Snapped (19 page)

"No."

"We have to stay here a while
longer."

"Yeah, we do." He moved towards
her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Instead of shaking him off, she stood
very still and stared into the open fridge. "Will you be okay with that? I
can check with the chief to see if someone else is available."

"No." She shook her head and
turned into him. She rested her hands on his biceps and blinked her blue eyes
at him. "I feel safer with you."

He nodded, unable to think of anything to
say.

She let go of his arms but the warmth of
her touch remained. She turned back to the fridge.

"I'm starving. How about I make
sandwiches."

"Sounds good to me."

She handed him the cheese and salami and
took out two beers. "Thirsty?"

"Don't you think you should stay off
alcohol for a while? I know you're still taking painkillers. One of those will
wipe you out for the rest of the day."

She placed the beers heavily on the bench
and swung round to him. "Stop it, Nick. You're smothering me."

"Smothering you?" He stared at
her but she busied herself slicing cheese. "I only want to make sure
you're okay."

"Well, don't. I can take care of
myself. You're not my boyfriend so just butt out."

He sighed. He really didn't want to argue
with her anymore. What he really wanted to do was curl up under the covers with
her bottom resting against his thighs. "Fine."

They made the sandwiches together and ate
them in silence at the table.

"So what happens now?" she
asked, pushing her empty plate away when she'd finished.

He lifted a brow. Was she talking about
them?

"With Rocco. Shouldn't you send
someone over there to speak to him?"

"I don't want to spook him. Dave'll
follow Mack around for a while. He may not be telling the truth and just
throwing the scent off himself. We could send in auditors to check the
accounting books but again, that'll alert him
and
Rocco. If Mack's not
willing to speak to us, and take a stand in the witness box, we don't have a
case. I'm afraid it's a wait and see game until Rocco makes another move or we
have more forensic evidence to use."

Lucy threw up her hands. "Wait and
see? For how long? Nick, I can't stay here much longer. I need to get my life
back in order. I need to get away..." Her eyes flickered up to meet his
gaze then down again.

"From me."

She didn't respond. The now familiar ache
settled into his bones, tearing them in all directions. God, it hurt. Damn it,
why did he have to fall for her, of all people? He hadn't expected this much
pain until she got bored with monogamy, maybe a few weeks or months away, but
it was already happening. He felt raw, exposed. And she didn't even care.

"Nick, that's not what I meant. Not
exactly anyway."

But it was too little too late. He pushed
back his chair and it scraped harshly on the vinyl tiled floor. He stood. He
wanted to get out but he couldn't, so he took their plates to the sink and
turned on the faucets. He could at least go through the motions of living
normally. Before the sink filled, he felt something on his back.

Her hands. Then her body, two soft mounds
pressing into him.

"Lucy, what are you doing?"

"I don't want us to hate each other."

"I don't hate you."

"But you're angry. Hurt."

Yeah, well, that's what happens when a
guy gets rejected.

She reached past him and turned off the faucets.
Her hands returned to his back and massaged his shoulders. He hadn't realized
how tense he was until her sure fingers kneaded the muscles.

"Let's still be friends," she
said.

"Friends?" Did she mean friends
who fuck?

"Yeah." She took him by the
shoulders and turned him slowly round. "The very best of friends. I don't
want to lose you, Nick, not completely."

Then love me.

"Lucy, we shouldn't do this." But
he wanted to and he was already beyond reasoning. How can a man think clearly
when a gorgeous woman, the woman he loves, teases him until his balls feel like
they'll explode if she touches them?

She stood on her toes to kiss him and he
knew then that he was losing himself. He loved the way she kissed. Tentatively
at first, but always becoming deep and hot, sending his heart hammering out her
name against his ribs. She touched his erection through his trousers and he
gasped against her lips. Her long fingers stroked him, made him harder. Then
she undid the fly.

A little voice told him he shouldn't do
this, it wouldn't change anything, but he ignored it and went with his heart
and his groin on this one.

Hell, it was going to be the last time,
so he might as well relish it.

He reached up under her sweater and
fondled a lush breast, careful to avoid her bruises. Her breath caught when he
strummed a nipple. Ah yes, this was how he wanted to remember her. Breathless
with lust, whispering his name and on the brink of coming by his touch alone.

Lucy felt a pang of regret when he took
her nipples between his lips and suckled. As she threw her head back and
moaned, she knew this would be the last time. The last time they'd ever touch
each other so intimately, the last time she'd see him naked, the last time they
brought each other to a soul-shattering orgasm.

But she pushed the regret away and let
the power of his touch fill the hole instead.

He pushed her gently against the bench
and pulled her sweater over her head. He trailed a string of wet kisses from
her throat to the mounds of her breasts, then licked a nipple. She arched into
his mouth, wanting to be swallowed whole. He pulled down her pants and thong
and knelt in front of her, kissing a path down her stomach, her thighs, the
triangle of hair. She gasped when his tongue flicked out, licking her sensitive
core, and then she melted into him as heat rippled out from that spot and
infused every nerve ending.

"Yesssss," she hissed. Her
fingers dug into the bench, her hips thrust forward to meet every lick. He
caught the bud between his lips and nuzzled, sending shock waves though her. She
pushed her fingers into his hair, threw her head back and called out his name
over and over again until she came.

He waited until her shudders became less
then stood, towering over her. He licked his moist lips and bent to kiss her,
hard. She tasted musky on his mouth. His heart beat rapidly against her bare
breasts and his erection pounded against her stomach. He was still fully
clothed but she'd change that. She grabbed his shirt and ripped, sending
buttons spitting out in all directions. She spent a moment to explore his
magnificent chest then reached down and cupped him, squeezed.

