Cries in the Night (19 page)

“I was supposed to keep you awake,” he admitted sheepishly. “I should probably be fired.”

“Don’t be silly. I’m fine. I didn’t need a babysitter.” She pressed her fingers against her throbbing temples. “But I could use some Advil.”

He went to the kitchen and shook out three Advil pills and filled a glass with water from the sink. As he approached, she looked up at him and held out her hand.

“You must think I’m the most pathetic person on earth,” she moaned as she popped the pills in her mouth, took a drink and swallowed. “All you do is take care of me.”

“It seems that way, but I have to say that you have some original problems. Are you up for breakfast?”

“Actually, I’m starving.” She started to push to her feet, but paused halfway, struggling to let a wave of dizziness pass.

“I can handle it,” he offered. “You stay here.”

“No, I’ll be fine … just give me a minute.” She closed her eyes and clung to the edge of the coffee table for support.

Rusty knew she wouldn’t give up, so he decided to help her out a little. Careful not to move too quickly, he swept her into his arms and carried her to the kitchen where he sat her gently on one of the chairs. “Now you can supervise me while I cook. I know where everything is since I put it away last night. Of course, after I’m gone, you won’t be able to find anything.”

“I always loved hunting for Easter eggs when I was a kid. I guess the adult version is hunting for corn and beans.”

Rusty took the eggs, butter and bacon out of the refrigerator. “I’m better at grilling, but I make great scrambled eggs.” He cracked several eggs into a bowl, then searched the drawers for a whisk. Finding none, he beat them with a fork while waiting for the bacon to fry.

A half hour later, they had cleaned their plates and Rusty reached for the last piece of toast. “Want this?” he asked.

“No, I’m stuffed.” Her eyebrows arched with surprise. “For a single guy, you’re a pretty good cook.”

“My mom insisted all of us boys know how to cook basic things and how to sew on buttons. She wanted us to be able to take care of ourselves should we not find a woman crazy enough to marry us.”

“That seems unlikely. You’re all pretty good catches,” she teased. “I saw your photo in this year’s Firefighters’ calendar. Hot stuff.”

He could feel himself blush. He knew he was considered attractive, but posing for the calendar had been the most embarrassing moment of his life. Since its release in August, he couldn’t count the number of calendars that had been thrust in front of him for his autograph. All the other guys and one girl had been similarly undressed and in comparatively beefcake poses, but that didn’t make it any easier to look at his own half-naked body, oiled and glistening as he stood, holding an axe next to a burning building while water showered down over him. As a joke Sam had entered him in the competition, and Rusty had gone through with it because the sales from the calendar benefited the Children’s Hospital Burn Center.

“Yeah, that was the one and only time I’ll ever do anything like that,” he groaned.

“It’s a worthy cause, and I have to admit, I have one hanging in my bathroom.”

“I saw it when I was checking out your house the other night. I was hoping you wouldn’t realize it was me.”

“Are you kidding? I can’t wait for July so I can check out your abs while I’m brushing my teeth every day.”

Of course she was teasing, but for a moment, he felt an unexpected pang of disappointment that she hadn’t really meant it. What would it take for her to actually look at him like all the other women did? Then again, he didn’t want her to be like all the others. She was different … and special.

“So, I guess I’d better call in and get someone to cover for me tonight.” Julie shook her head. “I’ve never missed so much work.”

“You’ve never had someone put a snake in your car,” he commented.

Julie’s eyes widened. “You don’t think he just crawled inside for warmth?”

Rusty shook his head. “No, he wasn’t out there just wandering around. He was probably a pet, but even if he had escaped his cage, he would have been hibernating somewhere, not out crawling in the snow. Cold-blooded creatures can’t survive these temperatures.”

“Then where …?”

“They’re not poisonous. They sell them in lots of pet stores. It looks like someone wanted to frighten you.” He studied her for a moment. “Any idea who might want you to back off?”

Julie looked up at him. Her eyes were cautious, but worried. “I think it might have something to do with one of my victims. Maybe someone wants to pay me back for taking away his or her partner. They need to blame anyone but themselves for their lives being disrupted by jail or divorce or separation, and they might see me as the person in the middle.” She frowned. “I think someone in a white car has been watching my house, probably the guy that broke in.”

“That might explain why he didn’t take anything. Any idea who?”

“I brought the files home, and I was going to check them out this weekend.” She frowned. “I left them in the car.”

“I’ll stop by the body shop where they towed your car and pick them up for you.”

“Oh no, I can get them …”

“Are you going to walk there? You don’t even know the address.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I can’t keep depending on you to do everything for me. I’m sure your girlfriends are wondering where you’ve been.”

“For the record, no girlfriends, no missing person reports, and I don’t mind helping you out. You’re just used to being the person who helps other people. You have no idea how to accept help.”

She opened her mouth to continue her protest, but then leaned back in her chair and smiled.

Rusty was dazzled. Most of their time together had been so serious, even to the point of being life and death. Especially since they found the door open, Julie had been worried and distracted, and he had rarely seen her smile. But now, even with her long dark hair tousled and the purple bruises under her eyes, she looked relaxed and happy. Not for the first time, his body reacted in a totally masculine way. She hadn’t noticed his earlier erection, but she couldn’t help but notice the telltale bulge pushing against the fly of his jeans right now. He quickly turned away, too confused by his own thoughts to deal with the obvious issue that he was very attracted to this woman.

No one was more surprised than he was. She didn’t flash her cleavage, wear a ton of makeup, spend hours on her hair or show off her legs. And yet, here he was, spending almost every waking hour with her … and enjoying it.

