Touching Silver (13 page)

“That seems counterproductive to me. Does it react to fire or something?”

“That’s the thing. We’re not sure. Maybe he was torching the places to cover up his tracks that he’d been there. I just don’t know.”

“So Remy gave part of it to him last summer to save Nathan.”

Isaac nodded. “But you’re not asking the important question.”

“Which is?”

“What was Remy doing with it in the first place?”

If Isaac thought it was important…“What was Remy doing with the Silver Maiden?”

“Hold onto your hat.” His gaze flickered over her, as if aware for the first time that she was sitting there only in her underwear. “How do you feel about time travel?”

“I thought
Terminator
was a good movie, though
Back to the Future
will make you go cross-eyed if you think about it too much. Why?”

“Make it Remy instead of Michael J. Fox and that coin instead of a DeLorean. Oh, and instead of Biff going back in time to change things, it’s a psycho bitch of a cop from D.C.”

Any new relationship would have its share of challenges and difficulties. She just hadn’t anticipated hers would include time travel, visions and magic coins. A week ago she would have automatically laughed in his face and kicked him to the curb. A lot could change in just a few days.

“Why do you believe Remy used the Silver Maiden to travel back in time?”

“I didn’t at first. I thought she was pulling a con and Nathan was too much in lust to see it. I mean, you’ve seen how he is with her.” Rising from the bed, he began to pace the length of the room, his heels a hard tattoo on the floor to match his agitation. “But so much didn’t add up. No prints anywhere on file. Antibodies in her blood for vaccinations that don’t even exist yet. A microchip in her neck. Oh, and this ID card with technology on it that gave my best tech guy at the station wet dreams for two months.”

“Did it send Nathan through time too?”

Isaac snorted. “No, he was here when she landed in his lap. Nathan got something a bit more up close and personal.” He gestured toward the coin in frustration. “Damn thing gets hot as hell whenever he picks it up. He’s got a nasty scar on the palm of his hand where it burned him once.”

“But this isn’t the coin that burned Nathan, right? Gabriel has that coin?” Isaac nodded. “I…Is that why Nathan and Remy went to Argentina? To figure out what Gabriel wants with the coins?”

“Nathan thinks he’s using the coin he has to move the girls in time somehow. And the coins are originally from Argentina. If there are answers to be had about how they work, they’re going to be down there.”

She rested her forehead in her palm and closed her eyes. Time travel? Of all the crazy shit she heard in her life—and Cold Cases was a bastion of insanity—she had never heard anything like this. But that wasn’t the worst part. She stopped going to church with her mother at the age of eleven because the so-called miracles were too much for her to stomach. She demonstrated to a pack of her twelve-year-old friends that Bloody Mary did not live in the mirror. She stayed in a supposedly haunted house on a dare in college and got the best sleep in her life.

She wasn’t a credulous person, waiting for the right salesman.

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, Isaac. And maybe I’ll regret it later. But I believe you.”

He stopped on the far edge of the room and stared at her. “Are you saying that because you mean it? Or to placate the crazy man long enough to get to a phone and call the whitecoats?”

“I know something is going on with that coin. I know Gabriel is willing to commit arson and murder to get his hands on it, so it’s clearly valuable. I know there is physical evidence. I haven’t seen any of it yet, but I’m sure you would be happy to show me the chip and her blood results. Not to mention Nathan’s scar. I know you have an impeccable record and reputation. I know you wouldn’t have advanced so far or have so many arrests if you weren’t competent and clear-thinking.” Olivia stood and approached him. “I don’t ignore evidence, Isaac, even if it doesn’t fit with my expectations.”

His hand lifted as if to touch her, but only made it halfway before it dropped back down to his side. “But you didn’t expect any of this when you agreed to go out with me tonight. And I’ll understand if all this is too much for you. Hell, sometimes it’s too much for me, but I can’t just walk away from Nathan because his girlfriend hasn’t technically been born yet. We’ve been through too much together. But there’s still time for you to back off. If that’s what you want.”

This would be the best time to walk away. They weren’t entangled with each other. What had they shared besides a few kisses and a bed in the most innocent sense? She could get dressed—and thank goodness she had at least pulled on her panties before fucking around with the coin—and take Tiberius for a walk. When she returned, Isaac would be gone. She knew he would leave quietly, without kicking up a fuss. No harm, no foul. So long and thanks for all the fish.

“Isaac, when I woke up this morning with you I realized I was really happy to be waking up with you. I don’t want to throw that away before we even have a chance to see what this is between us.”

