Passion's Price
She didn’t realize that her skirt hem had crawled nearly to her waist until she felt his strong fingers clasp her thighs. As scared as she was, the feeling of his hands, gentle but firm, sent shock waves through her body. With one hand just below her buttocks and the other under her armpits, he pulled her body inch by inch back into the room.
“This window won’t open any farther,” he said, “and I don’t want to hurt you. Try to move your head to the side so that I can get you in here without bruising you.”
“Nobody asked you to do this,” she said, fuming at having been caught. “Take your hands off me.”
“Now you listen to me, Darlene. If you’d been successful, you’d be dead by now. Jumping feetfirst would have rewarded you with a broken leg and maybe a severely injured spine, but headfirst…” He pulled her in a bit more. “I’ve tried to protect you, but you don’t believe you’re in jeopardy. If I open that front door and give you permission to leave, I guarantee that you wouldn’t reach the end of this block without being followed. If you were lucky enough to get to your hotel, you’d be a sitting duck there.”
“Nobody would bother me in that hotel.”
His left hand cradled the back of her head as he eased her feet to the bottom of the Jacuzzi.
“Don’t ever do anything like that again,” he said, still holding her in his arms.
Embarrassed, frustrated and flustered, intending to give him one of her razor-sharp barbs, she looked up at him and gasped. Every inch of her skin, every nerve in her body responded to the fiery turbulence in his eyes. She couldn’t move and didn’t want to.
“You…uh…you can put me down now.”
With his hand at the back of her head, he stared down into her eyes. “That isn’t what you want, and it is definitely not what I want.” His lips were an inch from hers.
“Open your mouth and take me in.”
“P-put m-me down. I…” His lips parted, and his masculine aura enveloped her until, nearly out of her mind with a strange, peculiar need for him, her hands went behind his head and brought his mouth to hers.
“Kiss me, baby.” The hoarseness of his voice communicated a sense of urgency. She pulled him into her mouth and tasted him as if she’d never had anything so good. His tongue began to dip and sample every crevice of her mouth, teasing and tantalizing her until the heat at her core made her thighs tremble. He didn’t spare her, and when his hand went to her breast, she clasped the back of it, pressing it to her flesh. He rubbed her nipple until she was ready to beg him to take it into his mouth. But when his other hand went to her buttocks, she came to herself and moved back. He released her at once.
But he brought her back to him in a gentle hug that heightened her desire. “You didn’t intend for it to go that far, and neither did I, but don’t tell me you’re sorry.”
“I’m not in the habit of lying, Detective—I mean Mike.”
“So you’re not sorry?”
She stepped out of his embrace and put on her shoes. “A lot of good being sorry would do. I just want to get back home.”
He began to readjust his clothing, revealing taut muscular abs. He was the epitome of the kind of man she’d dreamed of.
“Some people kiss and tell. It seems you kiss and run.”
Without thinking, she threw her left shoe at him. “You know exactly how to get on my last nerve.”
“I don’t get on your nerves, Darlene. I remind you that you’re a woman, and you don’t want to think about that.” He picked up the shoe and handed it to her.
Darlene jumped up. With her body inches from his, she wagged her finger in his face. “If you say something like that to me again, I’ll…I’ll…”
He grabbed the moving finger. “You’ll what? Come, let’s go downstairs. Boyd probably thinks I’ve killed you.”
“You’re probably right,” she said. “I suspect he’s not dealing with a full deck, but he’s such a sweet man. I like him.”
He took her hand and then dropped it. “Yeah. I like him, too. A lot, and as long as I have this job, nobody’s going to harm him.”
A frown creased her face. Did Mike think her capable of harming Boyd, or anyone else? She left his side and rushed down the stairs ahead of him, annoyed with herself for having what, until that moment, had been for her a tender, sweet and memorable kiss.
He bounded down the stairs behind Darlene and stepped in front of her. “What tripped your trigger this time?”
With a toss of her head, she walked around him. “You do that more easily than anybody I ever knew.”
“I don’t doubt it. Let me know when you figure out why.”
“Are you all right, Darlene?” Boyd asked her. “What happened? I don’t think you had time to get a little rest.”
“No, I didn’t. But Michael, I mean Mike, wanted to be certain that I stayed in line, so he came up to check on me. I think I’ll stay down here so that he can keep an eye on me.”
