Braden brought the pizza back and we all grabbed a piece and sat down to eat and watch the game again. The teams were evenly matched and there was plenty of excitement, shouting, and cheering. I wasn’t a really big baseball fan, but now that I knew most of the rules, it was much more entertaining. Did you know that those guys weren’t actually translating things into sign language, by the way? Those were secret signals they were using. Tricky, huh?

“Any interesting cases this week?” Mark asked during another commercial.

“A few,” Braden answered, pulling me closer to him and nestling me in his arm. I loved it when he nestled me. It made me feel wonderfully small and girlie. I had learned my lesson earlier, and Bruno, who was eyeing up my pizza suspiciously, was the only one who I was petting during the later innings.

“I’ve got a really fun one with Gabrielle coming up,” Adam said with a smirk. “It involves a young man who, shockingly, may not be terribly bright. I’m afraid that I’m going to have to make her life a bit difficult, but I’ll try to be gentle. “

“Don’t worry, Captain Ego. I can take it.”

“Well, alright then! Bring it, baby!” he taunted.

“Don’t call her baby,” Braden warned. “Only I get to call her baby.” He reached up and stroked my hair possessively. It didn’t bother me when Braden got possessive. In fact I was perfectly happy to let him claim his territory on a nightly basis.

“Uh oh. Are other guys allowed to argue with Gabrielle?” Mark teased. “What’s going to happen when it’s Adam getting her all fired up instead of you?” He could be such a pot stirrer. He really was like a naughty schoolboy sometimes.

“He can get her all fired up as long as she works off her adrenaline with me,” Braden said. “And as long as I can watch her get all fired up.” He gave me a slightly lecherous look.

“I think I saw that movie on cable last night,” Cam joked.

“Yeah, that sounds pretty voyeuristic,” Adam noted with a laugh.

“And your point is?” Braden asked, dropping his hand back around my waist and stroking my ribs. The looks he was giving me clued me in to the fact that he was still somewhere in the vicinity of the really horny stage. He very subtly moved his hand a little higher and brushed the underside of my breast, giving me a wicked smile. Oh boy.

The game was tied and the Phillies were up to bat with the bases loaded and two men out. Suddenly the batter hit it straight into left field and the runner on third headed home. Everyone’s attention was riveted to the game and they all started yelling and cheering. Braden decided to take that opportunity to get to first base himself, squeezing my breast and pinching my nipple in just the way that he knew drove me wild. I almost moaned but I caught myself. The Phillies scored and Braden gave me a cocky grin, content in the knowledge that he had scored too. He dropped his hand back down and began stroking my ribs again. I guess that he had proven to me that two could play at that game.

“Oh by the way, Gab, do you want me to take that client in that gang case you got hauled into?” Mark asked me, turning away from the TV again for a moment.

“Why? There’s no reason I can’t handle it just because it’s a gang case. My client’s not a shooter. I think he’s just charged with theft.”

“Let him take it anyway, Gabrielle,” Braden said, sounding unhappy. Anyone in a street gang was potentially a violent criminal, no matter what he was charged with. He hated it when I had to represent the violent ones, mostly because I had to be locked in with them alone to interview them. His fears weren’t completely unrealistic, even though incidents were rare.

“Why, Braden? I can handle it.”

“Because I care about your safety.”

“Gee thanks,” Mark said with a laugh.

“Not that …” Braden said hurriedly, glancing up at him.

“It’s alright dude. I’m not your fiancée.”

“Braden. I have to do my job just like you do,” I said gently.

Just then the game came back on and everyone turned their attention back to the TV, but I could sense that we weren’t done discussing this subject. It was the one real source of potential conflict that we had. If I was going to do this job, though, I was going to do it like everyone else did. I didn’t want any special treatment because I was the daughter of a very rich man or the fiancée of one either, for that matter. The Phillies eventually won six to four and our friends got up, stretched, and got ready to go. Cam offered to take Jess home and before they left I pulled her aside for a little strategy session and pep talk.

