a Touch of TNT (An Everly Gray Adventure) (33 page)

He tugged me to a wall and planted my palms flat against the surface. “Don’t move your hands, Sunshine,” he said against my neck. “You
can’t
touch me.”

He hands circled my waist, released the clasp on my belt and let it drop to the floor, then he stepped back and reached for the tab on the zipper. He took his sweet time, pausing between each notch. Heat pooled in my belly and slowly moved south.

“Patience, Sunshine,” he whispered.

I turned to meet his lips, and he pulled back.

“Don’t move your hands.”

I planted them back on the wall. “I want—”

“Me too.” He eased my dress and panties over my hips, bent and lifted each foot in turn to free the fabric, then slid his hand up my leg.

“Tidiness counts,” he said, his breathing ragged as he stepped away to drape my clothes over a chair.

I contemplated murder and turned around to tell him so. Stopped dead in my tracks. He was naked. All beautiful, aroused male. I took a step toward him, but he held up a hand to stop me. “No touching.” He grabbed my wrists in one hand and backed me toward the bed.

I tried to pull free, but the edge of the bed hit my knees and I sank down, landing hard on the soft down comforter. The silkiness of the fabric whispered against my thighs. A wave of breath stealing need exploded deep in the core of my body.

“Lie down.” Mitch pushed against my wrists to help me settle, swung my legs onto the bed, and stepped back.

I reached for him and he shook his head. “Not yet. It isn’t safe.” He secured my right wrist to the head of the bed, the silk snug against my skin. I tugged at the binding, and a rush of panic flashed through me, but passed when I saw the heat and love in his eyes. He snagged my other wrist and secured it.

“Now,” he whispered.

“Shoes,” I breathed between kisses.

“They stay.” He reached for a condom.

Several hours later I woke
from a restless sleep to find my hands free, my feet bare, and Mitch gone. I eased out of bed, finding I was sore in unexpected places. It had been strenuous sex. Excellent sex. I licked my lips and could still taste Mitch. My heart squeezed with pleasure.

Mitch’s duffle was on the floor in the corner, so he hadn’t slipped out without saying goodbye. I shrugged into my robe and padded down the hall to the guest room. The door was firmly closed, and a sign written in purple marker was taped to the wood. No Touching.

It left me little choice but to go back to bed. Alone. He was right to stay in the guest room. But that didn’t mean I liked it, and our dilemma kept me tossing and turning most of the night. By morning I’d reached a decision and stepped into the shower with a smile on my face.

Mitch was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee by the time I strolled into the kitchen. A slow smile curved his lips. “Good Morning, Sunshine. Coffee?”

“Um,” I answered bending to kiss him. I kept my hands clasped behind my back as I nuzzled his neck and breathed in the faint scent of Black on Black. “Coffee sounds good.” I poured a cup, sat across from him and took a sip of the rich, cinnamon laced drink. It tasted right on my tongue, which meant I’d healed from the Coffee Time episode. Yeah, me.

He hadn’t stopped looking at me. It was a little unnerving.

“What is it?” I barely whispered. Fear raced through my body.

He leaned across the table, brought his lips to rest gently against mine, then cradled my cheek in his hand. “I love you, El.”

My heart stuttered in my chest. Loved me? I’d somehow forgotten to breathe and sucked in a lungful of air. He’d never said it before.
We’d
never said it. I went to reach for him, stopped myself, and my stomach bottomed out. Too many emotions in too short a time—passion, fear, joy, love, and suddenly—anger.

“
Now
you tell me.” I scraped my chair back and stood. “Now. When I can’t touch you. Can’t make love to you. Can’t do
anything
involving hands.”

He grinned showing off his dimple and rocked back in his chair. “Guess you love me, too.”

“Yeah.” I fumbled for my coffee cup, closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. “I do love you. And there’s something else. I’ve decided to go for the security clearance.”

He raised an eyebrow. I love it when he raises a single eyebrow. Makes my heart go pitter-pat.

