Fingertips forged a tingling path across my shoulder. I smiled and rolled towards them. They trailed their way back along my collar bone and up my neck to my face. I nuzzled into the hand as it cupped my cheek.
‘Billy.’ His name came out as a sigh.
‘Morning, Babe.’
I reached for him, my hands catching in the fabric of his shirt.
Clothing?
I cracked open an eye and peered up at him. ‘Why are you dressed?’
He held a mug towards me. ‘Coffee?’
I sniffed. He smelt of pine needles. ‘You’ve showered and everything.’
‘I went to the gym.’
I took the coffee from him and placed it on the bedside table. Then I grabbed the bottom of his shirt and yanked it up towards his head.
He let out a chuckle. ‘You’ll be late for work.’
‘Don’t care.’ My words were muffled by the taut muscles of his abdomen. I trailed my lips over the soft skin there. ‘You had a work out, now it’s my turn.’
He let out a little moan as my tongue passed over his nipple. ‘Ramy won’t be impressed if you’re late.’
I pushed myself into a kneeling position so I could wrestle the shirt up over his head. ‘What more can he do? I’ll probably be on the front desk till I’m old and grey.’ I still wasn’t sure what I’d done to earn my boss’s wrath this time.
My teeth nipped at his earlobe as I pulled him down on top of me. I wrapped my fingers in his thick hair and pulled his head towards me till I could take his mouth with mine. We kissed for a few, glorious seconds.
He broke away and I stared dreamily into his chocolate-brown eyes. There was no way I was letting him off that bed till I had what I wanted.
‘Actually, Trent said… .’ His sentence was replaced by a groan as my hands slid under the waistband of his pants.
‘Trent said what?’ I stopped and peered up at him.
‘Really? You’re going to stop now?’ He looked down at his tracksuit pants and raised an eyebrow at me.
I stifled a giggle. ‘What were you going to say?’
He sighed and rolled off me, looking down at his pants as he said, ‘I know, boy. She may be a tease, but she’s our tease.’
‘Billy.’ I shook his shoulder gently.
‘I saw Trent at the gym. He said you would be back on the beat today.’
‘Really?’ I sat up and ran my hands through my hair. ‘Why didn’t you say so before?’ I glanced at the clock. ‘Oh no. I’m going to be late.’ I jumped out of bed, grabbed my coffee, and scampered down the stairs to the little bathroom.
‘Hey, boy.’ I bent and ruffled the hair curling on the top of Cocoa’s head. He let out a ruff, licked my hand, and then padded back to the kitchen, looking wistfully up at the bench. Billy had taken the bacon out of the fridge.
I took a couple of mouthfuls of my coffee as I waited for the water to heat up, and then tipped the rest down the sink. My shower was perfunctory, more a ritual than an actual washing.
‘Your uniform is on the bed,’ Billy called from the kitchen below as I charged back up the stairs.
I looked over the mezzanine edge, blew him a kiss and then climbed into my uniform. It took another couple of minutes to turn my bedhead into a tidy bun. Then I headed for the front door.
‘Here.’ Billy handed me a plastic container. ‘I made you a salad for lunch.’
I hooked my free arm over his neck and pulled myself up for a last kiss. As normal, as soon as my lips touched his, all urgent thoughts of time fled.
‘You’ll be late,’ he murmured against my mouth.
‘Right.’ I grabbed the lunchbox and shoved it into my backpack before bending to give Cocoa a hug. His eyes stayed fixed on the bacon. ‘Don’t feed him too much. He’ll put on weight.’
‘He’s already been for a run this morning.’
‘You went to the gym and for a run? Why didn’t you wake me?’
His smile was devilish as he said, ‘Well, you didn’t get much sleep last night. Or the one before that.’
I could feel a blush start up my cheeks as I pulled the door open. He still had his shirt off and memories of the night before were running rampant through my mind. It was only thoughts of being put back on the front desk that got me out the door.
Trent had said I’d be back on the beat? Ramy didn’t normally share his plans with anyone, not even his detective. So how did Trent know that?
***
‘In here, Chanel.’ Trent’s voice was the first thing I heard when I barged in the front door.
A woman I’d never seen before stood behind the counter. I waved at her as I trotted past. ‘I’m, Chanel,’ I said.
‘Lucille.’ Her smile was friendly.
Trent’s voice had come from Ramy’s office. I slid to a stop outside, dropped my bag, smoothed down my skirt and pasted a smile on my face.
‘Come in,’ Trent said.
I poked my head around the door, trying to gauge what sort of mood Ramy was in. Trent sat in Ramy’s chair.
‘Where’s…?’ I looked over my shoulder to see if he was waiting behind me. It would be just my luck for him to overhear me saying something unpleasant about him.
