Читать книгу One-Night Alibi - Kara Lennox - Страница 12
ОглавлениеCHAPTER TWO
ELIZABETH DOWNEY HADN’T meant for this to happen. As she sat in the passenger seat of Hudson Vale’s classic 280Z, her gaze fixed on his firm profile as he deftly wove the sports car through traffic on I-45, she considered speaking up, changing the course of her actions. She could tell him she’d changed her mind. She had no doubt he would promptly turn around and take her back to the wedding or to her own apartment.
She’d never met Hudson until today, but she knew a lot about him. When she’d seen the headline about a Montgomery County sheriff’s detective allegedly beating Franklin Mandalay during a bogus arrest, she’d been consumed with curiosity—about the incident and about the cop who’d stood up to a powerful and wealthy attorney. She had learned everything she could about Hudson, even paying a private investigator to suss him out, find out his story.
There wasn’t much. Other than one incident during his rookie year when he’d been reprimanded for punching a wife-beater, Hudson Vale had an exemplary record. Prior to becoming a cop, he’d led a completely normal life. Two parents, a brother, middle-class suburbia. His dad had been a Houston cop, retired now. The Vale boys had gone to public school, then community college. The younger brother, Parker, was also a cop.
Hudson had never been arrested. He’d never been married. His only debt was a sizable mortgage on his house.
Elizabeth’s eyes had nearly popped out of her head when she’d spotted Hudson at the reception. She had stared at him rudely, she knew, but she’d had to be sure it was him. His photos certainly hadn’t done him justice. In two dimensions, he was uncommonly good-looking. In three, he made her skin tingle and her mouth water. He made her think of sinful things.
She’d just wanted to meet him, that was all. Share one harmless dance. Size him up. But within five minutes of meeting him, she knew one or two dances wouldn’t be enough. She sensed a lot going on behind those hazel eyes and the easy smile that faded when he thought no one was looking.
While his attention was on his driving, she took a leisurely inventory of his features. He had a strong jaw and a slightly hawkish nose—those were her first observations. His hair, worn a little long for cop standards, was wavy and streaked by the sun. It would probably curl if he let it get much longer.
His eyelashes were way longer than any man’s ought to be. His lips were full, and whenever a car slowed in front of them, he teased his lower lip with his teeth, a gesture that did strange, squiggly things to her insides.
She cracked the window, drawing a rush of fresh air onto her face.
“Want me to turn on the AC?” Hudson asked.
“No, this is fine.” She focused on his hand, which rested casually on the gearshift knob. He had a couple of healing scrapes on his knuckles. Souvenirs from his violent encounter?
They lapsed into silence, but it wasn’t uncomfortable or awkward.
Again, she thought about telling him she’d been hasty. She could stop this now. End the encounter. But the little she’d learned about Hudson only made her want to know more.
“What made you become a cop?” That was a legitimate thing for her to ask. Any new acquaintance might pose a similar question.
“My dad was a cop. I admired him—still do. My brother’s a cop. My uncle’s a cop. Guess it’s in the blood. What made you become a social worker?”
I knew it would drive my father crazy. “Long story.”
“We’re not on a tight schedule.”
“Like a lot of people, I didn’t know what I wanted, so I just gravitated toward classes that interested me. Ended up with a bachelor’s in sociology and a master’s in psychology. Social work was a good fit, and I like helping people.”
“How do you help people? I mean, what sort of social work do you do?”
“I work at a free clinic. People who come to us aren’t just physically sick, they’re often in very bad situations—bad relationships, substance abuse, prostitution. I counsel them on how to escape those situations and create better lives for themselves.”
Hudson nodded. “Hmm.”
She couldn’t be sure, but she sensed a slight note of disapproval. He could join the crowd. A lot of people thought she could have done better, and didn’t hesitate to tell her so. Others thought social work coddled criminals and the lazy.
Maybe she could have been a doctor or a lawyer. Certainly her father thought so. But she liked her career just fine.
“Don’t you get frustrated?” Hudson finally asked.
“How so?”
“Dealing with the dregs of society. Seeing the same people making the same mistakes over and over.”
“First off, I don’t think of them as dregs. More like, people who started life at a disadvantage, maybe made some bad choices.” It was true some people never learned. But she firmly believed she helped others.