An amused light appeared in his eyes, but his mouth remained solemn. “You do understand that this is your one and only chance to tell me to shove off, right? Because otherwise, I’m going to take this as encouragement. And when I get encouraged, I have a tendency to get very encouraged.” He reached out and grazed his fingertips along the waistband of her panties, never looking away, keeping the touch so light that it almost tickled. “I don’t do things by halves, you know.”

She lifted her chin, meeting his eyes. “I wouldn’t like you nearly as much if you did.”

He gave her hip a light slap. “Then finish getting dressed. We still have a date. I promised you a few hours without interference from this shit, and that’s what you’re going to get.”

Olivia smiled. “Yes, sir.” She turned to her closet, but paused and looked over her shoulder. “Do you want to take Tiberius out for a quick walk before we go? He’ll appreciate it.”

“Not a problem.” He headed for the door. “I’ll make sure to get him good and tired so that you and I can have the night uninterrupted when we get back.”

“Thanks.” She watched the space he had occupied for a long moment, a little perplexed. The revelation of time travel and magic coins was not nearly as surprising as the fact that she was falling in love with Isaac McGuire.

Isaac hadn’t planned a real date in years. Picking a girl up in the produce section and having a single night of sex amidst the rubble of dinner didn’t count, especially when she dressed and left before midnight and he couldn’t remember anything about her the next day except she hadn’t known the difference between a mango and a persimmon. Bumping into an old college friend and having a friendly fuck before she left town to go back to her Florida lifestyle didn’t count either. It definitely didn’t count when the girl he invited to a barbecue at his captain’s home ended up leaving with the captain’s son because he had a better car.

So he wanted to impress Olivia tonight. He wanted her to walk away from their date eager to agree to another, in spite of the fact his best friend was in love with a woman from the future and they were trying to arrest a gang lord who happened to be obsessed with magic coins. He only needed a six-foot imaginary rabbit and a tiny cricket sitting on his shoulder to round out his world of crazy. This date was important. Olivia was important.

He insisted on driving, keeping the conversation light as he took them out to Long Beach. She looked beautiful, her hair like a coppery cloud where it fell over her shoulders, the navy turtleneck sweater making her skin glow. Every time they passed beneath a streetlamp, the light caught her eyes, and his chest tightened a little bit more.

This date was important. He wasn’t going to fuck this up.

He pulled into the lot at the marine launch, grateful it wasn’t completely full. The streets blazed with Christmas decorations and “Deck the Halls” filtered through the speakers mounted along the sidewalk. Visitors crowded the neighborhood, walking along the Naples Island canals to enjoy the displays, so many that Isaac was relieved he’d called ahead for other arrangements. He didn’t want a date with several hundred other people. He wanted the chance to be able to touch Olivia, to talk to her without reserve.

He was out of the car fast enough to get around to her side and open her door for her. “Have I mentioned how gorgeous you look tonight?” he commented when she stood in front of him. The breeze caught a strand of her hair and brushed it across her cheek, prompting Isaac to reach up and caress the smooth skin. His fingertips tingled. “You’re making me want to forget about the date portion of the night and go back home.”

“You promised me a proper night out.” Olivia touched his chest lightly. “I plan to hold you to it. Especially since you’re such a handsome date.”

He caught her hand and went around to the rear of the car, popping the trunk and taking out the wine carrier. At her curious glance, Isaac smiled and shook his head. “You’ll see.”

They walked hand in hand down to the pier. Isaac joked about hoping she didn’t get seasick and then flashed to
oh fuck I forgot to ask if she got seasick
. But the excitement in Olivia’s eyes when he explained about the gondola ride through the canals dispelled the first of his fears, the rest vanishing when she snuggled into his side as they began the tour.

He didn’t see the Christmas lights. Afterward, he couldn’t remember what they talked about, or when they had drunk the wine he’d brought, what the food had tasted like, or even if there had been any music playing like the tour promised. He was too busy watching her. He easily recalled the moment her hair got caught on her lip gloss for a fraction of a second before she reached up and brushed it free, and the different shades of blue her eyes turned as they passed by different colored light displays, and he even remembered noticing the tiny freckle at the corner of her mouth for the very first time.

But the rest of it was a blur. Too soon, or not soon enough, they were on their way back to her place.

She happily talked about her favorite light displays, her face and voice animated. She wasn’t the least self-conscious about discussing the things she liked and the things she found tacky. Apparently at the top of her list of Too Tacky to Tolerate were plastic Santas and those giant, electric snow globes. Isaac was just happy to listen to her.