“There’s no rush,” he said. “I rather enjoyed the hands-free experiment last night.”

I shook my head. “Yes, but no. I need to be able to touch you. We can’t have secrets, Mitch. Not from each other. Not if—”

He rested his hand against the back of mine. “I know. Are you sure about this?”

“I am.” I stepped to the sink to rinse my mug. “I’ve thought about it a long time. I
am
sure.”

“Hands on the counter,” he said as he closed the distance between us, bent to kiss me. “Want me to look into it?”

“No.” I shook my head and waved my hands around. I’d had enough of the hands-on-the-counter routine. “I want to do this myself. I’m not sure how, but if I need help, I’ll ask.”

“Okay, Sunshine.” He held the kitchen door for me. “Let’s go see what kind of trouble Annie got into last night.”

The scent of fresh blueberry muffins drifted from her open kitchen door. She’d set the outside table, so I waved to her through the door, then Mitch and I sat down. Glasses of fresh squeezed orange juice were at each of the place settings, and her coffee press sat in the center of the table. Cinnamon. I could smell it just under the fresh-baked scent of the muffins.

“Morning,” Annie said, pushing through the screen door with mugs and a basket of muffins.

“How’d it go?” I reached for a muffin.

“Interesting.” She glanced between Mitch and me, then grinned, a knowing gleam sparkling in her eyes. “Guess your evening was interesting, too.”

Surely it couldn’t be that obvious. I checked my reflection in her kitchen window. Okay. It was obvious. I ran my fingers over the razor burn on my chin. I definitely should have tamed my hair with a clip—and it would probably be good to stop grinning. And maybe use some cover-up on my chin.

Mitch snatched a muffin from the plate, peeled the paper away, and broke off a bite.

“Good thing I made a double batch.” Annie grinned, tucking her hair behind her ear. It stayed. I waved my hands at her. “Talk.”

She sat and pulled her legs up under her yoga style. “I got to Moore Square about five minutes before North strolled out. He had a grip on his briefcase that sent off a clear signal to any would-be thief that it was worth stealing.” She shrugged and took a sip of coffee. “Almost made me feel sorry for him.”

My mouth was full of muffin, so I made a come-on gesture to keep her talking.

“I followed him to a coffee shop on the North Side. He parked in the back, away from pedestrian traffic.” She stopped talking, and her brow wrinkled. “It was actually a good choice for a meet. A good mix of public and private. Marcy Blaine’s arrival was a bit more dramatic. She skidded to a stop and confronted him with the finesse of a fishwife—hands on hips and mouth going.”

“Could you hear her?” I interrupted.

“Nope.”

Mitch started to laugh. “Stop giving her a hard time, Annie. She’s about to explode over here.”

She was definitely having fun with me. I could tell by the uncontained grin that made her laugh lines all crinkly. “Okay.” She winked at Mitch. “After I confirmed the meet, I strolled into the coffee shop, headed for the restroom and then right out the back door. I hunkered down in a deep shadow behind the dumpster to watch the fireworks.”

“And?” I practically jumped out of my chair. It was so much easier when
I
played secret agent than to wait for someone else to tell me about it.

“And…North laid into her. Showed her the photos. She did the denial thing. He slapped her hard enough to shut her up and took off.”

“He hit her?” Mitch asked, his voice rough.

Annie nodded. “Yeah. Made her mad. She paced around for a few minutes in full vent before she took off.”

I sat back in my chair and shot Annie a squinty-eyed look. “And?”

“And then I followed her to Danielle Chamber’s apartment. She parked a few blocks down, snuck in through the back. I got a few good photos for Adam.” She snatched a muffin out of the basket.

“So we know there’s a definite connection between Danielle and Marcy, that North wasn’t aware of it, and he wasn’t at all happy about it.” I poured a glass of orange juice.

Annie nodded. “We also know that Shauna Blaine and Jerry Applegate were lovers, she died in a camping accident during their senior year at Calverton, Applegate was an explosive expert in the military and that you—” she pointed at me— “saw him blowing up North Construction projects.”

