Page 637 of Love Bites

He let my snide comment go. “Did you get ahold of Sunny?”

“Yeah, she and Babe are on their way over to get me.”

He set his cup down, a hard thump on the center island. “Are you going to go stay with them?”

I hadn’t even thought about going to Sunny’s since I’d suggested it the night before. Did Billy Bob want me to leave? “I don’t know.” I shook my head. “Probably. No worries. I’ll be out of your hair soon.”

“You can be such an idiot,” he said.

I snapped my gaze to him and narrowed my eyes. “Excuse me.”

His whole body seemed to be vibrating as he met my stare with the same angry heat. Within two heartbeats, he closed the distance between us, his arms wrapping me up as his lips melded hot over my own. My loosey-goosy arms flopped at my sides as my skin ignited with the pleasure his kiss foisted upon me. My knees buckled, but he held me up as his tongue found its way between my lips, conquering me with every thrust. He tasted of coffee, of cinnamon, the pungent scent of bergamot and spice filled my nostrils as my lower, more sensitive area throbbed with an aching need born so deep in my soul.

The doorbell rang. We ignored it, feeding the growing passion. The loud banging on the front door along with Sunny shouting my name, however, brought us both to a gasping halt.

“I…” couldn’t formulate a coherent thought, let alone a complete sentence. “I…”

Billy Bob growled. “I’ll get it.” He let me go, and my shaking legs could barely carry me. Fuckity-fuck-fuck. What the hell had just happened? Before I could process, Sunny stormed into the room and embraced me.

“Oh, Chavvah. I’m so sorry. This is terrible. I’m so glad you’re okay. You’re safe.”

“Yeah.” I gulped. “Safe.” And horny. What the hell?

She put her hands on her ample hips, wider and curvier now that she was a mom. Seriously, she’d never looked more stunning. Her green eyes sparkled with fire as she turned to stare at Billy Bob. “Tell me what you know and don’t leave anything out.”

“Now, Sunny,” he said. I hated how quickly he’d regained his composure. When we were alone again, he and I were going to have a serious talk. He continued, “It’s an ongoing investigation. I’ve been brought in to do the autopsy, but I can’t tell you the particulars of the case.”

She snapped her fingers. “That is not going to fly with me, mister.”

Babel put his arms around Sunny from behind. “Calm yourself, sweetheart.”

My eyes widened, because, at that point, Sunny turned around in his arms, poked him in the chest and shook her finger at him. When Sunny did the poke and shake, she meant business. “Now, you listen here, Babel Michael Trimmel, you have to have a serious screw loose if you think telling me to calm down is the way to get me to calm down.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, and boy, how he was sorry. Regret for his word choice was written all over his face.

“Damn right you are.” She turned back to Billy Bob. “Now give, or I’m going to storm the Sheriff’s office, and since you all want me to keep low key during your furry-fest, you’d be better off telling me what I want to know.”

He groaned and shook his head. Babe smartly stayed quiet.

Without meaning to, I stepped between her and Billy Bob. “Don’t yell at him, Sunny.” Oh my God. What was I doing? Why was I defending Billy Bob? The first rule of BFF code was you always backed your BFF.

She looked at me and raised her right brow, her lips pursed.

I looked at Billy Bob, who stared at me like I’d grown a third nipple in the middle of my forehead, and said, “Just tell her.”

* * *

After the previousnight’s events had been relayed, Sunny said, “So let me get this straight. A man was skinned alive, murdered, and tossed onto our back doorstep.” She peered at me as she picked up my mug and sipped my coffee. “Had you locked the door?”

“Yes, I locked the door.” At least I was pretty sure I had. It had been a long, exhausting day.

Babe and Billy Bob had gone just outside the kitchen to talk officially. As the mayor, Babel would need to strategize how to handle the fallout. Still, it really pissed me off. This was probably Ed. Our friend. A staple in our community. It irritated me that we had to take all these incoming strangers into any consideration when it came to dealing with his death.

“The alarm?” Sunny asked. “Did you set it?”

“I…” Had I really been so stupid? “No. I guess I forgot.” A wave of recrimination and remorse washed over me. Would it have made a difference if the alarms had gone off?

“Jesus, Chav. With all these strangers in town, you can’t forget. It’s more than just our friends and neighbors now.”

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