"She's going to try to f.u.c.k you over," Adrian said, making himself at home by sitting at Brody's workstation.

"No, she's not. It's over. Why are you here?" He turned back to his client and they spoke about what he wanted. Brody began to set up.

"Fine way to talk to your baby brother. I came in to have you touch something up. I could just go somewhere else where they deal with rock stars and are nice to them."

"No one in this town would touch my tats, smarta.s.s." He grinned up at his brother and then got to work.

"After that, I need to run out and grab something for Rennie. She's been out of sorts lately. I know she's picking up on everyone's anxiety." Adrian flipped through a magazine and chatted idly with Brody's client as he worked.

"You like her, don't you?" Brody kept his eyes on his work, but Adrian knew he was talking to him.

"Rennie or Elise? I like 'em both. Elise is wonderful. She's quick and clever and she's good for you. Aside from being beautiful, she's nice to be around. Soothing in a way. Rennie? How can you resist her? I'm looking forward to watching her grow up and being the uncle who spoils her."

"She's already spoiled," Brody said with a laugh, and then he looked up and met his brother's gaze. "I'm looking forward to watching her grow up too."

She bustled around the house, cleaning up the stuff Rennie had tossed on the couch when they'd come in. It was a way for Elise to keep her mind off her legal issues. She needed to wind down after the day she'd had.

Rennie had had dinner with her grandparents, who'd just dropped her home half an hour before. She'd taken a bath and done her homework and now was finally asleep. Brody was supposed to have come over earlier, but there'd been a disaster at the shop and he had to stay to deal with it.

She tried to push back her agitation. He wasn't at her beck and call. He had a business to run and she understood that very well. If the pipes had busted at her studio, she'd be there dealing with it herself too, that's what you did. Anyway, just because she loved him didn't mean she wasn't stupidly aware of the rules they'd set out a year before. She was his girlfriend, she knew that, and she knew it meant way more than just sleeping together. It had made her happy, the way they'd been growing closer over the last months, knowing he cared about her that much. And she did know it; he was good to her and Rennie, there for her, and not just for s.e.x.

But she also knew it wasn't a declaration of love.

She sat and then got up again. She should just go to bed. Drink a gla.s.s of wine, read a book and go to bed. d.a.m.n, she needed him. Needed his arms around her to rea.s.sure her, and that was so bad. It was like eating cookie dough. You know you shouldn't, but you can't help it. Cookie dough was a fine idea, though, she thought, heading for the freezer.

She didn't want to need him. She hadn't needed anyone a year ago, and that had suited her just fine. But he'd come into her life, and from the first moment she'd laid eyes on him she'd been fascinated. It had been so much more than s.e.xual from the first, and it had grown until he was rooted in her life.

Bringing the dough, a spoon and the bottle of wine and a gla.s.s, she trundled into her bedroom and changed into pajamas before pouring a gla.s.s and feasting on cookie dough while watching reality shows.

Her phone rang, waking her up from her dough/wine nap, and she nearly spilled it as she scrambled to grab it and answer.

"Did I wake you?"

She smiled at the sound of his voice as she sat up. "It's okay. Is everything at the shop taken care of?"

"I'm right outside your front door. If I knocked, would you let me in?"

"On my way." She hung up the phone and hurried toward the door, but not before a quick check in the mirror showed her to be reasonably non-haggy.

He stood there, as promised, looking tired, but he smiled when she opened the door.

"You're just what I needed to make this day end on a high note. Much better than it's been the last several hours." He hugged her, surrounding her with his scent and heat, pulling the stress and fear from her until all that remained was the warmth of being held by him.

"Come in. Are you hungry?" She locked up and then led him into the house.

"I am. I'm sorry I'm so late. I know you had a rough day, I wanted to be here for you."

"Sit." She waved to a chair at the table and he sat with a long sigh. "Want a burrito? I made them for dinner for myself. Rennie went out to pizza with my parents, so there are plenty of leftovers." She put a beer in front of him and he took her hand, pulling her into his lap.

"Sorry, I needed more of this."

"I'm not complaining." She smiled into his neck.

