Cait shook hands with Captain Tucker and then she was walking toward him. He barely registered Paddy’s comment about having it really bad. Watching her and not tackling her to the floor to kiss her took every ounce of his concentration.
“That went well, don’t you think?” she asked him, and then frowned. The smile she had slowly slipped from her lovely face.
“My family is going to celebrate and you and your family are to come too.
My mom said to tell you that you’d better be there; she would hate to have to kick your butt.” Spencer moved a curl from her cheek and ran his fingers down her shoulder to her hand.
“Okay. Are you all right, Grant? You look...I don’t know. Did I do something to upset you? If this is about me and Meggie, I just didn’t want her to warn the teacher.”
“No, nothing like that. I want you, O’Malley. I’ve never wanted a woman as much as I want you. Right now, against the wall, on the floor, standing here with you wrapped around me. I want you hard; I want you fast. I want you now.”
“Oh my.” Her voice was breathy. And her eyes had become darker; her pulse at her throat was pounding. Spencer found he wanted to sink his teeth into her there and taste her.
He reached out to pull her to him, but her uncle Paddy came up behind him again and it was everything Spencer could do not to snarl at the man.
“Come on, you two, before you’re arrested. You have to ride with me and Dee. Your family has already left.” With a quick kiss, Cait pulled away, but held his hand as they walked to the car.
~CHAPTER 9~
Cait was used to loud rooms. The squad room sometimes sounded like a locker room and a football stadium at the same time with phones ringing, loud shouts of anger, and humor. But this was entirely different. These were families.
They had been shown a private room when they entered the restaurant.
Everyone they met, the staff and owners, seemed to know the Grants. Even her uncle was not a stranger to some of the women they saw.
There was a long table set up in the middle of the huge room. It was blessedly cool and Cait took a deep breath as soon as she walked in.
Meggie rushed to her dad and he scooped her up into his arms. Meggie gave her daddy a big kiss and then starting telling him about the ride over and also how she loved talking to Cait’s aunt Dee.
Cait’s aunt had been born deaf. A product of a severe infection that her mother had had in the later months of pregnancy, Cait had been told as a child.
Dee had come to the United States from Ireland to help her brother Paddy raise Cait when she became an orphan after the death of her parents.
“She wants to know if she can sit next to you during lunch. You don’t have to, O’Malley; my mom will be happy to let her sit with her,” Spencer said.
“No, that’ll be great. Just no checkers.” Cait signed to Meggie her answer and smiled when Meggie gave her a huge kiss as well.
“Spencer, bring the girl of the hour over to meet the rest of your family, please. I’m sure she needs to sit down and take a break. You can suck face with her later.” Cait glared at the man, who just laughed at her.
“Behave, Byron. We happen to like sucking face, thank you. You should meet my family,” Spencer told her. “Let me introduce you. Everyone, this is Caitlynne O’Malley. She’s a detective from Chicago. This is her uncle, Paddy O’Malley, a retired detective, and her aunt Dee, Paddy’s sister.” Everyone stood and said their name. Cait knew a couple of them already, but most of them were strangers. She had not realized that Spencer had so many brothers, but immediately could tell that they were related to each other.
Ordering became the first order of business and the waitress brought in several pitchers of beer and mugs. Cait let hers sit empty in front of her. She didn’t like alcohol and detested the smell and taste of beer. Her attention was on what Meggie was saying to her when she heard Spencer being teased about not having a brew with his brothers.
“Sorry, guys, but some people don’t enjoy beer breath and since I plan on partaking of some of her later, I’ll pass.”
Cait, used to male banter and who had no problem taking care of herself in a dirty joke, turned to Spencer. “You planning to get lucky later, teach? ‘Cause if you think not having beer breath will help you, you have another thing coming.” When he reached over, pulled her to him, and kissed her full on the lips, she nearly squeaked out loud. Then when he slid his tongue along her lips, she melted against him. The room just faded away at the feeling of him and his mouth.
When he pulled away, she actually whimpered and then flushed when she realized that everyone close to them heard her. She was more embarrassed that he had kissed her in front of his family than she was about her reaction.
