Leather and Lace - Chapter 4 by Erica Sutherhome
December 11, 2013
posted by Adam Scull
“We
weren’t exactly protected,” Angie accused as she wrangled with his coffeemaker
the next morning.
She
had caught him as soon as he entered the room.
With a hitch in his breath, he warily met her gaze. “You were a party to
this,” he returned.
She
groaned and slammed her hands down on the counter. “I didn’t ask to be involved with anyone.”
“No,
I suppose you didn’t. But, it’s already happened so you should probably get
used to it.” He frowned. “I’ll take more precautions next time. I
promise.” He ran a hand through his
short, shaggy hair and cursed softly.
“Next
time?”
The
sharp cry of panic was not lost on him. He sighed. “Come on, Angie. Just relax.
You can’t worry about something you don’t know the facts about yet.”
“Yes,
I can. I hardly know anything about you.
I don’t know where you’ve been.”
He
laughed. “You’re calling my fidelity into question?”
“I
have a right, don’t I? We hardly know each other.”
He
frowned. “Listen to me. I don’t sleep around.
And I always use protection, except in this case, of course.”
“And
I’m supposed to believe you?”
“I
expect you to trust that I would protect you, and thereby would not lie to you.
Yes.”
She
frowned. She would be a fool to believe
him. Wouldn’t she? “I don’t sleep around
either,” she replied quietly.
He
approached her then, wrapping his arms around her from behind. He moved his
lips over her nape as he lifted her hair. He felt her shiver and grinned. “I
was hoping you’d come back to bed this morning.”
She
shrugged. “I was freaking out.”
“Because
you couldn’t find any of your clothes?
You know I prefer you without.”
She
rolled her eyes. “We already talked about the why of it.”
“That’s
not the only reason you have hang-ups, Angie.”
He
was implying she had plenty of them as far as relationships were
concerned. Well, he was probably
right. She sighed. “It wouldn’t do any
good to go into it.”
“Why? You don’t think I want to better understand
you?”
“Why
should you care when all you want is me flat on my back.”
“That’s
a damned lie, and you know it.”
“Pardon
me. I forgot that you like other
positions.”
He
growled behind her and she tensed.
“Damn,”
he cursed gently. “I can feel your fear.
I’m not going to hurt you. You’ve
got to start trusting me, Angie.”
“Why?”
she whispered.
“Who
else can you rely on?”
Indeed,
who else did she have to protect her?
She shivered at the prospect. She
knew he hadn’t meant it as a threat, but panic made her see it that way at the
same time. She clenched her fists.
****
Patrick
stepped back. She was in fight-or-flight.
He could sense it. He had seen it many times, and it never ended well.
“Angie,” he began gently, ”I’m not going to hurt you. I promise.
If you want some space, I’ll give it to you. I’m not going to push
you. I just want you to trust me. Do you want me to give you space? Is that
what you want?”
When
she didn’t reply, only froze in her fear, he reached around her to pull the
coffee carafe out from under the machine and poured it in a mug on the counter
in front of her. The steam came off the
mug easily and the scent of freshly brewed coffee filled the air. “Coffee?”
She
threw him a wary glance as he stood next to her, facing towards her.
“Maybe
you’d like a shower first. I could
wrestle up some breakfast while you’re busy. Then again, if you want to go,
that’s fine too. I’ll miss you, but I’ll understand. Maybe we can meet up tonight? Tomorrow?
Whenever is fine.”
Her
eyes were wide, almost unseeing as he looked at her. He raised an eyebrow. “How can you possibly
think I am capable of hurting you after what we shared last night? Do you really think I would harm you in any
way?”
Trembling,
Angie shook her head, ashamed in a way.
He was a cop, after all. But, that did not negate violent tendencies in
every case. He was right though. What
had happened between them had been intense, highly passionate, but nothing
remotely violent. He had taken care to explore her, to caress her, to make sure
that she was just as satisfied as he was.
