as if seizing. Every part of me throbs and tingles, but his fingers and teeth aren’t done with their exploration. They want to know my body and learn it well.

My head lolls to the side when he nibbles the curve of my neck, his silky breath further tantalizing my heated skin. My hips begin to sway, inviting more of him. He complies, hardening again while his nips to my neck grow aggressively sexy.

His fingers pass over my lips until I open my mouth and draw two in, licking, sucking, and sliding them in and out. He groans and pulls out, stirring my moans.

As I reach for him, he withdraws further, fumbling between our bodies and quickly replacing the condom while I continue to suck and moisten his fingers. My hands slap against the wood floor as Curran pushes back inside of me.

He pumps his hips against mine, slipping his wet fingers between my legs and circling, knowing where to go and how hard to rub.

Good heavens. It’s as if every nerve ending along my skin can sense his touch, his warmth, his need. His motions send me into a tailspin of desire. I’m no longer simply writhing or screaming, I’m clawing at the floor.

This time he lasts longer, his steady thrusts coming quicker, the movements of his hands faster. I thrash, losing all control—screaming, swearing, trembling.

And I could give a damn.

Curran soon follows, his throaty growls joining my cries. He slumps forward, gripping the edge of the couch to keep from landing on top of me. Gradually he slows to a halt.

“Jesus,” I whimper, so consumed with want I can barely speak.

He leans against me, chuckling against my ear. “You can just call me Curran,” he whispers.

Curran

Tess laughs as she bites into her bagel, courtesy of my morning’s coffee run following a pit stop to the drugstore for more condoms. Damn, what a night. She spreads out on her bed with just a sheet around her waist. She’s getting more comfortable being naked around me, which is fine by me. I don’t like her hiding that sweet body, especially now that I know it so well.

She laughs again. “I’m serious,” I tell her.

She takes a sip of her coffee. “I’m not laughing at you.”

“You’re laughing with me?” I offer.

Her shoulders shake as she tries to hold back. “It’s just that I’m having a hard time picturing you as an altar boy.”

“I didn’t say I was good at it, just said I did it.” I polish off my breakfast sandwich. “All my brothers did it. It’s something our ma expected. Just like she expected Wren to teach Sunday school.”

“And did she?”

“Of course, but on her own terms, just like the rest of us.” I reach for my coffee on the nightstand. “I gotta tell you. She abused her power. Told the little bastards they’d burn in hell if they didn’t listen to her. Me and my brothers would steal sips of the holy wine, and one time Seamus was caught making out with his girlfriend in the confession booth. Grammie refused to walk beside us, convinced God would strike us all dead when we’d least expect it and take her with us before her time.”

This time I join her in laughing. “I said we’re Catholics, Tess. I never said we’re good ones.”

I help her gather the trash, then pull her on top of me, gripping her ass tight so, you know, she doesn’t fall off the bed and get hurt. What can I say? I’m a hell of a guy.

She holds her hair away from her face so she can kiss the tip of my nose. I grin at her. If I didn’t think I liked her before, I sure know it now. “Are you on today?” she asks.

“Yeah.” I glance at her clock. “I got another hour, but I should leave soon.”

“Why?”

“Need new clothes and a shower.” I scratch at the side of my face. “Shave, too, by the feel of it.”

She sticks out her bottom lip. “I wish you didn’t have to leave. Can’t you just watch me here?”

I tug on that lip with my teeth. “You know I can’t do that.”

“I know, I just…” She plays with that smooth spot on my chin, the one that never did grow any hair. “You make me happy,” she whispers.

Yeah? Well, same here. One of those sensitive types in the movies would tell her as much. But I’m not one to spill my guts. “Good,” I say, quietly.

She lays her head against my chest, like she’s trying to keep me with her. I let her because she feels good, warm. But then I steal another glance at the clock. “I should go, angel face.”

She turns her head and kisses me, then slips off without another word, backing all the way to her bedroom window, the one that faces the wall of the other apartment. I’m not sure why she’s giving me so much space, until she crosses her arms and lowers her chin. Tess is…sad, all over again. She doesn’t want me to leave her. But she doesn’t understand it’s not so easy for me to walk away.

“Hey,” I say, standing. She glances up. “My shift won’t end until about nine tonight. It’ll be late, but I know a few places that stay open. How ’bout we grab dinner?”

