Expect magic when one determined woman dons a legendary pair of red stilettos and bares body and heart to get her manłs attention
JoleneÅ‚s a big, beautiful woman with an even bigger heart. But sheÅ‚s become her police officer boyfriendÅ‚s favorite doormat and thatÅ‚s so not working for her. ItÅ‚s time for a little conversation, time to tell Mr. Happy Pants to “pee or get off the pot".
Gabriel has seen what his profession does to marriages. Hełs not willing to risk that kind of heartbreak. Besides, he likes what he has with Jolene. The woman is sex personified. So when Jolie tells him she wonłt see him anymore if hełs not willing to commit, hełs shocked and angry.
With a girlfriendłs encouragement and the added confidence a certain pair of red stilettos gives her, Jolene arranges a special show at a strip club to prove to Gabe once and for all that shełs more woman than any man can handle, and if he doesnłt want the job, then shełll find another lover who does.
The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of ElloraÅ‚s Cave Publishing.
With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, ElloraÅ‚s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisherłs permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the authorłs rights is appreciated.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authorsł imagination and used fictitiously.
Bad, Bad Girlfriend
Delilah Devlin
Trademarks Acknowledgement
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Dr. Phil: Petescki Productions, Inc.
Kevlar: E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
Mustang: Ford Motor Company
Styrofoam: The Dow Chemical Company Corporation
UPS: United Parcel Service of America, Inc.
Waldorf Astoria: Hilton Hotels Corporation
LIFE Magazine, July 1959
When Ava Darling and her new husband Charles Stratton III returned from Italy, we were lucky enough to catch up with them in their suite at the Waldorf Astoria. They said they were spending the weekend recovering from jet lag, but one could surmise from the way they cuddled together on the brocade sofa that their visit was more of an extended honeymoon.
We asked Ava and Charles about their courtship and heard a charming story about the two literally bumping into each other on a crowded street in Romebut that was just part of the story. Ava treated us to a surprising account of the moments that led up to their “accidental" meeting. If one believes in fate, their romance may have been no accident at all.
She blushed as she admitted to gaining a few pounds after succumbing to a number of tempting Italian pastas and mouthwatering desserts. Apparently, this led to discomfort when she walked the cobblestone streets in her unforgiving high heels. Her Italian costume designer urged her to seek out a cobbler named Giorgio in his shop Desiderio del Duore, which is Italian for Heartłs Desire. She said he could create a pair of shoes that would fit comfortably regardless of any changes in her size or shape.
Meeting Giorgio was a delight, Ava said. His eyes crinkled with mischief as he promised the red peep-toe stilettos she ordered would be everything she wished for and more. It was just after she picked up her comfortable new shoes and wore them out of the shop that she met Mr. Stratton.
Coincidence? Perhaps, but not the way Ava sees it. Shełs convinced the shoes are responsible for granting her heartłs desire
Prologue
Gabriel Devine watched as his partnerłs girlfriend rushed into the hospital room.
Lexie had arrived moments ago, stripping off her raincoat, her face pale, her eyes wild and tear-filled.
The corridor swelled with more uniforms as well as off-duty cops. Tylerłs injury wasnłt life-threatening, but every cop felt shaken to the core when one of their own fell. And they all showed up.
Hełd been with Tyler at the convenience store, watched the robber raise his gun and firefeeling as if it all happened in slow motion. When everything fast-forwarded, he felt torn, wanting to pursue the assailant and beat the crap out of him. Instead, he knelt beside his partner and applied pressure to the wound until the ambulance arrived.
Standing helpless, he watched EMS load Tyler on a gurney and shove fluids into his veins while a warm summer rain soaked his hair and shoulders. He hadnÅ‚t moved until one of them looked up and said, “You coming?"
At the hospital, while the emergency room team worked on Tyler, Gabe washed his hands, but the knees of his pants and the cuffs of his shirt were still soaked in drying blood. His stomach clenched at the sight.
A hand touched his arm, bringing him back to the present.
“Hey, buddy. Is he up to visitors?" Wally Kinzie stood beside him with two more of their friends. TheyÅ‚d been the first at the scene, taking over tightening down the crime scene while heÅ‚d ridden the ambulance to the San Francisco trauma center with his partner.
“Yeah, but his girlÅ‚s inside with him."
“ItÅ‚s not like weÅ‚re gonna interrupt anything. Damn, that bastard almost had Tyler." Wally pushed through the door.
Lexie came out a moment later, taking deep breaths as color refilled her cheeks.
When the elevator chimed and the doors slid open, Gabe looked sideways.
Jolie stepped out, a vase of yellow flowers in her hands. Her face was ashen, her dark eyes wide and frightened. She gave Gabe a small, tight smile then hurried toward Lexie. The women took two seats the officers lined up along the wall offered.
“IÅ‚ll get you some coffee," he muttered, and turned on his heels to hurry away.
At the first bathroom he saw, he slammed open the door and headed to the nearest stall. He emptied his guts into the toilet then walked on shaking legs to the sink. He rinsed out his mouth, clinging to the porcelain while he stared at his own reflection. His face looked haggard and pale, his eyes red-rimmed and glassy.
He scooped water into his hands and splashed it over his face before straightening, and tried to get a grip.
Today hadnłt turned out so bad. Tylerłs gunshot wound wouldnłt kill him. Hełd recover. Still, the women were shaken. He still shook in his boots.
He closed his eyes and remembered another shooting, one he hadnłt witnessed but that had marked his life forever. The chief of police pulling into their driveway. His mother falling back a step on the porch, her knees crumpling and her hand clutching her chest. The chief and the chaplain filing up the stairs, taking her arms and escorting her inside. There they settled her into a chair while they hovered over her and delivered the news his father had been shot and killed.
That day was burned into his brain. Hełd learned a hard lesson, watching his motherłs grief consume her. A cop lived on the edge. He expected the worst, prepared for it, but the women suffered the longest.
He thought of Joliełs pale, pinched face and hardened his resolve. Theyłd been drifting closer. Now was the time to put the skids on their relationship. He could only offer her so much.
Never his heart. Never marriage.
He would keep it light. Enjoy the comfort of her body and give her the best sex shełd ever have. But that was as far as their relationship could go.
It was for her own good.
Chapter One
Five months later
Joliełs apartment door swung open and Gabełs gaze slid down her body in a slow, hungry crawl. She wore a silky robe in a bronzy orange, which hugged her curves like his hands were itching to do.
However, her hand was still on the knob, and she hadnłt backed up to let him in.
He leaned against the doorframe. “Am I too late?"
“Are you too late?" she said slowly.
Joliełs tone was always like warm honey when she expected sexsoft and oozing down his spinebut right now, a sarcastic edge tightened her voice. And he didnłt like the militant gleam in her dark chocolate eyes.
What had put her into a bad mood? Could she be mad at him? He hadnÅ‚t done anything out of the ordinary. “If this is a bad time"
Her soft jaw tightened, but she took a step back and waved him inside.
He breathed a sigh of relief and stepped across the threshold, his hands going to the buttons at the front of his dark uniform shirt as soon as the door closed behind him.
A soft huff of breath halted him, and he looked up to find a scowl sinking a line between her dark brows. “What?"
She slowly shook her head. For a fleeting moment, her eyes filled but she blinked away the moisture. “Nothing."
“IÅ‚m sorry. Should I step out the door and come back in? SomethingÅ‚s bothering you."
Her eyes narrowed. “So you think you need to step outside while I get over it?"
“Yeah"
Her scowl deepened.
“What?"
Her shoulders slumped and she shook her head. “Nothing. Nothing at all." She turned on her heel and headed to the bedroom.
For the second time in five minutes, he sighed his relief. Hełd thought, for just a moment there, that she would ask him to leave. That had never happened.
But then, shełd been acting a little funny lately. Quiet and brooding. With another woman he might have thought it was just her time of month, but Jolie wasnłt moody. One of the many things he appreciated about her.
As he followed her down the hallway while she flicked off lights heading to the bedroom, he mulled it over and thought he might have found the answer.
Shełd finally decided dating a cop was too harrowing.
After his partner had gotten shot last summer, shełd been a gem, bringing food to the hospital for the men who waited in the halls, calling the wives, babysitting their kids while they took turns waiting with Lexie, Tylerłs girl.
Now that Tyler was back at work and everything had returned to normal, shełd had time to think about what happened. She couldnłt handle it.
Gabe tamped down the searing disappointment. Hełd miss her.
Hełd always known this day would come. Deep inside, hełd held part of himself back from her because he knew better than anyone that living with a cop was hard. Too stressful for most marriages to survive.
His own mother had stuck it out, soldiering on as friends were lost along the way, until shełd crumpled on the porch when the chief of police and chaplain climbed the steps to deliver the terrible news. From that moment, shełd never pulled herself away from the dark place shełd entered.
Jolie was smart. Shełd gotten a taste and decided to protect herself from a grim future.
Still, he was here. Maybe for the last time. Hełd make it special, let her know he held no grudges. Hełd tell her to move on and not feel guilty that she wasnłt strong enough for the life.
Hełd be gentle. And if his chest felt a little tight, well, hełd get over it. This was how it had to end. He stepped into her bedroom.
While the living area always smelled like cookies, her bedroom smelled like roses, like the pink petals sitting in the bowl on her dresser. Feminine. Light. Which contrasted with the smell of the womanhot, musky spice. Hełd never smelled a place like hers, never smelled a woman whose scent felt so right when it wrapped around him.
He flicked off the overhead light and walked to the windows, opening the curtains to let the silvery moonlight filter inside. The darkness would hide his expression, keep her from knowing how hard this would be for him. He had to be strong. He didnłt want her feeling badly about herself when she kicked him to the door.
Facing away, she shrugged out of her silky robe, the fabric sliding down her back and pooling at her feet. She took small, feminine steps toward the bed.
His cock surged as his gaze traced the length of her back, loving the color of skin the same shade as the milky French coffees she preferred, loving the fall of her thick black hair, but especially the firm, lush swell of her ass.
She crawled onto the mattress and turned, her eyes gleaming in the darkness as he toed off his boots and stripped, in a hurry now to join her.
Not until hełd crawled over her body and settled his cock between her legs did his heartbeat slow to a steady, even throb. Game face on, he was ready to go.
Her expression was impossible to read, eyes watchful, full, rusty-brown lips pressed firmly together. He dove down and sucked her bottom lip between his teeth, waiting for the sexy catch of her breath and her lips to open, and then he stroked his tongue inside.
The sweet taste of vanilla and coffee caressed his taste buds, and he groaned into her mouth, deepening the kiss and sucking against her lips to seal their mouths. He nudged her entrance with his cock, found the moist center and drove through the gate, shuddering because it felt so damn good and she was so fucking wet.
She might not want to be a copłs girlfriend, but she sure as hell wanted him. Feeling more confident, he broke the kiss and pressed both hands into the mattress to raise his torso, dragging down her gaze with his to the place where their bodies joined.
While they both watched, he sank into her again and again, felt the tug of her lips clasping around him, the hot gush of pleasure spilling around his shaft, and he quickened his strokes.
“Play with your breasts," he whispered. “Let me watch."
Her eyelids lowered to half-mast and her body rippled beneath him. Her hips glided up and down as she danced gracefully beneath him. Her hands smoothed up her soft belly to cup her breasts and massage them, rolling them together and apart. He knew hełd have to have her again, had to stroke his cock between those lush mounds until he came all over them.
Her breaths came faster, rasping harshly.
He paused to circle his hips and screwed slowly in and out of her heat.
She raised her knees and gripped his hips hard with her thighs. “DonÅ‚t want it slow and easy, baby," she said, her voice deep and throaty. “Give it to me hard."
Gabe smiled, gave her another teasing drag of his cock, then reared up and knelt between her thighs. He hooked his arms beneath her knees and pulled her butt off the bed then flexed forward, thrusting toward her core.
Hełd be the best she ever had if it killed him. And when she squeezed her inner muscles around his shaft, she nearly did him in. He quickened his strokes, smacking her pubis with every inward thrust, grinding past her G-spot, the place shełd taught him to linger over.
Jolie whimpered. Her hands squeezed her tits hard, her belly undulatedout of synch to the rhythm of his strokesand he felt his own rigid control slip. He hammered faster, sweat sprouting on his forehead and upper lip. When she jerked and cried out, her eyes squeezing shut, he let himself go, following her over the edge, his jaws clenching to halt the shout clawing at this throat.
He slowed his hips, enjoying the wash of hot, silky liquid bathing his dick, drinking in the sight of her head slowly turning side to side as she continued to moan.
God, she was beautiful. How the hell could he ever walk away?
* * * * *
“A girlÅ‚s gotta do what girlÅ‚s gotta do," Jolene Ledbetter muttered, and cinched the belt of her silk robe tightly around her waist.
She eyed the long, hard body stretched across her soft cotton sheets and just barely suppressed an appreciative sigh. No, she wasnłt going to slip back into bed with the manno matter how tempting the package his large hand caressed in his sleep.
Even snoring, he oozed sex appeal. His nude, six-feet-four, hard-muscled body sprawled diagonally, taking up most of her queen-size mattress. The sheets were pooled on the floor at the foot of the bed because theyłd both dozed off, sweating after the last round of mind-blowing sex. A dark, bluish shadow hugged the curve of his jaw and she could well imagine how it would feel scraping against her breasts or between her thighs.
“Mmm-mm-mm," she breathed, not wanting to wake him, not just yet. She still had to work on suppressing the need curling deep inside her belly and stiffening her noodle-limp backbone.
Time for Gabriel Devine to piss or get off the pot. Time for him to man up.
