TAMMY
SEVEN
Apparently, the great sleep you get right after sex is only good for one day. Last night I’d gone back to tossing and turning and dreaming—more like nightmare-ing—about the break in.
The night before, I had slept like a baby, but that was because Mr. Ray Delacruz had rocked my world and put my ass to sleep.
God, the way he’d made my body feel was unreal. I had never been so turned on before I’d even had my clothes off. That man had barely touched me, and my body had been on fire.
I could still smell him on my sheets as I lay there snuggled up in my bed.
I took another deep inhale and closed my eyes, remembering his hands and mouth on my body. Even though it was just my imagination, I felt a shiver flow through me.
I knew it had been a while for me. The last time I’d had sex was nearly a year ago when I’d gone out with a fancy Air Force JAG lawyer named Carlton.
The man was good-looking, but he didn’t know how to use the tools that God had given him.
After that disappointment, I’d decided to take a hiatus from men.
Ray, on the other hand, not only had a handsome face and a kickin’ body, but he was a master at using his power tools.
I had rules, though. Rules I needed to follow. I did not sleep with coworkers or regular customers. Both could get awkward, so I just needed to steer clear.
Logically, I knew Ray technically wasn’t a coworker, but he was brought on to help investigate the burglary, which complicated things enough that I didn’t want to mess with it.
But it sucked.
Because damn, that man was a good one.
Not that I was looking for a relationship or to get married again, but if I were, he would be a good candidate to start exploring with.
Exploring his background, exploring his interests, and exploring his body.
My cell phone buzzed three times in a row, startling me out of my risqué thoughts.
Jasper meowed next to me on the bed, clearly unhappy at the noise.
Who the heck was texting me so early? It was only—
Wait… What time is it?
I picked up the phone to glance at the time and saw it was a quarter after eight.
The three messages were all from Ray. Not quite ready to deal with what he had to say, I chose to get up and out of bed to shower first.
I needed to run to the store for coffee, but hopefully the shower would help wake me up a little first.
I was a weirdo who stepped into the shower when the water was scalding hot, washed myself thoroughly, and then turned the water to cold for the last thirty seconds.
I’d heard it was good for your skin and hair to do that.
I wasn’t sure how much truth there was to it, but it certainly helped wake me up a little faster.
Jasper was standing in the doorway meowing loudly in protest that his breakfast was not readily available.
“I’m coming. Hold your horses,” I scolded him.
I had just finished drying myself and had wrapped the towel around my body as I made my way into the bedroom when my doorbell rang.
Who the heck was at my door?
I turned to look at my clock and saw it was just after eight thirty.
Who rings someone’s doorbell at eight thirty in the morning?
It was probably a package delivery or someone selling something. I wasn’t planning to go to the door, but I at least put a bra and some underwear on and grabbed my soft, fluffy robe before making my way out to the kitchen to feed my four-legged dictator.
The doorbell rang again, followed by a loud rap of three knocks.
I paused, grabbing my phone out of my robe pocket, and pulled up my doorbell app.
The obnoxious person behind the door was none other than Ray, holding what appeared to be a to-go bag of something.
“Ugh. Hold on, Jasper. There is a very sexy but annoying man at our front door,” I announced to my cat, who stared at me with a look of full boredom at what I had to say.
I should be concerned about my appearance, since I only had a towel wrapped around my hair and a bathrobe on, but this man had seen me completely naked—though he would never get that opportunity again—so it didn’t matter.
I opened the door and took a good long look at him. He was standing there in a long-sleeved charcoal henley with a very worn pair of jeans that looked tailored to his body.
My gaze drifted back up to his face to see his lips lifted on one side in amusement, letting me know he’d seen my perusal and enjoyed it.
With my right hand still holding the door, I put my left on my hip. “What are you doing here?”
He smiled back at me. “Good morning to you too, Tammy.”
“Sorry. Good morning,” I echoed, waving off his greeting. “Now, what are you doing here?”
His grin only grew wider as he held up what appeared to be two drinks and a paper bag. “I brought coffee and breakfast.”
“Why?”
“We need to talk. I have more questions about the pub and the break-in, and I couldn’t exactly ask you about them last night in front of everyone. So, I’m here to discuss at your house since you refused to meet me elsewhere for lunch or dinner.”
