Bobby POV
Alex's sister approves of me.
Logan invited us on a double date.
Ross is completely in the dark about our relationship.
And Alex bought us new cell phones.
I feel like I'm living in an alternate reality.
I mean there are still a few questions.
Alex hasn't mentioned me to her mom and dad, and I have a feeling her old man isn't going to be all that excited about the fact that Alex is now, as her sister said, getting some on a regular basis.
We haven't met Logan's girlfriend nor do we know anything about her, so I'm a little apprehensive about a stranger knowing our secret. But at the same time, I don't see Logan putting us at risk if he weren't sure. He must trust this woman completely, so in turn, I'm going to trust her, too.
Ross has been distracted lately because of Logan, which has helped me and Alex get through this new phase of our relationship without being under a microscope, but what's going to happen now that things are settling down? Because I can't help the way I look at her…I want her all the time, whether she's interrogating a suspect or pouring a cup of coffee or sitting behind the wheel of the SUV.
Of course, it helps that we have the new cell phones. Now we can text without worrying about who else might be reading. I love sending her dirty messages while we're at work, just to see her cheeks flush or her eyes darken or her breathing quicken.
And yeah, I know…it's not very nice of me, but I don't think she really minds. She's pretty good at getting me worked up, too, and most nights, we barely make it into my apartment before we're going at it.
And that's another thing. She's stayed with me every single night since we got back from Atlantic City, which means three straight weeks because today is Sunday.
On Friday, we picked up a new case, but it's not a hot bed, so after working all day Saturday, Ross told us to take Sunday off.
And he looked at Alex sympathetically when he said it, so I heard the unspoken addition of you're welcome.
Three weeks ago, that look might've bothered me.
But I'm a changed man.
"Did you see the look?" I asked Alex once we were in the elevator, after leaving the squad room on Saturday night.
"You mean the one that said, you can thank me later for giving you twenty-four hours without your partner?" she replied with a smirk.
"Yeah, that one," I said as I reached out and slipped my hand beneath her hair, resting it along the side of her neck.
"I saw it," she said, a smile playing on her lips. "And don't worry. I'll thank him."
I quirked an eyebrow at her and she explained, "For giving me twenty-four hours to make love with my partner."
"Is that a promise?"
"Well, I guess we'll have to take a break when we go on our double date tomorrow, but other than that…yeah."
Her promise along with the accompanying scorching look had me instantly, fully hard. I buttoned my suit jacket as we exited the elevator, on the off-chance that we might run into someone on our way to the SUV, but the garage was deserted.
Which gave me another idea.
"When can we start?" I asked her.
"Start what?" she questioned, seemingly oblivious to my condition.
She put the key in the ignition, but before she could start the car, I leaned over and put my hand on her leg, boldly sliding it up the inside of her thigh as I whispered into her ear.
"The twenty-four hours of love-making."
She inhaled sharply as I ran my tongue along the edge of her ear, but then as she started the car, she said, "Not here."
"Why not? It's late. No one's here," I urged, not letting up on my assault of her ear, and my hand that was teasing along the apex of her thighs moved upwards, beneath her sweater.
"Bobby," she argued, but it came out as a sigh and she leaned her head back against the seat.
"What?" I asked as my hand enveloped her satin-clad breast.
She exhaled slowly and then turned her head to look at me.
"What's gotten into you?" she asked as a slow, sexy smile spread across her face.
I love that I can surprise her with spontaneity and that she's willing to go along for the ride.
At least for a little while anyway.
"You want me to stop?"
She held my gaze for a moment, and the sexual tension in the car was thick and alive and I could feel how much she wanted to give in to the passion despite the fact that it would be reckless and incredibly inappropriate, but the longer we looked at each other, the more the excitement and stimulation continued to build until she finally reached for me, settling her hand against my throbbing erection as she murmured no just before bringing her lips to mine.
She doesn't want me to stop.
