RILEY WATCHED AS Regina jerked the framed photo behind her back. Green eyes wide and innocent, she said, “It’s nothing.”
“Right.” He strode forward, watched her quickly back up and move around the bed to the other side, and his suspicions grew. He set the dog on the mattress. Butch ran to Regina, came up on his hind legs and begged to be held.
Without taking her gaze off Riley, she caught the dog up one-handed. “If you’ll leave, I’ll get dressed.”
Riley crossed his arms over his chest, not about to oblige her. “I’m damn curious, Red, what’s worth hiding from me when I already saw the dirty books and rubbers.”
Her jaw firmed. “They’re not dirty books, they’re educational.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And it’s none of your business.”
“Someone is trying to hurt you. Everything is my business.”
Her cheeks colored. “This is...personal. Nothing that anyone else would care about.”
“You don’t trust me.”
“Of course I do.”
“Then let me see.”
“Riley.”
She wailed his name, making him smile. Stalking her, he started around the bed. She took one step back, then planted her feet and glared. Butch licked her chin in commiseration. Absently, she patted his back.
She was such an affectionate woman, so soft and gentle. It didn’t take much to make her blush—a smile from him, a touch and her cheeks turned pink. The more he was with her the more he wanted her, and the more he wanted to know all her secrets. She’d kept parts of herself away from him, her engagement, her insecurities...but no more.
He stopped right in front of her and held out his hand.
She shook her head in exasperation. “This is stupid.”
Riley waited.
Finally, with no graciousness, she slapped the picture frame into his hand. His curiosity keen, Riley turned it over, and was met with the charismatic smile on Senator Welling’s face. Riley decided it must be the photo she took in the park, given the fountain beside him and the large trees behind him. Regina had written at the bottom of the photo, Senator Xavier Welling, along with the date of the photo.
The senator was easily in his mid-fifties. He was tall, gray-haired and aristocratic. In order to always make a good public appearance, he’d kept in shape. He had no paunch and his shoulders were still wide from his college football days.
Riley saw red. Through stiff lips, he said, “You keep a picture of the senator beside your bed?” And then with jealousy pricking his temper, he added, “Next to the goddamned Kama Sutra?”
Regina drew herself up. “Don’t raise your voice to me.”
It wasn’t easy, but Riley reined in his temper. He tossed the picture onto the bed. “What the hell does it mean?”
“What does what mean?”
“Don’t look so confused, Red. You’ve got his picture in your nightstand drawer, next to your bed, with books on sex and a load of rubbers.” Hell, just saying it made him madder. “You got the hots for him?”
She gasped so hard, Butch started to howl again. She absently stroked him. “Of course not. He’s a wonderful, respectable man with a wife he loves and a family he cherishes.”
“Don’t make me puke. He’s a politician, first and foremost.”
Regina went on tiptoes to poke him in the chest. “Yes, he’s a politician. A wonderful senator. He’s fought hard for the health and safety of children. He supports local law enforcement. He’s won numerous awards and honors for leadership and—”
Riley turned his back on her. “Jesus, you’re besotted.”
Using her free hand, she caught the back of his shirt. “I am not,” she all but shouted. “Senator Welling is an inspiration. I admire him, just as I admire his family and his aspirations and his beliefs.” And then, in a smaller voice filled with vulnerability, she said, “I admire everything he stands for.”
Riley turned to stare at her, something in her tone touching deep inside him. “Just what does he stand for, Regina?”
Still disgruntled, Regina chewed her lip, not looking at him. “Family. Community. Everything that’s good. When you see him campaigning with his wife and kids, you just know that’s how it should be, all of them smiling, happy, secure.” She lifted her gaze to meet Riley’s. “I see them together and I know it can happen, because it’s right there, live, real.”
Riley didn’t know how real a politician’s public persona might be, but he could tell Regina believed in it. When she’d talked of her family, she’d done so with very little emotion. He’d found that strange, but hadn’t pondered it long, not when most of his thoughts centered on carnal activities.
