Tanyalee put some roll in her stroll and came to a stop just in front of Dante. “Hello, Dan Carnes.”
“Hello, Pink Taffy. I’ve missed you, and I mean bad.”
“Well, what a nice thing to say. I—”
Dante was on her like hot fudge on a sundae, apparently not all that interested in small talk. After he had kissed her so thoroughly that she was seeing stars, he gently removed the keys and bag from her limp hand. “I have a confession to make.”
Tanyalee felt her eyes widen—was he hiding something else? She was too damn tired for any more confessions! “What now?”
Dante chuckled. “I’ve been dying to drive this car since the first night I saw you behind the wheel. It’s kind of a fantasy of mine.”
Tanyalee pursed her lips in an attempt to hide her smile. She walked around the rear fender and slipped into the passenger side. “So…” She waited for him to get situated behind the wheel.
“I’m sorry for cutting you off on the phone earlier. I was in a meeting.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Well, I suppose I have no room to complain, seeing as I ignored your calls for two weeks straight.”
“Ah.” Dante drummed his fingers on the wheel. “Tanyalee, I’ve got a favor to ask you.”
She blinked. “All right.”
“Have you ever dated a cop before?”
“Heavens, no! Not before you, at any rate.”
He smiled. “Well, there’s something you’ve got to know about cops in general and me in particular.”
“Okay.”
“I’ve seen just about every horrifying, brutal, senseless thing one human being can do to another. I know exactly who’s out there, and I know what they’re thinking. So when I care about somebody and I can’t get in touch with them, I go a little crazy. No…” Dante lowered his gaze for a moment. “I go a lot crazy, because I’m thinking something bad has happened. So all I ask is that you pick up and tell me you’re okay. You can tell me to go to hell or that you never want to see my ugly face again or that you want to date other people—it doesn’t matter. All that matters to me is that you’re all right. Anything else I can handle.”
Tanyalee felt herself press into the passenger side door, overwhelmed with the two most significant parts of that lecture. First, he worried about her! Second …
“Do you want to date other people?”
“Hell, no. Do you?”
“Absolutely not!”
“Fine.” He leaned over and gave her a quick but reassuring kiss. “So you won’t ignore my calls?”
“I promise. I certainly don’t want you to be worried like that, but goodness gracious! I think you might be just a tiny bit overdramatic. This is Bigler, North Carolina, after all.”
Dante gave her a funny look. “It certainly is.”
Maybe he had a point. With all the murder, drugs, corruption, blackmail, guns, and kidnapping lately, Bigler had become a one-stop shop for crime.
“But this town is no different than anywhere else,” Dante said. “Atlanta, Asheville, Bigler, Boston … it’s all the same. Criminals can telecommute like the rest of us.”
“Well, fine.” She sighed. “I promise I’ll answer your calls.”
“Thank you, Tanyalee. So very much.” Dante turned over the engine, nodding his approval of the powerfully smooth rumble under their feet.
“So where, exactly, are you driving me?”
Dante shot her a wicked grin. “I’m driving you to distraction, baby.”
* * *
Of course it would be like this. Dante had been a starving man for the last two weeks, dry as the desert, empty, always craving what he couldn’t have. So the instant he got Tanyalee into his apartment, it was on.
He was happy to see that the little sexual dynamo from the hotel had reappeared. She tussled with him through the living room and down the hallway toward the bedroom. Their mouths crushed together, their hands tugged and pulled, they moaned. Dante feared Tanyalee would rip the buttons right off his dress shirt if he didn’t assist her, although she might deserve to have her turn. After all, the last time they did this he’d destroyed a very fancy pair of her panties.
“Hurry.” Her breath was hot against his lips. “Oh, Lord, would you please hurry the hell up?”
Dante laughed at her greedy words and her wild lips and tongue, bundling her up in his arms for expediency. As he carried her to the bed and laid her down, his mind and body were in turmoil. What he was feeling at that moment was way beyond lust. Just being in the car with her tonight had calmed his unease, erased what he now knew was loneliness, pure and simple.
These last two weeks, Dante had been lonely as hell for the crazy-sexy, crazy-funny, crazy-sweet Tanyalee Marie Newberry.
And now, she was his. She lay in his bed, the tops of her rosy breasts about to bust out of her low-cut bra, the flesh of her belly silky and firm against him as he covered her. They wrestled with what was still way too much clothing, lips locked, moans louder, hands everywhere at once. And then, finally, there she was—absolutely naked and impossibly beautiful, and all of her was just for him.
Suddenly she grabbed his face in her hands and, panting, gazed up at him. Her eyes pleaded with him. Then so did her words.