Last night as he tried to keep her awake, they had talked for hours about their favorite movies, their ideal vacations and their childhoods. Having grown up as an only child, she had been very interested in his family, especially the interaction between his brothers. Of course, their jobs had come into the conversation, and it had been really nice to be able to discuss the dark side along with the more mundane. It was a subject Rusty never discussed with anyone else except, occasionally, his brothers. Some things were too raw and painful, but Julie understood. She saw the bad, ugly sides of life every day and could relate to his experiences. It was such a release to be able to talk about it openly.

Rusty busied himself with the dishes, thankful that his back was turned so Julie wouldn’t notice his physical attraction to her. He didn’t notice that she had stood and joined him at the sink until he reached for the sponge and his arm brushed across her breasts. He froze, his startled eyes looking down into hers.

“You’re supposed to be taking it easy,” he managed to say.

“I’m feeling much better. You cooked, so I should clean up.”

Her long hair felt like silk against his bare arm. She was standing way too close for his libido to ignore. He wanted to grab her, pull her against him and to taste her full, pink lips. He wanted to see if the curves of her body matched his imagination and how his name would sound when she called it out as she climaxed.

Suddenly, he knew he had to get out of here before he made the biggest mistake of his life by doing something really stupid … like making a move that would both shock and insult her. She had given him no sign that she wanted him … and he knew how to read the signs. He had seen them often enough from other women who couldn’t keep their hands off his belt buckle.

Rusty grabbed a dish towel and wiped his hands. What he really needed tonight was to get laid. And clearly, it wasn’t going to be by Julie.

“I just remembered that I have a date tonight. I’d better get going so I won’t be late.”

Julie glanced at the digital clock on the microwave. “It’s only ten a.m. How much preparation does it take?”

“You think looking this hot is easy?” He tried to joke as he held the dish towel in front of him so she wouldn’t notice his erection. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

“I’ll be fine.” She touched his arm, completely unaware of the electricity that streaked from her fingertips through his body. “The snake could have been one of those freak coincidences, couldn’t it?”

He could tell that she needed his assurance, so he told her what she wanted to hear. “Sure, it could have been an escaped pet.” He didn’t add that cops and firefighters didn’t believe in coincidences, but he left her with the hope that it had been an accident.

Her sigh of relief was audible. “Thank you for staying with me last night. I really enjoyed it. You’re a good friend.”

Rusty pulled away, anxious to break the connection before his self-control shattered. He tossed the towel on the counter as he hurried to the door. “I’ll pick up your files and drop them off tomorrow.”

“Aren’t you working tomorrow?”

“No, it’s my Kelly Day,” Rusty told her, referring to the extra day all firefighters got every seventh shift. “Gotta run.” He didn’t look back but hurried out the back door.

He didn’t actually have a date, but a call to Heather remedied that. He hadn’t planned on ever asking her out again after her boring behavior at the barbecue. Of course, she had to go through the whole pouting inquisition about why hadn’t he called her and who had he been with? He avoided her questions by distracting her with dining options and promises for dessert at his place. They both knew that that dessert would be calorie and clothing free.

As promised, he dropped by the body shop and picked up the files from Julie’s wrecked car. Fortunately, the damage wasn’t fatal, and his friend promised it would be ready for her by Wednesday. Next, he stopped at the liquor store and stocked up for tonight. Heather liked expensive chardonnay, and he picked up a case of Corona Light beer for himself. Another stop at the grocery store for cheese and crackers and something for breakfast. Not that Heather would be staying for breakfast. He never let a woman stay all night. Nor did he spend the night at her place. It sent the wrong message, and one of the things he was most careful about
was not to make any promises, either spoken or implied, that he wasn’t going to keep.

The afternoon stretched long and lonely, even as he switched back and forth between the two football games that were on television. Neither were teams he particularly cared about, and he often caught his thoughts drifting back to Julie. Finally, he gave up and went to the gym in his complex and worked out for two hours. That was something else he’d been neglecting, and he felt much better afterward.

A long shower and it was time to dress for his date.

As usual, Heather wasn’t ready when he got there. She met him at the front door with a towel wrapped around her.

“Come on in.” She shut the door behind him. “There’s some wine in the fridge. Help yourself.” She stopped and looked over her shoulder provocatively. With a flick of her fingers, the towel fell to the floor, revealing a naked, perfect body.

Rusty had seen it before, and he knew how it felt to fill his hands with her full, rounded ass. Odd that he wasn’t tempted to take her up on her blatant offer.

“We have a reservation at seven-thirty,” he told her. “We can’t be late or they’ll give our table away.”

“We can call out and have something delivered.” Her eyelids lowered as she added, “Later.”

Rusty dragged his fingers through his hair. He was horny. It had been a couple weeks since he’d had sex, before the whole kidnap thing. And he knew Heather was up for anything he wanted. Why wasn’t he following her into her bedroom? Why was his dick lying motionless in his boxer-briefs?

“Nah, let’s get dinner first. Do you have any beer?”

Two beers later, Heather returned to the living room. The wait had been totally worth it because she looked terrific with her shapely curves packed into a red bandage dress and her dark hair pinned up in a fashionably messy bun.

“You look great,” he told her and rested his hand on her back as they exited her apartment.

“You look pretty hot, yourself,” she told him as she leaned against him. She was almost a foot shorter and her compact body fit well against his as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down for a hungry kiss. “Hmmm, I’ve been waiting for that all evening,” she purred.

Nothing. The same kiss that would have revved his engines only weeks before now had absolutely no effect on him. God, what had happened to him? He
leaned down and kissed her again, more deeply and aggressively than before, searching for that familiar reaction.