“Oh yeah, O’Malley, I plan to get very lucky later. And so will you. Over and over and over again,” he whispered in her ear.
Plates were being served around the table when Paddy turned to Ronnie.
They had been talking since the older man sat next to her. Cait smiled at her uncle; he was the biggest flirt she knew.
“Hey, girly, what was with that loud squeak you made in the courtroom?
Nearly had me a heart attack when you did it. Then that husband of yours leaping over the desk at you. I was afreared he’d have himself a babe right there.”
“She made me do it,” Ronnie exclaimed, pointing at Cait.
“Me? I asked you, very quietly I might add, to get your husband’s attention so that he could come back to us without raising a ruckus. How the hel...heck was I supposed to know you were going to make a noise like a rhino giving birth? A simple clearing of the throat might have done it, you know.”
“I most certainly did not make any sort of noise like that. I merely made a small noise in the back of my throat to get his attention. You did say it was important. I wanted to help,” Ronnie said as she glanced at her husband.
“Oh you helped all right, Mrs. Grant. He leapt over that railing like he was going to murder me or deliver your kid. The man looked pole axed when I asked him to stall and what we had discovered. I had to repeat myself four times before he understood that I was not hurting you.”
“It’s Ronnie, and he did look very sexy, didn’t he? He was all scary and protective. Don’t you just love a manly man?”
Cait rolled her eyes at the woman. If pregnancy made a person this stupid, she was glad she never planned to have a kid. Devin kissed his wife and they all settled into their lunch.
About halfway through their meal, Meggie started to drift to the side. She tried to fight it and Cait thought she looked so adorable, but it was clear that she was going to fall off her chair if she continued listing. Cait simply picked her up and settled Meggie across her lap without pausing in her eating. Cait looked up and caught Mrs. Parker, Spencer’s mom, staring at her with an odd look. Before she could ask her about it, Morgan asked about their Memorial Day plans that weekend.
“The caterer will be at the house on Friday afternoon to start setting up,” Mrs. Parker told Morgan. “The hog will arrive then and so will the backhoe to dig the pit. The other food will come early Saturday morning. I hope things go as well as last year. That was so much fun.”
Cait was only about half paying attention because Spencer was running his fingers up and down her arm gently. The room grew very warm and she started to slide her jacket off when a sharp intake of breath from Morgan stopped her.
Cait realized her gun had been exposed to those at the table.
“I’m sorry. I never thought about it. Being around this is as much a part of me that your bag is to you. I never meant to startle you or frighten you.” She was putting her jacket back on when Morgan spoke up.
“No, please don’t. You’re right. It is a part of you and if you’re going to be hanging around us for a while, then I need to get used to it. I’ve just had some bad experiences with guns and I just never thought...I’m sorry, Cait.” Morgan smiled and picked up her bag. “How did you know about the bag? I mean, you’re right, but how did you know?”
“I’m paid to pay attention. You ever fire a gun, Mrs. Grant? I mean one that wasn’t pointed at someone who was trying to hurt you?”
“How did...no, never. I’ve thought about it, but I’ve never gotten around to it. And I don’t want one in the house with the boys.”
“You can always be afraid of guns, but to respect them, you have to know them. They are only as dangerous as the person who thinks they know what they are doing. May I show you something?”
When Morgan nodded, Cait reached under her arm and pushed the small tab that released the magazine. She took it out and slipped it into her jacket pocket. Her uncle got up and sat in Meggie’s chair and watched Cait’s hands.
“Uncle Paddy is going to be my spotter. He’ll make sure that the gun is not loaded, all right?” Cait released the gun from the holster and slid it out. With quick fingers, she slid the slide forward and the round ejected into the air. Cait caught it with one hand and slipped it, too, into her pocket, then handed the weapon to her uncle. “He’ll check the chamber and the butt to make sure there are no rounds left in the weapon. But you should always assume that the gun is loaded even though you’ve seen us empty it.”
Uncle Paddy handed the gun back to Cait, muzzle down. Once she slid the slide forward, he went back to his seat.