“You must have a kind heart. Seems whenever I try to help people, I get the shit kicked out of me one way or another.”
“But you keep trying, right?”
“Sometimes I don’t know why. Have you ever tried to rescue a cat from a tree?”
“No, actually.”
“Damn thing will scratch you to shreds every time.”
She wanted to argue that people weren’t cats. They were basically good, if you gave them half a chance to be. But Hudson was clenching his jaw. She’d accidentally hit a nerve. Maybe she’d better back off. She wanted to know more about him, and antagonizing him probably wasn’t the best tactic.
Suddenly he looked at her and smiled. “Sorry. You have no idea what a rough couple of weeks it’s been.”
Actually, she did. And she should tell him. Honestly, she’d thought he would recognize her, or that someone would tell him who she was. But he couldn’t know, or he’d have never let her into his car.
She pushed the whole mess out of her mind. She was riding down the freeway in a cool car with a hot guy. She had nowhere to be, nothing else to do. For once in her life, she would stop worrying about all the consequences. She’d never indulged in a one-night stand before. Maybe it was time. She listened to a lot of the women she counseled talking about getting carried away, unable to control themselves enough to make sensible decisions. She’d always assumed she was above such behavior.
Maybe not.
Hudson’s house was at the end of a cul-de-sac on a double-sized wooded lot. Like many waterfront homes, it stood on stilts, with only the garage on the ground floor.
He pulled his car into the garage and parked it; they got out, but they had to go back outside and climb a set of wooden stairs to a wraparound porch.
She fell in love at first sight. The house was small, probably only two bedrooms, but a wall of windows looked out on the lake, making the living room seem huge. He flipped on some lights. The place was furnished simply with a couple of low sofas and two chairs, rattan, clean lines. The wood floors were covered with slightly threadbare rugs.
What she really loved about it was, it wasn’t a man cave. No huge TV or stereo system. No cast-off shoes littering the floor or spent pizza boxes stacked on the coffee table.
“Have a seat,” he said as he headed into the kitchen. “I’m going to get myself a Mountain Dew.” He stuck his head in the fridge. “I have other soft drinks, beer and, um, orange juice.”
“I’m good, thanks.”
He popped the top on his own soft drink and took several swallows as he joined her in the living room. She’d chosen one end of a sofa, inviting him to make his move.
He sat across from her, set his can on a coaster on the coffee table and propped his elbows on his knees, leaning forward. “You can relax, you know. I’m not going to jump you.”
She realized she was sitting stiffly, her back straight as a fence post. Leaning back against the cushion, she crossed her legs. “Really? I thought that’s what we came here for.”
“Thought we’d talk first.”
Uh-oh. She didn’t like the sound of that. And he suddenly looked a lot more like a cop conducting an interrogation than a potential boyfriend eager to make a conquest.
She tucked one foot under her leg. She could brazen this out.
“Why were you staring at me? At the wedding?” he asked.
“’Cause you’re cute.”
“A woman like you must have ‘cute’ guys lining up to have sex with you. You don’t need to pick up a strange one at a wedding.”
“You must think I’m pretty shallow, that I’d just settle for any cute guy to satisfy my raging libido.”
“You don’t seem shallow,” he admitted.
Maybe she ought to be afraid. He was accused of police brutality. Some really violent guys became cops so they could have a socially acceptable outlet for their...urges. He’d been accused of beating suspects twice...enough to form a pattern.
Maybe the P.I. she’d hired hadn’t done a thorough enough job. Maybe Hudson Vale wasn’t as nice a guy as he appeared on paper.
Then she had to laugh at herself, silently at least. The Logans’ valet had witnessed them together. Even if Hudson had violent urges, she doubted he was stupid enough to assault her when they’d been seen leaving the wedding arm in arm.
Anyway, how could a man who was charmed by a bunch of hummingbirds be anything but a good guy?
“Something just seems a little bit off, that’s all,” he said almost apologetically. “I’ve learned over the years not to ignore my instincts. I thought at first you were trying to make someone jealous.”
“I’m not, trust me. My date was just a date. In fact, it was a fix-up,” she admitted. “When he went after one of the bridesmaids I was totally relieved.”
“Now I know you’re fibbing. You can get your own dates.”
