My smile widens as I recall how I used the handheld sprayer I specifically had installed for that very purpose. I turned it to a pulsating setting, and all it took was a few thoughts about Moses to have me screaming—not that I’d ever admit to him what or who I was thinking about.
“More than you’ll ever know.”
“You’ve got a mean streak in you, woman.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Damn right I do. Now, I’m going to get coffee.”
“Perfect. I could use some.”
When he releases me from his hold, I hate that I miss the warmth of his body almost instantly. I’ve never been at war with myself like this before.
I want him. There’s no doubt about that. But I’m not ready to confess it. That would be handing him way too much power over me, and I’m not willing to do it.
As I step toward the door, the chime on the gate rings, and I pause.
“Who the hell could that be?” I mumble to myself, but my gaze collides with Moses’s. “One of your people?”
He shakes his head. “No. Let me look.”
He strides to the front of the house and looks through the shutters. I’m right behind him, because it’s my damn house.
As soon as I peek, I wish I hadn’t.
“Motherfucker,” I whisper, gritting my teeth when I see Detective Cavender standing on the sidewalk. “What the fuck is he doing here?”
Moses shifts, his bulky shoulder brushing against my bare skin. “Who is it?”
I gaze up into his green-gold eyes and fill him in. “A fucking cop. Detective Cavender. He’s investigating the elevator murder and already decided he likes me for it. I told him I wasn’t at my condo the night it happened. Wouldn’t give him an alibi. Wouldn’t let him search my place. I told him to come back with a warrant. He knows who I am and what I used to do.”
Moses’s stare narrows on me. “How does he know about this place?”
“I don’t know,” I tell him with my palms pressed against my temples. “He shouldn’t. No one should. Fuck.This isn’t supposed to happen like this.Fuck.”
“You trust me?” Moses asks.
I jerk my head back, totally uncertain of what he’s getting at. “Why?”
“Because I know you didn’t buy this place in your name, and there’s no way a run-of-the-mill NOPD detective should know you own it with how well you’ve covered your tracks.”
I want to ask him how the hellheknows all that, but I don’t. The chime rings again, and I hear Rocco coming down the stairs.
“You need me to answer?”
“No, we got this. Thanks, man,” Moses replies before the contractor gets too far down the steps.
I’m starting to panic. Having him around does nothing for my focus, and time is running out. “Make your point, Moses.”
“I’ll handle it, mama. Trust me.”
I want to tell him I don’t trust him at all, but I can’t. What other option do I have? “Then fucking handle it, Moby. Get rid of him.”
A grin lights up Moses’s features at my use of his old nickname again. “My pleasure.” He leans down and presses a hard kiss to my lips and heads for the door before I have a chance to say another word or take it back.
That man ...He’s already got me falling back into old habits before I’ve even decided if it’s what I want.
What the hell am I going to do about him now?
Twenty-Eight