Meant to Be Immortal (Argeneau #32) - Lynsay Sands Page 0,97

them as they followed her to the car.

“The doctor said you needed to be watched for twenty-four hours,” Mac reminded her. “Besides, I’m pretty sure the last time I stayed here Mrs. Vesper said something about the diner offering an all-day breakfast and I’m really hungry.”

“I’m not surprised,” Bricker said dryly. “It’s nearly noon. You went up to lie down fourteen hours ago.”

Shocked, CJ quickly did the math and worked out that Mac must have come up to her room to nap on the couch about an hour after she’d gone up. Deducting the amount of time she’d slept and her short stint downstairs for coffee, they’d basically been “rolling in the hay” for the last seven hours at least. Well, rolling in the hay and passing out, then waking up and rolling in the hay again. That had happened repeatedly. The first two times had merely been heavy petting; the next two after that they’d put the condoms to good use, though, and then they’d reverted to everything-but-sex after the condoms had been used up. And then Mac had been ready for some shower play this morning. If it hadn’t been for her having to get to the diner for noon, she would have too. The man was a machine . . . or the Energizer Bunny. He just kept going and going and going. It was something CJ appreciated, since she was finding him incredibly addictive. Every time she’d woken up from one of her swoons, she’d found herself reaching for him again, if he wasn’t awake first and already holding her. And she was really sorry she’d had to pass up the shower play. Maybe when they got back she could lure him there and—

I need to pick up more condoms, CJ thought suddenly. Lots and lots of condoms.

It was three minutes before noon when they walked into the diner. CJ relaxed a little when she saw that, but then tensed again when she saw that every seat in the place was taken. Fortunately, she’d barely recognized that when an older couple at a booth halfway along the outer wall stood and made their way to the till.

“So, do you think anyone will show up today?” Mac asked, ushering her to the newly emptied booth with a hand on her back.

CJ took a couple of deep breaths to try to control her response to his touch, and then cleared her throat and said, “I hope so, or it’s going to be a long two hours and forty-five minutes.”

“What happens in two hours and forty-five minutes?” Bricker asked as they slid into the booth, Mac and CJ on one side, Bricker and Decker on the other.

“I have that appointment with Jefferson at three, and told the captain I’d be there fifteen minutes early to look over and sign the statement I gave yesterday,” she explained as she pushed the dirty bowl and glass in front of her toward the end of the table, even as Decker did the same on the other side. They’d sat down so quickly the waitress hadn’t had a chance to clean it yet.

“Oh, yeah, the statements,” Bricker said with a nod. “Mine will probably be ready for signing too.”

“And mine,” Mac murmured, even as Decker said the same.

“Good afternoon, folks. Sorry, let me get this out of your way first and then I’ll bring you menus,” said a cheerful, stick-thin woman with salt-and-pepper hair, quickly scooping up the dirty dishes. “Can I bring you something to drink with the menus?”

“Iced tea, please,” CJ said when the men all deferred to her.

A chorus of three “me toos” followed and the waitress beamed at them as she balanced the stacked dishes in one hand and with the other whipped out a damp cloth to wipe down the table. “Well, I can see you’re going to be an easy table to serve. I’ll be right back with those menus and your drinks.”

“I already like it here better than the Pub and Grill,” Bricker said with a grin as the woman sailed off.

“You haven’t even tried anything yet,” Decker pointed out with amusement.

“Yeah, but at least our waitress didn’t try to crawl into anyone’s lap,” Bricker responded.

CJ chuckled at the words, her gaze sliding to Mac and then quickly away as she thought she wouldn’t mind crawling into his lap. Damn, she had it bad for the guy. He was sitting close enough that his leg and arm occasionally brushed hers, and every time it happened she