I took a long swallow of orange juice while my mind played with the info. “Danielle works with Justin North. Wonder how that fits?”

“He’s probably not too happy with her right now, not after seeing those photos.” Mitch took the glass of orange juice out of my hand and gulped it down.

“True,” Annie agreed.

My body did one of those creepy involuntary shudders, and Mitch raised an eyebrow at me. “I was thinking,” I said in response to the eyebrow thing.

He slid his arm around my shoulder. “About?”

“Applegate’s apartment. Adam brought me there to touch things, but I couldn’t. It was too creepy.”

“Keep talking,” Mitch said, eyes frosty.

“It was fine.” I shook my head. “It’s just that Applegate didn’t love Shauna, he was obsessed with her. He had pictures all over. You know, like you see in horror movies? Very creepy.”

Annie untangled her legs and slid forward in her chair. “Where are you going with this?”

“I think there’s something about the accident that killed her, something we’re missing.
How
did she die?”

Annie looked right at me. “She froze to death. Freak storm. Sudden. No one could have done anything.”

“Huh. Still feels off to me. And Marcy knows stuff. Somebody wrecked her house for a reason. I want to know why.” I tapped my fingers against the empty orange juice glass.

“I know that look,” Annie said. “And I’m thinking of giving Adam a head’s up that you’re about to follow your fingers. He’ll probably want to put a tail on you.”

“You’re right. I do feel restless, but since I haven’t figured out what to touch yet there’s no need to call Adam.”

“When you decide, let one of us know, huh?”

“I promise.”

Two pairs of eyes focused on me.

I took another bite of muffin. There are times when silence rules.

Mitch and I helped Annie clean up, then headed back to my place. “Do you have an assignment?” I asked, brushing against him, hands tucked firmly in my pockets. No point in putting off the question, no matter how much I hoped the answer would be no.

He shook his head. “No, but I haven’t been home since I got back from DC, and I have a pile of paperwork to get through. Besides, if I stay you’re going to touch me.”

I hated to admit he was right. “I know,” I whispered. “It’s automatic to reach out—” my hand had strayed toward his chest. I shrugged and jammed it back in my pocket. “I sure hope the security clearance thing doesn’t take too long.”

“Me, too, Sunshine. Me, too.” He gave me a gentle kiss and left before either of us could change our minds.

The day hung empty in front of me. I headed for my bedroom, did a face plant on the mattress, and let my mind wander. I must have drifted into that special sleep zone that’s not quite sleep, not quite awake, and stayed there for a while. Might have had something to do with the silk scarves that were still attached to the headboard, or maybe it was the nuances of the case tugging at my thoughts. Whatever… I rolled on my back and stared at the ceiling fan as it made its way in a never-ending circle. The breeze cooled my skin, and I shivered.

I had missed something. Something important.

Images of the crime scene bounced to life on my internal monitor, and I jumped off the bed. How could I have been so slow to realize I hadn’t turned my fingers loose in Calvin Jacobson’s office. An oversight that needed to be corrected. Today. Now. It wasn’t an official crime scene any longer, so no reason not to turn my fingers loose on whatever secrets the killer had left behind. I grabbed the phone off my nightstand, punched speed dial for Adam. No way could I skip checking in for this one. Voice mail picked up on the first ring.

Why did that always happen when I tried to do the right thing, and my curiosity was running on high? A lethal combination because it made me…reckless. I talked to voice mail, then headed next door to see what Annie thought. By the time I got outside, she was sliding into Sean Martin’s truck. They’d been seeing a lot of each other. That observation triggered another rush of curiosity. We needed some girl time. But it would have to wait.

I paced around the deck waiting for Adam to call me back, then left another message for him to meet me at Jacobson’s office. No point waiting around when I could be doing something productive.

Besides, there was Merlin to consider. Okay, that was a stretch, but I needed some excuse for moving ahead without back up.