“She means I caught her trying to escape out of the window. Tonight, she sleeps down here on the couch.”
“Oh, my,” Boyd said. “I do wish the two of you would be friends.”
“Thanks, Boyd, but try being friends with an angry lion and see where you end up. I should be allowed to make a call.”
“Stop worrying. I called your brother Clark, and he said you’re getting precisely what you deserve, because you’re nosy and you’re always getting into things that aren’t your business.”
She glared at him. “You telephoned my brother? How’d you find him, and who told you I have a brother?”
Mike lifted his right shoulder in a quick and dismissive shrug. “It appears that the Cunninghams of Frederick, Maryland, are well-known. I’m a police detective. There isn’t much I can’t find out.”
“I could dislike you a lot.”
She wanted to wipe the smug expression off his face.
“But you won’t. You’re a smart lawyer, and that means you have a good memory. I’m betting you won’t be able to forget what happened upstairs for a long time.”
She opened her mouth to deny it, but she was a good lawyer, and she couldn’t lie. Without saying a word, she sat down and looked away from him.
Chapter 2
The doorbell rang. Mike started toward the front door, stopped and turned to Darlene. “Stay put and don’t say a word. It could be anybody, and you could be in danger.” He put his right hand under the left side of his jacket and went to the door.
“Hey, man, am I glad to see you,” he said after slipping the chain and opening the door. “I need to pick up a few things. There isn’t a bit of coffee in this house.”
Mike led another man into the room.
“You can bring some when you come tomorrow morning,” the other man said.
“I’m thinking of changing things here. You have a family, and I don’t. This is a four-bedroom house, so I can bunk here,” Mike said as he led the other man, presumably his replacement, into the living room. “Come on in, and I’ll introduce you to the latest addition to our problem. Detective Cody Johnson, this is attorney Darlene Cunningham.” Cody walked over to Darlene and looked at her, though he didn’t offer to shake hands.
“How’d you get involved in this?”
“I rang the doorbell, Boyd let me in and his honor over there detained me. I’m grateful that I’m not in handcuffs.”
“I see you’re full of attitude. You’ve got a mouth on you, too.” Cody turned to Mike. “How’d she get past you?”
“That’s one of the things that’s bothering me, Cody. A green Jaguar cruised slowly past here three times yesterday. This morning, it came by again, slowing almost to a crawl when it passed this house, so I followed it until it turned into Route 61 and headed toward Mississippi. That took me away for about fifteen minutes. When I got back here, Ms. Cunningham was about to leave. I’m not certain that her arrival at precisely that time wasn’t planned.”
Cody rubbed his chin with his right thumb and index finger. “I see.” He walked over to Boyd. “How’s it going, man?”
“Wonderful, Cody. Darlene is a lovely woman and so pleasant.”
“I guess you or any other man would say that after weeks of only Mike and me for company.”
Cody Johnson had spent a quarter of a century in the Memphis police force. He’d worked his way up to the job of detective, which he’d held for the past six years. At fifty years of age, he was a hardened lawman, though fair and honest. He walked back to Darlene. “Detective Raines is in charge of this operation, but when it comes to dealing with criminals, I take a backseat to no man. So, if you haven’t committed a crime, be sure to maintain that record on my watch. If you do, I’ll handcuff you and take you to jail.”
“What kind of crime can I commit with you watching my every move?”
“Resisting an officer is a crime.”
“I’m a practicing attorney. Thanks for educating me.”
Mike watched the interplay between Darlene and Cody and concluded that Darlene wouldn’t last five hours in the house with Cody. She couldn’t resist being a smartass, and Cody wouldn’t tolerate it.
“I’ll go home, pack a bag and pick up some food for Boyd. I should be back here in about two and a half hours. So call Gail and tell her you’ll be home for dinner.”
“Works for me, man. I’d hate to have to arrest Ms. Cunningham, but with her mouth, she’ll be in that jail on Haley Road before it gets dark,” Cody said.
Mike walked over to Boyd. “Since I’m going to the supermarket for coffee and milk, what else do you need?
“Thanks for asking, Mike. We need bread, some more brioche, butter and…” He looked at Darlene. “What do you like to eat for breakfast?”
“I’ll eat whatever you have, but I love any kind of berries, scrambled eggs, bacon and toast.”
