New Year's Bang (5 page)

He quickly opened the door.

She rolled over at the squeak. When she saw it was
him, she propped herself up on one elbow. “Troy!”

Her blanket slipped down to her waist and, for a
second, he couldn’t move. She was in lingerie, for God’s sake.
Anybody could come in here. What if it hadn’t been him?

“Troy?” she said again, this time uncertainly.

He suddenly realized it was a dress. One
hell
of a dress. Shutting the door firmly behind him, he strode over to
her bedside. “Are you okay?”

There was no lantern in the room and the shadows made
it difficult to see. Before she could even answer, he pulled out
his flashlight and turned it on.

She squinted and held her hand up to avoid the glare.
“What are you doing here?”

“You wrapped your car around a tree!”

“Oh that.” She lay back down tiredly and the old
mattress protested with a squeak. “I wanted to start the New Year
out with a bang, but that was ridiculous.”

She was trying to make a joke of it, but he knew her
too well. It was a coping mechanism. Jerkily, he ran the light over
her. There were no visible signs of injury – at least that he could
see. Still, his knees didn’t feel so steady. “The airbag deployed.
Are you sure it didn’t get you?”

“I’m fine.”

He dropped to a crouch and caught her by the chin.
“Those things can be dangerous, especially for women as delicate as
you.”

He knew. Firsthand. His stomach turned. He’d seen
some accidents where airbags had—

She softly wrapped her hand about his wrist. “Troy,
I’m fine.”

He looked into her eyes.

“I was barely moving by the time I got to the tree.
Besides, I was wearing my seatbelt.”

Relief gushed through him. He dropped his head and
stared at the floor for a moment as he composed himself. Still,
when he tried to push himself back up to a standing position, his
knees weren’t quite up to the task.

Heavily, he sat down on the edge of the cot beside
her. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”

The words hung in the air.

Lita wrapped her fingers more tightly around the
rough blanket Mrs. Howe had given her.
What did that mean?
His hip bumped against hers and she trembled. She’d hoped to run
across him hours ago, but when those familiar headlights hadn’t
swung in behind her on her way home…

Well, she’d thought she’d gotten the message.

But now, here he was. And he was acting an awful lot
like he had after he’d saved her from that locker accident so many
years ago. The fact that they were in the same building where
they’d first made love was not lost on her. “You’ve got a savior
complex, Troy Pirelli.”

He shot a look at her, one that held too much heat
for him to deny it.

“I was working another accident. It’s been a bad
night.” He raked his hand through his wet hair and threw her an
accusatory look. “You never should have left that hotel.”

She never heard the admonishment. All she heard was
that he’d had to help somebody else. That left a small chance, the
smallest possibility, that he hadn’t intended to stand her up.
“Then… You were coming for our date?”

He went still. But then he noticed how she was
shaking.

“You’re cold,” he said. He stood the flashlight, beam
up, on the floor and immediately began pulling off his jacket.

Lita shuddered when he laid it over her. “And you’re
wet.”

She pushed it off of her and began trembling in
earnest. As much as she’d tried to play it off, she’d been in a
wreck tonight. For God’s sake, she’d hit a tree. If that hadn’t
been bad enough, she’d had to traipse through the snow and back
over that same ice-covered road on high heels. And it had all been
for nothing!

Or so she’d thought…

“Scoot over.”

Her gaze flashed up to his. “What?”

“You heard me,” he said. Standing, he began to
unbutton his shirt. “Scoot over.”

Her mouth went dry. “But…”

“You took the last cot and I’m not going back out in
that storm,” he said as if it were as simple as that.

She nearly laughed. Nothing with him had ever been
simple.

But he was serious.

She looked at him and anxiously licked her lips. The
air in the room got heavy as he took off his shoes and moved
towards her. He was still fully dressed in his white undershirt and
pants, but seeing him come at her like that made her nerves
jump.

He turned back the covers and she scooted back as far
as she could go. The cot was small, though. It squeaked in protest
when he slid in beside her.