Not that I would ever do that. Not about my Commanding Officer. No, Siree.
‘He’s taken long service leave.’
‘Really?’ I couldn’t hide the delight in my voice as I stepped into the room.
‘Yes.’ Trent gestured at the seat opposite the desk from him.
I sidled up to it and poked it with a finger. I normally didn’t get asked to sit down when I was in that room. It was making me nervous.
‘Sit, Chanel.’ Trent’s voice held exasperated affection. I suspected I would have become his step-daughter if Harry hadn’t come back into our lives. I knew he only had my best interest at heart.
‘’Kay.’ I threw one more glance over my shoulder to make sure Ramy wasn’t waiting to pounce, and then I pulled out the chair and slid into it. I bounced experimentally up and down a couple of times. Comfy.
‘You met Lucille?’
‘The lady out the front?’
‘She’s been working admin in the city station. They’ve agreed to let us use her here.’
I raised an eyebrow at him as I continued to bounce. It really was a very springy chair.
‘Ramy’s been using admin as a punishment. I thought our constables’ talents would be better used out in the field.’
I stopped bouncing. Ramy was going to be furious when he found out. ‘So…how long exactly is his long service leave?’
Trent shrugged and leaned back in his chair. He stretched his long legs out in front of him, shifting in his seat as he crossed his ankles. ‘I’m not really sure.’
I could feel my eyebrows lowering as I leaned forward.
‘You’re going to get frown lines if you keep that up,’ Trent said.
‘I’m not frowning. I’m thinking.’
‘Oh, is that what the smoke is from?’
I let out a laugh and sat back, slumping lower as I kicked my own legs out. I stared at the tip of my shoes as I wiggled my feet back and forth. ‘He’s on long service. You don’t know when he’s coming back but you’ve already made changes.’
I looked up at Trent. He was watching me with a bemused, half smile.
‘He’s not coming back, is he?’
‘Is that a question or a statement?’
‘Stop avoiding the question.’
‘Ahhhhh. So a question then.’
‘Trent,’ I squealed in exasperation.
He let out a laugh. ‘I still can’t get over how much Ramy used to underestimate you. You’re the best constable here.’
Heat washed up my cheeks. ‘Daniel’s better than me.’
Trent shook his head. ‘Daniel’s more diligent than you.’
‘And smarter.’
‘And smarter.’ He nodded his head. ‘But he’s missing your intuition. You’re like a bullshit-seeking missile.’
Laughter burst out of me. ‘A bullshit-seeking missile?’
‘You know what I mean.’
My laughter stilled. ‘I didn’t see Roger coming.’
He pulled his legs back in and sat forwards, his elbows resting on the table as he said, ‘None of us saw Roger coming.’
I nodded. All of a sudden words were incapable of conveying the complexity of my feelings.
Trent nodded. ‘You’ll be with Bob today.’
That was one of the things I loved about the people in my life. They knew when not to push.
‘Thanks.’ Working with Bob was easy. As long as I let him eat when he wanted to, he let me do whatever I wanted.
‘So, how’s Billy?’
I paused at the door and looked at Trent over my shoulder. ‘Great. But, you saw him this morning. You should know that.’
‘Oh, of course.’ Trent pulled a face. ‘I meant, how are you and he?’
I could feel the blush lighting up my face.
‘Forget I asked.’ Trent waved a hand at me.
I scampered out the door and down the corridor to where the office room was.
‘You okay?’ Bob stopped in the act of putting a biscuit into his mouth as I burst through the door. ‘You look all,’ he circled his hand in front of his face, ‘flustered.’
‘I’m great, thanks.’ I hurried to the female locker rooms and placed my bag in my locker, remembering my lunch at the last second.
Bob was waiting for me when I came back out. ‘What’s that?’ he nodded his head at the plastic container in my hands.
‘A salad.’ I crossed the room to the fridge and deposited it safely within. I would have worried about the safety of the contents if it had been anything but a salad.
‘When did you start making your lunch?’ Bob still held the half-eaten biscuit in his hand.
‘I didn’t. Billy did.’
Bob’s face lit up. ‘Is Billy coming in today?’
‘Billy’s coming?’ Dave looked up from his desk.
I sighed. It wasn’t just women who swooned when Billy was around. All of my co-workers had a professional crush on him.
Daniel pushed his glasses further up his nose. His face twisted between a smile and a grimace. ‘Oh good. I had something I wanted to ask him about. I was reading up on the Maratti case, and I was wondering how he worked out that Mrs Maratti was…’
His voice blurred in my head as I studied his face. I wasn’t quite sure what Daniel really thought about Billy. He always had a million questions for him, but almost seemed to resent the answers.