"Not yet," he whispered against
her mouth.

He fumbled with his fly and tore off his trousers
and boxer shorts, pushing them away with his foot. They were both naked now. And
he was gloriously aroused.

He hesitated and she panicked. What if he
decided to stop?

"Don't think about," she said,
"just do it." She reached for him, cupped him again and he sucked in
air.

"Here?" he asked.

She nodded. "But let me feel you
first." She wanted to remember everything about his body. Every contour,
every hard muscle, every smooth surface.

But she somehow knew that memories would
never be enough.

Nick gritted his teeth as Lucy's fingers
explored him. Her smooth, sure hands touched him everywhere, arousing every
cell to excruciating heights. Finally, after playing with his nipples, kissing
his shoulders and running her hands along his stomach, she took hold of his
throbbing cock.

More. Don't stop. Ever.

She ran her fingers along the shaft to
the tip where a drop of pre-cum beaded. She smeared it on the head, lubricating
around to the sensitive underside then down to his balls.

"Ahhh."

She squeezed the heavy sacks gently,
rubbed, then released when he thought he couldn't stand it any longer. He
closed his eyes and bent his head to her shoulder as the familiar heat burned
him, teased him. He picked her up and sat her on the bench, pulling her towards
him so her bottom perched on the edge.

Last time he'd taken her from behind
because he wanted to keep it impersonal. It hadn't worked. This time he wanted
to see her expression when he entered her. He wanted to know what her face
looked like, what color her skin would be. He wanted the image of this final
time to be imprinted on his brain forever.

He lifted her legs to his waist and she
clung to him with her knees as he pressed himself to her. Heat and moisture
engulfed him, drew him in. Their gasps joined their kiss when he pushed in,
slowly, to the hilt.

And he saw what he'd missed last time. Her
face flushed a dark rose, from throat to hairline and her eyes fluttered closed.
Her mouth formed a perfect O and her tongue skimmed her bottom lip. She looked
like she was lost in her own fantasy world.

Lucy was the most sensual woman he'd ever
seen. And damn, his heart felt like it was being torn from his chest knowing
he'd never get to see her like this again.

She leaned back on her elbows, moving her
hips forward so he could reach deeper. He bent to suckle her breast as he rode,
taking his time, savoring every moment.

But when her cries echoed around the
kitchen and she squeezed him with her inner muscles, he exploded into her,
taking her over the crest with him.

Panting, he pulled her to him and buried
his mouth in the soft flesh of her cleavage. She wrapped her arms around him
and ran her fingers through his hair then kissed the top of his head. They
stayed in that position for a few moments until she pulled away.

What happens to them now? He wanted to
ask but he couldn't bring himself to form the words. He didn't know how.

"I better clean up," she said,
hopping off the bench.

He caught her arm as she passed, opened
his mouth to say something, but his throat was too tight to speak and he closed
it again. No point making a fool of himself. She'd speak to him when she was
ready.

She reached up and touched the small scar
that was the only visible reminder of the brawl he'd been involved in when
working undercover years ago. She gave him a sad half-smile and turned away. He
liked the way her bottom moved as she walked, kind of a wiggle and swaying
motion. This was probably the last time he'd get to see it.

***

By the time she got out of the shower,
Lucy had made up her mind. Despite the magical experience they'd just shared,
she couldn't deny her true feelings any longer. She was being smothered. The
weight that pressed down on her would suffocate her if she didn't do something
about it.

She'd do it soon.

But first, she needed to explain to Nick
why. She owed him that. Hell, she probably owed him a lot more, but she wasn't
able to give him what he wanted.

Oh, God. She may never see him again
because of this. She might have lost the one person, other than Abbey, she'd
made a connection with.

She dried slowly, wanting to put off the
inevitable, not wanting to hurt him anymore than she already had. She almost
considered not going through with it—maybe she should give a relationship a go—but
that only forced the weight down more.

She'd suffocate in a relationship. Then
she'd take it out on him.

In her bedroom, she put on clean clothes.
He'd stacked the ones she'd discarded in the kitchen on her bed in a neat pile.
She smiled. Very domestic. Dawdling, she finally returned to the kitchen.

Nick, dressed in Khakis and a shirt with
the sleeves rolled up, sat at the table reading the label on the juice carton. Or
pretending to. He looked up when she joined him but didn't smile. She saw no
reason to either.

"Juice?" he asked.

She nodded and sat opposite, watching him
pour orange liquid into a tall glass. He pushed it across the table to her. She
sipped, avoiding his gaze. The awkward silence was almost as suffocating as the
weight still pressing on her heart.

"We can't go on like this,
Nick."

He glanced at her, lifted his chin in ...
what? Agreement? Defiance? She couldn't be sure.

"I can't solve the case any
faster."

"I know." She sighed. "But
maybe you can get someone else to stay here. It would be easier if we didn't
see each other anymore."

His dark eyes suddenly flashed black
thunder. "Why?"

"Because..." It hurt too much. "Because
I don't want to see you anymore, Nick. I can't."

"Why?"

She spread her fingers flat on the table
and stared at them, forming her words carefully. "Because there's this
weight..." She pressed one hand to her chest. "It's suffocating me. I
can't stand it." She drew in two sharp breaths as the weight added a
stabbing sensation in her ribs. "I feel claustrophobic, and not just
because I'm stuck in this house."