Lita’s pulse began to pound. He was warm.

God, he was warm.

“Get over here,” he said.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her
closer. She murmured in pleasure and gratefully rested her forehead
against his shoulder. He was like a furnace. Timidly, she rubbed
her cold toes against his shins. It took a moment or two, but the
knot in her chest finally unkinked.

“Better?” he murmured.

She could feel the vibrations under her cheek.
“Much.”

The hand at her back moved in half a caress. “You
scared me, Lita.”

He took a deep breath and she felt his chest lift.
She couldn’t help it; excitement ran through her. He wasn’t near as
prickly tonight. He was actually talking to her, not snarling.
Heartened, she settled her hand at his waist. Her thrill sharpened.
She’d been right. The man was all muscle.

“I just wanted to see you,” she whispered.

The muscles under her fingers jumped. But not in a
bad way.

They lay together silently for a long time and she
closed her eyes. She savored just being with him like this. Feeling
his breaths against her hair… His body against hers… The hand at
her back was stroking her and each pass lingered a little longer on
the skin left bare by the one-shoulder style of her dress.

“Have you been feeling better?” he asked.

She was darn near in heaven.

“Your holiday blues,” he reminded her.

“Oh, those,” she said, remembering her past week.
“They’re gone.”

He’d given her other things to think about the other
night. Other things to hope for… Things like
this
.

“You’ve sounded better.”

Her forehead furrowed. “Sounded better?”

They hadn’t talked since—

Her jaw dropped and she pulled back to look at him.
“You listen to my show!”

His amber gaze was deceptively lazy as it dropped to
her lips. “Did you ever get that kiss?”

That kiss. Her breath hitched. Her New Year’s Eve
kiss. Oh God. If he was teasing her, she’d kill him.

“Not yet,” she said hoarsely.

“Good.”

Anticipation screamed through Lita’s veins as Troy
slowly rolled her onto her back. He looked down at her and she
clutched at his shoulders. With his hair all mussed, he looked like
the boy who’d stolen her heart.

When he kissed her, though, he was all man. His mouth
opened across hers and it was hot with determination.

Lita moaned. Oh God. It was good. So good.

Her neck bowed on the pillow as their tongues thrust
and parried. His weight came down on her more heavily and their
legs tangled. She ran her toe up the back of his shin and felt him
shudder.

“You drive me so crazy,” he growled.

Crazy? She was pulling out tail lights to try to get
his attention.

Heat unfurled in her belly when he found the zipper
at the side of her dress. It rasped downward and the sound seemed
to fill the room. Still, she waited with bated breath before his
hand slid underneath the bodice and cupped her breast.

He plucked at her already tightened nipple and she
arched into his touch. “Troy, there are people out there.”

She didn’t really care, but he was in uniform. Or
halfway out of it.

He glanced at the full room of people sleeping right
outside the door. When he looked back at her, his gaze was steady.
“Then I guess we’ll have to be quiet.”

Lita’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest.

Still, there was one thing she had to know. Reaching
up, she cupped his face with both hands. “Were you coming for me
tonight?”

His amber gaze flared.

She could see he was about to avoid the question
again when a muscle in his jaw clenched.

“You know I was.”

With a cry, she lurched up off the bed. Their mouths
came together hard even as he pressed her back down. He reached for
his flashlight on the floor. He managed to turn it off, but the
thing toppled and went rolling.

It sounded like a cymbal crash.

Lita looked frantically at the window of the door. A
woman near the nurse’s office turned over on her cot, but then
settled back down.

Troy never noticed. He’d caught the material of her
skirt and was working it upwards. She was writing on the mattress
by the time he discovered her white thong.

“Damn,” he groaned, fingering the stretchy material.
“No wonder you were cold.”

His fingers dove inside her panties. Lita let out a
gasp when they moved through the hair at the juncture of her legs.
Cold? She felt like she was about to go up in flames. One of his
legs slipped between hers, effectively opening her, and he palmed
her.

“Troy,” she groaned.

