Covert Exposure by Valerie J. Clarizio Page B

as wide as fifty-cent
pieces. He cut his glance from Spinelli to Walker.
    Walker glanced at Miller. “He’s just a little
protective of Shannon.”
    Miller shifted his eyes back to Spinelli.
“Sorry.”
    “Can we just go? Marsh, get us the hell out
of here,” Spinelli snapped.

 
    Chapter
Sixteen
     
    Spinelli found himself in an unusual
situation, home alone on a Friday night watching ESPN while
drinking beer and eating pizza. He couldn’t remember the last time
he spent a Friday night alone. In fact, he couldn’t recall it ever
happening before. On a typical Friday night, he would be out
enjoying the company of someone of the opposite sex, or shooting
pool with his buddies at the very least. But none of that seemed to
interest him tonight.
    As he took a swig of his beer, he pondered
the events of the past week. His mind drifted to the Santa and elf
murder case. No breaks yet. His mind wandered to thoughts of
Shannon and he drew another swig of beer. No breaks there either.
She’d been avoiding him since their date the other night. He’d left
her three messages in the past day and a half, all unreturned. Damn it . Spinelli lifted his beer bottle to his lips again. Why can’t I break through her force field? What is it? Burned?
Lesbian? No, can’t be, I know she wants me, I can see it in her
eyes and I can feel it when I touch her. And that kiss the other
night, that mind boggling kiss. There’s no way she faked that kind
of passion. Damn it.
    Spinelli drained the bottle and then rested
his head against the back of the chair and closed his eyes. He
fantasized about Shannon in her little red velvet Santa helper
dress. In his daydream, he kissed her in a deep possessive manner,
his tongue dancing with hers. Her sweet flavor matched that of her
sweet scent. He pulled his lips from hers and skimmed them over her
chin, down her neck, and onto her chest. His intensified breathing
caused the furry white trim of her dress to flutter about on the
small portion of her exposed breasts. He continued to shower her
neck and chest with kisses. He used his fingers to trace along the
edge of the soft white trim of her dress. He began lowering his
hand with every intention of plunging it between her dress and skin
to cup her breast but before he was able to do so a loud rapid
knock on his front door interrupted his fantasy.
    Under protest Spinelli shook the fantasy from
his head and glanced at his watch, 10:00 p.m. “Who in the hell is
knocking on my door this late,” he said out loud.
    He lifted himself from his chair, walked over
to the front door, and opened it. The second he opened the door
Shannon sprang through the doorway as quick as a jack-in-the-box.
She threw her arms around his waist, pulled herself tightly to his
body, and sobbed into his chest.
    Instinctively Spinelli wrapped his arms
around her and visually scanned the immediate neighborhood. Seeing
no unusual activity, he pushed the door shut and locked it.
    With one arm wrapped tightly around her
waist, Spinelli lifted his other arm and softly rubbed her back. He
rested his chin lightly against the side of her head, her soft hair
brushing against his cheek. He breathed in her scent. She always
wore the same sexy scent. It reminded him of a fresh spring
morning.
    Shannon continued to cry and breathe
erratically.
    He brushed his lips lightly on the top of her
head. “Shh, Sweetheart, it’s okay.”
    God how he wanted her to stop crying. He
couldn’t take her being upset. He still didn’t know what upset her
but whatever the reason he felt a compelling need to fix it.
    Her sobs began to subside and her breathing
became more controlled.
    Spinelli loosened his hold and inched back a
bit. He looked down at her. She lifted her head and looked up at
him with her big emerald green eyes. He could see the fear in them.
He cupped her head in his hands and ran his thumbs across her
cheeks to swipe the moisture away.
    “Do you want to tell me what