Free Your To Take - Connaghers 03 by Joely Sue Burkhart

away? She’d told him she still loved him last night. So
why would he ask if she wanted him to come back?
    Some of her anxiety must have transmitted through the
tightness of her arms, because he drew her against his chest and buried his
face in her neck. “If you’re offering another home run like last night, then my
answer is hell yeah.”
    Relaxing, she laughed and nibbled on his ear. “You mean
you’re willing to take another blowjob in the shower?”
    “For the team,” he replied solemnly.
    She pulled back so he could see her face and the truth
reflected in her eyes. “I want you every night, Detective Reyes.”
    “Then I’d best restock my supply of shirts.” He gave her
another kiss and then stood to slip on his suit jacket. “By the way, Jesse met
me at the stairs as soon as I stuck my head out and begged me to let him come
in and cook breakfast for you.”
    That explained Elias’s sudden doubt attack and the clatter
she heard.
    “He also asked me to give you this. Call me if you have any
issues today.”
    She mumbled a reply and managed a smile at his back, but the
watercolor artwork held her attention. Jesse had painted on heavy stock paper
again, but it wasn’t folded like a card. There wasn’t a message on the back.
No, the message was part of the design, like the birthday card he’d made.
    This time he’d painted sunflowers, bright and golden summer
with a gorgeous azure sky and bluebonnets sprinkled along the bottom edge. In
that heavy, graceful outline of curls and hidden words, he’d written: I came
three times for you.
    Elias stuck his head back in the door. “Rise and shine,
babe, or Jesse’s going to deliver your breakfast in bed.”
    She slung off the blankets and shot toward the bathroom,
chased by Elias’s laughter.
     
     
    Vicki parked her red Mini in the department store lot and
turned to Jesse. He didn’t meet her gaze and his shoulders were tight and
hunched, reminding her of the first night she’d seen him. “Ready?”
    “Sure.” But he didn’t look up. Every muscle in his thin,
wiry body screamed reluctance. The man had given at least a gallon of blood at
the clinic and endured God only knew how many invasive exams, but paled at the prospect
of shopping.
    “You’re not going to give me trouble, are you?” She kept her
voice light, trying to tease him out of his mood. “I’ve bought or made Elias a
dozen shirts and he refuses to wear them all.”
    Speaking of her lover brought Jesse’s head up. “I’ll gladly
wear whatever you give me. I just…” His hands trembled in his lap, so she
reached over and laced her fingers with his. “I’m so grateful, Vicki. I’ll pay
you back. Every dime.”
    “Look at me, Jesse.” The shimmer in his turquoise eyes
twisted her heart into knots. Gently, she cupped his cheek in her palm. “I want
to help you, no strings attached. I love to shop and you’re gorgeous. It’s
going to be fun, and I never want you to pay back a single dime.”
    He opened his mouth to protest, so she arched a brow at him
and chose her words deliberately. “Would you deny me the pleasure of picking
out a few outfits for you?”
    As she intended, his eyes sparked. “I’ll give you any
pleasure you want.”
    She leaned in and whispered the words against his lips.
“Then let me take you shopping.”
    His breath fluttered fast and frantic, his soft lips soft
falling open in invitation. “Take me anywhere. Even shopping.”
    So far, he hadn’t pushed the flirting or temptation, even
after the wild night she’d had with Elias. Curious how far he’d keep to the “no
flirting” agreement, she didn’t kiss him. Pulling back, she dropped the keys
and her cellphone in her purse. As she shut the car door, she glanced at Jesse
and smiled at the decidedly pouted bottom lip. Which only made her think about
sucking that lip into her mouth and gripping it in her teeth.
    Now who needs to remember the no flirting rule?
    In less than an hour, she had him