Tess smiles like she means it and drops her arms away, giving me a view of those breasts I sucked on and that drop-dead gorgeous body I can’t get enough of. I look down, and once more I’m ready to go. I spread out my hands and meet her face. “See what you went ahead and did? Now I’m not going to be able to get my shower.”

She laughs, but then stops laughing when she sees me snag another condom and slip it in place. I yank her to me, stamping my lips onto her eager mouth.

Damn. I’m starting to think that maybe I can’t get enough of this girl.

My knuckles graze over her nipples. I inch away to admire my handiwork. Her breath comes faster as her doe eyes alternate between watching me play and returning to my face. God, does she know what she’s doing to me?

I slide my hand down her flat stomach, between her legs, and…

Oh, shit.

Tess cranes her neck, moaning when my fingers easily slip in. Yeah, she’s ready for me, too. She reaches for me, but I whirl her around and press a hand between her shoulder blades, enough so she’ll bend over and spread her legs for me.

My body shudders as I make my way in, feeling her slick heat grip me tight. Tess grunts with my first thrust and whimpers at my second, and third, like she’s crying. I wind my hand under her arm to turn her face so I can see her, the urge to pound into her tightening my vocal cords. “Am I hurting you, beautiful?”

She whines a little, making me feel like I am. “No.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.” She tosses me a sinful look that almost brings me to my knees. “It just feels really good.”

I kiss her mouth and whisper against her lips. “What does, this?” I thrust, hard.

She curses and yanks on the sheer curtains. I hold still, knowing I’m driving her crazy by waiting. She glances over her shoulder again, her gaze steamy and her smile more nymph than lawyer. But then she does something I don’t expect. She tightens around me and moves her perfect ass in circling motions, slowly at first, until she has me falling forward from the feel of her riding me.

“Something wrong, cop?” she purrs.

Yeah, you can say it’s then that I completely lose it.

I clench her hips and drive into her while she rolls her ass, swearing as her body and mine collide. It’s like the first time I had sex: no grace, no technique, no nothing, just grinding away like I’m about to get caught. But no one will catch us, and my stamina is better than ever.

“Oh, God!” Tess screams. “Oh, God!” She grips the curtains, ripping them down, and Lord help me, I can’t stop.

My pounding is so forceful, her body slides against the glass. She fastens her hands to the frame to keep her balance. It takes some doing and a lot of focus, but I keep it up for one long while.

When I finally come, it’s potent, like a rush of adrenaline slamming into me at once. Her grunts, those moans, the spasms gripping me inside her, damn. There’s only so much a man can take.

I fall back, taking her with me. We land on our sides and on the hard wood, our bodies covered with sweat and both of us winded, gulping for air.

“I guess I should go to work now,” I gasp.

She laughs, only to quiver when I pull out. I roll her onto her back and push up on my forearms to hover above her. The smile she greets me with has me leaning into her for another long kiss. What the hell, I still have another twenty minutes.

A hard knock on her door has her jumping. It’s not Lu. This knock is angry. I wrench myself to my feet, reaching for my pants, and my gun. I check the chamber. “Stay here,” I tell her.

She clasps my wrist. “No, it’s okay. I know who it is.”

I pull on my pants when she releases me, but I keep my gun close. She glances around, frazzled, and then rushes to her dresser. “Tess, who is it?”

Another knock comes, this one more impatient. She stops dead in the middle of scrambling through her drawers. “Curran, it’s my father.”

It’s then that authoritative voice that threatened to kick my ass out of school barks in the hall. “Contessa. I know you’re in there.”

“I’m coming!” she calls out. She yanks on an old pair of pajamas, and then wraps herself in a thick robe. She glances at me as she reaches for her glasses. “I have company, Father!” she yells, only to quiet when she speaks to me. “Please come out when you’re dressed.”

She swiftly and silently gathers our trash, our empty cups, and the condoms scattered around the floor, shoving them into the paper bags of takeout.

Something isn’t right here. From the first knock, till now, she’s lost all the color in her face. I clasp her elbow. “What’s wrong?”

She’s on the verge of tears. “We don’t have a good relationship,” she admits.

“You and your dad?”

She grips the bag against her as if it can somehow protect her. I release her, mostly because something about holding her in place seems wrong now.

“I’m sorry,” she says. She hurries into the living area, shutting the door behind her.

