“I have to. She’s like family and the kids are adorable. It’s not like I have a hot date or anything.”
“You’ll get that hot date. But be careful what you wish for.”
Missy Ann smiled and then hugged Eliza Grace goodbye.
“You sure you don’t want a ride back to your apartment?” she asked her.
“Yup. I can use the time to think and since I plan to relax on the couch the rest of the day, I know I’ll be munching on some bad stuff. I’m making room for the extra calories.”
She waved goodbye and then Eliza stretched out again and then turned on her iPod. She would make it home in about twenty minutes or so if she kept a good pace.
She was listening to the music and thinking about the upcoming shoot at the marina tomorrow. She hoped they didn’t try to convince her to wear a bikini. But she sensed Clarissa’s frustration with her. Now that she may or may not have upset Si and he was somehow friends with Clarissa, maybe she should consider saying yes. It wasn’t like she couldn’t have control over the type of bathing suit.
She felt uneasy as she turned to cross the road that led to the block that her small apartment building was on. She gasped when she saw the black SUV that was following her.
When the window rolled down she stopped. As soon as she saw Burker’s face she knew he looked angry.
“Didn’t you see us following you?” he barked at her. She shook her head.
He exhaled in annoyance. “Jesus, baby, you need to be more careful. We were following you for over two blocks. You never even knew it.”
“I’m sorry. I was listening to my music and thinking about work.” She felt stupid, and once again immature in his eyes.
“We’ll meet you at your place,” he said and then pulled ahead, maneuvering the SUV like some professional driver the way he zigged and zagged then parked between two other cars so fast and so perfectly she knew it wasn’t a normal ability.
She crossed the street and pulled out her ear buds then ran her hands down the tight spandex shorts she wore in black. She also had on a purple sports bra and matching purple tank top that hugged her breasts but flared out against her waist. The sides were cut low, revealing her sides.
“We tried calling you,” Parker told her as him and Burker exited the SUV. She looked to see if Tazer and Lynch were there too.
“Tazer and Lynch will meet us in an hour,” Burker told her, looking at her body with his arms crossed in front of his chest. He had such dark eyes, and big muscles that hid behind a black T-shirt today. He held her gaze as Parker held open the front door to the main entrance of the apartment.
“I don’t bring my phone with me. I ran to the park to meet Missy Ann. We ran a few times around the lake and then I ran back here,” she told them and then punched in the passcode to get upstairs. They followed her up and when she got to the hallway she walked down to the right. It was a corner apartment and pretty big. Kenneth had helped her find it.
She lifted her shirt up and then flipped the waistband of her shorts. As her fingers brushed over the key in the little square pouch she jumped when Burker’s fingers touched her skin.
“So that’s your secret hiding place?” he asked and she pulled the key out. Her hands were shaking as she tried to get the key into the door. Burker covered her hand as he pressed close to her.
“Let me,” he whispered and pushed the key in, turned it and the door opened.
She was in a panic. They were so sexy and masculine and they did this to her. They made her feel out of control, needy in every sense of the word.
She turned around and Burker was there. He pulled her into his arms and she held onto his forearms. “I’m all sweaty.”
“You look incredible.”
He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her deeply. He ran his hands along her waist to her ass and squeezed her to him. He was kneading her ass cheeks and kissing her when she felt the second set of hands on her sides go under her shirt. Parker.
She was locked between them and it felt so good, so right. But she was sweaty and maybe even smelly from her run. She began to pull back and Burker slowly released her lips.
“Don’t pull away from me.”
“From us,” Parker added.
She looked way up into Burker’s dark blue eyes. “I’m all sweaty though and maybe even smell,” she said and lowered her eyes.
Parker turned her around and pulled her snug against him.
“You’re beautiful and we missed you.” He covered her mouth and kissed her.
So many thoughts went through her head, including what happened last night and how unsafe and scared she was. When Parker released her lips she hugged him tight. She squeezed him, wanting to pull all his security and strength into her and surround herself in it.