Shełd been his doormat for far too longhis go-to girl when he wanted company for a meal or sex. And it was all her fault. Shełd fallen into his arms the first night theyłd met and she hadnłt said no to a damn thing since.
Her half-Asian, half-African-American mother had been only slightly less of a doormat than her Asian grandmother. Jolie had inherited the doormat gene, doomed from birth.
Gabe said she was the only woman in his life and she believed him. However, being his one and only didnłt seem to mean the same thing to him that it did to her. Shełd expected after nearly a year of dating that they would have made some progress toward commitment.
He still rolled out of her bed in the wee hours of the morning, hadnłt brought a toothbrush or any clothes, and he hadnłt mumbled a single word about where he wanted the relationship to go.
A pang of guilt tightened her chest.
Neither had she. Her best friend Lexie Burns had warned her that if she didnłt set some expectations, some limits, and let him know right upfront he couldnłt expect a free ride for life, that hełd keep up the same old pattern.
And Lexie should know. She was a syndicated advice columnist. Plus, and this qualification was a helluva lot more meaningful to Jolie, Lexie was engaged.
If Jolie had hoped that Gabriel would take a page from the same book after watching how happy his partner Tyler was with Lexie, shełd been doomed to disappointment.
Every time she brought up how content they appeared, Gabe grunted and changed the subject. Jolie was beginning to believe that Gabe was either dense or purposefully trying to throw her off the scent of marriage.
Well, even if she was a pushover, she wasnłt a quitter. And her mama hadnłt raised a fool, even though her mother still waited on her dad hand and foot. At least shełd gotten a ring for her efforts.
All Jolie ever got was sex. Mind-blowing sex, yeah, but when the sheets cooled, she always slept alone.
Jolie cooked special dinners for Gabe, carried his laundry back and forth to the cleaners, was ready at the drop of the hat to have sex, wherever and whenever he wanted. Shełd gotten tested and gone on the Pill when hełd askedall because he didnłt want a condom to interfere with his pleasure.
All the man ever had to do was crook his finger and she scampered over to him, panting and eager to please.
He might be the finest thing shełd ever seen draped across her sheets, but enough was enough.
No more. Gabe Devine had just had the last free ride he was gonna get. The next time he wanted anything, an éclair or a blowjob, it was gonna cost him one engagement ring.
Not that she wanted anything extravagant. He was a cop after all.
She stared down at her naked hand and curled her fingers into claws.
Time to wake him up and tell him what for.
Jolie took a deep breath and approached the bed, hovering over him for a moment and sucking in the scent of himmale musk, sex, a slight whiff of the spicy cologne shełd given him for his birthday. Dayum, the man made her mouth water. Just the smell of him made her knees weak and her sex all soft and wet.
She reached out an index finger and poked his shoulder, afraid to touch him with her entire hand, well, because she knew where that would lead. “Gabe, time to wake up."
He grunted and his hand closed tighter around his sex. His eyes cracked open and shards of icy-blue glinted at her. “Å‚S early." He scowled and glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand. Then he turned back, a dark eyebrow rising. “Need somethinÅ‚, baby?"
God, that sexy purr of his melted her like butter. She firmed her lips and poked him with a stiff finger again. “I need for you to get your sorry ass out of my bed."
His eyes widened and one corner of his mouth quirked up. His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. Before she could suck in a deep breath, heÅ‚d pulled her down on top of him. “Mad Å‚cause I fell asleep?"
“Nope."
“Mad Å‚cause I didnÅ‚t make you come?"
She pursed her lips. “You know damn well you did."
“So, whatÅ‚s got you all hot and bothered?"
Jolie clamped her lips together. This close, plastered to his chest, his thickening cock nudging against her open thighs, she couldnłt do it. Couldnłt be strong. She melted all over him, her breasts flattening against his chest, her belly rubbing against his.
The bastard had the nerve to smile. Prickling started at the back of her eyes.
He rolled her, his arms encircling her, and thrust a knee between her legs. “Baby, donÅ‚t look at me like that."
“Like what?" she muttered. Although she already knew. Her eyes were quickly filling, and he hated tears, even happy ones, and these werenÅ‚t happy. She blinked away her frustration.
God, she was doing it again. Pleasing him.
She jutted out her chin and stiffened her body. “Get off me, Devine."
“IÅ‚m not ready to. You woke me up."
“DoesnÅ‚t mean I wanted this."
“Sure you did." To prove his point, he reached down, parted her robe and slid his silky, hot cock between her folds.
Her pussy clasped him, the wet sound louder than their deepening breaths.
Gabe stroked deep and sighed. “This is good. What we have."
Itłs not enough, she wanted to say, but she didnłt want him stopping, not yet. Already her body tightened; her belly curved to take him deeper. She sighed, resigned that she couldnłt kick him out until after shełd come. She opened her legs, lifting her thighs to hug his narrow hips.
His cock thrust deeper, burrowing into her body just as he had her heart nearly a year ago when their gazes met over the top of his coffee cup.
Thinking about that day, rather than what he was doing to her now, helped her forestall the orgasm she wanted to hold offjust long enough to make him work hard for it. Why the hell should she make it so damn easy? Shełd all but fallen into his arms from the first day they met.
Chapter Two
The previous year
That sunny winter day, Jolie had swung by the bakery on her day off to drop off a half dozen chocolate chip and caramel cookies shełd baked the night before, and which had tempted her beyond her control to resist. Shełd bagged them before leaving her house, grinning as she thought, Rachel could use the extra inches around her butt better than me.
Tyler sat with his fine ass against the edge of the counter, flirting with Rachel. Another cute cop leaned against the wall, watching the couple while he sipped coffee from a Styrofoam cup until she strode up.
With his gaze snagged, that fine thingłs jaw dropped an inch as she gave him a long sultry look. Then she smacked her lips, feeling safe flirting because he was so much younger than she was.
Setting aside his cup, he grinned, his blue eyes drifting down her body. His lips pursed and blew a quiet whistle.
She arched an eyebrow.
“So I whistled," he said, shrugging, his grin stretching. “You smacked your lips like you tasted something good. Gonna report me for sexual harassment?"
Jolie laughed, shaking her head and setting the bag of cookies on the counter.
Tyler snatched it up and dug his hand into the bag, drawing out a large golden cookie.
Mr. Happy Pants reached around her for the bag, his solid, muscled body pressing against her back, his arm sliding along her waist.
She held her breath as Tyler lifted the bag out of reach.
“No way, man," Tyler said, laughing. “I know how you like to eat."
“Those cookies are mine," Rachel said, pinching TylerÅ‚s arm.
“Gonna deny me sustenance?" he said, giving Rachel a wink. “I need my strength."
Rachel blushed, but her eyes flashed with humor. “Take the cookies, but you have to split them with Gabe." She glanced at Jolie. “YouÅ‚ve met Gabe, right?"
Jolie glanced over her shoulder.
Gabe had dropped his arm but hadnłt moved away.
His eyebrows waggled. “I havenÅ‚t had the pleasure."
The deep rumble of his voice sent shivers down her spine. “And you wonÅ‚t," she said, narrowing her eyes.
Gabe shrugged and stepped away, leaving her back feeling strangely chilled. She eyed both men. “What are San FranciscoÅ‚s finest doing here, anyway?"
Rachel blushed again and cleared her throat. “Tyler here, doesnÅ‚t know how to take no for an answer. He thought he needed backup this time."
“He asked you out?" Jolie said, giving the tall police officer another look. He was a little young, but her brand new chef deserved happiness. SheÅ‚d been alone since moving to San Francisco from Texas.
“She thinks IÅ‚m too young," Tyler said, echoing JolieÅ‚s thoughts. His gaze settled on Rachel whose cheeks darkened further.
Jolie felt sympathy for her friend because she knew Rachel wasnÅ‚t really ready to rejoin the dating game. And sheÅ‚d known, even before sheÅ‚d introduced Tyler to her best friend Lexie, that he wasnÅ‚t the right man for Rachel. He didnÅ‚t wear a cowboy hat. Jolie shoved her hands on her hips. “What the hell do you think she needs with a wet-behind-the-ears boy?"
Tyler grimaced. “Not helping here."
“Why should I help you?"
“Because my buddy wouldnÅ‚t mind making it a double-date."
She blinked at that. The thought shocked her for just a moment before she gathered her pride and aimed a glare at Gabe. “You two need to scurry along. You got my cookies. YouÅ‚re not gettinÅ‚ anything else."
Gabe grabbed for the bag, snatching it from Tyler, and thrust his hand inside. He took a bite of one of the cookies and his eyes closed as he groaned.
Jolie squeezed her thighs together.
“Better than sex, isnÅ‚t it?" Tyler said, laughter once again in his voice.
GabeÅ‚s wicked gaze slid over her like a caress, but he shook his head. “NothingÅ‚s better than sex. But these are good."
Shełd left the bakery walking on a cloud of air, all because a handsome cop in a uniform had eaten her up with his pretty blue gaze while hełd swallowed down her cookies
* * * * *
The present
Gabe stroked faster and she whimpered, biting her bottom lip to try to hold back the sound.
“No you donÅ‚t," he growled. “IÅ‚m working hard for this."
She bit his shoulder and he chuckled, but he wasnłt so in control himself. He brought his arms from under her and came up to rest on his elbows while he hammered faster.
Jolie clung to the sight of him hovering over her, and wondered if this might be the last time. Could she really put her foot down? This was pretty damn good. Better than shełd ever had.
His arms were thickly muscled, the biceps bulging, made for holding her. He made her feel so safe.
His body pleased her, especially like this. Naked and straining, his back and buttocks flexing. He was a god in bed, a living, breathing dream. And yet she wasnłt satisfied.
She ought to be. She wasnłt little Miss Perfect. Far from it. She liked her own cooking too much. Her hips were fleshy and jiggled when she walked. Her breasts were fulltoo fulland every bra shełd ever tried cut deep into her back and sides.
He could have any woman he wanted, but he came to her. For this. For sex. For all the comforts and spoiling she showered on him.
“YouÅ‚re thinking too much," he muttered, and powered faster, harder. He leaned down and his mouth rubbed over her lips, suctioning to seal their lips together until he took her breath.
She slid her tongue into his mouth and moaned, wrapped her legs around his waist and squeezed.
Deeper, harder, he tunneled, plowing through her silky wet walls, the motions sharpening and causing his groin to slap noisily in the moisture coating her sex. The sounds were dirty, lush. The scent of them, sweat and arousal, pulled her deeper into the moment. When the tension began to uncurl inside her, she slammed open her eyes and clutched his shoulders, digging her nails into his skin as she came apart.
His eyes closed and his head jerked back. He came, hot spurts bathing her womb until he was swimming in the juice hełd spilled and her own creamy pleasure. He slowed the motion of his hips and his face sank to the pillow beside her.
With his weight pressing her into the bed, she felt surrounded, warm, cherished. But she knew the feeling was like foolłs gold. Worthless.
She dropped her hands to the bed and took a deep breath. It had to be said.
“DonÅ‚t ask me to move," he grumbled.
The pleasurable afterglow evaporated. “Get off."
He huffed and rolled to his back.
Lying side by side, still touching, sheÅ‚d never felt farther apart from him. “Gabe?"
“Yeah, baby," he said, his voice losing its husky tone.
Damn right, he should be wary. “WhereÅ‚s this going?"
“What do you mean?"
Lord, when had she become the clingy woman? The woman in the romance movies she wanted to bitch-slap. The one she wanted to tell, Woman, canÅ‚t you figure out heÅ‚s not that into you? Still, she took a deep breath and blurted, “Do I mean anything at all to you?"
He scrubbed a hand over his face. A sure-fire signal he was annoyed. “Ilike you, Jolie. I like this. Maybe someday"
Well, she might have inherited the doormat gene from her mama, but her half-Irish, half-Sioux daddy had given her a temper. “What? Someday youÅ‚ll grow a set and marry me?"
He coughed. “Marry you?" Gabe rolled to his side, coming up on an elbow. “What brought this on? You been talking to Lexie?"
Her lower lip pushed outward. “And if I have?"
“Baby, you need to pay closer attention. DidnÅ‚t you see what TylerÅ‚s shooting put her through?"
“He was shot. She stuck by his side through the whole thing. I brought him a shit load of cookies. I donÅ‚t think I missed a damn thing."
His eyebrows lowered but anger didnÅ‚t gleam in his eyes. A deep hurt was mirrored in the blue depths. “He could have died. He would have left her alone. Devastated. I wouldnÅ‚t want that for you."
“YouÅ‚re trying to protect me from grief?" she asked, incredulous.
“IÅ‚m not willing to put you through that. What we have is good. Why would we want to change a thing?"
She shook her head. “Why indeed? You can come here for a meal, drop by my work for a cookie or goddamn doughnut"
The corners of his mouth quirked up. “Love your doughnuts, babe."
Oh no, he didnÅ‚t! Turning on the charm wasnÅ‚t gonna cut it. “You drop by my apartment anytime you want for a quick fix and then you leave. I can see how this must seem so fucking perfect for you."
His lips tightened. “DonÅ‚t act like you donÅ‚t get something out of it too."
“Oh I do. I get a great fuck. But what about when all I want is to be held? For someone to fix the sink or my car?"
“You know IÅ‚d help you with anything you need."
“But you wonÅ‚t be there when the needingÅ‚s done, will you? I want more."
His face expression shuttered. The gleam in his eyes faded. “What are you saying?"
“IÅ‚m saying, I want you to commit. To something. To moving in and sharing expenses and chores. To being there for me when I want someone to hold me when I cry."
His face screwed up in a grimace.
