Dirty Little Mistake (Dirty #2) Page 16

  I gave up on the pose as I relieved myself of my wedgie and tucked the blankets up my body. I reached over to the lamp and hit the dimmer just as Ian came back into the room.

  He stood at the end of the bed awkwardly.

  “Did you and Ridley have a fight?” he asked.

  My heart squeezed and I forced it to harden against the feeling.

  “Do you really want to talk about Ridley?” I replied lightly.

  “You don’t?”

  “No. Why would I?”

  “Because…I don’t know. I guess I thought that he might have something to do with why you wanted to talk to me.”

  “It has nothing to do with him. Less than nothing.”

  “You don’t sound so sure about that.”

  Didn’t I?

  “I’m sure.” But it felt like a lie.

  Ian sighed. “I’m not that bright of a guy, Brenna. I let my dick lead me around most of the time and that gets me into all kinds of shit. But I can tell when a girl isn’t into me. And you…You’re not into me. You don’t want to be here.”

  He was right.

  I didn’t want to be there at all.

  The only place I wanted to be was with Ridley.

  “Brenna? Why don’t you just tell me what the fuck is really going on?”

  I brought my eyes up to meet Ian’s. And I opened my mouth to tell him everything.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Ridley

  The twenty minute drive to the hotel did nothing to calm me down. I spent the whole trip wondering just how long it was going to take for Ian to work his web of charm over Brenna. Especially factoring in her own eagerness.

  Not long at all.

  When I reached the staff lot, I had to force myself to keep from jumping out of the truck before I even had it in park.

  I sprinted across the pavement, only slowing when I reached the front door.

  Jen, the evening concierge grinned at me as I approached her counter.

  “Rid! Isn’t it your day off?” she asked.

  I shrugged and launched as casually as I could into my explanation. “I was pretty tired at the end of my last shift. Think I left my coat behind.”

  She gave me a scrutinizing once over. “You sure you want your coat? You look a little warm.”

  I touched my damp brow and feigned a chuckle. “Just in a hurry.”

  “Hot date?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Whoa.” Jen’s eyes widened curiously. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you say yes to that question.”

  “Wasn’t quite a yes, was it?”

  “Wasn’t quite a no either.”

  I glanced up at the clock above her head. How long had Brenna and Ian been in their room? There was only one answer. Too long.

  “Ronaldo on?” I asked, knowing perfectly well that he was.

  Jen nodded. “Yeah. And he won’t be happy if he finds you in the staff room.”

  I forced a smile. “That’s where you come in, I guess.”

  She sighed. “What’s in it for me?”

  Dammit.

  I didn’t have time to bargain with her. I needed to get to Brenna. Before Ian did.

  “What do you want?” I asked, masking my irritation.

  “That easy?”

  “I really need that coat.”

  “Hmm. Maybe I should think about it,” Jen teased. “I was expecting a bit of a fight.”

  “Name your price. Please.”

  She blinked at my short tone. “Geez. Relax, Rid. Sneak me a plate of food the next time the restaurant caters a wedding. And promise me gravy.”

  “Done.”

  “What does your damned coat look like?”

  I handed her a bullshit description and she warned me, “If Ronaldo catches me, I’m going to go ahead and hand him your head on a platter. And I’ll still want that gravy.”

  The second she took off, I jumped behind the counter and navigated to the reservations screen. I tapped my fingers impatiently as I waited for it to load.

  “C’mon,” I muttered.

  Finally, the fill-in-the-blanks popped up. I typed in Ian’s name and his room number flashed in front of me.

  602.

  A suite on the top floor. Of course the bastard had squeezed out an upgrade. Every room up there needed a specially coded key card to get to them, making my life a little harder.

  My eyes darted between the computer and the door to the backroom that adjoined the hotel and the restaurant. I had no idea how quickly Jen would give up looking for my non-existent coat, but I figured it wouldn’t be long.