‘He’s not coming,’ I said.
Bob and Dave groaned but Daniel’s face flushed pink. Yes, the jury was still out on that one.
I jumped as the door crashed open behind me. Nathan and Mark pushed at each other as they came through the door.
‘Fifteen minutes to go.’ Mark shook his head.
‘He was shoplifting.’
‘It was a packet of gum.’
‘A box of gum.’
I looked at the clock. The night shift should have left by now.
‘Hey, Boys.’
Nathan raised a hand toward me and then held it up in front of his mouth as a yawn stretched his face. ‘Hey, Chanel. Good to see you back where you belong.’
Mark nodded, his bloodshot eyes sliding past my face to the coffee machine.
‘You start,’ I said. ‘I’ll get you coffee.’
Mark shot me a rueful grin and slumped into the seat behind his desk. He poked at his computer’s start button and stared mesmerised at the screen as it fired up.
Bob joined me as I grabbed two mugs and dumped sugar into them.
‘So,’ he said, ‘how is Billy?’
I glanced sideways at him. ‘He’s great, thanks.’
Mark looked up from his computer. ‘So he’s…happy? Content?’
‘He certainly seems to be.’ I shook my head and stuck the first mug into the coffee machine.
‘He’s making her lunches now,’ Bob said.
Dave pulled a face and sucked air in between his teeth, the noise a cross between a hiss and a wince.
I held the teaspoon up in the air in front of me like a weapon. ‘All right. What’s going on?’
Bob turned away and started whistling, and all of a sudden the computers in the room appeared to be far more interesting than they had been a few seconds ago.
‘Men,’ I muttered under my breath as I turned back to finish off their coffee.
I thumped the mugs down on Mark and Nathan’s tables and headed for the locker room. I didn’t feel like being the butt of some secret joke. Slinging my vest on, I headed straight back out to the gun locker room.
Bob, Dave, and Nathan were clustered around Mark’s table. They bent over a piece of paper, the three of them watching while Mark wrote something. Daniel, the only one seemingly not involved in whatever they were doing, flushed pink and then cleared his throat as I met his gaze.
I cocked my head to the side as I watched them. There was no doubt whatsoever that what they were doing had something to do with me and their repetitive line of questioning.
‘But, he’s making her lunch,’ Bob said.
‘You don’t know that’s a good thing. It could just be a last ditch attempt to keep himself occupied.’ Mark pointed at the piece of paper they were staring at. ‘Look at this graph. The number of times he drops in to see her during the day has been on a downward trend for the last month.’
I felt my mouth pop open in surprise.
‘Maybe she asked him not to,’ Nathan said.
‘Hmmmmm,’ Mark tapped his front teeth with the end of the pen. ‘It could be that. But how do you explain this?’
I crept up behind Bob and peered over his shoulder. The piece of paper was covered in graphs and tables. The table Mark pointed to was labelled, Has An I-Got-Laid Smile When Arriving at Work. The beginning of the table was full of Y’s, while the end had more N’s.
Daniel cleared his throat again and I shot him a look. He grimaced and shoved his glasses up his nose as he turned back to his computer.
‘I’m keeping my bet,’ Bob said. ‘I think he’s here to stay.’
‘I’m so going to hate taking your money,’ Nathan said. ‘That there’s a hard dog to keep on the porch.’
‘Nah,’ Mark said. ‘I don’t think he’ll stray.’
‘You changing your bet?’
‘Nope. I think he’ll just get too bored. I mean he’s obviously somebody who thrives on adrenaline. I give him another six weeks.’
‘This is all very interesting,’ I said. ‘But do I get to place a bet?’
Bob let out a squeak as he turned towards me. The others stared with expressions I imagined would be what a goldfish caught with his fin in the fish food jar would wear.
I leaned across the desk and picked up a red pen. ‘You’ve got this aaaaall wrong.’ I pointed at the I-Got-Laid Smile table. I hummed as I scribbled over every single one of the N’s with a fat, red Y. ‘I knew I’d gotten better at hiding it,’ I said as I stood back to survey my handy work.
The four of them stared at the table.
‘Really?’ Mark said. ‘Every night?’
‘Do you want to start a graph on how many times a night?’ I raised my eyebrows as I stared at him.
‘Nope.’ He gulped. ‘That won’t be necessary.’
‘Right.’ I dusted my hands against each other and turned toward the gun room. ‘You coming, Bob?’
‘Yes, Chanel. Whatever you say Chanel.’ Bob face was a blotchy red.
I kept my face neutral as we loaded our guns and headed out of The Station. I remained calm as we strolled the streets. It was only as Bob was buying his first hotdog of the day that I examined the small ball of panic that had set up camp in my gut.
