Читать книгу Secret Desire - Gwynne Forster - Страница 9

No sooner had Luke gotten back to the precinct and settled down to work than Axel Strange strolled into his office without knocking and took a seat. Ten years on the force, nine of them at that precinct, and he still couldn’t warm up to the man.

“What can I do for you, Lieutenant?”

Axel leaned back in the chair and crossed his right leg over his left knee, as comfortable as if he were in his own office. “I’m told you know where the cutter is.”

Luke lay his pen beside his writing pad and prepared for some of Axel’s sleuthing. Something about Axel Strange reminded him of grease, always had. He never meant precisely what he said, leaving himself an out. His words had to be decoded. And just when you had to depend on him, he wasn’t there. The man never talked about himself, but he always had the goods on his fellow officers and didn’t mind talking about them. He didn’t exactly dislike Axel, but he was more comfortable when the man wasn’t around.

Luke let his gaze roam over Axel, cataloging the things that irked him. “Unless someone used that cutter after I did, it’s in its place. Why are you asking me, anyway? Speak to the sergeant in charge of storage.”

Axel shifted his demeanor from amiable to harsh, checked himself and produced another smile. “I just thought you’d know. By the way, who was the woman? I tell you, I couldn’t believe you spent most of your day off looking after some dame. Must be some dish, huh?”

Luke stiffened. A little of Axel could last him a long time. “Read the log, man. I’m sure it contains everything you need to know. Cowan’s on that beat, and he can handle anything that comes up. I’d better get busy.”

It surprised him that Axel didn’t move, and he wondered if he’d finally have to pull rank on the man.

“Rick—you know, the waiter at River Café—said you had a sharp-looking gal there with you last night that he didn’t recognize. Couldn’t have been the same woman, could it?”

Luke strummed his fingers on his desk, his patience waning. “I’m surprised you consider that your business. It isn’t.”

Axel’s smile was about what he expected, given that the man could back away from a position with the swiftness of an Indianapolis 500 racer. “Everybody’s curious about you, man. We’re all waiting for the boss to be had.”

Luke picked up his pen, signaling the conversation’s end. “Fortunately, I am not gullible enough to believe the men in this precinct have nothing better to think about than my private business. Since we’ve both got work to do, I suggest we get to it.”

The ugliness that glazed Axel Strange’s face so quickly that it was hardly discernible sent a shot of adrenaline streaking through Luke—pure animosity, and he knew he hadn’t imagined it. He’d never regarded the man as an enemy, and maybe he wasn’t, but he’d bear watching.

Luke missed his camaraderie with Jack McCarthy, whom he’d replaced as detective captain when the man retired, and he enjoyed an occasional lunch with him.

He sat at his favorite table in the River Café, facing the door, when the old man walked in, tall, straight and still striding with the regal bearing of a five-star general.

“Great to see you, Luke. How’s it going? Chopped any heads off yet?”

That brought a laugh from Luke because he’d come to expect that question whenever they met. “How are you, Jack? I haven’t, but my fingers are getting itchy.”

McCarthy ordered two beers for himself. “One of the rewards of retirement,” he explained. “How are you and Strange getting along?”

Luke cocked an eyebrow. “Fried Norfolk spots today,” he told the waiter before turning his attention to his friend. “Do you expect Axel to be a problem?”

Jack enjoyed his first swallow of beer, shook his head and laughed. “Luke, that man is a problem. Don’t you know he submitted a written application for every promotion you got? Of course, he lost to you every time. I told him it wasn’t even a contest. By the time I retired, he’d become obsessed with you. Wanted to know about your assignments, expense accounts, semiannual evaluations, and I don’t know what all. I told him the way to beat you was to do a better job.”

“Well, I’ll be doggoned. I just thought maybe he’d dragged himself up by his bootstraps, and that accounted for his grabbing at everything he saw. It wouldn’t hurt him to try hard work.”

“Not a chance. I gave him that choice many times, but if he took it, I saw no evidence of it. He takes the easy way every time, and that’s unusual for a man with his background. He comes from a topflight family of self-made men, but he doesn’t like work and he’s devious. I’d watch him closely.”

Luke sniffed the aroma of sizzling spots and hush puppies as the waiter set the plates on the table. “Yeah.” He bit into one of the deep-fried balls of spicy corn bread and let himself enjoy it. “I’m glad you told me about Strange, because I’ve been planning to reassign him. I think I’d better wait on that.”

