T.S. slowly worked his fingers in and out of her slick channel. She reached behind and gripped his head, turning hers so she could see him. His eyes were burning with sexual fire as she went up on her toes and kissed him.

Tomorrow was soon enough.

Chapter Eight

“So what’s going on between you and T.S.?”

Missy did her best to ignore her friend’s question. She didn’t have a clue what was going on between her and T.S. In spite of her resolve that their time together was nothing more than a wedding and drama-induced weekend fling, they were still seeing each other.

The past two weeks had gone by in a blur of activity. Missy had signed her statement at the police station. The second assailant was still at large. She shivered, trying not to think about it.

T.S.’ arm was healed, the stitches removed. She still couldn’t believe everything they’d done that weekend and him with a bad arm. Not once had he complained or even seemed to notice his injury. At least not when she was around, even though she knew it had to have hurt.

He’d called her that first Monday and somehow they’d ended up having dinner together almost every night over the past two weeks—mostly at her place, twice at his and at a restaurant three other times. It surprised her how much they found to talk about—politics, religion, movies, music, friends and work. The only subject off limits was family. Neither one of them wanted to talk about that.

They went to see a movie. Surprisingly enough, it hadn’t been one with fifty explosions, but a dramatic piece. T.S. had enjoyed it. He’d also seemed to have fun at the concert she’d invited him to. The artist was a folk singer she particularly liked. T.S. was proving to be a man of many layers. And maybe she was guilty of judging a book by its cover.

“Are you listening to me?” Candy sat down on the corner of Missy’s desk, waving her hand up and down.

“I’m listening. I’m just not answering.”

“So there is something going on,” Candy crowed. “I knew it. I could tell there was a spark between you two ever since the night of the wedding.”

The night of the attack. There was no way Missy could separate the two things in her mind. She wrapped her arms around herself to get warm. She always felt cold these days. She was still having nightmares and some flashbacks about the attack, but they were lessening as time went on.

“I’m sorry.” Candy rubbed her hand soothingly over Missy’s arm. “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”

“You’re not.” She had to stop acting like this. The past was just that. All she could do was move forward with her life. And that was part of the problem. T.S. was messing up her plans. She still had to expand her career before she found a permanent partner, a potential husband. She didn’t have time for a fling, a man. Not now.

Although, she’d had no problem finding time for him these past few weeks.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Her friend’s genuine concern jolted her from her thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m good.” Missy glanced at the clock. “How about we go out for lunch?” It was a bit early, but that only meant they’d beat the crowd.

“I’d love to.” Candy swung off her desk. “I’ll get my coat and meet you in the lobby.”

Missy shut down her computer and grabbed her jacket and purse. Her body still had twinges from last night. T.S. had come over with Chinese takeout and a movie. He’d stayed for a few hours after and made love to her several times. No, it wasn’t making love. It was having sex. Two mature adults having sex. Nothing wrong with that.

She closed her eyes and resisted the urge to beat her head against the nearest wall. T.S. was completely wrong for her. She’d made a list of what characteristics her perfect man would have and he didn’t fit many of the criteria.

Maybe her standards were a bit skewed. It had focused more on outward trappings and less on values. She’d liked him before that fateful weekend, but since then she’d come to really like him. She wouldn’t say the “L” word. It was too soon. And it didn’t matter. He wasn’t looking for anything permanent, which in a way made him the perfect guy for her at this stage of her life.

“You’re going to drive yourself crazy,” she muttered. She pulled on her coat and strode toward the lobby where Candy was waiting.

She needed to stop over-thinking things and simply enjoy the sex. Their relationship wouldn’t last. He’d get tired of being with one woman soon enough or she’d get tired of him. A little voice in the back of her head cautioned her that wasn’t going to happen. She ignored the warning voice and plastered a smile on her face as she joined Candy. “Ready?”

* * *

T.S. finished fitting the last piece of baseboard into place and set aside the nail gun. The apartment was really coming along. He flexed his left arm and was pleased there wasn’t so much as a twinge. It had healed well.