A hard dog to keep on the porch? Too bored?
Was Billy getting bored? I mean it was nearly three months since I’d come home from the Whitsundays, alone except for my crutches. What had followed had been a miserable fortnight, during which I had cried myself to sleep every night, trapped in the country by my return of service.
And then, like something from a romance novel, Billy had appeared on my doorstop with a backpack, and a bunch of roses. He’d taken leave without pay, because as he said it, ‘If I couldn’t come to him, he’d just have to come to me.’
And since then he’d spent his days like my live-in maid. Cooking and cleaning. Shopping and walking Cocoa. He spent some time with our parents, but…
Ice walked up my spine and the little ball of panic seized its moment. It exploded into a cloud of chaos, a storm of insects biting at me from the inside. I battled it for control of my lungs, only just stopping a shriek from escaping me.
Of course he would get bored. What had I been thinking? He was a lion, and I had him caged up like a pussy cat.
‘Chanel.’
How long? How long did I have before the decay started? How long till he started avoiding my gaze; before he stopped reaching for me at night?
‘Chanel.’
What could I do to stop it? I knew he had applied for a work visa, but would any sort of normal job keep Billy sane?’
‘Chanel.’ Bob shook my shoulder.
‘What?’ I swung towards him.
‘Whoa.’ He skipped back a couple of steps. ‘Your eyes are scary.’
‘It’s the sun. It’s just so bright.’
Bob looked up at the overcast day. ‘Whatever you say.’ He enunciated the words slowly, as he backed away from me. ‘Oh look,’ he pointed at a group of women, ‘they look up to no good.’
I batted the panic back into a little ball. ‘It’s a group of nuns.’
‘Right.’ He stared straight ahead.
‘I’m fine.’
He took a large bite from his hotdog, chewed five times and then swallowed. ‘Don’t let it get to you. I see the two of you together and I can tell it’s the real deal.’
‘Bob.’ I peered up at him. ‘Whatever are you talking about?’
He snorted and shoved more hotdog into his mouth.
‘Come on,’ I said, nudging him with my elbow. ‘Let’s go catch some bad people.’
***
‘Honey, I’m home,’ I said as I shoved the front door open. I threw my bag into its spot by the door and held out my arms just in time to catch Cocoa as he leapt at me.
‘Oh good.’ Billy turned towards me and held out a wooden spoon. ‘You’re just in time to try this.
I froze where I was. He was wearing my hot-pink, frilly apron.
‘Quick.’ He waved the spoon around. ‘Before it gets cold.’
‘What is it?’ I tried to ignore the apron. Cocoa wriggled around in my arms, his eyes intent on what Billy held out for me. ‘Something good by the look of it.’ I placed Cocoa on the couch and shuffled into the kitchen.
‘It’s a recipe I picked up in the grocery store. The woman in the deli said it was to die for.’
I leaned towards the spoon and let Billy feed me, letting out a moan as the warm soup hit my tastebuds. ‘She was right.’
‘Pea and ham soup. So simple to make.’ He turned back towards the stove. ‘The trick is to use a ham hock.’
The ball of panic started jostling the soup for space. ‘How long?’ it whispered.
‘Shut up,’ I hissed back.
‘What was that?’ Billy looked over his shoulder as he stirred the contents of the saucepan.
‘Nothing.’ I gave him my brightest smile. ‘I’m going to get out of my uniform.’
‘I did the washing today. All your clothes are back in your drawers.’
‘Thanks.’ I turned and jogged up the stairs to the mezzanine level. ‘Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up,’ I mumbled at the little ball of panic.
‘Tess and Dad asked if we’d meet them at Dazzle tonight.’
‘Oh, that’s right.’ I stuck my head over the balustrade to stare down at him. ‘The new show starts tonight.’ I couldn’t believe I had forgotten that. Martine would whip my butt and refuse to talk to me for a week if I missed it.
I hadn’t seen as much of her as usual since Billy had shown up. Luckily she had been preoccupied with long phone conversations with Albert.
Billy was still stirring the soup when I came back down but his eyes kept flickering to an envelope sitting on the edge of the kitchen bench next to the phone.
‘What’s that?’
‘What’s what?’
‘This.’ I picked up the opened envelope and fanned myself with it.
‘Oh.’ He bent and opened the oven door and I was distracted firstly, by the shape of his buttocks in his tight, stone-washed jeans, and then by the amazing smell that wafted out of the oven.
‘Is that…fresh bread?’ I bent down next to him and stared into the gap made by the partly-opened door.
‘Uhuh. It’s really not that hard to make. Plain flour, yeast, salt and water.’ He shut the door and turned his attention back to the soup. ‘Of course the trick is in letting the dough rise.’ He looked over at me. ‘You sure learn a lot when you go to the grocery store.’