After saying goodbye Luke headed back to the precinct, pondering Jack’s admonition about Axel as he drove. He’d rather not have to deal harshly with any of his staff, but if Axel challenged him, he’d teach the man a lesson.

Several days later, Randy raced into the bookstore from his one-hour sojourn at PAL. With a pout that Kate recognized, he flung his book bag on the counter near where she stood waiting on a customer. She stared hard at him until he greeted her and the woman, moved his books and went into her office. A week earlier, he would have ignored her silent reprimand.

“What’s the problem?” she asked him after the customer had left.

“That place is like the army,” he grumbled. Even in that short time, his manners had improved, for he answered her without hesitation.

“You agreed to go, Randy, and you’re going. You have to keep your word. Why are you complaining?”

“Keep my word. Keep my word,” he mimicked. “I heard that fifty times every day I’ve been there. Next week is my week to deliver stuff to some old people. A guy drives the truck, and I get out and take the stuff in.”

She thought for a minute, wanting to shame him. “Can these senior citizens get the food themselves, and do they have the money?”

She knew she’d gotten to him when he hung his head. “Captain Luke says they’ll starve if we don’t help them out.”

“I see. You wouldn’t like that, would you?”

It pleased her that his bottom lip no longer protruded and that his frown had vanished. “No, I guess. But Captain Luke said that after next week, I have to teach the other four guys in my group how to do it. But I wanna take tennis lessons.”

She’d locked the store before going into the office. When the buzzer rang, she rushed toward the door, saw Luke Hickson in his navy blue uniform, a stunning figure, and tried to settle her nerves. If he didn’t turn her heart into a runaway train, he’d calm her just by being there. Looking at him, she thought he could handle anything and anybody.

Luke stepped into the store and gazed down at her. She’d had no cause to doubt her sanity, but when his pupils went from gray to a near-black, with fiery twinkles all around them, she wondered if she’d imagined it.

He grinned. “Hi.”

Quickly, she shifted her gaze. If he told her he didn’t know the effect of that grin, she wouldn’t believe him.

“Hi, yourself. Randy was just complaining about the assignments you gave him,” she said, her voice climbing as she strove to reduce the tension between them.

Luke lifted his shoulder in a quick dismissive shrug, and she knew she hadn’t taken his mind off them by opening the subject of Randy. “Let him complain. He doesn’t fool me, because I know he’s enjoying himself. And he’s proud he was singled out as group leader.”

She stared at Luke. “He was?”

“Yeah. Didn’t he tell you? He’s doing great.”

She let out a long breath. “What a relief. He says he wants to spend his time learning to play tennis.”

Luke stuffed his hands in his trouser pockets, his slight frown suggesting that Randy wasn’t his priority right then. “I’ll teach him how to play tennis, but not till he learns to enjoy helping people who need his help. Where is he?”

She nodded toward her office. “In there.”

Luke looked into the distance, seemingly debating with himself. Then he fixed a penetrating gaze on her. “How about dinner? Randy’s welcome to come along.”

She hadn’t expected that, and she knew her demeanor betrayed her eagerness to accept. “I…I’d like to, but I don’t allow Randy to be out at night if he has school the next day. I’m sorry.”

She would learn that Luke was resourceful, and not easily stymied. “Tell you what,” he said. “Suppose I go in there and work with him on his lessons, and you get Madge to look after him while we go to dinner? We can get takeout for him, and he can eat at home. What about it?”

Eagerness be hanged! She wanted to go with him, and she didn’t see the sense in pretending she didn’t. “Okay.”

Madge would probably agree, but how would Randy react to having Luke go over his lessons with him? Well, she figured Luke could handle it. Besides, a good dose of Luke was what Randy needed.

“You want to go back to the River Café?” Luke asked later as he pulled away from the curb in front of the apartment building in which she lived.

She’d liked the place, and readily agreed. “It’s very attractive, and I enjoyed the food.”

He spared her a side glance, mischief dancing in his gray eyes. “The food, huh? What about the company?”

She sank into the soft leather seat and got comfortable, eager to match wits. “I’ve had worse. Lots worse. Why do you ask?”

He paused at the Stop sign, looked from left to right, turned into Elm Avenue and headed for Effington Street and the River Café. “Since you ask, I’m wondering the same thing. Why did I ask? If you’d said I was a washout, you’d have crushed this poor heart.”

