torn open and emptied. Trash was spread across the floor.
“This was more than a struggle to get Carl,” Diesel said. “This was a search for the coin pieces.”
Diesel was still carrying the bottle of wine. I took it from him and chugged some.
“Let’s clean this up,” I said. “By morning this will be an ant factory.”
Two hours later, we had the kitchen scrubbed clean, and the wine bottle was empty.
“Hey, handsome,” I said to Diesel. “Let’s go to bed.”
Diesel grinned over at me. “You drank almost that whole bottle of wine.”
“I did. And it was yummy.”
“You might be a little snockered.”
“Not me,” I said. “I can hold my liquor.”
I sidled up to him, nuzzled his neck, and kissed him just below his ear.
“You smell delicious,” I said. “I could eat you up…all over, if you know what I mean.”
The grin widened. “My lucky day.”
I slipped my hand under his T-shirt and ran my fingers over his perfectly defined abs. “Mmmmm,” I said, dipping my hand inside his jeans. I heard him give a sharp intake of air, and I continued to explore uncharted territory.
“Am I doing okay?” I asked. “What I lack in experience I make up for in enthusiasm.”
“Had me fooled. It feels to me like you know what you’re doing.”
“I like these soft round things.”
“Yeah, I can tell. Listen, maybe we should go a little slower.”
I wrapped my hand around his joystick. “Going to warp speed, Captain. Brace yourself. We’re in launch mode.”
“Eeep!” Carl said.
“Oh crap,” I said. “The monkey is watching.”
“Ignore the monkey.”
“I can’t ignore the monkey. I feel like a porn star.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“It’s bad.”
Carl was sitting back on his haunches, three feet away, his eyes wide, taking it all in.
“Maybe we should do this some other time,” I said to Diesel.
“Honey, you’ve got me in launch mode.”
“Yeah, but you can abort the mission, right?”
Diesel grabbed Carl and locked him in the broom closet. He returned to me, pulled me close, and kissed me. His hand was under my shirt, his thumb traced a path across my nipple, and his tongue touched mine.
Bang, bang, bang! Carl didn’t want to be locked in the broom closet.
“I can’t concentrate with all that banging,” I said to Diesel.
“Do you need to concentrate?”
“Yes!”
Diesel let Carl out of the broom closet, took my hand, and tugged me up the stairs to my bedroom. He closed and locked my bedroom door, leaving Carl on the outside.
“Are you sure this is going to be okay?” I asked him. “I don’t want to have to save the world all by myself.”
“We’ll only do certain things.”
“Does that include launching?”
“Yeah, we’re both going to launch.”
“Okay, but I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I’ve never had any complaints.”
CHAPTER NINE
My alarm went off as usual at four-fifteen. Diesel reached over me, grabbed the clock, and threw it across the dark room.
“If it’s broken you’re going to have to buy me a new one,” I said.
“If it isn’t broken I’m going to smash it with a hammer until it’s dead.”
I felt around under the covers. We were both naked.
“Uh-oh,” I said.
“If you keep feeling around like that you’re going to be late for work,” Diesel said.
“Are we…damaged?”
“I don’t feel damaged.”
I rolled out of bed and touched one of the pieces of coin that were on the nightstand. It vibrated under my touch.
“I’m okay,” I said.
“Honey, you’re way better than just okay.”
That was good to know. And it had me smiling. Still, I thought I should try to stay sober and not take a chance a second time. Not to mention it would be a disaster of major proportions if I should fall in love with him. And this morning I was thinking it would be easy to fall in love.
Twenty minutes later I was showered and dressed and only slightly hungover. The bed was empty when I came out of the bathroom. No Diesel. No Cat. No Carl. Everyone was in the kitchen waiting for breakfast.
I got the coffee brewing, filled the toaster with frozen waffles, scrambled up a bunch of eggs, and opened a can of cat food.
“I’m off to work,” I said to Diesel. “What’s your plan for the day?”
“I have the name of the monkey-napper. It made the local news this morning. They said he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and a broken neck. I’d like to get some background information on him.”
—
It had been a slow day at the bakery. This was bad for Clara, but good for me. I brought home