Free Little Belle Gone by Stephanie Whitlock Page B

impatience, as she let the door swing open for him to follow her inside.
    “It’s...great, just not what I expected, that’s all.” He cleared his head and moved into the entry, closing the door behind him. The idea that he was standing in her place, where she spent her evenings, where she slept and relaxed, was almost more than he could stand. Moving quickly, he slid into her kitchen and put the baggie of dog food on her counter. Watching her welcome the dog made him tense. The scene before him was far too familiar, too casual. He was having a hard enough time controlling his attraction when they were on the job, but here, in such a private setting, his feelings were becoming more than he could hold back. “So, if you’re finished I think we should get going.” Looking up from the dog she was furiously petting, her smile hit him like a bullet. She nodded and stood up, as if to move to the apartment door. Snapping her fingers she changed direction and opened a closed door along the far wall. Remembering the layout of the apartment they had just left, he pinched his eyes closed for a split second before forcing them open again. Sure enough, it was the door to her bedroom, the last room he felt comfortable taking in just now. It was soft and fluffy and feminine. A thick, enticing, down comforter, covered in a pale lavender print duvet, spread messily over a large queen-sized bed. Around it on the floor lay intimate articles of clothing and the distinct smell of her shampoo and perfume wafted out to him. In an instant he was rock hard and panting. Holy shit, that’s her bed, those are her P.J.s from last night . He nearly rushed her, drug her into his arms, wanting to fall upon her, a man in heat.
    “I just need to grab something first. I’ll be right out.” Her voice carried from somewhere inside the hidden part of the room she had just opened. Oh thank god, she didn’t know, hadn’t seen his utterly vulgar, masculine reaction. Rushing to the sink, he ran the cold tap and splashed a bit into his face. Hearing her returning, he pulled his hand across his still smoldering features and rushed out into the hallway. He had already been struggling with sensual dreams and fantasies about her, now it would be unbearable. He knew what her bed looked like, knew that she wore to sleep, a skimpy tank-top and shorts set made of silk, both images that he knew would come back to him tonight as he stood in the cold rain of his shower shamefully caressing himself in her stead. Her voice shattered his thoughts as she brushed past him in the hallway heading for the elevator. He hadn’t heard what she had said, but he had certainly felt the brush of her shoulder against his. Looking up confused, he found her pressing the elevator button and staring at him with that wonderfully casual smirk of hers. Perfect . Now that she was comfortable with the idea of being his friend, he was decidedly not.
    “Well, you coming?”
    If only ....

 
     
     
Chapter 13
     
     
    The ride back to the precinct had been awkward, though she wasn’t really sure why. For one blissful moment she had actually felt comfortable letting someone, a man, into her life, but immediately after leaving her apartment he had turned cold, distant. Fear gripped her. Had he seen something in her apartment that he found offensive, or worse, repulsive? She had gone back over her rooms in her mind as he drove them to the office. Maybe he didn’t like dogs...no, he had petted Bucky in the elevator and it had appeared genuine. Her movie collection maybe? Surely that wasn’t it, most of her titles were action thrillers and sci\fi classics. What man doesn’t like those? Her bedroom? Oh god, the bedroom. She hadn’t pushed the door closed when she had gone in to run some water in the tub for Bucky. He had gotten an eye full of her most private place. Going over what might have been visible from where he stood, she took each item in turn, starting with the duvet. Though