13. Tammy
THIRTEEN
TAMMY
I’d spent all day thinking about the second burglary attempt. Well, that and also Ray. It was a weird combination of thoughts that seemed entirely random.
In the shower, I remembered his hard cock powering into me.
As I got dressed, my mind would switch to how close we’d come to catching the suspect red-handed.
While making breakfast, I’d imagined Ray’s mouth as it worked slowly down my neck and chest as his hands slid between my legs and his fingers slipped inside me.
Laundry duty was filled with thoughts of how none of the new cameras we’d installed had picked this person up anywhere.
While eating lunch at my desk, I thought about Ray getting on his plane soon and how I would likely never see him again. I was off today, but I came into the office to get some payroll done and distract my brain from thoughts of Ray.
So my first thought when I saw Ray standing in the doorframe to the little office at the Watering Hole was that my brain was playing tricks on me, since he’d been on my mind so much.
“Hey,” he said in that low, sexy, perfect voice.
“You’re here,” I noted, and then looked down at my watch to make sure I had the correct time.
“Yeah, well, one of the bartenders here is sexy as hell, so I had to come back.” He leaned his shoulder against the doorframe and gave me a slightly cocky grin.
Needing to wipe that grin off his face before I gave into lust and did him on the couch—again—I pivoted to sarcasm.
“I’ll be sure to give your compliments to Corey.”
He choked out a laugh. “Corey seems nice, but he doesn’t have the same charisma as you.”
“Charisma, eh? Is it my inane ability to change out a keg with flair?”
“No. It’s more like your ability to help people out and lend a hand when someone really needs it, especially when it’s for the greater good.”
Hmmm. I sensed that was a loaded sentence and not just what it appeared to be. My suspicions were confirmed when he pulled a white box from behind his back and walked it over to my desk.
I knew that box. It came from Stella’s bakery.
My weakness.
Oh yeah. This man was about to give me bad news or ask for a favor of some kind.
“Stella was very kind and told me what your favorite items were from her bakery,” he said, setting the box down on the desk and opening the lid.
I could smell the deliciousness as it filled the room.
“Why aren’t you at the airport?” I asked, leaning back in my chair and making no move for the items in the box, even though I really wanted to.
He tilted his head ever so slightly as his eyebrows furrowed. “Have you talked to Archer, Wade, or Vince yet?”
“Not since this morning, but Frank and Vince invited me to have a drink with them in about twenty minutes. I thought they were worried about me…but now I’m wondering if it’s something else.”
The look on his face confirmed that the meeting was definitely more than just a drink.
“Do you mind if I join you? That way I can answer any questions you may have.”
Jesus. This was sounding worse and worse by the minute.
“Is that what you came here for?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Actually, I came to see if you might be interested in having a roommate.”
What did he just say?
“I’m sticking around for a few more days, and I’d like to stay with you,” he said.
“Presumptuous much?” I shot back.
“Think of it as a sleepover.”
Bristling, I asked dryly, “A naked one?”
He gave me that million-dollar smile. “Why, sure. Thanks for asking.”
“I didn’t ask—"
“Tammy, I want to stay with you. I like being with you, and I’d like to spend as much time together as possible while I’m here for a few extra days.
Being able to keep an eye on you is just a bonus.
The second break-in means this wasn’t a random person and a crime of opportunity.
They know the Watering Hole well, which means they also likely know the employees. Employees like you.”
He made a good point. If they knew my name, they might know where I lived. It wouldn’t be a bad thing to have someone else around…just in case.
But before I could ask anything, he carried on.
“Just to clarify, I’m not inviting myself over to have sex or even sleep in your bed. I’d be more than happy to sleep in your spare bedroom if that would make you more comfortable.”
“What would make me more comfortable is if you would tell me what’s really going on.”
“How about this?” His voice was calm, controlled, and perhaps even a bit sympathetic. “Let’s go meet Frank and Vince, and you can decide after. Come on. I’ve still got my rental car. I’ll drive.”
“I have rules,” I said defiantly with my arms crossed over my chest.
“Maybe you need new rules,” he replied. “Rules that include me staying with you.”
Drinks with Frank and Vince turned out to be drinks with Frank, Vince, Ray, Wade, and Archer.
I knew the minute Ray and I walked in that this was not going to end well for me.
Ray sat next to me at the table…as in he scooted his chair as close as he possibly could to mine without actually merging our two chairs.
