Authors: Jennifer Conner
His eyes softened, as she bristled. “Let me start this conversation over. You want me to get acupuncture treatments for my leg, right?”
Where was he going with this?
“Yes,” she answered, guarded. “I think along with the chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture will help release pressure on the nerves in your leg.”
“You know I hate needles.” He waited until she bobbed her head, then smiled, as if thinking of the perfect plan. “So I’m not letting anyone but you touch me. If I sought outside treatment—which I won’t, but if I did—how much could I expect to pay?”
“It might be covered by your insurance,” she countered.
“That’s not what I asked. How much would I pay for outside acupuncture treatments?”
“Somewhere between sixty to a hundred dollars a treatment.”
“Mac wants me back as a partner, so I need to get back on active duty and get out from behind that damn desk. I have to get my leg back in shape ASAP. I’ll buy the books, and you do my treatments in payment. I’m not giving you a free ride. I expect to get rid of this cane in a week or so. Do you think you’re up for the challenge?”
Devan was the kindest, biggest-hearted man she’d ever met. Luci rubbed a hand over her nose. No matter how much she’d tried to convince herself otherwise, she knew she’d fallen head over heels in love with her detective.
After everything that had happened in her past, Luci had run a thousand scenarios through her mind trying to protect herself and her heart from Devan. But at this moment, she could no longer deny the blazing truth: she loved him.
“That would be great,” her throat constricted with emotion, trying to talk. “Then I can take my finals next week.” Placing a hand on the warm, taut skin of his chest, she pushed him back and tried to frown. “But this means no getting out of the acupuncture treatments.” She stuck her hand out. “Let’s shake on it.”
He broadened his smile and extended his hand. When she reached to take it, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into a deep kiss. Sucking in a breath, she inhaled his spicy male scent.
Devan’s mouth left hers, as he trailed his tongue up to suckle her earlobe. A roaring filled her ears, as need coiled tight in her belly.
It wasn’t going to be easy to hand over the keys to her emotional baggage. But when he held her like he did now, his body strong, confident and sure, she was ready to believe there really could be a happily-ever-after with Devan.
Kissing a line across her chin, and then back to her mouth, he whispered, “That’s the best I’ve got. Have I convinced you to let me buy your books?”
“Yeah. That would be great,” Luci said breathlessly. With a lip lock like the one he’d just planted on her, she’d almost forgotten what she’d agreed to.
She knew she still had a half-dazed look on her face.
He smiled a cocky grin. “Go take a quick shower and throw something on. I’ll make us some toast. I have a few hours until I have to be back at the station. I’ll take you to class.” He pulled himself to his feet with a groan. “Then tonight, when I get off my shift, I’ll let you stick your little needles in me.”
Luci rolled her eyes. “You make yourself sound like a life-size voodoo doll. But you’re not the only one who feels that way about acupuncture.”
When she stood, he playfully slapped her on the butt. “We’ll stop on the way for coffee. As you know, I don’t do coffee.”
“Thank goodness,” she exclaimed. Reaching up on her toes, she wrapped her arms behind his neck, and pulled him down for a quick kiss. “Or I never would have met you.”
Devan smiled broadly, flashing white teeth.
How could someone look so good in the morning? It just wasn’t fair. But she could definitely get used to seeing that heated look in his eyes when she woke up. It beat the jolt of caffeine any day.
****
Dev stopped. He was whistling for God’s sake. He looked around to see if anyone was laughing. It felt good going to the college and helping Luci purchase the textbooks to replace the ones that were stolen.
He’d guessed a little hidden part of him liked being a do-gooder. He’d become a cop after all. But it was hard to help strung-out junkies and gang-bangers on a daily basis. His job was to convict them; not help them.
The cost of Luci’s books would be money well-spent. She’d be able to finish this quarter of her schooling, and after another year, she could start gearing towards the practice she’d always dreamed of.
Her stepfather robbed her of her teen years. She deserved to catch a break in life. And if a few hundred dollars helped her achieve that goal, then so be it.
As Dev entered the station, he spotted Mac logged onto his computer, waiting for him.
“You look right at home,” Dev commented, throwing his briefcase on the floor and sitting in the chair next to the desk.
If it had been anyone but Mac at his desk, heads would have rolled. But seeing Mac with his blond brows pulled low in concentration made him smile.
“Hey, it’s about time you got here,” Mac said, punching his fingers on the keys of the computer keyboard.
Looking back over his shoulder, Dev commented, “It’s ten-oh-one. My shift starts at ten.”
“Desk jockeys…” Mac dismissed him with his hand. “I’ve been here since seven. Anyway, I’ve been looking into leads on the Russian who robbed Luci, since you think he did the burg at her place too.”