Feeling like a complete bastard, Riley pulled her into his arms. Butch wiggled until he was up between their faces, making sure no kissing would occur. But Riley felt content just to hold her. At least for now.
“I’m sorry.”
Against his chest, she murmured, “For what?”
“For prying. And for not understanding.” Keeping one hand on Butch so he wouldn’t fall, Riley stroked Regina’s back. He wished he could touch her bare silky skin again, but he didn’t dare. It had been a close thing in the kitchen, his control severely tested. Only the fact that he knew damn good and well she wasn’t thinking straight had kept him from laying her across the kitchen table. She’d been ready, damn it, whether she wanted to admit it or not.
“I guess it’s okay,” she said while rubbing her cheek against him, setting him on fire again. “It’s not a secret that I admire the senator and what he stands for.”
“Looks can be deceiving, you know.”
She shook her head. “Being a politician does not automatically make him a fraud, Riley.”
“No. But the world is filled with cheats and liars, people you’d bet on in a pinch, who turn out to be more unscrupulous than you ever could have imagined.”
Leaning back, she looked at him thoughtfully. “Have you known people like that?”
He skirted that question by stating the obvious. “I’m a cop, Red. I see the worst of mankind all the time.”
Her hand smoothed over his chest. She couldn’t know how the innocent touch inflamed him. If she did, she wouldn’t now be looking at him with so much understanding. “You deal with that element of life. But Senator Welling is just the opposite. He’s part of the good team, Riley.”
Riley wanted to shake her for her naiveté. He knew firsthand how difficult it was to read the people you cared about. Blind trust was never a good thing, but since he wanted it from Regina, he didn’t say so.
Riley tucked a long curl behind her ear. “Can I ask you something, honey?”
She laughed.
“What?” He held her away so he could better see her face.
“You’re so funny, Riley. Demanding one minute, requesting the next.”
“I’m glad you’re amused.” He smiled, too. “So is it all right?”
“Sure. At this rate, I won’t have any secrets left at all.”
That’d suit him just fine. He intended to make her his, but never again would he be made the fool. Knowing everything about her would be a safeguard against unhappy surprises.
He released her and she sat on the bed. Butch circled her lap, then nudged his way beneath her housecoat so he could curl up against her stomach. She tucked him in before looking at Riley in inquiry.
Riley settled himself beside her. “Who footed the bill when your parents died?” If she’d been the only one responsible, it’d help explain her need for doing things right, to always be prepared and proper.
She appeared confused by the question. “I did what I could, but I didn’t have enough money to make a huge difference in their care. What I had to give wasn’t enough, so instead I spent days researching ways to get them the help they needed. It’s wasn’t easy. That’s one of the things about Senator Welling. His health benefit programs would have done my parents a world of good.”
Riley did not want to talk about the damned senator. “What about your brother? Did he help out?”
“I told you, he’s just like them. I had to loan him money to buy a suit so he’d have something decent to wear to the funerals.”
Damn, that meant she alone had had the burden of her parents’ care. “Loan—or give?”
She shrugged, which was all the answer Riley needed. “What about your fiancé? What happened there?”
Hedging that question, she asked, “Just who is the reporter here, Riley? Me or you?”
With a straight face, Riley said, “I just wondered if he could possibly be the one bothering you now.” He spoke the truth, but it wasn’t the only reason he asked. Possessiveness had a lot to do with his interest, too.
“Oh. No, he didn’t help with my parents. Our engagement was after their deaths. And, no, it’s not him.”
“How do you know for sure?”
She untangled a grouchy Butch from her lap and pushed to her feet. “Trust me. He has no reason to hold a grudge.”
Riley took the dog from her. He immediately rooted underneath Riley’s shirt, circled into a small ball, and sighed himself back to sleep. Riley looked down at the lump where his flat abdomen used to be, shook his head, and put one hand over the dog. “Men see things differently than women. Maybe your take on the breakup isn’t the same as his.”