I finish dressing as every curse word I know bounces around in my skull. Something is definitely up, but as I hear her fumbling around in the kitchen, I know it’s not a good time to ask. We’ll talk later. For now, all I can do is grab the two condoms she missed and toss them in the bathroom trash.

I stomp out of the bedroom door and shove my way into my leather jacket. Tess reaches the front door when I’m only a few feet behind her. Her dress, the one I ripped off, is gone. So is any and all evidence of our night.

I prowl closer, watching her shoulders tighten when she senses me behind her. She doesn’t want me next to her, but damn it all, no way am I keeping my distance when she’s this rattled. She needs me now, whether she’ll admit it or not.

She takes a breath and throws open the door. Call me crazy, but the old fart doesn’t seem happy to see me. “Who’s this?” he demands.

My brows knit tight. “I could ask you the same thing, sir.” I look at Tess, then flash him my badge. “Is he on your approved visitors list, ma’am?”

“Approved visitors list?” she repeats, slowly, realizing where I’m headed. “I apologize. I didn’t realize I’m supposed to have one. I don’t have many visitors.” She motions to her dad. “This is my father, Donald Newart.”

I lean back on my heels. She seems to think he doesn’t recognize me. I’m thinking she’s right. So I stay in cop mode, even though every part of me wants to ask him what he did to his daughter to make her this nervous. She’s twenty-four, not some teen who snuck in her boyfriend. Yeah, I get that it’s awkward. But the way Tess is acting, the way she looks, she’s scared out of her mind. “If he visits often, you should include him on the list to prevent another incident.”

“He doesn’t visit often—”

“I can visit anytime I want,” he snaps. “I pay for this apartment.”

His reprimanding glare fixes on Tess. She stands unmoving, appearing to crawl inward. This isn’t the first time he’s spoken to her this way, and Mother above, I could tear out his spine for how he makes her react.

I can’t keep the snarl out of my tone. “Do you also pay for her utilities—water, electricity, heat?”

He raises his chin. For a skinny chicken-neck bastard he’s not afraid of me. But he should be. “Not that it’s any of your business, but yes, I do.”

“Then can you explain why her heat was turned off a few weeks ago?”

This time his anger’s directed at me. Good, keep it there, asshole. I can take it. “It was cold enough to hang meat in here,” I tell him, keeping my voice sharp. “I had to call the super to make sure it was put back on.”

Newart doesn’t even blink. “Perhaps it was an oversight.”

My stare drills into his. “Let’s hope it was. You see, Miss Newart is helping the DA’s office with an important case. One that requires police surveillance for her protection.”

He huffs, taking her in. “I don’t believe you.”

“Then why would I be here?” I counter.

He doesn’t have an answer for that. And the longer I wait for one, the more I want to snap his scrawny neck. No, that wouldn’t piss my captain off or anything. “Ma’am, if you’re all right, and feel safe, I’ll leave now.” I look at her idiot father. “Otherwise, I’ll stay.”

She knows what I’m saying and backs away from the door, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I’m safe,” she assures me.

Everything in her features says she is, but it’s clear she’s not happy. Yeah, we’re going to have a long talk later. I tilt my chin. “Then the sweep of your apartment is complete. I’ll be outside if you need me.”

“Thank you,” she says.

She inches away as I pass, another thing I don’t like. If her dipshit father weren’t here, I’d wrap my arms around her and kiss her, reminding her that I’d see her tonight. Instead, we both keep our distance.

“Ma’am,” I say like a dumbass, pretending like we didn’t have sex all night.

“Goodbye, Officer.”

It’s the “Officer” that does me in. We’re long past this formal shit. I curse about a thousand times the minute the elevator doors shut, and all the way to Lu’s ride. As I reach the hood of her car, I glance up to the fifth floor, debating whether to return. But Tess doesn’t want me with her; she made that clear enough.

So instead of storming back up like I want to, I pound on my partner’s driver’s-side window.

Lu rolls it down, smiling. She keeps her focus ahead, even as she takes a sip from her bottled water. “So, her father showed,” she says.

“That he did,” I answer. I swipe my mouth. “The interior’s all clear.”

“So is the exterior.” Her shit-eatin’ grin widens. “I did a sweep about fifteen minutes ago.”

I don’t know what she thinks is so funny until she finally glances up. “By the way, excellent technique there by the window, O’Brien. You and the princess gave me some new moves to try with the old man.”