27. Claire
CHAPTER 27
Claire
B leary-eyed and with Pebbles tucked under my arm, I entered the kitchen, rubbing at my eyes as I turned on the lights.
Coffee. I needed coffee.
I’d lain awake for several hours, hoping Ozzie would come back after he finished at work, even though he told me he would probably just go home so he didn’t disturb my sleep.
It wasn’t like I hadn’t tried to go to sleep without him. The hope rattling around my brain was a giddy annoyance I hadn’t been able to silence easily. Finally, around three, I’d fallen into a fitful sleep plagued with decadent dreams about Ozzie and all the wicked things we’d done just hours before.
My gaze stopped on the island in front of the fridge.
The scene from last night unfolded in my mind, heating my blood.
I drew in a deep, cleansing breath and forced myself to look away. Spending the day in a perpetual state of arousal wouldn’t do me any good. While it wasn’t technically a workday, I did have things to do.
Like file a claim with my insurance company. And call all my clients.
Hence the reason I was awake at seven a.m. after only sleeping for a few hours.
Thank goodness I kept online records. I would lose some days just dealing with the fallout, but business wouldn’t suffer too much. I could work from home or Mina’s shop.
Yawning, I set Pebbles on the floor and made my way to the coffeepot. Today, I added a pod to the single-cup brewer side of the machine and pressed start. Once I had a cup of the gods’ nectar in me, I would take a quick shower then get online and start the claims process with my insurance company. I was very glad they offered that option. Eventually, I knew I would have to talk to a real person on the phone, but I wasn’t ready for that. Just thinking about what happened made me tear up.
After that, I would start contacting clients. I wanted to check on Savannah too. Hopefully, the hospital didn’t keep her, but she’d been coughing quite a bit, so I wasn’t sure. Smoke inhalation could be nasty.
The coffeemaker sputtered, and the scent of fresh coffee filled the room.
While I waited on the coffee, I put a scoop of food in Pebbles’s bowl, to which she turned up her nose and trotted toward the back door.
“You stay in the yard, you little terror.” I opened the door, and she dashed out, quickly disappearing into the darkness.
Flipping on the outside light, I stayed by the window and watched. I could just see her at the edge of the light’s glow, moving back and forth, looking for the perfect spot to do her business. Finally, she squatted to pee.
Mid tinkle, she barked and took off toward the gate.
Groaning, I opened the door. What was she after now? “Pebbles!”
She ignored me.
I called her name again, but she just stood at the gate, raising hell.
“Definitely looking into obedience classes, you little turd.” I put one foot out the door to go get her, but the doorbell pealing stopped me.
Pebbles turned around, running full speed for the back door, still barking.
I let her in, then shut the door before following her to the front of the house.
A quick peek through the windows revealed Ozzie standing on the porch.
My heart stuttered, then launched into double time.
I glanced down at my attire, self-conscious of how I was dressed, then huffed a short laugh. He’d seen me naked. How was my bathrobe and pajamas worse?
Rolling my eyes at myself, I opened the door. “Hey.” With a bright smile of welcome, I stepped back to let him in.
He stepped over the threshold, his eyes heating as he took in my robe. A touch of amusement entered his gaze when he spotted my slipper. “I might frame those if you ever decide to throw them away.”
I raised the hem of my robe admiring the pink shoe on my foot. “Best nineteen-ninety-five I ever spent.”
Chuckling, he moved closer, wrapping an arm around my waist before leaning down to kiss me soundly.
My blood immediately heated, wanting more, but he pulled back, letting me go. “Sorry I didn’t come back last night. Things got busy.”
“I figured. It was a long shot, anyway. You already said you didn’t want to disturb me.”
He hummed, trailing behind me when I turned to head for the kitchen. “Doesn’t mean I wasn’t tempted. You wearing anything under that robe?”
I glanced over my shoulder to see him staring at my butt as I walked. A devilish smile lit my face. “Be good and you might find out.”
His dark eyes met mine. Need burned in their depths. “Witch.”
I let out my best cackle, then laughed for real. “Do you want some coffee?”
“Yes, if you’ve got enough brewed.”
“I used the pod side of the machine today, but it won’t take long to make another cup.” Reaching the counter, I removed my mug from the tray, then put a clean one in its place and a fresh pod in the machine. In just over a minute, we took our steaming cups to the living room.
Sinking onto the couch, I cuddled up to Ozzie’s side. Pebbles jumped up with us, filling in the gap between our thighs.
“So tell me about your night.” I lifted my mug to blow across the surface of the steaming brew. “You said it turned busy. Does that mean you found something?”
“It’s what I didn’t find.” He took a sip of his coffee, then set it on the end table.
“Oh?”
“I went through the house picture by picture, comparing everything. Nothing was different. Not until I reached the master bathroom.”
A frown knit my eyebrows together. “The master bathroom? You found something out of place in there? How?” There hadn’t been much personality to the room. The Hammonds had swept all their toiletries into drawers or taken them with them.
“Do you remember a sweatshirt sitting on top of the hamper?”
My frown deepened as I pictured the room. I’d barely been in there. Just long enough to snap a couple of pictures. But now that he mentioned it, yes. “I do. It looked out of place in the spotless bathroom. Why? Did it have a bloodstain on it or something?” I supposed it was possible the killer had gone in there to clean up after stabbing Marie and brushed up against it.