Regina rubbed her head. “It’s not. But that has nothing to do with anything.”
Her reluctance to talk about the other man couldn’t have been more plain. It nettled Riley. “So who did the breaking up, you or him?”
“I did, but he didn’t mind.”
“How could he not mind? That doesn’t make any sense. If he’d asked you to marry him—”
“He didn’t want me, all right?” She threw up her hands. “There. Happy? He called me a prude and said I was unappealing. He wanted me to change myself and I can’t do that, and he said that no man would want me, especially in bed, and so I left. End of story.”
Stunned speechless, Riley watched her storm out of the room.
For long minutes after, he remained on the bed, soothing Butch who had gone a little frantic at Regina’s raised voice. He’d crawled up Riley’s chest, grumbling and growling, then poked his head out the neck of the shirt, just beneath Riley’s chin. “Her fiancé sounds like a complete ass, doesn’t he, Butch?”
Butch whined.
“I wonder, is that why she bought the books? Had she already realized that things weren’t going well between them? Not that I’m sorry to hear it, because if she hadn’t, she might have married him.”
Butch whined a little louder.
“I agree.” Riley had to take off his shirt to get Butch free. “Does she still love the guy, do you think?”
Butch had no answer.
When Riley entered the kitchen, Regina was on the phone with her editor, explaining about the glass. She didn’t look at Riley, and after she hung up, she went past him to the living room.
“I won’t be going in today at all. Most of the work I need to do for the rest of my assignment can be handled on the phone and typed up on my computer.” She paused. “Is it okay if I bring my computer?”
Riley followed behind her, cautious of her new mood. “You can bring anything you want.”
“Thank you.” She pulled out a phone book from the closet and carried it back to the kitchen.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking up numbers for glass replacement. I want this fixed before the evening.”
Riley followed her. “I’ll take care of that.”
“You said that half an hour ago.”
“This time I mean it.” He wrested the book out of her hands and plunked Butch into her arms. The poor dog had been passed around a lot that morning. “Go shower and pack whatever clothes you need right away. I’ll call for the door replacement, take you to my place, then come back here and get your computer and any other stuff you need. All right?”
“I am not helpless.”
“Far from it.” He tried a smile that she didn’t return. “C’mon, Red. You look stressed and tired and I want to take care of you just a little, okay?”
She stared up at him for long moments. “I’ll finish up my work on this current piece today.”
The swift change of topic threw him. “Great.”
“That means tomorrow, or even later tonight, I can start my interview on you.”
His smile slipped a little, but he managed to hang on to it. “Okay.”
“I have so many questions, it might take a few...days.”
His smile felt like a grimace. “I did agree.”
“Yes, you did.” She handed Butch back to him. “Can you keep an eye on him while I shower and dress? Thank you.”
Both Riley and Butch watched her leave yet again, her walk a little more sassy this time. Oh, she wanted payback with the interrogation, he could tell. Riley wondered how many answers he could give without telling things he never wanted to reveal? It’d be tricky, but he could handle it.
If all else failed, he’d distract her with a kiss—and more. After all, he’d given her fair warning of what to expect. And still she’d agreed.
That thought brought back his smile in full force. In the end, he’d get what he wanted most: Regina. That made the rest worthwhile.
* * *
“WELL, THIS ANSWERS one question, doesn’t it?” Regina stated.
Riley had parked his truck behind her Escort in his allotted garage space, then joined her. She stood between the car and the opened door, staring at his apartment.
Unlike most women Riley knew, Regina hadn’t lingered in the shower. Butch, unwilling to wait in the kitchen while Riley cleaned up the glass, had howled endlessly until Regina stuck her head out the bathroom door and asked Riley to hand him to her. Butch had curled up on a towel and slept while she quickly showered and dressed in white slacks and a sleeveless cotton sweater and sandals. With her long red hair restrained in a French braid, minimal makeup and small earrings, she looked classy and sexy combined.
