He turned to his back and pul ed me into his side.
“Don’t listen to my aunts. I’m not nearly as scary as they want me to be.”
He was wrong.
He was terrifying.
Chapter Sixteen
Coffee Maker
The alarm went off, Eddie touched a button and rol ed out of bed.
I snuggled into the pil ow.
He wrapped a hand around my wrist and pul ed me out of bed.
“What are you doing?” I asked, half asleep, half pissed off and halfway across the room.
“Time to shower, then time to find bad guys,” Eddie replied.
Shower?
I was stil waking up when he picked me up and put me under the hot water. I looked up at him in disbelief, blinking as the water came down on me when he joined me and pul ed the shower curtain around us.
“Something to learn about me,” I told him, “I’m a Snooze Button Girl.”
He smiled down at me, reached around and grabbed the soap.
What he didn’t do was respond.
I turned my back on him, the best way to hide my naked body.
Why were men so okay with nudity? It wasn’t fair.
Of course, Eddie had a great body, he certainly had nothing to hide. If I had Eddie’s body, I’d probably wander around naked al the time. Not that I had a bad body, I had curves in al the right places. They were curvier a few months ago, when I had time to eat.
“I real y don’t like you,” I said to the showerhead.
His soapy hands came around my middle, he pressed his body against my back and his mouth found my neck.
“Something I have learned about you, you’re grouchy in the morning.”
“I’m not grouchy in the morning,” I grouched.
His hands at my middle separated. One went to cup my breast, the other to cup between my legs.
“No, you’re grouchy al the time,” he said this like it was amusing.
I was only half paying attention. I was more interested in what his hands were doing. His fingers on one hand did a rol on my nipple as his other fingers pressed deep.
It felt nice.
My head fel back on his shoulder.
“I’ve also learned how to make you sweet,” he murmured against my cheek.
I had to admit, he’d definitely learned that.
I turned my head and ran my tongue down his neck.
I tasted water and Eddie, and I didn’t feel grouchy anymore.
*
After our somewhat prolonged and unbelievably enjoyable shower, I brushed my teeth, pul ed on some underwear and one of Eddie’s clean t-shirts and wandered into the kitchen to make coffee. I couldn’t find his coffee maker, in fact, I couldn’t find much of anything.
I went back to the bathroom, knocked on a door that was already opened and entered at Eddie’s cal . He was standing at the sink, wearing jeans and nothing else, shaving.
“I can’t find your coffee maker,” I said.
His eyes slid to me.
“I don’t have one.”
I stared.
Everyone had a coffee maker. This was America.
Even more, Eddie was a cop. Everyone knew cops drank lots of coffee and ate donuts.
I looked at Eddie’s rock-hard abs.
Okay, so maybe Eddie didn’t eat donuts.
I shook off my surprise.
“I can’t find your kettle or any instant,” I tried.
“I don’t have a kettle or instant coffee.” I kept staring.
“What do you do for coffee?”
His eyes went back to the mirror.
“I go to Fortnum’s.”
“Wel then, what do I do for coffee, like, right now?” I asked.
“Get ready for work?” he suggested.
I put on The Glare.
“You need a woman,” I told him, trying to be uppity and throw some attitude.
It wasn’t a smart thing to do.
His eyes came back to me and his expression turned my bones to water.
Eek!
I left the bathroom.
I slapped on minimal makeup, put on jeans and a v-necked, scarlet-red, long-sleeved t-shirt that Mom bought me and yes, you guessed it, it was skintight. I blew my hair dry and pul ed it back in a ponytail holder. Because I felt in the mood, I put on a pair of kick-butt, high-heeled, tan boots and a belt so wide, it strained the limits of my belt loops.
Eddie pul ed on a long-sleeved, white, thermal t-shirt, his jeans, boots and belt, took his gun and cuffs from the drawer in the bedside table and clipped them to the belt on his jeans. His final touch was to grab his badge from the his jeans. His final touch was to grab his badge from the dresser and hook it on his belt.
I picked up my purse and we rol ed out the backdoor.
We were halfway across the yard when I noticed Eddie scanning. My stomach clenched and I started scanning too, looking for heads peering over Eddie’s tal fence. He unlocked the garage and we were in the truck, waiting for the garage door to open, Eddie watching it through his rearview mirror, al the while fishing in his pocket. Then he held out a set of keys to me.
“Keys to the house,” was al he said.
I took them. My stomach clenched again and he started the truck. He was about to put the truck in gear when I put my hand on his forearm. He didn’t move his hand, but his eyes came to mine.