“I guess I can. I got you.” Of course he was suspicious of her. He was a cop, one who’d faced off against a powerful, ruthless man who would stoop to any means to prove Hudson had assaulted him for no reason. “But is it so hard to believe I saw something I liked and went for it? I’m sure I’m not the first woman to make a play for you.”
“No. But definitely the only one who looks like a supermodel.”
“Now who’s full of bull?” But she smiled. She liked it that he thought she was pretty. She knew she was reasonably attractive. And she was tall. But supermodel was a real stretch.
“It’s like I won the lottery or something.”
“The lottery? How much did you have to drink at that wedding?”
“I only had half a beer, or I wouldn’t have gotten behind the wheel. You were the one guzzling a martini when I first saw you.”
“I do not guzzle. And if you’re implying I was drunk, you’re wrong. No false courage needed.” She matched his steamy look with one of her own.
He drained the last of his Mountain Dew, then crushed the can in one hand.
The macho show of strength made her heart flutter faster than the hummingbirds’ wings they’d so recently witnessed. He cavalierly threw the can over his shoulder. It sailed through the pass-through into the kitchen and sounded as if it landed in the sink. Then he came out of his chair, skirted around the coffee table and landed next to her.
“Hi, there.”
“H-hi.”
“Wanna make out?”
She very much did. She’d predicted Hudson would be a stand-up guy, but the boyish charm was a surprise, and it melted her jaded heart. She couldn’t resist him, especially because he wasn’t pushing her straight to the bedroom. The hungry look in his eyes told her he wanted her, but he didn’t pressure her. His attitude was refreshing.
Elizabeth looped one arm around his neck, drawing him closer. He exuded warmth and an electric tension that her body responded to. Her skin prickled with heightened awareness, her chest tightened and she felt hot between her legs, hot and tickly, as if she was being brushed with rose petals. All from him touching her shoulder.
They took their time getting to that next kiss. She looked into his eyes, wishing she could dive right inside him, his delicious warmth enveloping her like a safe blanket. She parted her lips slightly, needing more oxygen. They shared the same air for several heartbeats before he finally closed that small gap between them and claimed her mouth with his.
He tasted like citrus, and she realized it must be the Mountain Dew. But the electric tingle of his mouth, the firm brush of lips on lips, tongue on tongue sizzled through her body. She would never be able to think about that beverage again without associating it with Hudson.
He shifted her onto his lap. His erection pressed against her thigh, and he adjusted her slightly so it nudged between her legs. His groan was more like a growl of pleasure.
They kissed for a long time. She learned everything there was to know about his mouth and what it could do to her, unable to stop herself from imagining how it would feel to have his talented tongue employed elsewhere on her body. She wanted him to lick her from head to toe like a giant Popsicle, and then she wanted to do the same to him.
He smelled good, like soap and leather, citrus and sunshine. His skin tasted incredible. She ran her tongue along his jawline, exploring the slightly sandpapery texture. He teased her ear with his tongue, which caused her to go very still so she could concentrate on every sensation. When he nipped her earlobe with his teeth she was sure she would spontaneously combust.
He hadn’t even touched her breasts, but she was ready to skip over the rest of the foreplay and get him inside her. She was afraid she would climax before they were joined, and while that wouldn’t be all bad, their first time she wanted them to come together.
Their first time. The thought set her back on her heels. As if there would be more. She knew how impossible that was, but she was already fantasizing about seeing him again.
“Condoms?” she asked between kisses, because that was the only word her sex-fogged brain could manage.
“Bedroom.”
She clamored off his lap and grabbed his hand, pulling him off the sofa. Like eager children, they raced toward the back of the house.
He didn’t turn on any lights, so she received only a few fleeting impressions of his bedroom—bigger than expected, with a king-size bed on a platform. Some kind of dresser or chest in the corner. A ceiling fan overhead; that would be nice in the summer.
The bed was made, another unbachelorlike detail she filed away. Unless he’d planned to make a conquest at the wedding and had cleaned up in anticipation, she could conclude that Hudson was a good housekeeper, and that he didn’t need a lot of stuff around him to make him happy.
Hudson yanked back the covers, raising the faint scent of vanilla.
He didn’t press her onto the mattress immediately; instead he took her in his arms and kissed her again, deftly lowering the zipper at the back of her dress. He smoothed the silky fabric off her shoulders and it slithered down her body and pooled at her feet.
