Chapter 10
10
“ Y ou’re really one of the good guys, aren’t you?” Kaelie posed the sentiment as a question, but she meant it as statement of fact. Everyone had those few not so stellar moments in life. Lord knew she had her fair share of mistakes. She had no right to judge, and Buddy had paid his debt.
More importantly, he made it right by paying it forward.
“I’m not a bad one,” he said with a wink. His hands massaged her lower back as they swayed to a romantic country song that whispered through the speaker in her bedroom.
His lips brushed the side of her neck, just under her ear. She shivered.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
“Just the opposite,” she mused.
“Shall we take off all your clothes, then?”
“You don’t have to ask me twice.” She raised her shirt over her head, tossing it to the floor.
With swift hands, he unclasped her bra, letting it fall to her feet.
“One might think you’ve had some practice with that piece of fabric.” She couldn’t remember a time in her life where she felt a sense of contentment since her sister’s murder. Not even when Gunner had given her the closure the doctors told her she needed.
There was no closure when one horrific act changed the course of her life. The emptiness she felt from her sister’s murder and her father’s suicide left a burning hole in her heart, body, and soul. Nothing could ever fill it. Nothing made her feel like a whole person.
Buddy changed that. Not that he took all the loneliness away, but right now, in his arms, he helped ease the pain that haunted her entire existence.
“Not really,” he said as he traced a line with his forefinger from her chin to the center of her nonexistent cleavage, his smoldering gaze keeping her hostage. “Most of my life they scared the shit out of me. I mean, my bathroom was filled with bras, panties, and other girly things. I swear, I went to school smelling like cucumber or coconut.”
“I bet it smelled all sorts of manly on you,” she whispered, pressing her lips against his neck, enjoying the vibration of his throaty moan. Sliding her hands under his shirt, she splayed her fingers across his tight stomach. It twitched and tensed under the slight pressure. The contrast of his soft skin and hard muscles sent her body reeling.
“If you say so.” He cupped her chin with his thumb and forefinger. “You’re a special woman, Kaelie Star.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but his kiss rendered her speechless. His tongue swirled around hers, spreading a blanket of warmth across her body like a hot shower. Her nipples puckered under his gentle touch. The room spun around them as if they were the center of the universe. Digging her fingers into his shoulder blades, she deepened the kiss, turning it to desperation, as if she’d been starved and he was the only thing that could satisfy her hunger.
He cupped her face, and the second their lips parted, a flicker of doubt kicked into her mind.
She blinked open her eyes. “I want you to know I’m not the kind of girl who jumps into?—”
He shut her up with a short kiss that ended way too soon. “I know the kind of woman you are, and I like everything about you.”
The corners of her lips curled into a half smile. Her heart swelled as if it were pumping life into the darkness of her childhood. “Anyone ever tell you you’re the sweetest man ever?”
“You might not think that in a few minutes because I’m done teasing you.”
She gasped and before she could catch her breath, he had her stepping out of her pants. Dropping her head back, she closed her eyes as he kissed the tops of her feet, licked her ankles, and molded her thigh muscles with his strong hands. His hot lips heated her skin. Every cell in her body exploded like a mini volcano.
He glided his fingers up the curves of her legs, gently grazing her swollen nub, making their way over her stomach. He pinched her nipples while his teeth nibbled on her earlobe.
She’d never been shy in the bedroom or shy about her body, but she often didn’t boldly reach into a man’s pants, grabbing the length of him and holding on as if it were her lifeline. She sat on the edge of the bed, fumbling with his pants, her mouth eagerly waiting to taste him.
“Jesus,” he muttered, his fingers tangled gently in her hair.
She tasted and teased and shamelessly took what she wanted. Buddy was like no man she’d ever met before. His sculptured body was finer than any work of art, but it was the man behind the body that took Kaelie on a sharp turn that she’d never experienced before.
Every other road she’d been on with a man was a dead end, leading them nowhere, with nothing to look forward to except a goodbye.
The path with Buddy was lined with endless possibilities, and if she were to ever fall in love, it would be with someone like him.
“Kaelie,” he whispered, lifting her into his arms. “You’re making me crazy.”
“I love doing that.”
He let out a deep growl as he took one of the condoms. “This is the part where you might not think me so sweet anymore.”
“Oh, really?” God, she loved his playfulness.
A wicked smile appeared on his face. “Turn around and bend over the bed, please.”
Christ, the man said please . Could anything be sweeter?
With anyone else, she might have been slightly embarrassed as she did what he asked. Fisting the sheets, she braced herself, only she hadn’t expected to feel his soft tongue between her legs.
“Oh my God,” she said with a long moan. He kissed her body intimately, holding her stomach in one hand, caressing her ass with the other.
She’d never wanted a man more and wasn’t above begging.
“Buddy, please,” she said, her voice an octave higher than normal.
“Your wish is my desire,” he whispered, bending over her and pressing his hardness against her, entering slowly, inch by inch.
Everything in the room blurred as he tortured her with unhurried strokes as if they were out for a leisurely walk.
She glanced over her shoulder. “I thought you were done teasing me?”
“You don’t like this?” he said with a wicked grin, moving his hips slightly.
In response, she rolled her hips.
He dug his finger into her hips.
She did it again.
This time he groaned as he glided his hand down her belly, his fingers barely grazing her hot nub. His thrusts, while still controlled, came at a faster pace, as did his breathing.
Clenching herself around him, she tried to hold on to her climax, savoring the buildup as he became anything but measured.
His finger rolled over her in an endless circle of pleasure.