“This is a Glock twenty-two and as you can see, it’s empty. This is a service weapon that most cops and detectives carry on the outside. This particular one was my father’s backup weapon. Here, hold it in your hand and feel the weight.
But be careful. Like I said, you always want to assume that it’s loaded.” Morgan took the gun from her. Cait was impressed to see that she kept the barrel down at all times and did not shake it about the room. Glancing around, she noticed that they had an audience and that the room had gotten quiet.
“It doesn’t weigh as much as I thought it would.” And she handed it back to her. Cait took out the three clips and handed those to her.
“One of those would be in the weapon and at least two extra ones would be close enough for you to get to them. Most people on the force carry a second weapon and two clips for it as well.” Cait, a long time cop, slipped a fresh clip back into the butt of the Glock and then racked on into the chamber. Without looking, she put the gun back into her shoulder holster and clipped the holster safety over the guard. She took out the single bullet and put it back into the clip, then put them back into her pocket.
“Do you carry a spare? I have a smaller one on my ankle most of the time and Devin bought me OC spray when we got married. I’ve never used the spray, but have pulled the gun a couple of times.” When Ronnie looked over at her husband and he flushed, Cait laughed.
“OC is dangerous, Mrs. Grant, unless you know how to use it. Do you carry your concealed permit with you? It needs to be on your person at all times.”
“Ronnie, and it’s in my purse in the car. I didn’t wear it today because we were going into the courthouse. I know they have a rule about carrying one inside the building. Come to think of it, how did you...a cop can carry inside, right? I guess I knew that but never thought about it.” Ronnie nodded as she answered her own question. These people were an impressive lot.
“Yes. I can carry mine into anywhere, but have to have my ID, too. If a cop pulls you over, he could take your weapon and arrest you. Your licenses need to be with you at all times. I’ll get you a special holder that will hold both.”
“You said that was your father’s weapon. Where is he?” Cait glared at Devin. He knew what had happened to her father; she had told him herself. “Dead. He was killed in the line of duty when I was Meggie’s age and before you ask; my mother committed suicide two days later rather than face life with me at her side. Life is a bitch for a cop. It’s been a lovely lunch, but I have to...I need to go. Thank you all very much.” Cait stood and scooped the little girl into her father’s arms without waking her. Shoved would have been more accurate, but the need to escape was eminent. She needed air, right now.
Stumbling out, she heard Spencer say something, but she was having some difficulty breathing and it was making her slightly dizzy. Suddenly, arms were around her waist and after a brisk, “Come with me,” she was out into the fresh air.
~CHAPTER 10~
Spencer was going to kill his brother Devin. Right after he got O’Malley breathing again. When she stood up to leave, he thought is heart would stop. The thoughts that had run through his head had frightened him.
She had scared him when she started to leave. First, because he thought she was leaving for good, then because she had looked so pale. After giving Meggie to his mom, he ran after Cait and got her outside and to the car before she fainted. She was sitting on the trunk of Paddy’s car, her head between her legs.
She looked up at him, a watery smile on her face.
“I really hate your brother right now. He knew what happened to my dad. I think I’ll kick him in the nuts next time I see him.”
“Okay, sounds like a plan. I don’t like him much right now either. Are you okay, honey?” Spencer leaned forward and pulled her into his arms. She felt so good there; he never wanted to let her go.
“Yes, I’m sorry. I ruined your lunch with—”
He silenced her with his mouth. He wondered how much longer he would be able to use this particular trick when her tongue suddenly moved along his lips. Then need for her swelled in his blood and nothing else mattered.
He knew they were in a public place, but he slid his legs between hers anyway, pulling her close to the edge of the car she was still sitting on. He knew that at any moment, someone would see what they were doing, but his need for her overrode all saneness. For as much as he wanted to throw her on the trunk and bury himself deep into her, he knew this was not the time or the place to do it.
“Let’s go. My house is only ten minutes from here and I can get us there in five. Please, I want you, and without taking the chance of ending up in jail for indecent exposure, you need to come with me.”
She giggled and his heart leapt. Christ, he thought. He did not just have it bad for her; he was terminal for her. He had never wanted anyone as much as he did her.