Slowly and deliberately he explored her folds until she was begging for release. With every flick of his tongue, the coil of arousal in her belly tightened painfully and she’d long ago lost the ability to think or speak clearly. Her world had narrowed to the two of them and his talented mouth and fingers. Nothing else existed except the most exquisite sensations that only he could bring her. Her lids drifted shut, her chest rising and falling rapidly as her heart drummed against her ribs. Sweat bloomed on her skin and her legs trembled as she neared the peak. It wouldn’t take much to send her over. A mere puff of his warm breath would do it.
His mouth closed over her button and he sucked gently, his teeth gently scraping the sides and giving her a pleasure-pain moment. Leann froze for a moment, her torso bowed and her toes curled. Thrashing her head back and forth as the waves wracked her frame, she whispered Zach’s name over and over until she finally drifted back to earth, wrung out but strangely not satisfied. She needed more. She needed Zach.
Leann’s hand drifted down his torso, over his ribcage, skimming his ridged abdomen and down to encircle his thick cock. Long, thick, and hard, it felt like velvet under her fingertips and she stroked it up and down, drawing a ragged groan from Zach’s lips. Smiling in satisfaction, she ran her fingers from the thick base to the reddish-purple head, watching in awe as he threw his head back and moaned. Heady with her own power, she did it again and again.
Scooting down on the mattress, Leann swiped her tongue on the head of Zach’s cock, taking him deeply inside of her mouth as her hand encircled the thick base.
“Fuck, babe, that feels good.” Reluctantly, he pulled away, her mouth sliding off with a pop. “I want to watch while you ride me.”
It sounded hot but this wasn’t Leann’s favorite position. She never seemed to be able to get the rhythm right and it ended up feeling more awkward than sexy, but this was Zach and she was going to give it a try.
Stretching out on the bed, Zach reached into the nightstand next to the bed and retrieved a condom, rolling it on. Taking a deep breath, Leann threw a leg over his muscular thighs so she was straddling him, but he didn’t immediately grab at her like other men had. He ran his hands up and down her thighs in a soothing motion and she felt herself relax under his tender ministration.
Zach was indeed watching her, his gaze almost a physical feeling on her skin. It wasn’t unpleasant and she found that under his worshipful regard she felt sexy and beautiful. His admiration was clear to see in his expression and her urge to cover up and hide dissolved along with any remaining reservations. This was going to be different because it meant something. To both of them.
Her lids felt heavy and she gave in to their weight, letting them drift shut. Enshrouded in darkness her other senses came stunningly alive. The brush of the hair on Zach’s legs against the sensitive flesh of her inner thigh. The subtle perfume of their combined arousal. The salty tang of his skin when she leaned forward to drop kisses on his neck and chest.
“It’s your show, beautiful. We go at your pace.”
Zach’s voice was hoarse but controlled. He’d handed her the reins and she was infinitely grateful. Right now she needed to be the one in charge but soon she’d hand it over happily.
The tip of Zach’s cock nudged her entrance but his reassuring words echoed in her brain, assuring her she could take her time. Letting gravity do the work, she stretched wide to accommodate him as he ran over a sensitive spot inside, and she paused to allow her muscles to get used to being so incredibly filled. It only took a moment for the discomfort to turn to pure pleasure.
Oh yes.
Zach’s expression was tortured but to his credit he didn’t reach out and slam her down on his cock. Not yet. He made do with planting a hand on each of her hips, the fingers flexing tightly as she continued to lower herself. Slowly, wanting to savor each moment. When she had every inch he had to give, she let her head fall back with a gasp. She hadn’t expected to feel this much pleasure, but the tingles and sparks of arousal were already beginning to build toward a second peak.
Swiveling her hips experimentally, Leann was rewarded with a groan from Zach, heat and pleasure suffusing her entire body. She did it over and over until she was light-headed and Zach’s hands clamped onto her hips.
“Ready to hand over the control, baby? Or are you enjoying calling the shots?”
She’d barely even answered when she gave out a yelp of surprise. In a split second she was flat on her back, Zach on top.
“Is this okay?”
Hell, yes.
“Do it,” she answered breathlessly. Her body was already responding in its predictable way. Zach quickly took control of the lovemaking, his hands on either side of her body as he nuzzled her neck and shoulder. Each thrust was deeper, harder, faster, taking her breath away and sending her spiraling into orbit. Her entire being was on fire and she wrapped her legs around his lean waist as he powered into her, riding her hard until she thought she would fly apart from the maelstrom of pleasure each thrust evoked.
“More. Faster.” Her voice was thin and needy but Zach heard the plea in her tone. Grunting with the effort, he built up speed, their bodies covered in sweat, increasing the unbearable tension inside of her until she exploded into a thousand pieces. Her nails dug into his back and she cried out his name as her soul flew around the room before splintering into a thousand shards of light.
Forcing her eyes to open, Leann watched as Zach thrust in one last time, his expression fierce, his head thrown back exposing the taut cords of his neck.