A large satchel with files and notes from her current project was slung over her arm. Riley hadn’t realized that she gathered so much info just for one story. And since she’d told him her current article was about the silly talent show held by a local television station in the mall, he was doubly surprised.
They’d both driven so Regina would have her car handy. Not that he wanted her out driving around alone until he figured out what was going on. But neither did he want her to feel trapped or overly dependent on him. He knew she would rebel over that and he’d lose her before he could get her used to being with him.
Butch was on a thin leash, so Riley lifted him out of the car, then took Regina’s elbow to move her forward. He closed her car door. “You disappointed?”
“That you don’t have your own house?” She glanced at him over her shoulder and smiled. “No, of course not.” Then she asked, “But why don’t you?”
Riley shook his head. Before meeting Regina, he’d thought he had enough of hearth and home to last him a lifetime. He said only, “This is easier. Less maintenance.” He led her and Butch up the walkway. “I’ll show you around, then unload your stuff.”
All she’d brought this trip were a few changes of clothes, her bedding—because she claimed she needed her own pillow to sleep—Butch’s belongings and the material for her current assignment. She’d packed up more stuff at the house and disconnected her computer, but Riley told her he’d get all of that when he returned to meet the glass repairmen. Everything else they could retrieve as needed.
Since his place was on the ground floor, it’d be more convenient for Butch. He only hoped Butch liked the big golden retriever next door, since they’d be sharing yard space. He unlocked the door and pushed it open for Regina to enter.
“Oh, Riley, this is very nice.”
He watched her look around. Luckily, he was a tidy man, otherwise he couldn’t imagine her reaction. She touched her hand to the arm of a brown leather sofa, glided her fingers over a marble tabletop. “Did you decorate yourself?”
“Yeah.” At the time, he’d taken enjoyment in only pleasing himself, with no one else to consider. He hadn’t expected ever again to want the approval of a woman. And Regina wasn’t just any woman, but an immaculate one at that.
Only it looked as though Regina liked his choices. “There’s only one bath, but we’ll work that out.” Maybe they could share the shower? He grinned, then covered that reaction by discussing the dog. “I’ll hook a lead up for Butch so he can run a little more outside. Oh, and if you need me to pick up any groceries for you, just let me know. I tend to do a lot of fast food.”
He tugged Butch inside and closed the door.
Butch’s ears perked up with his first glimpse of the place, giving Riley warning. He leaned down to unleash the little rat. In a stern voice, his finger shaking in the dog’s face, Riley said, “Now listen up, bud. No piddling on the furniture, okay?”
Rather than feeling intimidated, Butch snapped at his finger, making Riley grin. “I almost forgot, with all the excitement.” He pulled the stuffed Chihuahua from his pocket and tossed it toward the middle of the room. Butch jerked about to watch the stuffed animal land, then he reared back on his haunches, did a bunny hop to where the floppy toy lay—and attacked.
Regina started laughing at his antics.
Riley had to admit it was pretty cute the way he shook the toy, threw it this way and that. For such a small dog, he made feral sounds. Then as if expecting it to follow, Butch went into flight. It was so funny to watch him run. Somehow he managed to streamline himself, laying his ears back, tucking in his tail and dashing around furniture and corners so fast he was practically a blur.
His tiny feet made a distinct patter on the wooden floor. He slid around the corner, took a second to get some traction, and was off again.
Regina watched in wonder. “He doesn’t know your place yet. How can he be sure he won’t run into anything?”
Riley slung his arm around her shoulders, already enjoying having her in his home. “Men have great reflexes.”
She cocked a brow at him. “And women don’t?”
“Some women do.” He pinched her chin, tipped up her face and kissed her mouth. “We’ll be working on yours, remember?”
A knock sounded on his door. Regina pulled back in surprise, but Riley just shook his head. He opened the door and there stood Ethan, Rosie, Harris and Buck.
