Page 69 of Desperate Justice
He could barely hear Greg inside the restaurant.
Soon as he got outside, the reception was better. “What is it?”
“Bad news. Marty Kingman got released. Lawyer flown in from Miami to bail him out.”
Hand tightening on his cell phone, Rafe tensed. “Has to be Hernandez’s personal attorney.”
“Our guys in Atlanta will put a tail on him, but it’s not a priority. They’re overwhelmed with a huge bust going down they’ve been working on for months. Field office can’t assign an agent until next week.”
“Any progress on deciphering the codes found in Kingman’s phone?”
“No, but our coding experts think it has to do with Paul and Diana’s wedding. Clearly Hernandez wanted you checked out. I did hear Hernandez say that Paul is wildly in love with Diana. He will go to extremes to get whatever she wants. This wedding at the mansion? It was Diana Lexington’s idea after they attended a cocktail party there.”
It made sense. Paul was a sensible, quiet businessman who was low-key and never had a good relationship with his notorious uncle. Not until Diana came into his life.
He heard noise in the background, and then Greg whispered, “Gotta run. Watch yourself and the women. They’re still on Kingman’s list.”
“Thanks, man.”
He hung up, frustrated and worried. No one in his office had yet deciphered the code Kingman had assigned to their names on his cell phone. Diana was probably not in danger. But he knew Allison could be a target.
All the more reason to keep her close, and safe.
When he returned to the table, she was digging in the cherry cheesecake. Extra cherries on top and plenty of whipped cream. Half was gone already. Rafe swallowed hard as she closed her eyes and licked whipped cream off the fork. Oh, to be that fork under her sweet tongue...
Suddenly he understood Paul’s obsession with having Diana and granting her every wish. He felt the same way about Allison. Maybe it was like this, finally meeting a woman you’d risk everything for.
With her long brown hair loose, curled slightly at the ends, Allison looked fantastic tonight. She wore a pink denim jacket with flowers and a white sleeveless blouse and pink jeans. The jacket was off, and the blouse showed firm breasts and toned arms. Utterly feminine, yet he kept thinking of her strength and courage.
Never had a woman’s arms been a turn-on, but he stared at hers, thinking of her lifting patients, the tender way she’d stroked his sick grandmother’s forehead, the selfless dedication to saving lives. The long hours on her feet, hustling here and there to care for patients.
Right now all he wanted was to feel those arms, and legs, wrapped around his naked body.
Rafe finally found his voice as he resumed his seat. “Hey, leave some for me.”
Mirth sparkled in her brown eyes as she dug into the cake, leaned forward and lifted the fork to his mouth. Rafe’s lips encircled the utensil. The sweet, creamy dessert’s flavor burst with sweetness. He withdrew his mouth, chewed and swallowed.
He stared at her, the little pulse throbbing in her neck, the dilated pupils. Rafe slowly licked his lips.
“Delicious.”
“It is a great cheesecake.”
“I’m not talking about the dessert.” Hell, he couldn’t help staring at her lush mouth, his need to feel her soft lips growing stronger by the minute.
She vexed and intrigued him, and Rafe craved her like a drug. Forget any opioids trafficked by Hernandez and his cronies. Allison was more addictive and intoxicating. He felt alive and aware in her presence, all his pleasure receptors flaring to life.
It took all his carefully won control not to leap across the table and take her into his arms, kiss her senseless, then sweep her back to his room with the soft sheets and tip her back naked on the mattress and have his way with her.
He had no conceit, but he knew he was a good lover, always making sure his partner experienced plenty of pleasure before he finished. But damn, Allison brought forth all kinds of raging passion inside him. No more gentle lover. All his fiery need would release with her, the need to conquest and dominate and claim, like a caveman marking her as his own.
So much for civilized sex.
“You okay? You’re flushed.” Allison leaned forward, looking concerned.
Rafe swallowed hard, trying to chase away the image of a nude Allison writhing with pleasure beneath him.
“Fine.” When did his voice grow so hoarse? “But I have to tell you, I’m sitting here having all kinds of fantasies about you right now.”