I let out a snort.
‘What?’
‘I’m sure you learn a lot.’ The women would be lining up to give Billy cooking tips. Probably inviting him around to check out their special recipes. The ball of panic flexed its muscles as Nathan’s voice sounded in my head.
Hard dog to keep on the porch.
‘How far off is dinner?’
‘About half an hour.’
‘I might go for a quick run.’ All of a sudden I needed some fresh air. ‘If I’m going to eat bread.’
I patted my butt and Billy’s eyes widened. He dropped the wooden spoon into the saucepan and turned the stove off.
‘I can think of another way we could get you some exercise,’ he growled as he stalked towards me.
I let out a squeal and ran for the stairs. He caught me at the top, swinging me up easily into his arms. I giggled as he rubbed his stubbled cheek against my neck.
‘The bread. The soup,’ I gasped as he dragged his teeth across my earlobe.
‘They’ll wait.’ He threw me on the bed and stood staring down at me.
The desire on his face made my breath catch. All need to be alone fled. I was right where I needed to be. Here. With Billy.
I was not going to let this go. I would do whatever it took to keep him happy. The panic ball let out a wail as I plucked it out of my chest, but I didn’t have mental room to think about it.
Billy was larger than life, a bright light blazing through my mind. The sense of him was all consuming and I thought about nothing else for the next couple of hours.
***
‘Look.’ Mum shoved her left hand at me, her wiggling fingers making the enormous, new diamond ring dance up and down.
‘Wow.’ I looked over at Harry and raised my eyebrows.
He shrugged. ‘She’s worth it.’
Mum let out a giggle and curled into his side, reaching up to whisper in his ear. Of course her whispers were never quite whisperish enough and I could plainly hear how she was planning on showing him her worth later on.
‘Drink?’ Billy and I said in unison.
He smirked as he threaded his fingers through mine. ‘Maybe you could try that later on tonight?’ he murmured as we pushed our way towards the bar.
‘Maybe I will.’ I pulled a face. ‘Not sure if I’m flexible enough, but you never know until you try it.’
He let out a laugh and moved in front of me, pulling me along behind him. The crowd parted like butter under a hot knife for Billy. Women and men alike left blinking as he passed. Heads pivoted, admiring him as much from the behind as they had from the front. I squashed my urge to yell, ‘He’s mine,’ and instead worked on a smug smile.
The crowd was thick in anticipation of the new show. Bodies jiggling in time with the D.J. Conversations bubbled and laughter roared. I leant back against the bar, staring out across the packed room.
Dazzle had come a long way in the last year and I knew it was mainly down to Mum. Not that I would admit that to her. Her head was already too big as it was.
‘You want the usual Billy?’ Bruce batted his eyelids and sighed.
‘Sure.’ Billy turned towards me.
‘Hurhum.’ I cleared my throat and stared at Bruce, who was busy staring at Billy.
‘Oh right.’ Bruce flashed me a smile. ‘I’m making you something special I’ve been working on.’ He did a little spin on the spot, picked up a martini shaker and flicked it up into the air. Squatting, he pulled a beer out of the fridge and came back up in time to catch the metal shaker. He winked at Billy, flicked the lid off the beer with the shaker and handed him the glass bottle.
‘Impressive.’ I clapped my hands together. ‘You’ve been practising?’
‘A guy’s got to do something to pass the time. Seeing as how I’m all alone.’ He dragged a finger along the bar as he looked up through his thick lashes at Billy. Then he flashed me a grin, picked up the martini shaker and threw some ice into it.
‘Hey, Girlfriend.’ Bianca’s words accompanied the slapping sensation of her tea towel flicking me on my behind. ‘Haven’t seen you around for ages. You been busy?’
‘Working, and well….’ I flashed a guilty look at Billy.
‘Oh, right.’ Her smile spread across her beautiful face and she winked at me. ‘Say no more.’ She flicked her tea towel out at Billy. ‘Now don’t you keep her all to yourself, you hear? Some of us need our Chanel shot every now and then.’
‘Yes, Ma’am.’ He threw her a salute.
‘Come see me later.’ She looked from me to Bruce. ‘The slave master will be all over me if I tell you my news now.’
‘News?’
‘Ahh uhhh. You’re just going to have to wait.’ She tapped her bottom lip with her fingertip. ‘You free Tuesday?’
I started to look at Billy.
‘He’ll be busy Tuesday. Right, Billy?’
If it hadn’t been Billy, my big, tough Billy, I would have sworn he flushed a pretty shade of pink.
Blanca tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips. ‘You haven’t told her?’
‘Haven’t told me what?’