As usual, Rosie was pinned up against Ethan’s side, and she appeared most comfortable there.
Harris, a firefighter at the same station as Ethan, looked fatigued, a good indicator that he’d recently come off his shift. Though Riley knew he’d have showered, the scent of smoke still clung to him. He pushed his black hair back with a hand and lounged against the door frame, his blue eyes tired and a little red.
Riley gave him the critical once-over. “Hell, Harris, you look like you should be in bed.”
Harris yawned hugely. “Just left bed, actually.” His satisfied grin said he’d just left a woman, also.
Riley grunted. “Maybe you should have tried sleeping.”
“Did that—after. But last night was a bitch so I’m still sluggish.”
Ethan nodded. “Had a pileup on the expressway. Three cars caught fire. No one died, thank God, but we worked our asses off.”
Buck threw a thick, muscular arm around Harris, nearly knocking him off balance. Being the owner of a lumberyard and used to daily physical labor kept Buck in prime shape and made him the bulkier one in the group. Like Harris, Buck was single and enjoyed playing the field.
Still holding Harris, Buck pulled off a ball cap and scratched his head, further messing his brown hair. Green eyes alight with laughter, he said, “Harris never minds toiling through the night, ’cuz the ladies like to fawn all over him the next day.”
“Jealous?” Harris asked.
“Naw.” Then with a huge grin and a feigned yawn, he said, “I just got out of bed myself.”
Riley laughed and held the door wide open. They all piled in, and Rosie was about to say “hi” when Butch flew around the corner, skidded to a halt, and went into a rampage of spitting Chihuahua fury.
Ethan tucked Rosie close. “What the hell?”
Rosie said, “Oh, it’s so cute!”
Harris shrank behind Buck, pretending to cower. “Cute? What is it?”
“Whatever it is,” Buck added, “it’s demonic.”
Riley caught Regina’s scowl and laughed. “You might as well get used to hearing that, Red. It seems to be the typical response to your dog.”
Buck and Harris said in unison, “Dog? You’re kidding, right?”
Riley lifted Butch, who seemed to take extreme dislike to Ethan holding his wife. Most of his ire was directed at him.
“What did I do?” he asked
Rosie laughed, saying, “What haven’t you done?”
“Hey.” Riley held the dog eye level. “They’re friends. You can relax now.”
But Butch wasn’t having it. Rosie dared to try to pet him and Butch practically went over Riley’s shoulder in his effort to escape her. As long as he thought he had everyone cornered, he was as brave as a German shepherd, but let someone reach for him and he tucked his tail quick enough.
Regina took her dog. “He’s still getting used to me and Riley. He’s...shy.”
Buck forced Harris to turn him loose. “Yeah? Is that what you call it?”
“I’d call it rabid,” Ethan said.
Now that he was close to Regina, Butch quieted and started to lick her chin. Harris curled his lip. “That’s disgusting.”
“I think he’s adorable.”
Harris nudged Buck. “Yeah, Rosie, but you think Ethan is adorable, too, so you obviously have lousy taste.”
Riley attempted to get things back on track. “Now that you’re here I can explain.”
Regina froze. “Explain what?”
“What’s going on, of course.” He knew she wouldn’t like it, but he thought the extra backup wouldn’t hurt. “They’re friends, Red. And I want Harris and Buck to help me move some of your stuff.”
Ethan sent his wife a look, then stared at Riley. “She’s moving in with you?”
“Temporarily,” Regina rushed to clarify.
At the same time, Riley said, “She is.”
Rosie just grinned. “This is great. But what about your house?”
“As soon as it’s mine, I’ll—”
“As soon as it’s safe, she’ll move in there.” Riley didn’t want to think about her being on her own like that until he knew for certain that no one would hurt her. “Rosie, why don’t you help Red make up the guest bed?” Riley suggested, and saw Harris and Buck start elbowing each other again. “And I’ll get these goons to lend a hand unloading.”
