The Right To Remain Mine (16 page)

        "So," she said, ready to get back to the topic she wanted to discuss. "Who else am I supposedly sleeping with?"

        Malloy must've realized she wasn't going to let the issue drop because he sighed loudly and finally answered, "Let's see, there's the dentist in Darlington."

        Unable to stop herself, she snorted out an amused laughed. "A dentist? From Darlington? Seriously? I don't even know a dentist in Darlington." Still smiling over that one, she asked, "Who else?"

        Malloy didn't answer immediately, so she bumped her elbow backward into his stomach to get his attention. "Malloy?"

        He grunted. "Uh…the assistant county attorney was one."

        She choked out an incredulous sound. "Hale? Rodney Hale? Oh, ick, Malloy. That idiot's a total ass."

        "I thought you said I was an ass?" he countered, sounding royally offended.

        She rolled her eyes. "Not that kind of an ass," she said, thinking that should be obvious. Hale was a moron who acted as if he knew everything about everything, while actually he knew nothing about anything.

        Behind her, her lover relaxed. "Thank God. If you were going to place me in the same category as Hale, we were going to have some serious problems."

        "I've only talked to Rodney a handful of times. And that's only when I've stopped by the county attorney's office to see Chase." Suddenly, her eyes shot open. "I wonder if Chase has heard that rumor. He doesn't like Hale as it is, but if he knew this, he'd be pissed. He turns pretty olderbrotherly and protective when he hears tales about me. Especially when he doesn't like the guy."

        She wondered idly what Chase thought of Malloy. Did her brother even know him? Her eyelids went heavy, and she started to blink more. As sleep invaded her senses, she envisioned the man in bed with her joining her for a family gathering, meeting her parents, brother, sister-in-law and all the aunts, uncles and cousins. She imagined he would get along well enough with the crew. She had a crazy, jumbled assortment of relatives, but she loved every one of them. They'd welcome Malloy into the fold, no problem. Too tired to realize what direction her thoughts had taken, she snuggled closer to him.

        A warm, familiar hand squeezed her hip. "Hey, are you going to sleep? Thought you wanted to talk."

        She smiled a lazy, blissful smile. "You know, you're the first man to treat me like a normal woman. Not some trophy to be won, not the prettiest, most popular girl in school to brag to your friends about deflowering, or the judge's daughter who'll win you connections in the county. 'Slike you actually want me for me."

~ * ~

        Raith frowned as she fell into a deep, peaceful sleep. Her last sentence had been deeply slurred; he wondered if she even realized what she'd just confessed. It bothered him. Okay, yes, she was gorgeous. Yes, her daddy was powerful. But were all the men who came before him complete idiots? How could they not see how spectacular she was all by herself?

        He pulled her sleeping form back snug against his chest and wrapped his arm around her. In her sleep, she sighed. The sound went through him like a boomerang. Damn it, this was not good. This woman was going to break his heart, he could feel it in his bones.

        Raith ate breakfast at DeVane's, raiding her kitchen until he found a bowl, spoon and box of Cheerios. He broke the seal on a half-gallon carton of milk and poured a liberal amount over his meal. Then he sat down at her table and fed himself.

        It would've been more convenient for him to go home and eat there. He needed to head that way next to shower and change anyway. But it didn't even matter that he preferred the kid-flavored brands of cereal he had stocked on his own shelves. He stayed rooted at DeVane's table and finished his Cheerios, drinking the leftover milk from the bottom of his bowl.

        All the while, he stared at the counter where he'd taken her, remembering how good she felt wrapped around him.

        She'd tried to nudge him awake a couple minutes ago, saying, "Hey. Malloy. Don't you have to go to work today?"

        He cracked his eyes open far enough to catch her studying his uniform, bulletproof vest, duty belt, gun and boots in a heap on the floor. She'd already showered and dressed for the day, wearing one of her seductive power suits. But he'd been too tired to be disappointed that he missed getting to see her dress up.

