In Too Deep

ChapterThirteen

Chloe kept her face against Ronan’s neck, breathing in his scent, feeling the soft scrape of his beard along her forehead and cheekbone. What was wrong with her? She couldn’t just have the man hang out in her house without jumping him? But it had been hot and pretty amazing. She’d wanted to give him a blowjob. Wanted to make him feel weak. She hadn’t counted on him turning the tables on her. Use me. His words caused another shiver to run through her.

When her heartbeat returned to normal and his heart was a steady beat beneath her palm, she pushed up and away from him. She stood. “I’m going to go freshen up,” she said as she pointed in the general direction of her bathroom. He nodded and began the process of tucking himself back into his pants.

After cleaning up in the bathroom, Chloe looked at herself in the mirror. One very satisfied woman stared back at her. She couldn’t remember the last hook-up she had that was this good. A little voice in her head whispered, “Hook-ups don’t bring presents and fix stuff.”

She shook that thought away, blaming it on her hormones. He’d wanted to get together and when she brushed him off, he became creative. Points for that. Leaving the bathroom, she wondered if he planned to stay.

But there he was, still sitting on her couch, legs sprawled in front of him, drinking his beer.

“Can I get you another?” she asked from behind him.

“I can stay for one more.”

She went to the kitchen and grabbed a beer for him and a glass of water for herself. After handing him the beer, she sat on the couch, which suddenly seemed much smaller than usual. “Thanks for coming over tonight. And the snacks. And the shower. It was really thoughtful.”

“No thanks for the orgasm?” he said, his voice a quiet rumble.

“I figured we were even on that score,” she answered with a smile. She pressed play on the TV remote and her episode of Criminal Minds started.

Ten minutes in, Ronan’s only response was, “This is fucked up.”

“So what have you been doing all week? Besides work, of course.”

“Sorry I didn’t call sooner. I meant to, but I got caught up working on something with Brendan.”

That made her sit up. “Have you figured something out?”

“Based on the questions Danny asked Tanner and Leroy, we’re thinking that one of the older guys on my crew knows something or has some information about our dad.”

“It’s been twenty years. I’d think if they knew something, they would’ve said something.”

“That’s what I thought. But it could be that they don’t know something directly related to my dad, but information that might lead to something else.”

“How are you going to figure out who knows what?”

He sighed. “I have six men on my crew that I hand-picked because they were working for Cahill at the same time as my dad. The company was smaller back then, but there were still multiple crews. There’s no way to know who knew my dad without just asking them.”

“Yeah, I see how that might be suspicious on the job. But what about after-work drinks? We have regular crews that come to the Rose. Not Cahill’s, which seems weird, but other guys.”

“Cahill likes to hold court at the Rose because he’s important.” Ronan said the word with air quotes without moving his hands. “He isn’t the kind of boss who mixes with the guys at the bottom.”

“So you just need something social.” She paused and thought. Then she shot up. “Host a barbecue. You have a backyard. Invite your guys over. Like team bonding.”

He stared at her with his beer midway to his mouth. All of his features were pinched as if she’d just suggested he offer his crew a striptease.

“What? Burgers and hot dogs on the grill. Cold beer. They appreciate you as a boss. Danny will think you’re just trying to get kiss-ass points as the new boss. Nothing suspicious. Brendan can even come and ask about your dad.”

Ronan shifted, more relaxed. “Brendan might’ve even worked with a few of them.”

“Brendan worked for Cahill?”

“Briefly. One summer after my dad went missing.”

Every time he said that, her heart broke a little more. She couldn’t imagine not knowing. Her family wasn’t perfect, but she liked knowing they were always there.

“What the fuck do I know about hosting a party?”

“What’s there to know? You own a grill?”

“Yeah.”

“I know you have a refrigerator. Buy some salads and chips and dip. Throw meat on the grill. Keep it simple.”

He nodded, and she saw his brain working. “I’ll run it by Brendan and see what he thinks. Might work.”

She wanted to offer to help, but that would cross the line of their current agreement. She settled back on the couch and focused on the BAU hunting a killer. They watched in relative silence, except for Ronan’s variations of “That’s fucked up.”

When the episode ended, he stood. “I need to get going.”

“Thanks for coming by. It definitely turned my day around.”

He bent over and gave her a kiss that said his day went better than expected, too.

They separated and he said, “Lock me out.”

She rolled her eyes but followed.

“And call that fucking landlord again and tell him to fix the front door.”

She tried not to read anything into his concern, but she smiled. She held the door open as he grabbed his tools. “FYI, we should be open for business by Sunday. Monday at the latest,” she said waving a hand over her uterus. One bonus of being on the pill was that her periods tended to be short.

“Hm. I’ll keep that in mind.” He pressed another quick kiss to her lips and left.

Chloe locked the door, cleaned up their mess, and crawled into bed. Spending time with Ronan was nice. She enjoyed being with him and the orgasm was a nice bonus.

Settling under the covers, she said aloud, “Not the plan, Chloe. Ronan is not looking for a girlfriend. Stop thinking about him outside of the bedroom.”

She hoped that hearing the words would make them sink in.