She swatted him. “See there? That look? IÅ‚m not always your happy, jolly, good-time girl. IÅ‚m flesh and blood and tears. IÅ‚m a woman, Gabe, and by God, you have to decide whether I mean enough to you to make this permanent."
“And if IÅ‚m not ready?"
She blinked, willing her eyes to remain dry because no way in hell would she let him know his callous unconcern for her feelings cut her to the bone. “Then you need to move on. And so do I. IÅ‚m not gettinÅ‚ any younger, and someday soon IÅ‚ll want kids and a house with a garage, a fucking white-picket fence and a mortgage."
“Sounds complicated," he said, his voice flat. He sat up, swung his legs over the side of the bed and reached for his clothes.
“ThatÅ‚s right. Anytime I wanna talk about something other than how you want me to blow you, youÅ‚re out the door."
“I canÅ‚t talk to you when you get worked up," he muttered over his shoulder. “IÅ‚ll drop by later. Once youÅ‚ve gotten rid of whatever bug crawled up your ass."
“The only thing ever crawled up my ass was you. And donÅ‚t bother dropping by. I might not be here."
That stopped him. He aimed a glare her way. “What are you saying?"
“Not too bright, are you? IÅ‚m sayinÅ‚, if you canÅ‚t give me what I need, IÅ‚ll find someone else who can."
“Fine, do that," he bit out, standing with the jumble of his clothing in his arms.
“Fine, I will."
His mouth tightened into a thin line. He pivoted on his heel and stomped out of the bedroom.
Jolie swallowed hard then the tears quickly followed.
Lord, what had she just done? Shełd wanted to break it to him easy, let the idea slide into his mind and stick like a tick to a dogłs back, but shełd ranted at him like a crazy woman. Shełd be lucky if he didnłt run a hundred miles away from her.
Sobbing, she picked up the phone and hit her speed dial. “Lexie, I did it. I gave him the ultimatum and kicked him to the door. What do I do now?"
* * * * *
As soon as the bedroom door slammed behind him, Gabe hesitated.
What the hell had just happened? I canłt leave like this, he argued with himself, reaching for the doorknob. Then he heard the sounds of Jolie crying.
Gabe leaned his forehead against the door, closing his eyes tightly. He hated it when a woman cried. Hated feeling helpless and guilty. But he couldnłt solve this problem. Not now. He needed to think. Otherwise, hełd just make things worse. He straightened from the door and walked away, the guilt eating away at him, each step refilling the well of his anger.
He dressed in the living room, giving the muffins on the counter only a glance because his appetite was gone, and slammed out of the apartment. He flew down the steps of her apartment building and stalked toward his car. Cool mist wrapped around him, blurred the streetlights into soft yellow smudges. He flicked up the door handle of his car but the alarm went off, and he cussed as he dug into his pocket for his keys then hit the remote to silence the incessant whine.
He wished hełd had a button to shut Jolie up before shełd gone and said something he couldnłt ignore.
She wanted him to marry her? Didnłt she know him better than that? He wasnłt the marrying kind, wasnłt good enough for her. And hełd meant what hełd said about not wanting her to marry a cop. She deserved better.
But she couldnÅ‚t be ready to find “better" now. He hadnÅ‚t had his fill of Jolie Ledbetter. Not by a long shot. No matter what bullshit heÅ‚d told himself earlier.
He slid across the leather seat of his Mustang, twisted the key into the ignition and reached for his cell.
“Why the fuck are you calling me at three oÅ‚clock in the morning?" Tyler barked.
“Is that what time it is?" Gabe growled back. Bed sheets rustling sounded in his ear.
Tyler yawned. “You and Jolie must have had a fight. Lexie got a call a minute ago. SheÅ‚s in the living room now."
Jolie had called Lexie? Fucking great. The nosy woman would give Jolie some more crazy advice and then hełd really be in the shithouse.
“Jolie wants me to marry her," Gabe ground out. “Or at least move in."
“And thatÅ‚s a problem, why? You like her."
“Like" seemed a pale word for what he felt for the woman. “I like her fine, but IÅ‚m not marrying anyone. Look what you put Lexie through when you got your ass shot."
Tyler sighed. “Yeah, it was rough on her. Still is. She has nightmares."
“See? Jolie doesnÅ‚t want that. Not really. She needs a nine-to-five kind of guy. Someone steady with a safe, boring job. Someone whoÅ‚ll be there. The last thing she wants is the chief showing up on her doorstep with the chaplain in tow."
The line was silent so long Gabe wondered if Tyler had gone back to sleep.
Then, “So let her go."
Gabe slammed the gear shaft, stomped on the gas pedal and peeled away from the curb. “Let her go?"
“Let her go," Tyler said, his tone even. “YouÅ‚re not being fair to her."
“Look, just because Lexie leads you around by the dick doesnÅ‚t mean you have to spout that shit. WeÅ‚ve both seen what happens to cops who get married. If they donÅ‚t leave the marriage in a body bag, they get divorced. A woman doesnÅ‚t want a man whoÅ‚s never there, misses all the kidsÅ‚ plays and first days of school."
“Because I know youÅ‚re upset, IÅ‚ll ignore that first part. But somehow, I donÅ‚t think Jolie would give you grief over other part. SheÅ‚s not clingy. SheÅ‚s a pretty independent lady."
Which was another one of the things Gabe had liked about her from the start.
“Lex and Jolie arenÅ‚t cop groupies," Tyler said. “TheyÅ‚re mature women. They donÅ‚t have their eyes filled with shiny brass badges. They know the score. Trust that." He yawned again. “Look, I have an early call. So do you. Go home to bed. We can talk while youÅ‚ve got me trapped inside the squad car."
Gabe muttered through his goodbye and closed his phone with a snap.
Jolie wanted more from him than he was willing to give. More than he thought he might be capable of giving. He was his fatherłs son. Everyone knew it. And his father had been a lousy father and husband. All anyone had to do was ask every one of his three ex-wives. His mother being the last.
Still, the thought of never seeing Jolie again, never holding her or making love to her ate at his gut.
Every time she opened her door to him was like the first time.
Hełd been nervous that day after hełd met Jolie at the bakeryhad asked Tyler to get her number from Rachel. Hełd been incredibly aroused ever since hełd bitten into her chocolate chip and caramel cookie then looked up to see her bite her bottom lip, her gaze watching his mouth. Hełd wanted those full, dark lips wrapped around his cock.
Her almond-shaped brown eyes had blinked wide, her expression expectant and hopeful a moment before it shifted back to sassy. Shełd only wanted to know whether the cookie pleased him, but hełd wanted to see that same hopeful, expectant expression on her face when he thrust deep inside her lush body.
She wasnłt his usual type and that should have set off sirens, but hełd ignored the internal alarm. She wasnłt a slender, slutty blondea bimbo with no expectations beyond a good time.
Hełd taken one look at her with her dusky, creamy skin, sloe eyes and full lips, and then his gaze had trailed down her full figure. Hełd known in an instant she was meant for comfort, for a man to ease his lust and his heart inside her womanly body.
Shełd surrounded him from the start with the smell of vanilla and the taste of chocolate, and hełd begun to dream of things he had no business dreaminghome, kids and a minivan.
However, Gabe Devine wasnłt the marrying kind. He wasnłt his father. Gabe had loved him, idolized him even while hełd watched him tear his motherłs heart apart with his absences and then finally with his death. Hełd watched her fall into a depression he hadnłt been able to reach through. Hełd acted up in school, gotten into fights, but she hadnłt stirred herself to wonder at the cause.
When shełd passed, he was already on the force, and hełd promised himself hełd never put a woman through that hell. Not on his watch.
The shooting that had nearly taken Tylerłs life only rammed that point home.
If Jolie cried over a loverłs spat, how the hell would she handle losing him altogether to an assailantłs bullet?
Maybe Tyler was right. It was time to cut Jolie loose even though his chest ached at the thought. Hełd be doing her a favor.
Shełd move on, find a nicer guy, someone deserving of her and who she could lavish all her many gifts on. But the thought of another man biting into her chocolate chip cookies while she blinked hopefully back had him tightening his hands on the steering wheel.
He rammed on the gas again, took a rolling hill a little too fast and felt the car glide into the air, just an inch or two, but enough to rattle his teeth when it landed on the road again.
A siren chirped once. He glanced up and saw the blue lights strobing in his rearview mirror and cursed. Signaling, he pulled to the side and reached into his glove compartment for his badge.
Fucking great.
Chapter Three
The doorbell rang and, for just a moment, Joliełs heartbeat thudded hard against her chest. But however much she wanted it to be Gabe, she knew it couldnłt be him. Not only had he not called her after storming out last night, but she hadnłt caved either and called him. Hełd expect it, wouldnłt he? Hełd know he was the best she could hope for however imperfect and transitory their attraction.
She drew a deep breath, smoothed her hands down the sides of her wispy, bronze-and-gold-leaf-patterned skirt and opened the door.
A UPS man stood there with his brown uniform, harried expression and a box in his hands. “Jolene Ledbetter?"
She nodded. Was he delivering her birthday gift from her parents back in Minnesota?
“Sign for the package, maÅ‚am?"
It was the size of a shoebox. Then it hit her.
The red stilettos!
Her birthday was the following week. It was her turn to wear them, her turn to hope the magic that supposedly sparked when the wearer slid them onto her feet would bring her heartłs desire.
The shoes had certainly worked their magic for her friends. Ever since the estate sale theyłd all attended last winter, where theyłd each pitched in to buy the sexy pumps, every one of her girlfriends had experienced extraordinary changes in their livesafter wearing the shoes.
Erika had found Cenzo. Bella, Rhys. Even Lexie had gotten past her concerns about her younger lover and embraced Tyler and the promise of marriage.
Maybe there was something to the magic after all. And didnłt she deserve a little happily ever after too?
She signed for the delivery and took the box, heading to her kitchen and Lexie, who was busy helping herself to another of the banana bread muffins shełd baked up that morning.
Jolie held up the box. “You couldnÅ‚t have just handed them to me? They were yours last."
LexieÅ‚s smile was catlike. “I remember how excited I was when the UPS man showed up at the door. I didnÅ‚t want to stint you the experience." Her smile widened and she clapped her hands. “Open it!"
Even while Joliełs mind told her this was nonsense, the fact every one of her friends had met with success had to be a coincidence, her hands shook as she tore away the brown wrapping and opened the box.
Inside were the ruby red stilettos, their shiny contours unmarred by use, looking impossibly brand new. She plucked them from the box and stepped out of her ratty bathroom slippers. “They canÅ‚t possibly fit me," she muttered. “My feet are wider than every one of yours."
Jolie bent, fastened herself into the slinky shoes then straightened. They were indeed a perfect fit.
Feeling foolish standing in the tall spiked heels, she swept her arms wide. “What do you think? Do I look like a hooker?"
LexieÅ‚s smile widened. “YouÅ‚re going to knock him dead. Gabe wonÅ‚t be able to resist."
Jolie lifted her gaze to LexieÅ‚s. “ItÅ‚s supposed to bring your heartÅ‚s desire. What if itÅ‚s not him?"
“You worried itÅ‚s not?"
“Well, yeah. He didnÅ‚t exactly act like a prince last night."
LexieÅ‚s head canted; her eyes bored into her. “If youÅ‚re not sure about him, then wouldnÅ‚t it be better to find out now? If he doesnÅ‚t pop the question, you can move on and leave yourself open to find Mr. Right."
Jolie stepped out of the heels and settled into a chair, reaching automatically for a muffin, which she slathered with butter. Popping a piece into her mouth, she groaned. Food was almost as good as sex. She could survive without Mr. Happy Pants.
“So, howÅ‚d he react to your ultimatum? I was a little too sleepy last night to remember it all," Lexie said around a mouthful of her own muffin.
Jolie grimaced. “He wasnÅ‚t happy. We both ended up yelling."
Lexie arched an eyebrow. “He wouldnÅ‚t yell if he didnÅ‚t have deep feelings."
“He hasnÅ‚t called," Jolie said mournfully, reaching for the peach jam to add more sweet.
“HeÅ‚s just sulking. You threatened to cut off the gravy train."
Jolie wrinkled her nose. “You always this blunt when youÅ‚re handing out advice to your readers?"
“And why wouldnÅ‚t I be? IÅ‚m only being honest. Jolie, if heÅ‚s not the one for you, you need to move on."
JolieÅ‚s let out a deep breath and her shoulders slumped. “All right. IÅ‚ll think about it. But I donÅ‚t have to make up my mind today, do I?"
Lexie reached across to squeeze her hand. “Not today. Not until youÅ‚re ready. But we do have to plan something special for the shoes. Something to celebrate your birthday, maybe? An outing to lay the right sugar trap."
Jolie wasnłt so eager. The only man she wanted was the one she couldnłt haveand who was oh so wrong for her. She eyed the shoes again then quickly put them back into the box and closed it. She wouldnłt think about going on the prowl for another man until shełd had her fill of Mr. Gabriel Devine.
* * * * *
Gabe took the steps up to Joliełs apartment two at a time, not wanting to take the time to think about what he should be doing.
It was Saturday morning. Hełd bathed and dressed for work, had oiled his gun and polished his boots. A creature of habitnow he was ready to hit Joliełs for a little somethinł-somethinł to tide him over until later that night. Surely shełd gotten over her snit and would be eager to see him again.
He raised his hand and quickly rapped twice, paused then rapped three more times so shełd know it was him.
The door cracked open, still held by the slim, brass security chain. “Oh, itÅ‚s you," she said, sniffing.
