Taken by Tuesday (Weekday Brides Series) (16 page)

“You went to lunch with someone from the office like I suggested?”

“Nancy. She wanted to know all about you.”

He lent a smile but didn’t comment.

“Where are we going?”

He inched through the street traffic at a crawl. “It’s not the Getty. Just a dinner date to celebrate you getting back to work.”

“You used to ask and now you’re just going for it, eh?”

She really did love his smile. “Yep, that’s about it.”

Cozy and tucked back from the main road, Carino’s tempted her taste buds the moment she stepped from the car. “I love Italian.”

“Much as I want you to think I’m a genius, I asked Meg. She said you and pasta were like this.” He lifted his hand and crossed two fingers.

They walked hand in hand into the restaurant, where the aroma seeped into her pores.

The hostess seated them immediately when Rick told her his name. There was already wine at the table. “Wow. Impressive.”

“That’s me, Mr. Impressive.”

While she settled behind the table, Rick poured the wine and lifted his glass. “To saying good-bye to the word
babe
.”

Judy held her glass but didn’t clink his. “To first dates.”

She wasn’t a huge wine drinker, but the red was light enough to tempt her into another taste shortly after the first. “I don’t know what impressed me more, the fact that you asked Meg what I liked, or that you confessed asking her for the information.”

“It’s useful having your girlfriend’s roommate working within shouting distance. It will be strange without her there.”

Judy opened the menu. “Where is she going?”

“She and Samantha moved the office today.”

“Why?”

The waiter arrived to tell them the specials before disappearing. Rick’s lack of answering the question made her think he’d forgotten it. “Why did they move?”

He took a sip and looked inside the glass. “This isn’t half bad.”

Now she knew he was avoiding. “Rick!”

He toyed with his glass. “The nature of Alliance is all about privacy. They’re a little concerned about the police searching the house.”

Oh . . . oh
. “You’re really worried they’ll try and pin this on you.”

“I’m not worried. Not about me.”

That made one of them.

He reached for her hand and squeezed it. “Let’s talk about something pleasant. Something we can actually control.”

“There has to be a way we can control this.”

“If you figure it out, you need to let me know. Now, tell me about the project you brought home with you.”

Thankful for the distraction, she launched into her design ideas and really loved how Rick listened and asked questions. “I know Ms. Miller won’t pick my design, but to think something grabbed her attention enough to ask me to work on it is huge.”

“Don’t doubt yourself, Utah. Zach and Michael have both told me how talented you are. Who knows where this will take you.”

She pushed her plate aside, surprised at how much she’d managed to eat. Rick eyed her leftovers and she pushed the plate closer to him. That man really packed it away and yet didn’t have an ounce of fat on him. “Where do you put it?”

He lifted an eyebrow. “It’s the workout.”

She knew he must dedicate some serious hours to keeping himself in shape, but she’d not seen him actually do anything but drive her around and come to her rescue. “What’s your routine?”

“My workout?”

The wine gave her a nice little buzz, which beat the headache that seemed to plague her daily since the attack. “Yeah.”

“A little cardio, a little weights, a lot of laps through the boot camp track at the park.”

“Boot camp track? What’s that?”

“I’m sure it’s not called that. There’s a hill course by the house with stops every quarter mile with different activities. Pull-ups, push-ups, stuff like that.”

Her gaze ran down his thick shoulders and a nice hum of appreciation of how he filled out his shirt spread heat throughout her body. Peeking out of one of his sleeves looked like a graphic inked into his skin. Unable to stop herself, she reached over and lifted his short sleeve to see a tattoo wrapped around his biceps. “From your military days?”

He glanced at his arm. “This one is.”

“You have more than one?” She never wanted a tattoo of her own but was always intrigued about the draw for those who had them.

“A couple.”

The desire to lift his shirt to see them herself was strong. “Not going to tell me where and what?”

He shoveled more food in, swallowed. “If you want to see me naked, Utah, all you have to do is ask.”

She gave his shoulder a playful slap.