  As quickly as I could, I slid open the drawer under the counter and grabbed one of the blanks cards from inside. With sweaty fingers, I fumbled through the process of linking it to the room. The computer beeped angrily each time I made a mistake, but at last I found the right spot.

  I swiped the card, cleared the screen, and slid back to the front of the desk just as Jen returned.

  “You sure you left your jacket in the break room?” she asked.

  I forced a grin. “No. I guess it could be at home.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You’re a tool.”

  “Thanks for checking.”

  I turned to go.

  “Hey, Rid!”

  I paused, wondering if she’d somehow spotted my subterfuge.

  “Yeah?” I called back cautiously.

  “Don’t forget my gravy!”

  “I wouldn’t dare.”

  I slipped down the hall that led to the elevators and swiped my stolen card in the slot.

  I needed to get Brenna out.

  I wanted to avoid confronting Ian. At least for now.

  By the time I reached the top floor, a plan had formed in my mind. An idiotic, career-risking plan, but a plan nonetheless.

  The second the doors slid open, I flattened myself against the wall. I knew for a fact none of the ceiling cameras were in working order, but that didn’t mean I had to advertise my intentions either.

  I made my way to the nearest utility closet, flicked the light on and ducked inside. I rifled through it quickly. I had no trouble finding the tools I needed. I grabbed a feather duster and sprayed it lightly with stain remover. Lastly, I snagged a pack of hotel-logo matches.

  In under two minutes, I was standing outside Ian and Brenna’s room with the duster held as far away from my body as I could manage. I lit a match and touched it to the feathers, which obligingly burst into flames. I raised my arm to the sprinkler sensor above my head.

  The accelerant on the duster caused a billow of smoke to snake along the ceiling.

  Too late, I realized what was about to happen.

  “Shit.”

  My intention was to set off the single sprinkler out of room 602 using the concentrated heat, which would automatically set of the alarm in their room, which would in turn force them out. With the smoke travelling the way it was, though, every alarm on the floor would be tripped. It was hell of a lot more than I’d bargained for.

  “Shit,” I said again, and stared up at the duster in growing horror.

  Reckless. Stupid. Dangerous.

  I couldn’t settle on the best descriptor.

  Fucked.

  Yep. That was the one. I was totally fucked.

  What the hell were you thinking?

  My juvie record already included counts of assault, possession, and a bit of petty larceny. I couldn’t toss the duster unless I wanted to add an arson charge to that. In adult court this time of course.

  I needed to put the fire out.

  I ripped my shirt over my head and dropped it over the smoking feathers. I wrapped it up as tightly as I could in hopes that I would smother the heat. Instead, the synthetic fibers in the shirt crackled and began to melt.

  I struggled to maintain my grip on the handle but it was growing warmer by the second. I eyed the window at the end of the hall. It was sealed, but smashing it sounded a like a hell of a better
option than banging on Ian and Brenna’s door and asking to borrow their sink.

  A snap above my head made me jerk my eyes up. A second pop and a hiss told me the sprinkler had finally – belatedly - reacted to the heat. Water cascaded down on my face and bare chest and over the feather duster too, sending a plume of smoke up and out.

  In reply, the first alarm sounded from within room 602 and then the second and third one from down the hall. In about five seconds, the hotels guests were going to start rushing from their rooms.

  Including Brenna and Ian.

  Their door handle rattled.

  Clutching the offending, still-smoking incendiary device in my hands, I bolted. I took the staff stairs in order to avoid the crowd that would be descending on the regular ones, and when I got to the first floor, I was glad I’d done it. The lobby where the main stairs and elevators led was swarming with people in varying states of dress.

  The whole hotel echoed with the sound of smoke alarms and I realized my little stunt must’ve set them off on every floor.

  I hugged the wall as a family of four in matching hotel bathrobes scurried past me. The little girl in the group stared at me, eyes wide.

  “Time to get out of here,” I said out loud to myself.

  I spun to go, and that’s when I caught sight of Brenna.

