Then, his lips were on mine and there were no more coherent thoughts. All I did was feel. Warm lips, hands touching down on bare skin, my entire body trembling. The heat from his body, so familiar and safe, consumed me. The dark spicy scent of his skin overwhelmed my senses, as our mouths moved as one.
He sucked in a breath, pulling away slightly, wild hazel eyes searching mine. “Tell me to stop if—” His words were lost against my mouth as I clasped at his shirt and pulled him closer against me.Just shut up, I wanted to scream.Just shut up and kiss me. His kiss wasn’t gentle or soft; it was urgent and furious.
“Shut up. Don’t stop,” I breathed into his kiss, sliding my hands up and knotting my fingers in his hair. He moaned softly, a low growl in his throat. Then, his hands were pressed into my waist, my towel slipping down while we tangled together. Every inch of my body melted into his. I became breathless and weightless. The bed dissolved beneath us, the room and sounds of the world blurred to nothing and it was just Dean and me. Rough fingertips ran up my sides, across my arms and neck, dropping down only to begin their tantalizing journey once again. I felt as though they might leave marks along my flesh, burns from the fire he was trailing across my skin.
He pulled the blankets from my skin, unwrapping my entire body. His breath whispered gently against my flesh. “God, Liv.” His mouth was at my ear.
Somewhere, a distant ringing erupted, splashing lights and noise throughout the room. It was incessant and alarming, blocking out our whispered gasps and soft moans.
Dean pulled back, eyes wild, “Just my phone. Ignore it.” He fumbled with the device, trying to shove it away from our tangled bodies.
But it didn’t stop. I peeked down, reading the screen.
Katherine Meyers.
“Dean,” I breathed, keeping my eyes on the phone. “Dean?”
“God, Liv. Don’t stop saying my name.”
“Dean!” I said more curtly, desperately trying to get my lips to disengage with his.
His lips were parted, his breathing heavy. “Why are you saying it like that?”
“Because Katherine Meyers’ name is flashing on your phone,” I said, scooting back and pulling the blankets around me.
Dean glared at me defiantly and yanked the blankets back off. He did a double take at the phone, not registering who I said it was. “What?”
“Pick up the damn phone, Dean.” I chuckled, kicking the phone at him.
He was on his feet at once, phone to his ear. “Hello. Detective Fury here,” he said, clearing his throat. He looked forward, expression tense. “Yes, yes. Thank you. I wanted to speak to you about Detective Thomas Young.”
He listened to the woman for a moment, eyebrows gathering into deep crevices of confusion. “No, I really would like to meet with you. Just a few questions. Yes, I understand, but I’d like to meet with you anyway. Yes, okay.” He glanced at his watch, then turned to look at me with a distraught expression.
“I look forward to meeting with you then,” he pulled the phone from his ear and cut off the call. He hesitated for a moment. Then, he lifted his eyes to meet mine. His hazel eyes looked lost. I stared into them until he looked away.
I blinked, confused. “Well? What did she say?” I asked.
“She’s a sergeant, in a narcotics unit in Brooklyn.” His tone was flat, exhausted.
“Um. Okay. What does that mean?” I asked, confused.
“Nothing, really.” He ran a hand through his hair and stepped closer to the bed. His knee leaned against the mattress. “I just didn’t think she was on the job.”
“Maybe they were friends? Or maybe he was working with her on something? Like a case or—”
“Or maybe he was just fucking her, like Lucy thinks,” he sneered, furiously.
I reached forward, thoughtlessly, to touch his hand, but he jerked it away quickly. My hand dropped onto my lap, my heart stuttering with confusion. His expression hinted at an end to our kiss, to our moment—an indefinite one, and my insides twisted, making me instantly sick. “What…what can I do? How can I help?” I asked desperately, not wanting him to feel alone. We didn’t have to be alone, did we? We could go through it together. I could be there for him and prove to him I was dependable and strong and capable and worth all the effort.
Only if he just—
“Liv, no. You have so much going on in your life right now, your mom. Your life in Vermont, I…can’t…” His tone was flat, bleak.
“You can’t what?” I asked, gritting my teeth together.
“This. This is what. ThisiswhyI can’t.” He held the phone up to my eye level and squeezed it in his fist. “I can’t try to make things happen between us when I’m always running out the door. She could only meet with menow. And right now, I’m here with you.” His voice had an edge to it, and he looked at me with cold eyes. “I’m torn between wanting to stay in this room with youright here,right now, and let the world go on without us, but I can’t do that to you. For what? Just to get inside you? And if I wanted more? I can’t ask you to wait for me when you have your hands full and a life hundreds of miles away. I don’t even know what you do for a living.”
“I’m a teacher. This is winter recess for the kids. I need to be back Monday morning.”
“So you do have a few more days that you can stay here?” His voice was pleading.
“I could stay a few more, yes.”
His mouth moved, yet the words stayed unspoken, and the question remained unasked. “I can’t ask you to stay. But, God I really want to.” He fixed his shirt and pants as I clutched the blankets tighter around my bare body. “Youshouldjust leave, Liv. You should. You should run the fuck out of here and go somewhere where you could find something or someone who will always put you first.” His nose flared as he stared at me. “All I would ever be able to give you is a lifetime of me and my back as I’m leaving.”
Then, he made good on his promise and walked right out the bedroom door.