Feeling uncharacteristically shy, she was glad to be in semidarkness. She didn’t fixate on her body like some of her friends. She was lucky to be naturally slender, so she didn’t fight her weight, but she didn’t spend hours at the gym or taking Pilates classes. She wasn’t ripped and toned. In fact, she might be considered too thin, and the push-up bra she’d bought to help her A-cups fill out the dress was a bit of false advertising. When he unhooked and removed it, she had to resist the urge to cover her breasts with her arms.
He inhaled sharply. “I’m going to turn on the light.”
“No.” The single word sounded abrupt, so she softened it by caressing his arm and reaching for the buttons on his shirt. He’d taken his tie off in the car. Though he’d worn his lightweight suit well, she bet he looked unbelievable in a pair of faded jeans.
“No?”
“I like the dark. Moonlight is...romantic.”
“Whatever you say.” He slid two fingers of each hand inside the elastic of her panties and slowly slid them down her legs. She shivered, though she was anything but cold: her entire body burned from blushing.
She wasn’t like this. She’d always been careful in relationships, careful about sex, watching for hints that a man was becoming too obsessed with her. She’d been the object of one man’s obsession, and that was enough to cure her.
But this...encounter didn’t feel dangerous or sleazy to her. It felt just right. Even if they never saw each other again after tonight—and, fantasies aside, they couldn’t—she wouldn’t feel bad about this. They’d come together with no pretensions, no false promises or cajoling on either of their parts. Only the rather peculiar circumstances that had brought them together stopped her from enjoying herself without hesitation, and she’d managed to stuff those reservations to the back of her mind.
Hudson peeled off his clothes with a grace and economy of motion that was a turn-on all by itself. What little light that came into the room from a sliding glass door played over the curves and angles of his body, revealing the hint of a muscled biceps here, a rippled abdomen there.
And the evidence of his desire, jutting forward without apology. Elizabeth’s mouth went dry.
He came at her like a big, lazy tomcat with anticipation in his gaze, eyeing a mouse. Her own anticipation was about to leap out of her body, a tangible thing. Touch me. Touch me.
He put his hands at her waist and tried to span her in his grasp. “You’re tiny,” he said with a sense of wonder.
She’d never thought of herself as tiny. Skinny, maybe. But her height had sometimes made her feel like a giant. Now that she’d shucked her shoes, Hudson stood at least a few inches taller.
“You’re just big,” she countered, and they both knew she wasn’t just talking about his muscular shoulders.
He grinned, proving no man was immune to a woman praising his equipment. “I’m glad you approve.”
“Let’s see if I approve of how you use it.” Elizabeth wasn’t normally one for saucy quips, especially during sex, but something about him brought out her playfulness. She slowly sank onto the bed, pulling him with her.
He kissed her in earnest now, wrapping her in his arms and rolling on his back so she lay atop him. His erection pressed against her abdomen, and the heat between her legs threatened combustion. Her womb ached for him to complete her.
She spread her legs and straddled him, rubbing herself against his erection.
He growled again. “Oh, man. You’re making me crazy, you know.”
Enough foreplay. They could fondle and tease and seduce later, perhaps during round two. She could only hope she would be lucky enough to get to round two. Right now, she needed to finish this or she was going to implode.
Hudson reached for a drawer in the nightstand and fumbled a bit in the dark. She heard the rustle of plastic. Once he got the condom out of its wrapper she took it from him.
“Turn around while you put that on me,” he said.
“Excuse me?”
“I want to look at your bottom.”
She laughed. So outrageous. And she did as requested, turning around to face the foot of the bed, sitting on his ribs as she smoothed the latex over his swollen member. He was hard as a hunk of rebar and three times as thick.
While she worked, taking her time, enjoying every moment, he put his hands on her bottom. “I knew it. You have the cutest little ass I’ve ever seen.”
“You’re impertinent,” she said in her best schoolmarm voice. But she wasn’t immune to praise, either. His approval warmed her blood in a way mere strokes and caresses couldn’t.
She turned back around to face him. Their eyes met. The moment seemed suddenly hugely significant. They were about to join their bodies and become one for the first time.
The only time, she reminded herself sternly.
