“Ah,” I say, because how else am I supposed to respond? Next time I will have to remember to lock the door.
“You're a jerk,” she says. “I'm coming over tomorrow, and you're making this up to me.”
“Can't, sorry. Gonna be out of town for a few days.”
“Doing what?” She sounds unamused. “Is the celebrity traveling?”
“That's one way to look at it.”
She huffs. “What happened, anyway? First off, I didn't hear a phone. Second, you were gone when I went back inside. What's up with that?”
“What's up with what, Syd?”
“Were you hiding? You weren't hiding, were you?”
I raise my voice. “You're breaking up! I'm approaching a tunnel!”
She growls. “You're a terrible liar. Are you going to tell me what the hell happened?”
“What happened when?”
I turn into my neighborhood. Almost home. Thank you, Flying Spaghetti Monster. I can't wait to get in a few hours of shut eye before I start this wish. Before the dull hum in my brain grows too loud to sleep.
“This evening, Dimitri! What happened this evening?”
“No hablo ingles,” I say, then hang up the phone as I pull into my driveway.
I expect to see Syd standing on my front porch, but she's not. Chances are high my tires will be slashed in the morning. She's that kind of girl.
I grab the case file, lock the car, and strode up to the front door. My phone vibrates again as I step into my living room. I glance at the screen and sigh. It's Syd.
Of course.
I answer. “Comprate un bosque y pierdete.”
“Yeah, I took high school Spanish, too,” she says. “Get lost in your own damn forest, jerk. I'm coming over.”
“No, you're not. I told you, I'm heading out of town.”
“Well, let me send you off right.”
I glance around the living room. Nothing seems to be out of place. Maybe Syd kept her paws to herself this time.
I push open the door to my bedroom and flop down on the bed, facing the ceiling. Truth is, I won't be summoned while I'm on a kill. Not to mention, I have a few hours to piss around before the hum starts demanding action.
I can totally handle the hum for another round with Syd.
“You have fifteen minutes to get here,” I say.
“I'm already pulling in.”
She hangs up.
I look at my phone, then drop it to the bed. This woman is unbelievable. I can't decide if her shenanigans are thinly veiled clinginess or if she's just a mental case. Either way, I have to admit, I kind of like it. Crazy and hot is one thing, but now she's ticked off and assertive. The next woman has a lot to live up to after this.
The doorbell rings. I trudge down the hall and across the living room, stopping to toss Phil's case under a couch cushion before answering the door.
Syd is wearing a tight black dress that I could probably wad up and fit in my pocket. She has returned with a vengeance.
I pull her inside and latch my mouth onto hers before she can start prattling again. She drops her purse to the ground with a thud. I close the door with one hand and then bump her up against it. Her breath is heavy, her breasts pressing into my chest with each gasp.
The skirt slinks up her thigh. My hand follows right after. She turns her head, breaking the kiss, and shoves me back.
“You ever throw me out again like you did earlier,” she says, “and I'll take a brick to all the windows in your house, got it?”
“I was betting on slashed tires, personally.”
“That too.” She juts her chin.
I grin because she means every word and put up my hands in surrender. “Got it.”
I move in again, and this time, she doesn't resist. I pin her against the wall, my hands capturing her wrists at either side and my legs locking hers. She squirms and arches into me. I think I'm going to like this side of her.
She tries to slip me her tongue, but I push it back with mine and trap it. Like the rest of her.
Her pelvis rubs against mine. I shove against her until I know she can feel the desire, then rock a little to remind her what I'm going to do.
“Let's fuck,” she says, breathless.
“Mm, I'll tell you when. My house, my rules,” I say, and then demand her mouth again. She gives. She has so much more to give, and I want it all.
Then she takes my tongue with her teeth. Her arms twist free. Her hands go to my shirt, and I scramble out of it while she undoes my pants. In the next instance, we're naked on the floor. She's on top. She shoves down harder onto me, warming me inside and out.
I grapple at the fact she reversed roles so quickly. She rides hard, pressing a palm into each of my shoulders. Yeah, like that would keep me from flipping her to her back. The display of dominance is oddly arousing, so I don't interfere.