Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Cisco felt the kiss all the way to his gut. He'd never experienced anything like it before.

Previous to this lip-lock with Hilly, a kiss had merely been a necessary precursor to getting a willing woman into bed; a means to an end. But not with Hilly. Cisco realized he could easily stay fused to her sweet mouth for hours, even denying himself oxygen if that's what it took to continue. That's how potent she was.

After feasting on her lips for an indeterminate amount of time while exploring every centimeter of her willing mouth, Cisco eventually and reluctantly drew back.

"Was that better?" he rasped in a voice he almost didn't recognize as his own.

"Better than what?" she responded, her eyes glazed over.

Cisco couldn't help but chuckle. And crow. He'd done that to Hilly; made her nearly incoherent with need.

He cleared his throat. "Better than the first kiss we had, which you thought might have been a mistake."

Her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh! We did it twice," she spit out unnecessarily.

Now Cisco became even more amused. "Your agenda indicated only one kiss today?" he questioned cheekily.

"Yes. No. Arghh." She jerked back out of the circle of his arms.

He missed her heat instantly, but became contrite because the confusion and alarm on her face were so real.

"Hilly, it's okay," he soothed, attempting to bring her back from the edge of whatever precipice she was headed toward by taking an additional step away from her. "It was a wonderful kiss. A memorable kiss for me, but if you don't want to do it again, I'll back off."

The offer almost made him groan, but Hilly's comfort took precedence over the colossal attraction he one-hundred percent felt for her. Hell, he'd slap duct-tape over his lips if it would make her feel better.

"I… I'm being an idiot," she managed. "It was…fine."

Fine was not the adjective Cisco would have used, and by her initial response, Hilly was kidding herself. That kiss had been epic, and she had to have felt it.

Which meant he needed to ramp things down from "slow" to "a snail's pace". It would kill him, but…

"I agree," he told her, fighting not to bite his tongue on the lie. "It was fine. So, now that both our curiosities have been assuaged, should we get back to being working buddies? If that's where you see us," he clarified.

Her eyes finally focused on him as she visibly swallowed. "Where do you see us?" she choked out.

Did he go with the truth? Yes , but maybe a muted version.

"I actually think we might have a little chemistry going on between us, so my thought is, once you feel comfortable with having me around camp, we might think about going out on a real date."

When she went to give the rebuttal he knew was poised on her tongue, Cisco placed a gentle finger against her lips.

"If it makes you feel better delaying an outing between us until the end of the camp season because you're feeling it might be a conflict of interest between business and pleasure, I'm okay with waiting."

He wasn't really, and he'd use every bit of charm in his arsenal to wear Hilly down sooner. But she didn't have to know that.

A huge sigh escaped her, and her shoulders went from up around her ears, to back where gravity intended them. "Right. That would probably be for the best. I…like you, but I'm very focused on my job, and want to bring the best experience possible to my campers without distractions that could impede my program."

"I understand," Cisco answered sincerely this time, liking that she viewed him as a distraction. "Just know this. I'll abide by your rules, but I'm still interested."

A shy smile broke over her lips as she dipped her head. "I'll take it into consideration."

That was something. At least she hadn't completely shut him down.

He opened the door, giving her his brightest smile as he stood back to let her leave. "Thanks for lunch," he said, then winked, "and for dessert."

Yeah . He had to throw that in.

She flushed again, then mumbled something before she fled his foyer and practically ran the entire distance down the walkway to her car.

Cisco stood watching. He wasn't sure how he'd rate their afternoon's interaction. "A" for effort, "A" for that stellar kiss, but a "C-" for nailing down an actual date?

Cripes. He'd have to work on that.

He waved as she pulled from his driveway, then closed the door behind him, leaning back against it, contemplating the skittish woman some more.

Something clearly had Hilly doubting herself, and doubting his sincerity. Cisco just didn't think it was all due to one shitty boyfriend in college, as she'd insinuated. Oh, the prick may have added to her insecurities, but they seemed more deep-rooted than that.

Cisco pushed himself off the door, knowing he had to clean up the outside table, even though his energy had plummeted. He made quick work of trash removal, then walked back inside toward his couch and flopped down. Maybe after a little rest he'd dig further into the anomaly that was Hilly.

