He stood up with an elevated brow. “Who says you’d get in the way of that?”
I feigned indignation. Knight just chuckled as a knock sounded on the door, announcing the arrival of our food. Knight paid the delivery boy and carried the plastic bags to the kitchen. “Do you have anything to drink?”
“There’s beer in the fridge and I have a bottle of wine on the counter.” The wine had been a going away gift from Sam.
“Wine sounds great. You want a glass?”
“Sure.” I pointed to the glass cabinet and Knight reached for two dusty glasses, throwing me a rolled eye look as he rinsed them out.
“Looks like I just rinsed away a few resident spiders.”
“I forgive you.”
I watched him pour two glasses of red wine, and he handed one to me. Holding his own in the air, apparently he was going to make a toast. “To our new relationship,” he said with a lascivious smile and an equally lascivious wink.
“To our new work relationship,” I corrected him, and we both took a sip. I unpacked the contents of each bag as Knight watched me. “Ready to eat?” I asked.
He nodded and sat down while I started in on my eggplant. Knight had ordered stuffed shells. We were pretty quiet as we devoured our dinners and twenty minutes later, I’d had enough. I pushed the food away and downed my glass of wine.
“Good?” Knight asked.
“Great.”
Knight took his last bite, and I saran-wrapped the remainder of the eggplant, tossing it into the fridge as Knight gathered the rest of our mess and deposited it in the trashcan.
He refilled my wine glass.
“Okay, no more talking about work,” he started and extended his hand. I took it, and he led me into the living room, motioning for me to take a seat on the couch. I did so, and he dropped down beside me, resting his hand on my thigh. I didn’t move it. “What do you want to talk about?” I asked, setting my wine glass on the coffee table. He shrugged and taking another sip of his wine, set it beside mine. “Let’s talk about you.” “Me?” I asked, as if talking about myself were the last thing I intended to do. “Let’s talk about the fact that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since that night I kissed you.”
His hand massaged my thigh and nervousness agitated my stomach. I’d kissed and been kissed before-there was no reason for my anxiety.
“Oh, is that so?” I whispered. “I haven’t thought of it since.”
“Liar,” Knight said as his lips met mine.
His lips were full, and when he ran his hand through my hair, I opened my mouth and he thrust his tongue inside. He pushed me down against the couch and moved his body on top of mine as he continued kissing me, his body gyrating against mine just like he’d done when I’d tried to arrest him.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he continued undulating above me, making the blood in my veins burn. He pulled his mouth from mine and gave me a smirk as he tilted my head back and planted a few tender kisses down the length of my neck. I arched up against him as he dug his pelvis into me, and I could feel the obvious stirring of his attraction for me.
“Should we move to the bedroom?” he asked.
Call me old school, but I wanted to be in a relationship if sex was on the horizon. That, and I was just starting to date again. I pushed away from him. “Um, I think that’s a bad idea.” He chuckled. “Dulcie, you think about everything too much.” “Well, one of us has to,” I said with a smile and stood up, offering my hand. He took it and stood, running his fingers through his hair. “Sending me home with blue balls again,” he said with a laugh. I shrugged. “Looks that way.” He reached for his keys on the coffee table. “I’m going to take you out on a real date one of these days.” “You say it like it’s a threat.” “Just a warning.” I shook my head and followed him to the door. “You definitely are eager.” He nodded. “You’re a hard woman to stop thinking about.”
He reached down and circled my waist with his arms, pulling me into the hard length of him and planted a chaste kiss on my lips. “Goodnight, Dulcie.”
He turned around and started for his car.
“Night Knight,” I said with a laugh.
I closed the door and went back into my living room. So, more dates with Bram and Knight. Wisps of what felt like panic started in my stomach but I forced myself to ignore them. Dates were not a big deal. It wasn’t like I was getting into a relationship with either one, I thought to myself, hoping to subdue my trust issues.
Glancing at my computer, I noticed I had a new email. I took a seat and opened my inbox. On further inspection, the email was from Dr. Goodman. I clicked it open and read:
Dear Ms. O’Neil,
Please let us know if you would like to set up an appointment for your ear augmentation.
Regards,
The office of Dr. Goodman
I leaned back in my chair. I hadn’t thought about the ear augmentation in over a month. Running a finger over the points of my ears, I remembered Quillan telling me not to go through with it. I’m not sure if his words had made up my mind but something had. I deleted the email, a new sense of overwhelming pride suffusing me. The phone rang, interrupting my moment of epiphany. “Hello?” “Check your front door.” It was Quillan. I checked the caller ID but the number was unlisted. “Quillan?” I demanded, but the dial tone resonated through my ear. I hung up. “Dammit!”
Running to my front door, I tore it open, hoping to find Quillan even though I knew better. He was a wanted man; he wouldn’t just show up on my doorstep. Just as I’d suspected…nothing. Looking down, I found a box about as high as my knee and maybe two feet wide, wrapped in white paper and a bright red bow. I grabbed the card on top and tore into it.
Dulce,
He’s cuter than a gremlin.
Q.
Not wanting to guess what was in the box, I ripped open the wrapping paper and tearing off a piece of tape binding the box together, I found a yellow lab puppy gazing up at me. I reached inside and picked him up, his puppy breath tickling my cheek. He was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen. “Hello, boy,” I whispered, wondering what in the hell Quillan was up to. Noticing his red collar and the silver name tag, I rotated the tag around until I read his name “Blue.” I shook my head unable to suppress the happy smile that beamed across my face.
Holding the puppy up against my chest, the sound of a car starting caught our attention. It was parked across the street-some sort of white sports car. The driver’s chuckle floated up to me as he started down the street. The windows were too tinted for me to make out who it was.
But I knew.
Quillan.