The scent of something baking wafted out the door and his belly rumbled. “Look, IÅ‚m sorry," he said, although he didnÅ‚t really feel any regret at all. HeÅ‚d been honest with her from the start. If she wanted to change the rules now, sheÅ‚d have to get over it.
Joliełs mouth tightened. She closed the door, and not until he heard the jangle as she slipped the chain lock from its slot, did he take a deep breath.
The door opened but she was already walking away, her brown skirt floating around her long, supple legs. Gabe frowned at her less-than-enthusiastic greeting, wondering if this was the start of a new pattern. But hey, he was in the door, the biggest hurdle already crossed.
He followed her into the living room, noted the scent of the flowers shełd dumped into pretty bowls on the coffee table and kitchen counter, but the sweet floral wasnłt what made his dick pulse. Muffins stacked on a plate on the counter teased his nose and he made a beeline for them, swiping one up and consuming it in two large bites.
A soft huff drew his gaze. Jolie stood with her arms crossed over her chest, glaring.
“Were you saving them for something special?" he asked, swallowing and forcing himself to resist the urge to grab two more.
“Guess not. Maybe I could fill a bag for you to take with you?" The words were accommodating but her voice dripped with sarcasm.
He hunched his shoulders. So, she was still angry. “IÅ‚ve been honest with you from the start."
“Yes, you have."
“What we have is good, special even. I havenÅ‚t been with any woman as long as IÅ‚ve been with you."
“Oh, I feel real special now."
“IÅ‚m a cop. IÅ‚m not gonna be anything else."
She arched a dark, elegant brow. “Did I ask you to quit the force?"
“You werenÅ‚t raised to the life. You donÅ‚t know how it is."
“Think IÅ‚m too stupid to learn?"
It wasnłt any use. Jolie was digging in her heels, too stubborn to listen to good sense. Tyler was right. It was time for a clean break.
But the longer they stood, both bristling with anger and frustration, the harder it was to turn and walk away.
Her dark eyes slowly softened. Her posture relaxed. Her breaths became shallower, quicker. She was turned-on.
And his body reacted the way any healthy malełs would to the knowledge his woman wanted him. His body tightened. His heart beat faster, sending blood surging through his veins and flooding his cock until it rose along the leg of his trousers.
“Jolie" he breathed.
Her eyes closed and she turned away again, but only walked as far as the living room.
He followed, closing in on her, reaching her before she passed the coffee table and turning her into his arms.
She resisted, bringing her arms up and rotating them outward to brush his hands off. Then she took two steps backward.
Gabełs hands curled into fists to resist the urge to reach for her again. If she didnłt want him, so be it.
However, instead of asking him to leave, she lifted the bottom of her silky brown shirt and slipped it over her head. Her breasts, barely restrained by the lacy bra, shivered over the tops of the cups.
He lifted his hands slowly, half expecting her to move away again, but she held still as he curved his palms over the plump globes. His chest tightened again, and he swallowed hard, lifting his gaze to lock with hers. “You have the softest breasts."
She reached behind her and undid the clasp.
He eagerly smoothed his hands to cup her fully naked. The dark nipples bloomed against his palms and he stepped closer, his mouth hovering above hers as she tilted back her head and rose on her toes.
Gabe kissed her, letting loose of his fear that this might be the last time, deciding to live in the moment of her welcoming heat and the feeling of homecoming. He pushed aside the thought that this felt right, inevitable. His cock was so hard, he could hardly think of anything but the need to thrust deep inside her moist, hot cunt.
He glided his hands down her sides and reached behind her, searching for the button at her waistband. He struggled with it while he stroked his tongue into her mouth then twisted his fingers and felt her waistband ease and heard the button land on the floor. Then he was sweeping the skirt away, shoving it over her round hips to pool at her feet.
The thin, lacy panties he left because he needed the barrier, needed to slow down.
He bent and lifted her into his arms.
She gave a shaky laugh. “YouÅ‚ll break your back."
“YouÅ‚re a wisp of thing, Jolie Ledbetter," he drawled.
“Liar," she whispered, and hid her face in the corner of his shoulder.
Yeah, she was meatier than any woman hełd ever had before, but he liked how she filled his arms. She was sturdy, substantial. She could take everything he brought. He never had to hold back for fear of hurting her.
He crossed to the sofa, gently laying her on her back, then stood back and stripped.
She wrinkled her nose. “ItÅ‚s not fair. You knock on my door and I get wet. We donÅ‚t talk, we donÅ‚t go out, we just fuck. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?"
He gave her a quick grin and shucked his shorts. Even when Jolie dropped the “F" bomb, she sounded like a lady. “We tried the dating thing, remember? We almost got arrested in the park. And we both decided your sofa and your bedÅ‚s more comfortable than the backseat of my Mustang."
She rolled her eyes. “Maybe if you wouldnÅ‚t touch me and kept your dick to yourself in public we might have a normal relationship."
“That what you want?" he said, wrapping his fingers around his cock and stroking himself. “Really? I thought you liked it when I licked you up and down."
“What?" he said, raising his eyebrows. “CanÅ‚t you fight and fuck at that same time?"
“No! Your hands and your dirty parts get movinÅ‚, and all I do is melt. ItÅ‚s not fair."
He stepped closer, looming over her, his dick in his hand while her gaze locked on it and her tongue darted out to lick her lips. “You think itÅ‚s any easier for me? All you have to do is wag your tail and IÅ‚m salivating."
“Wag my tail?" she said, her voice rising. “Gabriel Devine, IÅ‚m not a bitch in heat!"
“IÅ‚d never use that word to describe you, baby."
Her disgruntled expression eased only a bit. “How would you describe me?"
He nestled a knee between the sofa back and her thigh. “Hot as hell, an ass to make a man crawl and beg for mercy"
“What about my ass?" she said, eyeing him warily.
“You got one of those J-Lo, Beyoncé asses," he said softly, moving in closer. “Nice and round and firm. A man wants to snuggle up against it and feel the bounce."
She braced her hands against his shoulders, holding him back. “I donÅ‚t know whether to laugh or scream. And IÅ‚m goinÅ‚ on a diet tomorrow."
“Not for me, youÅ‚re not."
“ThatÅ‚s right, weÅ‚re done. No more free rides, no more sniffinÅ‚ at me like a dog."
“If I sniff," he said, lowering his head to nuzzled her neck, “itÅ‚s to breathe you in, baby. God, I love the way you smell."
“Yeah?" she said breathlessly. “How do I smell?"
He lifted his head. He didnÅ‚t like the gleam in her eyes. “That a trick question?"
An eyebrow arched in challenge. “You brought it up. What do I smell like?"
Home, he wanted to blurt, but sheÅ‚d take it wrong. “Muffins and woman."
Her fingernails sank painfully into his shoulders. “Ä™Muffins and woman I smell like muffins and woman. Why the hell did I pay a hundred bucks for perfume when youÅ‚d rather I rub a muffin between my breasts?"
“Baby, youÅ‚re getting all worked up."
“YouÅ‚re right, I am. I know what I am to you. IÅ‚m a fucking doormat. You walk into my house, expect me to greet you at the door, ready to open my legs and my arms, and when youÅ‚re done, you can walk away. Baby, you better lay a hundred bucks on my dresser when weÅ‚re done, because youÅ‚re payinÅ‚ me back for that perfume."
The mulish look of her face made him want to grin. Shełd always been so sweet, so accommodating, but he didnłt think he minded this feisty woman who was still trying to shove him off her bodyeven if her heart wasnłt really into it. And he knew it wasnłt.
Her scent, the womanly part of her aroma, sharpened. Her pussy, open and glancing against his cock every time she bucked against him, was soaking wet, even through the silky panties.
He wrestled with her, wrapping his fingers around her wrists to hold them still beside her head, and captured her legs beneath his, forcing her open. Her soft, jagged breaths shuddered against his chest and he couldnłt help the tension that filled him, hardening his cock until it felt like a hard, steel rod, heavy and throbbing and prodding naturally against her entrance.
Drawing back, he shook his head. “Tell me if this isnÅ‚t what you want," he said, his voice rougher than he would have wished, but she had him so tight, so ready. “If IÅ‚m scaring you, tell me to back off."
Joliełs mouth opened but she didnłt say a word. Her dark eyes flashed fire.
He bent and nipped her bottom lip. “Do you like this? Do you like it rough?"
Her body shuddered and her abdomen rolled, pressing her mons against his dick while her expressive eyes widened.
She did like it. Fancy that. Every day was a new discovery with her.
He let go of her hands, pushed her panties down her legs then reared up to force her thighs wide. He covered her again, keeping one foot on the ground and wrapping her wrists again, trapping her thighs.
He nudged her entrance with his cock and sank an inch inside, just far enough to wet the cap.
Her sex clasped him, making a succulent, nasty sound that only made him harder.
She bucked beneath him, trying to curve her belly and take him deeper, but he lay over her, pinning her down.
“Still like it?" he whispered.
“I hate it!" she said, but there was a catch to her voice, just a hint of frustrated tears.
That hint of sensual distress he could handle. He nudged deeper then slid away. “Jolie, look at me."
She curled her lips in a snarl but her gaze locked with his.
“I canÅ‚t walk away. But I canÅ‚t give you more. Tell me this is enough."
Her eyes filled and she turned her head aside. “ItÅ‚s not fair."
Exactly what Tyler had said. And he knew it was true and that she had to think he was the biggest bastard ever. “ItÅ‚s not you. ItÅ‚s not that I donÅ‚t want all those things you want. But IÅ‚ve seen how bad it can be. I watched my motherÅ‚s whole world crumble when my dad died. I donÅ‚t want that for you."
“But you wonÅ‚t let me go. You think if we donÅ‚t share a roof that I wonÅ‚t grieve over your sorry ass?"
“My mother wouldnÅ‚t give away my dadÅ‚s things. She pulled them out, over and over, wore his clothes. She never let go. Not until the day she died."
“So youÅ‚d deny me your things, your clothes, and youÅ‚d think that would save me from grieving?" Her gaze raked his face. A frown settling on her forehead, but her expression softened just the same. “Fine. We do it your way. For now."
He swallowed and leaned down to kiss her. Thankful she wasnÅ‚t going to end it. Grateful heÅ‚d won. It was for her own good, even if she didnÅ‚t know it. “Still want it rough? Or do you want to move to the bed. I can be gentle. IÅ‚ll do anything you want."
A faint smile lifted the corners of her mouth and Gabe didnłt know until that moment how much hełd missed her smiles and sassy humor.
“Anything at all?"
“You can reward me later."
“With muffins?"
He grinned. “I wanna rub them on your tits. Your fault. You put that image in my head."
A laugh gusted, jerking her chest against his. “Maybe IÅ‚ll let you lick away the crumbs."
They smiled at each other.
“Have you decided what you want?"
Her eyelids drooped. “I know how hungry you get, baby."
His cock jerked inside her entrance. “A little salty before the sweet?"
“A lot of salty, baby."
He growled playfully then pulled away from her body. When she stood, he swung her into his arms again.
“A girl could get used to this," she said, breathless again.
If it pleased her so much, hełd carry her fucking everywhere. Jolie hadnłt kicked him to the door. She understood now that he only meant to protect her.
Tyler and Lexie had both been wrong. Nothing had to change.
Chapter Four
Jolie tallied the orders for the day and set aside her pencil.
“Hey, Jolie!"
Jolie glanced up.
Rachel Pettigrew snapped her fingers in front of JolieÅ‚s face. “WhereÅ‚d you go, I was calling you for five minutes. You mooninÅ‚ over your policeman?"
Jolie snorted. “Never should have promoted you," she groused. “You think you run the place, including me."
Rachel shook back her blonde hair, wrestled it into a pony tail and wrapped a pink hair band around it. “We were busy up front. Could have used an extra hand."
“You got it under control, didnÅ‚t you?" Jolie closed her book and dropped it into the top drawer of her desk. “ItÅ‚s why you get paid the big bucks," she teased.
“Yeah right."
Jolie knew Rachel could earn more working as a pastry chef for one of the large restaurants around the city, but Jolie had lured her with the promise of a partnership. Jolie had built Joliełs Delights on the small nest egg her daddy had given her and had paid him back in three years. Her recipes and insistence on only the finest ingredients had quickly earned her a reputation for her delicious deserts. They sold pastries from their storefront bistro but also catered to some of the finest kitchens in the city.
If only her love life were as successful.
“Was I right?" Rachel said, hooking a ladder-back chair and pulling it toward JolieÅ‚s desk. “Were ya daydreaminÅ‚ about tall, dark and studly?"
Rachel rarely let her Texas twang out to play, but when she did, Jolie couldnÅ‚t help but smile. “Think GabeÅ‚s cute?"
Rachel sighed. “Completely edible. Wish I were as lucky."
“You had your shot at Tyler. But you passed."
Rachel shrugged. “He wasnÅ‚t the one. Besides, heÅ‚s happy with Lexie. YouÅ‚re both so damn lucky."
Jolie snorted. “Yeah, IÅ‚m lucky all right."
RachelÅ‚s green eyes darkened. “Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise?"
“Yesno. Oh hell. I all but asked him to marry me, but he shuffled back so fast youÅ‚d have thought a bee stung his ass."
“But heÅ‚s still seeinÅ‚ you, right? Has to count for somethinÅ‚. Some guys hear the Ä™MÅ‚ word and all you see is the dust they kick up as they head out of town."
Jolie eyed RachelÅ‚s face, noting the pallor of her skin. The girl wasnÅ‚t getting enough sleep. “Talking about cowboys now?"
Rachel shrugged. “Maybe. I donÅ‚t know why men get so antsy when women start makinÅ‚ plans. YouÅ‚d think theyÅ‚d appreciate the fact we love Å‚em enough to want them to hang around awhile."
