“Come for me, Gaby.” He abandoned one breast to press a hand between her legs, seeking, enflaming her lust. He’d barely stroked her when he felt the tightening of her inner muscles in signal of her release. She bit her own forearm to muffle her cries, and Luther opened a mouth on her shoulder for the same reason.
Every time with her seemed more intense, more mind-blowing. Another year or two of this and they’d be combusting from the heat and friction.
As Gaby’s pleasure faded, Luther slipped his arm under her to support her, lifted her back against him, and sank to the floor with her in his arms.
She still breathed hard, but now all her rigidity had melted until she felt fluid against him.
Taking advantage, despite his own relaxed state, Luther kissed her forehead and said, “You know what this means?”
“Mmm.”
He smiled, and took a big chance. “Rather than me being a hindrance to you, to what you do, I’m an asset.”
She opened heavy eyes and studied him. “I’ll have to think about that.” She touched his mouth. “Sex with you is the antidote to my rage when it starts to boil. Is that a good thing? I don’t know yet.”
“Making love with me,” he corrected. “It’s more than sex.”
“Since I’ve never done it with anyone else, I’ll have to take your word for it.” She looked around him to the clock. “Under ten minutes. Great job, cop.”
Luther had to laugh. “Only you would think a ten-minute bang a good thing, Gaby.”
“Bang?” She tasted the word, considered it. “It was something of a bang, huh?” With a groan, she added, “I need to get out of here before other, less friendly cops intrude. Now that I’m not stewing, I’m not at all happy being in a police station.”
She was right; the longer they lingered, the greater the risk of exposure. But Luther held her in place anyway. He had a point to make, and he wouldn’t let her deflect him.
“Your life is changing, Gaby.
She stretched. “Yeah, in leaps and bounds.”
Very little scorn sounded in her tone. Not that long ago, the idea of changing had alternately infuriated her and unnerved her. She’d wanted none of it.
Now, she seemed at least accepting, if not eager.
“With me, it isn’t such an odious prospect.” Luther tipped up her chin. “Is it?”
“Odious? No.” She lifted her hips and pulled her jeans and panties up. “And the side benefits are awesome.”
He laughed. “Hussy.”
“Getting there.” She stood, and held a hand down to him as if he needed the boost up.
Luther shook his head, took her hand, and allowed her to haul him off the floor.
The dress slacks were now dusty and wrinkled, his shirt creased, his tie crooked.
Gaby eyed him head to toe. “You’d better straighten up before you go back, or everyone will know just what you’ve been doing up here with me.”
“No joke.” He turned his back to remove the condom and drop it into a trash can. He moved some crumpled papers over it. “Will that bother you?”
She snorted. “No. I don’t care what cops think of me. If I did, I’d never have survived this long.”
Luther looked around, but he had nothing to tidy up with. Cringing, he tucked himself away and restored order the best he could.
When he faced Gaby again, she wore a droll look with her brows raised.
He tightened his tie and asked, “What?”
“Modesty, Luther?” She patted his chest. “I just didn’t expect it, I guess. But it’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” She started for the door.
Flustered, because she was right—he had suffered a streak of modesty—Luther followed after her. “Where are you off to now?”
He almost plowed into her when she stopped dead in her tracks, her shoulders frozen . . . in dread?
Afternoon sunlight cut through the grime on the windows, sending dust motes to dance around her bowed head. “Gaby?”
She pulled her hood up again, hiding her silken, tousled hair. “I’ve got some stuff I have to do, that’s all.”
She deflated without a fight, surprising him. “Yeah, okay.” Looking at him over her shoulder, she added, “But you might not like it.”
Everything inside him clenched in preparation. From anyone else, a statement like that might not have meant much. With Gaby, God only knew what he had in store for him. “I’m properly braced. Let’s hear it.”
“No matter what you say, I’m not changing my mind,” she forewarned him. Before Luther could address that, she turned in his arms. “And I’m not going to let you interfere.”
Butting heads with Gaby gave him a constant headache. “
Fisting her hands in his shirt, she held onto him, her expression serious, maybe even grave. “Because you’re a cop down to the marrow of your bones, that’s why.”
Luther’s understanding of Gaby went beyond the comprehensive acceptance of her singular perspective on things. Nothing else explained why he got the gist of her complaint, if not the implied content. “I’m also a man who knows right from wrong, whether it’s within legal bounds or not. I’ve proven that to you, haven’t I?”
“Maybe. Sometimes.”
“Trust me, Gaby.” He waited, holding eye contact with her, and saw the moment she acquiesced.
“I took two girls off the street.”
Luther waited, but she said nothing more, leaving his imagination to take over. Gaby had spent quite a bit of time hanging out with hookers. Had she found new friends in that arena? Not that he’d be quick to judge. Bliss had once been a hooker, and she was a real sweet girl driven by circumstance, not a lack of morals.
“They were homeless, Luther.”
Were, meaning they no longer suffered that unfortunate state? “So . . . now you’re tussling with another pimp?” The last pimp who had tried to come between Gaby and the women she’d befriended had not fared well.
“For crying out loud, Luther!”
Her affront over the suggestion threw him off. “So, no pimp?”
“Of course not. In fact, there’s no one. The girls are all alone. That was the problem. They had no one.”
Suspicion sparked. “How old are these girls?”
“Kids.” She waved a hand. “Dacia is twelve, but she’s mature way beyond that. Her sister, Malinal, is only five. It’s hard to tell though, because she’s so small and . . . well, what do I know about kids?”
Luther’s head started to pound. Now he had to deal with Gaby taking in children? The repercussions of that boggled his mind.
But most of all, he hated that she shortchanged herself. Gaby knew that kids needed to be protected and cherished. He figured that was more than enough. “What did you do with them?”
“I left them with Bliss.”
“Oh.” He considered that, and nodded. “Yeah, I can see Bliss looking after them.” Hopefully for the short- term.
“Yeah, she’s got that mothering instinct thing down pat. When I left she was feeding them dessert and promising all sorts of things.”
“So why do you look so put out?”
“Bliss gave me a list of stuff they’ll need, including clothes with sizes, toys, and books.” Gaby pulled the list out and looked at it with dismay. “Problem is, I don’t know shit about any of this. What toys? How many books?”
