Chapter Fourteen

The Sicilian was a converted warehouse made to resemble an Italian street café. The instant you stepped inside you were transported to Rome. The restaurant had rugged stone floors, exposed brick walls, weathered wooden furniture covered with red-checkered tablecloths.

Two marble statues of Venus stood on each side of an arched walkway that led to the dance floor.

Years ago, the owner, Enzo Rossi, had taken a liking to Dante after he had escorted a drunken customer outside and put him in an Uber. The hostess led us to a table in a secluded alcove which was perfect for stolen kisses and other stuff.

I didn't look at the menu. I knew what I wanted.

Dante grinned. "You're not going to try anything new?"

"Nope. Enzo's fettuccine al pomodoro is to die for."

"I agree." Dante leaned over and took my lips with a devastating blend of hunger and gentleness.

"Ah, young love." The silvered-haired man standing by our table was the owner. The only way to describe Enzo was dapper. He was in his seventies, and always wore a black suit with a red vest.

With a sigh, Dante straightened and plastered a big smile on his face. "Gemma's the love of my life, Enzo."

"And Bella." Enzo kissed his fingers. "So, Bella."

He was laying it on a bit thick, but I played along. "Thank you."

"Not only is Gemma beautiful but she's a damn good cop and I know she'll stand beside me no matter what comes," Dante said.

In that moment, I knew I would love Dante to the end of time. I pressed a kiss to his cheek and whispered, "You are so getting laid tonight."

"Am I?" Dante whispered back.

I cupped his groin and ignoring his sharp intake of air, smiled at Enzo. "Did Emily win the cooking contest with her Pannacotta?"

Enzo beamed proudly. "She did, and she has been invited to appear on Desserts R Us next month."

"How awesome. Your daughter is a very talented cook, just like her papa," I said.

He gave a slight bow. "You are too kind. Emily created a new chocolate cannolo. We would be honored if you would sample it and give us your honest opinion."

"Say no more. You had me at chocolate."

Enzo smiled. "Excellent. Are you having your usual?"

"We are," Dante answered.

Enzo motioned to a waitress. "Sally will bring your salads and bread."

"Grazie. What time are you opening the dance floor?" Dante inquired.

Enzo let out a sigh. "I must apologize. Sam Foster and his dance group will be here at eight for their monthly dance-off."

Ugh, a bunch of horny old folks dirty dancing. Something I didn't want to see. I had a feeling our date night was going south.

"How many people is he bringing?" Dante had his cop's face on.

Dread filled Enzo's eyes. "Seven couples. Last month they became so disruptive, I had to call the police."

"Why did you let them come back?" Call me dumbfounded.

Enzo rubbed his forehead. "Sam promised they would behave, and they have a contract."

"Let me guess. Sam threatened to sue you."

"He did."

"We'll have a talk with him," Dante promised.

His relief evident, Enzo gushed, "Thank you. Thank you."

The waitress placed our salads and breadsticks on the table.

"Enjoy your dinner." Enzo hurried off.

I stabbed my fork into the salad. Sam Foster was a pain-in-the-butt. "If we have to, we can go to Thunderbird Park, crank up the radio and dance under the full moon."

"I like the way you think." Dante's callused palm glided under the skirt of my turquoise sundress and his thumb circled my clit.

My core pulsed and I squelched a whimper. "I was thinking of naughty sex in your Camaro, not in a restaurant full of people."

"You wanted naughty, I'm giving you naughty." A thick finger slid under my panties and penetrated me.

My pussy clenched around his finger. "God."

"Like that?" Dante murmured as he sunk a second finger into me and stroked me with long, hard thrusts.

I arched against his hand. "Yes."

"Good, this is just a preview of what's to come."

He flicked my clit and my body caught fire. As I came apart, Dante claimed me with a kiss so carnal all I wanted was him buried balls-deep inside me. I didn't care we were in a restaurant full of people. My need was that great.

"Deputy Stone what are you doing here?" Emma Brown slid into our booth. She was wearing a silver, roaring twenties cocktail dress with a plunging neckline.

Talk about a buzz kill.

Dante just smiled and licked my juices off his fingers.

I gave him the stink eye and tried to get my breathing under control. "Eating. Dinner."

"The food here is good." Emma grabbed a breadstick and nibbled on it. "You look a little flushed. Are you feeling okay?"

Dante frowned. "Are you here with someone?"

"Sam Foster, but he's running late." Emma's eyes fixed on the door, and she waved a hand. "Martha! Over here."

