PartyNaked (8 page)

Liar. You didn’t want to leave.

He’d wrapped her up in his strong arms and she’d been too
enthralled by the feelings surrounding her to even consider escape. Now, with
the harsh light of day, she knew it was time to go. Rising slowly, she crept
from the bed, quietly pulling on her pants and bra. Her shirt and sandals were
somewhere between here and the living room. Finding an old receipt and a pen on
the nightstand, she scratched out a quick note.

J—

Thanks for last night. I had a NICE time.

S

Short, simple, to the point. She hoped he’d laugh at her
inside joke about how
nice
he’d been and forget to be annoyed that she’d
left without saying goodbye. She wasn’t ready to wake up in bed with him.
Wasn’t ready for what that could mean.

She wasn’t ready for any of this. Taking one last look at
his sleeping form on the bed, she smiled at his mussed-up hair and devilishly
handsome face, then willed herself to keep moving.

Down the hall. Out the front door. Home. Alone.

Chapter Five

Jarod walked into Books and Brew and claimed the same stool
he’d occupied nearly a week earlier. Ever since waking to find Stephanie
missing from his bed last Friday morning, he’d been busting his ass, working
major overtime—five eighteen-hour days in a row. He’d been kicked by the old
be-careful-what-you-wish-for curse. He’d worked as a beat cop for years, always
reaching for the ever-elusive detective’s badge. Now he was sitting in the coveted
chair, and paying for it. He’d been thrown into a big case the first week out
of the gate and he’d logged a shit-ton of hours as a result.

On the plus side, he and his partner had cracked their case,
nabbing the pusher whose drug dealing on the local college campus had landed
two co-eds in the hospital. For his efforts, he’d cleared the suspect he’d
followed into the bar last week. Stephanie would be relieved to hear that.

On the downside, he’d
cleared
the Books and Brew
suspect. His excuse for hanging out at the bar—sneaking in time as Stephanie’s
pretend boyfriend—had been swept away before he’d even taken advantage of it.

It was three o’clock on Wednesday afternoon. He had the next
three days off, and he was ready to settle the score with Miss Stephanie
Harper. He’d been pissed to discover her gone the morning after the greatest
sex of his life, although he hadn’t been completely surprised. There was
something about Stephanie that told him she would try to hold him at arm’s
length.

She might try, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to succeed.
While the timing on starting a relationship was all wrong for him, he wasn’t
about to let the best thing to happen to him in years simply slip away. He may
be starting a new job and on the rebound from a crappy relationship, but he
didn’t give a shit. He suspected she didn’t want to start a relationship
either. However, Stephanie was going to have to give him a damn good excuse why
not. He wanted to go out with her, take her on a real date and get to know her
better.

He glanced around the room. Jayne was helping a customer
find a book, but aside from that, the place was empty. He’d purposely come
during the off-hours, determined to have a talk with Stephanie that wouldn’t be
interrupted.

Stephanie wasn’t behind the bar and, for a moment, he
worried she’d skipped town in her desire to avoid him. He chuckled. While their
night together had made a huge impact on his life and plans for the immediate
future, he wasn’t certain her feelings were as engaged—one way or the other.
He’d have to work on changing that.

More likely it was her day off—a thought that hadn’t
occurred to him. From their short conversation last week, he’d gotten the
impression she practically lived at the bar. He envisioned her as a workaholic.
While he admired her drive and commitment toward making the place a success, he
was concerned she pushed herself a bit too hard at the expense of everything
else.

The sound of clinking glass caught his attention and he
turned in time to see Stephanie emerge from a back room with a tray of clean
glasses. She was halfway to the bar when she spotted him.

“Oh. Hey.” Her tone told him nothing. Damn, she was a
frustrating woman. Was she sorry about running away last week or pissed off at
him for not calling during the days between then and now? He’d picked up the
phone a hundred times, but he wanted to have this conversation face-to-face.
This was the first opportunity he’d had to make that happen.

He lifted his hand in a casual wave. “Hey.”

She walked behind the bar and placed the glasses on the
counter. “What’s up?”

His temper sparked at her nonchalance. He’d been thinking
about her 24/7, that’s what the fuck was up. Instead, he said, “Not much.”

