Okay, only partly true.
Burke’s face turned a new shade of crimson at my confession. Losing police property was no laughing matter, and I ground my teeth, hoping the guilt wasn’t written across my face.
Because right up there with losing police property on the list of things you should absolutely not do was using it for kinky sexgames.
What was I thinking?
After stomping my way through the parking garage in what I know was a childish show of emotion, but unable to stop it, I drove home in a rage, pulled into my garage, and tilted the seat back in my car. Staring at the car ceiling as the roller door finished closing, I was encased in almost complete darkness. I picked at a loose thread on peeling fabric as I dialed my phone, feeling the weight of the situation wash over me, my anger dissipating into despair.
“Nikki.” His voice was as smooth as ever, and I sighed loudly at the sound of it. Something simply about hearing my name from him was enough to send a chill through me and calm my nerves, dimming only some of the anger, but it was enough for now.
“Cade,” I answered. “We speak again.”
“You can’t stay away, can you?” There was silence when I tried to gather my thoughts. “Angel? Are you okay?”
I closed my eyes and sighed again. He had used that nickname in the note he left me and a couple of times when we went on our picnic slash messed-up date, and I never corrected him. Because he wasn’t doing it to tease or out of malice but genuine endearment, and there was something so sweet about that, so I allowed it.
Anyone else and I’d kick their ass.
“Why do you ask?” I whispered, aware of the emotion bubbling in my voice but trying to ignore it.
“You sound different.”
“I’m in the garage.”
He huffed out a laugh, a single deep note. “No, I mean, your voice sounds different. What’s going on? Are you okay?”
The last few words were tinted with an almost frantic edge, and something told me if I called him to my side, he’d be herein an instant and beat up anyone who had made me feel bad. Despite myself, I smiled. “Just got suspended.”
“What? Why?”
I shrugged before remembering he couldn’t see the gesture. “Got into a fight over my father.”
“Oh.” Cade’s voice dropped again, filled with sorrow. “I’m sorry, angel.”
“It’s okay,” but my following sigh said it was pretty far from okay. “I needed to ask you about my handcuffs.”
“I put them in your living room.”
“So you told me, but I couldn’t find them, and as part of my suspension, I have to hand them in. Can you come over and help me look?”
It was a feeble excuse, and both of us knew it. Anger, guilt, and fear were swirling inside me in an explosive cocktail that left me drained and empty instead of revving me up. I called him for company, but as soon as I heard his voice, all I could think about was his hands on me. Cade drew me to him, and I can’t remember a time I’ve ever needed a physical release as much as I do now.
Beyond the distraction he could offer was a need for companionship. I was tired of being alone and lonely, and while it was a cage of my own building, I was struggling to break it apart. While Cade may not be able to break me free, he sure as hell would make my self-imprisonment more bearable.
“Yeah, okay, I can do that…” he trailed off. “I’m out on delivery at the moment. Got a dining table to drop off and an old one to pick up. I’ll be over in a few hours.”
“Okay. I’m not going anywhere.”
There was mostly silence on the line, where all I could hear was the rumbling of the truck he was driving in the background.
“Angel?”
He breathed the word out, and I imagined him saying itagainst my ear as he lay on top of me. Warmth flushed between my legs, and I leaned my head back against the headrest on the seat, sighing into the darkness.
“Yeah?” I whispered.
“If you want company, all you have to do is ask, you know?”