Boyd looked at Mike.
“Okay. Okay. I get the message,” Mike said. “See you later.” He headed to the door. Then, as in an afterthought, he went back to Darlene. “Darlene, please obey Detective Johnson. I wouldn’t want you to spend a night in a Shelby County jail. But if he takes you there, I’ll know you deserved it.”
He didn’t feel any better for having warned her again, since he knew that being a smartmouth was as much a part of her as breathing. He knew he’d better get back there in a hurry.
He could have released her at once, and perhaps he should have, because he didn’t believe she knew anything about the case involving Boyd. But she went there seeking information—according to her—and hadn’t told him what she was looking for or why. He’d acted according to the law, and he wouldn’t allow his physical attraction to her to lure him into doubting his professional judgment.
He put his key into the door of his apartment, but the door opened before he could open it. “Mr. Raines, I didn’t know you’d be here this evening,” Jessie, his housekeeper, said. “This whole place is torn up. The carpets, bedding and cushions have to be aired out and cleaned every so often. Ain’t no place for you to sit down.”
He patted her shoulder. “Not to worry. I’m on stakeout tonight and for how long I don’t know, maybe two nights, maybe a month.”
She put her hands on her hips and looked up at him. “You be careful now. You hear?”
“I’ll do that, Jessie. What kind of coffee do you buy for me?”
“Any deep-roasted Columbian coffee is good.” She wrote down the brand that she bought and handed him the note. “I think this is the best around here.”
“Thanks.” He went to his room, packed what he’d need for three days and came back to the den, where Jessie was polishing furniture. “You have my private number in case you need me. I’ll be in touch.”
“Yes, sir. I sure hope it’s air-conditioned where you gonna be.”
“I’ll be comfortable. See you.” After he got behind the wheel of his silvery gray SUV, he wished he’d remembered to ask Jessie which supermarket she usually went to. He stopped at the first big supermarket he saw, bought the items on his list along with two six-packs of beer, two bags of Cajun-style corn chips and a bag of his favorite candy bars.
“If I’m gonna be held hostage by temptation, I may as well have something to divert my attention,” he said aloud while storing his purchases in the trunk of his car.
“That was pretty fast,” Cody said when Mike returned after less than two hours.
“Stay for a cup of coffee, Cody. Mike makes wonderful coffee,” Boyd said. He looked at Mike. “I hope you remembered what Darlene likes for breakfast.”
He didn’t like being put on the spot in Cody’s presence, so he shrugged to give the appearance of disinterest. “I bought what you asked me to buy.”
“Good,” Boyd said. “Will you make us some coffee?”
Mike wondered, not for the first time, if Boyd was really mentally challenged or very shrewd. He could tell Boyd to make the coffee himself, but he’d hate the taste of it. “Sure. As soon as I put this stuff away,” he said. He quickly stored his stuff in one of the spare bedrooms, then made the coffee. Boyd relieved him of the job of serving it.
“If I have to have police protection, I hope Mike stays with me, because he is such a kind and considerate gentleman,” Boyd said to Darlene.
Cody cleared his throat. “Yeah, he is that, provided you don’t break the law or otherwise get on the wrong side of him.”
Mike knew Darlene was deliberately refusing to look at him. What had happened to her rambunctious behavior? Was this show purely for Cody’s benefit? Mike wondered if Darlene the hellion would reappear the moment his partner walked out the door.
“This is really good coffee,” Darlene said to Mike, interrupting his thoughts.
“Thanks. All I did was put coffee in the filter, put it over a coffeepot and pour boiling water over it. No sweat involved.”
“It’s good,” she said, looking at Boyd.
Just then, Cody emptied his cup and stood. “Good stuff, man. If you need me, you have my number.”
“Is he coming back?” Darlene asked Mike.
“Not tonight. I’ll be here tonight.” He looked at Boyd. “We’ve decided to stay inside for a while, instead of outside in the car. If the people who are after you don’t see one of us sitting out there, they may decide to show their hand.
“Nothing’s stopping them now. They could walk in just as Darlene did,” Boyd responded. “By the way, won’t they see your car out there? They’ll know you’re still here, won’t they?”
“I changed cars. They won’t recognize this one.” He looked at his watch. “It’s six twenty-five. Why don’t we watch the evening news?”
