Once there, she inhaled deeply before hitting the Reply button and sending a return message. She felt like scolding the sender for bothering her at work, but left the door open for whatever possibilities the night held.
“Problem?” Cain asked Merrick as she helped Emma out of the restaurant.
“Katlin just had a question, nothing serious.” Merrick moved ahead of them to open the car door and avoid any more questions.
“Let it go, baby, we’re on our way home,” Emma said as Cain opened her mouth to say something else. “If it’s something Katlin thinks needs your attention, I’m sure she’ll be waiting for you when we get there.”
“And if it has to do with our talk in Haywood on your father’s porch?”
“Then I say we take a bottle of champagne up to our room and toast my good fortune.”
Creases formed on Cain’s brow when she tried to figure out what Emma was talking about.
“Your good fortune?”
“If Merrick has found someone who can take her mind off you, then yes.” She kissed Cain on the nose. “My good fortune.”
Merrick stayed long enough to see the couple retire upstairs, then set the house alarm before walking out the back door. At dinner she’d been thinking of her bed in the condo she owned not far from where the new club was going to open. One little question, though, had realigned her focus.
She opened the door to the pool house without knocking, then crossed her arms over her chest, the perfect picture of annoyance. “Do you usually bother people when they’re working? Considering what we do, that could be a dangerous habit.”
“You’re not working now,” Katlin said from the small kitchen.
“Your point is?” The phone on her hip buzzed once again with a new message.
“Is that a threat?” She took her suit jacket off and threw it on the sofa.
“The way I want the night to end”—Katlin finally stepped into the room and put a bowl of strawberries on the nightstand—“it wouldn’t be prudent for me to make threats.”
“Then what’s this about?”
Katlin spread her arms out and shrugged her shoulders. “Call it settling a bet with myself.”
“This ought to be good.” Merrick picked up a piece of fruit. She bit into it, her eyes on Katlin as the juice ran down her chin.
“Before I tell you my bet, I’ve got a question for you.”
Merrick nodded her head once as if to give permission for her to ask, but Katlin wasn’t in a hurry. She sat in the chair across from where Merrick stood and looked her over from head to foot. “Do you plan on running out to find any more gifts for Cain tonight?”
“I think the last two we got her should suffice for now, so tell me your bet.”
“Part of me thinks you’re a tease.” Katlin stopped and laughed at the scowl her statement produced.
“What’s the other part of you think?” Merrick dropped her arms and spread her feet apart almost as if she were expecting an attack.
The dark shirt Merrick was wearing pulled tight across her breasts, but Katlin decided the shoulder holster she was wearing rather than the cut of the shirt caused the pleasant sight. When she took a deep breath the material pulled even tauter, and Katlin noticed her nipples harden.
“That you’ll make good on your promises.” Katlin crossed her legs and pointed in the direction of Merrick’s chest. “By starting with the gun and the shirt. You’re just dying to show me something that’ll make me wet.”
“Am I now?” Despite the flip question, Merrick removed the holster and the Glock, dropping them on her jacket. “What are you going to do for me?” She opened the buttons on her shirt with the patience of a woman who had all night to reach her goals.
The navy bra looked exotic next to Merrick’s skin, and the sight of so much skin made Katlin stand up and say, “I’m going to show you something I don’t think anyone has bothered to in a very long time.”
Stepping behind Merrick, Katlin lifted her fingers and with a quick twist unfastened the bra. She moved in close to reach for the button on her pants, and just as quickly they dropped to Merrick’s ankles.
“Aren’t you overdressed?” Merrick asked Katlin.
“I see now that you aren’t a tease, darling girl, so we’ll worry about me soon enough.” When Katlin pulled her backward into her body, Merrick’s abdomen muscles tightened under her hand, but that was her only reaction. Katlin guessed it was Merrick’s way of trying to maintain control. “Kick your shoes off for me.”
Free to move Merrick without tripping her, Katlin walked her to the chair she’d been occupying, stopping when Merrick’s hands were on the back of it. Katlin mapped out Merrick’s body with her soft yet strong hands, staring at her stomach, then moving around to her back, never stopping and going nowhere near where she knew Merrick really wanted her.
“Who’s teasing now?” Merrick asked, having to look behind her to get a glimpse of her torturer.
“Teasing is arousal without the promise of release,” Katlin said as her hands slid down until she was at the last barrier between her and Merrick’s skin. But instead of removing the navy striped bikinis, Katlin slid her fingers just under the elastic. “I can promise you won’t go wanting.”
“That sure of yourself, baby?” Merrick laughed softly and turned her head even more, so she could see Katlin’s face.
“You’re telling me you’re not turned on?” Katlin squeezed Merrick’s nipple until it felt like a small stone between her fingers. At the same time her other hand went down between Merrick’s legs, finding her wet and hot. “Something tells me you believe my promise.”