‘Here you go, Princess.’ Bruce slid a cocktail glass towards me. ‘I’m calling it Little Ray of Sunshine.’ He pushed a second glass over. ‘This one’s for Tess.’
‘Tell me what?’ The hair on the back of my neck was standing up. What hadn’t he told me? Why hadn’t he told me?
‘You haven’t told her?’ Bruce pushed another beer towards Billy.
‘I haven’t really had time.’ Billy coughed and looked over at me and I felt a furious blush wash over my cheeks.
We hadn’t even had time for the soup and bread before we’d had to rush down to the club.
‘Niiiiiicccceeee.’ Bianca winked at me and then sashayed off, the movement of her hips drawing the attention of all of the men in the area.
Except for Billy, who was staring at the ceiling and picking at the corner of the label on his beer.
‘Tell me what?’ Panic was starting to form in my gut again.
‘Bruce offered me a job.’
‘Oh.’ I let out a little laugh as the tension drained out of my body. ‘Oh.’ I slumped back against the bar and took a sip of my Little Ray of Sunshine.
He nodded. ‘You’re not angry? You looked like you were going to be angry.’
‘That was when I thought….’ I stopped. No need to tell him what crazy things had been racing through my head.
‘You thought?’ He smiled and leaned towards me.
That you were leaving me for someone else. That you were heading back to America.
‘You’re smiling here.’ He brushed a fingertip lightly over my lips. ‘But it doesn’t reach here.’ He bent, and I closed my eyes as his lips grazed first one and then the other of my eyelids.
‘No.’ I let out a sigh and looked up into his melting-chocolate ones. ‘I’m smiling here.’ I pressed a hand over my heart.
‘You were worried?’
It was uncanny how well he could read me.
I pulled a face and looked down at my shoes. They were sky high, shiny-silver Jimmy Choo knock-offs I had found on eBay. They were worth looking at.
‘The guys at work are running a pool.’
‘A bet?’ He sounded placid enough, but when I glanced up his eyes had changed from molten to hard, dark, chocolate.
I nodded and bit at my bottom lip. ‘They think you’ll get bored and go home.’ I couldn’t help it. Tears formed at the corners of my eyes. I was blaming them on the Little Ray of Sunshine.
He grasped my chin and turned my face up to his. ‘And what do you think?’
‘I think you were wearing a pink, frilly apron and baking bread when I got home today.’
He blinked and then threw his head back. His laugher cascaded over me like a warm blanket. His body shook as he clasped me to him. ‘Pink…frilly…apron,’ he gasped. He dashed a hand across his eyes and then smiled down at me. ‘You’re right and you’re wrong.’
‘About the apron? I mean I saw it. You were definitely wearing it. It looked pretty good on you too.’ I could feel my mouth stretching to match his smile. It felt good to be talking about it.
‘No, you’re right about the apron. And you’re right about my being bored.’ He stopped and tugged me back towards him, his arms trying to mould my suddenly stiff body back into his side.
‘What you’re wrong about,’ his voice was a throaty growl, ‘is my being bored with this.’ His fingers traced a path down my face. ‘Or this.’ He bent and kissed a trail down the side of my neck. ‘Or this.’
I had time to take one last shallow breath, though breathing was nearly impossible, before his mouth closed on mine. My heart beat a rugged staccato as he pulled my now malleable body to his.
I melted, my hands twining into his hair, my legs curling around his. Noise faded away and there was only the sensation of Billy’s body contacting mine.
‘Oops, sorry.’ Something sharp wedged into my back. ‘I told you if I wanted a drink I would have to come and get it myself.’
‘Sorry Tess,’ Bruce said. ‘I should have sent it over with Bianca.’
I released Billy’s lips and stepped back, still linked to him by our gazes which threatened to set something alight.
‘If you want something done…,’ Mum said.
I snapped my eyes from Billy’s. It would be totally inappropriate to do the things I was thinking anyway. They were just going to have to wait.
‘Sorry,’ I said, smiling at her. ‘Just found out that Billy is now Head of Security at Dazzle.’ I raised an eyebrow and looked at Bruce.
‘Head of Security, indeed. Ordering the badge tomorrow.’ Bruce backed nervously away from the bar. ‘I think somebody needs some more Little Rays of Sunshine.’ He grabbed a cocktail shaker and practically sprinted down to the far end of the bar, weaving his way through the staff working that end.
Billy let out a chuckle and kissed me on the top of my head.
‘Head of Security?’ Mum said. ‘We’ve never had a Head of Security before.’ She paused and stared at the ceiling. ‘I like it. It makes Dazzle sound very official.’ She picked up her cocktail glass. ‘Bring me another one when you come, darling. And don’t be long. The show starts soon. Don’t want Martine freaking out when she can’t see you because some gorilla is all over you.’ She flashed Billy a smile, punched him on the shoulder and then pushed her way back through the crowd.