“When do we eat dinner?” Darlene asked them. “I’m getting hungry.”
“I guess you are,” Mike retorted. “You barely touched that stuff you ordered for lunch. Are you on a diet?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m not.”
“And you’re not taking any medicine, either?” When she shook her head, he became concerned. “I suspected that.” He softened his voice so as not to annoy her. “You seem subdued, and I’m not sure I like that. You’re a fighter. What happened while I was gone?”
“I’m tired,” she said, but he didn’t believe her. He went into the kitchen, ostensibly for more coffee, and called Boyd in for a private conference. “Did Cody and Darlene have a problem while I was gone?”
“Well, she managed to tell him that she didn’t like cops, and he told her he wasn’t going to babysit a smart-mouthed woman and that if she said anything else to him, she’d be in jail before you got back here. Then he took out the handcuffs and put them on the coffee table. I think she got the message.”
Mike couldn’t help feeling her pain, but he knew that, if pushed, he would do the same. He poured a second mug of coffee, added milk and took it to her.
She looked up at him, and smiled. “Thanks so much. I wanted some, but I didn’t feel that I should ask.”
In other words, the weight of her predicament had settled on her. “I hope this will soon be over, Darlene, and you can get on with your life.”
“There was no way that I could have avoided this, Mike. I need to verify my client’s alibi if I’m going to clear him. The information I have led me here. What was I supposed to do but come here?”
“I always check things out first. You should have done that before you came to Memphis. Develop a good relationship with a first-class detective and talk to him or her. Investigations require special training and experience, without which you can walk right into a trap.”
“I don’t know any detectives in Frederick.”
“There must be someone in Baltimore. This business is too dangerous for a neophyte.”
He saw that she took in every word he’d said and told himself to back off. Her safety was not his concern. In truth, he shouldn’t have cared whether she was in danger or not. But he might as well admit it: he didn’t want anything to happen to her, he thought to himself.
“Thanks, Mike,” she said. “I’m the youngest in a three-person firm. How can anyone develop professionally in that environment? I work there, because being a partner in the firm is worth ten times the experience I’d get as a lawyer working alone.
For some reason he had an overwhelming desire to protect Darlene, but that wasn’t his job. He was there to protect Boyd. “I suggest we order dinner. It’ll be nearly an hour before it arrives.” He looked at Darlene and winked. “I take it you don’t want what you had for lunch.”
He could see that she bristled. “Don’t remind me of that. I want a soup and salad.”
“Okay,” Mike said.
“What are you having?” Darlene asked Mike.
So she wanted to be friendly. Fine with him. “Probably a burger and fries.”
“I’ll have what Mike’s having,” Boyd said.
Mike paid careful attention to Boyd. He wanted to make sure Boyd, who was a witness in a high-profile drug case and in protective custody, made it to trial.
Darlene had realized that Cody Johnson wasn’t as accommodating as Detective Raines. She had prayed that Mike would soon return. She decided to refrain from annoying Mike so that he wouldn’t call in a replacement.
“Do you mind if I go to the bathroom and freshen up?” she asked Mike. “I wish I could change. I’m sick of these clothes.”
“You’ll find a white terry-cloth robe in the guest-room closet,” Boyd said. “Why don’t you take off your shoes and let your feet rest? You won’t mind, will you, Mike?”
“Check out the guest room,” Mike said to Darlene. “You might be surprised by what you find?”
She slowly went up the stairs, suspicious that Mike didn’t follow her. In the guest-room closet, she found the terry-cloth robe and a pair of white furry slippers. Unfortunately, they were too small for her feet. In the bathroom, which was painted and tiled in gray, she found the makings of a luxurious bath. She wrapped her hair in a towel, filled the tub, sprinkled the bath salts in the water and stepped in. Enormous bubbles covered her body, and she closed her eyes as the scent of one of her favorite perfumes filled the room. Within minutes, she fantasized that Mike Raines’s strong fingers were stroking her legs. Then they moved boldly to her thighs. She parted them, and his fingers went into her, gently massaging her. She wet her lips and a moan escaped her lips, bringing her to her senses.
“My Lord!” she exclaimed aloud. “Have I lost my mind?”