Thank God…
I moved my hand from under her sweater, going back down to the heat between her thighs while at the same time, she pulled down the zipper on my pants and slid her hand inside, expertly maneuvering past the opening of my boxers until her cool, dexterous fingers came into contact with bare skin.
It was almost too much, the combined sensation of her touch and the danger of being caught…I was too close.
But I kept kissing her and rubbing my hand against her while she stroked me into a frenzy and I knew I needed to stop before I passed the point of no return right there in the front seat of the department SUV, but it just felt so damn good…
And then we heard the double-beep of someone unlocking their car door.
Somewhere close.
I was back on my side of the car and she was back on hers in a split second, and I zipped up while she cranked the defroster and then put the car in reverse.
"Do you see anyone?" she asked as she backed out. I buckled my seatbelt and casually looked around the lot while on the inside, my heart was racing.
I think it was just as much from pleasure as from the possibility of getting caught.
"No," I answered, my eyes still scanning the area. "Oh, yeah. It's Boyd, a couple of rows over. We're good."
She took in a deep breath and then looked over at me as she came to a stop at the exit.
"That was close."
"I was close," I corrected with a grin. "So maybe it's a good thing we got interrupted."
"You like the risk," she said, her expression partly surprised and partly amused.
"I didn't know I would, but…yeah, I think I do."
I reached over and took her hand, lacing my fingers through hers and then resting our joined hands on her leg.
I spent the majority of the drive home trying to calm my raging libido, but then as we neared my apartment, she pulled down a side street.
"Where are we going?" I asked her.
"We have unfinished business," she said challengingly as she parked the car.
Before I could question her, she let go of my hand and released her seatbelt and then turn towards me with purpose and said, "Unbuckle."
I wasn't about to argue, especially since she's in bossy-mode because I really like it when she takes control.
"You have a condom?" she asked as she once again unzipped my pants and even though I'd been almost back to normal, the feel of her fingers on my fly sent me straight back to my previous granite-like condition.
"You honestly think I'd make the same mistake twice?" I asked with a grin as I reached for my wallet.
And I don't know why it was so exciting to make love in the cramped confines of the car when my apartment is less than a block away, but…it was.
I mean, it really was.
Of the forty-seven times we've made love over the course of the past three weeks, last night in the car ranks in the top five.
I think.
Although maybe not.
It seems like every time is exceptional in its own way.
And I'm not sure Alex would like the idea of me attempting to rank them anyway.
"Did he call?"
I looked up from the kitchen table, where I've been daydreaming while drinking coffee, to see Alex entering the room. She has one towel wrapped around her and another on her head, which she's using to dry her hair.
"Not yet," I answered as I opened my arms to her. She walked around the table and stood in front of me, tilting her head to one side as she continued rubbing the towel over her head.
"You should call him," she said reasonably. "If he doesn't want to meet until this evening, maybe we can go visit my parents today."
The thought makes me nervous.
Like I said, she hasn't told them about me. I mean, of course I've met them countless times over the years, but not as the man who's defiling their daughter.
"And stop worrying," she added as I pulled her down onto my lap. "You know they love you."
"Yeah, as your partner," I pointed out. "Not as the man who's burned through forty-seven condoms in three weeks."
"Forty-seven?" she asked with a smirk. "You've been keeping count?"
"It's…I'm…well, yeah," I admitted.
I'm really working hard at this open honesty thing. And it's not that I used to lie to Alex, but it was more lies by omission. But I'm determined not to make the mistake of withholding information, so if it means I tell her everything that pops into my mind then so be it.
"I thought it was just women who did things like that," she replied as she dropped the extra towel and then ran her hand over my cheek. I still have the beard, since she says she likes it, and truth be told, I like the way it marks her skin.
It's a territorial thought, I know, but I can't help it. After making love to her in the mornings, I can look at her an hour later, across our desks at work and still see the telltale signs.