“Been keeping the mean streets of Portland safe from
double-parkers?” She gave him a friendly smile and his anger melted away.

“Something like that.”

She started putting the glasses away, hanging them by the
stems on the rack above her head. It felt like she was trying to avoid making
eye contact.

“You missed a helluva breakfast Friday morning.” He couldn’t
resist getting in a little dig.

“Oh yeah?” She kept working.

“Yeah. Eggs, hash browns, bacon, the whole works.”

She cleared her throat uneasily, her gaze never wavering
from her task. “I had to be here to open up. Early delivery.”

“Stephanie. Look at me.”

She glanced his way, a look of pure irritation on her face.
He grinned. He liked her feisty side. “I’m sort of busy, Jarod.”

He looked around at the empty bar. “Yeah, I can see that.”

“God, you’re a smartass.”

“Takes one to know one. Is there something wrong, Steph? Did
I hurt you the other night?” It was the one fear he’d carried the past few
days. He hadn’t been a gentle lover. He wondered if he’d gone too far, giving
in to desires he’d always suppressed for fear of scaring his lovers away. She
had responded to his rough touches, pleading for more, but perhaps he’d read
her wrong, pushed her too hard.

She put down the glass she was holding and shook her head.
“Of course you didn’t hurt me. I mean, I’m not going to pretend I wasn’t a
little sore the next day. We went at it like dogs in heat, didn’t we?”

She never minced words. It was refreshing. “You can say that
again. I was worried…”

Her gaze softened. “I’m fine, Jarod. It was a spectacular
night.”

Her words soothed away the last of his anxieties. He gave
her a cocky grin. “Spectacular, huh? That sounds a hell of a lot better than
nice
.”

She rolled her eyes, but he could see she was amused.
“You’re awfully quick to claim all the credit there, hotshot. You have to
admit, I was fucking awesome.”

He leaned closer. “You were incredible. Go out with me
tonight.”

As far as segues went, that had to be the lamest, but he
wanted to see her again.

“Go out or go home with you?”

“A date. I want to take you out on a real, old-fashioned
date. Movies and dinner.”

Her face betrayed her desire to go, but there was clearly
something holding her back. Jarod could see her searching for a reason to say
no. Rejection was not an option.

Turning, he caught Jayne’s attention. “Hey, Jayne.”

Stephanie’s friend smiled when she saw him and excused
herself from her customer for a moment. “Hi, Jarod. I didn’t see you come in.
How’s the reading coming along?”

“Great.” He wasn’t lying. He’d managed to sneak in quite a
bit of reading time during a stakeout one night. Apart from the razzing he
caught from the other guys for reading a chick book, he’d actually enjoyed the
suspense aspect of the story, and the sex scenes were damn hot. He kept
imagining Stephanie in the role of the heroine and had spent more than a few
times jacking off in the bathroom as a result. Rather than be distracted from
his purpose, he forged on. “Looks pretty quiet in here today.”

“Wednesdays are our slowest days,” Jayne confirmed.

“Oh yeah? So it wouldn’t be a problem if I stole Stephanie
away tonight? Date night.”

“A date?” Jayne’s tone confirmed his suspicions. Stephanie
didn’t go out much.

“You know, I didn’t say yes, Jarod.” Stephanie’s arms were
crossed. “I have a lot of work to do.”

Jayne snorted. “It’s like watching paint dry here today.
I’ll call Sophie and get her to mix the dozen or so drinks we’ll be lucky to
sell tonight.”

Stephanie gave her friend a dirty look, but still didn’t
reply.

“Stop looking for an out and say yes, Steph. It’ll be fun.”
He gave her what he hoped was a charming grin.

She closed her eyes, but her face betrayed her. She wasn’t
annoyed or even upset. He took that as a good sign. “Fine,” she finally said.

“Terrific. I’m going to run home and shower. Pick you up
around six?”

She nodded. “Wait.” She grabbed a piece of paper and wrote
down her address. “Pick me up at my place.”

He pocketed the paper as Jayne returned to her customer.
Walking toward the open end of the bar, he crooked his finger. “Come here a
minute.”

“What for?”

He chuckled. “Just come here.”

