Arrested Pleasure (24 page)

In fact, the whole apartment was
too
quiet. He came to halt when he spotted something.

The apartment door ajar
.

She always kept the door shut to keep out the drafts coming from below. He frowned as he paused. He patted his gun to make sure the revolver was accessible.

Uncertain danger trickled up his spine. Something didn't seem right.

He pushed the door the rest of the way open with a light touch. It swung easily.

Stepping in, he glanced around. The coffee wasn't made. He checked the clock above the stove. Seven fifteen. Where the hell was Cassie?

The door to the bedroom stood partly open, not a sound from inside. Did she spend the night elsewhere last night? He checked the living room and, except for a scattering of clothes—again, not like the usually neat Cassie—everything appeared in place. Still, he walked silently to the bedroom with his hand near his gun. It was possible she had a late night and slept in, forgetting to set her alarm clock.

He paused at the door and listened for any sound. Then he heard a slight moan.

His heart quickened. Had she fallen ill? He pushed the door open, not sure what he'd find.

The bed looked like a whirlwind had hit the room. A pillow lay on the floor and the comforter lay partly off the bed. Flat on her back, Cassie slept with her arm slung over her eyes. The dim light from outside gave the room an eerie illumination. She moaned and shifted her body. A T-shirt barely covered her slim body, while her breasts heaved, revealing hard nipples. Gabe's pulse quickened. He wanted to walk over to the bed, lift her shirt, smooth his fingers over her luscious curves, and suckle her breasts.

He swallowed hard as he worked to control the lust that hit him.

Deciding to let her sleep a little longer while he surprised her by making coffee, he started to leave the room when the bed shifted again.

Only this time it wasn't Cassie who moved. He froze.

Another lump lay underneath the covers.

Had he walked in on a morning after between Cassie and another guy? Was she so completely over their relationship she'd had a guy over . . . and . . . a little sleepover?

Red-hot anger shot through him, even though his sensibilities told him he had no claim on her.

Cassie moaned again and turned onto her stomach, with her arm thrown over the unknown person in bed.
Very chummy
. Way too friendly for him to stomach.

A sudden, sick feeling hit him, and he turned around to head back to the kitchen.

He glanced at the donuts he'd brought and decided to leave them there. Let her figure out where they'd come from. He dropped the key she'd given him on the table.

There.

Over
. Finished
. This is what Cassie wanted, so Gabe would concede. Their affair had been fun while it lasted, but now was time for him to go back to being the investigator on the case. Just because they weren't seeing each other didn't mean he wouldn't continue to work to clear her name.

Without another glance back, he left Cassie's apartment.

* * * * *

Cassie ran her foot up and down Gabe's leg. Her mind still in early morning fuzzy mode, she let herself relive their lovemaking. He kissed her until he drove her senseless and she begged for more. Just before she thought she'd die from the intense need, he'd enter her in one long, hard thrust. She moaned and reached out for him. She wanted him again.

Cassie's fingers ran up his arm. She paused. He seemed different. Not the big, hard Gabe she'd snuggle up to while the sun rose. The bed and room didn't have that heady scent of sex hanging in the air. It smelled like . . . .

Stale booze.

Cassie's eyes flickered open as memories from last night washed over her. She hadn't been with Gabe last night. Instead, she and Dani had gone out, first to dinner and then onto the hip hopping Mango Tango for a few drinks and dancing.

And she was in bed with someone.

She lifted her arm slowly away from the figure hunkering under the covers.
Shit.

What'd she do? Bring home a stranger? As the fog cleared, her mind raced to recall what all happened last night.

She stared hard at the lump, as if she wanted to be Superman and see through the sheet. A hint of red hair peeked from the top.

Red hair?

"
Dammit, Dani!
" She smacked her friend in the head with the pillow as dawning realization hit her. "How'd you end up in my bed?"

Dani's sleepy eyes opened with a start, and she rose up on her elbows to glare at her. "Shit, Cassie, don't scare the hell out of me."

"What are you doing here?"