“I’m serious,” he told her.

“I’m sure you are.” Behind his laughing eyes was a thin layer of heat that if blown on, would probably blossom into a ball of fire. “Can I join you on your workout? Meg and I used to do an organized workout in Seattle that was called Boot Camp. There are programs here, but they’re so expensive.”

“Are you up to working out again?” His gaze softened.

Her bruises were gone, all the soreness of the attack nothing more than a nightmare. “I’m ready.”

“You can join me on one condition.”

“Oh, I’m given conditions now am I? OK, Mr. Negotiator . . . what’s my condition?”

“You bring Meg and let me teach you both some self-defensive moves.”

His request took her back a notch and removed some of her smile.

“I want you safe and I can’t be at your side every second of every day.” It was more than that. He was worried about when and if the police were going to pin the crimes of another man on him. Yeah, Judy had met Russell and Dennis, both “colleagues” and both watching her anytime Rick wasn’t. But Rick was invested.

“I think that’s a great idea.”

“I work out early.”

She narrowed her gaze. “Trying to talk me out of it?”

“I’m like a drill sergeant.”

“Hello, Mr. Marine . . . I’d expect nothing less. If I get to call
you
my boyfriend, I can’t go getting all soft.”

His dimples put fire in her belly.

Suddenly the restaurant was entirely too busy and home felt too far away.

Chapter Seventeen

The conversation back to Beverly Hills was as platonic as it came, though Rick had a hard time concentrating on anything other than the image of Judy in skintight workout shorts and a skimpy shirt. The date had been everything he wanted. Easy conversation, no secrets, heat, and promise. It killed him not knowing when the world was going to crash down. Killed him not to know how much time they’d have before the detectives either took him away or placed doubt into Judy’s mind.

There didn’t seem to be any doubt now. Not in the tiny glances she offered when she didn’t think he watched her. Not in the way she fanned her skin in a car that was cooled to sixty-seven degrees. Not in the disappointed sigh when she mentioned Meg being home.

A gentleman would thank her with a kiss for the perfect date and promise to call.

Only Rick never thought he was soft enough to be labeled a gentleman. He carried her design plans into the house and set the alarm behind them.

“How was the pasta?”

“I’m stuffed,” Judy told her friend while Meg turned down the volume on the TV.

“What? No leftovers? You must have been hungry.”

Judy nodded his way. “Leftovers aren’t possible with this one.”

Meg laughed. “That doesn’t surprise me.”

The girls chatted briefly about her first day back and Rick took the opportunity to do a sweep of the house.

With everything clear, he glanced at the clock on Michael’s side of the house. In two hours, Dennis would begin his shift of watching the house. Even if Rick stayed on the inside, the new rules were clear. If Rick left the house at nine, the night patrol would come inside the gates and keep watch from the inside. If Rick stayed . . . which he sincerely hoped he would, even if it was across the hall, then the night team would watch from afar. At least for now.

He clicked off the light and moved into the main living area of the huge home. With Rick’s presence, Meg abruptly ended her conversation with Judy and jumped from the couch. “Wow . . . would you look at the time.”

Judy growled at her friend and Rick hid a smile. It was early . . . really early.

“I’m in the middle of a good book?”

“Meg!”

“Whatever! You two kids have fun.” She grabbed not one, but two beers from the refrigerator, and moved down the hall to her bedroom. Just when it appeared Judy was about to regain her composure, Meg yelled, “The walls in this house are really thick.”

“Margaret Catherine!”

Meg laughed until Rick heard a door shut.

“Margaret Catherine? Really?”

Judy hid her face behind her hand, her pink cheeks a testimony to her embarrassment. “Sorry about that.”

“The only roommates I ever had were in the Marines. I think Meg would make a good Marine.”

“Fit right in, would she?”

“Probably.” Rick removed the space between them and ran the backs of his fingers across her cheek. “Did you ask her to leave?”

She studied the buttons on his shirt. “I-I . . . yes.”

He didn’t even try to hide his grin. “It’s the ink, isn’t it?”

