All of You (15 page)

Kat eyed him suspiciously for a few seconds, then huffed. “Geez, Danny…overbearing, much?”

Danny forced out another laugh. “Yeah, right? Went kinda Rambo on you there, huh?” He grabbed at the back of his neck and squeezed. Hard. “Sorry, Kat. I’m really tired. And probably still hung over.”

Or maybe you’re just driving me certifiably insane.

Kat sat down, grabbed her phone, and found a local locksmith. Danny walked around, pretending to look at God-knew-what, while she explained the situation and gave the locksmith her address.

She hung up and said, “He’ll be here in twenty minutes. Like I said before, I’d like you stay until he leaves and then I’ll be okay.”

‡

K
at made it
until 3:30 a.m. before she called Danny.

He answered on the second ring, his voice all cool and smooth. “Why, hello, there. What a surprise to hear from you.”

Kat rolled her eyes. “Ha, ha. Very funny.” She paced back over to the blinds and peered into the darkness for the thousandth time.

Danny had been right, damn him. Kat hadn’t been able to so much as close an eyelid since he left. Every little creak, bump, and whir had her jumping out of her skin.

Logically, Kat knew there was a zero percent chance the burglars would come back, because there was no good reason to. They’d taken what they wanted, most likely already pawned it, and were probably whooping it up at the Horseshoe Casino on Kat and Fi’s dime at this very second.

There was also zero percent chance Kat would be experiencing two home invasions within the same twelve hour period. Of course, none of that changed the fact that she was scared out of her ever-loving mind and wishing desperately that Danny was snoring out on her couch right now.

Or that she was curled up on his.

Kat dropped her hand and wrapped that arm around her midsection. “Were you asleep?” she asked.

“Nah. Just sitting here watching
Iron Man 2
,” he replied. “I really like this one. You a fan?

“Yeah, I like all of the
Iron Man
movies.” Kat shook her head to get back on task. “But why aren’t you sleeping?”

“Because I knew you’d be calling, so why bother?”

Kat wanted to tell him he’d been right, obviously, and ask him to come pick her up. Unfortunately, admitting she was wrong had never been a strong suit of hers and asking for help was even higher up on her Least Favorite Things to Do list.

“So, what’s up, Kat? Calling to talk politics? Or maybe you just missed me?”

Suddenly, Kat wished Danny had followed through on his threat to throw her over his shoulder and take her back to his place, caveman-style. At least then she could have acted like she didn’t want to be there instead of finding herself in this awful position of having to ask.

Ugh.

“Never mind,” she said, deciding peace of mind and sleep weren’t worth the grovel. “Sorry to bug you. Go back to your movie.”

Danny laughed. “Can’t bring yourself to do it, huh? You’d rather sit there, terrified, than say it?” He laughed again. “Anybody ever tell you that you’re a stubborn little thing?”

“Yes. Anybody ever tell you that you’re an obnoxious, arrogant, maddening brute?”

When he emphatically replied, “
Oh, yeah
,” Kat couldn’t help but smile.

After a brief pause, Danny said, “You want me to come get you, sweetheart?”

Kat knew he was playing around, but hearing him refer to her as “sweetheart” in that deep, husky voice was enough to make her breath catch.

“Please don’t call me that,” she replied tightly.

“Oh…okay. Sorry. Didn’t mean anything by it.”

And that was exactly why Kat didn’t want him to call her that, because he
didn’t
mean anything by it. He never had and he never would.

Danny tossed terms of endearment around like he tossed his sexual favors around – indiscriminately and without any meaning behind them. Well, Kat didn’t operate that way and she really didn’t want any part of his BMOC shenanigans.

“You know, I can’t seem to stop pissing you off,” he said wryly. “I think I’ve discovered a talent I never knew I had.”

“Too bad it’s not a marketable skill,” Kat shot back and Danny laughed again, lightening the mood.

She exhaled a deep breath she’d been holding, also letting go of any last shreds of dignity. “Can you come get me, Danny? I’m irrationally freaked out and way overtired. I need to go to sleep and deal with all of this crap tomorrow.”

“Sure, no problem. Do you want me to crash there or do you want to come here?”

“If it’s not too inconvenient, I’d rather go to your place, I think.” Kat stepped into the living room, her anxiety spiking as she looked at the destruction again. “I’m too tired to clean up now and every time I look at this mess, I feel sick. I don’t know why I’m being such a baby about it, but I can’t seem to help it.”

“Trust me, feelings don’t have to make sense. Sometimes you just have to accept ‘em and move on, you know? You could drive yourself insane trying figure out why you feel the way you do. Better to say ‘fuck it and forget it.’ Or at least that’s my warped philosophy.”

“What feelings do you try to forget?”

“Any feeling I have, pretty much,” he said and Kat couldn’t help but admire the hell out of his honesty.

The man had a lot of faults, but the way he seemed to own up to each and every one of them was incredibly endearing. It made Kat like him just a little bit more, which was dumb, dumb, dumb.

They stayed on the phone, chatting about Marvel movies,
Doctor Who
and, remarkably,
Downton Abbey
, until Danny arrived at her apartment twenty minutes later. Kat had thrown a few things into a bag as they’d talked and was more than ready to go when Danny knocked on the door.

Kat opened it and was taken aback, as she typically was, at how good Danny looked. His 3 a.m. dark-gold stubble did nothing but accentuate his strong, square jaw, making him even more devastatingly gorgeous.

Of course.

Meanwhile, Kat was still in her black yoga pants, faded
Phantom of the Opera
tee shirt, and white Converse sneakers. She hadn’t looked in a mirror all night, but Kat could only imagine that her hair was a total wreck, that there were dark circles under her eyes, and that Danny could have easily mistaken her for a homeless gal on his beat.

Luckily, he’d been too polite to scream when she’d opened the door.