Dani ran her fingers through her short hair and shook her head, still dazed from sleeping. "Don't you remember? We got pretty sloshed after walking back from the Mango Tango, and you offered me a place to stay for the night." She flopped back down on the pillows. "Jesus, Nichols, if I knew you'd act this way, I would've
walked
home.

And what the hell were you pawing me for?"

A faint memory jogged Cassie's brain of the two of them strolling arm and arm back to her apartment shortly after midnight. Their chat about it not being safe to drive home filtered through the haze. "I'm sorry, Dani. I guess I did."

Cassie groaned and wobbled to her feet. She had a killer headache. "I'll put some coffee on."

"Coffee. Ah . . . the best thing to have first thing in the morning if you can't have sex."

Cassie glanced at Dani guiltily. Did she know Cassie had been dreaming of making love with Gabe?

Dani's eyebrows rose. "Forget it, Cassie. I won't mention this again if you don't."

"You knew? I mean—" She shut her mouth as Dani plugged her ears with her fingers. Okay, far better not to discuss why she had rubbed against her in bed.

She headed into the kitchen to start the coffee. Some clothes lay scattered on the living room floor. She made a note to herself to pick those up later.

The water hissed as the coffee machine turned on. Soon it'd bubble hot black liquid for the first cup of the day. Turning around to check the cupboard for Pop Tarts, a sack caught her eye.

Riley's Donuts
. Where'd they come from?

Cassie frowned as she opened the package. The fresh, warm donut smell wafted to her nostrils. What the—? She glanced around. Had Lola already been here and left donuts? Then she froze when she spotted the key laying on the table. Besides Lola, Dani, and her parents, only one other person had a key to her place.

Gabe
.

She looked at the donuts again. Bringing these sounded like something he'd do.

But why? Did he hope to catch her vulnerable and more forgiving first thing in the morning? She picked up the key and fondled it.

But he left the key behind. Did he come over to give this back to her? A signal that their relationship was over . . . period? Why not just come into Casa de Massage and leave the key?

The bathroom door slammed in the other room. Dani must be using it before coming in here for a cup of java. Cassie glanced at the clock and frowned. Almost eight.

She had an appointment at nine and still needed to prepare the rooms for daily usage.

The coffee bubbled and gave one last hiss, signaling its readiness. Cassie poured two cups and sat down at the table to investigate the donuts. No sense in wasting good food. Selecting a chocolate glazed one, she bit into the donut as she mulled the vagaries of her life lately.

She hadn't realized until now how much she missed Gabe. In the few short days he'd been part of her life, he left an impact. She got used to his getting up and making the coffee before he took a shower so she'd be able to catch a final wink or two. In the evenings they had dinner together, which one of them cooked or brought in as takeout.

Unlike other men she knew, Gabe took care of not only himself, but her as well.

Cassie also missed the back rubs at night as they cuddled together. The spooning in bed as they fell asleep exhausted in each other's arms after another satisfying round of mind numbing sex.

Oh, the sex. The early morning sex that left her in a relaxed mood and ready to take on the stress inducers of the day. Her body began to tingle as the memories rolled over her.

"I hoped to get home to shower before I started work, but I guess not," Dani said, shuffling into the room and interrupting Cassie's erotic thoughts. "I just remembered I need to hit the drugstore to refill my medication."

"Your coffee's on the counter." Cassie took a big swallow of her coffee. She needed to get her emotions under control. "And help yourself to the donuts."

"Donuts. You're a godsend, Cassie." Dani peered into the bag before snagging a maple bar. She bit into it and moaned before taking a long drink of her coffee. Sighing, she settled in the chair across from Cassie. "When did you find time to hit Riley's for donuts?"

Cassie stiffened. "I didn't."

Dani frowned as she chewed on her maple bar. "You didn't? I swear these are today's."

"I imagine they are."

"Hmm . . . Lola came in early and brought donuts? I'd thought she'd be too busy with her daughter in town."

Cassie rose and placed her now empty mug into the sink. "No. I think Gabe stopped by."

"You think? You didn't see him?"

She shook her head. "He left behind the key I'd given him, as well as the donuts. I can only assume he came in, dropped everything on the table, and left."