"I missed you today. I wanted so much to be here with you earlier, to have dinner with you and Rennie and hear what happened at court today. Christ, the pipes were a mess. Erin's going to be p.i.s.sed. Her kitchen, everything on the bottom shelves got wet. My back wall is f.u.c.ked, the floor in the bathroom and the employee lounge was a disaster, but we got it cleaned up. The plumber said it looked like there'd been a long, slow leak and it finally just gave. The back wall where the pipes burst is going to have to be re-drywalled."

She hugged him and then got off his lap, bending and kissing him before going into the kitchen to make him something to eat. "So you stayed to be sure Erin's place got cleaned up because she had a doctor's appointment today. You're a good man, Brody. Erin's lucky to have you. I'm sorry. It sounds like a horrible mess. Will you have to close the shop?"

She bustled around the kitchen, microwaving the beans, heating the tortillas and putting everything together.

"Tomorrow, a friend of mine who's a contractor will come out to look at the wall to see what needs to be done, how long it'll take and how much it costs. Hopefully just tomorrow and the next day. I hate to disappoint clients, but I don't want to be open with all that dust and water around. So tell me how it went. Rennie's asleep?"

"Yes, my parents ran her ragged at the pizza place, so she was pretty much out by the time she got out of the bathtub." She put a plate in front of him and sat. "They're going to keep the case here in Washington."

He nodded as he began to eat.

"That's the first big hurdle. Now they're looking at their a.s.sertions that I'm unfit and my a.s.sertions that further contact with the Sorensons is detrimental to Rennie's mental and emotional state and that they should be allowed no visitation or contact at all unless or until Rennie asks for it. It was all preliminary. This stuff can take a while. But because of the visitations being so upsetting, Bill and Frank both believe the judge will hear things sooner. It'll all be back and forth between attorneys, and then there'll be another meeting with the judge where she goes over the findings and hears from experts if she wants to. Apparently this is very narrow, so it won't be a repeat of the trial I had in New York the first time. I just want it over."

He put his fork down and took her hand. "It'll be over soon. You'll finally be free of them and we can all move forward. I'm glad the first step worked out. Keeping the case away from some crony of your ex-father-in-law's will be a very good thing. I'm sorry I woke you. I just . . . I just didn't want to go to sleep without touching you."

She loved him so much right at that moment, loved him until she thought she might burst from it. And then loved him more. He was what she needed, what she wanted, and if she could just be with him and not spook him off with declarations of love, she could continue to love him. She wanted to tell him she loved him, wanted to tell him so much her heart ached.

After this whole legal mess was finally over, she'd sit down and figure out what to do, but for the time being, there wasn't a darned thing wrong with loving him and being with him.

"I'm glad you did. I ate cookie dough."

The confused look on his face morphed into understanding. "You ate cookie dough because you missed me?" He smiled so broadly the dimple usually shadowed by his mustache showed. "Erin used to eat cookie dough. By the log. She was the moodiest teenage girl to ever exist. I'm totally certain of it."

"Until Rennie. Gah, I cringe to think." She wished he could spend the night. Wished she could close her eyes with him there next to her and just fall away, knowing when she woke up he'd be there still. But with all the allegations that she was some sort of s.k.a.n.k who paraded a group of bikers through her bedroom nightly while Rennie was forced to watch, she had to be careful. Besides, spending the night wasn't part of the deal between them.

"You look so tired. Why don't you go home and get some rest." She caressed his cheek and leaned in to kiss him.

"You look ten kinds of s.e.xy in that tank top and those shorts. Now, if I could wake up to this every day, I'd never want to leave my house."

Maybe she wasn't the only one who liked the idea of a sleepover.

"I think I might be able to do something about you being tired and me being s.e.xy." She stood and put the dish in the sink and his beer bottle in the recycling. "Come on back to my room."

Once inside, she closed and locked the door. "Get undressed and get on the bed, facedown. I'll be right with you." She lit some candles and headed into the bathroom for a few things.