An elderly woman with blue hair and wearing the same silver dress hurried over. "Oh, you got us a table."

"No. No. No. Dante and I are on a date." Did that stop her? Hell no.

Martha plastered herself against Dante. "Aren't you a pretty one."

"Get your hand off my thigh," Dante growled.

Martha giggled. "It's so firm."

"Enough!" I bellowed. "Dante and I are on a date. Emma, go ask the hostess for a table."

Emma grabbed another breadstick. "They're booked up, and you have plenty of room.

"Dante and I have had a hard week. All we want is a quiet…"

Two more senior citizens squeezed into our booth. One of them grabbed my salad and started eating it.

I stared at her in disbelief. That was just rude.

An older man with a bad toupee dragged a chair over. "I thought they were booked up."

My temper flared to life. "Emma, you and your friends have thirty seconds to leave our table. If you don't, I will get your water aerobics group banned from every pool in the west valley."

Emma gaped at me. "But…"

"Fifteen seconds."

"Yes, Deputy. C'mon guys, she means it."

Using his command voice, Dante added, "If you create a disturbance tonight, we will happily arrest all of you. Am I clear?"

They nodded and hurried away, leaving my half-eaten salad behind.

"Do their kids have any idea what they're up to?"

"Not a clue."

Dante slid his salad over. "I know how much you love their salads."

"I do, but so do you. We can share and I need to discuss our trip to Old Tucson."

"My brothers are really looking forward to playing outlaws in the jailbreak skit."

I grinned. "And as Annie Oakley I get to ride to the Sheriff's rescue."

The waitress brought our food. "Do you need a refill on your iced teas?"

"We do, thank you, Sally." Dante just had to use his sexy voice on poor Sally.

Giggling nervously, Sally fluttered her eyelashes like she had something in her eyes and scurried away.

"Turn it down a notch."

"Turn what down?" Dante asked all innocent like.

"The charm."

Oozing sex appeal, Dante leaned over, and his mouth grazed my earlobe. Shivers of delight followed his touch. "Like this?"

"You do have seduction down to an art form. How many women have you practiced on?"

Dante watched me intently. "Does it matter? You are the woman I'm spending forever with."

"Good answer." I took a bite of fettuccine and groaned. "Perfect."

Sally returned with a pitcher of iced tea and filled our glasses. She had unbuttoned three buttons on her red uniform shirt, exposing her white granny's bra.

I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

She thrust her chest out. "Can I get you anything else?"

"No, we're good." Dante kept his gaze focused on me and didn't even notice her exposed boobs.

I gave her the evil eye and she practically ran from the table.

Dante snickered. "And you have intimidation down to an art form."

"When you have five brothers, it's a necessity. Back to this weekend. Bert, the Old Tucson entertainment manager, needs more actors and he wanted to know if Sebastian, Chase and Mateo would be interested in playing Apache warriors too. On horseback, they get to chase a stagecoach through town."

Interest flashed in Dante's eyes. "Warpaint and everything?"

"Yep, and they'll be firing Winchester rifles, loaded with blanks, of course."

"I'll ask my brothers. It sounds like a lot of fun."

"Would you like to be an Apache warrior too, or are you happy just being a rodeo clown?"

Dante choked on his salad. "Clown!"

I pounded on his back. "Dad didn't talk to you about being the rodeo clown for the bull riding events?"

"He did not. Besides, I don't know anything about being a rodeo clown."

Had Dad set him up? Probably. "Not much to know, you keep the bull away from the downed rider. There's a swell rubberized barrel you can hide in too."

"Why me?"

"Dad said he was impressed with how you outran Bodacious. Plus, you haven't signed up for any of the rodeo events, and Dad wanted to make you feel like part of the family."

Dante grimaced. "I just bet he did. What happened to the current clown?"

"Car accident. You can always refuse."

Dante bristled. "The hell I can. He'll think I'm a coward."

"How many bombs have you disarmed this month?"

"Four."

"There ya go. A coward would have run away." I gave him a smooch. "And don't forget the chicken shit and flies. Few can deal with the smell."

"How does your grandfather handle it?"

I pushed my empty plate away. "Grandpa is one of a kind."

"He's a scary old man." Dante finished his fettuccine.

I drank some of my delicious tropical iced tea. "Even at his age he's still deadly."

"Did he and your dad ever get into a fight?"

I shuddered. "I thought they were going to kill each other."

"What stopped them?"

"Mom and me Maced them," I replied.

Dante's eyebrows rose. "How old were you?"

"Ten."

