Cali watched Brit give Susan a hug. The airport noise bounced around the light gray walls like ping pong balls. Families whispering goodbye, voices raised with excitement as they spotted loved ones, and an occasional beep of security catching someone’s keys in their pocket. Glancing around, she saw what appeared to be a mother and daughter embracing and Cali’s chest tightened. For just a second, she felt so completely alone. Alone in a world where everybody had someone.
Not wanting to go melodramatic, she focused again on Brit and Susan.
“I love you,” Susan said to her brother.
“Back at you,” Brit said, hugging her. Glancing over his sister’s shoulder, his gaze met Cali’s and he winked.
Cali smiled.
Susan pulled away from Brit. “Promise me you’ll call Mom occasionally.”
“Have a good flight.” He raised an eyebrow at her.
Susan frowned and turned to Cali. “It was a pleasure to meet you.” Her hug took Cali by surprise, but she didn’t mind.
“Make my brother behave,” Susan said. “If he keeps running around in his boxers, threaten to post one of those naked baby pictures on the Internet. The one taken on that cold day.”
“I will.” Cali laughed. Having never had a sibling, she found their teasing something to be cherished.
As Susan walked away, Brit pulled Cali close. “Told you she liked you,” Brit said.
“You’re lucky. I wish I had a sister,” Cali said. As soon as Susan passed security, Brit led Cali out of the airport.
They stepped out of the elevator and into the parking garage. “I thought we’d order in tonight,” he said as he hit the clicker of his SUV. “What do you want? Chinese? Italian? Me?”
His tone grew soft. His gaze met hers. Then he pulled her into his arms and, leaning her against the passenger door, he kissed her.
His hands traveled up her ribs, dangerously close to her breasts. When the kiss ended, he leaned his forehead against her and took several long breaths. “Alone at last.”
“You don’t work tonight?” Cali asked, a little out of breath herself. Every place he’d touched her, and some places he hadn’t, pulsed with pleasure. The memory of his touch on her bare skin in intimate places had the pulse of pleasure increasing.
“Not until tomorrow.” The heat in his eyes made promises.
She wanted those promises. She didn’t know what would happen after Stan had been brought in, after she learned to deal with her mother’s death, or after Brit learned to deal with the loss of his partner. How much of this magical feeling was situational? When the situation changed, would things change between them? Either way, right now she wanted to let herself feel this.
“Good.” She smiled. “You need a full night’s sleep.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Sleep is so overrated.”
She kissed him, leaning close—all of her against all of him. She slipped her tongue inside his mouth. He gently pressed his hips against hers and she met him in the sensual motion. Footsteps and the sound of rolling luggage broke them apart.
He grinned, his eyes dark with want and his lips wet. “I’d better get you home before you have your way with me right here.”
She felt her cheeks grow red and heard his chuckle.
“I think I’m figuring you out. You can have sex, but you can’t talk sex.” He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Before it’s over with, you’re going to be talking dirty to me.”
Before it’s over with…? Brit’s words rang in her head. Was he too wondering how long this could last?
~
“Shit,” Brit mumbled as he spotted Quarles’ truck parked in his drive way. Then he spotted the man on the porch, his cell phone in his hand. Brit’s cell phone started ringing.
Quarles looked over his shoulder at the SUV and closed his phone. Brit glanced at Cali as he pulled to a stop. “Have you ever seen a grown man cry?”
She bit down on her lip and offered him a shy smile.
Frowning, he got out of his SUV. “What’s up?”
Quarles looked toward the driveway as Cali stepped out of the SUV, then he met Brit’s eyes with sympathy. “Sorry.”
Brit didn’t attempt to hide his frustration. “You should be.”
“It’s Rina,” Quarles said. “She disappeared from the safe house. I stopped by the precinct, and the officer watching her called in while I was there. He thinks she took off in search of a hit. Said she looked like she was having a meltdown.”
Brit raked a hand through his hair and glanced back at Cali. He wanted to tell Quarles he didn’t give a rat’s ass about Rina and insist he call someone else to track her down. But he couldn’t.