“Do you want to be on top?” he asked.
She wasn’t used to being asked for a preference. If she stayed on top, she could maintain better control. But control wasn’t what she was after tonight. She wanted him to conquer her...at least for the moment.
She shifted her position yet again, sliding up next to him. She put her mouth right next to his ear. “I want you to take me.”
He needed no further urging. In one second he was on top, the conquering hero. She opened her legs and welcomed him.
She’d thought he’d just thrust inside her, but he took his time, letting her get used to the feel of him filling her up, stretching her in a way that wasn’t painful, yet she was very aware of his size and power. If he ever wanted to hurt her, he certainly could. And she knew he could be violent.
No. She wouldn’t think about that now. The man she was getting to know wouldn’t hurt someone smaller and weaker than him just because he could. Some cops were off on a power trip, but she was sure he wasn’t that kind of cop no matter what the newspaper had said.
“You okay?”
“Never better.”
“You went far away there for just a minute.”
“I’m right here.”
“You’d tell me if it was too much, right?” Even as he said this, he started to move. Every nerve ending in her vagina screamed with the pleasure of it, and it was all Elizabeth could do not to scream. Incredible.
She wanted to draw out the pleasure, but she found she had no self-control. She let the ecstasy overwhelm her, and she held nothing back, nearly weeping with the intensity.
“Oh, man.” Hudson was obviously trying to hold back, but he couldn’t, either. “Oh, yeah. Here it comes.”
Still in the throes of her own climax, she watched his face as he came. His pleasure was a beautiful thing to behold. He gave himself over to it totally. She couldn’t imagine him looking any happier if he really had won the lottery.
It was over quickly, yet Elizabeth couldn’t imagine sex being any more perfect. As he lay on top of her, breathing hard, his skin slightly damp with perspiration, a glow of contentment settled on her.
“I usually can last longer,” he assured her when he could talk.
She laughed. “Men and their egos. I wasn’t timing you.”
“I just wanted it to be good for you.”
“It was, trust me.”
“Give me a few minutes to recover. I think with you I could have a go every half hour all night long.”
“You’re quite the optimist.”
“It’s just that you’re so pretty and sexy.”
“I...well, I probably should be going.” She didn’t want to go, and since tomorrow was Sunday, she had nowhere to be and no one would miss her. Still, she didn’t want to overstay her welcome.
“What? No way. I mean, of course I’ll take you home if you really want to go, but I’m not one of those guys who makes a conquest, then can’t get rid of her fast enough. I want you to spend the night, to get to know you better...and not just in bed.” He shifted, separating their bodies. She missed him already. “I make killer banana pancakes.”
“I have to work tomorrow.” It was a lie. But she did have to make the break clean and decisive. This could not be the start of something, much as she wanted it to be.
When he found out who she was—and he would—he was going to be one pissed-off dude.
“Still, you don’t have to run off. It’s early yet.”
He was right about that. It wasn’t yet ten o’clock. Though the longer she stayed, the harder it would be to leave, she couldn’t make herself get out of bed and put her clothes on.
“I’ll stay awhile.”
She snuggled up against him, still feeling the effects of her sexual haze. How sweet it would be if she could fall asleep here with her head on his shoulder, lulled by the rhythm of his deep breathing. Not that she could. Not with what she was keeping from him.
He, on the other hand, fell asleep almost instantly, which made her smile. Men were so predictable. She knew it was a physiological reaction, but it was amusing how he could be revved up in a frenzy one minute and a minute later sawing logs.
After a short while, she surprised herself by falling asleep, too.
When she woke sometime later, she was slightly disoriented. Hudson had an old-fashioned clock radio on his nightstand. Once she got her eyes to focus, she discovered it was almost 2:00 a.m.
She couldn’t stay until morning. There was no way she could hide her identity from him—it was getting harder and harder to be deceitful.
She was hunting around in the dark for her dress when she heard a strange noise outside. That was what had awakened her, she realized.
The wind? An animal, perhaps a raccoon? There were a lot of trees around, and critters liked to hang out near lakes.
She listened. There it was again. Footsteps. Someone was on the balcony. And it sounded as if they were trying to jimmy a window somewhere else in the house.
She sat up and shook Hudson. “Hudson!” she hissed. “Wake up. Someone is trying to break in.”
