“I suppose so,” Baba said, brow wrinkled. “No one has ever suggested it before. And at the moment, two of us are actually based out of California, so I’m not sure how we’d decide who got which territory.” She shifted one shoulder carelessly. “Besides, why bother? Things are working well enough the way they are.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Liam said in an echo of the casual tone she’d used earlier. “I just thought maybe you’d want to settle down someday. Don’t Babas ever do that?”
“Some do,” she said, thinking about it. “Usually when they are training the next Baba in line. It’s too hard on a young child, moving around constantly like that. Then the other Babas tend to cover the calls that come from too far away. Honestly, I’ve never really thought about it much. It never seemed like the right time.”
His hazel eyes gazed into hers for one long minute. “Is there anything that might make you think about it?”
Somehow her hands had found their way back into his again. Her heart beat against the inside of her chest like a caged bird trying to escape. The colors of his irises changed from blue to green to gray like the ocean, promising adventures completely different from any she’d experienced in her long, wandering life.
Then he leaned in and kissed her, placing one strong hand on either side of her face with surprising gentleness and sliding his lips slowly over hers. Heat roared up from her belly as if she’d walked into a volcano, the molten lava of lust and wanting rising up inside of her like a force of nature.
She kissed him back with enthusiasm, almost growling from the joy of finally having him in her arms, and she could feel the curve of his smile under her lips.
“God, I want you,” he said, pulling back and gazing at her with darkened eyes. “I think I’ve wanted you since the first day I saw you, standing next to that motorcycle in all that leather with this amazing hair floating down around your shoulders.” He ran his hands through her dark tresses as if they were some precious silk from far-off lands.
His desire just inflamed her own, and she pulled her shirt off over her head, loving the stunned and admiring look on his face when he realized she was naked underneath. Then there was only the glorious chaos of ardent kisses, fevered caresses, and low-voiced moans as they explored each other’s secret places, discovering the tender and the hard, the sweet and the salty, reveling in each new find.
At one point they rolled off the couch onto the floor, and it was there that she finally took him into her, drowning in the wonder of it all, surging on the tide of furious passion that swept them both away, leaving them finally storm-tossed and spent, lying in each other’s arms.
Afterward, they were both a little off-balance, awkward with the unexpected intimacy. Clothes rearranged, they sat next to each other, trying to catch their breath and figure out what to say. Liam opened his mouth to speak.
Then the door burst open, and Chudo-Yudo came bounding in, shaking water all over everything, including the two of them. Liam jumped, moving away from her on the couch.
“It’s raining again,” the dog announced.
Baba rolled her eyes at him. “We can see that,” she said acerbically. “You seem to have brought half of it in with you.”
Chudo-Yudo eyed them with hopeful curiosity. “I hope I’m interrupting something.” He waggled furry brows.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Baba said, standing up. “We were just talking. About the case. And stuff.”
Liam rose too. “It’s late,” he said, wiping a splash of moisture off of one arm. “I should go. Talk to the Riders about keeping an eye on those five kids, will you?” He handed her the file, which had somehow gotten knocked onto the floor. “Why don’t you take Kimberly, and I’ll check on Davy as often as I can without neglecting the rest of my job. Hopefully it will stay quiet for a few days.”
Baba shook her head. “I doubt that Maya will wait long to make her move. Not after everything that’s happened.” She could feel the pressure of intuition behind her skull, like the shifting air from an impending storm. “If I had to guess, I’d say she’ll move sometime in the next day or two.” She made a face. “And probably try to find a way to lay the blame on me in the process.”
Liam nodded in grim agreement. “We’ll have to be on our guard,” he said, brushing his hair back one more time. “Especially if we want to catch her off hers.”
Their eyes met, and he gave her a broad smile, making bright blue butterflies materialize outside the window, unseen as they flew off into the rainy night sky.
“Thanks for the pie,” he said. “And everything. I’ll check in tomorrow.”
And then he was gone.