“Remember what you told me,” I whispered.

“Never try to wax your own hoohah?”

“Not that!” I rolled my eyes. “Just flirt with him and see what happens.”

“Okay, but I have a feeling that what will happen is nothing.”

“Just try it,” I said with a sigh. We said goodnight to all of them and as the door closed, I grabbed the stack of dirty dishes and darted into the kitchen to start filling the sink. I had been enjoying our little back and forth teasing game and it was my turn again now.

“We need to clean up,” I said, smiling brightly and filling the water with bubbles. All I needed was some pearls and I could have been June Cleaver. I was looking like such a wholesome little housewife.

“We’ll clean up later,” Braden said, coming up behind me as stealthily as a panther and putting his arms around my waist. “I’ve been really horny for over three hours. It’s unhealthy.”

“According to you I’m going to be too tired later,” I reminded him.

“The cleaning lady’s coming tomorrow.” He ran his hands over my hips.

“You can’t leave a bunch of crusty dishes out all night. You’ll get bugs.” I didn’t feel guilty about building up a little more anticipation, because I knew that I was going to rock his world that night anyway.

“Fine. You do the dishes. I’ll just occupy myself while I wait,” he said as he leaned down and nuzzled the base of my neck. I could feel his warm breath and then his soft lips and then finally his hot tongue as he trailed open-mouthed kisses all the way up to my ear.

“Braden.” A warm tingling sensation flowed through my body and I started breathing faster. My panties were probably wetter than the dishes already.

“Don’t mind me,” he said huskily, and began sucking on my earlobe and once again moving his tongue the way that he moved it when he went down on me. It was a not-so-subtle reminder of what else we could be doing besides housework. My cl*tscreamed at my brain in protest. Then he started lightly brushing his fingers across my br**sts and I moved from tingly girl parts to achy girl parts. I pushed my bottom back against him and I could feel how hard he was again. I rubbed up against him like a cat. Mother Nature was good – so very good. Even though I wanted him desperately at that moment, I also liked how much he was trying to convince me. Let him work for it a little. I was worth the effort.

“If you would stop distracting me…” I swallowed hard and let out a ragged breath.

“Don’t let me stop you. I know how important the dishes are,” he said as he reached back and unhooked my bra. His hands traveled up under my shirt to cup my br**sts and pinch my ni**les the way I liked it again, and it felt infinitely better against my bare skin. When he began gently squeezing them between his fingers, chills ran through my body and goosebumps formed on my arms.

Have I mentioned that I love doing dishes? The smell of Palmolive would probably make me come like a Pavlov dog after this. Okay, so technically Pavlov’s dogs didn’t come, they salivated, but you get the point. I could feel his breathing getting heavy and his heart racing. I knew how much he wanted me too and that his self-control was stretched thin. That, in and of itself, would have been enough to drive me crazy, but then one hand left my breast and slid into my panties and all bets were off. My brain had left the building and my cha-cha had stayed behind to party down and get funky.

“You must find doing dishes very stimulating, because you’re really wet, baby,” he teased.

“I didn’t say I didn’t want you,” I said breathlessly. “I just said I wanted to tidy up a little first so your cleaning lady wouldn’t think your fiancée was a slob.” My voice sounded as rough as sandpaper and I was starting to tremble.

“I’ll tell her that you make up for it in bed,” he whispered in my ear seductively and I almost hit the floor. Jesus Tap Dancing Christ! This man was off the charts sexy! I started pushing my h*ps forward and I leaned back against him, panting. “What’s the matter? Don’t you want to finish the dishes?” he teased.

“You’re so naughty, Braden,” said the woman grinding her cha-cha against his hand.

“You’re so ready, Gabrielle,” he practically purred. Oh that was just too much!

“Oh God! Braden, I need you!” I gasped and reached down to put my hand over his and press his fingers against me harder.

“You need me to what?” he asked in a low sultry voice. “Dry?”