“Gabe doesnÅ‚t have a problem hanging around. He has a problem committing." A scowl tightened her forehead. “Thinks heÅ‚s protecting me."
“DoesnÅ‚t sound like such a bad guy. Maybe a little brain-damaged, but not a bad guy."
Jolie cracked a reluctant smile. “GabeÅ‚s not bad. Or mean. He can be a lot of fun."
“Good lover too? He looks like heÅ‚d be good in bed."
Jolie raised her eyebrows. “Oh yeah? What clued you in?"
“Any man who moans like he does over a doughnut has to be just as responsive in the sack. Am I right?"
Jolie shook her head, a full-fledged grin stretching her mouth. Heat filled her cheeks when she thought about the moaning that had gone on when hełd eaten a muffin shełd stuffed between her breasts the night before.
Rachel grimaced. “Ah, dang it. I donÅ‚t think I want to know. YouÅ‚ll make me envious and I was just gettinÅ‚ used to beinÅ‚ celibate."
Jolie raised her eyebrows. “HowÅ‚s that going, by the way?"
Rachel screwed her nose up in disgust. “DidnÅ‚t know the longer I went without the more IÅ‚d think about it. I might just have to lower my standards. Gabe got any single friends left?"
Jolie laughed. “IÅ‚ll ask. You need to get out more, girlfriend."
A bell chimed from inside the bakery and Rachel sighed. “Better get those bear claws out of the oven."
Jolie pushed up from her chair and tilted her head side to side to ease the ache.
On Saturdays, they only opened for the morning, and these days she didnłt have to be there at the break of dawn, which suited her just fine since Gabe liked to have a schedule and know when shełd be available.
Anger bubbled inside her again. He took a lot for granted. Not that he wasnłt appreciative and attentive. But she wished he knew what she sacrificed for him, how willing shełd been to turn her life upside down to be with him.
Before Gabe, her entire life had centered around the bakery. It didnłt matter that she was making more money than ever even after splitting profits with Rachel, but she could have been on the fast track to so much more. Shełd had dreams of partnering with a manufacturer to sell her confections in grocery stores, but those dreams lost their luster when shełd met him.
Younger, finer than she had any business lusting after, he filled her heart with sappy dreams of babies and a house in a sprawling subdivision where shełd bring him lemonade while he mowed the lawn.
She thought about the red-delicious pumps again and wondered if shełd have the nerve to try them. See whether they lead her to Gabe or to another man. If it werenłt Gabe, had she been wasting her time?
A knock sounded, and she glanced up to find Tyler and Gabe grinning at her from the doorway. Speak of the devil
“You two come by to mooch some doughnuts?" she asked, grinning.
TylerÅ‚s eyes widened with innocence. “CanÅ‚t we just stop in to say hello?"
She chuckled and walked past them. Inside the storefront, she opened a display case to pluck several of the freshest pastries she had, arranged them on a plate and handed them to Gabe. “Go take a seat and IÅ‚ll bring the coffee."
“Only if youÅ‚re joining us," he said, his voice dropping to a low, rumbling purr. “You look hungry."
Tyler groaned. “No sex talk, you two."
Gabe unzipped his jacket, and the sound had her pressing her thighs together.
Her expression must have betrayed her because he chuckled as he moved away.
She poured coffee into a carafe, knowing they preferred the straight stuff rather than the more exotic coffees her store offered, and piled cups and saucers on a tray.
Tyler was already seated at one of the bistro tables, his jacket draped over the back, but Gabe was standing, took the tray from her hands and set it on the table before pulling out her chair.
“Thank you," she murmured, blushing from his attentions.
Gabe was always the gentleman with her in public. She forgot that sometimes because they spent so much time alone.
Gabe poured her a cup, stirred fresh cream and two sugars into her coffee then set the cup and saucer in front of her.
“Quiet day, today?" she asked.
“A couple of tickets. A snatch and grab." Tyler stuffed a doughnut into his mouth, “Oh, and a domestic disturbance. Wife hid the remote from her husband because she wanted to talk."
“Quiet then. ThatÅ‚s good, right?"
Gabe grimaced. “But boring. Too much time on our hands."
“Ahhh Been talking, I take it."
Tyler coughed and his glance slid away. “I reminded him your birthday was coming up."
She punched GabeÅ‚s shoulder. “You needed a reminder?"
Gabe scowled at Tyler. “I didnÅ‚t forget."
“But he canÅ‚t decide what to get you."
A ring would be nice, she wanted to quip, but that would just be mean, so she lifted her eyebrows. “You should know me by now. IÅ‚m pretty easy to please."
The sound of a scuffle under the table had her wondering who kicked whom.
Gabe cleared his throat. “I thought I might take you to dinner. Somewhere special."
She nodded, beginning to smile. “A date?"
“Yeah, somewhere public."
“We donÅ‚t do Å‚publicÅ‚ very well," she drawled.
Color crept across his cheeks while Tylerłs shoulders shook.
“You told!" she cried out, glaring at Gabe.
“UhI may have mentioned the park."
“And the stadium parking lot." When Gabe growled, Tyler lifted his shoulders. “Hey, we spend a lot of time together cooped up in a car. Not much else to talk about but you girls."
“Lexie know youÅ‚re so loose-lipped?"
His eyes widened in mock horror. “YouÅ‚re not gonna tell her, are you?"
“And why should I do you any favors?"
“Because IÅ‚m hot?" he said, waggling his eyebrows.
Jolie laughed. “Get out of here. Both of you. DonÅ‚t you know I have better things to do than feed your sorry asses? Out!"
The men chuckled as they left, and Jolie couldnłt wipe the grin off her mouth.
“ItÅ‚s so not fair," Rachel moaned from the behind the counter.
“Yeah, lifeÅ‚s not fair. But what are you gonna do about it? Cry?" Jolie picked up the dishes, piling up the plates and cups, thinking about what sheÅ‚d just said, an idea brewing in her mind.
The more she thought about it, the more the idea dug deep roots and held tight. Oh yeah. There was something she could do. And it involved sexy little peep-toe pumps with heels way too high for walkinł but just right for shakinł up a man.
“IÅ‚m leaving for a while."
Rachel laughed. “By the look on your face, youÅ‚ve got a plan."
“I do indeed. It might bite me in the ass, but Gabe DevineÅ‚s never gonna wipe his feet on me again."
She gathered her purse from her office and waved to Rachel as she left. She had a plan. A bold one. One that Lexie had to help her with. Lexie had connections, after all.
* * * * *
“You sure this is how you want to test out the shoes?" Lexie asked, scooting shiny PVC and leather clothing down the metal rack.
Jolie wasnÅ‚t sure of anything, but something had to give and soon. Mooning over a man who didnÅ‚t want her wasnÅ‚t healthy, and she didnÅ‚t much like herself for being so weak. “Gabe thinks IÅ‚m this sweet and sassy woman who only gets her sexy on when heÅ‚s around. This is perfect."
Lexie shrugged. “I wouldnÅ‚t have the guts."
“WhatÅ‚s that tone of voice supposed to mean? Do you think because I donÅ‚t have your figure or your nerve I shouldnÅ‚t do this?"
Lexie blinked then backpedalled fast. “You have a lovely figure. Plush."
Jolie stuck her fists on her hips. “Plush, like a teddy bear?"
“Soft. Wish I had your boobs." Lexie sighed. “DonÅ‚t you think this is a little drastic?"
“Desperate, donÅ‚t you mean?"
“Okay, it does seem a little desperate. Like youÅ‚re shouting for his attention when what you need to do is talk to him."
Jolie shook her head and reached past Lexie to scoot more outfits down the rack. “I tried talkinÅ‚. I want to show him IÅ‚m not the woman he thinks I am. IÅ‚m not all soft and sweet. IÅ‚m not a doormat. And if other men find me sexy too, well maybe heÅ‚ll realize IÅ‚m quite a catch. One he shouldnÅ‚t let slip the hook."
LexieÅ‚s hand closed over hers. “We found it." Lexie pulled a shiny red PVC bra matched with hip-hugging boy shorts from the rack.
Theyłd come to a BDSM store one of Lexiełs readers had mentioned visiting. While Jolie had blanched at some of the toys, in particular the ball gag because she couldnłt imagine not being able to talk during sex, shełd been bemused by the rest. However, she wasnłt here to buy toys. She needed just the right outfit.
The deep red of the outfit Lexie held up perfectly matched the shoes.
“CouldnÅ‚t there be a little more fabric to those shorts? My ass is gonna be hanging out of that thing."
Lexie grinned. “ItÅ‚s exactly your size. Go try it on."
Her heart fluttered like a birdłs wings, but Jolie held her head high as she passed the tattooed and pierced patrons on her way the dressing room. Sliding into the skinny shorts was just as hard as shełd imagined, but when she turned to eye her bottom in the mirror, she smiled.
Gabriel Devinełs tongue would be hanging on the floor when he saw her wearing this.
“You have it on?"
“Just a minute. IÅ‚m putting on the top."
The top was a bra with pointy cones and wide-banded straps that were surprisingly comfortable. She swished the curtain open.
Lexie eyed her up and down, her lips pressing into a straight line.
Jolie gave her a fierce scowl. “DonÅ‚t you dare laugh!"
LexieÅ‚s smile crept across her face. “CanÅ‚t help it. GabeÅ‚s gonna have a heart attack." She squealed. “You look amazing."
Jolie glanced again into the mirror, but all she saw was too much muffin top hanging over the top of the shorts. “You sure I can pull this off without being laughed off the stage?"
“Jolie, youÅ‚re a big, beautiful woman. Be proud. Flaunt it!"
Jolie shook her head, listening to LexieÅ‚s low, dirty chuckles. It had better be worth it. If she didnÅ‚t have a promise from Gabe after all this effort, she didnÅ‚t think sheÅ‚d ever have the nerve to strip for another man. “The managerÅ‚s down with us coming?"
“He knows the guys. They stop and do a walk through every night when theyÅ‚re on patrol."
Jolie didnłt like hearing that. All those pretty boobs shaking in her manłs face.
“HeÅ‚ll be sure to change the music and hustle you to the stage when they get there."
One last turn to check out her butt and Jolie closed her eyes. “I can do this. I can flash some skin. But do they have any pasties?"
“Pasties?" Lexie bent over double, holding her belly. “You think pasties are gonna hide a thing?"
Jolie scowled meaner into the mirror. “Find pasties!"
Lexie lurched away, still chortling, and Jolie eased open the little latches, three of them that held the bra together in the front.
She knew shełd have to open them, one at a time, while she shook and shimmied. She hoped like hell she didnłt land on her ass when she strutted her stuff in the stilettos. It would be so worth it to see Gabełs expression when he realized who the entertainment really was.
* * * * *
“You and Jolie must have gotten things worked out," Tyler said, his eyes on the road, his tone a little too casual to be real. “She didnÅ‚t come after you with a spatula when we crashed her store."
Gabe grimaced and set his canned soda on his knee. He and Tyler were making a second pass through the business district. So far, everything was quiet. Too bad. He couldnÅ‚t escape the conversation. “NothingÅ‚s worked out. We argued again last night."
“Is she wearing you down yet?"
Gabe snorted. “What do you think?"
“YouÅ‚re growly as a bear, which means sheÅ‚s getting to you. If you could let her walk, you would have by now. You donÅ‚t usually stick around when a girl starts making demands."
“SheÅ‚s hard to ignore."
“Bigger than life."
Gabe shot Tyler a hot glare. “You calling her fat?"
“Not at all. SheÅ‚s got a big personality, a real joy for life and food."
And sex.
“Buddy, if you kiss her off, youÅ‚re gonna regret it for the rest of your life."
“You telling me I should marry her?"
“WouldnÅ‚t do that, bro. I know itÅ‚s a big step, especially given your family history. You have some issues to work through first."
“YouÅ‚re not Dr. Phil even if you are marrying a psychologist. I donÅ‚t have issues."
“Sure you donÅ‚t. So it wonÅ‚t be a problem setting a date."
Gabe crushed the empty coke can in his hand. “LetÅ‚s slide by the Purple Palace, make sure things are quiet."
Tyler pulled the squad car into the strip jointłs packed parking lot. The music blared loudly even before they walked through the double glass doors.
Inside, heads turned, but everyone went right back to what they were doing. Two gentlemen in the seats at the back were getting lap dances and eagerly stuffing dollar bills anywhere the women would allow.
Gabe felt dirty just watching them. “LetÅ‚s say hey to Guppy and be on our way."
“WhatÅ‚s the matter? DonÅ‚t see anything you like here? If you give Jolie the heave-ho, you might want to check out some of the babes here for a replacement."
Gabe glared at Tyler, wanting to punch him for even mentioning her name when they were in a place like this. “Not interested," he ground out.
Tyler smirked and lifted his chin toward the stage. “ThereÅ‚s Guppy now. WeÅ‚ll say hello and make sure he hasnÅ‚t had any problems then get the hell out of here."
“Sooner the better," Gabe muttered under his breath. Most of the women here were twigswhat heÅ‚d wanted before heÅ‚d learned the pleasures of a softer woman.
The loud, raucous music changed to something with a bluesy beat. Shouts from around the stage pulled his attention even though he wished he could tame the involuntary response. Looking at naked women made him feel guilty. As if he were betraying Jolie in some way.
If she knew this was part of his job, she still wouldnłt be happy about it. She worried enough about her figure and her appeal without thinking she had to compete with this.
