Chapter 17

Fuck, it's been a few days, and I can't get her out of my mind. That kiss was epic, and I can't believe I had the discipline to walk away from her when she asked me inside. I took a long shower when I got home after the date, came twice, and watched my come circle the drain, only to wish I had come inside of her instead.

"Did you want some more spaghetti, Liam?" Mom asks, making me choke on the food in my mouth. I hope it wasn't obvious I wasn't listening to her as she rattled on about the minister that keeps coming by the house. Pardon me for not wanting to hear about a good-looking old minister that keeps sniffing around my mother. "You're a growing boy."

"I haven't grown in seventeen years, Mom."

"You'll always be my baby boy." Mom teeters over to the stove and dips another helping of spaghetti for herself.

I'd nag that she should let me serve her, but I'd only get shot down. I'm tiptoeing around her as it is since I'm trying not to upset her appetite. It's rare she eats, and she's eating tonight. "Thanks for dinner."

"Thanks for bringing my books by. I needed some new BDSM material."

"You and me both," I mumble, dropping my gaze to the remnants of roasted broccoli on my plate.

"What was that, dear?"

"Nothing. I said I'm glad to see you up and around."

"Have you seen that lovely girl you brought over a few weeks ago?" Mom asks, dropping the serving spoon in the pan. "I have enough spaghetti. I'll fix her up a container, and you can take it over to her. She seems like the type to return my good Tupperware."

"Jesus, Mom, don't do that."

"Why? Because you say she's a criminal?"

I growl like a bear, and it surprises me. I've never made that sound, especially not at something my mother said. What the hell is Lorelei doing to me? "I can't go over to her house tonight."

Mom sits back down in her seat and tilts her head, her eyes sparkling like I haven't seen in a long time. "Tonight? Have you gone over to the drug criminal's house before?"

From the look on my mother's face, she knows that I have. In a way, it's good to see Mom in a sassy mood. "I've seen her." I dip my head and shovel more food into my mouth.

"Did you finally collect your balls and go on a date with her?"

"Yeah," I mumble, still chewing. No use lying about it.

The silence is tense, and the only sound is the ticking of Mom's grandfather clock in the next room and the scrape of my fork against my plate. "Are you in love with her?" My mother asks, and I look up from my plate.

Mom stares at me with sad eyes that indicate she just wants her son to find love. I don't know why that someone has to be a woman that owns a pot van, but we can't always help who we fall for. Lord knows I fought it as valiantly as I could.

I look down again and ball my napkin in my hand, squeezing it. "Yes, ma'am. I think I am."

Mom claps her hands and holds her clasped fingers to her chest. "I knew it. There's something about that girl."

"Yes, Mom. I know there's something about her that people can't help liking. She may sell pot, but she's the human equivalent of crack."

Mom giggles and gets up from the table, slowly pushing away and rising from her seat. She shuffles over to the cabinet and grabs her old orange Tupperware bowl that once belonged to my grandmother.

"What are you doing? You can't seriously expect me to roll over to the drug pusher's house and offer up my mother's spaghetti as an apology for having her go to court tomorrow."

Mom spins around as fast as a recovering cancer patient still weak from chemo can spin. "You're actually going to show up?"

"Of course! It's my job to show up when there's a court case about a perp I took in."

"If the officer doesn't show up, doesn't it get thrown out?"

"I think that's only for traffic tickets, and it depends on the jurisdiction."

"Don't go to court. If you go, it'll ruin any chance you have with her."

"It's my job, Mom. Also, maybe it'll be the kick in the pants Lorelei needs to stop selling drugs out the back of a van."

Mom dips a huge portion of spaghetti into the Tupperware dish and scoops some roasted broccoli to the side of it. She gingerly lays a piece of garlic bread at the top of the container and burps the lid closed. Handing it to me, she raises an eyebrow. "Go take this to your lady friend."

"Now?"

"Now. Before you fuck up things beyond all repair tomorrow. You'll thank me later."

I doubt I'll thank my mother at all. I knock on Lorelei's door, not daring to hesitate this time, lest I be caught dawdling on the doorbell camera. Bogey yips at the door like he can smell me through the cracks, and Lorelei comes to the door, opening it in a pair of short pajama boy shorts and a Dolly Parton t-shirt. Her nipples show through the white of the t-shirt, and I look away. I can't handle seeing those nipples right now.

"Aren't you out late for a guy that has to face a menacing criminal in court tomorrow?"

I look at my watch and notice it's ten at night. "Shit. I didn't realize it was that late. I don't suppose you're hungry?" I say, holding up the Tupperware. "Mom made spaghetti and insisted I bring it to the nice lady I brought for her to meet."

"Do you do everything your mother tells you?"

"Yes. She's the only woman I'm scared of."

Lorelei smirks and crosses her arms, pushing those perfect tits up further. "Is that so? The only woman you're afraid of, huh?"