  She stood off to the side of the lobby and looked like she was doing her best to become invisible. No way in hell was she going to go unnoticed for long. Not dressed like that.

  She was wearing nothing but a filmy piece of fabric. Its frilly bottom barely covered her ass, and the ribbons fastened over her chest drew immediate attention to her pert nipples. To top it off, she was soaked. If the nightie had been enticingly translucent before, it was positively see-through now.

  Jesus H. Christ.

  She folded her arms as though she could sense that she was being stared at. She glanced around nervously and I knew she must be seeking Ian. He was nowhere to be seen.

  For my own sake, I knew I had to leave her there. Running across the room and scooping her in my arms like some damaged knight wasn’t an option. Someone would see me. Someone would make the connection between how I looked and what was going on in the hotel. I’d get fired. My ass would get tossed in jail faster than I could plead not guilty by reason of lovesick insanity.

  I took a step backward toward the emergency exit behind me.

  But then she shivered, and I was done for.

  My feet moved on their own.

  I didn’t know if anyone saw me cut across the lobby and I didn’t care. I just kept going until I reached her.

  I wrapped my arms around her. She let out a tiny gasp of surprise.

  “Ridley! What are you doing here?”

  There was no point in lying. “I came for you.”

  She sunk into me gratefully. “Thank God.”

  “Let’s go,” I said gruffly into her damp hair.

  She remained wordless as I guided her out into the cool night air, clinging to me as we weaved through the parking lot. When we reached my truck and I sought to untangle her from my waist, I realized she was shaking.

  “Hey, hey. You’re okay,” I murmured as I stroked her hair.

  “I’m not,” she sobbed.

  “It’s all right, PC. You’re out here, there’s no fire, and I’ve got you.”

  She shuddered and relaxed her hold on my waist but she didn’t let me go.

  “I did this,” she whispered.

  I held very still for a moment before I remembered that she couldn’t possibly know I’d set the alarms to get her away from Ian.

  Where is that fucker, anyway?

  “I did this,” Brenna repeated.

  “You did what?” I asked carefully.

  Her confession came out in a rush of words. “I was here with Ian. I had it all planned out. Or at least I thought I did. I was going to sleep with him. And then I was going to talk to him. Or maybe the other way. Oh my God. I’m an irresponsible idiot. There is something so wrong with me. This is my punishment.”

  Very gently, so I could look her in the eye, I pulled away.

  “You didn’t do this,” I told her.

  “I did,” she insisted and hung her head. “I’m so ashamed. I should have just told him the truth from the beginning…But I was so damned selfish and this whole time I’ve only been able to think about one thing.”

  “What’s the one thing, PC?”

  “You, Ridley.” She said my name like it was being ripped from her chest. “Always you.”

  A hundred thoughts, a hundred questions rolled through my mind as her heartbroken eyes met mine. Some, I wasn’t sure I would be able to deal with. Like how she could she fit so much sadness and so much adoration into one look. And why the two things seem inseparable to Brenna. Others made my heart soar. Me. She wanted me.

  So I did the only thing I could do. I slipped my arms around her once more and crushed my lips to hers.

  She tasted sweet. Like dessert wine. Like home. Like there was nothing else in the world but her.

  Her hands found the back of my neck as mine trailed down the curve of her waist. I settled my fingers into the small of her back for just a moment before I dragged them across her hips and then lower to cup her perfect ass.

  I buried my mouth against her throat and then I lifted her from the ground. As her legs closed over my hips, I didn’t bother to disguise the deep moan that escaped my lips.

  I cemented her in place with one hand while I flipped down the tailgate of my truck with the other.

  I set her on the bed liner and she gasped as her bare skin hit the molded plastic.

  “Cold?” I asked, and when she nodded, I added, “Not for long.”

  I ran my palms up the goose bumps on her arms, paused at her shoulders, then slid down the straps of her little nightie. I placed a kiss on each collarbone before I deftly undid the ribbon that held together the fabric in the front.