“Take me up against the wall. Please!” Her whimper was helpless. “I want that again. So bad, Dante. Please?”
He thought about pinching himself, but decided he’d rather keep his fingers where they were.
“Is that what you want?”
“Yes! Do it!”
He hated to disappoint a lady, so Dante did exactly as she’d asked. He jumped up and snagged a condom from the side table, then grabbed her ankles and slid her to the edge of the bed. He reached for her hands and brought her to a sitting position. And then he picked her up.
Tanyalee squeaked with pleasure, immediately gripping his waist with her strong thighs and throwing her arms around his neck.
Dante walked, her mouth hot and sweet on his, her thighs wide, opening herself to him. They reached the wall near his dresser. Her bottom nudged against the plaster.
“Is this good?” he teased her, pulling his lips away. “Will this wall work or would you like to move over by the window?”
“Oh, Lord!” She arched her neck dramatically, letting her head fall back. “You are cruel, Dante Cabrera! Heartless!”
He chuckled, nibbling her throat, so vulnerable and exposed. He kissed her collarbones and nibbled on the firm flesh at the top of her breasts. When his lips touched her hard and pink nipples she cried out with shock.
Dante knew what she wanted. But he wanted something, too, and he was going to enjoy getting it. He straightened, dropped the condom to the floor, and gripped her tight under her thighs with his hands. He pressed her against the wall. Her head was still back, and her eyes were closed.
He started with her face, kissing her softly on the cheekbone. “Blush pink,” he mumbled.
Taffy stirred. “Hmm, what?”
“Your cheeks. They’re a blush pink. You’re pink all over, you know, a thousand different shades of Pink Taffy everywhere I look.” He dragged his lips down to hers and kissed her, gently but thoroughly, and she purred like a kitten. “Rose-pink lips and a bubblegum-pink tongue.” He opened her with his own lips and tongue, feasting on her, taking every bit of what she had to give. He kept his mouth moving, down to her throat again, her breasts.
“Your nipples are the color of a summer peach. So sweet…” He bit down on one with tenderness, then the other, moving back and forth. When he began to suck, her body rippled with pleasure. He let the nipple pop from his mouth, continuing on, holding her in place as he lowered himself into a half squat.
“What are you—”
“Shh, baby. Be patient.”
He dragged his lips and tongue across the tight skin over her ribs, then toward the middle, the downy soft hair brushing against his lips as he progressed down the center of her, the soft flesh giving just as bit as he arrived at her belly button. “I love your baby-pink skin.”
“Oh, God.”
He lowered himself further, dragging his tongue across her navel and down to the crest of her mound. He adjusted her. She squealed and gripped his shoulders. “I got you. Just relax and enjoy.”
He put his mouth on her. She was soaking wet and hot, and she tasted like saltwater. Saltwater Taffy. He helped himself to the intricate delicacy that she was, spending many long minutes parting her with his tongue, nibbling on her swollen lips, and sucking her rigid clitoris until she cried out.
He pulled away. “All I see right now is the inside of a seashell, Taffy. Seashell blush, soft and sweet. Are you going to give that to me?”
“Oh, Lord!” Her head knocked against the wall.
Dante pushed himself up again, grabbing the condom as he went, sliding Tanyalee’s body higher as he rose to full height.
When he ripped the condom with his teeth she laughed. When he slipped it on while holding her in place, she sighed.
“Sweet baby Jesus,” she said, her eyes huge. “I’m having a flashback.”
“It’s old home week,” Dante said.
Then he took her. Hard. He slid right to the center of her and made her come on him over and over again. She cried out, then simply cried. Dante had been dreaming of this pussy for weeks and weeks, dreaming of this woman spread wide for him and needing him as much as he needed her.
Reality was better than the dream.
Dante moved them to the dresser, clearing it with one hand while gently depositing Tanyalee with the other. He was wild. He gripped her thighs and took her rough and she asked for more. Dante pounded her relentlessly. He was a wild man. The mirror banged against the wall and out of the madness Tanyalee released a carnal howl of surprise and delight.
That’s when the downstairs neighbor began pounding on the ceiling.
“Your neighbors can hear us!”
“I think everyone can hear us.”
Dante came so hard he thought he would black out. When he caught his breath, he picked up a wilted and damp Taffy, and carried her to the bed.
They took a quick nap and made love again, and this time it was sweet instead of fierce, more tenderness than wildness. The next time he opened his eyes the world was still and pitch-dark. He had no idea how long they’d been asleep but he was faced with a dilemma. He didn’t want to disturb Tanyalee, but was in desperate need of a bathroom break.