        Mumbling something unintelligible, he winced at the light and rolled over away from her.

        "What?" she asked and nudged him again, making him growl.

        "It's my day off," he repeated, more loudly this time. He didn't have to go in until later to fill some hours because of Wilmer's absence.

        "Okay then," DeVane relented. "Make the bed before you leave."

        Now that he was awake and alert, he wished he had snagged her wrist and tugged her down on top of him to get a lusty little kiss goodbye.

        She was officially his lover now, so he felt perfectly within his rights to do so. Well, she hadn't balked at the idea when he'd suggested it last night. So, damn it, she was his lover now.

        Still amazed by that fact, he lingered in her home and surrounded himself with her things. He rinsed the bowl in her sink and thought about leaving it there, but changed his mind and cleaned it properly, drying and

putting it back where he found it.

        Afterward, he just kind of stood around and set his hand on the counter, right where she'd sat a few weeks ago when he'd shoved her robe aside and pushed his way inside her. Steeped in memories, he slid his palm over the surface of the countertop and groaned, feeling like an idiot for reliving that moment in his head. Closing his eyes, he leaned forward and rested his head on a cabinet door.

        "You are so screwed, Malloy," he told himself.

        When he left a few minutes later, he locked her back door behind him.

~ * ~

        When Willow made it home, he was gone. He'd left her bed a mess—probably on purpose, the ass—but other than that, there was no trace of his presence. She didn't want to admit how much that disappointed her. She'd pictured him lounging around her house all day, eating all the food from her fridge and being completely lazy. And shame on her, but she had liked the image.

        She'd never confess it aloud, but she'd hurried home just to see if he was still hanging around. The locked back door that greeted her made her growl in frustration because she had to drop her briefcase and dig inside her purse for a key. But then it made her smile because it reminded her of him. She pushed her way inside, spilling into the kitchen in a rush.

        The house was quiet. And lonely.

        After walking through the halls to make sure he was really gone, she returned to the kitchen and mechanically started dinner. Halfway through cooking a heaping pot of pasta alfredo, she realized it'd take her a month to finish such a serving all by herself. Even more depressed by that notion, she called Camille and Dylan and demanded they come eat with her.

        She should've called Chase and his wife Allison or maybe Kit and Tina instead, she decided an hour later when she and the Taggarts settled into the living room, because the first after-dinner topic out of her cousin's mouth was the very one she'd been wanting to avoid all evening.

        "So... how's Malloy doing?" Camille asked bluntly.

        Willow sent her an arch look. "Why do you assume I know the answer to that question? Maybe I haven't seen him since running into him at the theatre with you two."

        "If that's the case, then why do you have a new figurine?" her cousin countered and held up a tiny brass statue Willow hadn't even noticed before.

        She sucked in a breath when she saw it. Only about five inches tall, the sculpture of a police officer with a whistle in his mouth and a hand up in the universal sign for stop as if he was directing traffic instantly captivated her. Willow snatched up the sculpture, envisioning Malloy strolling around her room and examining her menagerie as she'd talked on the phone. He knew she liked to collect statuettes.

        "Oh my God," she breathed. "I wonder when he left this here?" Quietly, she speculated why he hadn't given her the trinket in person, only to figure he'd been too embarrassed to offer her a gift. She grinned. That sounded like Malloy. He'd cut off his arm before looking like a "nice" guy.

        It never occurred to her that maybe he hadn't left the item. But come on. Why would anyone else give her such a present? No one besides Camille and Dylan even knew of her involvement with a deputy.

        "He must've put it here after I left this morning," she mused, grinning slightly at the thought of him really being awake when she'd left, only to fly out of bed as soon as she closed the door, and hurry into the living room to set up his surprise.

        "Hey." Camille snapped her fingers in front of Willow's face, making her blink up at her two guests. Neither of them smiled back. "What in the world?" her cousin exploded. "I thought you said you didn't like him. I thought…" She shook her head. "What was up with all that Don't-worryCamille-I'll-never-see-him-again crap?"