Dani stood and carefully poured herself another cup of coffee. "Odd. Wonder why he didn't wake you. Would've thought he'd want to talk to you again." She shrugged. "Oh, well."

"I don't know. Kind of makes me nervous if he looked in the bedroom and spotted us."

"Yeah, hard to say what he would've thought of two women in bed together."

Dani chuckled as she sipped her coffee.

Cassie laughed, but immediately stopped. Did it matter what he thought? They were done. Finished.

"Well, I'm off. I'll catch you later downstairs." Dani picked up her purse and left, leaving Cassie with her thoughts.

The stark quietness of the room after Dani left reminded Cassie how lonely she'd become. How much she missed Gabe. But could she forgive him enough to take him back?

* * * * *

Gabe cursed when he realized he'd made the same mistake on the report. The sixth time in the two hours he'd been typing.

"Damn fucking reports." He hit the delete key and began typing it
again
. He knew his problem wasn't the work, but his brain functioning on overdrive with Cassie.

He still couldn't believe what he'd seen this morning. Cassie in bed with another guy barely forty-eight hours after they last made love.

"
Women
," he muttered as the door opened behind him.

"Still thinking about becoming a monk?" Chaz chuckled as he plopped down in the chair across from Gabe. "I can't picture you wearing a frock and chanting."

Gabe growled and tried to ignore his buddy. Ever since he'd stormed into work this morning and enlightened Chaz about what he had seen, he'd gotten nothing but lighthearted banter in return. Chaz seemed to think it was rich that Gabe had finally been dumped.

"You know what? You're here grousing about Cassie when you should be doing what I'd do," Chaz commented as he tossed a bag with a sandwich to Gabe.

Gabe opened the package and pulled out his ham on rye. "What is that?" he asked, before taking a bite. He hadn't eaten breakfast and his stomach had reminded him of the fact for the past two hours. Chaz offered to go out and get food since Gabe was running behind on his reports.

Chaz bit into his own sandwich, a beef on white bread. "Ah . . . now you're willing to listen. If my wife and I are on the outs with each other, I do whatever it takes to win her back." He took a sip of his coffee before he looked squarely at Gabe.

"Including groveling at her feet. If you love the woman, you'll do that."

Gabe stared at Chaz. His anger had propelled him to work and eaten at him all day. He'd blamed Cassie for everything that happened, when, in fact, this was his fault.

If he'd been honest with her in the first place, they might've worked together to solve the issue, instead of letting things simmer until it burst into a full-fledged firestorm.

"First thing you'll do is finish up the investigation," Chaz didn't wait for Gabe to respond. "You can bet we'll find her and Casa de Massage innocent of all charges. Once that's done, then you can get on the ground and beg for her forgiveness."

Gabe rubbed his chin as he pondered Chaz's advice. "Only problem is we don't have any proof to go on to complete the investigation." He glanced at the clock. Almost three and nothing had gone right today. Chaz and he had been out on investigations, but not the one that clearly occupied his mind . . . clearing Cassie.

Chaz lifted a file in his hand and gave Gabe a sly grin. "You mean this copy of the lease agreement between Cassandra Nichols and Isaiah Winkler?"

"What the hell—" Gabe reached for the file. "Why the fuck didn't you say so?"

His partner chuckled. "Because I wanted to get my say in before you took a look at the documents."

Gabe gave him a wry grin as he opened the file and began to peruse the paperwork. "Go to hell, my friend, and let me worry about my love life."

"You like me anyway."

"Yeah, yeah—" Gabe stopped in mid-sentence as something caught his eye. "Oh, shit, here it is."

Chaz leaned forward. "What does the lease say?"

Gabe tossed the document over to Chaz and leaned back in his chair. "Says she can't have any arrests over immoral behavior or the lease is broken. Isaiah Winkler is setting her up in order to evict her."

"We don't know this."

"But you wanna bet that's it?" Gabe countered, with a satisfied smile on his face.

He'd get that crook, Isaiah Winkler and bring him to justice.

* * * * *

Cassie stared at the rain outside, the mood inside her as dark as the clouds outside. She sat waiting for her customer to come in for a late massage, while Dani worked in one of the rooms with her last patient of the day.