Chapter Twenty-One

Nando waited until evening to head over to Allie’s place. He hoped Kit would be there by herself after she’d gotten off work. He had a feeling it would be easier to explain the whole Brody situation without a lot of other people around, and Allie and Wonder together constituted a lot of people.

At first, when he saw Allie’s darkened house, he was afraid Kit wasn’t there at all, but then he saw her battered Civic at the side. He took a deep breath and climbed the steps to her front door.

Kit opened it before he could knock. Her smile started an ache in his groin that he knew was going to last for a while, probably until he could get her underneath him, no matter how long that took.

“Hi,” she said softly. “I didn’t know if you’d be working tonight.”

“I’m on days this week.” He tried unsuccessfully to keep his mouth from sliding into an idiot grin. “Can I come in?”

She stepped back to let him pass into the cool dimness of the house. “I just got home a few minutes ago. You want some wine? I’m having a glass.”

“Sure.”

He followed her into Allie’s dining room. The subdued light from overhead cast shadows around the corners, emphasizing the sculpted planes of her face. She reached up to the top shelf of the china cabinet to get him a glass, pulling the fabric of her knit top tight against her breasts.

His groin gave another throb. He took another deep breath.

“It’s Australian shiraz,” Kit said as she poured red wine into the glass. “It’s okay, but not as good as Cedar Creek.”

He took a sip. “Tastes all right to me. Not that I’d recognize the difference.”

“You don’t like wine? Even though your family makes it?”

He shrugged. “I like it well enough. I just avoided learning too much about it whenever my dad tried to teach me. Call it my version of youthful rebellion.” He managed a grin that he hoped was a step above idiot grade.

Her lips edged up slightly. “So what brings you here?”

He took another of those deep breaths, then set the glass back on the table. “You, mainly.” He slid one arm around her waist, pulling her close enough to smell that slight mixture of floral scent and musk. Ah, Kit.

Her lips tasted of wine, and he took his time, exploring her, letting one palm slide down the curve of her side. The bottom of her shirt pulled free at her waist, and he slipped his hand underneath, feeling the weight of her breast, the slight roughness of her lace bra.

After a while, Kit leaned back to look at him, her eyes smoky. “Mainly?”

He gritted his teeth—he’d really hoped she hadn’t been listening that closely. On the other hand, maybe if he got this over with quickly they could go back to more interesting things. “I’ve got some news. About the burglar.”

She brought her fingertips to her mouth, her eyes suddenly wide. “Oh my god, Helen. I forgot. Is she all right?”

“She will be. She was out for a while, but she woke up this afternoon. The doctor thinks she’ll be okay.”

“Good. Allie said she’d bring her some scones when she was up to eating them.”

“My guess is that would be any time now.” By the time he’d left that afternoon, Helen had been close to her usual prickly self. He figured she’d be more than ready for scones and decent coffee tomorrow, particularly if they made her spend another day in the hospital.

“So what’s this about the burglar?” Kit raised one elegant eyebrow.

Nando felt another jolt and willed his loins to calm down. “Helen saw him, and she recognized him.” He paused for a moment, trying to decide how to tell her the rest without just blurting it out.

“And?”

“It was Brody,” he blurted. “Chief Brody. Ex-Chief Brody.” He blew out a breath. Not really the way he’d planned on telling her.

Kit’s eyes widened in shock. “The one who ran away? The fugitive?”

“That’s the one.”

“Oh my god,” she said again. She moved into one of the dining table chairs. “Why didn’t anybody recognize him?”

Nando didn’t particularly want to rehash his entire conversation with Toleffson. He stuck to the short version. “He’s been away for a while. People may have forgotten him by now. And he probably looks different.”

“I saw him,” she said slowly.

His pulse accelerated. “When? Where?”

She shook her head impatiently. “Not now. Back when he was here before. I was in town that summer when it all happened, when he ran away. My sister and I were staying with Allie.”

He dropped into a chair beside her. “Do you remember him?”

“Vaguely.” She shrugged. “Mainly I remember his uniform and his size. And his voice.”

“His voice?” He frowned. “What about it?”

“Very deep and macho.” She shook her head. “But maybe he was putting that on. He turned out to be a hollow man at the end. He looked great as a police chief, but that just shows you can’t judge character based on how great somebody looks.”

“Right.” He wondered how he could get her back into his arms again. She didn’t look like she needed comforting, unfortunately.

She frowned. “Does everybody know? Does Allie?”

