Roxy woke up the next morning with a smile on her face. Yes, she was smiling, and she didn’t care who knew. Her body ached from the things Rafe did with his tongue. That tongue should be coated in gold and worshipped. Not to mention the things he could do with that body.
He was hot and bossy one minute, gentle and reverent the next. It was like he had her body on lock. He’d known what she needed before she even did. She reached her arm across the bed. Empty. No Rafe.
He’d left. She sat up, pulling the blanket up to cover her chest. He wouldn’t have left her alone. She smelled coffee wafting from the open door as a clinking came from the other room.
The tell-tale sizzle made her stomach rumble. She grabbed the sweatpants and T-shirt Rafe had given her last night and slipped them on before heading into the kitchen. The smell hit her right in the gut.
Her stomach rumbled again. It probably said, “num, bacon,” since that was what her brain was thinking.
The toaster popped. Toast sounded good, too. “You made breakfast.”
“I did.” He divided two pieces of toast and a handful of bacon between two plates and put them on the breakfast bar. He came around the front and wrapped an arm around her waist. “I figured you’d be hungry after last night.”
“You figured right.” She sank into his embrace. “We need to find Presley.”
“We do.” His lips found hers in a sweet kiss. “But first, we eat.”
“Sounds good.” She pulled away—reluctantly— and sat on the chair.
He circled the island and selected a couple mugs from an upper cabinet. After he poured each of them a cup of coffee, he sat next to her.
A bell tinkled.
“Is that your phone?”
He stood, his eyebrows arched. “No. It’s the doorbell.”
“Are you expecting anyone?”
“No.” He checked the peephole on the front door. “MacAuley.”
“Why is he here?”
“Probably looking for you.”
“How would he know I’m here?” Visions of orange jumpsuits and plastic trays filled her vision. They said you just had to knock out the biggest, baddest person in the yard. She just had to learn how to fight. Who was she kidding? She was totally going to end up being someone’s bitch.
“Go into my bedroom and don’t make any noise. I’ll get rid of him.”
She took her plate into the bedroom and partially shut the door. If she shut it all the way, it would be too obvious. Too obvious would mean being in police custody. A closed door would also keep her from hearing what they were saying.
She sat on the edge of the bed, put the plate on her lap, and got ready for the show. And prayed MacAuley wouldn’t get curious and want to look around.
“What are you doing here?” Rafe’s voice came through the door loud and clear. Thank goodness, or she’d have to stop eating and press her face to the wood.
“Came to say hi.” MacAuley’s voice drew closer. “Rafe, you act is if I never come to visit you.”
“You don’t.”
“Eating breakfast?”
“Yes.” Rafe didn’t elaborate. Just kept it short.
“Two cups of coffee?” MacAuley must have seen her cup of coffee. Darn it. She forgot to bring it into the bedroom.
“I’m extra thirsty.” Roxy could hear the sarcasm oozing from Rafe’s tone. “What do you want?”
“I was wondering if you saw Roxy Horne.”
“Sure. Yesterday at the club.”
“And after the club?” MacAuley sounded annoyed. Which didn’t bode well for Roxy.
“Why do you care?”
“Come on, man. You were there. She was supposed to stop by the precinct.”
“Maybe she was busy.”
“Busy at Donnie Dunne’s office building?” MacAuley sighed. “Don’t bother lying. There are tapes.”
“Okay, I won’t.”
“Look, Rafe, I’m not going to ask if she’s here. I don’t care. But I have a murder investigation and I need her to come in. Every day she hides, she looks more and more guilty. I can only keep them at bay for a little bit longer, and then there will be a warrant.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“You know why.” MacAuley’s voice drew closer. The knobs on the foosball table rattled. Then they stopped. “What are you doing?”
“You lost the right to ask me anything a long time ago.”
“I know.” MacAuley sighed again and his voice was barely above a whisper. “I didn’t have proof. If I had any proof, I would have told you right away.”
“You should have told me anyway.” The story Rafe told her earlier spun through her mind. MacAuley knowing Rafe’s wife was cheating and not saying a word.
“So you could ignore me or hate me? You loved her, and I didn’t want to be wrong.” MacAuley hadn’t known. Not for sure.
“Well, you weren’t wrong.”
“Yeah. I wish I had been.”
Footsteps moved away from the foosball table, toward the front door. MacAuley’s voice wavered in and out before she heard, “Make sure she gets to the PD by noon.”
The front door closed. Only silence was left.
Carrying her plate, she butt-checked the bedroom door open. Rafe stared—at who knew what. MacAuley appeared to be gone. “He left?” Roxy asked.
“Yes.” Rafe took her plate away from her and scraped it into the garbage, followed by his.
“Don’t you want to eat that?” She’d wanted to eat hers. There was bacon.
“No.” He rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. “We should get going. We have to find Presley.”
“Maybe we should start with the wife.”
“Okay.” Rafe grabbed the towel and dried his hands before drying off the counter. He was quiet. The conversation with MacAuley had obviously hit him hard.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
He folded the towel and tossed it on the counter. “There’s nothing to talk about. Did you want to take a shower before we head out?”
“Together?” She moved toward him. The morning was looking up if they were going to redo a few of last night’s highlights.
“We should probably take separate showers.”
“Is everything okay?” Are we okay? She really wanted to ask, but it had been one night. She knew better than to expect professions of love after one night.
He smiled, but it was strained. He stepped up to her and slid his fingers through hers. “Everything is fine. I just want to clear your name, so we can get on with our lives and be rid of MacAuley.”
He leaned in, pressing his lips to her temple. The kiss was soft. His lips lingered. The words made sense, but there was something else. Something she missed. She could feel it.
“Go take a shower and I’ll meet you back here.” Rafe let her go and walked into his bedroom, shutting the door.
She’d take her shower and clear her name. What else did she have to do at this point?