Wanting the Detective

Chapter 13

Kurt awoke to the sound of the bedside phone expecting to find Lucy where he'd left her: naked in his arms. Instead, she was sleeping in the bed across from his with her back turned, wearing his shirt.

He fumbled for the receiver, his hand still heavy with sleep. "Hello?"

"Hello, this is your four AM wake-up call!" The voice on the end of the line sounded too cheery to be real, especially at this hour.

"Thanks." He managed to croak a response into the receiver before dropping the phone back into place. There was no snooze button on a wake-up call—Kurt decided to stand to avoid falling back to sleep in the lure of his warm bed.

Lucy stirred and turned to face him, her eyes heavy and her hair disheveled. It reminded him of their intense lovemaking the night before. A twinge of arousal moved him. He wondered if he could take her once more and still arrive at the station in time for the briefing.

"You want coffee? I'll make us some." He moved to the desk and grabbed the pot from the machine.

"Coffee sounds good." Her voice was thick with sleep, making her sound extra sultry.

Kurt filled the pot using the sink in the bathroom then returned to empty it into the machine's reservoir. "You got up in the night. I hope you slept okay." He tried to sound casual and was certain he was failing.

"I did. I figured we'd both get a better sleep if we were in separate beds." She gave him a smile that did nothing to reassure him.

"I hope you didn't leave on my account. I liked having you in my bed." Kurt flashed Lucy a naughty grin.

If she noticed it, she didn't show it. She got out of bed and planted a dry kiss on his cheek before shutting herself in the bathroom.

What the hell? She was acting like they hadn't just had the most mind-blowing sex of their lives the night before. Like she already had one foot out the door.

He shoved the pot into place on the machine and jabbed the start button with his finger. Just when he thought he was starting to figure her out. Wham! She was weird and distant with him again.

Their coffee had finished brewing by the time Lucy emerged from the bathroom, washed and brushed. She pulled a paper cup from the stack next to the machine and poured herself some.

"Hey. We should talk about what happened last night." He wanted to get to the bottom of this... whatever it was.

"I had fun. Did you?" She turned toward him and raised her cup to her mouth.

"Of course I did. It was the hottest night of my life." He locked his eyes on her, used his skills as a detective to read her.

"We should do it again, sometime." Lucy quirked an eyebrow at him. It was impossible to read her. Why was that?

"I was hoping we could do it again... many times." He stepped toward her and slid his arm around her waist. Touching the soft sway of her back revived the memory of the night before when he'd explored every curve of her voluptuous body.

"I guess that depends on how fast we wrap things up here. My boss wants me back in California as soon as possible."

He'd been a moron to think she would uproot her life for him and now she was making it clear their relationship was limited to her stay in Atlanta. Regret socked him in the gut, making him weak. "So that's it? After this is over you go back to your life in San Francisco like nothing happened between us."