Dangerous Curves Ahead: A Perfect Fit Novel (28 page)

“What were you arguing with yourself about, Ellie?”

She picked up a brownie, breaking it in half before turning in his arms. She pushed a piece through his lips and then kissed him. Her tongue slid across his perfectly formed lower lip. “About whether I should dump you or not.”

“What?” He looked alarmed for a moment.

“You make me eat too much junk food.” She slid another piece of brownie into his mouth and then followed it up with another kiss, deeper this time, tasting chocolate and a little bit of ice cream. He was as yummy as he looked.

“Mmm.” He cupped her face. “Stop that for a minute. I want to talk to you.”

Her stomach knotted. “I don’t like it when you want to talk instead of kiss.”

“I wanted to make sure that it’s really okay that I go to Pittsburgh.”

“Of course it’s okay,” she lied. It wasn’t really. She had made plans for them to have dinner in the city. But they could have dinner anytime. It seemed selfish of her to ask him to stay because of that. They had barely been together a month. He and Colin had been friends for fifteen years. She didn’t want to be demanding. She knew what it was like to have a boyfriend who tried to limit her time with her friends. She wouldn’t do that to Mike. “You spend your weekend how you want to. I’m not going to pout and moan every time you go away.”

He studied her face for a moment. “What if I want you to?”

“You’ve got the wrong girlfriend for that, buddy.”

He pulled away from her, and she had the feeling that he wasn’t happy with her answer. “You’re brutal for my ego.”

Ellis shook her head. “I’m sorry, Mike, but why are you making such a big deal about this? Did you want me to tell you not to go? I’m not going to do that. We’re in a relationship but our worlds don’t revolve around each other.”

He took another step away from her. “No?”

“No.”

“What’s it going to take for that to happen, Ellis?” Mike’s voice grew quiet. His shoulders stiffened. “Ever since we started dating you’ve been acting weird. I can’t tell if you want me to hang around or leave you the hell alone.”

“You know I want to be with you.”

“Do I?” His eyes flashed. “Belinda told me about your plans to start making wedding dresses. She told me you got two more orders yesterday.
More.
She thought I knew that you were expanding your business.”

“Oh.” Her heart stopped beating for a moment. “I—I…”

She had no retort for that. She didn’t want to tell him that she’d kept that huge news to herself because she was desperately seeking a way to keep some of herself away from him. “I didn’t think you would care that much.”

“You didn’t think I would care,” he snapped. “Why not? I want success for you more than you want it for yourself. What kind of asshole do you think I am?”

She’d hurt him. The realization came as a sharp blow. “Mike…”

He put his hand up to stop her, his angry eyes burning her skin. “What’s it going to take for you to trust me?”

She said nothing. She didn’t know if she ever could. She’d learned the hard way that the only person she could always trust was herself. She didn’t want to let her guard down only for him to step on her heart.

“Tell me, damn it. And don’t you dare lie and tell me you do because I feel it here.” He touched his chest.

“I don’t know.” She tried to push past him. She was in no mood to fight with him. She felt guilty for keeping the secret from him and angry that she had allowed him to become such a big part of her life in such a short time.

“You do know!” He grabbed her arm and swung her around to face him.

“Marriage!” she shouted. “Forever. For you to love me like my father loves my mother. That’s when I’ll trust you. But we both know that’s never going to happen. We aren’t ever going down that road.”

He gaped at her. “You said you didn’t want to get married. You don’t want a family. Do you?”

“I don’t know anymore,” she said, but even as her lips formed the word she knew she was lying to them both. “I don’t even know why we’re fighting. You wanted to go to the football game and I want you to go.”

“That’s not why we’re fighting and you know it.” He grabbed his keys on the counter. “Good-bye, Ellis.”

He walked away from her and her heart fell all the way to the soles of her shoes. What just happened? She was so afraid of him breaking her heart that she didn’t take into consideration that he had one of his own.

*   *   *

Mike lay in bed that night, his arms pillowed behind his head. He felt like an idiot, like a dumb-ass, like a petty teenage girl. He should be rejoicing. She didn’t want a serious commitment from him. Why was he pushing things? He had what he wanted. Her in his bed. In his life. She wasn’t demanding. She didn’t ask much of him. But he wanted her to. For the first time in his life he wanted to be more to someone.