Rosie frowned. “Why can’t Harris help her make the bed? I’d rather hear the scoop.”
Harris stepped forward eagerly, eyebrows bobbing. “Oh yeah, I’ll help her—”
Riley hauled him back with a hand in his collar. “I need to talk to you.” Then to Rosie, “Regina can tell you what’s going on.”
“Yeah, well, somehow I think I’d hear a different version from you. Guys always have a different version.”
Regina looked pained. “Really, I can make the bed myself and there’s not that much to carry in.”
Ethan grabbed his wife and kissed her. It wasn’t a quick kiss or a timid one. Against her mouth, he teased, “Riley’s suffering here, sweetheart. Be agreeable for once, will you?”
Dreamy eyed, Rosie said, “I’m agreeable every night.”
Ethan touched her cheek and grinned. “Yes, you are.”
Harris rolled his eyes. “God, will the honeymoon never end?”
In a quick mood switch, Rosie reached around her husband and shoved Harris, who fell into Buck. In a huff, she turned and grabbed Regina’s arm. “Come on. Let them do the grunt work. You’ll probably tell it right where Riley will only beat his chest and play Neanderthal.”
That observation had Regina laughing. Butch gave the men a bark of farewell as the women disappeared around the corner.
“Okay,” Ethan said, now that they were alone. “What’s going on?”
“Outside. I don’t want Regina to hear me.”
Harris said, “Why is it the second a guy starts really caring about a woman, he complicates things?”
Buck nodded. “It becomes one big soap opera, doesn’t it?”
Ethan and Riley hauled them out the door. At Regina’s car, Riley said, “Someone is trying to hurt her, or scare her. I’m not sure which, and I don’t know why.”
Harris leaned on her fender. “No shit?”
“She okay?” Buck asked.
“Yeah. She’s hanging in there. Regina is tougher than she looks.”
Harris snorted, and when Riley glared at him, he held up his hands in surrender. “Hey, I wasn’t casting aspersions on the lady. It’s just hard to imagine anything tough about her.”
Buck grinned, adding fuel to the fire. “She is a rather soft-looking woman, huh?”
Ethan rolled his eyes. “Quit baiting him, you two. He’s got enough on his mind as it is.”
All humor vanished when Riley said, “Someone threw a rock through her patio doors this morning.” Seeing that he now had their undivided attention, he added, “And that’s not all.” As quickly as possible, Riley explained what had been happening.
“Could be coincidence,” Ethan pointed out. “But I gather by your expression, you don’t think so.”
“No.”
“Any ideas?” Harris asked.
“I’m going to check into her old fiancé. Things ended only a few months ago.”
“Regina was engaged?” Ethan looked startled by that disclosure.
“Yeah, and there’s some idiot who made a pest of himself at her old job. I’ll get names from her tonight.” Riley also intended to talk to Senator Welling. That might be a little more difficult to accomplish, but if Welling had seen anything the day her car was run off the road, or if he’d noticed anything suspicious at the park, Riley wanted to know about it. The senator had an appearance scheduled at a ceremony for the historical society. Should be easy enough to grab a few words with him then.
“And in the meantime?” Ethan asked.
“I don’t want her alone.” Which was the main reason he’d gathered his friends together. He couldn’t be with her 24/7, so he’d count on them to help out. “For right now, I figured Rosie could stay here with her while we go get some of her things. Plus, I don’t want repairmen in her apartment without supervision. They’re due in about an hour.”
“If it’s not safe, then I don’t want Rosie involved.”
Riley sent his best friend a long look. “Would I put Rosie in any danger?”
“I wouldn’t think so.”
“Then relax. They’re safe enough here, especially since no one knows Red is staying with me.”
Ethan scrutinized Riley. “She says it’s temporary.”
Riley drew a breath. “For now.” And then as he walked back to the apartment carrying Butch’s pen and bed, he added, “But I’m working on it.”