“No. It’s missing.”
“Missing?”
He nodded. Absently, his hand covered Pebbles’s back and he stroked her fur. “I looked all over the house for it. Even checked the laundry room and the garage. No sign of it. You didn’t move it, did you?”
“No. I just took pictures. If it had still been there when we staged, Lynne or one of her staff would have slid it into the hamper, but we didn’t get that far that morning.” That was strange that it was the only thing missing.
“I don’t suppose you took a look at it? It has a logo on the front, but with the way it’s lying on the hamper lid, I can’t tell what it’s for.”
“Um…” Biting my lower lip, I closed my eyes, trying to picture it. “It was black with gold letters. And I think, maybe, I saw part of the state flag.”
“Yeah. That’s the same general impression I got.” He blew out a breath and picked up his coffee again.
My face pulled with dismay. “I’m sorry I can’t be of more help. I was really only in the bathroom for a few seconds. Just long enough to take the pictures.”
“I know. It’s fine. I just… I feel like I’ve seen it.” Grimacing, he stared off into space. “I just can’t place it.”
I raised a hand to my face, chewing on a magenta-colored nail as I thought about the logo. “Is it a police thing? Now that I’m really thinking about it, the side I could see had that swoop to it, like a shield.” I drew the shape in the air with one finger.
His frown grew fiercer. “Maybe. I’m not sure.” The deep vee between his eyebrows smoothed out as he exhaled. “It’ll come to me at some point. Trying to force it, though, will just make it more elusive.” He turned his head, those dark eyes meeting my gaze. “Let’s talk about something else.”
“Okay.” I was more than willing to talk about whatever he wanted. Staying right here snuggled against him was fine by me. My to-do list could wait. “What do you want to talk about?”
Fire shot to life in his midnight eyes. “How about what you have on under this robe?”
The arm over my shoulders tightened and his hand slid around the side of my neck and over my collarbone to snake beneath the lapel of my bathrobe. In moments, he reached the top swell of my breast and gooseflesh erupted on my skin.
My gooseflesh got gooseflesh when his delightful mouth pressed against the pulse point on my neck.
The coffee mug wavered in my hand.
He noticed. After setting his down, he removed it from my fingers and placed it next to his on the table. Giving Pebbles a nudge, he shooed her off the couch, then shifted me, pulling me onto his lap. Those delightful lips continued to tease the sensitive skin by my ear.
I clutched silky strands of dark hair between my fingers and let my head fall back, giving him better access.
The belt around my waist loosened. Cooler air slipped inside my robe. I wasn’t naked, but I didn’t sleep in much, even in the colder months. I had a mountain of blankets on my bed, so I preferred to sleep in a tank top or t-shirt and shorts or thin pants. Last night, I’d been warm thanks to memories of Ozzie, so I put on a tank top and shorts.
Ozzie hummed against my skin. “What will I find?” The sides of my robe parted, then his hand wrapped over my hip beneath the warm fabric. “Hmm… feels like satin. Shame. I was hoping for nothing.”
“It comes off quick,” I muttered, my voice airy.
I felt him smile against my neck. “Good.” With a slow but deliberate pace, he worked his way along my jaw until his mouth covered mine, stealing my breath.
Distant bells reached my ears.
Ozzie growled, but not in a good way.
He pulled back. “I’m going to throw that thing into the ocean.”
My eyelids fluttered open. What? What was he talking about?
Half a second later, I realized the bells weren’t bells, but my ringtone. For Mina.
I groaned. “It’s Mina. She probably heard about the fire.” I pushed him back and swung my legs off his lap. I needed to answer her. She’d never stop calling if I didn’t and would in fact show up here if I failed to answer.
Fumbling with my robe, I got the pocket around and shoved my hand inside. With a quick swipe of my finger, I answered it just before it rolled to voicemail. “Mina?”
“Claire! Girl, what happened? All people can talk about this morning is the fire. Are you okay? Is Savannah? I heard she was there. No one can tell me how badly she’s hurt, though. I’ve gotten everything from not a scratch to she got hit with a beam and is in a coma and paralyzed.”
Shock rounded my eyes. People had vivid imaginations. “She’s fine, as far as I know. Some smoke inhalation.” I glanced at Ozzie, hoping he could confirm my words. He still frowned but nodded once. A little of the worry I’d been holding eased.
“I planned to call her in a little while,” I continued. “Once it was a more decent hour.”
“Sorry.” Mina’s wince came through in her tone. “I was worried, and this is the first moment I’ve had to call since we opened.”
A soft smile lit my face. “It’s okay. I was awake, actually.”
“Are you dressed?”
“Not yet. Why?”
“Because you need to get your butt down here so we can have this conversation in person. I want to know everything, but I just had another wave of customers walk in. Put some clothes on and get over here. I’ll caffeinate you.” She hung up before I could say yes or no.
Offering Ozzie a small smile, I lowered the phone. “Did you hear that?”
He nodded. A wicked smirk hovered on his full lips. He plucked the phone from my fingers and dropped it onto the floor at our feet. “To get dressed you have to get undressed first, right?”
An answering smile slipped over my face. I leaned into him, threading my fingers into his hair. “Why, yes. I suppose that’s right.”
“Well, then, I guess it’s a good thing her coffee is made on demand. It won’t get cold while she waits.”
Any reply I planned to make died in my throat as his mouth covered mine once again.