“It’s okay. I’m awake.” The whisper was right against his ear, slightly above him. Had he fallen asleep on her shoulder?
He rose and kissed her cheek. “Be right back.”
When he returned a moment later, he brought two bottles of spring water. He found Taffy sitting up against the pillows with the bedside lamp on low. She tracked him entering the room, a faint smile. But there was something else in her eyes.
He went to her side of the bed and sat down, handing her the water. “Everything all right?”
She nodded.
A horrifying thought suddenly struck him. “Did I hurt you?”
“Oh, heavens, no!” She placed her palm on his forearm and brushed her finger across his skin.
“I am growing very fond of you, Dante.”
He felt a knot release in his gut. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear that because I feel the same.”
“But before we go any further, there’s still a few things you should know.”
Dante climbed over her and plopped down at her side. “Like what?”
“You know that I’ve spent the last couple weeks making my amends, right? I should—”
“You don’t have to tell me a damn thing, Tanyalee.”
Her head whipped around. She stared at him with that bottomless blue beautifulness he had grown so attached to. “The inventory is for you and the amends are for those you’ve harmed. You don’t owe me anything.”
“But I’ve hurt people.”
“I have, too.”
“Badly.”
“Me, too.”
“I have a large assortment of character flaws.”
He did his best not to chuckle, but good God! Tanyalee was too cute! “Yeah, well, so do I. So does everybody.”
She shook her head. “You’re not taking me seriously, Dante. This is important. I’m trying to tell you that some of the things I’ve done are so awful that you might not want to be involved with me.”
“Too late. I’m already involved.” He smiled at her. “C’mere.” Dante wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pressed her close to his side. He kissed the top of her head, giving some thought to the words he would say next. It was obvious she was worried.
“Tanyalee, spending time with a woman who’s made mistakes and wants to change is a whole lot more appealing to me than being with a woman who’s only lived on the surface, you know, skated right over the difficult crap that hides in the deep.”
He heard her sigh.
“You are a complex woman. You’re courageous. You’re interesting and smart. You have a slightly skewed perspective on things that I enjoy immensely.”
She giggled into his chest.
“And what I like about you most of all is that you try so damn hard—you’re really pushing to be the best version of yourself, and that makes you more beautiful to me than you can imagine.”
She stayed silent.
“Now, I’m an open book. Whatever you want to know I’ll tell you, as long as it doesn’t compromise an investigation or endanger anyone’s life.”
“Thank you.” Dante could almost hear the gears shifting in her brain. “So when you claimed you couldn’t tell me what you did for a living—or even tell me why you couldn’t tell me—that was just a bunch of nonsense?”
“That was foreplay, baby.”
She laughed, her shoulders shaking below his touch. Dante brushed his fingers down her silky upper arm and waited for her to grow still. “You know, I never want you to feel pressured to reveal anything to me, Tanyalee. You can tell me some of it, all of it, or none of it. You can tell me now, or tomorrow, or a year from tomorrow. I don’t care. Who you are right now is the only thing that matters to me.”
He felt her peel herself from his side. She sat up and turned toward him, her hair all messy, her blue eyes filled with astonishment. “Dante Cabrera.” She batted her eyelashes. “That was the single most romantic thing any man has ever said to me … well, that didn’t include the words ‘unlimited’ and ‘credit card.’”
Dante laughed, and while he was laughing, he had the most irresponsible urge to say “I love you, Tanyalee Marie Newberry. God, how I love you!”—just blurt it out like a crazy man. But he stopped himself. He knew an outburst like that would not only be insane but irresponsible.
What did he know about love? Dante had received certification in a variety of disciplines—automatic weapons, cybersecurity, and emergency first-aid triage, to name just a few—but not love. What if he was wrong?
It was better to keep his mouth shut for other reasons, as well. Not only was a transfer still a possibility, O’Connor had already let him know he was in violation of the DEA fraternization policy.
Tanyalee gave him a playful smack on the shoulder. “You find me funny?”
“I find you hilarious, Pink Taffy.” Dante grabbed her and rolled with her until she was on top of him. And he knew that love or not, he intended to enjoy the hell out of this woman.
For as long as fate would allow.
* * *
Tanyalee woke up, her eyes roaming around Dante’s bedroom, now lit with morning sun. She was almost afraid to turn her head—was this a hallucination? Had she just had another dream of that wild night in Washington, or had she relived it?
She turned just enough to get confirmation that it was all real. A pair of dark, sensual eyes were there waiting for her, alert and mischievous, crinkled up at the corners. A pair of generous wine-red lips quivered with the beginnings of a smile.