Her fingers clenched at the sheets, the pillow,
anything she could find. She could feel the blood rushing through
her veins as the excitement built. His touch became more intimate
and she gave a soft cry as one of his thick fingers slid into
her.

Troy looked quickly over his shoulder as Lita’s hips
began working. The sea of bodies slept on undisturbed, but that
wouldn’t last long with the way the cot was squeaking and
groaning.

“Fuck!” He wanted to be inside her more than he
wanted his next breath. Finding her safe and whole… and in
this
dress
…

“Roll onto your side,” he said urgently.

She looked up at him in a near panic, but then
obeyed. The move rolled her right into his hand and he ground hard
against her pubic bone. The soft cry that left her lips told him
she was close.

“Oh God. Troy. Hurry.”

He reached for his fly with his other hand as he
moved into position behind her. Her hips were rocking so hard, he
pressed another finger into her to tide her over. She was hot,
blistering hot, and slick.

“
Hold on,” he whispered into her
ear. He put his back to the gym, hiding her as well as he
could.

“I can’t!”
she groaned. She caught his wrist
and clung tight.

Troy felt his control slipping. Grabbing the back of
her thong, he yanked it down. He used his hold on her to tilt her
hips backwards. Towards him. She was positioned perfectly when he
thrust forward and buried his cock in her tight, molten heat.

“Ahhhh!” she cried.

He closed his eyes tightly as stars exploded in his
head.

He’d finally come home.

Lita came unglued as Troy began rutting her from
behind. He worked her clit with those devious fingers of his and
her back bowed.

Oh God.
Oh God!

She flung her arm back. Her hand caught him at the
hip and clung. “Faster,” she begged.

Her thong was twisted about her legs, but he let it
go and caught her breast again. He ground the soft globe in tight
circles as he fucked her more fiercely. The tiny cot beneath them
tried desperately to hold up to the rigors. It creaked so loudly,
Lita was sure Mrs. Howe could hear it at the front of the gym.

But then she didn’t care.

He’d shifted his knee and lifted her top leg higher
into the air. When he began to pound into her, she was lost.

The climax came over her in waves. Her belly
tightened and heat hurled through her veins. The intense sensation
made her light-headed. She clung to the feeling until she couldn’t
hang on anymore. When it finally passed, she collapsed against the
mattress with air shuddering in and out of her lungs.

Troy lasted a bit longer. He thrust into her relaxed
pussy over and over again and she savored the hot friction of him
moving inside her.

But then he rammed into her hard and stiffened.

He ejaculated into her and Lita was stunned when
another, softer orgasm rolled through her. It was all the more
affecting, because it was sweeter. Simpler.

She held onto his hand tightly until the room went
quiet.

Finally, his body relaxed and he pulled out of her.
With a groan, he rested against the pillow behind her. “You’re
Trouble with a capital T, Lita Lopez.”

She went still, afraid to move. Afraid to
breathe.

“But I can’t stay away from you,” he said gruffly. “I
guess some things never change.”

Tears suddenly sprung to her eyes, but she didn’t
care. She didn’t even try to wipe them away as she turned over and
looked at him. His amber eyes were guarded, but she laid her hand
over his heart. It was beating like a big bass drum.

“Me, too,” she whispered.

She’d thought that was pretty obvious, but he went
still underneath her touch. From the cautious look that came over
his face, she could tell he didn’t believe her. Suddenly, Lita
realized that he’d thought that everything was one-way. That she
was using him.

“I’m crazy about you, Troy,” she said honestly.
“Always have been. Probably always will be.”

She’d never used him. She just hadn’t had the
backbone to stand up for the two of them.

And she’d regretted it for years.

He still didn’t look convinced.

“I’m just a cop. You’re a big, celebrity deejay.
Things haven’t changed all that much.”

She caught the front of his t-shirt in her fist.
“Yes, they have. I’m not an idiot anymore! You’re the best thing
that ever happened to me. The best. If you want me to, I’ll
broadcast it to the world.”

He looked down at her fist. Then at her face. “We’ve
got to do it right this time.”