Laughter bubbled up in her. “How’d you fix your mouth to say that? If I’ve ever seen a man with a star on his forehead, it’s you. So I’m not going for that humble stuff.”

“You mean, you’re not willing to find out who I am? You think I’m a six-foot, four-inch Samson in a monkey suit? Just like every other tough cop in blue? That it?”

She sat up straight. This man had his vulnerable spots, and she’d better remember it. “Since that remark had a ring of seriousness, I won’t joke about it. I also won’t back away from what my instincts tell me. If I needed a defender, I’d send for you.”

His failure to comment told her more than she was comfortable knowing. They entered the restaurant through a side door, and the aroma of buttermilk biscuits, garlic, sage sausage and frying fish teased her nostrils as they passed the kitchen on their way to the dining room.

Kate licked her lips in anticipation of the meal. “Is this your regular table?” she asked him as the waiter led them to the one they’d shared on her previous visit.

“I usually sit here,” he answered in an offhand manner, as though he didn’t merit special treatment. “You eating roast beef and leek soup again tonight?” His gray eyes glittered with devilment, and she braced herself for a blast of his charm.

“I’m having Cajun-fried catfish and hush puppies.”

“Glad to hear it. That’s what I had for lunch.”

He winked at her over the top of the largest menu she’d ever seen, and she couldn’t help staring at him, at those eyes that commanded her to get lost in them. Maybe being with a husband who’d paid her little attention for most of their marriage had weakened her resistance to men.

“How’d you and Randy get along with his lessons?”

He waited until the waiter finished serving their food, leaned back in his chair and looked at her. “Hard to tell. He did his homework. Effortlessly, I’d say. But I’m not sure he likes me. I know he doesn’t like being told what to do.” He cut off a piece of steak and savored it. “He respects me, or maybe it’s my uniform, but I’ll take that for now.”

“Why did you make him group leader?”

“I didn’t. The boys in his group elected him. Now he’s responsible for his behavior, and for theirs, as well. It’s good for him.”

She hoped so. “You said you’d give him tennis lessons.”

He finished the last piece of steak. “I will. I’m a pretty fair player, and if he’s interested in learning, I’ll be glad to teach him.”

“Well, this is a surprise.”

When Luke’s head snapped up she followed his gaze, and they stared into the mocking eyes of Axel Strange.

“You wouldn’t be Kate Middleton, would you?” Axel asked as he cloaked his face in a seductive smile.

“Yes, I am,” she said, and would have extended her hand had she not glimpsed Luke’s icy regard of the man.

“Ms. Middleton, this is Lieutenant Strange, a detective in my precinct.”

Couldn’t get much colder than that, she figured. “Good evening, Lieutenant,” she said, taking a cue from Luke and sounding as formal as she could.

Her cold greeting made no evident impact on the lieutenant, since he replied, “I’ve wanted to meet you, but, as usual, the boss jumped in before me.”

“Enjoy your meal, Strange,” Luke said, dismissing the man. And rather testily, at that, she thought.

Abruptly, the lieutenant’s smile faded. Then he beamed at her. “Be seeing you, Ms. Middleton.”

Luke continued his meal as if they hadn’t been interrupted. He didn’t comment on the incident, and, since she wasn’t in the habit of sticking her nose into hornets’ nests, she figured she ought to forget it.

“What happened to that gingerbread you’re supposed to be so good at making? Miss Fanny can’t bend over the stove yet, and I haven’t had any gingerbread in six weeks.”

She controlled an impulse to laugh at the childlike petulance in his voice, which belied the tensile strength no one would doubt he possessed. She presented a face as serious as his.

“You said you’d put in a request. Is this a request?”

Long, elegant fingers grasped the handle of his coffee cup, and she imagined those strong, masculine hands on her skin, testing her response to him. His shimmering gaze told her he had discerned her thoughts and had similar ones of his own.

His left hand covered her unsteady fingers. “Am I pleading for gingerbread? Does night follow day? You don’t understand, Kate. I love gingerbread.”

Laughter poured out of her, then, releasing some of the tension that took hold of her whenever she saw him and intensified when she was near him. “Oh, I understand that, all right, but if you had said chocolate…”

His gaze, so intense and studied, unsettled her. If he was trying to find a place for himself in her head, he was doing a good job. “I know men are supposed to love chocolate,” he said, “but not me. I go by my own educated taste buds, and do my own thinking. And that goes for everything.” He leaned forward. “I said everything.”

