Detective Sergeant Joe Denton parked his car, got out, walked up the sidewalk to Helen Parker's house, and rang the doorbell. Helen opened the door and her eyes brightened when she saw him.
"Hi, Joe," she said.
"Wow!" Joe said, "You look fantastic!"
His date had on a turquoise dress, loose-fitting, gathered at the waist by a sash. The looseness accentuated, rather than hid, her voluptuous figure.
"Thank you," Helen replied. She felt her face get hot and knew she was blushing. It had been a long time since she'd blushed because of a man's compliments.
"Ready to go?" Joe asked.
Helen nodded. "Let me get my coat," she said. She did, Joe helped her slip it on, and they left.
They dined at a nice restaurant, not overly fancy, but comfortable. The proprietor, apparently a friend of Joe's, greeted them at the door and made a huge fuss over Helen. "You are a very attractive lady, Miss Helen," the man said. "I have been telling my friend, Joe, here, he needed to find a woman. I never dreamed he would find one such as you, though."
"Ah...thank you," Helen replied, feeling her face get hot again.
They were shown a table and the owner left them to study the menus.
"How was your day?" Joe asked.
"I had a hard time concentrating on doing things, knowing we'd be together again tonight," she replied.
Joe smiled. "Do I have that effect on you?" he asked.
"Yes," Helen replied. "You do."
"Gee," Joe said. "Nice of you to do that for a poor public servant."
"Knock it off," Helen laughed. "You're doing as much for me."
He grinned. "I like the way you're packaged tonight."
"If you take really good care of me, maybe I'll let you unwrap the package," Helen shot back, surprised how bold she was being.
"That's an interesting offer," Joe said.
The meal came, they ate, and talked more about some of the cases Joe was working on as they enjoyed their meal. As he had promised, the food was excellent. When they finished eating, they went out to his car and Joe drove to his apartment.
"I assume you want me to come in for a nightcap?" Helen asked.
Joe grinned at her and nodded. "I was hoping I'd get to unwrap a package," he teased.
"Good," Helen said. "I was hoping that's what you were hoping."
Once they were in the apartment, Helen took off her coat, hung it up, then turned to face Joe, who was staring at her, his face red.
"Come here," he said softly, his voice husky.
Helen walked to him and was gathered in his strong arms and pressed against his hard body. His lips covered hers. Warmth spread through both of them as their tongues emerged and dueled. The kiss finally ended and, breathless, they studied each other.
"I...I've wanted to do that all day," Helen gasped.
"Me, too," Joe replied, his voice tremulous.
"It was worth the wait," Helen said, then he pulled his face to hers again.
The second kiss was just as wonderful as the first had been. When it ended, Joe scooped the woman up in his arms as if she were weightless, carried her to the bedroom, and laid her on his bed gently. As she'd been before, Helen was amazed how gentle he was, how tenderly he handled her.
Joe sat on the bed next to her, reached for the sash, and tugged on it. "Time to unwrap my package," he croaked.