        Wincing and sending the pair giving her similar accusing scowls a guilty little smile, she shrugged. "Oops."

        "Oops?" Camille exploded. "But... but..."

        "It's still not serious," Willow hurried to reassure. "I mean, three different encounters hardly means we're going to start picking out china together."

        "Three!" Camille sputtered as Willow continued.

        "It's nothing at all. It's just... just..."

        "Sex?" Dylan finished blandly.

        Willow snapped her fingers and pointed at him. "Exactly."

        "Oh, Willow," Camille groaned, reaching up to clutch her own face in agony. "How could you? And even after you saw him with another woman at the theatre."

        "She was his sister," Willow answered, unconsciously defending Malloy. But then her eyes brightened. "See. The man took his sister to a play for her birthday because she wanted to go. That should tell us he has at least one compassionate bone in his body."

        Though Dylan only scowled at Willow's reasoning, his wife looked thoughtful. "Well," she murmured, "that was kind of sweet. He doesn't really seem like the kind of guy who would voluntarily go to a play."

        "He's not," Willow said just as Dylan frowned at his wife.

        "Camille. Don't you dare be swayed."

        Sending her husband an apologetic wince, Camille said, "But Willow seems to like him."

        "I don't like him," Willow quickly cut in, denial thick in her voice. "I can't stand the guy."

        Both Taggarts looked at her as if she was insane.

        "I'm not lying," she exploded. "I swear it's not serious. If I'm still,

uh, associating with him in another month, I'll personally pay for tickets to take both of you to the next theatre performance in town."

        When Camille and Dylan merely exchanged a quick look, Willow paused.

        "What?" she said, frowning as she wondered what she was missing. The two obviously knew something she didn't.

        "Yeah, about next year. We, uh, have something to discuss with you."

        Willow straightened, instantly alert. She glanced toward Dylan and grew more alarmed when he shifted uncomfortably and wouldn't meet her gaze. "Oh, God," she whispered. "What? Is it the baby? Is he okay?"

        Camille shook her head and smiled in reassurance. "No. Nothing like that." She set a protective hand on her stomach and began to rub. "No. It's... well, Dylan was contacted by a horse breeder in Kentucky. This guy's the top in the nation. He only gets the best for his program and he wants us. He wants Dylan anyway. He's heard about the clinic we started and he... he offered Dylan a job to be his private vet." Wincing in apology, she added. "It'd be the opportunity of a lifetime for him."

        Willow glanced toward Camille's husband but he had shoved his hands in his pockets and still wouldn't look her way. She swung her gaze back to her cousin, the best friend she had ever had.

        Heart dropping into her knees, she whispered, "You're moving."

        Camille's chin trembled and she hurried forward, reaching for her childhood companion with both hands. Clenching her fingers around Willow's, she said, "Nothing's been decided yet."

        But Willow already knew. It wouldn't be much longer before she lost her best friend. The thought was both sobering and scary as hell. She suddenly wanted to grab both Camille and Dylan into her arms and pull them close for a tight hug. She didn't want them to leave her. She didn't want to be alone. Acting as their third wheel was better than loneliness.

        She didn't start bawling as she watched her friends holding their breaths, eyeing her with bated concern. No, she knew she couldn't be selfish and throw a fit, forcing them to stay close to her forever. If this was their chance of a lifetime, then she should be happy for them. She would be happy for them.

        Forcing a bright smile, she opened her arms to Dylan and said, "Congratulations, handsome."

        As his arms clasped around her, however, she glanced over his shoulder at his wife, who was grinning and rubbing her huge stomach. Immediately, pain ached through Willow again. She wouldn't get to watch their baby grow up. She wouldn't get to be Auntie Willow who came over all the time and spoiled the boy like crazy.

        Closing her eyes, she squeezed Dylan closer for a brief second, and then she pulled away, giving them a brave grin. "I'm so happy for you guys."