The purple curtain shivered then long-fingered hands slipped around the edges, clutching it tightly closed. The outline of two bodies pressed against the thick satin had him guessing that the girl was a little shy about walking out on the stage. The curtain jerked and shimmied. When it opened, his eyes widened.
Caught in the spotlight, Jolene Ledbetter teetered on tall, spiked, red shoes, all her luscious café au lait skin bared except for a pair of low-cut briefs and a pointy bra. She swallowed hard, lifted her head and nervously placed a hand on her hip before vamping forward, her stride too uptight, too stiff to be graceful, but the crowd didnÅ‚t seem to care. Hands reached up, waving greenbacks. When the first one touched her ankle, his hands curled into fists.
Before sheÅ‚d taken another step forward, Gabe charged toward the stage, but arms surrounded him, holding him back. “DonÅ‚t do it, buddy," Tyler said, his voice tight. “If you start busting heads, youÅ‚ll lose your badge."
Chapter Five
Jolie heard the music, tried to catch the beat, but shełd never been so scared, so embarrassed in her life.
She knew shełd made a huge mistake the minute shełd entered the stripperłs dressing room. Lexie had ushered her in after Guppy, the skinny, bespectacled manager of the strip club, let them in the back door and showed them to the womenłs dressing room. She already wore her costume under a tightly belted trench coat, but getting her first up-close look at the other women awaiting their turns on the stage made her lose her nerve.
She turned back toward the exit.
Lexie stood behind her, her arms crossed over her chest. “No you donÅ‚t. Not after I paid him a hundred dollars to let you do this!"
“You paid him?"
Lexie shrugged. “He prefers professionals, but heÅ‚s not above a bribe."
“Great. You had to pay him to let me take off my clothes. Get out of my way."
LexieÅ‚s chin firmed, and her eyes narrowed into the meanest look her friend could manage. “You talked me into this. You convinced me this was a good idea. No way are you going to chicken out now."
“TheyÅ‚ll laugh at me," Jolie whispered furiously.
The other women, even the curvier ones, werenłt as well-padded.
One the women nearest them, eyed Jolie in the glass as she applied a wide streak of eyeliner. “WeÅ‚ve had big girls before. Some of the men prefer Å‚em. Give it a go, hon."
Jolie didnłt appreciate the advice and straightened her spine, ready to walk right through Lexie if she didnłt get the hell out of her way.
Lexie lifted her chin. “You want a ring, remember? A commitment. You want him to notice you, know youÅ‚re desirable for more than your cupcakes."
Jolie swallowed, her eyes filling. “IÅ‚m scared."
LexieÅ‚s militant expression softened. “YouÅ‚ll do fine. In ten minutes, itÅ‚ll all be over. And youÅ‚ll know whether the shoes were meant for him."
Jolie nodded slowly. “I couldnÅ‚t get the pasties to stick, the adhesive didnÅ‚t work on top of the body lotion I applied."
The stripper eyeing her in the mirror turned and held out her hand. “Give Å‚em to me. IÅ‚ll show you my little trick. Works every time."
Reluctantly, Jolie pulled the little gold-glittered pasties from the pocket of her coat and handed them to the woman who towered on a pair of platform PVC boots.
“Get out of that coat. Have to show your boobs. ItÅ‚s just us girls here."
The other girls laughed, but their smiles seemed friendly enough. Jolie didnÅ‚t like being the center of attention and especially didnÅ‚t like the fact her “girls" were everyoneÅ‚s focus, but she opened her coat and let Lexie slide it off her shoulders.
“The bra too. CanÅ‚t paste Å‚em on top of those cones. Nice bra by the way."
“Thanks," she said faintly. “The Whip and Tickle had a sale."
“NameÅ‚s Angie," the redhead said, grinning, “since weÅ‚re about to get friendly."
Joliełs eyes widened. The woman took a small bottle of glue sitting beside her open makeup case, circled the pasty then twisted it onto Joliełs boob.
Jolie held her breath, shocked to her core. Her nipple beaded beneath the little circle and the pasty began to fall away.
“Oh, donÅ‚t worry about that," Angie said. “Happens all the time to me. ItÅ‚s cold out there." Angie peeled the pasty off the rest of the way, carried it to her mouth and licked it then twisted it back onto JolieÅ‚s nipple.
Jolie knew she must have earned a ton of bad karma as the women laughed around her.
“TheyÅ‚re just laughing at your expression," Angie said. “We all have our little tricks for keeping these things hiding the pearlies."
Jolie suffered through Angie twisting on the second one, and didnłt even blanch when she licked it.
But she didnłt dare give Lexie a glance. She could feel her shaking beside her, clinging to her arm as she got ready to let loose with howls of laughter.
“Just remember," Jolie clipped, “I know where you live, Lexie Burns."
“Sorry," Lexie gasped, covering her mouth with a hand. “You should have seen your face."
“Yeah, it was pretty funny," Angie said, her smile stretching. “YouÅ‚re ready. Get that bra closed. YouÅ‚re up next. Give that boyfriend hell."
Lexie tossed Joliełs coat over the back of a chair and grabbed Joliełs waist, pushing her out the door and down the corridor toward the side of the stage. The curtains were closed.
Guppy signaled to her from the far side. “Get in the middle and IÅ‚ll open Å‚em up."
Jolie dug in her heels. Lexie pushed harder, and Jolie couldnłt get the traction she needed with the tiny stiletto tips scraping across the wooden floor. When she was behind the curtain, Guppy gave her a thumbs-up, and Lexie darted back.
The curtains started to open, but Jolie grabbed both sides and held them closed. “Oh hell no." SheÅ‚d gotten a glimpse of the crowd when the curtain waved.
The bar was packed. A dozen or more heads and shoulders peering above the edge of the stage. Theyłd be looking up her ass.
“Let go of the curtain," Guppy yelled.
Jolie shook her head. “No way in hell."
Hands slipped over hers. “Let go, Jolie," Lexie bit out, trying to peel back her fingers. “I paid for ten minutes but you can do five and I wonÅ‚t even make you pay me back."
She squeezed Joliełs hands, but Jolie gripped the fabric tighter.
They stumbled against the curtain, and she felt the curtain give a little from the top.
“You girls tear it down, youÅ‚re payinÅ‚ for it!" Guppy yelled. “Still got your credit card, missie."
“Let go!" Lexie growled.
“I changed my mind. Musta lost it. No manÅ‚s worth the humiliation."
“Givethe shoesa chance." Lexie dug her fingers under the waistband of JolieÅ‚s shorts in the back and tugged.
“You tryinÅ‚ to give me a wedgie?"
“Worked in high school."
The elastic at the back of her thong popped and Jolie let go to give Lexie a glare when the curtains swished open.
Lexie hid behind the edge as it retreated, leaving Jolie in the center of the stage, pushing the remnants of her thong down her crack. The movement thrust out her chest and the men around the stage began to howl.
Jolie crossed her arms in front to hide herself, but only managed to press more of her boobs over the top of the shiny cups.
“Bump and grind! Bump and grind!" Lexie shouted from the side.
Well, she was already out there in her underwear. What the hell? Jolie closed her eyes and listened for the music again, this time she felt it and took a couple of shaky steps forward. The stage narrowed to a catwalk, lights trimming the edge. Hands reached high, shaking dollar bills. One grabbed her ankle, but she shook him off and continued forward.
She caught a glimpse of two figures closing in from the front of the club, two tall, broad figures wearing dark uniforms.
Dear God, they were here. Gabełs face was tight, hard. His fists curled. And he was coming fast.
The look on his face shouldnłt have excited her, but it did. She shook back her hair, turned on her heel and shook her ass for the crowd.
“Jolie!"
She heard his shout, but it only served to spur her on. She turned, squatting near a handsome dude whose eyes ate her up as she bounced and leaned forward.
His fingers slid under the edge of her bra and stuffed a dollar in her cleavage. She gave him a wink and glided up, turning to bend over and stare at him between her legs before easing up again, and rolling her hips, popping them to the music.
“Take a twenty!" another man shouted.
She strolled like a runway model, putting a finger in her mouth and standing in front of him to trace a wet path down her belly to the snap of her shorts.
“Show us some more skin!" he shouted, waving that bill.
Jolie gave him a wink, feeling more assured of her attraction, squatted in front of him and leaned forward to get the money. However, he grabbed for her boob, nearly pulling her from the stage.
A bouncer ran up and pulled him back.
Jolie gave Gabe a sideways glance. You see that, baby? Your precious milk-and-cookies mama is gonna start a riot.
She bent toward the man seated next to the one whołd been hauled backward from the stage. He stuffed a cool, crisp twenty into her shorts. She went to her knees and opened the top toggle of her bra.
Shouts and whistles started and she leaned back, smoothing a hand down her belly and back up then opening another latch. One more to go. Would she have the nerve?
“Jolie, donÅ‚t do it," Gabe shouted.
But Gabe didnłt own her ass. Didnłt own her boobs. He hadnłt claimed an inch of her skin.
She opened the last clasp and held the edges closed over her breasts, and slowly rose, walking to the end of the stage right in front of Gabe. With his hot, angry stare locking with hers, she opened her bra wide, flashing the crowd and shaking her glitter-topped tits. Take that, Gabe Devine.
A hand reached up and grabbed for her ankle.
Jolie tried to kick it loose, but the man was rising from his seat. “Come here, baby. Rub those titties on my face."
She teetered and let out choked scream, falling toward the man. But he flew backward and another set of arms caught her.
A shoulder hit her belly and she folded over a wide, muscular frame. Gabełs butt flexed beneath her gaze as he stomped toward the doors.
The doors whooshed open and he carried outside and down the steps. Cool, wintery air prickled her skin, drying her sweat immediately.
“Put me down," she said. “ItÅ‚s cold!"
But he didnłt slow his pace, not until he reached the squad car and opened the back door and flung her inside.
Jolie landed in a sprawl of legs and arms and climbed up from the floorboard to kneel on the seat, staring back at Gabe who hunched over to glare inside the car.
“What the hell were you thinking?" he blasted.
Jolie shoved both hands on her hips and yelled back, “That it was about damn time I started looking for another man."
“In that place? Did you want to get raped?"
“I wanted someone to notice me."
His eyes narrowed to angry slits. “All you have to do is breathe deep to get a manÅ‚s attention."
Jolie realized her bra still gaped open and that Tyler was walking up behind Gabe.
“Gonna ride in the back?" he asked Gabe. “Or are we gonna book her?"
“For what?" Jolie said, lifting her chin to dare Tyler to stare. “I didnÅ‚t break any laws."
“Gimme a minute," Tyler drawled, his gaze sweeping over her chest. “I can start with inciting a riot."
“Indecent exposure," Gabe bit out. He slipped into the back seat and slammed the door closed.
Tyler spoke into the mike up front, telling dispatch they were taking a break. Then he pulled out of the parking lot.
“Wait!" Jolie said as they entered the road. “LexieÅ‚s still back there."
“Lexie knows sheÅ‚s in a heap of shit," Tyler said over his shoulder. “SheÅ‚s on her way to her car. If she doesnÅ‚t pass me in three, weÅ‚ll go back for her."
A car pulled up alongside them, and Jolie stared at Lexie who gave her a cheerful wave and passed them.
She gulped down several deep breaths and slowly turned back to Gabe. His gaze was glued to her nipples. He lifted a finger and traced the edge of the pasty.
His movement was slow. Too slow. And then she saw his hand was shaking.
She raised her head slowly and locked glances with him.
His face was still tight, his lips pressed into a straight, narrow line. His eyes bored into her, his body radiated hot fury. “You did this on purpose. You knew IÅ‚d be there."
She raised her chin. Hełd have to drag the details out of her only if he tortured her. Unfortunately, she had a very low pain threshold.
“Almost there," Tyler called over his shoulder.
A muscle alongside Gabełs jaw flexed. When the car slid into her apartment parking lot, he held perfectly still, waiting as Tyler got out and opened the trunk of the car. The door beside her opened and Tyler handed her a blanket, which she wrapped gratefully around her shoulders.
Shełd forgotten how cold it was. The air stung her naked breasts.
Tyler opened Gabełs door, and Jolie decided to make a dash for it, running on the stilettos toward the door, trying to beat him to it. But boots slapped the pavement behind her, closing in.
Gabe grabbed her hand, swung her toward him, ducked, and once again she was reeling as he upended her and carried her toward the door.
“HowÅ‚d you think youÅ‚d get inside?" he growled. “Have a key stashed in your underwear?"
She didnłt like the nasty edge of his voice, but she opted on the side of caution and kept silent. Besides she could barely catch her breath because she bounced on his hard shoulder as he stomped across the foyer, passed the elevators and stalked up the three flights of stairs.
Jolie was staggered by his strength. He wasnłt out of breath. She couldnłt help it, but the caveman act was doing it for her.
Moisture flooded her channel but didnłt wet a thing because gravity was holding the warm liquid inside her.
Her breasts scraped against the itchy woolen blanket and she prayed theyłd get there soon because she was ready to explode. Ready to go wild.
At last he pushed through the door that opened onto her floor and strode toward her apartment. But he didnłt put her down; he unlocked the apartment and hurried inside, kicking the door closed behind them.
Then she was sliding downward. He caught her between the door and his large body. He shoved her upward as soon as her heels hit the floor and from the rustling below, she knew what was coming next.
Her shorts opened and he shoved them down. His pants opened and then his cock was pressing at her portal, ramming past her entrance, stretching upward as he brought her down his shaft.
“What the fuck were you doing?" he whispered, leaning into her, his hips beginning to hammer against her, his mouth just above hers, still tight, his teeth bared.
Jolie quivered against him and lifted her legs, clinging to his hips and pressing her chest against his to force him back and give her room to move, but he wasnłt having it.