I have no doubt that by this point Ross has noticed, too. I've left too much evidence on her for him not to have noticed.
But he'll never guess it's me.
And yeah, maybe that's a little bit of a power trip for me, too, but whatever.
"And for the record, it's forty-eight," she murmured as she leaned in to kiss me.
"I don't think so," I whispered back as I moved my lips along her jawline and down her throat.
"I know so," she countered, and then she got up from my lap and very purposefully took hold of the towel that was wrapped around her and then she pulled the two sides apart and let it fall to the floor.
Forty-seven…forty-eight…it doesn't matter. It can be ten thousand and I still can't get enough of looking at her, touching her, feeling her…
I got up and wrapped my arms around her, picking her up and then walking down the hall to the bedroom.
An hour later, I finally called Logan.
"Hello?" was the female answer.
"Um…I'm calling for Logan," I said, caught off guard by someone other than him answering his cell phone, especially at ten o'clock on Sunday morning.
Although what'd I expect? That his girlfriend doesn't sleep over?
No, I think it's something else that has my gears grinding.
"Can I have him call you right back?" she asked politely.
"Yeah, sure," I replied. "Tell him it's Goren."
"Oh, hi. Yeah, I'll have him call you. And I guess I'll see you later, right?"
"That's the plan. I'm looking forward to meeting you. I've…"
I started to say that I've heard a lot about her, but then I realized that I haven't.
He's barely said anything at all, other than that she exists.
And he went undercover to help her somehow.
In a strip club? So…that's where she works, and some kind of crime was being committed?
Or…
She laughed lightly, presumably at the fact that I stopped mid-sentence and then went into vapor lock, so I managed to say, "Sorry. Just have him call me to let me know when and where to meet."
I hung up the phone and found Alex looking at me quizzically.
"What's up?" she asked.
"I'm not sure. That was her."
"The mystery girlfriend," she said with interest. "So she's real. That's good. I was almost afraid we'd be having dinner with Logan and a blow-up doll."
I chuckled at her joke, but my mind kept going back to the innocuous conversation.
"Bobby?"
"It's…she sounds familiar, but I have no idea why. I can't place her voice."
"You think you know her?"
"Maybe. But how? I mean, are we thinking he met her in a strip club?"
"I guess," she answered with a shrug, and I have to say it. I love her lack of judgment over Logan's girlfriend's career choice. It doesn't bother me either, except for the fact that now I'm bothered since I think I might know her.
Is it possible that she's from Arcadia?
Won't that be awkward. Not that I dated anyone from there, because I didn't, but still….talk about a constant reminder of my undercover.
"It might be nothing," I said dismissively. My cell phone rang before she could respond, and it was Logan.
"How about this afternoon, like around four?" he asked, after telling me what he had in mind.
"Works for us. Tell me where to meet you."
He rattled off the information and then started to say goodbye, but I caught him and asked, "Hey, you've never told me her name."
"What difference does it make?"
"None at all," I said, surprised by his reluctance. "So why not just say it?"
"I'd rather wait until you meet her."
"Why?"
Is it someone from Testarossa's club?
"I'll see you at four," he responded, and then he hung up.
I passed along the details to Alex and then I told her about him not wanting to tell me her name.
"We'll meet her in a few hours and then you'll know," she said easily. "Unless you're worried. You think…oh, you think she might be from Arcadia."
"Maybe," I admitted. "But what are the odds of that?"
"So those are the only strippers you know?" she asked with a barely contained smile.
"Yes," I answered.
"And did you ever hook up with any of them?"
"No," I said firmly. "I was in love with you, so why would I do that?"
"Men do that kind of thing," she said, rolling her eyes dramatically as she shook her head. "Bobby, relax. If you know her, then you know her. Although…"
"What?"
She smiled sweetly and patted me on the cheek as she said, "If it's an ex-girlfriend, and she looks like she wants to rekindle, well…then I might have to pull my gun."
TBC...