He had been…well, generous really. And compared to the other lovers
she’d had in the past, he had been more respectful of her feelings. He hadn’t
assaulted her or pushed her, though she had complained. No, now that she thought about it, he hadn’t
done anything she hadn’t really wanted in the first place.
It
was true. However much she’d been in
denial, she couldn’t deny the attraction she’d felt for him from the first
moment she’d met him. And he was simply acting on what he’d suspected was
between them. She was sure that if she
had truly told him to stop and had seriously meant it, he would have. He was aware of her fear now, and he was
giving her space. She had to give him credit for recognizing it.
Her
fists unclenched and she sagged over the countertop. “I’m sorry.
I’m a little rattled.”
“So
I gathered.” Patrick reached into the cabinet and retrieved a mug, pouring
himself a coffee. As he sipped it, he gazed
at her.
Angie
cleared her throat. “I don’t really want to leave,” she said in a small voice.
He
nodded. “I’m not throwing you out.”
“I
know.” She sighed. “Maybe a hot shower would do me some good.”
“You
should take the night off from the club, too.”
“Patrick,
I can’t.”
“Sure,
you can. Everybody does occasionally.”
She
frowned. “You mean just this once?”
He
nodded. “You need a break. I could take you out if you’d like. Dinner, a movie.
Or whatever you want.”
She
managed a small smile. “I’d really like
that.”
Patrick
grinned. “Then it’s a date.” When her eyes widened and he thought she’d go into
panic mode again, he amended quickly, “Well, it’s a plan. Keep in mind, Angie, I’m seriously interested
in you, but I’m not going to push you on this.
If you’re interested in me too, we’ll go. But, you’d better let me know at some point.”
She
frowned.
“No
pressure.”
“No. No pressure.”
She gazed up at him, propping an elbow on the counter, then rested her
chin on her open hand. “I really hate to admit it, but I am interested.”
He
smiled a slow, satisfied smile like a cat after a bowl of milk.
“Go
to hell,” Angie whispered.
He
laughed heartily, then grabbed her arm and drew her up against him.
She
elbowed him in the rib. “Not yet, mister. I need a shower first.”
He
nodded and rubbed his five o’clock shadow.
“We both do. I’ll let you go now,
but you’re mine tonight.”
She
smiled. “Agreed.”
****
Patrick
made reservations at Ristorante Toscano for dinner. Angie left to run some errands. Though he was curious to find out exactly
what she was doing, he knew he should earn her trust the right way. Digging
into her background was already a violation. He had briefly considered getting
access to her financial records as well, but he doubted much would come of it
considering she only leased a small apartment on Dartmouth in the South
End. So, whatever she was involved in,
she couldn’t be taking payoffs, or he imagined she wouldn’t be working at The
Glass Slipper.
He
went to the bank and withdrew the rest of what he owed to her boss, then hand
delivered it. Three hundred dollars a
night wasn’t a cheap rate, but he could afford it. And since he’d paid for a month, he had time
to find out what kind of trouble she was in.
He couldn’t keep the curiosity away or the need to unravel Angie as the
enigma she was, but he could make a promise to himself. Whatever he did find, it was only going to be
from Angie herself. No more digging. She had to trust him. And in order to get that far, he had to show
her it was more than a job. It was more
than a lap dance to him, and the money didn’t mean anything. That was simply to get her in the same
room. He needed her trust.
In
his parked car outside the club, he sighed and leaned his head back on the
seat. He knew he felt different with
Angie than he had with Jennifer. He had
never wondered so much what a woman was thinking until now. And the attraction was different. He didn’t think he’d ever wanted anyone this
much.
It
spelled trouble, he was sure. He knew
emotional ties could be just as dangerous as any other kind. But, he couldn’t fight the protective
instinct he had with her any more than he could his desire for her.
Patrick
ran other errands, then he returned home, where he showered, slapped on cologne
and prepared for his evening with Angie. As an idea came to him, he grinned
like a fool. Hopefully, she would like
it too.
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