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“Do it again.”
I pulled back and looked into her eyes. “What did you say?”
“Kiss me again, Cope.”
Once the invitation was out there, I had to RSVP. I brought my hand to her cheek and stroked her lower lip with my thumb until her mouth opened enough for me to see the tip of her tongue. I leaned forward and touched it with the tip of mine. Ali’s right hand moved to my leg, and her fingers dug into my muscle when I went in deeper. I held myself back, so afraid I’d hurt her if I kissed her the way I’d been longing to.
I knew I had to leave, but my body wasn’t going anywhere, especially when she angled her head and I heard her moan softly. Wait. She moaned.
I wrenched my mouth from hers and looked into her eyes. “Did I hurt you?”
She shook her head and bit her lower lip. Her eyes were hooded, her cheeks were flushed, and her pebbled nipples were like little beacons, begging for my tongue to lick them. I closed my eyes and looked up at the ceiling. The woman in my bed was recovering from a car accident, I reminded myself more than once. Which meant the body I longed to have naked beneath mine was off-limits. I moaned like she had, kissed her once more, and then pulled away and stood.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I repeated, this time without the kiss.
“Cope?” she said when I was about to walk out the bedroom door.
I turned around. “Yeah?”
“Be careful.”
“Always. Keep your phone close by.” I raced out and into the elevator, and out of my building.
“What’s up, Cope?” asked Buck. While Ali hadn’t seen him or Rock, I knew they’d been nearby when I took her across the street and again when I brought her back.
“Ali thinks someone was in the apartment.”
“Was or is?”
“Both. Let’s go.”
Rock was there, waiting for us when we got back across the street.
“Cope,” he said quietly.
I nodded, put the key card in the slot, and opened the door. What I saw when I walked in, confirmed that there had, in fact, been someone in here earlier when Ali and I were.
“Holy shit,” whispered Buck as the three of us went in different directions, clearing each room.
11
ALI
As hard as it was for me to keep my eyes open, I couldn’t sleep until I heard something from Cope. The fact that he’d been gone for more than thirty minutes was beginning to worry me.
I picked up my phone for the countless time, stupidly wondering if I’d missed a call from him. I eased myself off the bed and slowly walked out into the main living area. Even from the hallway, I could tell lights were on in the apartment I’d only spent two nights in.
“You can do this,” I whispered to myself as I crept closer to the windows. I rested my hand on the back of Cope’s sofa and took as deep a breath as I could without it hurting and then took two more steps forward.
I gasped when I saw the activity taking place in the loft, but nearly screamed when I heard the lock on the door behind me click.
“What are you doing out of bed?” Cope asked, rushing over to me.
“I was worried.”
He smiled and brushed my chin with his fingertip. “I guess so. Look at where you are.”
I didn’t have to look. I already knew I’d gotten closer to the windows than I was willing to before. “What’s going on over there?” I asked, motioning with my head.