“I, uhm, I’ll get back to my office now. I’ll see you around. If you need anything, just holler.”
He turned to see her back from his office and hightail it down the hall. He shook his head and smiled to himself. He made her nervous. She’d been on edge ever since he walked into her office.
Once he was sure she was gone, he backtracked to shut the door then pulled out his cell phone to call Mick.
“I finally met Faith Malone,” he said as soon as Mick answered.
“And?”
“Not what I expected,” Gray confessed.
“What do you mean?”
Gray paused and once again conjured up the image of her sitting in her office, her face a mask of upset. Her distress bothered him more than he wanted to admit.
“She’s young. Pretty. Seems nice. Very wholesome looking. According to Pop she’s extremely intelligent and as good-hearted as they come.”
He heard Mick’s sigh of impatience. “Have you gotten anywhere with the phone taps? Do you know if her mother’s called?”
“I only just got access to the office today. I’ll tap her phone here and at her apartment as soon as I can get in to do it. And I think her mother may have called today.”
Mick’s breathing ratcheted up, echoing over the phone line. “Are you sure? What was said?”
“I have no idea. I came in when she was on the phone, and she said very little. But she was visibly upset. She hung up at one point, and when the phone rang again, she refused to answer it. I picked it up, and a woman asked for her by name but refused to leave a message when I told her Faith wasn’t available.”
“Why the hell didn’t you put Faith on?” Mick asked in exasperation.
“Because she wouldn’t have done it,” Gray replied. “Be patient, Mick. I’ll get to the bottom of this. I promise. Give me a few days to get the taps in place. These guys aren’t slouches. I’m going to have to be careful.”
“Let me know when you find out something,” Mick said.
“I will.”
They rang off, and Gray shoved the phone back into his pocket. He stood there for a moment, pondering all that he needed to do. To his surprise, a sense of guilt nagged at him. Chewed on his ass like a pit bull.
He liked Pop. Liked the job, even if it was gained under false pretenses. He fit in well with Pop’s team. Connor, Micah and Nathan were all his age, and they all had a lot in common. For the first time, he wondered if going back to the police force was really what he wanted. It wouldn’t be the same without Alex.
Alex.
The one word that filtered across his mind brought a surge of pain, one he’d tried to block ever since the funeral, but lately he’d been unsuccessful.
Gray closed his eyes. The idea of Alex’s killer out there. Free. Escaping from justice. Gray had seen enough of the bad guys winning in the sorry-ass neighborhood he’d grown up in. He wasn’t going to let it happen again. This time it was personal.
“Uh, Gray?”
He looked up to see Faith standing in the doorway of his office. His gaze flickered down her long legs sheathed in tight-fitting jeans. The thin turtleneck she wore clung to her curves in all the right places.
He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, and he chased images of her body from his mind.
“What’s up?” he asked, hoping he sounded casual enough.
“Pop called. He and Connor, Nathan and Micah are going to eat and want you to meet them for lunch at Cattleman’s.”
Gray shoved his hand in his pocket, reaching for his keys. “Thanks. I’ll head over now. Want me to bring you something back?”
She shook her head and looked away, her cheeks stained pink. God, she looked so soft and feminine. He was half-tempted to reach out and touch a strand of her long blond hair. See if it was as silky as it looked. As silky as her skin must be.
He forced himself to look away, but then he heard her walk out of his office, and he glanced up to watch her shapely ass bob down the hallway.
He was attracted to her. Hell, what red-blooded man wouldn’t be? But she was wrong in so many different ways he couldn’t even stop to count. She sure as hell wasn’t a girl a man played with. No, she had keeper written all over her, and he wasn’t in a position to walk into that kind of situation. He’d scare her silly anyway.
With a shake of his head, he tossed his keys from one hand to the other and headed out to his truck. He’d need to find a time later when everyone was out of the office so he could tap the main line. If it had been Faith’s mother calling today, she obviously hadn’t gotten whatever it was she wanted. Which meant she’d call back.
CHAPTER 3
Gray leaned against the brick of the apartment complex and watched as Faith struggled to heave two large grocery bags out of her backseat then nudge the door shut with her hip.
He started forward, reaching for the bags when he was close enough. Wide, startled green eyes flashed up at him as she took in his presence.
“Here, let me help you with that,” he said.
She relinquished them, still staring at him in surprise. Though they both lived here—Pop owned the apartment complex and Connor, Nathan and Micah also lived here—he and Faith hadn’t yet crossed paths since he’d moved in.
He made his way to her door and turned back, waiting for her to unlock it. She cocked her head to the side.
“How did you know which apartment was mine?”
“Your brother told me,” he said with a shrug.
She frowned. “Connor’s usually so tight-lipped. I’m amazed he’d tell you for fear you’d break in and murder me in my sleep.”
Gray chuckled. “Is that your way of saying he’s a little protective of you?”
“No, he’s just cautious,” she said as she slid the key into the lock. “And private. Very, very private. It’s not like him to offer personal information.” She opened the door and gestured for him to go inside.
“Does it bother you that he told me your apartment number?” he asked as he shouldered by her. “I merely offered to keep an eye out since my unit is so close by.”
She followed him in and shut the door. “No, it doesn’t bother me.”
“Well, then, now that we’ve settled that, where do you want the groceries?”
She pointed toward the kitchen. “On the bar, please. I’ll put them away later.”
He took his time walking across the living room, glancing around at the interior of her apartment. From the impression he’d formed of her, he’d expected pink, maybe yellow, lighter pastels. Girly colors and decor. Frilly shit draped from one end to the other. He couldn’t have been more mistaken.