"Querida, you have balls of steel."

I laughed. "You should have seen the expressions on their faces, when Mom lit into them. Dad slept in the barn for a month and Mom destroyed all of Grandpa's guns."

"Ouch!" Dante winced. "Your grandfather didn't retaliate?"

"No, the CIA sent him to Iraq, and we didn't see him again for three years."

An older woman with beautiful olive skin and thick, black hair pushed a cart up to our table. "Are you ready to try my new chocolate cannolo?"

"We certainly are, Emily. You know I'm a chocoholic," I said.

She placed dessert plates on the table. Each held a crispy chocolate shell filled with a creamy ricotta. "I've added finely chopped pistachios to the ricotta and a light dribble of caramel."

I took a bite and moaned. "This is better than sex."

"I doubt that." Dante tasted the cannolo. "But it comes pretty damn close." He wolfed down the rest of it.

Emily smiled happily. "You like it."

"You've got a winner, Emily," I assured her.

"Grazie. Grazie." Emily glanced at the front door and frowned. "That nasty old man is back."

I turned and looked. Sure enough, Sam Foster was heading our way. It was strange to see him wearing clothes.

"Finish your cannolo. I'll talk to him," Dante said.

"Okay, he's all yours." I took another bite of the cannolo and watched Dante strongarm Sam out the door.

Emily sighed. "He is such a handsome man."

"Yes, he is, and he dances divinely."

Emily fanned herself with a menu. "I bet he does."

I had a feeling she wasn't talking about ballroom dancing, but his prowess in bed. What could I say? Dante knew how to pleasure a woman.

"Dinner is on us tonight."

"That's not necessary. Really," I protested.

A grim-faced Dante escorted a subdued Sam back into the restaurant and motioned to Enzo.

Emily gestured at Sam, who was obviously apologizing to Enzo. "Your man helped us with a difficult situation." She set a plastic bag on the table. "For later, and again, thank you." She pushed her cart over to another table.

Leaving a big tip, I slung my purse over my shoulder, and picked up the bag of goodies. I walked over to Dante. "Everything good?"

"It is. Ready to go?"

I nodded. "Thanks again for dinner, Enzo."

"It was our pleasure."

Sam's gaze roved over me. "You clean up good, Deputy."

I felt Dante stiffen and grabbed his arm. "Thanks. Let's go Snookums."

"Anything you say, sweet cheeks." Dante escorted me to the Camaro and opened the door. "What's in the bag?"

"More cannolo." I slid into the seat. "Thunderbird Park and dancing in the moonlight?"

Dante leaned down and kissed me. "Hell yes." He closed the door.

A flash of movement caught my eye. Frowning, I slowly surveyed the area and caught a glimpse of a short, bald man ducking behind a white VW bug. That couldn't be… A cold chill went down my back. In one quick movement, I drew my pistol and threw open the car door.

"What's wrong?" Dante was all cop.

"I thought I saw Ichabod."

Dante pulled his boot gun. "Let's take a look."

We cautiously approached the VW bug.

Cursing up a blue streak, a Hispanic man was trying to loosen the lug nuts on his flat tire.

A wave of relief swept over me, and I lowered my gun. I hadn't realized how much Ichabod's escape was affecting me.

Dante's gun magically disappeared. "Need some help?"

"I do." The Hispanic man smiled in relief. "I was afraid I would have to call a tow truck."

Always the helpful cop, Dante loosened the lug nuts for him.

I walked back to the Camaro. Damn, my hands were shaking. I did the deep breathing exercises Mom had taught me until the jitters went away. How had Ichabod gone from a goofy kid to a murderous thief? I slipped my gun back in my purse. Had he always been a sociopath, and I fell for his act?

Dante wrapped his arms around me. "Are you okay?"

"I will be."

He opened the car door and held my hand as I got in. "We should have the coroner's reports by Friday. If Ichabod's not one of the bodies, we will find him."

"God, I hope so. Not knowing is driving me nuts." Dante pressed a kiss to my knuckles and shut the door. I really enjoyed his old-fashioned manners.

Dante slid into the driver's seat. "Still up for some slow dancing?"

"Yes." I stroked his cheek. "It's just what I need."

Happiness filled me as Dante put the Camaro in gear.

*****

Thunderbird Park is a desert oasis filled with fifteen miles of hiking trails and all sorts of critters. Due to the abundance of rattlesnakes in the summer, hiking at night is not recommended. To my relief, the parking lot was empty.

