involved with anyone. Serious or otherwise. Don’t have the time.”
Stonewall knew she would discover that excuse wouldn’t work with him. He didn’t have time for a relationship, either, but for her, he would make time. The fact that she was a cop and he was an ex-con didn’t matter.
“Here’s my car,” she said, coming to a stop beside a dark SUV. “Thanks again for walking me out.”
“I’d like to see you again, Joy.”
The parking garage lights were dim, but he could see her gnawing on her bottom lip. Was he making her nervous? He released the breath he’d been holding when she said, “I’d like to see you again, too.”
He tried keeping the grin from spreading too wide across his face. “Great. What about next Friday night? I’d love to take you to dinner.”
“I work next Friday night.”
“What about Saturday? And before you try finding an excuse, do I need to remind you that you need to eat sometime?”
She met his gaze, held it for a minute and said, “I’m off Saturday night.”
“Okay then, will Saturday night work for you?”
She paused a minute before answering. “Yes, Saturday night will work for me.”
“Good.” He pulled his cell phone from the pocket in his jacket. “What’s your number? I’ll call you later in the week to figure out details.”
She rattled off a number that he used to call her. When her cell phone rang, he said, “Now you have my number and I have yours.”
“Alright.”
He put his phone away. Neither said anything for a minute. He inched closer to her. “There’s one other thing I need to get from you, Joy.”
She lifted a brow. “What?”
“This.” He placed his hand at her waist, leaned in, angled his head and took total possession of her mouth. The moment their mouths touched, red-hot passion, the likes of which he’d never encountered before, flared through him, rushed fire through every pore, nerve and pulse.
When he took control of her tongue, he began sucking on it like it was the most delectable thing he’d ever had inside his mouth. He found her taste uniquely satisfying. And when he heard her moan, his erection began to throb.
After she somehow managed to ease her tongue from his hold and began mingling it sensuously with his, he suddenly felt robbed of his senses. He knew at that moment this would be one kiss he wouldn’t want to end. One he definitely wouldn’t ever forget.
Desire, deliriously intoxicating, joined forces with the passion already consuming him. He wasn’t sure how any kiss could absorb him, consume him and enthrall him like this. Feeling greedy, he intensified the kiss, wanting more of her taste, getting addicted to her flavor, while erotic sensations flooded his bloodstream.
The sound of people approaching had her pulling her mouth away from his, and he all but growled in protest. Determined to get one last taste, he leaned in and flicked his tongue across her lips. He knew that might have been their first kiss but it wouldn’t be the last.
* * *
“WE ARE FLYING at twenty thousand feet. Feel free to unbuckle your seat belts and move around the cabin.” The pilot’s words snapped Stonewall back to the present.
The pilot had said they were free to move around. However, what he wanted more than anything was to reach out and pull Joy from her seat, into his lap, and take control of her mouth. Then he would proceed to kiss her again, even more deeply than he had the last time.
He had to constantly remind himself that this was their first official date. He was trying really hard to act like a gentleman. The last thing he wanted was to come across as some greedy ass who was interested only in her body. Although he was enthralled by her body, he also wanted to get to know her. They’d met occasionally for coffee and beer over the last six months, had talked on the phone a lot, yet to him the communication they’d shared lacked real substance. It had mainly been small talk and not too much more.
“You’re frowning, Stonewall.”
He blinked, not realizing he had been. “Sorry. I was just thinking.”
“Nothing too serious, I hope.”
“It was about you,” he said, deciding to be honest.
She didn’t say anything at first. Instead, she looked at him as if considering his words. As far as he was concerned, she had every right to do that, and it wouldn’t have been so bad if she hadn’t used her tongue to lick her lips as if it was imperative that she moisten her entire mouth right then. Full lips painted a shiny turn-you-on red. Although he was trying to remain calm, the action had an arousing effect on him. He could feel every nerve in his body starting to hum.
“And what about me would make such a frown?” she asked, releasing her seat belt and slowly easing forward in her seat as if she expected him to share a secret with her and she didn’t want to miss a single word.
“It wasn’t a frown, actually.”
She arched a brow. “Oh? What was it, then?”
“Intense concentration.”
“And what about me would cause intense concentration?” she asked in a voice that said she really wanted to know.
He wished he could tell her. Everything. However, doing so would make her assume he had a one-track mind. “We’ve known each other for about six months now, but this is our first official date. I realized how much I don’t know about you and how much I want to know.”
She shrugged what he thought were beautiful shoulders as she settled back in her seat. “Then ask away. At twenty thousand feet in the air on a trip that will take at least an hour, I have plenty of time. What do you want to know?”
“Everything.” Even as he said it, he really wasn’t interested in her work. He knew what she did as a detective, and the last thing he wanted was for her mind to snag on the cases she had yet to solve. Tonight he wanted her focus to be on them. “Let’s start with parents. I know you’re from Louisiana. Is that your birthplace?”
He figured if he kept her talking, he wouldn’t be tempted to get out of his seat, cross the aisle, pull her into his arms and assault her mouth. The same one he couldn’t stop looking at.
“Yes. I was born in Baton Rouge. My parents are still alive and together, although they did separate for a year when I was younger.”
He lifted a brow. “They did?”
“Yes. My father’s profession drove them apart.”
“And what’s his profession?”
“Chief of police in Baton Rouge. When they separated, he was a cop. He’d gotten shot too many times for my mother’s peace of mind.”
“You father got shot in the line of duty?”
“Yes,