  A breeze wafted through the air, bringing her nipples to perfect, pink attention. I stroked each reverently with my thumb and forefinger, loving that they got even more firm under the attention.

  I kissed her again, this time gently. I teased the corners of her mouth with my tongue and her lips parted obligingly. With my hands on her thighs, I explored the rest of her mouth, marking it as mine as thoroughly as I knew how.

  When I pulled away, I did it slowly. I traced the ownership of my lips with my fingers and met her gaze.

  “Pancake. Brenna. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have told you to go. It was the last thing I wanted. Please forgive me.”

  Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. Her mouth opened and for a moment my heart dropped to my stomach. I was sure she was going to say something that would tear me in two.

  Instead, she pulled me to her, kissing me hard. Her nails bit into my shoulders, then my back. Her fingers moved from my skin to my jeans and she fumbled to unfasten them. Once she had the button free, she slipped the zipper open and thrust her hand under the waistband of my underwear. Her warm grip closed over my cock.

  She stroked me firmly. Lovingly.

  If I thought I’d been hard before, I was rock solid now.

  She only stayed there for a few moments, though, before pushing my jeans down from my hips. She slid forward. It was a torturous move. Her body dragged across mine as she did it. Her beaded nipples coasted down the length of my chest, followed by her mouth. As she hit the ground, her sweet, succulent lips closed over my erection.

  “Oh. God,” I groaned.

  My hands sought her hair. They dug into the softness as she took me in a little further. In and out, each time a little deeper. Her tongue teased the tip, sending sharp heat through me. She circled outward and caressed the length of me with her lips.

  I was close to the edge, near enough that I wasn’t sure I could stop.

  “You have to stop,” I commanded.

  She paused and it was torturous. “Please, Ridley. Let me.”

  S
he drew my hardness in once more. That was it.

  Holy fuck.

  A satisfied growl tore from my throat as I exploded in her mouth. Still she sucked, taking in each pulse until I had nothing left to give.

  I reached for her and drew her up to cradle her in my arms. I breathed in deeply, trying to calm the raggedness of my lungs.

  “Ridley?” Brenna wrapped her voice around my name in a way that made me ache.

  “Yes, sweetheart?” My reply was as rough as sandpaper and as raw as my heart.

  “Can I come home with you?”

  “Pancake, you can have anything you want.”

  I scooped her into my arms and kicked the tailgate shut. Then I set her in the middle seat, climbed inside and fastened both our seatbelts. By the time I got the engine started, she was curled under my arm, fast asleep and the truth hit me.

  I thought I’d been laying claim to her, making her mine. I was wrong. I was hers. All hers. She owned every piece of me.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Brenna

  I woke up slowly, nestled into the perfect crook of Ridley’s well-muscled arm. I breathed in his masculine scent and trailed my hand down his abs, pausing at the ink between his bellybutton and the left side of his pelvic V. I hadn’t notice the tattoo before, but now I couldn’t take my eyes off of it.

  A tiny teddy bear was clearly visible, but the lettering that accompanied it was a little hard to make out in the dim light of pre-dawn. I traced the word with the tips of my fingers, trying to read it.

  “It says Maya in Gaelic lettering.”

  Ridley’s deep voice rumbled pleasantly against my cheek.

  “For your sister,” I replied, remembering the story he’d told me.

  “Mmmhmm.” He rolled toward me and drew my hand to the same spot on the other side. “This one says Ginnie for my mother. That flower just above it is an azalea. Her favourite.”

  A large lump formed in my throat. “And your aunt?”

  Ridley smiled and cupped my cheek. “You have me all figured out, don’t you?”

  His words caused a stab of guilt to penetrate my heart and I shoved it down.

  I will tell him the truth. I just want this moment. This one moment.

  “Here,” Ridley said and drew me closer by pulling my arms around his waist and pressing my hands into his lower back.