Begging for Trouble (29 page)

A moment later, Ellie was so lost in sensation she couldn’t even tell him he was right.

 

The familiar voice rolled around Ellie’s brain like dried peas in a can. Groaning, she opened one eye. “There is no need to shout,” she whispered. “My hearing is fine.”

Rudy inched his paws onto the mattress and licked her nose.
“Just checkin’. Detective Doofus is sleepin’ like a rock, so I thought you might be, too.”

As if proving her boy’s point, Sam took that moment to give a gentle snore.

“He does not.” She yawned. “What do you want?”

He wanted his morning nibble and a trip outside, but she refused to play his baiting game. “What time is it?”

“Beats me.”
He gave a doggie shrug.
“But the sun’s been up for a while. I think it stopped snowing, but I couldn’t see out the window, so it’s hard to tell.”

She opened both eyes and glanced at her bedside clock. Rudy had given her about an hour and a half of extra sleep time—not bad for a Saturday morning. “It’s eight, so you did good. Can you hang on while I get dressed?”

Ellie
tsk
ed. “Sometimes you are so gross.”

Sam turned and wrapped an arm around her from behind. “Who are you talking to?” He moved close and spooned himself against her back, then kissed his way from her nape to her ear. “If it’s me, and you’re looking for an instant replay of last night, the answer is hell, yes.”

“Oh, brother. See what I mean?”
Rudy snorted as he trotted out of the bedroom.

Ellie waited until her boy left, then wriggled her bottom.

Sam gathered her in his arms. “You okay with this?”

“I’m always okay with this.” She turned and he tucked a leg between her knees. “And that too,” she said when his morning erection pressed against her pelvis.

He rolled over on top of her and she struggled to reach her nightstand drawer. “Condom time,” she said, finding the box and ripping open a foil packet.

“You do the honors,” said Sam as his mouth slid to her breast. “I’m busy.”

She did as he asked, and he entered her in one sure thrust. Her fingers clutched his muscled arms and traveled down his back to hold him as he moved inside her. She nestled her nose in his shoulder as he rocked her to a fast and tender orgasm, then collapsed on top of her with a sigh of satisfaction.

“Good morning,” he muttered, a smile in his voice.

She threaded her fingers through his thick blond hair. “Same to you.”

“I suppose your dog has to go out?”

“You know he does.”

He glanced at the frosted windowpane. “I’m happy to come along, provided we can find a place that’s open for breakfast.”

“The Bagel Bin is usually open no matter the weather. Lox and a schmeer would be perfect.”

He stretched. “Do we have time for a quick shower first?”

“I have time, but only if there’s no nonsense, like there was a few weeks ago.”

“Has it been that long?” He kissed her ear. “I forget. What happened last time?”

“You know exactly what happened.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed. Rudy could wait, but he’d been good so she didn’t want it to be for long. “Now promise to keep your hands to yourself. Just soap and rinse, okay?”

“You take all the fun out of everything.” Sam situated himself next to her, grinning. His face was creased from sleep, his hair stuck up at all angles, and his eyes sparkled from the great morning wake-up call. “I’ll go in first and get the shower started.”

Ellie watched him leave, admiring his sculpted backside, the breadth of his shoulders, his trim waist and taut butt. He was different from her ex in every way imaginable, a point for which she would be forever grateful. The D had shown little care for her feelings, while Sam never had a climax until she reached one first. And he always seemed in tune with what she needed to make the act special.

Thinking happy thoughts, she gathered fresh underthings, jeans, and a heavy red sweater, and came up with a plan. If Sam trekked to the Bagel Bin and picked up breakfast while she took Rudy around the block, that would save some time.

She could make her hair appointment, and he could check in with the station. After that, they’d be free.

 

Thirty minutes later, Ellie, Sam, and Rudy were out the door. “Wow, I don’t believe it,” she said, studying the building’s front stoop. “Mr. Denopolis already cleared the porch and threw on salt. Someone from the tenants’ association must have reamed him about the building’s upkeep.”

“Are you saying this doesn’t happen with every snowfall?” Sam asked, holding her hand to guide her down the stairs.

“Hah! You’re kidding, right?” She scanned the sidewalk, then took a look at Rudy, who was already lifting a leg on the side of the porch. “But I’m thinking salt might not be good for Rudy’s paws. Maybe I should buy him boots.”

“Cross that off your to-do list right now.”
Rudy gave a head-to-tail shake.
“And don’t bring it up again, or you’ll be sorry.”

“I think he’d look adorable in shiny red booties, don’t you?” she continued, ignoring her boy’s sassy comment.

They held hands as they walked to the corner. “Beats me, but knowing what a grump he is, I doubt he’ll like it,” said Sam.

“You remember Flora Steinman, don’t you?”

“The older woman with that snooty little dog you handled at the Javits Center a few months back?”

“That’s the one. Flora’s housekeeper told me they were ordering a set for Lulu from a woman who specializes in designer doggie duds. And since Lulu’s coat matches Rudy’s, it might be nice if he had a set, too. Adorable, really.”

“Sorry, but ‘adorable’ is not a word I’d used to describe your dog,” said Sam, smiling.

Stopping at the corner, they waited for a convoy of city trucks to pass. The neighborhood was a beehive of activity. Plows had come by and shoved the snow into piles of glistening white against the parked cars. People were now on the streets in force, clearing the sidewalks, tossing salt and chemical deicer, and shoveling their vehicles out from under the accumulated snow.