Cisco woke with a start. It was dark outside, and his doorbell was ringing.

Shit. He'd been out all afternoon, and most of the evening. He sat up quickly and winced. Clearly the wound was already starting to knit, and it was pulling like a bastard with his sudden movement.

A little more gingerly, he eased himself off the couch, reaching up to run a hand through his smooshed curls before bringing his palm down to his face where he breathed into it, then sniffed.

Yup. Nap breath. But there was nothing he could do about it right now.

He opened the door, and…

"Aunt Suze, Uncle Frank. Come on in." he backed up. "This is a surprise."

His precinct chief—i.e. Uncle Frank—gruffed out a response. "You think your aunt would take no for an answer once she found out what happened to you?"

Aunt Suze gave Frank a little cuff on the arm. "Right. Like you weren't worried to pieces as well," she admonished.

"Okay," Uncle Frank admitted without putting up a fight. "I might have been a little concerned. How are you feeling, Cisco?"

"A bit stiff. Even more achy. But not bad, considering."

Yeah . Things could have gone way more sideways.

Cisco invited his long-time family friends, in. "Why don't you have a seat and I'll be right back. I just woke up from a nap, and I need to brush my teeth."

"Take your time, dear," his Aunt Suze told him, and that's when he noticed the tote she was carrying. "I've brought dinner, and if it's alright with you, I'll set things up on your table."

"Sounds great," Cisco said, enthusiastically. Yup. His stomach was growling. He hoofed it down the short hall.

"If you're not too tired," she called out after him, "we'd love to join you for the supper I brought."

Cisco knew his uncle would want all the dirty deets on how the operation had gone down yesterday, even though he'd probably reviewed the available video at least a dozen times, and interrogated Mason. Cisco was touched at both their concerns'.

"Stay," he yelled back before ducking into the bathroom.

This was an unexpected boon. Earlier, before he'd fallen completely into the Land of Nod, he'd been contemplating cheese and crackers for supper, since he knew he wouldn't have the energy to cook. But now, with something homemade from his aunt's kitchen being placed on the table, he was psyched at the upgrade.

By the time Cisco was refreshed and comfortable, he made his way back to the kitchen to see a large bowl of his aunt's pesto-covered, goat-cheese ravioli on the table, along with a huge loaf of homemade bread that still looked warm. Plates and flatware were already on the table.

"When did you have time to cook all this, Auntie?" Cisco asked, taking a seat as his visitors did, as well. "Weren't you at a quilting thing this weekend?"

She huffed, lifting his plate and spooning on a huge portion. "You think, once I heard from your mother this morning about what happened yesterday, that I could spend another minute stitching fabric?"

"My mother worries too much, but?—"

Just as Cisco was about to thank her, his doorbell rang again.

"Geeze. Grand Central Station around here tonight," he quipped, easing up from his chair to get the door.

"There's plenty for another mouth," Aunt Suze called after him. "And I suspect it's Dieter. I left a note telling him where we'd be if he wanted to stop by. And of course he was concerned about you, too."

Dieter, Frank and Suze's son, had been his best friend since grade school, and Cisco had wondered how long the man could stay away.

"Hey, Diets," Cisco greeted as he pulled open the door before teasing. "You just couldn't let me have your mom's ravioli for left-overs, could you?"

"And let your trim physique suffer since you won't be able to work out for a while?" Dieter responded, giving him a huge grin. "I'm doing you a huge favor, asshole."

"Language, Dieter," his mother called from the other room.

"Yes, Ma," he said dutifully, but shot Cisco a friendly bird, just the same. "You going to invite me in, or what?"

"I am. And make it quick before your dad eats everything."

Frank Ildavorg—almost as much as Cisco—was known for his enormous appetite.

An hour later, with every scrap of food having been consumed and the entire scene outside the bank having been rehashed a dozen times, his aunt loaded his dishwasher, then Frank packed up their empty containers and made to leave.

"If you need anything else," Aunt Suze told him, "just call. I know your mother is working all week, but I'm available to take care of you."

Cisco looked at her, puzzled. "I'll, uh, also be at work tomorrow," he informed her.

"Oh, no you won't," Uncle Frank admonished. "You'll take the week off. I'm not having you rip your chest open to bleed all over your uniform on my watch. That bike you ride is a monster, and I can't see you wrangling it around town without doing additional damage."