She got out of the tub, dried off, washed her face and dried it with a plush gray towel. She examined the silver hairbrush on the dressing-room table, decided that it was clean and its bristles strong. She tamed her hair with it, then dressed again in the clothes she had been wearing earlier. She started down the stairs and saw Mike coming up.
“It hasn’t been forty minutes,” she said when they stood side-by-side on the same step.
“”I know that.”
“Don’t you trust me?”
“Oddly enough, I do.”
“Then—”
Without a word he pulled her closer and bent toward her lips. Still hot from her lovemaking fantasy, tremors shot through her and her breath caught short. When she wet her lips, he picked her up and carried her back to the guest room and closed the door.
“This doesn’t make a bit of sense to me, Darlene, but I want you.”
“I hoped that you’d come back. I don’t know what I’d have done if it had been someone else for the rest of the stakeout.”
“Because of Cody?”
“No. Because I wanted you. I can still feel your hands on my body easing me through that window. I can—”
His tongue slid along the seams of her lips and frolicked there for a second before she opened her mouth and sucked him in. He tasted and tested every crevice and every centimeter of her mouth, until she felt the warmth ease down her leg as she undulated her body against him. He pulled her closer, and she feasted on him as more heat plowed through her. She rocked against him. Frantic for more of him, she grabbed his hand and rubbed it against her aching nipple. Mike plunged his hand into the neckline of her blouse and tortured her nipple. When she moaned aloud, he lifted her, braced himself against the doorjamb and sucked her nipple into his greedy mouth. She held his head to her and let him feast until the feel of his arousal brought her to her senses.
She pushed against his chest. “Oh, no. I’m sorry, Mike. I didn’t mean for this to happen, but I was still… I mean I’d been thinking… Oh, I don’t know what I mean.”
He set her on her feet, adjusted her blouse and caressed her cheek.
“I can’t believe I went crazy like that, Mike. I’ve never in my whole life felt like that. I’m—”
“When were you thinking of me? Just before you met me on the steps,” he whispered.
She could lie or she could get mad at him. She did neither. “A few minutes before you met me on the stairs. How did you know?”
“Because your face blushed with color, and you wouldn’t look me in the eye. What do you mean you never felt that way before?”
“I haven’t.”
“I see. Is there a man in your life now?”
She buried her face in the curve of his neck. “No one.”
“There’s a strong physical attraction between us, Darlene, and I think we ought to see where it takes us. What about it?”
“I don’t know. I live in Maryland, and you’re here. Besides, I’m not sure I want a guy who can make me do what I just did.”
He stepped back and stared at her. “I hope you’re kidding. You want to be with a man who can’t fire your passion? That makes no sense to me.”
“Come on,” she said. “Let’s go downstairs before Boyd decides we’re up to something. Besides, won’t he sneak out?”
“No. He’s afraid to do that. You never answered my question.”
“But we don’t know each other, Mike.”
“Right. And I’m asking that you give us a chance to get to know each other. I want to know what makes you happy, what ticks you off, angers you, saddens you, your hobbies, your joys, secrets, likes and dislikes. Are you a Republican or a Democrat?”
“Don’t insult me by even suggesting that I could be a Republican.”
“At least I know that much.” He put an arm around her. “Our food should be here any minute. Come on.”
He paid for the food, and she neither objected nor questioned him about it. The three of them ate before sitting down to watch a movie. At about nine o’clock, Boyd announced that he was going to bed.
“You take the guest room, Darlene, and Mike—” said Boyd.
“I’m sleeping down here on the sofa.”
“Sure,” Boyd said. “The sofa opens into a double bed. See you tomorrow morning. Good night, Darlene. I’m sorry you have to be here, but in a way, I’m glad you came. You brighten the place.”
Darlene watched as he climbed the stairs—almost jauntily, she thought.
“He seems happy,” Darlene said to Mike when they were alone.
“I think he is. He likes you a lot. You’re gracious and…well, gentle with him.”
“So are you.”
“I’m just being myself. A woman expresses gentleness quite differently than a man. Besides, he doesn’t want me fussing over him, but your little pats on his arms and his shoulders make him feel cherished.”
She walked over to Mike and gave his shoulder a soft caress. “Did that make you feel cherished?”
His eyes darkened, and his nostrils flared. “Unless you want to spend the night on this sofa with me, get up those stairs.”