Grab (7 page)

Then why was he pacing like a fucking nutcase?

It’s not like his apartment was really big enough to pace in. Six paces each way. That was it. But she was supposed to get off at eight, right? He looked at his watch… again. It was nine-thirty, and she hadn’t come up the stairs, yet.

Maybe she wasn’t as into all this as he was. He didn’t think about the slash of pain in his chest that thought caused. Jesus, the other night had totally gotten his motor running. And last night had accomplished everything he’d wanted it to. She’d gotten rest, just like he’d planned. The memory of her soft skin under his fingertips was enough to give him a rock hard erection. And his hand wasn’t going to cut it tonight.

He was worried about her, plain and simple. He tried not to think the worst, but this was a big city, and they didn’t live in the best part of town. Hell, she didn’t work in a great part of town, either. He didn’t let himself think about the ramifications of his worry. They were friends. Friends worried about each other, right?

Pace. Six steps. About face. Pace. Six steps.

Jordan was just about to get on his bike and look for her when he finally heard her soft footsteps treading up the stairs. Throwing his door open, he flung himself out into the hallway.

“Christ, Mia. It’s almost ten. Where the fuck have you been?” The words came out in a rush before he could slow them down, and as soon as he saw her face, he regretted them.

“Bastard slashed my tires.” She looked on the verge of tears, her black eyes shiny, her face twisted into a grimace. “Had to be him.” Mia looked worn the fuck out—her shoulders slumped in defeat—and Jordan wanted to pound whoever did it. Fucker ruined all his good relaxation techniques.

“Aw, fuck, honey.” He met her on the stairs and pulled her into his arms. She felt so damn small and vulnerable. Christ, she was shaking in his arms, and he tightened them, willing some of his strength into her by osmosis. “I’ll kick his ass.” Spent most of her shift staring daggers into her, then slashing her fucking tires? He’d hunt the fucker down.

“I’m too tired to do anything tonight, Jordan.” Well, of fucking course she was. She’d just walked a couple of miles, at least, after a full shift. Sure, he could do it wearing sixty pounds of gear, ten times, but she was soft, feminine, exhausted. He remembered she hadn’t had a day off in three weeks and felt terrible.

Leading her into the open door of his apartment, Jordan shushed her. “It’s okay. You can sleep here. I’m not letting you hang out alone tonight.”

“I need to shower, first.”

“I’ve got a shower.” He shut the door behind them. Mia had never been in his apartment before, not that he had much, but he hadn’t shown it to her. He didn’t know why he was now, except the idea of her staying in her own apartment tonight after that fucker had undoubtedly messed with her was seriously distasteful to Jordan.

“But I thought—”

“No thinking tonight, Mia… Come on.” Leading her into his bedroom, Jordan dug around and found her a t-shirt to wear and a pair of his clean shorts. He was sure they’d be huge, but he was damn sure they’d all look better on her than him.

Why was this so awesome for him? She’d had a shit day, and here he was swooping in, being some sort of fucking knight in shining armor.

And he liked it.

Smothering that with the reminder he didn’t do attachments, Jordan piled the clothes in her arms and led her into the bathroom. “I’ve got an extra toothbrush in that top drawer there, behind the condoms.” He couldn’t resist a wink in her direction and relished her sheepish blush.

“Thanks,” she muttered.

Jordan sat on the edge of his futon, wondering what the fuck he was getting into. With sudden clarity, something inside him shifted, aligning, and Jordan relaxed.

He
did
fucking care about her. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have happily let her tease him the other night. He wouldn’t have spent so much time relaxing her and making sure she got a good night’s sleep last night. He wouldn’t have been pacing the floors, waiting for her to come home tonight. He wouldn’t want to kick that creeper’s ass.

Reaching into his pocket for his phone, he called the only guy he could think of that could possibly help him.

“Evan? Do you have something that can see video feeds of the diner on the corner of Sixth Street and Lamar?”

“The Twenty-Four Diner? Let me check.”

“Video feed for the last twelve hours, not current feed,” Jordan clarified.

“I’d have to hack for that. Is it worth it? I could get in trouble.”

Jordan looked at the closed bathroom door and listened to the shower running. Trying to conjure the naked, soapy girl behind it, he realized he was more scared for her than horny for her.
Holy fuck.

“I need anything you got on a Volkswagon Cabriolet in the parking lot. More specifically, any vandalism or someone fucking with the tires.” He chewed on the inside of his cheek. “Besides, you yourself said you’re invincible,” he pointed out, as only a kid brother could.

“Cabriolet? Those are still around?”

Losing patience with his brother, Jordan snapped, “Can you just fucking check? If it’s beyond your skill set, just say something.” The heat of his temper rose in his belly, and he reined it in, letting it out in a rush of air. Now wasn’t the time.

“I can fucking do it, shut up. I’ll call you later.”

“Thanks, bro.”

Jordan watched the bathroom door, waiting for it to open, marveling at what was happening inside his body and mind. Pressure was off. He knew what he wanted.

He’d spent weeks with Mia, and when he thought about it, he realized he’d been getting to know her. He knew her mom had been married seven times, and she didn’t care much for boyfriends, as they had too many expectations. He knew she loved to bake cakes but never had the time, so he had yet to taste one. He knew her mother was following some guy all over the world, her latest flavor, hoping the laws somewhere were different as far as matrimony were concerned. Mia was saving up to bring her sister home and get her out of whatever third-world environment she was currently in. He knew she was funny, laid back, smart, and sexy as hell.