It bothered him that she didn’t trust him, that she thought so little of him that she kept her success away from him. He’d waited his entire adult life to find a woman he wanted more than sex from and she … Well, she was being how he always had been. Never allowing anybody to get close enough to leave a mark.

But then she shouted those words at him.

Marriage. Love me.

Was that what she really wanted? Could he do that? Could he love her? He wasn’t sure he was capable of it. He thought his father loved his mother but he’d walked out on her. Could he be any better?

Maybe she was right. Maybe they were doomed from the start. Maybe he should let her go.

He heard the distant sounds of keys jangling. His complex was quiet, the walls thin. He often heard his neighbors’ comings and goings, but the sound got louder. He heard the creak of the door, heels clicking softly on the hardwood floors. And then she was there, in the same green sweater she had on earlier, the light from the hallway illuminating her in the dark room.

“Ellis.” He sat up, the sight of her causing his heart to slam into his rib cage.

She flicked the light switch and shut the door behind her. “Two things,” she started, her voice shaky. “I want to be with you.”

He nodded. He was wrong to blame her for being reasonable, but he wouldn’t admit to that tonight. “And the second thing?”

“I’m not good at apologizing.” She stripped off her sweater, revealing her nude-colored bra to him. He hardened. When she slid her jeans down her curvy hips it throbbed. “I should have told you about the dresses but you’ve got to cut me some slack.” She lowered her voice as she unhooked her bra. Her nipples hardened as the air brushed them. “I don’t know how to have a normal relationship. You’ve got to give me some time.”

He watched mesmerized as she stripped off her panties. She was baring herself to him. He had seen her naked countless times, but not like this. The back of his throat burned with emotion.

“Come here,” he choked.

She slowly walked toward him, her arms moving in an attempt to cover herself. He could feel more than see her self-consciousness. Didn’t she know how much he loved her body? How much he craved the sight of her light brown nipples. The sight of her soft rounded belly, of the plump thighs that he loved to slide between.

She pulled the blanket off him and stared at his tented boxer shorts. Tonight there would be no lighthearted love play, no easy smiles, no silly words. The anticipation of her touch on his body made him want to jump out of his skin.

“Lie back,” she softly ordered. She reached for the waistband of his boxers. He lifted his hips as she tugged them off. It was one of those rare nights when he wasn’t in the mood for foreplay. He wanted to pull her down and pump inside of her till she screamed. But she wasn’t having any of that.

She knelt before him on the bed, her lips brushing his toes, then the tops of his feet.

“Ellie…”

“Hush.” She kissed his ankles, his knees, his thighs, all while her hands stroked the length of his body. He reached for her, multiple times, but she pushed him away and kept kissing her sweet, nearly worshipping kisses. She cupped his balls and kissed each. She trailed her tongue over them, then up his shaft. He jerked, not sure if he could take any more of her exquisite torture.

“Please, baby. I need you now.” He begged her. He never begged.

She shook her head and then took the whole length him into her hot, wet mouth. He groaned, gripping the sheets. This was different for him. He wasn’t used to being on the passive side of lovemaking. He was always in charge, always directed lovemaking. Not tonight.

“Stop, Elle. I’m going to come.”

Her sweet sucking didn’t stop and he exploded. He was still breathless when she rose above him to kiss his chin before she moved to his neck and shoulders. More tender kisses. She climbed on top of him, and he sighed with pleasure.

He loved when she was on top. He loved to feel all of her soft weight pressing into him. Her smooth skin, the rasp of her nipples as they scraped his chest. He was getting hard again. She rubbed her mound against him, taking her pleasure while making him fully erect. It didn’t take long. She was panting, her wetness seeping from her onto him. He couldn’t take it anymore and grasped her hips, angling her toward his throbbing cock.

“No,” she said firmly. “Let me do it.” She gently took him in one hand and guided him slowly, inch by inch, until he was buried so deep inside of her he felt like they were one person.

“Ride me,” he said in a ragged whisper.

She lifted herself, wiggled her hips, bore down on him once more—and then she hit her peak, her nails scrapping his arms as wave after wave of climax struck her.

He was greedy tonight. He barely let the waves die down before he took over, furiously pumping in and out her body while she lay breathless and moaning on top of him.
Sex isn’t supposed to be like this
, he thought as her mouth met his.