Cisco blinked. "I'll take my truck, then," he offered.

When was the last time he'd had a week off? Never? The most he'd missed had been a weekend day here or there for his teammates' recent weddings.

"That's also a no." His uncle and chief laid down the law. "You are not to show up in uniform until a week from tomorrow. Am I understood?"

Cisco felt like he needed to confess. "But I've, uh, already made plans to head to Camp Venture on Tuesday."

His uncle pondered for a moment. "Will you be physically teaching?"

"No. I've discussed it with Hilly, uh, Miss Duncan, and I'll be giving verbal instruction only until the doctor clears me for action."

"Then yes. By all means. Go out to the lake and enjoy yourself," Uncle Frank directed him.

With tender hugs and air kisses, both his aunt and uncle were soon out the door. Which left him with Dieter.

"Shouldn't you be getting home, too?" Cisco asked. "Don't you have to be up at some ridiculously stupid hour to spend the day lounging around on your boat?"

Cisco was joking. In reality, Dieter worked damned hard hauling traps all day.

"Dick," Dieter returned with a grin. "You're just trying to get rid of me so you don't have to tell me about…Hilly. Don't think I didn't catch that first name drop, or the light in your lecherous eyes when you mentioned her."

Cisco groaned. First his parents, then Welker, now Dieter. Would the whole world know about his crush before he'd even gotten a chance to take her out on their first date?

But Cisco knew, in order to assuage Diet's curiosity, he'd have to throw the man some kind of bone.

"Fine. Let's just say she's a person of interest to me."

Dieter snorted and waggled his brows. "A redhead?"

Yup. His friend knew him well, and his preference for blonde women had never been a secret.

"She is," Cisco admitted. "But I've decided that's just icing on the cake. She's also smart, and…intriguing."

Dieter laughed. "Intriguing, huh? Is that code for she didn't fall for your charms right away?"

"Suck it, asshole. I'm working on it, okay?"

"Okay. Fine. Do I know her? What's her last name?" Dieter continued.

"Duncan," Cisco revealed, "and although that doesn't ring a bell, there's something about her that's weirdly familiar."

"I'd think with your tech-guru connections at the station and with your SWAT team, you could have someone do a deep dive on her; find out exactly who she is," Dieter suggested.

"That doesn't seem creepy to you?" Cisco wouldn't tell him he'd already pondered it about a hundred times.

"Nope. After all, you'll be working with her, and she works with kids. You want to make sure the camp's not just a front for something like a foreign child kidnapping ring. Does she have an accent?"

Cisco snorted. "Idiot. She inherited the camp from her grandmother, and her parents are local. She's one of us."

"Then how come we don't know her? How old is she?" Dieter probed.

"Our age." Cisco sighed. "But she said she went to private school, which is why we never ran into her."

"I don't know," Dieter shook his head. "It sounds kind of fishy to me."

Cisco voiced his thoughts out loud. "I thought so, too, especially because there's something extra-prickly about her. When you ask questions about her past or her family, she closes up tighter than a sealed vault. It's not like I think she's lying or anything. It's more like she's…avoiding."

"If anyone can get to the bottom of things, it's you. I have faith, young padawan. And now, it's past my bedtime." He turned to go, then pivoted back. "If you're up for it, maybe tomorrow night I can bring over some lobsters?"

"I'd like that." Cisco answered with a smile. He never got to see enough of his best friend, and he was looking forward to remedying that with his new schedule.

Dieter slapped him on the back, which made Cisco draw in a hiss.

"Oops. Sorry," he excused himself, but with a grin. The dick knew exactly what he'd done.

"Sure you are, asshole," Cisco snorted. "You'd better watch out Diets. The next time one of those red-critters you harvest tries to take off your finger, I'm going to shake your hand until you cry like a pussy."

Dieter laughed, then pulled open the door. "Right. I won't hold my breath on that one." His face grew serious for a moment. "You know I've missed you, dick-head. I'm glad you didn't get dead." He regained his cockiness. "Now look into that woman."

With that parting advice, Dieter saluted, then whistled his way back to his truck.

"Look into that woman," Cisco repeated in a murmur.

Yup. It was sound advice.