A huge, marigold moon cast a mystical light over the park. "It's bright enough we won't need to use the headlights." I opened the car door.

A rattling buzz sounded, followed by loud hissing.

I jerked my foot back in the car and slammed the door. "Holy shit! Rattlesnakes are in the parking lot!"

"There are some on my side of the car too."

I rolled the window down and watched the rattlesnakes engage in a wrestling match or as Dad would call it, the combat mating dance. "There must be a dozen horny snakes out there."

"And there's one in here too." Dante pulled me across the stick shift and maneuvered me until I awkwardly straddled him.

The steering wheel was jammed against my back. "It's a bit of a tight fit."

Dante caught my chin in his hand and the hot friction of his mouth had me vibrating with pure, undiluted need. He was a fever in my blood. I burned for him.

"I promised you a naughty night of pleasure." His calloused palms slipped inside the bodice of my sundress and tweaked my nipples. Sheer, utter ecstasy blazed straight to my clit.

He sucked my right nipple while his fingers caressed my nubbin, hitting sensitive nerves and creating an exquisite torment almost too much to bear. My fingers fumbled with his belt. I needed him inside me. Now. I pulled his zipper down and his thick penis sprang out, hitting me in the belly button. Shit! I wiggled and squirmed, trying to get in the right position.

"Querida, you're killing me."

"Sorry, the steering wheel is stopping me from…" A massive charley horse hit my left leg. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

"What's wrong?"

"Leg cramp." I tried to crawl off Dante, but my belt caught on the decorative bolt protruding from the steering wheel. "Oh, hell, I'm stuck!"

Dante unhooked my belt and tried to lift me off him.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Stop! My right sandal is hooked on the gas pedal."

Dante's shoulders shook.

I glared at him. "Are you laughing?"

His white teeth flashed in the darkness. "Sorry, querida, but life with you is never boring."

Red and blue lights strobed behind us, and bright headlights lit up the interior of the Camaro. I groaned. "Great, just what we need, a bored cop." I hurriedly tucked Dante's penis back in his pants and zipped him up.

A loudspeaker blared to life. "The park is closed. I could cite you for trespassing and public sexual indecency."

"That's Frank," I snarled. "Lucky for us, he's afraid of snakes."

"We need his help to free your sandal," Dante pointed out.

I dropped my head on his chest. "God, this is so embarrassing."

"It could be worse." Dante slipped my breasts back into my dress.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't see how. Frank's a blabbermouth."

"We could be butt-ass naked." He hit a number on his cellphone. "Frank, we need your help."

"I'm not getting out of my car with all those snakes out there, and besides, if you're that horny you should have gotten a hotel room. The Vista Motel rents rooms by the hour."

"Not funny, Frank," I spat. "Mace the suckers."

"Can't you just drive away?"

"No, we can't. My sandal is caught on the gas pedal, and I'm stuck."

Frank turned the patrol car's sirens on.

"I'll be damned, the snakes are leaving," Dante commented.

His Mace in hand, Frank yanked open the driver's door and burst out laughing. "You should have known you wouldn't fit."

"Unhook my sandal and if you say a word about this to anyone, I'll tell Sergeant Bergman you're the one who ate his cupcakes."

"Shit! That's low."

"I mean it, Frank."

"Okay, okay, chill out. Damn. You're really wedged in there. My arm won't even fit."

"Go around to the passenger's side," I growled.

Checking the area for snakes, Frank cautiously walked around the car and opened the door. "You went to The Sicilian!"

"We did and the cannolo is yours. Just get me free."

Frank reached over the stick shift, slid the strap of my sandal off the gas pedal and tried to drag me out of the car.

My right knee hit the steering wheel. "Ow!"

"I'll lift, you pull Frank," Dante instructed.

"Okay." Frank took a firm grip on my left arm.

Dante slid his hands under my butt and lifted. "Now!"

Frank yanked and at the same time Dante pushed. I popped loose and slammed into Frank, knocking him out of the car. We hit the pavement hard.

I laid there for a moment trying to get my breath back.

"You're heavier than you look," Frank groused.

"Gee, thanks."

Grinning like a fool, Dante pulled me to my feet.

"It's not funny."

Frank stood up with a stupid smile on his face. "Yeah, it kinda is."

I threw my hands up in disgust and walked off my charley horse.

Dante said something to Frank and handed him the dessert bag.

"See you in Old Tucson," Frank called and got back into his patrol car.

Several rattlesnakes slithered out of the darkness, and I high tailed it back to the Camaro. "Take me home."

"Yes, querida."