He jerked and tunneled, so close she couldnłt drag in enough air. Her head swam, her eyes filled, and only when the tears streaked down her cheeks did he lower his head and cover her mouth.
But he didnłt deepen the kiss. His eyes were open, those blue orbs glaring.
She blinked to meet that stare, but couldnłt stay stubborn for long because she was comingfast, hard, her body vibrating and writhing against his in the shallow space between him and door.
The sound of her thrashing, knocking against the door, was overloud, masking her gasps and whimpers.
When she finally hung limp against him, he came out of her and let her slide down to the floor.
He stepped back, stuffed his swollen cock into his pants and zipped up. “DonÅ‚t go out tonight. You be here. WeÅ‚re not done."
* * * * *
“And he slammed out?" Lexie asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“So loud there were shouts from the neighbors."
Lexie had brought Jolie her coat and purse. “Tyler read me the riot act while you two were doing the vertical mamba. CouldnÅ‚t tell if he was really mad or trying to be mad for Gabe." She wrinkled her nose. “Guess itÅ‚s good either way. IÅ‚m getting a spanking."
Jolie laughed, her belly unclenching for the first time in an hour. When she dried her tears, she gave Lexie a rueful grin. “I donÅ‚t think I needed the shoes to get his attention."
“But you need them to make sure you get the right kind of attention later. Better keep them on until after he gets back here. You gonna be okay?"
Jolie nodded, suddenly feeling exhausted. Shełd sleep until he got there. Shełd need her strength. And her wits.
Shełd never seen Gabe that angry. He might be mad enough to call it quits.
Well shełd be ready for whatever. At least the question of where their relationship was headed would finally be answered.
* * * * *
Gabe opened her apartment door and eased it closed behind him, careful not to make a sound. His shift had dragged, every minute scraping his nerves because he wanted nothing more than to get back to Jolie and punish her for doing something so incredibly dumb.
Didnłt she know what could have happened if he hadnłt been there? She wasnłt some professional dancer who knew what buttons to push with those guys. She was fresh, innocent meat. In way over her head. And shełd teased those men to the edge.
He still shook with rage at the memory of the guy whołd grabbed her tit. Hełd bet money hełd left a bruise on her soft flesh. And the one whołd risen and tried to pull her from the stagewell, he hoped like hell he had more than bruise for breaking the rules. Tyler assured him hełd cracked a rib or two when hełd taken him to the ground as Gabe wrestled Jolie out of the bar.
Theyłd run by the bar after they left, made sure it was quiet. Guppy had told him never to let his girlfriend give him a present like that again. He couldnłt afford it.
Theyłd gotten the full scoop, how Lexie had paid so Jolie could dance, how Guppy had watched for the men for just the right moment for Jolie to make her debut.
God, shełd been a sight, teetering on those ridiculous shoes, looking scared but determined, her dusky skin gleaming with health and vitality.
No wonder the men had gone nuts. Shełd shimmied and shook with every nervous breath, her generous breasts trembling, her hips jiggling. Fuck. Hełd had a hard-on all night, much to Tylerłs amusement.
And Tyler had gotten an eyeful of JolieÅ‚s attributes and couldnÅ‚t stop the sexual innuendoes, asking if Gabe was hungry for some “milk and cookies". And wondering what theyÅ‚d registered on the Richter scale with all the rumbling and banging coming from JolieÅ‚s building.
Yeah, Tyler had a great time at his expense. But the wait was over.
Jolie lay on top of the comforter, a throw draped over her body, those damn heels sticking out from the bottom.
Gabe stripped quietly, and then approached the bed. Without waking her, he slipped off the heels then slowly dragged down the comforter, smiling grimly when he discovered she was nakedexcept for the gold pasties on her tits.
Time for his bad, bad girlfriend to wake up and earn her punishment.
He lifted his arm and smacked the mattress hard with the flat of his hand.
Chapter Six
Jolie jackknifed to sitting and started screaming.
But Gabe was ready, coming down on top of her squirming body and clamping a hand over her mouth. He held her pinned to the mattress until she recognized him.
Her eyes widened then narrowed into angry slits.
“Yeah, itÅ‚s me," he ground out. Slowly, he pulled away his hand.
Jolie smacked the side of his head then pounded his shoulders with her fists. “What the fuck? What the fuck! What kind of knucklehead wakes a woman like that?"
Gabe held still, her puny punches working to relieve a little of his anger. When she slowed, he rolled to the side, braced on one elbow and drawled, “You done?"
Her fist landed one more time on his shoulder then she pulled back and sniffed. “I guess." She glanced down the bed and pulled up her feet, staring at them. Her animated expression dimmed.
He wondered about that, thought maybe shełd been planning some grand seduction wearing only the stupid red shoes, but she wasnłt the one in charge now. Gabe held still, waiting for her heart to calm and waiting for her to figure out he still had an agenda.
Jolie pulled her gaze from her feet and pushed back her hair, looking at the ceiling, the clock beside the bed. Anywhere but at him. At last her breaths calmed and she turned her head toward him. “You still mad?"
The wary edge in her voice pleased him. She knew shełd gone too far. Pushed every one of his buttons with her crazy-ass stunt.
He didnłt answer and kept his expression shuttered, wanting her to know how furious he was and needing to hide the fact his body was so tight, so aroused he could hardly wait to slam inside her.
She didnłt need to know that. Not yet.
There was a little matter of punishment to get past. “Did you like it? Flashing your tits for a roomful of horny drunks?"
She had the good grace to lower her gaze, her anger draining out of her expression to be replaced with something elsea hint of shame.
“Yeah, look ashamed, baby. You gave it away."
“ItÅ‚s mine to give," she said softly, still not meeting his gaze.
“ThatÅ‚s where youÅ‚re wrong."
Her lips firmed and her gaze shot back at him. “Well, itÅ‚s not yours. You donÅ‚t want me. You havenÅ‚t laid claim to any part of me."
“You donÅ‚t think so? ItÅ‚s not me in your bed every night? Me fucking you until you scream and wrap yourself so tight around me I canÅ‚t breathe?"
“I give it to you," she said evenly, just a trace of a quaver in her voice. “But itÅ‚s not yours to keep. You donÅ‚t want me to belong to you, remember?"
Gabe released a deep breath. She wasnłt crying. Wasnłt yelling. And yet he felt as if his heart had been ripped from his chest. Didnłt she know how much he loved her?
His throat closed, a lump burning at the back. No, she didnłt. Hełd never said it. Hadnłt let himself think the words. But they were there. Burning to get free.
How did she feel about him now? Did she even want him in her life anymore?
“Jolie"
Her lips twisted and the liquid appeal of her dark eyes cut him. Jolie stretched her arms around him and rolled into him, a thigh lifting to cling to his hip. Her breasts snuggled against his chest. She hiccupped and her back shook, but she didnłt let out another sound as she hid her face against his chest.
She was crying. And he wasnłt retreating.
Instead, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer, shushing her, murmuring into her hair. “ItÅ‚s okay, baby. ItÅ‚s okay."
“No, itÅ‚s not. ItÅ‚s all fucked up. And I did that. I pushed too hard. Went too far."
“Yeah, you did," he whispered.
“I couldnÅ‚t leave well enough alone, and now youÅ‚re gonna leave me because I canÅ‚t stop crying."
“What you need, baby," he said, gently kissing her temple, “is something to cry about."
She sniffed and pulled back her head, confusion in her eyes. “You gonna give me something else to cry about?"
He brushed her lips with soft caress. “Something we both want," he said softly then firmed his voice to add, “Something youÅ‚ve earnedbecause IÅ‚m not over being mad."
She swallowed, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. “YouÅ‚re not makinÅ‚ a lick oÅ‚ sense."
“YouÅ‚re crying on my chest, sorry for what you did. But IÅ‚m still mad as hell and needing to let loose a little on you. IÅ‚m ready to talk, baby. After."
“After you punish me? And why in hell would that be something you think I want?"
He lowered his voice and drawled, “Because you like it when IÅ‚m rough."
JolieÅ‚s chest rose as her breath caught. “God, you did not just growl at me."
“Let me do this," he said, pressing another kiss against her cheek, the curve of her jaw. “Let me have you. WeÅ‚ll talk. Promise. No more quick escapes."
Her eyelids lowered to a sexy droop. “Just how mad at me are you?"
“Baby, IÅ‚m shaking."
“Can we negotiate this punishment?"
“What are you offering?"
“A blow instead of a spank?"
“I was thinking IÅ‚d give you one, and youÅ‚d beg forgiveness with the other."
A tiny smiled tipped up the corners of her mouth. “Jolie never begs."
“Jolie will be on her knees, happy to do whatever I want her to do."
Gabe wasnÅ‚t the only one quivering now. Her belly jumped and shivered, her legs slid restlessly beneath his. “Do I have to take it without complaint? Å‚Cause I donÅ‚t think I can."
“IÅ‚d be disappointed if you didnÅ‚t fight."
“Oh gawd!"
He smiled but kept it from reaching his eyes, liking the distress rounding hers. Jolie wasnłt afraid. She was horny. Her scent deepened, having grown muskier in the last few seconds, and her breaths came in jagged little pants.
“You have the advantage. YouÅ‚re sprawled all over me. HowÅ‚m I supposed to fight?"
Gabe inched an eyebrow upward. “Think it matters? IÅ‚m still gonna win."
“YouÅ‚re so sure, get off the bed and give me five-second head start."
“Deal."
He gave her lips a smack then rolled off the bed, putting the width of the mattress between them as she stood on shaking legs on the opposite side.
She darted from the room, her footsteps slapping the wooden floor.
“Five!" he shouted, and charged after her.
“Cheater," she said breathlessly, running through the living room toward the kitchen. “Was not five seconds!"
Gabe reached out and snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her back against his chest.
Her feet pummeled his ankles, but he didnłt flinch as he walked with her back toward the bedroom, carrying her at his side.
She wriggled like a fish and finally escaped his grasp, running in front of him, gasping with laughter.
He didnłt run. He stalked her, coming into the bedroom as she rounded on him, her chest heaving, those shiny little pasties glittering in the light from the hallway. She turned and jumped into the middle of the bed, trying to make it to the other side, but he caught her ankle and pulled, bringing her crashing down on the mattress.
Before she could get her knees under her, he crawled right over her ass, pressing her down. When she lay panting beneath him, he whispered into her ear, “Gotcha."
Jolie squirmed and tried to elbow him, but he adjusted, wrapping his hands around her wrists and stretching her arms wide on the mattress. Her struggles left his hardened cock wedged between her buttocks.
Jolie blew out deep, ragged breaths. “So what are you gonna do now?"
“Not me," he said, nuzzling the side of her neck. “You."
Her head tilted away, encouraging him to explore. “Want that blow now?" she moaned.
“Uh-uh. I want you to reach up the bed and grab two pillows."
“Why should I help you?"
“Because if you donÅ‚t, I wonÅ‚t be happy."
“And you think I care?"
Gabe bit her shoulder. “I know you do, baby."
“I hate you. Sometimes, I really do."
“I know that too. Goes with the territory. Now reach."
He let go of her wrists and she reached up, snagged a pillow and pulled it toward them. Then she went back for the other.
“IÅ‚m gonna back up," he said evenly. “But only to give you some room."
“You think I wonÅ‚t make another break for it?"
“Baby, youÅ‚re so horny now, youÅ‚ll do anything I want. Tell me a lie and deny it."
Jolie pressed her face into the bedding. “Fucker," she said, the words muffled.
He grinned and backed up to his knees. “Pile the pillows in the middle of the bed then lie facedown over them."
Jolie glanced warily behind her, a frown bisecting her forehead. “Just how hard a spanking am I gonna get?"
“What do you think you deserve?" he asked, giving her a stern glare. “You shook your ass and flashed your tits at a crowd of horny men."
She bit into her bottom lip.
“ThatÅ‚s right. Get good and worried, but better make it snappy. I donÅ‚t have all night for you to make up your mind that youÅ‚re better off obeying me now."
“IÅ‚m not a doormat, Gabe."
“Never thought you were, babe. Too sassy to be anyoneÅ‚s doormat. Even if I do expect you to be nice to me. We both like it when IÅ‚m happy."
“YouÅ‚re full of yourself, you know that, right?"
“Cocky. Yeah. Cocked and ready."
Her gaze snapped to his dick and her chest expanded around a deeper breath. She swallowed hard and turned away, piled the pillows one atop the other then slowly draped herself over them, her fine, rounded ass on display.
He crawled closer and placed a hand on her bottom, liking how she gasped and jerked and he hadnłt even swatted her yet.
He dipped a finger inside her and swirled once, just to “test the waters". She was juiced. Hot. Fragrant. “Better than cookies, baby. Better than cookies."
“Or a goddamn muffin?"
“DonÅ‚t give me any ideas." He nudged a knee against her splayed thighs. “Spread Å‚em."
She groaned and hid her face in the bedding, but she widened her knees. The action parted her pussy lips.
Gabe wanted nothing more than to bend low and suckle those smooth, dark rose lips, but hełd have to be strong. He ringed his cock and took several deep breaths, waiting as he got control of himself again.
Her bottom wiggled. “Well?"
“You anxious to get spanked?"
“IÅ‚m anxious to get whatÅ‚s coming to me after!"
Gabe crawled beside her, lifted his right hand and gently caressed both globes. Her cool bottom jumped, but he massaged her, waiting until she relaxed again.
Then he lifted his hand and swatted her. The slap stung his palm.
Her back arched and she pushed up on her arms to turn her head. “That hurt!"
“Did it hurt enough?"
