Edge of Midnight (McClouds & Friends #4)(87)

He shrugged helplessly. “Little bit of this, little bit of that.”

“You’re avoiding the question,” she snapped.

“I’m not,” he protested. “My professional life is a grab bag. I get bored easily. If something starts feeling too much like work, I drop it and move on.”

“Wow. Lucky you.” She tried to picture that kind of flexibility, but it was hard to imagine. “And you can afford to be so fussy?”

He looked embarrassed. “Yeah. Like Tam said, I’ve got some interest income. My brother Davy’s a financial whiz. He did some good investing for me over the years. Lately, I’ve been doing consulting gigs for war films. My brothers think it’s fluff, and maybe it is, but I’ve had enough heavy shit to last a lifetime. I like to keep things light.”

“With us, too?” She couldn’t help but ask.

The smile vanished from his eyes. “No, babe.” He reached up, and gripped her wrist. She stumbled down the rest of the stairs to meet him.

Sean lifted the T-shirt up over her head, and claimed her mouth, in a slow, possessive kiss. “When it comes to you, I’m dead serious.” He shoved the crotchless confection into her hand, closing her fingers around it. “Wear these for me today. Every time I look at you, I’ll think about slipping my fingers through that hole, finding you wet. And when I finally get you alone, you’ll be so ready, I won’t have to do cartwheels and backflips to persuade you. I can just mount up and ride.”

She stumbled back, pulling away. “I have to take a shower.”

He gave her his sexy fallen angel smile. “Can I come?” He popped open the top button of his jeans. They strained over his erection.

“Absolutely not.” She fled to the bathroom, locked the door, and sagged down on the edge of the bathtub, trying to breathe.

When was she going to get used to him? It didn’t matter that she was traumatized, bitten, bruised, penniless, jobless, in danger for her life. All he had to do was whisper in her ear, and hey presto, she was a knot of mindless yearning. Helplessly aching and throbbing for him.

Bits of pink and black satin poked out between her fingers. She looked up at the wrinkled cotton briefs that hung stiffly over the shower rod, and collapsed with her face to her knees, shaking. Maybe it was a blessing that Sean took up so much space in her mind.

It kept her too busy to bother with the screaming panic.

She put on her boring undies after her shower and stared into the mirror. On the run for your life is all the more reason to look your best.

She peeled them off. Pulled on the pink and black panties.

Wow. They were…well, bold. She took a deep breath and hesitated at the door. She was so accustomed to privacy, solitude. She just didn’t know how to cope with the intensity of his attention. His sexual energy knocked her backwards. Her fantasy Sean had never reduced her to stammering idiocy like this. Her real Sean was cocky, off the wall, larger than life. So much fun. She had to learn how to get dressed in front of him without tripping, or blushing. Or ending up flat on her back, road-testing those crotchless panties.

She peeked as she walked to the shopping bags. The intensity in his slitted eyes made her stumble into a chair. She rummaged ’til she found the bra that matched her panties. Another bag held jeans. A third held an assortment of tops. She snatched one out, at random.

“Isn’t there a miniskirt in there?” His voice was silky.

“Dream on, buddy,” she said. “I haven’t got miniskirt legs. And even if I did, hah. Like I’d wear crotchless panties with a skirt. That’s just begging for trouble. I’ve got enough trouble right now.”

“But jeans sort of defeat the purpose, don’t they?”

“Cope,” she said tartly.

He laughed, under his breath. “Is that a challenge?”

“No, it’s not, you sex-crazed idiot. It’s just a pair of jeans. Get your mind out from between my legs and get dressed.”

“But my mind feels so good down there, between your legs.” He petted her wet hair as he walked by. “You look gorgeous, princess.”

He disappeared into the bathroom, to her profound relief.

The jeans fit perfectly. So did the red wrap top. Sexy and fitted, but not vulgar. The price tag almost made her hyperventilate.

She rooted through the bags, found a pair of sandals. Delved into the cosmetics. She almost never wore makeup, but these were strange days, and a girl needed all the help she could get. Back off, T-Rex. Bring on the terra-cotta shadow and the scented noir mascara.

When Sean came out, she was as ready as she would ever be.

He held out his arm. “Come on. Let’s go meet my family.”

A rumble of male voices issued from the kitchen door as they appoached it. Tamara’s husky voice cut through it, razor sharp.

“…a cop, to my house? You stupid, selfish, arrogant bastards!”

“I’m not a normal cop,” a voice soothed. “I have no intention of—”

“Of course you’re not normal. No cop is normal,” Tam snarled.

“Come on, Tam. Lighten up. I was a cop once, remember?”

“You are a special case,” Tam spat out. “You’re a McCloud first, cop second. But this is the brainless * who almost got you killed two years ago. And you bring him to my home? Do you never learn?”