The apartment was decorated in rich, dark earth tones. There was a decidedly masculine feel to the furnishings. Burgundies, dark blue, greens. The couch and love seat were dark brown leather, and they actually looked comfortable, like they were sat in and not used solely for decoration. She was an interesting contradiction. One that intrigued him greatly.
He set the groceries down and glanced over at the telephone. Looked like a standard land line. Easy enough to tap, only he’d have to get into her apartment when she wasn’t around and make damn sure she never found out about it.
He’d gleaned enough information from Micah and Nathan to know that she was fairly routine in her comings and goings. Most weeknights she stayed home. Friday and Saturday nights she spent out with the guy she was currently dating, and Sundays she usually went over to Pop’s. She occasionally spent time over at her brother’s or at Nathan’s or Micah’s place, but for the most part, she appeared to be a loner.
When he turned back around to face her, he found her studying him, her eyes hooded and wary. There was a subtle curiosity in her gaze, despite her reserve. Like she couldn’t quite figure him out. Join the club, babe. He hadn’t exactly been able to figure her out either in the short time they’d been acquainted.
Her arms were crossed, folded protectively over her midsection. They inadvertently plumped her breasts, pushing them upward until they strained against her shirt. He could just see the outline of her nipples, pressing gently outward.
“Would you like something to drink?” she asked politely, though her body language told a different story. She wasn’t comfortable with him here. In her space.
He smiled. “Thanks, but I have to go. I’m meeting Micah for drinks.”
She pulled a face. “I know what that means.”
He arched his brow. “Oh?”
She laughed huskily. “If it’s Micah, it’ll involve lots of gorgeous women, usually brainless gorgeous women, okay, make that half-dressed, brainless, gorgeous women.”
“Sounds like my kind of guy,” he drawled.
She flushed again. “I didn’t take you for the brainless type.”
The corner of his mouth went up. So she’d been analyzing him. Very interesting. And she didn’t take him for the brainless type. Good observation, though it could have been a lucky guess. Frankly, he’d rather suffer a case of blue balls before getting his dick wet in a chick with more dead space than a black hole.
“I like the half-dressed part,” he said with a grin.
Faith rolled her eyes. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
Ah, dismissed. He retreated. No sense spazzing her out. He’d meet Micah, throw back a few, then he’d head over to the office to tap her phone. He’d wait until she was at work to get into her apartment.
As he walked toward the door, her soft voice brushed over his ears.
“Thanks for the help.”
He turned his head. “Anytime.”
Faith watched him go with an odd hitch in her breath. She hadn’t expected to see him again so soon after their first encounter, but then she imagined they’d be bumping into each other a lot, given they worked together and lived in the same apartment complex.
She knew from Connor that Gray was a Dallas cop on leave after his partner had been killed in the line of duty. According to Nathan, Gray wasn’t much of a talker. He and Connor should get along famously then, because Connor was as tight-lipped as they came.
Micah and Nathan on the other hand…they more than made up for Connor’s seriousness with their antics. Fun loving. Not a serious bone in their body.
Faith grinned. Just where Gray would fit into the eclectic mix was anyone’s guess.
She turned to put away all the groceries, and when she was done, she poured herself a tall glass of tea before heading to her computer.
Setting her drink to the side, she slid into the chair and moved the mouse to bring up the screen. She opened her browser and typed in the address for Google.
Now, what to search. She sat there a long moment, staring at the empty search field. What was she looking for? Did it have a name, this nebulous craving twisting inside her?
Maybe she should be Googling what to do when you lost your ever-loving mind. Finally she opted to type in a variety of words. Maybe by narrowing her choices a bit, she wouldn’t be inundated with superfluous information, and if she were really lucky, she’d actually get one or two sites that weren’t porn.
Dominance. Control. Hmmm. What else? Oh wait, back up. Male Dominance. Control. Submission? No, that just sounded wrong. Okay, so she’d just go with Male Dominance and Control for now.
Oh, geez. Research statistics. Was this actually a research topic? Maybe she could find a hunky professor willing to bend her over and…ohhh the possibilities. She started scrolling faster, trying to outrun the erotic images swimming in her head.
Spanking. Tied hand and foot. A man having complete power over her. Bending her, making her submit.
Taking care of her.
And there was the biggest attractant of all.
She sighed as she clicked through countless useless pages. Impatient, she typed in another series of search words.
Dominance. Control. Bondage.
At least these looked more promising. She scanned the topics and clicked on a few of the offerings. Her brow furrowed as she began reading about female submission.
Honestly, she’d never considered herself a submissive person. Yeah, she wanted a strong man. Someone who didn’t have to ask. Who was confidant enough to act. But did that make her submissive?
She wrinkled her nose. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to read up on it. At least then she’d have a better idea of how to find this elusive creature: the dominant male.
God, she made it sound like an endangered species. But in today’s world, she supposed they were. A dying breed. Emasculated by a politically correct society.
Great. Now that she’d figured out what she wanted in a man, she was going to discover there was no such animal.
She clicked until her finger was numb. Read well into the night, her eyes glued to both the fascinating and the downright bizarre. Honestly, she had no idea there were so many people out there who shared her desires, and certainly not so many women. But strangely, it didn’t make her feel any less isolated.
She heaved a sigh as her tired eyes perused yet another listing. Just as she was ready to give it up for the night, an ad on one of the pages caught her eyes.