Oh, this man was smart. Too smart for his own good.
“Plus, I drank the last of your coffee yesterday morning, so I figured you could use some today.”
Smart and thoughtful. Dangerous combination.
“Come on in.” I opened the door wider and waved my hand in front of me to usher him in. “Let me go change really quickly, and we can take that out to my patio.”
“No need to change on my account. It’s a good look for you.” His husky voice and the way his gaze raked over me let me know it didn’t matter if I had a robe on or not—this man knew what was underneath and that was all he was thinking of.
“I’m changing,” I decreed as I closed the door. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Giving him no time to argue, I immediately moved to the stairs and quickly made my way to my room. I grabbed a pair of yoga pants and an oversized sweatshirt. I needed that man to calm his naughty thoughts, so I put on the least sexy clothes I could grab.
He was standing in the same spot I’d left him in, but he smiled at me as I came into the room.
“I think I like this outfit even better,” he said to me, his eyes heated and full of hunger.
I pointed my finger at him and gave him my best stern look. “Lock those thoughts down, Delacruz, and get rid of them,” I warned.
“I’ll try but make no promises,” he said, walking toward me. “Why don’t you take these to your patio, and I’ll meet you there after I use the restroom really quickly.”
I nodded, appreciating the reprieve and the moment to let my brain calm down.
I grabbed the drink tray and the bag he’d brought and made my way outside to my favorite patio chair, placing everything on a table and retrieving one of the coffees.
A few minutes passed before Ray slid open the door and sat next to me with an amused look on his face.
“What’s so funny?”
“I think your cat either likes me a lot or wants to kill me,” he explained as he grabbed the other coffee and took a sip. “The minute I closed your bathroom door, he started scratching at the door like he was going to be murdered if I didn’t open up and let him in.”
I threw my head back and laughed. I’d gotten used to Jasper being a peeping Tom, but I’d forgotten to inform Ray. Jasper’s only exception to this rule was if he was sleeping comfortably, which he must have been doing when Ray was here that first night.
“Yeah, it’s best if you just let him in, because if you wait too long, he will start to hiss and cry,” I warned.
“Oh, yeah, we made it that far. I witnessed that and wish I could unhear that god-awful sound.”
I laughed even more at the picture of Ray’s face in that moment.
“So, tell me, Tammy. When your cat isn’t trying to be a voyeur and break into bathrooms, what does he do?”
I laughed at his correct analysis of Jasper.
“He mostly searches all over the house for things I’ve left out, catnaps them, and hides them under the sofa.”
Ray smiled. “So, he’s a kleptomaniac.”
“Yep. He’s partial to hair scrunchies, fuzzy socks, and things that jingle or make noise.”
“Interesting choices.”
“What about you, Ray? What do you do when you’re not pretending to be someone’s boyfriend and taking up space at their bar?”
He smiled, letting me know he was thoroughly enjoying our banter. “Mostly I’m just trying to enjoy retirement and not make the same mistakes in life twice.”
“Do I fall into that category?”
“No. I would never count you as a mistake or anything even close to that.”
Not ready to dive into that comment any deeper, I decided to change the subject. “Any big plans for your retirement?”
I knew asking that was crossing into personal chatter, but it was the first thing I could think of, and I’d always been fascinated by what people in the military did after their retirement.
For many of us, transitioning to civilian life was hard, and finding things to keep your mind busy was key to easing that crossover.
“Fishing. I like to fish but never had the time, especially since I’d really like to travel to different places to fish. Like California, Alaska, or even Canada. I’d always told myself I’d travel a lot and see the world when I retired.”
That sounded amazing. I didn’t need to fish, but the thought of traveling the world not in war-torn countries was very appealing. I just hadn’t wanted to solo travel.
“Ambitious,” I told him, sipping my coffee. “How’s that working out for you?”
“Let’s just say I’m still on a learning curve,” he replied with a sad grin. “My weakness is that I don’t have a lot of patience for traveling, and I’ve found that as I get older, I hate being around other people I don’t know.”
I choked out a laugh. That did not surprise me about him one bit.
“What about you, Tammy? What are your biggest weaknesses?”
Did I go for the honest route or the easy answer?
“Hmmm… Tall men who have dark secrets and a hard time with honesty.”