They stayed like that, not touching, just looking, and Tanyalee had to struggle to catch her breath. This had happened before, on several occasions. All she had to do was look at Dante and she’d have trouble breathing. Or thinking. Or standing.
Just then, Dante unleashed his smile, and a wave of certainty rushed through her. Lord have mercy! It was the most ridiculous thing ever, but she found herself a hairsbreadth away from telling Dante she was in love with him. Which would be ridiculous, of course.
“I … Dante…?”
“Hmm-mmm?”
“I think I…”
Tanyalee shot straight up in bed, suddenly terrified—she’d almost said the words out loud! Dropping her face in her hands, she took a second to jump-start her brain. She needed to finish that sentence some other way. Because she couldn’t be in love! The word had practically lost all meaning for her through the years—how many times had she told a man she loved him knowing it wasn’t true?
She gasped. “What time is it?”
Dante reached behind him for his phone. “Ten fifteen. Why?”
“Shoot!” Tanyalee had completely forgotten about the bowl-a-thon! “I’ve got to grab the team shirts from the bakery, then go collect Fern by noon.”
“Oh.” Dante sat up, too. “So you can’t stay for breakfast?”
“I would love to, Dante, and that is so sweet of you, but I just can’t. Would you mind if I take a quick shower?”
“Only if I’m allowed to shower with you.”
No, no, no. The second we get in that shower together I will tell you I’m in love with you.
“Can we do that another time?” Tanyalee kissed his lips, feeling the temptation … she pulled herself away.
“There are clean towels in the cabinet. Help yourself to anything you need. I’ll make us some coffee.”
“That would be perfectly lovely, thank you.”
She let herself lounge in bed while Dante got up. As he walked across the room, she enjoyed the play of muscles in his bottom, thighs, and back. As he opened the chest of drawers, she nearly swooned at the strength of his shoulders and arms. As he yanked up a pair of baggy athletic shorts, the muscles in his abdomen rippled. Dante’s body was a graceful symphony of olive skin, fluid strength, and solid bone. He caught her looking at him and leaned in for a kiss. “See you in a few,” he said, and wandered into the hallway.
SweetbabyJesus! She flopped back on the bed. Am I in love?
Once she recovered, Tanyalee made quick work of a shower, found all the various pieces of clothing she’d worn to the grand opening the day before—her panties were on the windowsill, of all places—and smoothed her hair into a ponytail holder she’d located in her bag. Thankfully, she found her travel-sized toothbrush as well, but no toothpaste, and she wandered back into the bathroom to use some of Dante’s. Though she didn’t like to snoop, the toothpaste was not on the counter. So she opened the medicine cabinet. Not there. She opened three drawers to the left of the sink. Not there, either. She opened the top drawer on the right and there it was. And as she reached in, her eye caught a flash of something silver and shiny that was shoved to the back of the drawer. Even before she touched it she was hit by a jolt of recognition.
Her bracelet.
It was stored inside a small cardboard box without a lid, and tucked beneath the piece of jewelry was her own handwriting. He’d kept the note, too? Tanyalee’s mind and heart exploded in a jumble of questions. Why had Dante kept it? Had their night in Washington meant as much to him as it did to her? Was there a chance he felt the same way she did?
She shoved the box back to its hiding place as soon as she heard his footsteps approaching, and after sharing a quick cup of coffee with him she knew she should be going.
Dante walked her to the door. He gently cupped her face in his hands and lowered his mouth to hers. If kisses could have flavors, Tanyalee decided this one tasted like a question—a big one. But when their eyes met, Dante only smiled.
“Oh!” Tanyalee gasped. “I nearly forgot! Do you need a ride to the bakery? Did you leave your car there last night?”
Dante shook his head. “Nope. I arrived with O’Connor and planned on leaving with you.”
Tanyalee clicked her tongue in mock disapproval. “You’re pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you, Agent Cabrera?”
“I am.”
“Hmm. Well, I should go.”
“Wait.” Dante touched her upper arm. “I just need to ask you one more thing.”
“What?”
“Have you been thoroughly distracted?”
Tanyalee laughed. “I’m so distracted that I might have trouble bowling today.”
He tipped his head, his smile lingering. “So I’ll see you later, then.”
“At two-thirty on the dot. Please don’t be late.” She was about to turn when he reached for her hand.
“Are you free at all this coming week?”
“Well, now, let me think.” She tapped her finger to her lips. “I believe I am, but only Monday through Sunday.”
“Then pencil me in.”