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“I hear Duke’s going back to work tomorrow,” Travis said.
“Yeah,” I replied, unable to keep the sunshine from my voice.
I loved my little four-legged partner, and I was thrilled that we would be able to work together again. It was tough being the only K-9 officer without a dog. Though they could have matched me up with a different animal, I kept waiting and hoping that Duke would be cleared.
He was touch and go there for a little while, but he passed the latest physical and was all set to begin again in the morning. It seemed like we had been working this arson case forever. Duke was my eyes and ears, and my nose to the ground as well. I just wasn’t as effective without him.
I wondered if we could have narrowed down our suspect pool faster if he hadn’t been sidelined. There was no use worrying about it, but I was glad to put the past behind me. Travis opened the door to his apartment and let us all in.
The dogs went off leash and straight for their water dishes. I laughed, my mood lightened just by being around them.
“You tired them out,” I said.
“They tired me out,” he answered, taking me in his arms.
We kissed softly, slowly, as if we had all the time in the world. My heart leaned toward him as if he were magnetic. I couldn’t believe that we’d only been together a few short months. It seemed like an eternity in a good way.
I opened my eyes when the kiss concluded. I could sense that he was as tired as I was, and that there was a lot going unsaid at the moment. I didn’t want to burden him with the difficulties I’d had at work.
Our primary suspect was in the wind, and I had no luck tracking him down. That disappointment was partially mitigated by the presence of my friend Rebecca, who had been working undercover until recently. It was nice to have her back in the office and to know that she was okay. But on the other hand, at least when she was embedded with the enemy, we had someone we could trust on their side. Now we had no one and no leads. It was a frustrating few hours of chasing our tails.
I didn’t want to tarnish what Travis and I had by talking about failures. Every second we spent together was precious. I was keenly aware of that after recent events. The fires our perpetrator set were designed to hurt people. Good people. Innocent people.
I couldn’t stand him, and not being able to haul him in burned like the devil.
“We’ll get him,” Chief Clark said, watching me pace behind my desk.
I looked up, unaware that I was being so obvious. Everyone in the room was staring at me. I was the only one on shift who didn’t have a partner, and I was acting like a caged animal. I clocked out a little bit early and went home to see my boyfriend.
“What’s for dinner?” I asked, unbuttoning my shirt.
“Dessert?” he asked in a heavy voice.
“No,” I teased him. “I’m just taking my uniform off. Don’t get any ideas.”
“How can I not get ideas when you’re undressing in front of me?” he asked.
“I’ll go change in the bedroom,” I replied, slipping off my shoes and dropping my keys on the counter.
“I can think of better things to do in the bedroom,” he called after me.
I smiled to myself, thinking how lucky I was to have found someone like Travis. He wasn’t just sweet, he was hot. So hot, in fact, that he rated front page on the fire station’s charity calendar. Women all over the city were marking the passage of days beneath my boyfriend’s photo, and I was the one who got to sleep with him.
I pulled on one of his T-shirts and a pair of his sweatpants. We had been going out long enough for me to bring some clothes over to his apartment and leave them there. I didn’t think he would mind. But I loved wearing his clothes. They were so big and soft, and they made me feel safe and loved.
I walked out into the living room in full boyfriend attire, feeling better than I had all day. Travis gave me a knowing smirk. He understood exactly what game I was playing and didn’t mind in the slightest.
I walked over to him, put my arms around his waist and said, “I’m starving.”
“I guess I’d better feed you then,” he replied.
“What do we have?” I unwound my grip, letting him go to the refrigerator to investigate.
“Hot dogs?” he asked.
“No,” I said.
“We have half a head of lettuce and some pears,” he responded.
“What’s that? A salad?” I poked fun at his suggestion.
“All right,” he said, moving on to the freezer. “We’ve got some salmon.”
“Why didn’t you lead with that?” I asked.
“It’s frozen,” he answered. “It’ll have to thaw.”
“Just put it in the microwave.”
“Microwaved fish?” he said with so much contempt I could tell I’d made some kind of drastic culinary error.
“Do you want to order a pizza?” I asked.
“Much better,” he agreed. “Do you want to order, or should I?”
“You can,” I decided, walking over to sit down and cuddle with Duke.
