“That was incredible,” Hope sighed in contentment.
“Was it ever,” Rick rolled onto his back taking her with him.
Instantly, they fell into a comfortable sleep.
The alarm woke them up an hour later. Rick turned it off then began to shake Hope awake.
Hope began mumbling.
“Come on get up,” Rick nudged her.
Hope grumbled again.
“Come on, or we’ll be late for dinner.”
“We could just stay here and forget dinner,” Hope said in a sultry voice.
Rick shook his head. “No way, later you will whine that you’re hungry and complain because we didn’t eat.”
Hope looked insulted. “I would not.”
Rick gave her a doubtful look. “Yes you would and then I’d be in trouble, even though it wasn’t my fault.”
Hope huffed as she got out of bed. “Men!”
Rick laughed as she stomped off to the bathroom.
Hope turned on the shower then stepped inside. The water cascaded over her body helping her to wake up. She stood underneath it for a few minutes longer until the cobwebs cleared from her brain. As she toweled herself off, her stomach growled. She thought of Rick’s comment about her whining when she was hungry and knew he was right. When she was famished she turned ugly, so she couldn’t blame Rick for wanting to feed her. The man seemed to read her like a book.
She left the bathroom and headed for her closet. Rick was already dressed and looking handsome and sexy, as usual. Hope stopped to stare at him. His dark hair was cut short and a few scattered locks fell into his eyes, giving him an enigmatic look. His body was well sculpted his lips were full and expressive, his nose thin, and his jaw strong and square.
Hope gave herself a once-over in the mirror and wondered what Rick saw in her. Her shoulder length blonde hair was unruly and hard to manage, her body was okay, and her looks were average.
Rick came up behind her as she studied herself. He noticed the scowl on her face.
“You look beautiful.” Rick commented as he kissed behind her ear.
“You look pretty hot yourself,” Hope said a little breathless.
A wave of longing came crashing over Hope when his lips traced a hot path down her neck. She turned around to steal a kiss. They were lost in a fit of passion, making Hope forgot her moment of self-doubt.
Rick was the first to pull apart. “I think we better stop this or we will never have dinner.”
Hope sighed. “I think you’re right.”
The restaurant was bustling with people when they arrived. The hostess seated them right away when they entered. A waiter appeared with menus, took their drink order, then left.
“This is a nice place,” Hope commented as she looked around.
The room was decorated in vibrant colours that were eye-catching, big plants were strategically positioned by the tables to offer privacy to the patrons, and candles were lit on each table to provide a romantic touch.
Rick nodded. “I wanted to take you somewhere new for a change.”
“Well I like it,” Hope said as she nuzzled close to him.
“I’m glad.”
Rick kissed her. Their kiss soon turned passionate making them forget where they were, until the sound of someone clearing their throat had them pulling themselves apart.
“Uh, I guess you’re not ready to order yet,” the waiter commented as he placed their drinks on the table.
“Give us a few more minutes.” Rick said.
Hope scowled at Rick as she grabbed the menu.
“What?”
“You’re a trouble maker.”
Rick smiled. “And you love it.”
If the truth were told, yeah she did. Hope wasn’t into conservative, uptight guys who liked to play it safe. She liked the bad boys who acted wild.
Rick took her hand in his and kissed it. “Just be glad I didn’t throw you on the table and have my way with you.”
The thought made Hope warm all over making it hard for her to concentrate on the menu. Music began to play and Rick led Hope to the dance floor.
Rick held her close as they swayed to the slow music that played. When the song changed to a Latin beat, Rick grabbed Hope and began gyrating his body against hers. Hope joined in on their sensual dance, enjoying the feel of his body next to hers. Instinctively she followed his every move. The energy coming off Rick was raw sensuality and it was aimed at Hope. When the song ended, so did their dance, but not the feelings that they generated together.
Rick gave her a quick kiss before leading a dazed Hope back to the table. Judy and Ren were sitting there when they arrived.
“That was some pretty hot dancing,” Judy said, fanning herself.
“Yeah, I thought you were going to rip each other’s clothes off on the dance floor.” Ren smirked.
“I would have,” Rick said. “But I didn’t want to get charged with indecent exposure, that wouldn’t look good since I’m a police officer.”
Ren chuckled. “Guess you’re right.”
“So what brings you by?” Hope asked.
“Rick invited us to join you,” Judy answered.
Hope motioned for the waiter to come over. When he showed up, he took their drink orders. He was back in no time with their beverages, took their dinner orders, and then quickly shuffled off to the kitchen.
Ren turned to Rick. “So I heard my wife was helping you with another case today.”
Rick nodded. “Yes the information she gave us led us to the suspect. Of course, he’s not admitting his guilt, but we’ve got a DNA sample, so hopefully it will prove otherwise.”
Ren and Rick got into a deep discussion about Rick’s police work, while Judy and Hope talked amongst themselves.
“So have you seen you know who lately?” Judy whispered.
“No, and I hope I don’t.”
“Now that he knows where you work it might be hard to avoid him.” Judy cautioned.
“Yeah, well I’ll just ignore him and hope he goes away.”
Judy shook her head. “With the way he was looking at you, I doubt it.”
Hope groaned.
When their meals came, thoughts of Jonathan flew out of her mind. Hope was too busy enjoying the food and the company. When the music began to play, Rick, once again, led Hope to the dance floor where they held each other close.
“God you are so beautiful,” Rick whispered in her ear. “I can’t wait to get you home and naked in my bed.”
Hope brought her lips to his mouth and gave him a mind-blowing kiss. Reluctantly, they released each other once the song was over and Hope excused herself to go the bathroom. Her mind was spinning with x-rated thoughts of Rick that she didn’t see the man waiting for her by the door.
Chapter 5
“Nice lip locking back there.”
Hope was startled to see Jonathan standing in front of her.
“What