TWENTY-EIGHT AND A HALF WISHES (A ROSE GARDNER MYSTERY, BOOK 1)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I did that to him.

I was hungry to know more.

I moved both hands to his waist, dropping Muffy’s leash, and lifted up the edge of his t-shirt. His eyes flew open in alarm and he started to say something, searching my face for an explanation. The intensity in my eyes willed him to be still. He seemed to understand and let me lift his shirt up and over his head, pulling it off the rest of the way himself. Then he waited, the pain on his face more profound than before. I wondered what he saw on my own.

We were a pair, he and I, even more so than Muffy and me. Both lost in misery, only his was of his own doing and mine was thrust upon me. But misery is misery, no matter what its cause and we were both drowning in it. I had no idea why he wouldn’t go to the police. But in that moment, I knew he would never hurt me, not if he could help it. I had four days left and I didn’t want to spend it alone. In the end, it didn’t matter what his motives were. I’d be dead. The first twenty-four years of my life had been a lie; would it be so bad if the last four days were too?

I reached my hands back up to his cheeks, marveling at the contrast of his soft skin and the roughness of his beard. I slid my hands down his neck, feeling the bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed, and down to his chest. The rise and fall of his breath became faster under my palms. I closed my eyes and absorbed the moment, attaching it to the scrapbook of memories.

My hands slid lower, down his sides, stopping at the waistband of his jeans. I ran my fingers up his back, feeling his muscles tense as I stepped closer, reaching higher. I stood pressed against his bare chest, my hands splayed across his upper shoulder blades, feeling the heat of his body seep into mine. I opened my eyes to look up into his questioning ones and smiled, the tiniest of smiles. If I never got more than this, I’d die happy.

My smile was the catalyst that freed Joe from his trance. His arms reached around my back, pulling me even closer as his lips found mine, hot and needing. The kisses on my front porch and the night before where nothing compared to the primal force pulling me to him now. Those had been flirtatious and fun. This was desperate and hungry.

I discovered I’d lied. I wanted more.

Joe’s hands seemed to be everywhere at once, on my back, in my hair. One hand moved to my breast and I gasped, surprised at the fire that burst within me at his touch.

That got Joe’s attention. He lifted his face and pulled my head to his chest, sucking in a deep breath and releasing it slowly. My heart hammered away, while the rest of me questioned why he stopped.

“We can’t do this, Rose,” Joe said, his heart racing in my ear.

“What? Why?”

“We need to wait.”

I didn’t even try to hide my disappointment, proof I truly had become sinful. “But I only have four days. There isn't time to wait.” The words fell out before I could censor them.

Joe wrapped his hands around my arms and jerked me backward. “That’s the second time you said that. What happens in four days?” He looked angry, far angrier than he had a right to be.

“What does it matter to you, Joe? Why do you care?” I asked, defiant. What right did he have to question me?

His face softened and his grip relaxed, but he still held my arms. “I care about you, Rose. I don't want anything to happen to you.”

It was my turn to get angry. “Yeah, I can tell by the way you’re running off to the police to clear my name.” I jerked my arms away from him, searching for Muffy. “It doesn’t matter. It will be over soon.”