“Do I fall into that category?”
“The former, yes. Jury’s still out on the latter,” I teased.
He gave a small smile, but then I watched as his face softened but also became serious.
“I will never lie to you, Tammy. There are things I can’t talk about, like my missions overseas or private security cases I worked on, but I’d let you know that. With that said, I will never lie to you.”
His gaze stayed on me as I took in what he said. I knew what his words meant, and I understood more than most about sensitivity to military information and even the work he did after he left the Army.
“What’s your secret for dealing with humanity?”
“Low expectations,” I said, sipping my coffee.
He choked out a short laugh.
We sat there in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the view my patio provided, the birds chirping, and the delicious coffee and muffins he’d brought.
“I’d like to set up another camera or two near the bar.”
Odd transition, but safer territory, so it was okay.
“Didn’t Jack already add some?” I asked.
I knew he’d mentioned doing it, but maybe the guys had changed their minds.
“I don’t mean official ones,” he said cryptically, causing me to turn my head to face him and give him my full attention. “I want to put one or two others like the one you hid behind the bar. I don’t plan to tell anyone else about it. You and I will be the only ones who know.”
“Why?” I had an idea why, but I wanted him to spell it out.
“I’m not saying it is, but just in case it’s an employee behind this, I don’t want them to know. The more people who know about the cameras, the more likely it is to become shared information, which defeats the purpose.”
“Then why tell me?”
“Because I want you to help me set them up and connect them to your app so we can keep an eye on them.”
“I mean, why would you tell me if you suspect someone at the bar? I could be a suspect too.”
“If you did it, you wouldn’t have set up a camera ahead of time, stepped in front of it, and then shared that video with the police later. Especially since no one else knew about that camera.”
Valid point.
“Plus, I have a feeling if you wanted to pull this off, you’re smart enough to not get caught.” He flashed me a sly grin, and I melted a little at the confidence this man had in me, even if it was for morally gray reasons.
“You’re in luck,” I told him. “I actually bought two but decided one was enough for now, and I could either set up the other one later or return it. You can take the other one, and we can go over and set it up before everyone comes in today.”
“Good idea.”
“Of course it is. I’m full of those,” I replied, watching his lips curve into a slow, amused smile.
Ten minutes later, after we’d finished the coffee and breakfast he’d brought, I went inside to change clothes and grab the extra camera.
I didn’t have to work until later this afternoon, but I figured we could go get the camera set up, and then I could come home for a little bit and do some laundry and a few other chores.
“Here,” I said, handing him the unopened camera box.
“Why don’t you just ride with me over to the pub, and I’ll bring you back here when we’re done?
” he offered, and I knew he was just being nice, but I was already spending way too much time with this man as it was.
I didn’t need to add even more. Not when my libido kept reminding me how awesome he had been two nights ago.
“I’ll drive separately. I need to get some chores done and run some errands before my shift, but thanks.”
He gave me a small smirk, clearly seeing my excuse for what it was.
I went to grab my purse and shoes when I found him searching in my entryway and living room.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I can’t find my car keys,” he said, glancing around the kitchen now. “I swear I put them on your coffee table, but it’s possible I took them to the kitchen with the food.”
“Check under the couch.”
“You think they fell and rolled under there?” he asked incredulously.
“No, I think they were knocked off the coffee table and confiscated by Jasper so he could add them to his collection.”
The recollection of what I had mentioned earlier hit him, and Ray crouched down on all fours to look under my couch. I took a moment to admire his ass from this position. I knew that ass was rock hard, and I wanted to throw a quarter at it just to see if it would bounce.
Approximately four and a half seconds later, his hand came out with his keys.
“Bingo,” he said as he stood back up while Jasper glared and hissed at him from the top of the couch. “Get your own keys, buddy.”
He turned to me, and a sly grin took over his expression. “Did you enjoy staring at my ass while I was down there?”
Caught red-handed.
“Absolutely,” I replied with no shame whatsoever.
“Guess that makes us even then, since I took every opportunity last night at the bar to look at yours,” he said in his low, smooth voice.
Damn, he was a good flirt. No wonder I’d slept with him that first night. He was the dictionary definition of a smooth talker, and he was taking this fake dating thing to a whole new level.