She wished he’d leave her nerves alone. What a blessing he couldn’t see them. At best, they must look like hair teased to a frazzle by some foolhardy hairdresser. She told herself she’d feel better if she knew she had the same effect on him. He smiled, and she dared to open herself to him for just one moment and squeezed his fingers, knowing that her alarm at her behavior had to be mirrored on her face.

“Don’t move so fast, Luke. I’m not there yet.”

He smiled a slow smile, his eyes brimming with the secrets of the ages. “If I ever moved slower, I don’t remember it. Trust me, I’m taking my time, and it’s as clear as springwater that you’re doing the same.”

She diverted her gaze from the eyes that seemed to invade her soul and focused on the pink dogwood blossoms that adorned their table. “I wish I had your self-assurance, Luke. You know where you’re going, and exactly how to get there.”

The long fingers of his left hand stroked his chin in a slow, graceful movement, and he perused her as though searching for some truth in her. An expression of hopefulness flashed across his face—or so she thought, because the man concealed his emotions. She couldn’t help squirming under his scrutiny.

“Luke, you have to stop doing this to me. I know it’s not your intention to make me uncomfortable, but I feel as if you have me under a 4000x-lens microscope.”

“Sorry. I…Try not to second-guess me, Kate. I know how to be rude, if I care to, but I can’t imagine myself being discourteous to you.”

“Then what—”

“I was trying to figure out what you see in me that makes you think I know exactly what I want and how to get it. There aren’t many men I’d say that about.”

She didn’t believe he’d used that ruse to get his ego stoked, so she told him truthfully. “It’s the impression you give me. You’re a man in complete command. I’d trust you with my life anytime and anywhere.”

Could it have been pain that flashed so briefly in his eyes? A frown darkened his countenance. “Don’t ever put complete trust in any mortal. Save that for God. I’m human, Kate, and I have mortal frailties.”

“But you seem un…unflappable.”

Again, a shadow crossed his face, and when he hooded his eyes, she knew that if he had an Achilles’ heel, she’d come close to it. A long pregnant silence held a tension of its own. She waited, certain that his response would give her a clue as to who he was.

“I learned a few years ago not to let anything stress me out,” he said in a voice that had a ring of finality. “I do what I can, and let the rest go.”

Kate didn’t want their evening to end, though her mind told her she shouldn’t spend so much time with him. But he was like a flame seducing a moth, both tonic and irritant. Being with him soothed her, yet fired her nerves, relaxed, yet energized her. She loved being with him, though a rawness seeped in when he left her. At times, like right then, he made her feel like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle placed in its proper niche, like cold fingers greeting the comfort of fur-lined gloves.

“I’d like some more coffee, please,” she told the waiter, prolonging their time together.

“So would I,” Luke said.

When Luke stared straight ahead, his left eyelid narrowed in a squint. She turned around and saw the lieutenant approaching their table.

“Just wanted to say good night, Ms. Middleton. Hope to see you again soon,” he said as if Luke were not there.

She hated rudeness, but she didn’t see how she could respond without being discourteous to Luke, so she said nothing. The man plastered a smile on his face and walked on.

This time, she couldn’t dismiss the incident. “What’s going on between you two, Luke?”

He shrugged nonchalantly, but the way his jaw worked told her he wasn’t as unfazed as he’d have her think. “Until tonight, I’d have said nothing was going on between us. Now I’m not so sure. Are you interested in him?”

She glared at him. “I don’t know the man.”

He motioned for their waiter. “Something tells me you will. Shall we go?”

His deep, vibrant voice and his apparent certainty reminded her of her father, and she fought to hide the pain that thinking of him caused her, pain that plowed through her at the thought of him—a proud exemplary citizen brought to his knees. She forced a smile for Luke’s benefit.

Luke braced his right elbow against the wall beside Kate’s front door and supported his head with his right hand. Kate seemed flustered looking up at him, and he wished she’d get used to him.

“Kate, I like being with you. If you’ll tell me what I do that makes you uncomfortable, I’ll stop it.”

Her eyes widened, but he didn’t care if he’d startled her. She ought to expect a man to enjoy looking at her. At the inquiring expression on her face, he added, “I’m a protector, Kate. It’s my nature. Don’t be afraid of me.”

Slowly, she lowered her long lashes, hiding her feelings from him. He knew what she felt, though, because the rising temperature of her body heat warmed up her perfume and released it to enthrall his senses. Her captivating aura swirled around him. She opened her oval eyes, warm brown orbs that promised heaven to a man, and he swallowed his breath. He’d better get out of there before he did something he’d regret.