“This is my case.” Dev grumbled.
“Didn’t anyone ever teach you to share? Remember Aaron? He’s transferred to work the local Russian LA crime unit. He gave me a name and a place of a Russian storefront that’s been linked as a mail drop for credit card fraud. Let’s check it out.”
Dev glanced at Mac. “You know I’m not cleared for active duty yet.”
“So you’re going out to get a cup of coffee.”
Devan looked at the large latte cup in his hand.
Mac rolled his eyes. “I’ll have you back in fifteen minutes. Do you need to ask your mommy’s permission?”
Dev looked back at the pile of files on his desk and then at the closed door of the captain’s office. “Fifteen minutes. But I swear, if I take the fall for this, and get busted…”
Mac made a cross over his chest. “I swear on my grannie’s grave. I’ll take the fall. My idea. My problem. I’m the one taking you back to the dark side, ‘cause I know it’s where you want to be.”
Dev was up out of his chair, and heading toward the door before Mac stood from behind the desk. Mac didn’t really need to ask him twice. The thought of being on a follow-up call, and doing something other than punching numbers and names into a computer sent waves of adrenaline coursing through him.
They arrived at the store in five minutes.
A hand painted sign,
The Mail and Stop,
hung over a well-worn front door.
Mac pushed the handle down and motioned for Dev to enter first. Grinning he said, “It’s good to have you back, partner.”
Dev glanced around the musty-smelling small store. Packages were heaped in piles behind the front counter. Bubble wrap and packing peanuts were scattered across a dirty, worn linoleum floor.
A large man, who looked as though his belt was sawing him in two, appeared from around the corner. “What can I do for you? You come to mail?” he asked, in a heavy Russian accent.
Dev flipped his badge from its leather holder. “LAPD. We have a few questions.”
The man’s face went cold and blank. “I do not speak English.”
“That’s funny.” Mac said, leaning an elbow on the counter as he picked up a flyer on overnight mail service offered. “You spoke English just fine a second ago.”
Dev pulled out a photocopy of the sketch Luci made of her assailant’s tattoos. “We’re looking for a man who has these tattoos. He may own a mailbox here.”
A second of recognition flashed through the Russian’s eyes, before his face went blank again. “I not know such man.”
Dev’s hand shot out with lighting speed and caught the man by the front of his shirt. “This man attacked an innocent woman at knifepoint and tried to rape her.” He tightened his grip until his face was inches from the other man’s. “If I find out you’re lying, you’ll be out of business so fast the only need you’ll have for bubble wrap will be to pack your fat ass in.”
He waited, but the man just looked coolly down at Dev’s fingers clenched in the fabric of his shirt. “I have nothing to say.”
Dev shoved him away and glared, as Mac pulled on his sleeve. “Come on, buddy, this is obviously not going anywhere.” Mac looked back, grinning at the man. “I don’t see a fire extinguisher on your wall. That’s too bad. I’ll have to have a few of my friends make a visit and write you up.” Mac’s grin widened. “Have a nice day.” They headed out the door.
Blowing out a frustrated breath, Dev stopped and turned towards Mac. “That was a waste of time.”
“Russians are a very close-knit community. You know that. But I got you out from behind that damn chunk of metal back at the station, didn’t I? Feels good, doesn’t it?”
“It feels good,” Dev reluctantly agreed.
More than Mac knew
. Dev looked down at the cap of his cane, wanting to pitch it into the street, but he still needed its support.
He’d get rid of it soon enough, once and for all.
It was after eight when Dev pushed through the front door. His nose was instantly assaulted by the wonderful smells of a home-cooked meal coming from the kitchen. Dev tried not to sigh in absolute bliss as his stomach growled loudly reminding him about the lack of food he’d had since breakfast.
He was far from the kind of guy who wanted a woman waiting barefoot and pregnant for him when he got home. But damn, it was really nice to know there was something other than ramen noodles to eat for dinner.
“Luci, I’m home,” he called out, and then grimaced, feeling like he’d just stepped into a 1950’s sitcom.
Leaning on the curved archway of the kitchen, he watched as she busily sautéed vegetables, flipping them in a pan on the stove. Her hair was pulled up in a playful sprawl on the top of her head exposing the back of her neck. He knew her skin would taste as good as dinner smelled.
Smiling, he said, “I’m disappointed. I thought if you were cooking me dinner it would be in a French maid’s costume.”
She turned, a grin lighting her face. “Have you had this fantasy for a long time, hotshot?”
Shrugging, he said, “Would it make me a pervert if I said yes?”