When they reached her house, she paused outside the door, key in hand. “This is the part where you give me a respectful kiss goodnight, right?”

Lightly, Isaac caught her wrist and tugged her closer. “Well, there’s respectful…” Bowing his head, he grazed a kiss across the corner of her mouth, pulling back when she attempted to turn into the caress. “And then there’s this.”

He pressed her against the door, capturing the lips that had been teasing him all night in a hungry kiss. Her warmth seeped through his clothes, and though his fingers itched to slide beneath her sweater, Isaac settled for curling them into her waist, holding her still as he ground their hips together. The wine had warmed her tongue, and he sucked at the sweetness, her taste more than the alcohol making his head spin.

Olivia wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding him tightly against her body. He could have stayed just like that all night, kissing her until his head swam and his heart beat right out of his chest. But her porch light was on a timer, and when it clicked off, it pulled them both away.

Her breath came in tiny pants. “We’re going to do more than just sleep tonight, right?”

His throat tightened, and he thought speech was impossible, but he managed to nod toward the house. “Are you inviting me in?”

She curled her fingers in his waistband and unlocked the door with her other hand. “Inviting. Dragging. Luring you with dark promises. Take your pick.”

All three, please
. As he followed her into the darkened house, his gaze fixed on her ass, watching the outline of her hips against the shadows inside. But Tiberius interrupted his view far too soon when he came bounding up, knocking against Olivia’s legs and pushing her back against Isaac’s chest.

She dropped her head to his shoulder and brushed her lips against his ear. He shivered at the brief contact, the shiver morphing into a moan when she pushed her ass against his throbbing cock. “Go wait for me in the bedroom.” Her tongue darted out to tease his earlobe. “I’m going to feed him and put him in his room.”

The last thing he wanted was to walk away from her, but he did it anyway, knowing she would follow as soon as she could. Her bedroom looked different now, the bed more welcoming, the air warmer, and he quickly shed his shoes and coat. His shirt came next, but before he bothered with his jeans, he turned down the blankets, setting aside the extra pillows from the bed so there would be nothing to stop them once she came.

He hesitated when he saw the way his hand trembled. Fuck. He knew he was excited, that Olivia got to him as no woman had in a very long time—since Susanna, if he was being honest with himself—but the visible evidence made his stomach clench. What was he doing? This wasn’t like him. He didn’t sleep in, and he didn’t go head over heels for a woman he barely knew, and he sure as hell didn’t get nervous about sleeping with her for the first time.

Except he did. He was. And he wasn’t going to back down, no matter how much he looked like he was caught in a crosswind.

With a deep breath, Isaac settled on the bed, propping his back against the headboard. Each second of her absence dragged forward. He inhaled deeply when she finally floated into the room, pushing the earrings out of her ears and unlatching her bracelet. She paused when she saw him, her blue eyes shining.

“A girl could get used to this sort of thing,” she murmured.

Before he could ask about what sort of thing, Olivia pulled her sweater over her head. The sight of her in her bra wasn’t new, but it was different than before. He had been too worried about her health—and that damned coin—earlier to worry about how amazing her breasts looked in it. Amazing might not have been the right word for it. He didn’t know the right word.

Olivia slid her hands over her breasts and down her stomach to rest on the waistband of her jeans. She undid the top button, revealing a patch of skin below her belly button that he longed to kiss, and slowly unzipped her fly. Her heated gaze remained steady as she pushed her jeans past her hips and down her thighs, exposing her long, perfect legs.

He held his hand out to her, surprised the tremor that had controlled it before was gone. “Come here.”

Taking his hand, she allowed him to pull her onto his lap, her pussy pressed against his denim-clad erection as she straddled him. She exhaled softly, her lips so close to his he almost felt them. “Thank you for my lovely date.”

“I was the one with the lovely date.” He trailed the tip of his tongue across her lower lip, splaying his fingers over her ass to keep her in place. “Thank you for breaking your no dating colleagues rule.”

“You make it very easy for me to forget my rule even exists. I’ve got a bit of a crush on you.”

“Whatever it takes.” His lips skimmed along her jaw. “I don’t think I’ve ever known a woman who made me want to throw all the rules out the window like you do.”

She looped her arms around his neck, rubbing her breasts against his chest. The thin silk did absolutely nothing to hide her hard nipples. “What does it look like when a straight-laced, play-it-by-the-book guy like you throws out all the rules?”

“Not pretty. Not pretty at all.”

