Free Looking for You by Kate Perry Page B

rollerblades in the back, grabbed her bag, and smiled at Rick. "Ready
to go?"
    "Yes."
He stood and followed her out of the store, a hand on her back. It may have
been wishful thinking, but it felt possessive. What surprised her more was that
he took her hand after she locked the door.
    She stared
at their hands, clasped together, as they walked to his car. It felt good.
Warm. Sweet. She liked it way more than she wanted to.
    "Why
are you frowning?" he asked as he held open the car door for her.
    "No
reason."
    He looked
at her like he didn't believe it.
    "It's
just that I'd never have taken you for the hand-holding type," she
explained.
    "You
have nice hands," was all he said as he closed the door. But after he
settled into the car he took her hand again and held it the entire way to her flat.
     
     

     
Chapter Ten
     
     
    It'd been a long night. Rick had been
on surveillance—a typical case where the wife suspected the husband of
cheating. She'd been right, of course, and Rick had photos to prove it.
    Sometimes work was demoralizing. It
was hard to imagine anyone ever being honest. It was hard to trust anyone, when
all you saw day in and day out was the seedy side of human behavior.
    He'd planned on going home after
dropping off the photos to his client and sleeping the morning away. He had gone home, only he was haunted by
the look on the wife's face as he handed over duplicates of the photos. What
really wrecked him, though, were the sad looks on her little kids' faces as
they clung to her pants, sensing something was wrong with their mom but not
knowing that their world was about to change forever.
    Sometimes his job sucked.
    He'd gone home and tried to lie down,
but sleep had been elusive, so he got up, had a cup of coffee, and did the only
thing he could thing of: he drove to Gwen's shop.
    Why? He shook his head as he looked
for parking a couple blocks away from her store. He was down on people and
their inability to be honest, and yet he was choosing to seek comfort with the
one person in his life he trusted least.
    That was screwed up.
    Parking, he went directly to her
store. Gwen and the woman she was talking to stopped and stared at him. He'd
seen the blonde with Gwen before—they were obviously friends. The blonde
was his type, but he wasn't interested in her in the least. His body didn't
react to her—not even a glimmer of a spark.
    But he looked at Gwen and his entire
body became alive. He walked straight to her, lifted her pointy little chin,
and laid one on her.
    There was nothing sweet about the
kiss. It was hot and carnal and wiped the entire night and morning from his
mind.
    Someone cleared her throat. It took
him a moment to realize it was the other woman. He lifted his head and frowned
at her.
    The woman looked very amused. She
winked at him and then turned to Gwen. "I'm going to leave before he
escorts me off the premises. See you tomorrow?"
    Gwen nodded. "Yes. Thanks
again."
    "Anytime." The woman winked
at him and sashayed out.
    He followed her, only to lock the
door behind her and turn the sign to Closed .
    "What are you doing?"
    "Insuring our privacy." He
walked back toward her. "Is that okay?"
    "Do I have a choice in the
matter?"
    "Yes."
    She pursed her lips in thought.
"Are you going to kiss me like that again?"
    "Definitely."
    "Then I'm okay with it." She
walked up to him, grabbed his shirt, and yanked his mouth down to hers.
    The contact was everything he
wanted—everything he needed. He found himself relaxing even as he tensed.
She raked her fingers in his hair and he groaned with pleasure.
    "The back," she muttered
against his mouth.
    He didn't need to be told twice.
Hoisting her up, he carried her down the hall she pointed, to a room in the
back.
    There was a long table with all sorts
of tools and little pots. Instinctively, he knew it was sacred grounds, so he
set her down on a spot by the sink that was clear of any impediments.
    She grabbed his head and kissed him
like her life depended