Declan Murphy inserted the lock picking tools into the lock on the door in front of him. After a few moments of careful twisting he heard the click of a deadbolt sliding out. He pocketed his tools and pushed the door open. The apartment was dark, quiet, just as he expected it to be. He knew exactly where the woman was. Not here. No, this was a recon mission. He had to know if he could find a go bag, a hidden driver’s license, or anything else he could use to follow her if she escaped again.
He flipped on the light by the door and stared at the dingy little kitchen and living room. It was empty save for a folding chair and a card table. He prowled through the single bedroomand bathroom. Still nothing. He had gotten her address from a corner store bodega owner who thought he was an undercover cop. Declan had kept the badge of the officer he’d knocked out. He couldn’t flash the badge just anywhere, but it worked in moments where he was convinced no one would question it.
This woman was smart to leave nothing behind. He re-entered her bathroom, bent to retrieve a single red hair on the floor and slipped it into his clear bag. They could put her DNA profile in the police database. If he was clever about it, she’d be easier to track. It was a small victory, one he’d take for now.
Chapter Fourteen
The next few days were a blur of domestic activity that Kara was entirely unused to. Grocery shopping at a leisurely pace, buying quantities of food that made her eyes bulge, and visiting the Field museum with Angelo’s family. Although Christmas was over, they were headed towards New Year’s Eve, and it was that time of year where time seemed suspended. Kara’s life for the first time was filled with family, friends and hot nights with Angelo that she’d treasure forever.
She’d found herself relaxing and slipping her hand in Angelo’s as they watched Nicholas and Millie frolic among the skeletons of dinosaurs and recite facts they learned to the adults. More than once, Angelo had put an arm around her waist and leaned in to kiss her temple, the moment so natural and easy that it made her heart quiver with quiet longing. She could hear the smile in his voice as he whispered her name each time he kissed her.
Kara… Kara… Kara… the sound of her name had once filled her with dread when it was said by anyone besides her mother, but now hearing it exhaled from Angelo’s lips was a gift she would always cherish. It ignited such a sweet fire in her chest and a blush in her cheeks.
She had never dreamed a night in the soup kitchen could have led to all of this… to a family.
Angelo had coaxed her into cooking, but she realized what she really liked was watchinghimcook. He moved about his kitchen so effortlessly, his muscled forearms moving as he chopped vegetables, stirred sauces or needed dough. He made cooking fascinating. Her favorite part was whenever he would bring her something to taste.
One moment he would be chatting with her about their day together or plans for the restaurant, and the next moment he would come over to her, spoon held up to her lips as he offered something sweet or savory. She had surprised herself and Angelo when she’d taken a bit of cookie dough once from his fingers using her mouth. His eyes had darkened and he had leaned closer, watching her mouth with hunger in his gaze. A second later, his body pinned hers against the counter by his body as he kissed her, sharing the exquisite taste of his cooking between their mating mouths. It was like nothing she’d ever experienced. But this man who loved food and loved to cook, was also a man with carnal hungers. Being the thing he hungered for most was the most intoxicating feeling she’d ever experienced in her life.
They hadn’t made love since that first time, but not for lack of wanting. It was merely that she was too exhausted at the end of the day to stay awake. But she loved spending the night in his bed anyway. The way he would tuck her into bed and pull her close, his mouth gently, exploring hers while she ran her hands through the dark, silken strands of his hair until she’d fallen asleep. She discovered quite by accident that lightly raking her nails against the back of his skull made him groan in sheer unadulterated pleasure.
She stopped pretending these private moments between them were for the sake of their fake relationship. Thesemoments were for her and her alone, to know what it meant to care for Angelo and be cared for by him, to feel his hands, his mouth, his body providing pleasure and comfort. It was a paradise she would never forget for as long she lived.
“Daydreaming?” Angelo’s voice tugged her back.
They were settled on his couch in the mid-morning light, just existing quietly together.
“Actually, yes.” She smiled dreamily and nuzzled her head against his shoulder.
“Good. You deserve to dream,” he murmured so softly she was almost certain she had imagined it.
She woke a while later from a light sleep as Angelo slid off the couch.
“I’ve got to go to the restaurant for a few hours. But I’ll make dinner when I get back. Asher will stay here with you.”
She woke more alertly this time. “What about you?”
“Colton is coming with me. He’ll keep an eye on me.”
She relaxed. He’d be safe. Asher and Colton were like invisible shadows, so much so that she often forgot they were there most of the time.
“You won’t be gone too long?”
“Only for the afternoon,” Angelo promised with a grin as he leaned over her on the couch caging her within his arms. “Will you miss me?”
She wanted to kiss him, and with the way he was grinning at her she simply couldn’t resist. She curled her fingers into his sweater and tugged him down, pulling his mouth to hers.
“Hmmm…” he hummed against her mouth before he slipped his tongue between her teeth and playfully touched hers. Angelo knew just how to make a kiss impossibly sweet and also seductively naughty at the same time. Heat pooled in her lower belly.
“I’ll see you tonight.” He finally pulled away and lightly tugged on one of the wild, red locks of her hair that had caressed her cheek. His gaze softened as he seemed to be drinking in the sight of her. Then with a sigh that held so much regret, he got up from the couch and left. Colton was at his side as they headed toward the street.
Kara watched them go and decided to run some laundry through the machines. She wrote some poems in her new journal before she noticed the snow was coming down outside again. Angelo would be back in a few hours, and she had the sudden desire to do something special for him, somethingmagical.
Struck by inspiration, she dug around his collection of cookbooks until she found a binder that contained very old looking recipes that had been photocopied and slipped into clear sheet protectors.
“Perfect.” Kara started to flip through the recipes looking for one she felt comfortable she could try.
Angelo got to the restaurant a little after noon and met his uncle in their shared office.