It wasn’t supposed to consume him.

He pushed inside of her harder, faster, ruthlessly. She bit down on his shoulder, dug her fingers into his skin, and then cried out. He felt her wetness squeeze around him and he lost all control. They came together this time. Hard.

It took a while for them to recover. Ellis had dropped into an exhausted slumber on top of him, her legs still spread across his hips. His cock still buried deep inside of her.

He kissed her forehead, twined his fingers through her hair, and drifted off to sleep. He wasn’t ready to let her go. Not yet.

Chapter Twenty-one

“Is this about the water balloons?” the worried kid asked Mike.

The Durant Police Department had received multiple complaints about a roving band of teenagers. Some concerned citizens called them a gang. And he was a ballerina. They had yet to do anything illegal except loiter. However, the mayor’s mailbox had been stolen and Mike and Lester had been assigned to the investigation. A stolen mailbox? Two detectives? Durant’s tax dollars at work.

Mike sighed as he studied the fifteen-year-old suspect. The kid, Eric, who was reportedly the ringleader, looked more like a dopey Abercrombie model than a juvenile mastermind. Truthfully, nobody in town gave a shit about the stolen mailbox, but ever since the two robberies on St. Lucy Street, the mayor had taken on a zero-tolerance policy.

Ellis’s robbery still ate at him. The more he thought about it, the more he wished he was still on the case. Two stores, two doors apart, both owned by women. There had to be a connection. Every day Mike studied the sketch Ellis had done of her attacker. If he ever caught the guy …

“Seriously!” Eric threw up his hand in frustration. “We were just going to throw them at some freshmen. Who told?”

“You did, jackass,” Mike said, rolling his eyes skyward. “And if you’re going to pelt underclassmen with water balloons, make sure there’s only water in them and try to avoid their faces.”

“We called you in for the mailbox,” Lester informed him.

“Mailbox?” The kid blinked and looked from Mike to Lester. “Is that some kind of drug?” He put his hands up in defense. “Hey, I don’t do any drugs. I’m on the lacrosse team and they randomly piss-test us.”

Mike shook his head. He wasn’t in Manhattan anymore. Despite the robberies, Durant was still a nice place to raise kids and he was glad to see that this kid was still innocent enough not to know about every drug on the planet.

“The mayor’s mailbox, Eric.” Lester grimaced. “Somebody stole it.”

“You’re shitting me.” The kid grinned. “Somebody took that old blowhard’s mailbox? Asshole had it coming. It’s in the shape of an eagle.”

Mike raised a brow at that comment. “An eagle?”

“Yeah,” Eric said, laughing. “The dude is Captain Patriotic all of sudden. He’s up for reelection next year. You should see the size of the American flag he’s got hanging on his house.”

“Ah,” Mike said, nodding. “You can go now.”

“I can go?”Eric blinked at him.

“Yeah.” Mike got up from the table in the interviewing room.

“And I can still do the water balloon thing?”

“I’m not encouraging it. But if you do, try to hold off till spring. It’s too damn cold to be hit by a water balloon.”

“All right.” Eric flashed them a grin. “You guys aren’t the stupid pigs people call you.”

“Gee thanks. Now get the hell out.”

Lester waited till Eric had disappeared before he turned to Mike. “You let him go quickly.”

“The kid’s a goof, but he’s not a thief, and now that I know that it was an eagle-shaped mailbox I’m even less inclined to bust the kid who took it. Hell, I might have taken it if I saw it.”

They left the small room and headed toward their desks.

“Nah.” Lester shook his head. “I would like to see a turkey-shaped mailbox. Now, turkeys, those are some regal birds. They got all those feathers sticking out of their ass and they taste damn good with some gravy. You can’t eat an eagle. Wouldn’t want to eat them. They don’t have enough meat on their bones. What the hell did they ever do for anybody? Majestic my hairy ass. Can’t eat them. Can’t shoot them. Whatever.”

Mike laughed at his partner’s musings. “Do you think about this kind of stuff on your days off?”

Lester shrugged. “My head wanders when my wife starts yammering about her clients at the salon. I can’t tell her I don’t give a shit if Mary Lou What’s-Her-Face is having a hard time going through the change. So I have some Lester time and think about things.”