Instead, he was smiling warmly and reaching for her bag. “You ready to roll?” he asked with a wink.

Oooh, he was dangerous. Like the male version of a siren, beckoning a woman on with his deep voice, sexy smile, and big hands. Kat could see how a woman could get used to spending time with him…could see how
she
could get used to feeling like she was his. Like they were two normal people who had a real shot at having a nice, normal life together.

Yeah, right.

Kat forced her lips into a smile. “Yep. Ready to roll.”

A short ride later, they pulled into Danny’s driveway. His house, a two-story Brownstone-style condo in one of the nicest parts of West Cleveland, was as tasteful as his car.

“How long have you lived here?” Kat asked as they waited for the garage door to roll up.

“About two years.” Danny pulled the car into his garage and cut the ignition. He was around at Kat’s side and opening her door before she could make a move to get out herself.

Danny opened the door and offered her his hand…which she hesitantly took.

Yep, it was as warm and strong as she’d imagined. And she was stupidly disappointed when he took it back after she was on her feet.

“Where did you live before then?” she asked, following him to the door leading into the condo.

Danny flipped his keys around until he found the right one and slid it into the lock. “Uh, my foster parents – the ones who had me until I was eighteen – they left their house to me.” He gestured for Kat to precede him inside and she stepped in front of him. “They were an older couple without any other kids or close relatives…I stayed there until I bought this place.”

And it was a beautiful place: gleaming cherry wood floors, dark leather furniture, nickel light fixtures, and the biggest flat-screen TV Kat had ever seen hanging on the living room wall. It smelled as masculine as it was decorated – a mix of cologne, leather, beer, and soap. Or maybe sexy-man body wash.

They entered the kitchen and Danny gestured to the kitchen counter, which was littered with empty beer bottles, pizza boxes, and an empty carton of cookies and cream ice cream.

“Wasn’t expecting anyone,” he said, the corner of his mouth turning up. “Obviously.”

Kat waved off his embarrassment. “That’s what our counter looks like most days, minus the beer bottles. Fi and I are more Snapple kind of gals. Oh, and we usually have an empty box of Chips Ahoy throw in there, too. Mostly Fi’s, but don’t tell her I told you.”

Good Lord, Kat…

Stop. Babbling.

Danny smiled warmly as he rested a hand on his holstered gun and leaned his hip against the counter top.

But then his smile slowly faded and his gaze turned thoughtful.

Kat patted the rat’s nest on top of her head and swiped at her face. She checked to make sure a boob hadn’t popped out before meeting Danny’s eyes again. “
What?
”

“It’s just very strange to have you here,” he answered quietly.

Kat slowly lowered her arms and wrapped them around her midsection. “Why?” she asked. “I’m sure you have women here all the time.”

“Yeah, but you’re not ‘women.’”

The way he was staring at her had Kat’s heart slamming against her chest wall like a battering ram. She cleared her throat, looking around. “Well, it’s a beautiful place, Danny. Very, very nice.”

Danny’s hand slid off his gun as he pushed off the counter and took a step closer to her. “Don’t do that.”

Kat’s brows dropped. “Do what?”

“Say what the rest of them say. I know you don’t give a flying fuck about any of it – the car, the house, the clothes…” Danny took another step closer and Kat took a step back, bumping into a kitchen chair. She gripped it for support because her traitorous knees had gone completely weak. “Do you, Kat?” he asked softly.

He stepped closer, but Kat couldn’t retreat. She’d scooted around the chair and now her back was literally against the kitchen wall.

Danny positioned his big body a few inches from hers and placed his hands flat on the wall behind her, caging her in, but didn’t touch her. Kat smelled hints of his cologne, the minty-ness of his warm breath, and felt the heat of his body rolling off of him and seeping into her clothing…her skin.

And all of it was pure, exquisite torture.

Kat had never been a sucker for a man in uniform – she knew too many police officers to be wowed by that overt display of power and she’d never been all that big on authority figures.

But Danny all decked out in that dark-blue uniform with that gun on his hip, leaning into her like he owned the space she was occupying – and
her
 – had Kat panting and her head spinning.

“So, Kat, tell me…what
does
impress you?” Danny’s hot, hungry gaze grazed up the side of her neck, over her jaw-line, and then over her lips until he met her eyes again. “What did that guy at work do to get your attention, huh? Tell me…” He quirked a brow, the corner of his beautiful mouth lifting. “Maybe I could learn a few things.”

Kat’s inner defense mechanism – that ever-present voice of reason that tried its damndest to keep her from making bad choices and opening herself up to hurt – was screaming its crazy head off inside her brain.

Push him away! Run! Be smart! Don’t let his practiced, smooth player act fool you! Don’t show him your feelings! Get your shit together! He’s pulled this with every woman he’s ever met and, if you fall for it, you’ll never recover from the damage he does!

Kat inhaled deeply (a huge mistake, considering his scent was now embedded even deeper into her olfactory receptors) and exhaled slowly.

She cleared her throat and met his intense his gaze head-on. “I’m really tired, Danny. Can you please grab me a pillow and blanket so I can lie down?” Kat tilted her head toward the huge dark-brown leather sectional in the next room. “I’m really ready to get some sleep.” When he didn’t budge, Kat shifted her weight nervously. “So, can you? Grab the stuff so I can lie down?”

“But you haven’t
answered me yet.” Danny inched closer and positioned his stance wider, effectively caging her lower half in, too.

When Kat’s eyes dropped to his lips, Danny almost lunged.

Some how, some way, Kat wanted him as badly as he wanted her and he couldn’t think of a single reason not to fuck her against the wall like an animal.

Right now.

All night.

All day tomorrow.

All tomorrow night.

There
were
a million reasons – he just couldn’t think of them at this particular moment.