‘There you go.’ I couldn’t be sure but it looked like Bruce was sweating. ‘Two more Sunshines and…,’ he reached into the fridge and came back up with a bottle, ‘a beer for my new Head of Security.’
‘Put it on the tab,’ I said. ‘Oh, and do you want to do dinner on Monday?’ Monday was the only day Dazzle was closed.
‘Sure.’ His frazzled smile relaxed. ‘Got nothing else cooking.’
‘Oh great.’ I laughed as I looked up at Billy. ‘Cause Billy has some great new recipes he’d like to impress you with.’
Billy barked out a laugh. ‘Do I have to wear the apron?’
‘Yes.’ I took a sip of my cocktail. ‘You have to wear the apron.’
***
‘What did you think?’ The only thing more impressive than Martine, was a super-excited Martine in full drag make-up and costume.
I put my hands over my ears to block the high-pitched squeals. ‘You were amazing. When you did that…,’ I held my hands up and flipped then around, ‘thing, I nearly fell off my stool.’
‘I know, right. I told you it was total amazeballs. Did you get it on video? Please tell me you got it on video.’
‘Calm down. I got it.’ I held my phone up.
‘Oh.’ She clapped her hands together and bounced up and down. ‘Can you send it to me? Albie is waiting for it.’
‘Already sent. Where is he now?’
‘Perth.’ She pulled a face. ‘He’s so important. They just don’t give him enough time off. I worry about his health.’ Her frown lasted a millisecond. ‘Oh look, Billy.’
‘Martine.’ Billy scooped up her hand and pressed his lips to the back of it. ‘You were magnificent.’
‘Oh, you can stop with that,’ she batted her eyelids, ‘in another hour or so.’ She let out a laugh and danced away towards the bar where Mum and Harry had taken up residence.
‘Channneeeellllll.’
I placed my hands over my ears again and turned towards the gaggle of drag queens descending upon me. ‘Chanel.’ Tammy put her hand on my shoulder and leaned in to air-kiss me on both cheeks. ‘Ooooh, you smell divine. What is that?’
‘Ummmmm,’ I wracked my brain trying to work out what perfume I was wearing but couldn’t remember putting any on. ‘I think it might be Billy.’ I blushed. ‘I mean his aftershave.’
She let out a giggle. ‘Maybe I should get some of that.’
‘Sorry.’ Billy placed an arm around me. ‘It’s a limited edition. Only enough for one gal.’
‘Well,’ Tammy’s eyes swept up and down his body, ‘if you decide to try a new gal, let me know.’ She looked at me and pulled a face. ‘No offence Chanel, but a girl’s got to let people know she’s willing to interview for a new job, if you know what I mean.’
Oh, I knew what she meant, all right. Girls had been trying to let Billy know all night they were willing to be ‘interviewed’. He, bless his pink, frilly apron, seemed oblivious to it all. I was beginning to relax when I was in public with him. I guess a lifetime of being admired made you oblivious to it all.
This time though, he was particularly oblivious. His gaze fixed on a group of men loitering near the toilets. Three of them. Varied heights. Spanish, maybe Italian. Black leather jackets. Predators.
One held a beer. The others, glasses of red wine. But they didn’t appear to be drinking them. More as if the drinks were props in a stage show.
One of them, the shorter, stockier one, leaned towards the tallest and said something. Beanpole tilted his head to the side and then nodded slowly. He took a sip of his wine, put the almost-full glass on the nearest bar table then jerked his head towards the exit. The other two deposited their drinks, falling into step as they followed him to the stairs and up into the cold night.
Tammy was still chatting, oblivious to the sharks that had just swum away. I pasted a smile on my face to hide the unease I felt.
Billy’s arm relaxed on my shoulders and he pulled me in even closer. ‘You ready to go?’ he murmured in my ear.
A tingle ran down my spine. ‘Absolutely.’ I turned towards him, running my palms down his chest till they rested on his ab muscles.
I could feel them tensing under my touch as he sucked in a breath of air. ‘Come on.’ He grasped my elbow. ‘Let’s go.’
I made the walk home in my sky-high heels in record-breaking time. ‘What are you doing,’ I squealed as Billy picked me up and threw me over a shoulder.
‘It will take you forever to climb the stairs in those shoes.’ He wasn’t even puffing as he ran up the steps. ‘See,’ he deposited me in front of the door to our apartment. ‘Much faster.’
‘Hmmmmm.’ I shimmied my skirt back down my legs and then started the hunt for my keys.
Billy’s hands smoothed over my skirt, circling round to the front to pull me back against him.