“You’ve figured me out,” she said with a giggle.

He cupped the back of her head, careful with the tender parts left over from the abuse she’d gone through. When she met his eyes, his smiled slipped into something more serious. “Not worried about plan A any longer?”

The gold flecks in her brown eyes seemed to glow in the dim light of the room. “Most guys would freak if a woman they hadn’t even started dating told them what I told you. But you’re still here.”

“Well, we’re
now
officially dating, and plan A doesn’t scare me at all.” He wasn’t even sure why.

“Would you tell me if it did?”

“I see no reason we can’t be completely honest with each other, do you?”

She placed her hand on his chest and lifted her lips closer to his. “Honesty is a good thing.”

He molded his body to hers and offered a grin. “What do you want to do with the rest of the evening, Judy?”

She sucked in a deep breath, for courage, or maybe she was finding the oxygen in the air thinner than normal like it was for him. “I want to see you . . . all of you,” she said.

He hardened with her words and tightened his grip on her neck. “You sure?” he whispered.

Her answer was a timid kiss and Rick responded with a hunger he didn’t recognize. Her lips passed over his like a feather of an angel tempting everything inside of him, and he threatened to engulf her like a devil staking his claim.

He cautioned himself and eased his grip but held her closer. Her tongue matched his, searching and tasting. A hint of the wine they drank flavored her scent.

Judy lifted her knee and slipped off her shoes. He had a good foot on her and had to lean over to keep their lips together. Rick’s palm met the small of her back and moved lower.

Her moan of approval shot through him, threatening his ability to go slow.

He lifted her hips and her legs wound around him. The maze of shoes and living room furniture didn’t deter him as he carried her down the hall to her bedroom. The low pounding of the bass from Meg’s TV met his ears. Once closed in the room, that bass reduced to a soft drum.
Thick walls.

He kicked the door closed behind them and crossed to the massive bed in the middle of the room. Without effort, he pushed Judy into the soft mattress and almost lost it when she lifted her hips to touch more of him. She squeezed his ass and tugged at his shirt, all the while attempting to suffocate him with her lips.

Their kiss broke, both of them gasping.

Plump with his kiss, her lips were as round as her eyes when she spoke. “I don’t see that ink yet, babe.”

She could call him
babe
forever and it wouldn’t grow old. He swiped his shirt from his shoulders and tossed it off the bed.

Judy sat up, ran her fingers over the symbol on his right shoulder, and placed her lips in their wake. “You’re so thick,” she told him.

He took advantage of her sitting up to pull her shirt over her head. Her pale breasts peeked from under a light gray bra and it was his turn to kiss what he wanted to taste. His tongue dipped under her bra. “You’re perfect.”

Tiny rosebud nipples met his tongue when he made her bra follow her shirt. “I could play with these all night.”

She giggled. “The rest of me would be jealous.”

“We could try . . . an evening of tasting,” he muttered as he used his teeth on her nipple and felt her nails dig into his back.

“Or not.”

She raked her nails down over his ass and he pushed closer to her.

“Or not,” he repeated her words. He’d never make a whole night of foreplay, not with Judy.

Rick pulled her hips farther up on the bed and centered them both. He memorized her curves with his slow fingers as they traced the lines of her exposed skin. “You were sitting in that police station,” he said, reminding her of the first day they’d met. “So out of place and trying hard not to look at me.” He leaned over her, kissed a trail between her breasts.

“You just stared at me. So bold.”

He lifted her as if she weighed nothing and rolled her over onto her stomach.

“I wanted you then.”

The zipper on her skirt started from her spine and went down the cheeks of her firm butt. He inched it down, placed his lips on the swell of her hips. The rail-thin frames of many of the women out there did nothing for him. Her full curves made his mouth water. Judy unwound something inside him he didn’t even recognize.

Her skirt met her shirt and Rick took his time rolling his hands down her hips, over her small panties, and down her creamy thighs. As much as Rick wanted to take advantage of this position, he didn’t want to risk scaring her. He rolled her on her side and stretched out beside her. There wasn’t any hesitation when her leg lifted to wrap around his hip. “You were cocky and bold and hot. Seeing you again at graduation . . . I knew we’d end up here.”