She loved the look and smell of a fresh snowfall, even if it would only last for a day before the fluffy stuff turned dingy with trash and dog urine. By Monday, the snow would be pushed into slushy mounds on the corners, covered in the accumulated filth of a huge city. She’d never actually played in the snow or made a snowman, but she imagined it would be nice to go somewhere like Vermont or upstate next winter, maybe for Christmas, so she and Sam could take their first joint vacation.

“I think snow is wonderful. It’s like waking up to a magic kingdom, all clean and white and fresh.”

Sam scrunched his forehead. “If you ask me, it’s only good for one thing. A lot of these places are closed, so the robbery count goes down, as does the number of citizens who have physical altercations. But fender benders go on the rise, so it evens out.”

“Do you always have to look at everything that takes place in this city in terms of how it might relate to a crime? That is so jaded.”

“Somebody has to, and I decided ten years ago it would be me. My life is no picnic, babe, and you’ve been great at not letting it get you down. A lot better than Carol—” He raised his face to the cloudless sky and blew out a breath, then gazed into her eyes. “A lot better than most of the women I know.”

Ellie stepped aside to make room for people ready to cross the street. “Oh, Sam, that’s so sweet. It could even be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Leaning forward, he kissed the tear she hadn’t realized she’d shed. “You deserve someone who always says sweet things to you, Ellie. And I want that someone to be me.”

The warmth of his words spread straight to her toes. She opened her mouth to tell him so, but he shook his head. “We can talk about it later. Right now, I just want to say one thing.”

Sam’s sly grin told her the tender moment had passed. “Paying the parking garage a week’s salary is worth it, compared to what I might have had to do if I’d parked on the street.”

She slugged him in the shoulder. “You are such a romantic.”

“You bet I am. Here’s where we split up, correct?”

Ellie was cold, too, but in a good way, and the morning had turned bright, even with Rudy’s complaints. The sun was shining, the sky was a brilliant blue, and her world felt crisp and clean. “Correct. You go to the Bagel Bin to pick up breakfast while I finish the walk, go back to the apartment, and start the coffee.”

“And I’ll bring everything home, including enough bagels for tomorrow morning.” He gave her a quick kiss good-bye and headed across the street.

Things couldn’t be better. Sam had given her the best of all compliments. He’d compared her to Carolanne and she’d won. Since they rarely mentioned their exspouses, it was a big step. Now it was her turn to tell him how much happier she was with him than she’d been with the dickhead.

Thinking about what she would say, and when, she ignored Rudy’s continued commentary, bought a newspaper with the spare change she found in her jacket pocket, and led her boy home.

In the apartment, Ellie hung up their snow gear, and Rudy followed her into the kitchen, where she mixed his morning nibble and set it on his mat. “Were you serious when you said you’d wear boots if Lulu wore them?”

He pulled his muzzle out of the bowl.
“If it’ll get Lulu warm for my form, darn right I will.”

“I wouldn’t go that far, but the two of you would look cute walking side by side wearing them. Maybe we should check with Miss Pickypants to see if she would mind, or just ask Flora to order two sets.”

She filled the carafe with water and poured it in the coffeemaker, then measured the whole beans of her favorite dark roast into the grinder and let it spin. After she filled the basket and turned on the coffeemaker, she pulled her homemade caramel sauce and her latest local find—fat-free half-and-half—out of the fridge.

“The coffee will be ready in a couple of minutes. Do you want anything before I make a Caramel Bliss and start reading the paper?”

“A Dingo bone might be nice.”
Rudy sat at her feet.
“I believe I deserve it for lettin’ you and Detective Doofus sleep in this morning.”

“I wish you wouldn’t call him that. It’s so insulting. But you were a good boy, so the rawhide chew is fine.” She took the requested treat from the cupboard and tossed it in his direction. “There—now stay busy with that and let me catch up on the news.”

A minute later, she poured steaming coffee into her favorite cup, added caramel sauce, the half-and-half, and a blue packet of sweetener. After taking her drink to the table, she opened the newspaper.

“What are you hopin’ to find in that rag?”
Rudy asked, sitting on the fluff mat with the bone between his paws.

She took a long swallow of coffee. “I’m hoping there’ll be something miraculous about Rob and the murder, like how the real killer walked into one of the precincts and confessed.”

She scanned the date printed on the header. “Well, shoot. And Sam probably would have told me if the real killer had confessed.”

“He would, especially since he knows I believe Rob is innocent.” She took another sip of coffee. “He’s been exemplary since he arrived last night.” She glanced at the clock on her microwave. “Where do you think he is, by the way?”

Instead of answering, Rudy gnawed on his bone.

Ellie drummed her fingers on the tabletop. “It’s been almost an hour since we left him at the corner.”

She took a swallow of her Caramel Bliss. “He couldn’t be lost. The Bagel Bin is only two blocks up the street. You can practically see it from our front stoop.”

“That’s a terrible thing to say.”

“That’s not funny. You can dream all you want, but the detective is in our life to stay.”

Still, Rudy’s silly comments got her thinking. When he stayed the night, Sam always hung his gun and body holster on the back of a kitchen chair, but he wore it whenever he went out, even if he was off duty. Though she hadn’t seen him put it on before they left, it was gone, so she was certain he was wearing it now.

A siren sounded in the distance and her heart jumped. She took another gulp of coffee and the siren’s wail grew louder. Standing, she again tugged her boots on and went into the front closet to get her coat, hat, and gloves.

Rudy followed her into the hall.
“Hey, where you goin’?”

“That siren is driving me nuts, and I’m worried about Sam. I’m going to check outside.”

“Something’s wrong. I can feel it.” She jammed her knit hat over her curls and opened the door. “Stay here and be good. I’ll be back as soon as I find him.”