When she returned, she paused in the doorway, content to just look at how beautiful and s.e.xy he was, stretched out across her bed. The sight was ridiculously s.e.xy. He was so big and his shoulders so broad, the tattoo on his back lent him an edge of danger. His body was toned and muscular. Every inch of the man was gorgeous. Having him there, in her bed, in her house on a night like this one made her happy. Content.

She crawled up on the bed, straddling his a.s.s.

"Hey." He tried to turn around, but she pushed him back into place. "You can't sit on me totally naked and not let me look or touch. That's torture."

She poured almond oil into her hands and then rubbed them together to warm it before she touched the skin of his back. Her reward was a long, deep groan of pleasure from him as she began to work her fingers into his muscles.

"I'm supposed to be here comforting you."

She laughed softly. "I like to take care of you. It makes me happy. This is is you comforting me." you comforting me."

His breathing slowed, deepened as she worked. This man had done so much for her, had taken care of her, had shown with body and mind that she was beautiful and capable. No one had ever made her feel the way he had. It scared her to her toes to imagine him not in her life.

"d.a.m.n that feels good. Are you a licensed ma.s.seuse too? Since you're a jack of all trades and all." His voice was m.u.f.fled by the pillow.

"Jack of all trades, master of none." She laughed. "You'd better be good at ma.s.sages so you can trade them with people when you dance. Man, you're so tight right here." She worked into the knot at his right shoulder.

"Between working all day and then dealing with the cleanup from the burst pipes, I guess I'm a mess. Good thing I have you to take care of me."

Yes, good thing. She bet that selfish b.i.t.c.h Raven didn't do this for him. Didn't make him something to eat when he got hungry, didn't worry about how tired he was. Okay, so maybe she was unfair; Raven did seem to care about him, and Erin too, but it annoyed Elise to see the woman around all the time. She was totally hostile and she touched Brody way more than Elise would have preferred. Which would be zero zero touches, d.a.m.n it. touches, d.a.m.n it.

"I'm here for that. Anytime."

The stress went out of him slowly as he relaxed heavier into her bed.

"It feels so good to be with you here. To be taken care of."

She scooted down to get to his lower back, a.s.s and upper thighs. "You always do it for everyone else. Someone needs to take care of you for a change. Don't think I haven't noticed how you go around making life better for everyone else. You're a good man." And I love you And I love you.

"Mmm, G.o.d that's nice. And I'm just doing what needs to be done. If I don't, who will? Who'll do it right so the people I care about are okay? I can, I trust that."

Holy cats, was she gone for this man.

"Turn over."

He did, a lazy smile on his lips. "This is the best part."

She smiled back. "Are you suggesting s.e.x? Mr. Brown, I'm really sure I'm not supposed to do that." She fluttered her lashes and he slid his hands up her thighs. "Don't you get tired of being laden down with other people's stuff?"

He locked his gaze with hers. "Some people. But other people?" He shrugged slightly. "Other people I like taking care of. I like knowing I'm the one making them safe or healthy or whatever. I guess it's a G.o.d complex, but there it is." He took her b.r.e.a.s.t.s in his hands. "Taking care of you and Rennie is in the latter group. Yes, I can see the worry on your face, hear it in your voice. You two are mine, I take care of what's mine."

"You don't feel suffocated by yet more people on your to-do list?"

"Did someone say something to upset you, Shorty? Have I hurt your feelings or made you feel bad?"

She shook her head. "No, not that. I just . . . I know when we started this thing we said it would be light and fun, and I'm realizing it's not so light and fun for you when I have legal c.r.a.p and stuff. I just don't want to step on your toes or . . ."

She couldn't help but squeal when he rolled her over so suddenly. "Shorty, when we started this thing, we didn't know each other the way we do now. I like having you in my life. I like your kiddo in my life. I like taking care of you. I like knowing you're safe. I hate this legal s.h.i.t because I know you're scared and I hate those people for trying to scare you and using Rennie to do it. It makes me crazy that I can't fix it for you both. Seeing you so worried hurts. I want you to be happy."

She would not cry. It was just hormones and emotion.

"Please touch me," she whispered around tears.