“No,” she paused and shook a slotted spoon at him. “I had a few fantasies myself after seeing you wear those sexy, low-slung pajama bottoms at breakfast this morning. I have a deal to make with you.”
Dev hoped it included something of a sexual fare. He imagined Luci in a black and white ruffled get-up with no underwear and a feather duster in hand, but then narrowed his gaze. “Wait a minute. Your ‘
deals’
always come with a catch.”
“Suit yourself. No deal, no dinner.”
Once again, he pulled the rich smells into his lungs. “What are you cooking? Roast chicken?”
“It’s for me to know and you to
maybe
find out.”
“Okay. Okay…
man
.” He raised his palms up in defeat. The growls of my stomach are beating out my good sense. Are you always this pushy?”
“You like that in a woman.” She took the pan from the burner. Sliding the vegetables onto a tray, she opened the oven door and placed them inside. “Why don’t you go put on those pajama bottoms? Then we’ll talk.”
“Talk?” He shot her a devilish grin. “Does this mean you’re going to put on the French maid outfit?”
“No. First you’re going to have your first acupuncture treatment.” She brushed her hands over her jeans. “I’ve got it set up in the office. I’ll meet you there.”
“Oh… that.” Dev tried not to make his swallow audible.
Chapter Seventeen
Padding barefoot down the hall, Dev peered around the pile of bricks and into the office. Luci was busy straightening the face cradle on a portable table.
“Where did that come from?” Dev asked as he wandered into the room.
She looked back. “Well, contrary to personal belief, I don’t have super powers and make objects magically appear. A friend of mine dropped it off this afternoon.”
He eyed the small boxes sitting on the corner of the mahogany desk.
Luci patted the edge of the table. “I know you’re about as sure of letting me do this as you are of jumping off a building. We’re going to take it one step at a time.”
“How about we don’t do it at all?” he tried to keep the pleading tone out of his voice. He was being a wuss, but he really hated needles.
“Sit down,” she said with a long sigh. “Give me a chance.”
If it was anyone but Luci asking, he would have already been out the door. But when she asked him with those big blue eyes of hers, he
would
jump off a building if that’s what she wanted. Where had his backbone gone?
Muttering under his breath, he sat solidly on the edge of the table. The wooden legs creaked under his weight. “This thing’s not going to collapse is it?” he asked, his tone sounding gruffer than he meant.
Luci ignored his question, and turned to lift one of the boxes off the table. “Close your eyes.”
He watched her for a second before obliging. He felt the warmth of her fingers taking his wrist and lifting his hand off the table.
“I want you to tell me if this hurts.”
Dev’s body tensed, waiting for that sting of the needle he’d experienced after having a shot. “Okay. I’m ready. You can do it anytime.” He waited, but when she didn’t answer, he slowly opened his eyes.
In the side of his hand was a small acupuncture needle no wider than the breadth of a hair. He raised his hand, and surveyed it. “I didn’t feel you put it in.”
She smiled. “All that worrying for nothing. Lie down. Put your face in the cradle.”
“Okay, Doc, I’m yours for the taking.” He hiked up his pants and rolled onto his stomach. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw Luci concentrating, making a cute furrow between her brows.
Her fingers tugged on the elastic of his waistband. “I’m going to slide your pants down. It will be easier to access the area needing treatment.”
Raising his hips, Dev let her slide the pants down his thighs. “Is this the way you treat
all
your practice patients—even the guys?” he asked, trying not to sound jealous.
Nonchalantly she answered, “If that’s what the patient needs.” She folded his pants, and placed them on the chair. “Usually they wear underwear, but a body is a body when I’m working on a patient.” Dev let out a gasp when she leaned forward and bit into his bare butt cheek. “You just have the best butt I’ve ever seen.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle. “I think that’s a compliment. You better not be biting other guys in the ass.”
Ignoring his comment, she continued, “I’m going to treat the affected area around the wound.”
There was a slight pressure, and a tingle against his skin. Luci tapped in the needle, but again there was no pain. Palpating her fingers down the muscles of his leg, she placed in another needle, followed by another.
“In Eastern medicine, your body is connected as one,” she said. “If I put a needle in your wrist, it may help with pain in your leg. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you; your body is a single entity.” Luci patted him. “I’m turning the lights low, and I’ll let you rest about thirty minutes. I’ll be out in the living room if you need me. Then we can have dinner.”
“I can’t believe you’re holding dinner hostage until I do what you want,” he grumbled, as she left the room.
Relaxing his head into the face cradle, he heard her say, “I told you on our first date that I’m not Rachel Ray, so don’t expect much. But if it means getting your leg back in working order, I play hardball, detective.”