‘Not helping,’ I muttered, staring into the depths of my bag. It tinkled when I shook it so I knew they were in there somewhere. I gave up trying to see them and went for the grope method at about the same time that Billy did. But he wasn’t groping the contents of my bag, cataloguing and discarding everything that didn’t feel like keys. No. His hands were dancing over the curves of my body, leaving tingles in their wake.
‘Got them.’ I pulled the reticent keys from my bag, holding them up triumphantly.
‘Excellent work, Smith,’ he mumbled. His teeth grazed the skin of my neck and I dropped the keys.
‘Damn.’ I bent over and Billy’s hands immediately turned their attention to the curves of my buttocks.
‘Babe. Are you trying to test my self-control?’ he asked. ‘Cause I got to tell you, it’s close to breaking.’
‘Nearly there.’ I grabbed the keys, fumbling with them as Billy’s lips found the nape of my neck.
He turned me around, pushed me back against the door and, as I surrendered myself to his kiss, plucked the keys from my hand.
I heard the sound of them being inserted into the door and then he pulled his lips from mine and pushed the door open.
‘Show off.’ I turned and scooped Cocoa up, kissing him on the head.
‘I’ll take him,’ Billy said. ‘You get those clothes off, and don’t even think about falling asleep before I get back.’
‘Who could sleep?’ I said, reaching down to pull off a shoe. I was so turned on it felt like I would never need sleep again.
As soon as I lost the other shoe I raced into the bathroom and jumped into the shower. Thirty seconds later I was back out, towelling myself dry. Then I raced up the stairs, digging around in the bottom corner of my wardrobe where I had shoved the plastic bag containing the lingerie I’d bought the week before.
I pulled out the black, gauzy, lace thong and push-up bra the woman had assured me would drive Billy wild.
It only took ten minutes, but it felt like forever, before he and Cocoa were back from Cocoa’s night-time pit stop.
Cocoa reached me first, jumping up on the bed to give me a snuffly dog kiss. I scratched him as he groomed my neck, a somewhat painful experience. When he had decided I was flea free, he jumped down and into his own bed, twirling around a couple of times before settling into a ball of black fur.
I tensed as I heard Billy’s footsteps on the stairs. I felt ridiculous lying on the bed in the lingerie. The alcohol in my blood had given me the confidence to put it on, but now I was questioning my decision.
What if he didn’t like it? What if he laughed?
I rolled onto my side and raised myself up onto an elbow as his head drew level with the bedroom. No time to back out now.
‘He insisted on peeing on every single tree.’ He reached the top of the stairs and turned to face me. ‘And then he….’
He froze, his jaw hanging open as he stared at me. Or rather, at my lingerie. ‘What is that,’ he breathed, stepping closer to the bed.
‘A bra, and some panties,’ I said.
I saw his Adam’s apple move as he swallowed. ‘You know when you say the word panties, and you look the way you do.’ He stopped and closed his eyes.
‘What’s wrong?’ I sat up on the bed. ‘Don’t you like them? I can take them off.’ Maybe the lady in the shop didn’t know what she was talking about.
His eyes flew back open. ‘Oh, they’ll be coming off all right,’ he growled. ‘But I will be the one doing the removing.’ He pulled his shirt up over his head and tossed it onto the floor behind him.
It was my turn to stare as he undid his zip and slid the jeans to the floor. I didn’t know if I was ever going to get used to how perfect he was.
‘Now,’ he said, climbing onto the bed till he was kneeling over me. ‘I don’t know if we can call this a bra.’ His fingertips slid over the soft material. ‘I mean bras are meant to hold your breasts in, aren’t they?’
‘Yes.’ I arched my back to give his hands better access but they slid teasingly away from where I wanted them to be.
‘And these…panties.’ The words came out as a hiss. ‘Did you know that they are see-through?’
‘That was kind of the idea.’
He grasped my hips and rolled me sideways sucking in a breath at what he saw. ‘There doesn’t appear to be much material in them.’
‘No,’ I whispered as his hands trailed over my buttocks. ‘Do you want me to take them off?’
‘Not yet,’ his words were a murmur against my skin as he trailed kisses over a hip bone. ‘I think first that you need to be punished.’
‘What for?’ I craned my head up and peered down at him.
‘An outfit like this could give a man a heart attack. Next time you need to warn me.’
‘So…how exactly were you planning on punishing me?’
‘Well,’ his fingers danced over my stomach, ‘from what I’ve heard, people being punished often scream. So my plan, Miss Smith, is to not stop till you have screamed yourself raw.’
‘Promise?’ I could feel a satisfied smile curling my lips. Turned out the woman did know what she was talking about after all.
‘Oh, I promise all right.’ His answer was a throaty growl.