He kissed her again, broke when she reached for the zipper to his pants. “This is a great place.”

Judy didn’t leave his boxers with him. “Steroid-free zone!” she said, tracing his hip and touching. Her touch wasn’t timid or chaste, it was bold, leaving him pushing into her. He reached for her then, slid his hands under her panties and spread her open. The desire to rip her clothing, rid her of any barrier, needed to be tamed. She kicked them free and came back for a kiss. Both of them free of any clothing, she moved her kiss to the ink on his chest, her tongue lapping the edges, branding the feel of her deep inside him.

He knew, somehow, she’d be just like this, fire and passion without any worries of the world around them.

Judy rolled on top of him, barely giving him time to reach for his wallet.

“Wait,” he told her, pulled his pants from the floor and removed a condom from his wallet. He fumbled with the plastic, twice, and she removed it from his fingers with a laugh.

“Out of practice, hon?”

He stopped her pursuit in opening the small package with his hand covering hers. She met his gaze and looked deeper. “I met you,” he told her. “There’s been no one since.”

She blinked several times, took in the information, and kissed him. “Oh, Rick. I never stopped thinking about you. I couldn’t date, couldn’t sleep.”

Narcissistic as it was, he loved the sound of that.

Together they slid the condom over him, her hands slid lower, cupping him.

Once protected, she moved over him, took him. Her wet sheath was so tight and so needy she was milking him before he could catch his breath.

“Slow down, babe,” he whispered.

“I can’t. You feel so right.”

He slowed her down by sheer force, though it wasn’t easy.

He’d been with enough women to know her first orgasm was close. He kept his own wave back and let her take whatever she needed. He kissed her, held her, and welcomed her moan when she shattered on the inside. Only when she collapsed on him did he tuck her under him to show her his idea of making love.

He slowed down, found her spots, showed her his before backing up his cocky smile and leaving her limp. When his own release gripped him, he called her name and claimed her.

Judy was his.

Now.

Forever.

Rick’s arms erased the pain of the world around her. Judy’s body buzzed and her mind was numb with a post-orgasmic daze. With her head resting on his chest, she ran her hand over his pec, traced a thick vein that ran down the length of his arm. “I know it’s completely shallow of me,” she told him, “but you have the most amazing body.”

His hand caressed her hip. “You’re the one who’s sexy hot.”

She wasn’t going to be one of those women who told her guy she should lose weight. Those words always seemed to need a follow-up of a man telling her how wrong she was. Truth was, she wasn’t unhappy in her skin. Rick seemed to enjoy her . . . thoroughly.

The ink on his arm circled his biceps with decorative black and red Xs. “So what’s the story behind this one?”

He lifted his arm, flexed his biceps.
Damn he’s hot.
“Marines plus alcohol. Everyone on our team left with something.”

“Do you miss the service?”

He sighed, the hum in his chest tickled her ear. “Sometimes. But I won’t go back.”

“Did it end badly?”

“It did.” He leaned to his side and she saw a white scar across his flank. “Our last mission,” he explained. “I was one of the lucky ones. Mac and I made it out alive.”

“Mac?”

“Neil. We called him Mac.”

“What did they call you?”

“Smiley.”

She laughed, loved the feeling inside her. “I’ve heard Neil call you that. Fitting. It’s easy to tell when you’re serious. Those dimples go away.”

“My grandmother still pinches my cheeks when she sees me.”

“Gotta love family. My aunt Belle is convinced my sister Rena conceived her son before she was married. Never lets anyone forget about it.”

“Was it a shotgun wedding?”

“I don’t know gestational periods in humans to be eleven months. Not that it would matter. Rena and Joe are very happy.” She lifted her head and kissed the tattoo on his shoulder. “What about this one?” On close inspection, it looked like a bleeding star. It was beautiful in a strange kind of way.