Snapped (5 page)

Good. Because Lucy wanted to see how far
Detective Nick would go to get his witness to talk. And by the time she was
through, she was going to make sure she had this man begging to help end her
dry spell.

CHAPTER
4

"Why alone?" asked Nick, not
taking his eyes off Lucy. He couldn't even if he'd wanted to. She looked
incredible. When she'd opened the door wearing only a towel he'd forgotten why
he was there. So much smooth skin. The towel covered next to nothing, barely
skimming her butt cheeks and enhancing the swell of her breasts by pushing them
up. He wanted to taste her ripeness but Dave's presence had stopped him from
doing anything.

But Dave was outside now and Lucy's
clothes covered little more than the towel. For some reason she didn't feel the
cold and the strappy little top she wore showed off the lush shape of her
breasts, unencumbered by a bra, and enough cleavage to make a man weak at the
knees. Then there was the tight black pants. The place where butt met thigh had
never looked so good. He had to look away or he was going to embarrass himself
in front of this siren.

"Because I don't like him. He's a
creep."

"And I'm not?"

"You could be. I don't know you well
enough yet."

"I would have thought after last
night, you did." He crossed his arms and leaned against the bookcase
crammed with an eclectic collection of fiction and non-fiction. "Look,
Lucy, I was happy for Dave to leave right now because I've got something I want
to say before we go on."

Her bright blue eyes widened. "Sounds
intriguing."

"I want to apologize for my behavior
last night. It wasn't necessary and I was being a..."

"Jerk?"

"Something like that."

To his surprise, she smiled. "That's
okay, Nick, I'm a big girl. I can handle your opinion of me."

"But you shouldn't have to. I hate
men who judge women like that. It's not me." Until recently. Ever since he
caught Donna, his attitude had done a major about-face.

"Oh? It certainly sounded like you
last night. Or was there someone else in the room with us?"

"Cut it out, Lucy, I'm being
serious." But he couldn't help the smile that matched hers. "I really
am sorry. I'll keep my opinions to myself in future."

Her smile disappeared. "But you'll
still have those opinions."

He shrugged. He couldn't
not
have
them, just because that's what she wanted. "So is my apology accepted or
not?"

She lifted one bare shoulder and her
breast jiggled beneath the tight black material. He sucked in air and
reluctantly lifted his gaze to her face.

"You can owe me one," she said.

"One what?"

She took a step closer and for a moment
he thought she was going to embrace him, but she didn't. She stood on her toes
and lowered her long lashes. "Whatever you want." Her husky voice
sent a ripple of excitement across his flesh. The sudden image of Lucy naked
and bent over her couch made him hard.

Heaven help him, he was going to go nuts
if he kept thinking about her like that. He hadn't got laid in way too long and
Lucy was too luscious for her own good. And for
his
own good. If she
didn't back off, he'd end up making a big mistake.

Something pounded in time with his pulse.
"You two finished in there?" O'Connor.

"No," they both shouted.

"Let's get this over with,"
said Nick, turning away. He couldn't look at her any more.

"What's the hurry? Sit."

He sat. She sat on the couch next to him,
too close. He inched further away. She followed, hooking one booted foot under
her bottom.

"The hurry is that I'm busy. I've
got a murderer to catch."

She frowned. "I make you nervous,
don't I?"

"No!" Hell, yes. He was going
to agree to one sinful night with this woman if she didn't back off soon. The
scent of jasmine, the sight of two breasts jiggling freely and lips that
promised to nibble gently on a very hard piece of his anatomy was getting to
him. But he couldn't let her. He wasn't into one night stands and that's all
she was into. Even if he gave it a shot, just this once, he'd be doomed. That's
what had happened with Donna and look where that had ended up. Married and
divorced within a year with him looking like an ass.

Never again.

"What does she look like?"

Lucy's brow crinkled then cleared. "Oh,
Mollino's girlfriend. Blonde like me, but that's where the resemblance ends. She's
a lot taller and," she leaned forward and squeezed her breasts between her
arms, "much better endowed."

Nick swallowed. Her breasts might be
smaller than Mollino's girlfriend's but they looked damn near perfect to him. No,
not near, they
were
perfect. And by squeezing them like that, she was
just driving the point home.

"Her hips are also bigger." Lucy's
hand ran down her thigh, slowly, her fingers caressing the gentle undulation
beneath the skin-tight pants. "And her butt's a nice shape but
rounder." Her hand slipped around her thigh and underneath. "It
bounces when Mollino pumps into her, hard. Get the picture?"

A gurgle deep in his throat was the only
response he could make. Oh yeah, he had the picture all right. And it wasn't of
Mollino and his moll, it was all Lucy's bare round rump on clean white sheets,
moving against him as he drove into her.

"What's the matter Nick, cat got
your tongue?" She laughed and the spell broke.

Nick stood and glared down at her. This
was getting too far, too fast. Did she have no shame? Jeez, he was working and
O'Connor was just outside. Hadn't he got his point across last night that she
wasn't his type?

"What are you playing at?" he
said, feeling in control now that she wasn't so near her.

She sighed. "Let's cut to the chase,
Nick. I find you attractive and I'd like to ... go out with you sometime."

"Thanks, but no thanks."

"Why not? Are you married?"

"No."

"In a relationship?"

"No."

"You're not gay are you?"

He laughed. "No. But that's not the
point. The point is..." She blinked up at him with those wide blue eyes
and he forgot what the hell he was trying to say.

"The point is we're both single and
we like each other."