As the guys all laid out the new plan, Ray’s hand went from my clenched fists in my lap to the top of my thigh, once I initially jerked my hands away. His touch wasn’t sexual in nature, but rather supportive. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. It was nice but also left me feeling edgy.
“We’re pulling Diego and Delia off any nonessential cases so they can be at the pub when you or anyone else closes,” Archer added. “Ray suggested we add more security measures when we store the money. We also want our staff watching guard when you take it directly to the bank.”
“You really think that will work?” I asked, not entirely convinced, but willing to try.
“If there’s no money to steal, or it’s harder to do so, to most people it’s no longer worth it.”
Personally, I liked Delia better.
Not just because she was friendly—though that helped—but because she’d spent a decade as an Air Force hurricane hunter pilot. The kind of person who strapped into a plane and flew straight into the eye of a storm, collecting data that saved lives.
The thought of that made me want to puke. Yet she’d done it for ten years.
She was sharp, brave, spoke four languages, and carried an unassuming presence that was deadly effective.
Wade had mentioned once that the company needed help with “honey traps.” Not the sleazy kind, but the tactical kind. The kind where a woman could walk into a room, smile, and get a man to tell her everything—because he never saw her as a threat.
Delia? She could do that while disarming a man twice her size if needed.
Plus, people always assumed badasses and security people were men, which meant she could blend in.
“My friend Chase is coming tomorrow from Texas,” Ray announced, and I knew my shock was visible on my face based on how he looked at me. “He’s gonna come in for just two days or so to give me some fresh outsider insight. To anyone around us, it will just look like my buddy is coming for a visit.”
“Great,” Archer added.
“He can stay with Susan and me if he wants,” Frank interrupted. “Unless you still want that room?”
Ray glanced at me, and I knew what he was thinking.
He’d asked to stay with me, but I hadn’t given him an answer.
I knew there was more to the story, but I didn’t know everything yet.
A normal person would have waited patiently for someone to give them the information, but I wasn’t normal.
I knew if I wanted the inside scoop—and I did—that having him stay at my place would allow me that guilt trip to make him tell me everything.
A little tit for tat, and I wasn’t ashamed to play that game.
“Ray is gonna stay in my guest room,” I told everyone at the table.
Ray once again gave a small squeeze to my thigh, while I noticed big shit-eating grins on the rest of the men. I knew they thought I was lying about him staying in the guest room, but I wasn’t. At least, that wasn’t my plan.
“Let Chase have your spare room,” Ray told Frank, then turned to the others. “You got everything you need, eh?”
“Did you just say ‘eh’?” I teased him. “Your Canadian is showing.”
He rolled his eyes and let out a small sigh. “Minnesota isn’t Canada.”
I shrugged. “Close enough.”
Frank laughed and then said to no one in particular at the table, “I’m loving the hell out of this.”
The next morning, I quietly made my way down to my kitchen. It was just before eight and the guest bedroom door was still closed as I walked by. I didn’t want to wake Ray as I made my way to get some coffee downstairs.
Truth be told, I wanted to sit on my porch alone for a bit and just think.
Last night, after we’d had drinks and dinner with the guys, we’d gone back to the pub to grab my car and then to my townhouse.
I’d shown Ray the spare room and guest bathroom and told him to make himself comfortable before I’d feigned exhaustion and closed myself off in my room.
I knew I was hiding away like a hermit. I was tired, given it had been a strange and chaotic last twenty-four hours, but I really just needed time away from Ray for the moment.
I started a pot of coffee and waited for it to brew before grabbing a cup and heading out to my patio.
The sounds of nature around me were soothing. I stared out at the trees beyond my backyard, appreciating the sun that was now fully above them.
The cool breeze felt refreshing and tamped down the heated flush that was on my face as I thought about two nights ago.
“Mornin’,” Ray’s gravelly voice sounded from behind me as he joined me out on the patio.
I jerked slightly at his surprise appearance.
The man responsible for the flush on my face was now sitting inches away from me.
“You got any siblings?” he asked casually, sipping from his own cup of coffee while he leaned back in his chair.
“I’ve got a younger sister, Lori. She’s two years younger and lives in Colorado with her husband, Donovan, my nephew Landen, and my niece Lucy.”
“How old are your niece and nephew?”
“They’re twins. Ten years old.”
He nodded and gave a small smile.