“I need you inside me,” I panted, feeling myself about to lose control.

“Now?”

Oh shit! I give up! You win! You win! You win the freaking teasing game! AARGH! I heard the click click of nails on the floor. Oh no. No! No! No!

“Yes now, Braden! Bruno, honey, go play with your toys for a while,” I said desperately.

“That’s right, Bruno, Daddy’s playing with his toys,” Braden said, sounding amused. He was keeping pressure on my cl*twith his thumb and teasing me by skimming his other fingers over my entrance but not giving me the penetration I was aching for. My entire body felt like it was on fire. How did he learn this stuff? Okay, don’t think about that, Gabrielle. Bruno looked up at us curiously, checked out the scene from a few different angles, and then thankfully, got bored and moved on.

“Oh God, Braden, I need it so badly right now, baby,” I moaned. “And just to be clear I mean sex! Stage three! Stage three!”

“But what if we get bugs?” I could hear the laughter in his voice.

“Braden, f**k me right now! Please?!” After all, my parents raised me to be polite. Apparently “please” was a magic word! Although I think that the “fuck me” was pretty effective too. He spun me around and yanked my shorts and panties down over my hips. Then he lifted me up to seat me on the counter, and while I slid them the rest of the way off, he opened up his jeans and freed Mother Nature’s generous gift to both of us. Sweet baby Jesus and two hump camel, it never ceased to amaze me that I managed to accommodate him so well. I must have a va**na like a Tardis – a Dr. Who-hah. And, Oh my God, I’m a geek! He pulled his T-shirt over his head and stood there looking more appetizing than anything in any other kitchen anywhere. I wanted to count his muscles with my tongue. He smiled with naughty anticipation, pushed my legs apart, positioned himself at my entrance, grabbed my hips… and froze when he heard the really loud scream-like noise that wasn’t coming from me for a change. Bruno started barking immediately.

“Oh no! No! Not now!” he shouted.

CHAPTER FOUR

“Is that a fire alarm?” Maybe my body wasn’t all that was on fire. Or maybe I was already in stage three and it involved a bunch of Dementors shrieking in my head.

He groaned, swore and managed somehow to close his pants over one raging example of healthy maleness. Oh man. No fair. I was just going to get to play with my toys.

“They do drills periodically for insurance purposes,” he said, in a very angry voice, pulling on his T-shirt again and yanking it down to cover the evidence of said healthy maleness for the second time that evening. I wouldn’t want to be a Prudential agent right now. “Baby, get dressed while I get Bruno’s leash.”

When I came back out to the entry, he was at the closet by the front door. “Here, put this on so you don’t get chilly.” He handed me a sweat jacket and grabbed another one for himself.

He picked up a frantically yipping Bruno and tucked him under one arm, grabbing my hand and leading me toward the stairs. Other residents were already on their way out and we joined the crowd.

When we got to the sidewalk, we crossed the street where emergency personnel were directing people. We waited on the sidewalk as Bruno paced around at the end of his leash, probably on the verge of passing out with excitement. Braden put his arm around me and held me close to him. We mostly just watched what was going on around us as the minutes started to tick by. I eventually began to get the weird feeling again, like someone was watching, and my eyes started to wander over the immediate vicinity.

“You know, we’ve never had alley sex,” I said, staring at a fairly dark side street.

“That’s because alley sex is also known as disorderly conduct and public indecency. Talk to me again in ten minutes.” More time went by.

“Braden, why don’t we just go to my place?” I asked after we had been out there for what felt like quite a while. I looked around us at the crowd of tired-looking people and saw something odd. There was a guy in a baseball cap standing alone some distance away and it almost looked like he was staring directly at us.

“It doesn’t usually take this long. Normally we’re back in in less than ten minutes.” I turned toward Braden when he spoke, and when I turned back, the figure was gone. I assumed that I must have been mistaken. My imagination was working overtime these days. Still, it didn’t hurt to mention it. I had learned my lesson not telling Braden about the notes.