He scraped the edge of his teeth down her neck, seeking out the soft hollow of her throat. The fragile skin fluttered beneath his tongue, and her muted moan went straight to his cock, pressing even harder against his zipper. Unable to resist, he smoothed his hands upward, then slipped them back down, easing beneath her panties.

“Is that what you want?” He lapped at a bead of perspiration at the base of her throat. “A straight-laced, play-it-by-the-book kind of guy?”

She was already starting to breathe harder, and her pulse raced against his lips. Her fingers trailed down his spine, leaving fire everywhere she touched him. “I want a guy who knows when it’s time to throw out the rules.”

He yanked her off-balance, jerking her hips closer. Her hands flew to the side to keep from falling back against his legs. With one firm hand on her hip, he dragged the other around to her stomach, circling her belly button over and over again while his gaze remained locked on her flushed face.

“So does that mean nothing’s off-limits tonight?”

Olivia’s breath hitched and she shook her head. “No, nothing is off-limits.”

His hand slid lower, beneath the elastic of her bikini briefs. The second he felt the damp curls, he groaned. “God, you’re so wet, Olivia.” He needed to taste, needed to know what she would be like against his tongue, and it wasn’t the same as wanting to devour her mouth, wasn’t the same at all. Without looking away, Isaac dragged a finger between her outer lips, watching her eyes widen, her breath come in soft pants. They widened even further when he pulled his hand out and sucked away the glistening fluid clinging to his finger.

“Are you going to tease me all night?”

She arched her back and he slid his finger down her damp panties, tracing the outline of her lips through the material. Her soft moan coaxed him for more. He didn’t need the encouragement. Her heat was unbelievable, and he already craved another taste. He grabbed her legs and pulled them straight until her feet braced against the headboard on either side of his chest.

Sliding his hands beneath her to cup her ass, he guided her upward, toward his mouth. He could smell her arousal now, a rich smell mingled with the scents of her perfume and soap.

Closing his eyes, he dropped his mouth to her mound, biting her through the silk. Olivia bucked and he tightened his grip, refusing her the leeway to move beyond his reach. He nibbled down over her outer lips and over her opening, stopping to trace it with his tongue.

“This teases me more than it teases you.” Sucking hard at the silk, he moaned at the same time Olivia did, her taste flooding his mouth. “Tell me to stop and I will.”

“You better not.” She dropped her head back, and the tips of her hair tickled his skin. One leg hooked around his neck, while the other draped over his shoulder. “No matter what I say.”

He chuckled. With Olivia now supporting part of her weight, he could move one of his hands from her ass. He curled his fingers beneath the elastic of her panties and jerked the fabric out of his way, his breath catching when the full scent of her excitement assaulted him. The urge to sink his teeth into her was great, but he silenced it, choosing instead to let his thumb stroke over her clit.

She jerked against him, like he’d touched her with a live wire. Wondering if he would get the same response, he did it again. If anything, her reaction was stronger, her calf tightening around the back of his neck. She dripped with arousal, and her clit pulsed against his thumb. He couldn’t remember ever being with anybody who was this wet for him. Damned if he was going to wait any longer.

He pressed harder against her clit and dragged the tip of his tongue down her lips until he reached her opening. Isaac looked at her through his lashes, and she stared at him, her eyes heavy. Slowly, he pushed his tongue into her heated flesh.

A low keening came from her throat. Her ass tightened beneath his hand, and she began to rock to meet the thrusts of his tongue, coating his chin in her juices. Every time he pushed inside, her inner walls clenched, an electric portent of what would come when she squeezed around his cock. It would be even better than he’d imagined. She was already better than anything he could have dreamed.

Isaac slid down the bed, forcing her to sit up, her knees on either side of his head. “Ride my mouth,” he said in a hoarse whisper. “Do it, Olivia.”

He felt rather than heard her moan as it vibrated through her body. She wrapped her hands around the rails of the headboard and obediently shifted her hips. She moved slowly at first, like she was testing him, but when he gripped her thighs and found her clit again, she immediately jolted. His tongue plunged into her, meeting her rhythm as she rocked faster against his face. She began panting his name, a sound both satisfied and pleading, like she just wanted a little more from him, and then a little more after that.

The heat from her thighs saturated his flesh, and her juices made each stroke in and out of her soft passage that much sweeter. Isaac pulled his lips back to expose his teeth, allowing them to catch on the tender skin as often as he could, and was rewarded with fresh tremors, muscles quivering beneath his hand as he spread her even wider.