She swallowed hard, and her pussy clasped and released, making a lush, wet sound she couldnÅ‚t refute. Jolie took a deep breath, and held his gaze. “Do it again."
While she watched, he lifted his hand and smacked the opposite cheek.
She flinched and bit her lip. But her bottom lifted higher. “Again," she said, sounding strangled.
Gabe bent, kissed her ass, and then straightened, holding her smoldering dark gaze as he struck her several more times, so hard her bottom jiggled and her body jerked.
“Fuck, Gabe," she breathed.
“Are you okay?"
“I wanna cry, but I want you to fuck me more."
His balls tightened at the sound of her voice, thready and rasping, aching need in her eyes and her reddened, bitten lips.
He palmed her pussy, rubbing in the fluid hełd coaxed from her body. He thrust two fingers inside, satisfied with the swift, hard clasp of her cunt, but he only meant to wet the fingertips. He trailed them upward to the small, furled hole, and ignoring her swift intake of breath, circled it, teasing it then pressing to enter.
“No, you didnÅ‚t," she moaned.
“Gonna tell me no?"
She faced the headboard, her back trembling.
He thrust deeper and her hot, tight ring clenched hard. Gabe wrapped his fingers around his shaft and fed his cock into her pussy, sliding through his hand to push inside her, then drawing his hand away to enjoy the feel of her slick, silky walls embracing him.
Jolie backed up, forcing him deeper, and he twisted the fingers in her ass, easing the ring, and fucked his cock forward and back in time with the inward press of his fingers working the tight hole.
JolieÅ‚s arms gave out and her torso sank to the bed. He reached down and grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled, tugging her back up. “No, you donÅ‚t," he rasped. “You fight me, Jolie."
She reared back, thrusting hard against him, her bottom jiggling at last with the forceful lunges they gave each other.
“Not gonna last," he said, gritting his teeth.
“IÅ‚m there. Jesus, IÅ‚m there!"
He gripped her hair tighter and hammered her wet cunt, thrusting his fingers into her ass as far as he could, then holding them there as he powered into her.
Jolie couldnłt match his speed, but thrust backward, her channel walls caressing him with strong pulls that milked him, forcing the cum to shoot from his balls in steamy bursts.
Gabe slowed his motions. Jolie collapsed again, her shoulders and back shuddering. He dragged the pillows from beneath her then lay over her, enjoying the feel of her weakening convulsions, clutching around his cock and the slick skin of her smooth back and bottom against his.
He kissed her shoulder. “Jolie, I love you."
JolieÅ‚s breath left her, and then she dragged in deep, jagged sob. “Sorry," she blurted.
“Sorry because you donÅ‚t love me back?" he growled.
“Sorry Å‚cause IÅ‚m crying," she said softly.
“DonÅ‚t move," he said. Then he was pulling away, moving off the bed and padding to the bathroom.
Jolie lifted her head. “What the fuck?"
The water ran. The toilet flushed, and then he was coming back with a cloth. He sat beside her on the bed and the cloth disappeared behind her as he gently cleaned her.
Again he left the bed.
Jolie laid her head on her arms, facing away, and the tears leaked faster from her eyes. Hełs said he loved her. But did that really change a thing between them?
The bed dipped beside her and his body stretched out next to hers. Hands rolled her, turning her toward him, where he settled her head on his shoulder and wrapped his arms around her. “IÅ‚m not good at this," he said, a hint of distress tightening his voice.
Jolie thought about that and smiled through her tears. “But youÅ‚re trying. Means a lot."
“You still want me moving in with you?"
She lifted her head to read his expression. His gaze was steady, his face tense.
“If youÅ‚re ready," she said, meaning it. SheÅ‚d give him time. HeÅ‚d already given her more than sheÅ‚d thought sheÅ‚d ever get. Three little words that warmed her from the inside out.
“IÅ‚m ready. IÅ‚d like more, I think. But I donÅ‚t want to rush. DonÅ‚t want to make a mistake. I never want to hurt you."
She scraped the tears from her face and forced a smile. “DonÅ‚t hold back the next time I earn a little punishment. Not on my account."
Gabe released a deep breath and one corner of his mouth slid up. “YouÅ‚ll be sitting on a pillow for a day or two."
“Well worth it."
“Well?"
She knew what he wanted. His body stiffened, waiting for her to respond in kind.
“Gabriel Devine, I adore you. Every part of you. Even your greediness. I love cooking for you because you make sure you let me know how much it pleases you. I love it when you act the man and take me for granted, because you let me rant and make it up to me in sweet, loving ways. I love your body and I donÅ‚t think IÅ‚ll get tired of feeling you against me, inside me if I reach a hundred."
“That mean you love me?"
“Impatient for me to get to the point?"
“A little."
Jolie smiled, fresh tears filling her eyes as she cupped the side of his face. “I love you. YouÅ‚re my heartÅ‚s desire."
Gabełs breaths eased and he hugged her closer. His cock stirred against her.
She pressed her mouth into a feline smile. “You ready for that blow?"
A snort of laughter shook his body. He drew his arm from beneath her and pushed her to her back. “After I suck off these pasties. They itch."
Joliełs eyes widened. She should tell him. She really should, but he didnłt ask why she giggled as he scooted downward and latched on to one of the glittered tips.
Shełd tell him about Angiełs little trick after.
Chapter Seven
“You gonna need help moving this weekend?" Tyler asked, his tone casual. The gaze he flicked GabeÅ‚s way said he was dying to know what had changed his mind.
“DonÅ‚t have much. But I could use a hand. JolieÅ‚s already making room for me."
“SheÅ‚s moving quick to make sure you donÅ‚t change your mind."
Gabriel drew a deep satisfied breath. “I wonÅ‚t."
“DonÅ‚t want any pole-dancing next?"
He snorted. “Hell no."
Tyler chuckled and Gabe gave him a sheepish smile, too happy to be bothered with his best friendłs ribbing.
The radio squawked. An armed robbery was in progress at a green grocer.
Gabe radioed dispatch to tell them they were taking the call.
Tyler flipped on the lights and siren.
All thoughts of Jolie bled away as he focused on what they faced. The closer they got, the more sure they were that this was the real thing. Cars barreled past, people scurried into neighboring stoops to huddle down.
Adrenaline spiked and his heart thundered inside his chest.
The squad car ground to a halt just shy of the store. They both piled out, weapons drawn. They hit the ground at a dead run, peeking through the windows before rushing into the shop.
Blood pooled behind the counter, but the clerk waved them toward the back of the store as he held his bleeding arm against his chest.
Gabe caught a glimpse of the robber dressed in a dark hoodie, tall, slim, and darting toward the back door.
“IÅ‚ll go through the back," Gabe bit out.
“IÅ‚ll take the alley in case he makes it that far." Then Tyler was running back the way theyÅ‚d come.
The gunman was out the door, Gabe ten feet on his tail. The gunman hooked toward the right at the end of the alley that branched two ways. Gabe looked left to see Tyler turning the corner; he turned right and followed the robber to the end, which was blocked by a chain link fence.
“Halt or IÅ‚ll shoot," Gabe said, not pausing because the runner wasnÅ‚t stopping.
The robber climbed up overturned crates, ducked beneath the fire escape against the right side of the alley and grasped the top of the fence to swing over.
Gabe holstered his weapon and leaped to the crates, gripping the top.
The robber turned on the other side and raised his weapon.
Gabe hoped like hell Tyler had his back because he was going over the fence. He leaped up, heard a shot, then something clipped his head. He rocked back, landing on the pavement, seeing stars a moment before everything went black.
* * * * *
Jolie rushed through the emergency room doors, her trench coat over her pajamas, her heart lodged at the back of her throat.
Gabe had been injured in the line of duty, but the hospital rep hadnłt given her any details.
Arms caught her, wrapping tightly around her. “HeÅ‚s okay, Jolie," Tyler said, pushing her head against his chest. “HeÅ‚s okay."
Jolie let out the breath sheÅ‚d been holding since sheÅ‚d gotten the call and sank her face into the corner of his neck. She took comfort from him for all of a second before pushing away. “Where is he? I have to see him."
“DoctorÅ‚s with him now."
“Jolie!" Lexie ran toward her, her arms opening.
Jolie gave her a hug, but Tyler had said Gabe would be okay. She couldnłt wait a second to see for herself.
Tyler led her down a hallway to a treatment room. Inside, a curtain was pulled. Voices rumbled. One was deep, rasping. Jolie shuddered and gripped the side of the door.
The curtain swished aside and a doctor looked up, blinking. A smile crept across his face. “Must be Jolie," he said. “Gabe hereÅ‚s been complaining IÅ‚m too slow."
Jolie glanced beyond his shoulder.
Gabe sat on the padded table, stripped of his uniform jacket and Kevlar, in a dark t-shirt and pants. A bandage circled his head.
“You were shot in the head?" she gasped.
Gabe grimaced.
Tyler laughed. “He bumped his head on a fire escape chasing after an armed gunman."
Gabe flushed, apparently embarrassed that so much attention was being paid him when hełd only injured his pride.
Jolie fisted her hands on her hips. “And I got out of bed in the middle of the night to race across town in my pajamas for this?"
Tyler and Lexie laughed, walking back out into the hallway. The doctor paused at the doorway. “Bed rest," he quipped.
The door closed, locking Jolie and Gabe inside alone.
“I knew they shouldnÅ‚t have called," he muttered. “You worried for nothing."
“ItÅ‚s not for nothing," she said, dropping her arms. “IÅ‚d have come if youÅ‚d gotten a paper cut. And it could have been much worse. The man was armed."
“Yeah, Tyler took him down. HeÅ‚s a couple of rooms down from me. He was hollering, but heÅ‚s gonna be fine."
Jolie strode closer and Gabe eased off the table.
She walked into his arms and laid her head against his chest.
“You sure you can handle this?" he said against her hair. “YouÅ‚re right. It could have been a lot worse."
“Do you really think it would be any easier if we werenÅ‚t living together?"
“Guess not." He gave her tight hug. “The up side is I get the next two days off."
“Wonder how we can spend the time?"
“Can you get away from work?"
“IÅ‚m the boss," she said smiling.
Gabe pressed a kiss against her hair. “YouÅ‚re birthdayÅ‚s tomorrow."
She nodded, willing to follow whatever plan he had in mind.
“How about we fly to Vegas?"
Her heart thudded. “You planninÅ‚ to waste your quarters in the slot machines?"
Gabe pushed her hair from her cheek then cupped her face between his hands. “IÅ‚m asking if youÅ‚ll marry me. Now."
Jolie closed her eyes. She didnÅ‚t need any stinkinÅ‚ shoes to make her happy. SheÅ‚d just been handed the world in her pajamas and ratty slippers. “Yes. If youÅ‚re sure."
Gabe smiled and leaned down, his lips landing on hers for a long, breathless kiss.
A knock sounded on the door and they drew slowly apart. The door swung open. “Did she say yes?" Lexie said, holding on to TylerÅ‚s arm.
Tyler gave them both a lopsided grin. “Lexie squealed so loud when you popped the question, she didnÅ‚t hear the answer."
Jolie slipped her arm around GabeÅ‚s waist and turned to her two friends. “You both wanna go to Vegas with us?"
* * * * *
The UPS man strode through the doors of Joliełs Delights and Rachel gave him a friendly smile.
“You Rachel Pettigrew?"
Nodding absently, she wondered why a personal delivery was being made to the shop but signed for the package anyway. When the delivery man left, she shook the box. “Well, itÅ‚s not a bomb."
She tore off the wrapping and opened the box inside. A pair of shiny, red, peep-toe stilettos lay nestled inside. A note rested on top. Simple and to the point.
For your heartłs desire. J.
About the Author
Delilah Devlin dated a Samoan, a Venezuelan, a Turk, a Cuban and was engaged to a Greek before marrying her Irishman. Shełs lived in Saudi Arabia, Germany and Ireland, but calls Texas home for now. Ever a risk taker, she lived in the Saudi Peninsula during the Gulf War, thwarted an attempted abduction by white slave traders and survived her childrenłs juvenile delinquencies.
Creating alter egos for herself in the pages of her books enables her to live new adventures. Since discovering the sinful pleasure of erotica, she writes to satisfy her need for varietyit keeps her from running away with the Indian working in the cubicle beside her!
In addition to writing erotica, she enjoys creating romantic comedies and suspense novels.
Delilah welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
Tell Us What You Think
We appreciate hearing reader opinions about our books. You can email us at Comments@EllorasCave.com.
Also by Delilah Devlin
Altered States: Unleashing the Tiger
Arctic Dragon
Desire: Garden of Desire
Desire: Prisoner of Desire
Desire: Slave of Desire
Ellorałs Cavemen: Jewels of the Nile I anthology
Ellorałs Cavemen: Legendary Tails III anthology
Ellorałs Cavemen: Seasons of Seduction I anthology
Ellorałs Cavemen: Tales from the Temple III anthology
Frannie ęnł the Private Dick
Fun With Dick and Jayne
Jacqłs Warlord with Myla Jackson
Janełs Wild Weekend
Lion in the Shadows
Lockdown
My Immortal Knight: All Hallows Heartbreaker
My Immortal Knight: All Knight Long
My Immortal Knight: Knight of My Dreams
My Immortal Knight: Love Bites
My Immortal Knight: Relentless
My Immortal Knight: Silver Bullet
My Immortal Knight: Uncovering Navarro
Raw Silk
Ride a Cowboy
Silent Knight
Sinłs Gift
The Pleasure Bot
Warlordłs Destiny
Witchłs Choice
Discover for yourself why readers canłt get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellorałs Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.