She was talking so fast I didn’t even think she stopped to breathe. “I tried to push him away but then he just manhandled me until he had me pushed against the wall. He just picked me up like I weighed nothing. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and he was the hard place. Nobody has ever had the balls to treat me like that.” She huffed as she took an angry bite of her chips and queso.
She chewed fiercely before she released a pent-up breath as she looked at me again. “I have never been so turned on in my life, Kate,” she admitted as she threw her head back against her chair with a sigh.
I gave her an encouraging smile as I chuckled. “I know the feeling well.”
She shook her head. “I mean it. The way he pushed his hard body against me and just demanded that I kiss him back did things to me. Things that had me wanting to drop to my knees and beg him to touch me. I wanted to give over to him and let him take control, Kate.” Her face reddened again at the confession. I was taken aback slightly.
Jill may look like someone who doesn’t have a care in the world, but I knew she had some dark shit in her past. She didn’t like to talk about it, but I was there to help her pick up the pieces all those years ago. She had ruled her life with an iron fist since that day, never allowing herself to be out of control again. I loved her to death, but Jill was a tough bitch. If she was willing to give up her control, I knew it was serious.
I regarded her seriously for a moment. I knew she wouldn’t want to talk about him, but I had to ask her anyway. “Do you need to talk about it? He didn’t bring up memories of Jason, did he?”
She flinched at the mention of his name.
“If you want him to leave you alone, I’ll have Reid talk to him.”
She swallowed hard and shook her head. “No, this felt different. I know I haven’t known Detective Santos for that long, but I’m almost certain he wouldn’t hurt me. Not physically, anyway. I would bet he would know how to please a woman with what he has packin’ though. I felt something long and hard as he pushed me against the wall. I don’t think it was his standard issue I felt against my belly.” She was trying to steer the conversation back away from the darkness of her past now.
It was obvious she didn’t want to go down that road again, diverting me with humor. “You know, you might have better luck getting laid if you call him Damon and not Detective Santos,” I said, earning me a snort from Jill.
“Yeah, he told me to call him Damon, but I like the way his eyes flare when I refuse to call him by his first name,” she said before we both dissolved into a fit of giggles.
“Wait, back up,” I managed around my laughs, “you mean to tell me that you didn’t find out what type of hardware he is working with? I figured you took him to your fuckpad after the bar,” referring to her hotel room she kept reserved specifically for her one-night-stands.
“No, he got called out shortly after you left the bar. I think he ended up at your apartment to look around,” she said around a big bite of food.
Now it was my turn to flush. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to ruin your night too.” I could feel my eyes start to burn slightly. The reality of what Tom was doing to not only my life but others’ too, sat like a lump in my gut.
Jill shook her copper-haired head and scowled at me. “Don’t. Don’t you dare apologize for what that fucker is doing to you. None of this is your fault. If I would have known that he was going to treat you like this, I would have helped your dad drag you out of there kicking and screaming years ago.”
Thinking of my dad always left a pang of hurt in my chest. I still missed him every day. “I wished I would have listened to him all those years ago,” I said with a sad smile. We sat there in silence for a while, both consumed by our own thoughts.
I couldn’t help but wish that my dad was still around. He passed away right after Lindsey turned thirteen. I was almost sure he would know what to do in this situation. My dad had treated me like his princess and I knew that he’d expected Tom to do the same.
Though Tom never treated me the way he should have, he was never hateful. He was unpassionate more than anything else. Like I didn’t really matter to him. Which still begged the question as to why he was acting this passionately now. I knew his business was gone and he was in trouble with the law, but that still didn’t answer why he was seeking me out now. Like I owed him something.
Shaking off the thought, I looked back up at Jill with a small smile. “Anyway, enough dwelling in the past. When are you going to see Damon again?” I asked expectantly.
Jill smiled back at me. “I don’t know if that is such a good idea. You know me, I like to flirt and have fun and not be tied down. And that man has ‘serious’ written all over him.” She tried to give me a bright smile, but I could tell it was fake.
I nodded and dropped it. I could tell she was done with the subject. At the end of the day, I just wanted to see my friend happy, but I couldn’t help thinking that maybe her future was staring her in the face and she would just be too damn stubborn to notice it.
We finished our lunch over small talk. On my way back to my desk, I glanced out the window and saw the police cruiser still sitting in the spot they had occupied that morning. Giving them a small wave, I got back to work.
The rest of the day seemed to fly as I worked on some of the projects Sam had given me. She had taken my simple job of answering phones and upped the ante lately by giving me more manuscripts to proofread. I felt pride surge through me with each new assignment she gave me.
Shortly before three o’clock, my cell phone rang and I looked down to see a familiar face. I felt all my girl parts clench as his deep voice rumbled over the speaker pressed to my ear. “Hey, bunny, how’s your day going?”
I smiled as I leaned back in my chair. “Hey, it’s going well. I hadn’t expected to hear from you so soon. Are you missing me already?” I asked in a teasing voice. His answering chuckle sent goosebumps down my arms.
“I’m always missing you. I especially miss the way you moan in my ear when I am fucking that tight little pu—”
I sucked in a breath as I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked around my desk for anyone that could be listening.
I knew it was ridiculous to think anyone else would be able to hear my conversation. When I didn’t say anything, Reid laughed again. “Did I render you speechless, bunny?” he asked.
I clenched my thighs together to stop the ache I felt rapidly building. Putting the phone back to my ear, I replied, “No.” I could almost see his smile through my phone.
“I called to let you know that I’ll be a little late to pick you up tonight.”