Maybe not the only one. I'm afraid Lorelei will never talk to me again after tomorrow, even if I don't want to admit it. I'm also afraid I'll never get my hands on those breasts.

"I'll go," I say, jerking my neck toward my car parked in Lorelei's driveway.

"Do you want to come in for a few minutes? I was just finishing up my baking for tomorrow. I had to get it done early because some douche nozzle is taking my time up tomorrow morning by making me appear in court."

I'm in the door and in her entryway before I can think about the consequences. Lorelei takes the leftovers and walks to the kitchen as Bogey and I follow. His tail thumps against me as he walks beside me, and I pat his head the whole way there.

Lorelei's kitchen smells like banana bread, but it also has the unmistakable smell of weed. I wrinkle my nose, and she gestures to the slow cooker in the middle of the counter. A fan that sucks the smell to the outside runs loudly in the window frame above the slow cooker. "I'm infusing. Do you want something to drink?"

"No." I shake my head. I have no idea what to say to her now that I'm in her kitchen. Damn Mom and her ideas.

"You're not saying much. We're already awkward as fuck together. It's going to be awkward as fuck tomorrow. Why are you here? And don't give me that shit about your mom telling you to swing by. You could have eaten those tomorrow without bringing them to me, and she'd be none the wiser."

"I had a great time on our date a few days ago. Whatever happens tomorrow, Lorelei, I don't want it to ruin our friendship." It comes from my chest, and I don't take it back. I say it as confidently as I say my own name.

She laughs at me. The woman actually laughs and holds her stomach. "We're friends? Is that what we are now? Fuck, Liam, am I the only one with whiplash here?"

"No, you are certainly not."

"Do you even know how you feel about me? One minute you hate me and are lecturing me like I'm a fifth grader in the drug prevention program. Then you're taking me down to the station. The next minute you've got me against the counter with a belt. The minute after that you're laying a kiss on me like I've never felt before after having a sweet date!" She runs her hands through her hair. "You're going to tell a judge what a horrible person I am tomorrow. God damn you to hell. What the fuck do you want from me, Liam? What are you even thinking right now?"

Bogey backs away from her, his tail between his legs like he's being scolded for shitting on the rug. I take two steps forward, my nostrils flaring, and I can feel the heat in my face.

"Do you want to know what I think?"

"Just tell me what the fuck is going on, you cowardly mother fucker!"

I chuckle and ball my hands into fists. I'd never hit her, but the angry energy needs to go somewhere. "I should hate you, Lorelei. Everything in my body and past training tells me I should hate you for what you do and how you make your living." I inhale deeply, and I know I'm going to regret telling her the truth. Somehow, this will lead to guilt and misery. "But I can't hate you. I can't hate you because you do things to my head. Sick things and wonderful things. You do things to me I can't admit to myself."

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?"

"Stop! I'm not done. I'll tell you when I'm done!" I yell the words, and I hear how bossy they sound, but I need to get this out.

I step toward her, my index finger an inch from her face, and she steps back into the counter, her eyes wide. "Don't you ever think that I don't have feelings for you, Lorelei. I may not know what they are or even how to deal with my conflicting feelings, but they are there, and they will not go the fuck away, no matter how hard I've tried getting you out of my system."

Her chest heaves, and those damn tits move with it. I focus my eyes on her face, but they're in my peripheral vision, and my cock hardens against my pants. At this point, I don't even care if she sees it.

"Fuck you, you fucking bastard," she yells. I wait for the slap across my cheek, but it never comes.

Instead, she does something even worse than hitting me. I'd take a slap across the face instead of the way her eyes flash fire.

Heat.

Heat moves through me, and I know it moves through her as her face reddens right up to the tips of her ears. She moves closer to me, enough where she feels my erection against her stomach, and the little bitch writhes against it as she grips my t-shirt and pulls me down for a kiss.

We kiss with urgent anger. Maybe it's lust, but I'm pissed off. I'm pissed off that I'm utterly fucked over this woman. I'm pissed that I've become vulnerable with a woman that should be my sworn enemy.

At the end of the day, I'd take a bullet for her. Right here. Right now.

I cup her cheeks and move my lips against hers, tasting the banana bread mixture she must have sampled. Something tells me her mouth is just that sweet, though. I reach down and cup her ass cheeks, pulling her up until she snakes her legs around my waist, making me moan with the feel of those beautiful legs circling my body.

She pulls at my hair, moving my head back as she kisses across my throat. The feeling makes my knees weaken, and it's all I can do to keep us upright.

She pulls away and bites at my lip. She's rough and wild, and I'm full of a need I've never felt before. "Bed. Now. Go," she breathes out in a husky voice.

I turn and walk us down her hallway, my dick hard against my pants and yearning for her like it's never wanted anything before.