“Hey, you okay? You seem a little distracted,” he probed gently.
She hastily smiled again and nodded. “Oh yeah. I’m great! Sorry, guess I’m just a little tired from last night. It was a… a big performance,” she explained, though Seth knew she was keeping something back.
But they didn’t have much time together at the moment, and he wanted to make the most of it. Besides, the last thing he wanted to do was interrogate her or pressure her to give away more than she felt comfortable with. He understood that—after years on the force, he knew when to push and when to be patient. He just wanted to make her forget whatever was hanging over her head, even if just for a while.
“Well, let’s see if we can wake you up,” Seth said with a roguish grin. “There’s a place I want to take you.”
He took her hand and led her to a little boutique a block down. As they walked in, Gentry’s eyes went wide. It was an extremely chic lingerie shop, with racks and racks of lacy panties, flirty balconette bras, ruffled corsets, garters, sexy tights, and everything in between. There were six-inch stilettos and diamond-encrusted statement necklaces. Entire sets of pastel pink, silky gold, and wedding night–appropriate ivory hung on the walls. Seth could easily picture it all on Gentry’s perfect body, and it made his jeans feel a little tight.
“This place is fancy,” Gentry whispered to him.
“It’s what you deserve. How about you head back to the dressing rooms and I’ll bring a couple items for you to try,” he murmured back.
Gentry bit her lip and blushed. “Okay. I’ll be waiting,” she purred.
Seth watched her swish away, hips swinging. She disappeared into a dressing room as Seth quietly wove through the racks, selecting his favorite pieces. The other customers were all women, and every one of them eyed Seth like he was the last slice of chocolate cake. But he had a one-track mind, and hardly noticed. When he had a few sexy pieces draped over his arm, he made his way back to the dressing rooms. He gave a confident, casual little nod to the attendant, who was too overloaded with items to return or find in different sizes to pay much attention. Exactly as he wanted.
With a quick glance to make sure nobody caught him, Seth slipped through the heavy fabric curtain and into Gentry’s dressing room. She nearly jumped out of her skin, but Seth pressed a finger to her lips and backed her against the wall. She was blushing and bashful, her cheeks rosy pink as she fought back a giggle. She was halfway undressed, just in her bra and panties. Seth leaned in and kissed her on the lips, his body rolling against hers. He slipped his hands around her narrow waist and slid them down to grope her ass. He groaned ever so softly in her ear as he rutted into her, his cock stiffening. Gentry’s hands roved up his broad, strong back to ruffle through his blond hair. They made out passionately, their bodies pressed flush against the wall. They could clearly hear the shuffling of other customers and employees coming and going just on the other side of the curtain, but that only added to the thrill. The heat between them was fiery, and they couldn’t tear apart, not until they finally heard the clear voice of the attendant just inches from the curtain.
“Ma’am, do you need any assistance?”
Gentry and Seth froze up. Seth held his breath to keep silent while Gentry fumbled, “Uh, um, no! No, thank you! I’m good!”
They heard the attendant’s high heels click away and they both chuckled. Seth gave her one last devastating kiss and slipped out. He took a seat as she tried on various lingerie sets, all of which looked divine on her. She waltzed out, did a twirl, and gave him a little runway walk. They hardly noticed the other customers. They might as well have been alone, they were so wrapped up in each other. Seth was on a high. They spent the next hour hopping from one shop to the next. Seth couldn’t resist spoiling Gentry, especially when everything looked so damn good on her.
As they walked hand in hand, both carrying several shopping bags, Gentry looked up at him a little shyly. “You’re so sweet spoiling me like this. I feel like a princess. But Seth, I don’tneedfancy things. I just want to spend time with you,” she said.
Seth kissed the top of her head. “I know you don’t need it, but you deserve it. Besides, I’ve been putting money away for years because I had nothing worthwhile to spend it on. Now that I’ve found you, I intend to give you the world,” he explained.
Gentry’s eyes were shining. She beamed at him with such adoration, it made him feel warm inside. Seth set down the bags just for a moment, just to cradle her delicate face in his hands and kiss her on the lips. It was electrifying, like always. That kiss shot straight through him, and he was just about to dive in for another when his phone began ringing. With some hesitation, he checked the caller ID and realized it was coming from the PD.
“Ah. Sorry, angel. Gotta take this,” he said to Gentry, then slid the screen open. “Malone. What’s up?” he asked.
“Seth, you need to come back now.”
To his surprise, the voice on the other end was deep and authoritative—it wasn’t Maria; it was the lieutenant. Seth stood up straighter by reflex.
“Of course, sir. I’ll be there ASAP,” he answered.
“Duty calls?” Gentry prompted.
“Sounds that way. Here, let me drive you home. It’s on the way,” Seth offered.
It was a premature end to their mini lunch date, but Seth could tell by the lieutenant’s tone that something serious was happening. He pushed it out of his mind while he drove Gentry home, so the pair could chat and laugh and sing along to the radio together. When they arrived at her apartment, Seth walked her up and gave her a sweet, almost chaste kiss at the door.
“See you again soon?” Gentry asked hopefully.
Seth smiled and kissed her again. “You can bet on it.”
From the moment he got back in his car, he was already in police mode. He made the quick drive to the department and went striding into the building. Linc and Lieutenant Pearce met him almost at the door, and they started walking together—with purpose.
“Sorry I’m late,” Seth said. “What’s going on?”
“Remember that guy who messed with Gentry the other night? The one who dropped his wallet?” Linc began.
“Couldn’t forget. I almost caught the guy on foot,” Seth said.
“Well, the address on his driver’s license wasn’t up to date, and he goes by his middle name instead of his first name, but we managed to track him down and bring him in,” Pearce explained. “He’s in the interview room. I want you boys on it.”