He’d taken an oath that if he was ever again personally responsible for a woman’s safety, he wouldn’t let that woman care for him and place her trust in him. Never again. The burden of responsibility for another person’s life was a heavy one, and if that person loved a man and believed in him above all other men, the load was that much more onerous. His head told him to keep a lot of space between them, but she had a way about her that made a man want to explore her very essence.

He straightened up and flicked back his hat. “When can I expect my gingerbread?” That ought to purge the atmosphere of tension.

She tossed her head in what he recognized as an affirmation of her dignity. “I’ll…uh…I’ll let you know.”

How it happened, he couldn’t say, but his left hand suddenly rested on her shoulder, and he didn’t move it. “I want a definite answer.”

Without moving a muscle or blinking her eyes, as alert as a sentry on duty, she stared at him a full minute. “Impatience has buried a lot of men.”

Well, she wasn’t going to disconcert him, and he refused to let her know how she affected him, so he forced an ambiguous smile. “You bet. And I don’t expect to join them.”

He let his thumb graze softly over her bottom lip. “Thanks for your company. I’ll be around if you need me.”

The key in his hand caught his gaze, and—careful to avoid looking at the flickering heat in her eyes—he opened her door, handed her the key, and walked off while he had the strength.

“Luke!”

He stopped, swung around and waited. He did not need temptation right then. “What is it, Kate?”

She seemed to hesitate, as though uncertain of her next move. “I was…uh…thinking I could make the gingerbread Friday night, and maybe we could—”

He interrupted her, not allowing her a chance to say something they’d have to deal with. “And could I come over Friday night and get it? I’d planned to spend the weekend with my brother and sister-in-law down in North Carolina, but if you’re going to give me gingerbread, I’ll stop by on my way out of town.”

Her demeanor said she’d meant for them to make an evening of it, as he’d suspected, but if she was disappointed, she didn’t let him see it.

She held up both hands, palms out. “Please don’t let me disturb your plans. I just thought…”

He walked back to her. “Like me, you want one thing, but you’ve been there and you don’t think you want to go that route again. You’ve signaled to me more than once that you don’t want to get involved with me. Whatever your reason, you’re very wise, because it isn’t a good idea.”

“I know we can’t have it both ways,” she said. “Just…just come by the store on Friday, and I’ll have it there for you.”

She was so close, so alluring. He stared down at her, accepting his punishment. Then he shook his head, wondering where his attraction to her would take him. Frustration seeped into him, tugging at his insides, and he kissed her cheek and walked away.

I’m going to stay away from that brother, Kate promised herself as she watched the door of the lobby swing shut behind him. All I need is to fall for a guy who has everything a woman wants and is dead set on keeping it to himself. Once is enough for me. From now on, it’s cool Kate.

The next afternoon, as she shelved a new shipment of books, the door of her store opened and Lieutenant Strange strutted through it. Kate was sure she’d lost her bottom lip.

“Hi,” he greeted like a friend of long standing. “How’re things? Thought I’d drop by and see how you’re doing.”

She told herself to smile and be gracious, that as a businesswoman, she didn’t need enemies. Somehow she managed it, though it was difficult with Luke’s frown mirrored in her mind’s eye.

“Good afternoon, Lieutenant,” she said, uncomfortable with the cool tenor of her greeting, which was at odds with her natural warmth and friendliness. She wondered if his smile was as practiced as it seemed, whether she looked at the man with Luke’s eyes. Some charmer, she decided, as he treated her to a strong dose of male charisma. A tall, polished man with reasonably good looks and a daunting uniform to cover up whatever flaws he had, he should have presented a more commanding picture. Still, she’d seen worse.

His nasal tone got her attention. “I said, let me give you a hand with that.”

A refusal sat on the tip of her tongue, but falling rows of books took care of the matter. She couldn’t move unless he helped, and she watched, exasperated, as Axel Strange wormed his way into her life, putting her firmly in his debt.

“Let me take care of it,” he said again, removing his jacket and rubbing his hands together as if he were about to get a mouthwatering bite of thick, juicy steak. You’d think he was glad the books almost knocked me over, she thought with not a little annoyance. He piled the books on the floor, releasing her from the burden of bracing the shelves with her back, and had started shelving them when Luke walked into the store.