He shook his head. “We’re telling the people he burglarized, or probably burglarized—Docia and Margaret and Allie. But not the whole town. We figured they’d find out soon enough.”

“But you haven’t told Allie yet?”

He shook his head again. “I thought maybe she’d be here.” Of course, he’d also hoped she wouldn’t be.

“She’s at Wonder’s place.” Kit’s forehead furrowed. “We should call her. She needs to know.”

Nando felt like groaning. If they called her, she’d probably come home, which would pretty much screw up his plans for the evening. You’re the one who said she needed to be told. Indeed he had, which just demonstrated the perils of being conscientious.

He sighed. “Go ahead and call. I can talk to her if you want.”

Allie got home within fifteen minutes, not enough time for much besides some incendiary kisses on the couch that left him so hard he felt like putting a pillow in his lap.

Fortunately, Allie had other things on her mind besides the state of his arousal. “Brody? Brody’s back?”

“Apparently.” Nando shifted on the couch trying to find a more comfortable position. He avoided looking at Wonder since he had a feeling the man was grinning. “We don’t have any hard evidence yet, but Helen was sure.”

“She should be sure. The man tried to kill her.” Allie dropped into one of the wing chairs opposite the couch. “Why did he break into my bakery?”

Nando shrugged. “Why did he do any of those burglaries? He must have been after something, but so far we don’t know what.”

“Did he leave anything behind at the station when he took off the first time, after he tried to kill Docia and steal Dub’s map?” Wonder moved beside Allie, rubbing a hand across her shoulder.

“Probably almost everything.” Nando narrowed his eyes, thinking. “He ran before the Rangers could find him, once he figured they knew about what he’d done after they arrested his accomplice. And he never came back to town after he kidnapped Docia, so he probably didn’t have a chance to grab anything from the station. That didn’t give him much time to pack things up. He had to leave with what he had.”

Allie shuddered. “He tried to kill two women the last time he was here. Now he’s tried to kill another one. He’s definitely not the kind of guy you want around.”

Nando was still caught up thinking about what Brody could have left behind, but he knew he was supposed to be the one who offered comfort here. “He may not be around anymore, Allie. He must know Helen recognized him.”

“He might figure she wouldn’t remember—she had a head injury,” Wonder said helpfully. “And besides, he’s come this far. He probably doesn’t want to stop until he gets what he came for.”

Nando gave him a dark look. He could have a point, but he sure as hell wasn’t making Nando’s job any easier. “Still, he has no reason to come after you, Allie. You didn’t see him. He’s already been through your bakery, so anything he wanted from there he could have taken. My guess is you were just sort of a ‘target of opportunity’. The burglary at your bakery was supposed to distract us from whatever he was really after.”

“Great,” Allie said dryly. “That makes me feel so much better about those cleaning bills I had after taking care of the mess he left behind.” She sighed. “Does Docia know?”

Nando nodded. “The chief was going to tell her.”

“Well, that’s something. She’s someone he might have a grudge against. Her and Margaret.” Allie paused as she got up again. “Docia and Margaret. I didn’t even think of it until now. They’re the ones who found out what he was up to before. That’s why he hit both their stores, isn’t it?”

“Probably.”

“Anybody want coffee? I’ve got some date-walnut loaf from yesterday.”

Nando watched her walk toward the kitchen. Apparently she was going to settle in, which meant no more playtime with Kit. Ah, well.

Kit leaned against him for a moment, running a hand over his arm. “You know,” she murmured, “you never did show me your place.”

“That’s right.” He smiled down at her. “Want to see my place, chica?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Her hand moved from his arm to slide across his chest, and suddenly every nerve in his body was on fire.

“Then let’s see how many speed records we can break getting there,” he croaked, pulling her to her feet.

 

 

Halfway to Nando’s apartment, Kit remembered that he lived with his brother. She had a few minutes to wonder just what she’d say to Esteban when she saw him. She had a feeling there wouldn’t be much time for polite conversation before she disappeared behind Nando’s bedroom door. Not that she was complaining about that, necessarily.

Fortunately, nobody seemed to be home at Casa Avrogado when they got there. She had a few moments to glimpse a slightly messy but attractive living room and small kitchen, with a large black and gray cat squarely in the middle of the table, before Nando whisked her down the hall.

He closed the bedroom door behind her, pulling her into his arms immediately, his mouth hot upon her throat. She heard the click of a lock behind him.

“Are you worried about Esteban coming in?”

“Not Esteban.”