Travis spent half a minute on his phone before joining us. He pulled my feet up onto his lap and hit me with a pillow. I snuggled down into the sofa, counting my blessings. There was a moment of silence that wasn’t awkward so much as pregnant.
Finally, he decided to talk about what was on his mind. “I went to see Stacia this morning.”
I froze. My heartbeat sped up, and I couldn’t think of a thing to say. I told myself that it wasn’t important. She was a long-lost friend who had suddenly reappeared from beyond the grave. Why wouldn’t Travis want to go see her?
Yet she had also been a girlfriend, and if she were alive, she and Travis would still be together. She was alive, I had to remind myself. Travis was free to go back to her if that’s what he wanted. But I wasn’t going to make it easy for him.
“Oh?” I asked, trying to sound unconcerned.
“She said that she was in the witness protection plan. Is in the witness protection plan. She changed her name to Tricia. And she’s on the run from one of her family members.” Travis summed up his visit in a few clipped sentences.
“Did she say who?” I asked.
“No,” he replied. “And before I could ask, a nurse kicked me out of her room.”
“What were you doing?” I prodded, my tone not entirely light.
“Nothing,” he defended himself. “We were just talking. But I guess she didn’t want to answer my questions.”
“I thought you said they found a body,” I reminded him.
“They did,” he replied. “I still don’t know what that was all about. Who was it who died? And how did she get Stacia’s clothes?”
“You don’t think she did it?” I remarked.
“I don’t know,” he said, sliding one finger up the outer rim of my foot. “I hope not.”
I felt an unwanted surge of triumph, knowing that Stacia had so many unanswered questions attached to her. My cop brain wanted to hear all the details, but if she was in the witness protection plan, there must have been a good reason. Someone must have known everything there was to know about her. And if she wasn’t in jail, then she probably hadn’t killed anyone.
Still, she was a rival. It was difficult having her back in Travis’s life even peripherally. I felt galvanized to do something about it. I couldn’t make heads or tales of her situation, but I could prove to Travis that I was the better option.
I leaned forward to kiss him, sliding into his lap. Gazing down at him, I saw all the things I loved about the man, and all the reasons to encourage him to stay. Stacia didn’t deserve him. Whatever she was involved in, I seriously doubted she was innocent.
Most of the people in witness protection weren’t bystanders who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were members of a criminal enterprise that had gotten caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Turning State’s evidence was the only way they were going to survive to live another day. It might have been harsh to think of Travis’s ex in those terms, but I didn’t care. I didn’t want to share my man, and I was going to do everything I could to avoid that situation.
Travis put his hands on my hips, and I knew he was no longer thinking about the woman he’d lost. He was there with me, in mind, body and spirit. We fused together, taking the time to savor our connection.
Just as things were getting hot, the pizza arrived. I had my shirt halfway off when the doorbell rang. I jumped, momentarily forgetting that we had scheduled a delivery. Travis was surprised as well, until we both realized what was happening and laughed.
I climbed off his lap, and he went to get the door. He had already paid over the app, so he just accepted the box and shut the door. The smell of grease and cheese momentarily distracted me from my mission.
“Just one slice,” I bargained.
“Have as many slices as you want,” he said, sliding the box onto the coffee table.
We sat side by side, eating right off the cardboard. Since neither of us had anywhere we had to be, we could take our time. Travis turned something on and we watched television, content to just be with each other.
The dogs came to investigate our dinner, sniffing around the pizza with no real intent to steal it from us. I patted the couch next to me, and Duke jumped up. Duchess took a seat beside Travis, and we settled in for a night of relaxation as a family.
When both of our bellies were full, Travis closed the box and eased me back into his lap. “Where were we?” he asked boldly.
“Here, I think,” I answered, kissing him.
The tomato sauce was spicy on his tongue, his lips slick with residual oil. It was a pizza kiss at its best, all warm and comforting. I hoped that it wouldn’t slow me down in the bedroom. While I meant to limit myself to one slice, I actually had three.
Travis didn’t care. He picked me up and carried me to bed, shutting the door to keep the dogs out. We descended into sweet, decadent lovemaking, taking our time. Every possible foreplay situation was uncovered one by one. We each got a chance to make the other one pant. He lay on top and came inside me. I wrapped my legs around his waist to stop the world from spinning. It was heaven, and I knew he felt the exact same way.
