He’d never know because she put a finger over his lips and shook her head.
A low, seductive chuckle rose from her lips. “We’re acting as if this is the scariest thing we’ll ever do. It just might be because I suspect there’s no coming back from it.” With that, she exited the pickup.
Brick sat for just a moment before he opened his door and followed her. He actually fumbled opening the door. He felt tongue-tied and uncertain as if this was his first time. In so many ways, it was.
He held the apartment door open and Mo stepped through. The moment he entered and closed the door behind him, she turned to him and, stepping forward, she began to slowly unbutton his shirt. She looked up at him with those big blue eyes and he was overcome with a longing for something he’d never experienced before. He lowered his mouth to hers and knew he was lost.
* * *
MO LAY IN Brick’s arms. They’d finally made it to the bed. Earlier, the moment the door had closed, they were tearing at each other’s clothing. They had been headed here for some time, she knew, but she hadn’t expected the kind of passion they’d inspired—and neither had Brick, it seemed from the dazed look on his face.
After their crazed lovemaking, they’d lain on the floor, unable not to laugh as they stared up at the ceiling and tried to catch their breaths. After a few minutes, they looked over at each other. She remembered looking into those deep blue eyes of his and feeling...love and desire, hotter than a Fourth of July firecracker.
They’d made love again, slower this time, but with no less passion.
It was crazy, no doubt about it. They hadn’t known each other but for a few days. Mo thought of her sister. Tricia would have said that they didn’t know each other, that they needed to take some time, that they didn’t even know where this was headed.
But then again, Mo thought, maybe her sister wouldn’t have said any of those things. Tricia had fallen in love with a man who wasn’t her husband. That she could do something like that given how straight-laced she was... Well, Mo smiled to herself. Maybe Tricia would have understood, maybe even approved since the only two people who could get hurt were Mo and Brick.
Mo started at the pounding on the door. She shot a look at Brick. “Your father?”
He shrugged and got up from the bed to pull on his jeans. She grabbed what she could find of her clothing and hurried into the bathroom and closed the door. She could hear voices. The marshal?
She was dressed pretty much by the time Brick tapped on the door.
“There’s someone who needs to see you,” he said.
She opened the door and looked out. Her brother-in-law, Thomas, stood just inside the door—which was almost in the middle of the tiny studio apartment.
“Thomas?” she asked, stepping from the bathroom. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Brick pull on a shirt. They were both barefoot and she hadn’t been able to find her bra. Her body still tingled from their lovemaking and she knew her cheeks had to be flushed. “What are you doing here?” she asked, catching the tumble of covers on the unmade bed out of the corner of her eye.
“I have to talk to you,” he said, a muscle jumping in his jaw as he looked from her to Brick. “I had a feeling you’d be here.” He didn’t sound approving, which instantly got her hackles up.
“We should step outside.” She moved toward him even as he glanced pointedly at her bare feet. “This won’t take long,” she said to both him and Brick. Once out on the outdoor second-story landing, she demanded to know what he wanted.
As if seeing her ire, he said, “I’m sorry, but I had to talk to you. I came up after Jeffrey called me, but when I got there, he and JP were being arrested. Do you have any idea what is going on? Does it have something to do with Tricia’s death?”
His words stopped her cold. Did he know about Tricia and JP? “Why would you ask that?”
“Because she worked at that animal shelter they owned.”
“Remember, I was suspended. I don’t know what charges are being brought against them,” she said truthfully.
“It’s not just that,” Thomas said. “I found something in Tricia’s closet, hidden in the back.”
“Why were you digging in—”
“It’s a