Outside the door there was a quick scratch of claws and an unmistakably disgruntled “Mrrowr!”

Kit managed to swallow her giggle. Moonlight spilled through the open window behind them.

“Maybe we should pull the blinds shut?” she whispered.

“Nobody out there. Just a patio.”

His hands closed on her waist, soft and warm, pushing aside the bottom of her T-shirt. When she glanced up at his face, his eyes had darkened to the color of slate in the moonlight. She raised her hands to his chest, sliding them beneath his shirt to place her palms over his nipples, feeling his shiver of response. His gaze dropped to her mouth, and he pulled her tighter against his body. Her legs wrapped around his, her lips parting, then he bent his head to cover her mouth with his own.

His lips were hard upon hers, slanting slightly to take the kiss deeper, then pressing firm as she opened to him. Her body danced with heat, her pulse thundering in her ears, while his arms tightened, pulling her even closer against him. The hard swell of his arousal pressed into the V of her legs, making her ache with need. She shuddered, her hips arching up, her arms looping around his neck to draw the kiss deeper. His tongue curved around hers, and he sucked relentlessly.

His thighs pushed against hers, pressing her backward until she felt the bedroom wall against her back. His hands reached down to cup her buttocks, pulling her up until her softness met the hard ridge of his erection. He rubbed against her, groaning deep in his throat.

Then he was fumbling at the snap on her jeans, jerking them down along with her thong. The wall felt cool against her bare buttocks. She heard a vague ripping sound and hoped it was the thong rather than her jeans. Nando wrapped his arm around her hips, yanking her up so that her thighs fell apart. He jerked his own zipper down, freeing and sheathing his erection, and then guided himself into her depths in a single hard thrust.

She dug her fingernails into his shoulders, holding on tight as he began to move.

“Jesus,” he breathed into her ear. “Holy Christ.”

The sounds that came from her throat had no relation to words, no relation to any sound she could ever remember making before. She caught her breath, her chest aching. “Ah, Nando,” she gasped. “Nando.”

He was thrusting deep now, long, slow movements that made her shudder with need, each one setting off that starburst of pleasure in her muscles. He grasped her buttocks harder, settling her so that he rubbed against her burning core, opening her folds still further.

The pleasure seemed to swell inside her, the tension coiling deep down, then spiraling up. Dimly she heard him groaning again as she dug her fingernails into his shoulders. His head dropped forward as he plunged more quickly.

And then she was shattering, exploding in light, the flood of pleasure taking her up with him. She cried out once and then again, her body shuddering hard against him as he reached his own climax.

He thrust deep a few more times, then pulled her into his arms, resting his forehead against hers. “God, Kit,” he whispered. “My god. I’ll never recover from you.”

She brought her hand to his cheek, running her fingers across the soft skin, feeling warm and drowsy and sated. “Do you want to?”

He shook his head. “No. Not now.”

She caught her breath. Suddenly she was wide awake. I’ll never recover from you. Was this the right time to push it, to open up the past? Would there ever be a right time? Could she wait until there was? “Not now?”

Nando grasped her hand, bringing it to his lips. “I mean it.”

She licked her lips. “What you said?”

“Yes. I mean it.”

Her mind raced through all the options, all the words she could say, all the ways they could move forward from this. And she came up absolutely dry. “Okay,” she stammered finally.

Okay? Okay? Eighteen months and that’s all you can think of? Okay?

He stared at her for a moment, his lips inching up in a dry smile. “Okay then.” He reached down, gathering her up in his arms, then carried her the few steps to his bed, lowering her onto the mattress and lying down beside her.

Kit licked her lips, trying desperately to find a way to backtrack. “I mean… I’m trying… I want…” She sighed, shaking her head as she pushed her hair out of her eyes. “Damn it. I don’t know how to say anything all of a sudden.”

Nando brushed his fingers across her cheekbone. “It’s okay, Catarina. Don’t worry about it. We’ve got time.”

Do we? Will we? She closed her eyes again, feeling the faint rasp of his fingertips across her skin. Enough. Just let it go.

She slid her arms around him, resting her cheek against his chest, then pulled back to look at him again. “Nando?”

“Hmmm?”

“You still have your clothes on.”

He narrowed his eyes, glancing down at his open shirt and unzipped jeans. “So I do. I lost track.”

She ran her fingers down his chest, lightly. “Don’t you think it might be better if you didn’t have them on?”

She saw his grin flash in the dark as he pulled her back against him again. “Yeah, chica. I’d say it would be a lot better.”