Surrendering(23)

Yikes, what crawled up her ass? Guess she would be avoiding her for the next few days.

“I’m sorry about that. She’s not always the friendliest person. I’ll talk to her.”

Kate burst out laughing. “That’s okay. No need. She’s probably just having a bad day.” Or maybe she didn’t like seeing Dev with a hand on another woman’s body. She knew the green-eyed monster when she saw it and jealousy was oozing from every pore of that ice queen.

“No, it’s not and it will be taken care of. You’ve done nothing to earn that sort of treatment.”

“Don’t worry about it, Dev. Really.” She just knew if he said anything, it would make it worse. Like bullying in fourth grade when her mom tried to intervene. Yes, that earned her some extra pushing, shoving and tripping on the playground. No thank you.

Ren took off down the hallway with her bags, leaving the two of them alone.

As Kate stood in the enormous entryway, she was in complete and utter awe. She had never seen a house so exquisite in all of her life, except on Cribs. Her whole house could probably fit into the entryway alone.

“Wow,” she breathed. He afforded this on a police salary? Something wasn’t adding up here, but she’d table the question until tomorrow. She simply wanted to crawl into bed and forget the last hour had happened.

“Come on, I’ll show you to your room and get you settled.”

“Okay.”

Kate followed Dev up the grand staircase. She followed him through a maze of hallways, turning left and right. Good grief, she needed exit signs to find her way back out. Finally, they stopped at a bedroom and Dev opened the door. Her bags had been neatly deposited onto her bed already.

“I hope this is to your liking.” Dev stepped aside and motioned her in.

The bedroom was huge, but homey. It was warmly decorated in soft browns and taupes. There was a raised four-poster California king bed in the middle of the room, with a chocolate brown paisley comforter and massive amounts of matching pillows in neutral and red accents.

She walked a bit further into the room and looked back at him flirtatiously over her shoulder, smiling. “Oh, I don’t know. Do you have anything a little nicer? A little bigger, maybe?”

He stared at her for just a second before he burst out laughing. God she loved that sound. It flowed through her body like warmth from a roaring fire.

“Minx.”

Dev walked up to Kate, stopping only inches away from her. The way he walked, one may think it was ego behind his steps, but she knew better. It was confidence. It was power. It was determination. And it was unnerving. He was so close that she had to crane her head back to look in his eyes. Her heart raced and she broke out in a light sweat. Sweet Lord, he was breathtaking.

“We’re going to be attached at the hip for the next few days.” His eyes became darker, hungrier. His voice thickened and lowered, sounding gravelly. “I’m very much looking forward to it.”

Her breath quickened. She felt a rush of moisture between her legs. “So am I,” she whispered. She shouldn’t be encouraging him, but she was done being coy. He dropped his hungry gaze to her lips and she unconsciously licked them.

Kiss me. God, please just kiss me already. She’d been dying to taste his lips. Taste his tongue. Taste his skin. Her body was ablaze as Dev took in her every movement.

“Will you be okay alone?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine. Thanks.”

What she really meant was stay, but why couldn’t she say just it? Her mind had been a jumbled mess for days, but one thing was perfectly clear. She wanted this man before her even if it was just sex and even if it was just for a short period of time.

“Okay then. I’ll see you in the morning. If you need anything at all, just yell for me, okay?”

“So…ah…which bedroom are you sleeping in?” And why isn’t it mine?

“The one next to yours.” Dev watched her lips appreciatively. “To ensure your safety, of course.”

“Yes, of course.” She could hardly breathe. Neither broke eye contact. Neither was willing to say goodnight.

He took several steps toward her, causing her to back up against the bedroom wall. “I’m curious, love. Do you ever have any good dreams?”

Not at all what she was expecting him to say. His voice lowered an octave.

“Pleasurable dreams, perhaps?” He had a knowing glint in his eye, like he knew she’d had dreams about him. Heat crept up her neck, into her face. This was a more dominant side of him she’d not seen yet and she loved it. She’d craved it.

“No. I mean, not all my dreams are bad, no.” No way would she reveal that she masturbated to him regularly and had for months.