He shook his head. "I don't like
you. How can I, I don't know much about you." And what he did know, from
the stories down at the station, he didn't like.

"Then we can get to know each other
before we..."

"No," he growled. It was time
he nipped her infatuation in the bud before she got her hopes up. How did the
saying go?
You had to be cruel to be kind.
"You're not my
type."

"Oh." She pouted, making her
lips even more delicious. "What is your type?"

"Just drop it, Lucy."

"Ah," she nodded, "I get
it. You like the sort of girls who want big Nick Dante to take them in their
arms and protect them from the nasty world. Puh-lease, give me a break. Those
women are so last century."

Where did this woman get off? He'd never
met anyone who pressed every button then tweaked until he was at snapping
point. "Don't judge me Lucy," he said, clenching and unclenching his
fists at his sides.

"Oh,
you
don't like being
judged?" She raised both brows and crossed her arms under her breasts. "Tell
me about it."

Damn, he'd walked right into that one. She
had a point, but he wasn't going to change his opinions overnight just because
she didn't like them. He was about to tell her exactly what was wrong with her
skewed version of his love life when her face softened and she stood slowly.

She blew out a breath and held up her
hands. "Truce. I don't want to argue with you and I'm guessing you don't
want to argue with your star witness."

"Oh-kay."

She half smiled. "Start again?"
She held out her hand.

He hesitated then took it. He definitely
didn't want to get her offside right now when she was the key to his
investigation. They had delved into awkward territory way too fast for virtual
strangers, but he had to admit, as her lips curved up into a kissable grin, he
kind of liked sparring with her. Usually women either ran the other way or completely
surrendered when he got annoyed. Lucy Hudson had more than held her own.

"Start again," he agreed,
sitting again. "Starting with Mollino's girlfriend."

She sat too but at the opposite end of
the couch this time. He felt a little twinge of regret that she was so far away
but then again, it afforded him a better perspective of her luscious breasts so
he didn't mind so much.

"You mean you really know nothing
about her?"

"Just the basics."

Lucy spent the next twenty minutes
describing Mollino's mystery woman down to the type of underwear she used. By
the time she'd finished, he was certain he'd be able to spot her in a stadium
full of blondes.

"You're observation skills are
amazing," he said. "You should be a cop."

"Ha ha." But she wasn't
offended and she grinned.

He grinned too. "You're our only
witness," he said standing. "So don't go leaving town."

"I wouldn't dream of leaving our
boys in blue in the lurch."

He handed her his card and wrote his cell
phone on the back. "Call me if—"

"I want a good time?"

He frowned. "Thanks for your help,
Lucy."

"Anytime."

So he'd heard.

"And if you need anything
else," she said, "just let me know."

He nodded and opened her door. O'Connor,
sitting on the carpet in the moldy corridor, stood. "Finally!"

"Let's go."

"Already? But—"

"I said, let's go."

O'Connor grumbled but led the way to the
stairs. At the landing, Nick turned back. Lucy was still standing in her
doorway, dressed in slinky black and looking every inch like a cat burglar,
blonde hair framing the delicate features of her pretty face. She gave him a
finger wave and smiled sweetly. He nodded and followed O'Connor down the
stairs.

In the car, O'Connor gave him a woohoo. "Way
to go, Dante."

"It's not what you think," said
Nick. O'Connor could think what he wanted, Nick wasn't going into details.

"Really? Then why did I have to
leave the apartment?"

"Because you're a pain in the
ass."

That shut him up for a whole minute. "So
how was it?"

"We didn't do anything." Nick
glanced at him sideways as he turned the corner into Swan Street. "Besides,
I thought you knew."

O'Connor flushed to the roots of his
hair. "Well, not exactly."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing. Just forget it."

Gladly. And he'd sure like to forget Lucy
too, but he couldn't. At least he knew now that O'Connor was all bluff. But
that didn't mean all the others weren't telling the truth.

***

Blood pumped through Lucy's veins as if
she'd just run a marathon. When Nick disappeared down the stairs, she closed
her apartment door and burst out laughing. That had been so much fun. The look
on his face when she'd gotten close was priceless. The man wanted her so bad he
was almost in agony when she'd scooted across the couch. The slight flushing of
his cheeks, the bead of sweat at his hairline and the nervous tapping of his
finger on his knee were all classic signs of a man tortured by his passions. If
he hadn't shown those signs, she'd never have taken the risk of asking him on a
date. But he'd even turned down that less dangerous route. Nick was definitely
not like other guys she knew.

That made her want him even more.

It would also make the moment when he did
crack so much sweeter. Oh yeah, never had teasing someone given her such a
high. Usually it was too easy. No man had ever resisted her when she set her
mind on seducing him. But Nick did.

Who'd have thought a hard-nosed cop had
such high morals. Well, she was going to have one hell of a great time toppling
them by making him want her so much he'd burst. Now that she was his witness,
she had every reason to stay in touch, and the more contact they had, the
better. His willpower was so strong she'd have to use every moment of their
time together to shatter his defenses, but she would do it. Just for the
challenge, just to see him eat his words and swallow that high and mighty
opinion. He'd choke on it by the time she was done.

Oh yeah, getting to Nick Dante was an
adventure she couldn't wait to embark upon.

But she had to wait. Until tomorrow at
least because she wanted to wait until Janet Mollino was over her shock. Lucy
didn't think she'd be grieving exactly, but turning up on her doorstep right
after she'd been told her husband was dead was a little harsh.