“That it for today?” Lucas’ brother-in-law, Justin, swiped his arm across his forehead. They’d been working side-by-side for the past several weeks on the apartment in Lucas’ building. It would belong to Justin when it was done.

“Yeah, that’s it.” He gazed around the room, pleased with the progress they’d made.

“The kitchen looks great.” Justin stood with his hands on his hips and surveyed the room, which opened into the living area. A six-foot counter with a marble top separated the two rooms and would serve as a workspace and breakfast bar.

“It does. You’ll be able to move in as soon as the bathroom is done. Shouldn’t be more than another week.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

He knew that Justin was staying in a cheap apartment downtown and that he and Candy had been estranged for more than a decade before he’d suddenly turned back up in his sister’s life again. There was a story there for sure, but T.S. wasn’t asking. He had his own secrets to keep.

“You coming up for supper?” Justin asked.

Candy had stopped in earlier and invited both of them to dinner. She’d also invited Missy. He could have told her there was no need to matchmake. He and Missy were doing just fine all on their own. Neither of them was looking for anything permanent. They were just enjoying each other’s company.

Usually, he didn’t like to spend too much time with one woman. It made him feel hemmed in, tied down. Plus it gave a woman ideas about making things permanent. But it wasn’t like that with Missy. She was independent. To a fault sometimes. She didn’t need him. Maybe that was the draw.

Thinking about her with another guy turned his gut sour. She was with him. For now, his smarter self cautioned.

“T.S.?” Justin was watching him, hands on his hips and a quizzical look on his face.

And he was standing here like an idiot, mooning over a girl he already had. “Yeah, I’ll be there. I just have to get cleaned up first.”

Lucas gave a quick knock on the open front door and stepped into the room. “You can shower upstairs if you want. I can loan you a clean shirt.” T.S. wondered how long his friend had been standing there. He’d obviously heard the last part of his conversation with Justin. Lucas circled the room, noting the finished kitchen, the hardwood floors, the crown molding and baseboards. “It’s really looking great.”

T.S. sauntered over to stand beside his friend. A bead of sweat rolled down his face and he used the hem of his shirt to swipe it away. “Another week. Ten days tops and we’ll be done. The tiles we were waiting on will be here in two days. Once we get those installed and the sink and tub in, it’s all downhill from there.”

“The bedroom is almost done too,” Justin added. “Needs to be primed and painted and the trim added, but it’s basically done.”

“Thanks, man.”

T.S. waved off Lucas’ thanks. “No problem. I’m glad this building is almost done.”

His friend snorted. “You mean you’re done dipping into my wallet.” They both laughed and Lucas slapped him on the back. “Come on up and have a beer. You can grab a shower and then enjoy Candy’s homemade lasagna.”

“Sounds good.”

“I’m going to run home and get cleaned up.” Justin only lived about ten minutes from here.

“You can shower upstairs too if you want,” Lucas invited.

Justin shook his head. “I won’t be long.” He was gone before Lucas could offer again.

“Now that’s a man with secrets.” T.S. picked up his miter saw and set it by the other tools that sat on a tarp in the center of the room.

“We’ve all got secrets.”

“Too true, my friend. Too true.” T.S. had more than his fair share of secrets. But that was the past. He made it a point never to live in the past. Thinking about it didn’t change it. Neither did talking about it.

“Hey. I thought I heard voices.” Missy stood in the doorway looking as classy and untouchable as ever. Only he knew the real woman beneath the glossy façade. The woman who clawed at his back and called his name as he fucked them both into oblivion.

“Hey, Missy.” Lucas dropped a kiss on her cheek on his way out the door. “I’ll tell Candy you’re here.”

T.S. waited until Lucas’ footsteps faded in the distance. “Not very subtle, is he?”

Missy chewed on her bottom lip and shook her head. “Not really.”

He walked toward her, leaned down and dropped a hard kiss on her lips. “I’d do more than that,” he told her, “if I wasn’t so dirty.”

Her pupils dilated and her nostrils flared. “Promises, promises.”

“You can bank on it, babe.”

Missy laughed and hooked her arm through his. T.S. closed the door and locked up behind him. “I’m going to shower and change before dinner.”