"Baby, please don't cry." He brushed his lips over her cheeks. "I'm here and all I ever want is to touch you."

"Then do. Please. I just want to feel you."

"If I have to," he joked before meeting her lips for a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as his soft kisses grew deeper.

She arched, writhing to get more of her on more of him. His skin was taut and very warm, slightly slick from the almond oil she'd used. The friction was delicious.

"Just for the record," he said before licking one nipple and then the other, "I always want to feel you. To taste you. Elise, I want to breathe you." He hovered over the dip of her belly, his breath hot against the super-sensitive skin there. His tongue slid over her hip bone and down the seam between thigh and body.

How could she not love him? There must be three dozen women walking around Seattle totally heartbroken that this man wasn't with them anymore. Maybe that was Raven's problem. Hmpf Hmpf. Too bad, goth girl. You snooze, you lose Too bad, goth girl. You snooze, you lose.

His tongue against her c.l.i.t brought her hips forward, unabashedly seeking more. It had been a week since he'd gone down on her. They'd had s.e.x, but it had been quick and hard, which she'd needed. This was slow and decadent, and it felt so good she just soaked it in. He held her thighs open and flat against the mattress as he licked and nibbled, laved and flicked his tongue over her p.u.s.s.y.

She arched, stretching her muscles as the pleasure took over. His mouth on her was sure, and with good reason. He knew what worked, what she liked, what drove her to shiver and beg-and he did it. Over and over until she became a trembling ma.s.s of desperate woman.

Which she was as he teased his mouth down and back up again, his tongue sliding over her perineum, shocking her eyes open again. He moved one hand and teased his thumb over her back pa.s.sage. That was so . . . she swallowed, experimenting with it . . . Forbidden. Dark. Taboo.

He sucked her c.l.i.t between his lips, and her breath gusted from her mouth, right as he pressed his thumb just slightly inside.

Ribbons of light decorated her vision as she came, hard and swift. Her fingers tightened in his hair as she pulled him closer, even as she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

Brody kissed her belly again and lay on his side next to her. "Now you're nice and ready to be f.u.c.ked. My favorite." She cracked an eye open and caught the light in his eyes as they raked over her body. "Let's try something new."

"Hope you don't want to try something acrobatic. I don't think I've got the stamina for that after what you just did to me."

He laughed. "That's a fine compliment. And no, Shorty, all you have to do is stay on your back, put one leg up and over my hip and the other can go between my thighs. I'll do all the work from there."

She scooted over, moving one leg up and the other between his thighs, and then he thrust, entering her easily because she was so wet.

"So good. I like it this way because you're so lovely to look at." His pace was leisurely.

"So far, I've had zero complaints about your prowess. There must be jealous women all over town because I'm hogging you. By the way, I have no plans to share anytime soon."

"Good. I like keeping my prowess right here between your thighs. G.o.d, your skin is so pretty by candlelight. Your body is so lovely, lithe, strong. Just exactly right."

"I ate a h.e.l.l of a lot of cookie dough earlier. I'm surprised I don't have a pooch."

His fingertips danced down her belly and over her thighs. "Mmm hmm. Not looking so round here. Not to me. You eat pretty well, but you can when you exercise hours a day the way you do."

She laughed and ended up writhing because he hauled her even closer, getting deeper. "I went a little crazy when I was rehabbing for the leg. First I was immobile, which I rarely am, and you don't want to hear all this detail."

"I do. I like hearing about your life. But for now? You're so tight and hot. I love this, Elise. You and me, candlelight and quiet. I feel settled and very happy."

"You're going to make me cry again," she mumbled, trying to turn her face away from the intensity in his eyes. He made her crave those things she knew she couldn't have.

"Why? I don't understand." He continued to slowly and completely devastate her with those deep thrusts as he spoke. "I'm just strung too tight."

"You're full of s.h.i.t." His next thrust was harder. "I know you, Elise. Something is making you upset. Is it Raven?"

"Why are you talking about her while your d.i.c.k is in me?" Horrified, she tried to move away, but he held her in place.

"You're right, sorry. This first. This always. Then we can talk."

"Now you're talking."