He hadn’t had a girlfriend in many, many years. And it was about time. He didn’t know why now, tonight, he’d decided to change his entire way of thinking, but he did.

He knew he wanted to know Mia better. And sex was no longer a priority.

Sure, he wanted to have sex with her, but it was no longer something so urgent. It was a slow burn in his gut, an eventuality he could wait for, anticipate, savor. He really liked Mia.

Now he just had to tell her.

When she finally opened the bathroom door, walking out in a cloud of steam, Jordan’s breath left him in a rush. He stood from the bed and gestured for her to get under the covers. Stripping down to his underwear, he crawled in after her and snuggled up against her body.

Yup. This was totally what he wanted.

She made a noise of contentment as she settled in, and something tugged in Jordan’s chest. “Mia?”

“Mm?”

“I like you.” There. He said it. Exhaling deeply, now he just had to wait for her response. Nothing. “Mia?”

“Tomorrow, Jordan. Let’s have sex tomorrow, okay?” She let out a deep sigh that ended on a low snore, and Jordan couldn’t help the soft chuckle that answered her.

Oh, yeah, there was going to be some sex tomorrow. Along with some sort of declaration. Jordan had a dry spell to break.

He hadn’t had a girlfriend in years.

Mia woke up in a strange bed, hearing low murmurs in the background. She opened her eyes and realized she was in Jordan’s apartment. Disappointment at the fact she didn’t remember any amazing, mind-blowing sex was quickly dissipated by the sudden memory of actual events.

She couldn’t remember the sex because they hadn’t had any. Because her tires had been slashed. And she’d walked home.

Instead of trying to figure out how much an entire set of new tires would cost, she rolled over and sank her nose into the pillow to inhale Jordan’s scent. That was better than almost anything else she could possibly think about.

The futon dipped, rolling her over to look into Jordan’s deep blue eyes. They were made a deeper blue with concern, a damn sexy wrinkle creasing his forehead. “You okay? Do you have to go into work today?” His hand reached out and stroked her arm, and Mia ignored the heat filling her body.

“Yeah, I do.” She sat up, and the motion put her squarely against Jordan.

“Well, I took care of your car. Called a tow-truck to come get it and fix the tires.” His hand still stroked her arm. “I’ll give you a ride in on my bike when you’re ready.”

She was about to say something to the effect of ‘thank you,’ but was frozen as his eyes darted to her mouth and parted slightly. Pulling her close, he whispered against her lips, “Gonna kiss you first, though.” It was almost like he was talking to himself, but she didn’t care. As soon as his lips touched hers, she was a goner.

Jordan was a hard man but his lips were incredibly soft as they moved over hers. He’d recently brushed his teeth, and the minty air that blew across her mixed with his normal manly scent, turning her insides to goo. Her hands rose to his chest, resting against the hard planes.

Jordan buried his hand in her hair, tangling it to the roots and tugging her closer. With a soft whimper, Mia opened her mouth, and when she touched his tongue with hers, a low sound came from his chest and his other arm went around her back, pressing her closer.

Their tongues tangled and swirled, a ritual of promises made and possession taken, and it scared the hell out of her. Just like a roller coaster scared the hell out of her, but she had to have more, ride it again, to continue the thrill.

His grip eased, and too soon, the kiss was over.

“I’ve got some calls to make, and I’ll take you to work when you’re ready.” He stood and adjusted himself discretely, but Mia noticed and hid her smile behind her hand. It was a damn good thing women’s arousals weren’t so obvious or she’d be in some serious trouble around Jordan.

Looking at the clock, Mia realized she had an hour before her double-shift today. She didn’t really want to go, but now she had a tow truck to pay for, too, so there really wasn’t much of a choice.

As Jordan’s bike rumbled the two miles to Mia’s diner, he tried to ignore the way her tiny arms felt wrapped around his chest. Or her thighs pressed against his. Or her hot little pussy against his backside.

He really needed to focus on how he was going to work Misty’s case. But at the same time, he wanted to utilize company resources to find Mia’s creeper and kick his ass. Jordan didn’t feel right with Mia going back to her apartment after the tire slashing episode. The douche bag might have done it to make her easier to follow home. He could be in her apartment right now.

Of course, when he’d gotten up, he’d checked, and her place was empty. But that really didn’t mean anything. If the guy had followed her, he knew where she lived.

Jordan pulled up to the curb and turned off the bike as Mia swung her leg off. He grabbed her hand and turned her body back to his, pulling her in for another kiss. The one earlier wasn’t going to last him all damn day.

This time, he buried both hands in her hair and covered her mouth with his. He wasn’t giving her a goodbye kiss, he was giving Mia a ‘come back to my bed’ kiss. One of Jordan’s hands crept down to her ass, pulling her closer until he was surrounded by the smell of cherries and Mia.

She moaned against his lips, and when her tongue swept inside his mouth, it wasn’t tentative like earlier. It was in total agreement with his intentions.

Jordan wished to the heavens above they didn’t have work today. He’d love nothing more than to haul her back to his place and bury himself inside her until they both forgot why they had to go to work.

But he had bad guys to catch. One of them, hopefully, the asshole who slashed her tires.

When they broke the kiss, they were both breathing hard, her breasts heaving under the tight polo shirt she wore for work. “What was that for?”

“In case he’s here. I want him to see you with your boyfriend. He needs to know I’m a tough motherfucker.” Jordan winked at her, but she tilted her head and stuck her fist on her hip.