“Kaelie,” he whispered in her ear.
She bit down on her lip as her climax spilled out. A wave of intense heat tinged her body from her head to her toes.
It went on and on like the ocean crashing into the beach. Every time she thought she might be able to catch her breath, another surge took her body.
It wasn’t until Buddy released his own climax with a guttural groan and collapsed on top of her that she had any reprieve. Even then, with every breath Buddy took, or even the slightest of movements, her body reacted with an aftershock.
“A man could get used to this,” he said, rolling to the side, taking her into his arms and kissing her. It was a tender kiss, filled with the promise of love.
Love.
She let out a long sigh.
She needed to dial this back a notch. Anything that moved this fast couldn’t end well, and God, she needed this to last forever.
The first night Buddy spent the night, he’d snuck out for breakfast, which he knew Kaelie appreciated, but he’d be damned if he didn’t get to watch her wake up.
He tucked his hands under his cheek and stared at her. Her sable hair pooled around her head. Carefully, trying not to disturb her, he brushed it back so he could see her gorgeous face.
She sighed as her eyelids fluttered open.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he said.
“What time is it?”
“Not quite six.”
“I’ve got to be to work by seven thirty.” She rolled to her back, reaching her arms over her head while she stretched.
“I do too. I’ve got a twenty-four-hour shift coming up.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Otherwise, I’d say I could drop you off.”
Her eyes went wide. “Like we need to give people something to talk about.”
“No one is talking. At least not my buddies.”
“Maybe not, but word travels fast and with the case…” her words trailed off as she slapped her forehead with her hand. “Shit, I didn’t check my email before going to bed. I wanted to be able to ream my assistant out and enjoy telling him to get off your ass.”
“You talking like that is just turning me on.” He pulled her to his chest, letting her know just how much.
“Oh no, you don’t.” She wrapped the sheet around her body and shimmied from the bed, leaving him exposed. “Oh my,” she said. “No. No. No.” She shook her head. “I will not let you distract me again. I need to get in the shower.”
He pulled the comforter over his body. “I can join you in the shower and wash your back.”
“I know where that will lead and as much as I’d love it, I really need to get to the office early, preferably before Edwin.”
“I’ll go put on a pot of coffee and start some eggs.”
“You are the best.”
“I aim to please.” He winked, then groaned as she dropped the sheet and padded to the bathroom. If she had been any other woman, he might feel rejected, but he understood she had a job to do and needed to get at it. Besides, five times in two days, that might as well be a world record. He laughed at himself. He couldn’t care less how often. The best part about being with her was just being with her. He had no idea how to explain it other than simply being in her presence made the world a better place.
He found his clothes and made his way to the kitchen. Once the coffee machine started percolating, he checked his phone.
There were two texts from Duncan and a voicemail from Arthur.
He responded to Duncan first, letting him know that yes, they would be going to work together; no, he didn’t need breakfast; and yes, he knew his record was being called into question.
Which was the voicemail from Arthur.
He texted him, letting him know he could call because Buddy would never call this early. Too many little kids that might be sleeping, and his wife was pregnant again.
His phone rang immediately.
“Hi, Arthur,” he said as he whisked the eggs. “How’s the family?”
“Justice mouthed off to the preschool teacher, so I had to take his iPad away. He’s not very happy with me right now. Jaden has an ear infection, so he kept us all up half the night. And if my bride doesn’t get her wish to have a girl, I think she’s going to chop my head off, but otherwise, damn wonderful, thank you for asking.”
“Justice is four. What the hell did he say to the teacher?” Buddy sprayed the frying pan with some Pam before tossing the eggs in.
“He got into it with a boy in school who was picking on someone else. The teacher was trying to explain to him that while she appreciates him standing up for other children, he needed to get an adult before taking matters into his own hands.”
“He’s going to be one hell of a young man with his Boy Scout attitude.”
“Not Boy Scout, more like vigilante, but yeah, it will serve him well when he’s like twenty-five.”
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Arthur said. “But I didn’t call to shoot the shit about my family.”
“I told Kaelie everything, and the general sent her the official paperwork.”
“I’m sorry this is being tossed in your face again.”
“It’s really not a big deal, except for that stupid gas can. Kaelie can’t tell me a damn thing, and I sure as shit haven’t asked. I wouldn’t do that to her.”
“There isn’t anything to tell. The only problem is, they have no one else to look at besides his brother, and he’s MIA, but I’ve called in a few favors, and Darius Ford found some interesting news. He’s going to send it to Kaelie.”
“What’s the news?”
“He found a paper trail to an offshore money account in Keith’s name.”
“How much money?”
“The more important question is, why was it closed the day after his death?”
“That is odd, now isn’t it,” Buddy said as he slid the eggs onto two plates. “I take it Darius is sending all this to Kaelie directly. And not her office. I think her assistant has it in for me.”
“Darius said he’d bypass channels and make sure Kaelie gets it before anyone else.”
“Thanks.”
“Buddy!” Kaelie’s voice screeched.
“I’m in the kitchen,” he said. “Look, man, I gotta run. I’ll see you at the station shortly.” He tapped the off button and set the phone on the table.
Kaelie stood in the hallway, wearing only a pair of dress slacks and her bra. Her wet hair dangled over her shoulders, her face white and her mouth hanging open.
“What’s wrong?” He raced to her side, curling his thick fingers around her shoulders. “Kaelie, are you okay?”
She shook her head. “Edwin just called. He’s questioning an eyewitness right now.”
“And?”
“That witness is saying they saw your truck and you at Keith’s right before the fire started.”