She stomped over to him. “You know, we’re going to have to
talk about your tendency to be too controlling. I don’t answer to—”

When she was within arm’s reach, he pulled her to him,
silencing her with a long kiss. He’d missed her lips, the taste and scent of
her. She lifted her arms, wrapped them around his neck and joined in.

When Jarod pulled away, Stephanie raised a suspicious
eyebrow. “Shutting me up again?”

He shrugged. “Nah. Just sealing the deal with a kiss. I’ll
see you at six.”

He left the bar feeling optimistic. It was turning out to be
a very good day.

* * * * *

Stephanie laughed as Jarod dissected some of the lamer parts
of the movie they’d just watched. Neither of them had been anxious to see the
evening end, so when Jarod suggested they hit a local all-night diner for
dessert, she’d happily agreed.

As far as first dates went, she wasn’t sure she’d ever had
more fun on one. Jarod was far too easy to be with. They shared a similar sense
of humor, relying heavily on cutting wit and sarcasm. He also didn’t take
himself too seriously, which was a nice break from the last few yahoos she’d
gone out with. Men like Hank, who lived by the I’m-a-stud-worship-me belief.
While Hank masked his insecurity with muscles and bravado, Jarod didn’t put
much stock him his looks, even though he was incredibly handsome and totally
built. He had a quiet confidence in his sexuality that was refreshing and
completely attractive.

“So you solved the case already?” Conversation over dinner
had been relatively safe—both of them giving the well-rehearsed life-history
stories. Standard fare for first dates. However, there was something about
sharing a cup of coffee at midnight that invited more personal revelations.

“Yep,” he admitted. “Thought you’d like to know your guy was
cleared.”

“Guy? I thought you were following one of the Romantic
Hearts ladies.”

Jarod shook his head. “Nope. It was that fella in the
corner, drinking the scotch.”

“Elias?” Stephanie couldn’t help it. She laughed. “Oh my
God. I wish you’d told me who you suspected that night. I could have saved you
some trouble.”

Jarod grinned. “I’m not sure he was ever a serious suspect,
but it was my first day on the job and the lieutenant of the drug task force
simply assigned me a couple of long shots to ease me into the case.”

“Yeah, well, he’s about as long a shot as you could get.
Elias, the drug pusher.” She snorted.

“He’s a professor at the university where the two girls
ODed. The only thing they had in common was his class. Like I said, he wasn’t
ever a serious suspect. We were just dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s.
What’s the deal with that guy anyway?”

Stephanie shrugged. “He’s a regular at the bar and a true
gentleman. I think Jayne has the hots for him.”

“Big age difference, wouldn’t you say?”

“I don’t know how old Elias is.”

“According to the information I gathered on him, he’s
forty-two.”

“Oh. Wow. Well, it doesn’t matter. He’s never asked Jayne
out or expressed any interest. So you had to follow him around all week?”

“Actually, no. I only tailed him that one night. He was
cleared immediately when we caught a big break on the case the day after you
and I met. That’s when things sped up. We set up surveillance for several days
and then a sting operation. Made the arrest late last night and spent my
morning wrapping up the paperwork.”

Stephanie took a sip of her coffee. “Good for you. Although,
I must admit I don’t think I’d like your job. Paperwork and I don’t get along.
I drive Jordan nuts because of my lame record-keeping. I think I’ll leave the
law and order stuff to you.”

He studied her face for a long time and she finally caved
under the unreadable expression. “What?”

“I just gave you more details regarding a case than I ever
shared with Cheryl, and believe me, she would have been hanging on the edge of
her seat and begging for more.”

“Into cops, was she?”

He shrugged. “I guess. Problem was I always ended up feeling
like I needed to embellish the story to make it interesting for her. It was
irritating.”

Stephanie took the last bite of ice cream and wiped her
mouth with her napkin. “Sorry, but Cheryl sounds like a tool.”

“Let’s just say I appreciate the fact that you don’t place
the same importance on my stories of work. I love my job, though I’ll admit
certain aspects of it annoy me. The paperwork ranks pretty damn high on the
aggravating list. But being a cop is only a small part of who I am.”

She nodded, understanding his frustration with his ex. She
felt the same irritation with her mother. “My mom does the same shit to me.
She’s this high-powered executive and a major workaholic.”