Page 110 of Need You
At six he went home, exhausted. He and Delaney had only gotten a few hours’ sleep, which he wasn’t complaining about, but he wanted to lay low and hoped like hell that he didn’t get called out on anything. As he rummaged through his fridge, searching for something he could call dinner, someone tapped lightly on the door.
Delaney stood there, her hands full of take-out bags. He took them from her and ushered her in.
“From the Indian place,” she said. “I hope you haven’t eaten yet.”
“Nope.” He sniffed the bags. “Smells great. Thanks, I’m starved.”
She went to his cupboards and started setting the table and he wondered when they’d gotten so domestic. Most nights he fended for himself or went to Old Glory. On the rare occasion when he had time, he dropped by his parents for a home-cooked meal. But a guy could get used to this.
“What did you do today?” he asked while she flitted around his kitchen, opening cartons and spooning them into what few serving bowls he had.
“I designed a dress.” She turned around, leaned against his tile counter, and beamed. “A gorgeous dress. A dress that will kick off a whole new couture collection. I’m back, Colt! Delaney Scott is back.”
Lord, did she rev him up. Seeing her this way ... so happy. He pinned her against the counter and kissed her. “Welcome back!”
“I think it’s the sex. We have to have more tonight because I need to knock out a few more pieces.”
“I’m willing to take one for the team ... you know, if it’ll help.”
“Thank you. Very magnanimous of you.”
“I thought so.” His lips did a slow crawl down her neck. She smelled good, like that expensive perfume she always wore. “What about the outdoors stuff?”
“What about it? As soon as you guys test everything and I make whatever adjustments you deem necessary, I’m shipping it off to the manufacturer. Oh my God, Colt, I’ll have two lines.Twolines. A few weeks ago, I had nothing.” She wrapped her arms around his midsection and coaxed him into a little twirl.
“Food’s getting cold,” he said, and danced her over to the pantry, where he just so happened to have a bottle of wine. “If you want me to keep my energy up . . .”
“Yes, by all means, eat.”
But he didn’t want to let her go. Holding on, he maneuvered her to the cabinet with the glasses and got two down from the shelf, then balanced them in one hand and her in the other. “You mind getting the corkscrew?” He bobbed his chin at the drawer.
She got the opener out and he moved them toward the table.
“I guess we’ll have to let go if we want to eat,” he said, and bent down to kiss her nose.
“Okay.” But she still had him around the waist, so they stood there for a while, just staring into each other’s eyes. Colt felt like a sap but he couldn’t seem to stop. “You go first.”
He pulled out a chair for her and gently pushed her down, switching his gaze to all the food she’d brought. Enough for an army. He took his own seat and scooped a little bit of everything onto his plate.
“Thanks. This’ll hit the spot.”
“I figured we needed to celebrate your nomination.” She pierced him with a look.
“It’s no big deal, and I’d appreciate it if you’d drop it. I’ve been harangued enough by my brothers.”
“So you don’t plan to out her?”
“What would be the point in that?” He felt like a goddamned broken record. “The damage has already been done. And I don’t care about the money and I don’t care about the fame.”
“What about not letting Lisa Laredo get away with taking credit for your work? If someone stole one of my designs—”
Colt put up his hand. “Stop. This is not top on my priority list, Delaney. I’ve got bigger problems.”
Her face dropped. “What? What’s going on?”
“Pond waltzed that captain from Fremont PD around the station again. It’s looking more and more like my days are numbered there.”
“Oh no! Isn’t there something you can do?”