Softly, so quiet she almost didn’t hear it, Zach said her name before collapsing on top of her. He gulped in a few deep breaths to feed his starved lungs before rolling onto his back and tucking her into his side. His hands – capable of such violence – were gentle as they stroked up and down her damp spine. He whispered sweet words that didn’t make much sense at the moment, planting kisses on her forehead and temple in between.
Leann had been thoroughly made love to and now she was being cosseted and cuddled. She couldn’t ask for more.
Except maybe round two.
In the morning, after they’d rested awhile. Her limbs were heavy and her eyes wanted desperately to close. She was giving it the good fight when she felt his chuckle rumble in his chest.
“Sleep, honey. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”
She wasn’t going anywhere either. What she had here was better than anything before.
Chapter Twenty-Two
‡
It was the smell that hit Zach first. The stench of death hung heavy over the old, decrepit barn. Deputies had been checking everywhere that Darrell Madison might be hiding out and abandoned buildings had been second only to the homes of friends and family. They’d hit the jackpot in the middle of the night.
Some kids had gone out drinking and partying and ended up making the grisly discovery. Zach had received the call from the police about one in the morning, which meant that he had to either drag Leann out of her warm, comfortable bed in the next room or find someone to watch over her. His next call had been to her brother Jason who had gladly taken the job.
The medical examiner crouched over the body of Darrell while Zach anxiously awaited his verdict, sipping on a hot coffee that he hoped desperately would wake him up.
“Gunshot wound to the chest is my preliminary cause of death.”
Shot? If the killer had a gun, why didn’t he use it on Drew? Assuming it was the same person, of course.
“Is there an exit wound or is the bullet still inside?”
“No exit wound. I’ll send the bullet to the lab when I extract it. You can see if it matches this.” He held up a gun with his gloved fingers. “This was sitting under the victim’s arm. It could just be his, though, trying to defend himself.”
Bagging the firearm, Zach examined it and saw that it had been fired recently. Had Madison got off a shot before he was killed? Perhaps there was an injured man wandering Tremont and he might e
nd up in an area emergency room.
Naw, I’m not that lucky.
“Estimated time of death?”
The medical examiner stood to make way for the men who would bag the body and take it to the morgue. “That’s going to be a tougher question. He’s definitely been here a day or two. I’m guessing late Saturday or early Sunday maybe.”
“Thanks. Call me when you have anything.”
The body was zipped into a bag and loaded onto a gurney before being rolled out of the ramshackle structure. Now that Madison was on his way to autopsy, Zach walked the perimeter of the barn looking for anything unusual or out of place.
“There are tire tracks in the back.”
Looking up, Zach wasn’t surprised to see West standing there. Jesus, the man needed a hobby or something. Did Gigi even know her husband had escaped the house?
“Tim, can you get photos of the tracks and then make impressions?” Zach asked one of Tremont’s junior detectives before approaching West. “Is there something I can do for you?”
West rolled his eyes at Zach’s careful tone. “You can give me a rash of shit about being here. I have no good excuse and I know you can handle this, but my curiosity got the better of me when I got the news. I was going to call you into my office for an update in the morning and then found myself in the truck driving here to see it for myself.”
At least West had had the grace to admit he didn’t belong here. It also looked like he still had contacts in the police department to have been called in the middle of the night about Darrell Madison.
“You might want to see a doctor about those blackout periods, West. Could be dangerous.”
“Might get my ass kicked, that’s for sure.” West grinned and pointed to the barn. “Found anything?”
Zach actually kind of felt sorry for West. It was clear his brother-in-law missed being a cop but it didn’t look like he’d get to go back to it any time soon. The town was thrilled with the job he was doing as mayor and were already pressing him to run again.
“Just got started. Wouldn’t mind a second set of eyes.”
That smile grew wider. “Don’t mind if I do.”
They started inside where the body had been found. A large pool of blood was located in the corner indicating where the shooting had occurred.
“So Darrell stood here.” Zach put himself in position. “Maybe he was facing the doorway? If he was expecting company he wouldn’t have any reason to be worried about the killer being in between him and the only exit.”
“That would make sense. He would probably need help to evade the law.” West nodded and knelt down next to a stack of garbage. “It looks like Madison was hiding out in here. There’s a change of clothes, a blanket, some empty water bottles, and food wrappers.”
“I’ll have Tim bag all of that. Where is the food from?”
West used a pencil to sift through the trash. “Lucy’s. Looks like had a couple of burgers, some fries, and a shake. Strawberry. I prefer the chocolate.”
“Lucy’s have a camera we can pull footage from?”
West stood and shook his head. “Not unless she’s added it recently. Damn, that would have been useful. We could have seen who bought a similar order in the last few days and that might tell us who was helping him. He couldn’t go there himself with the whole town looking for him.”
There had to be a helper. There was no way Darrell Madison was going to waltz up to the nearest fast food joint, order himself some junk food, and then parade down Main Street as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Not when the entire Tremont police force was looking for him.
“So if Darrell is our guy, then he shot Drew Marshall and came here to hide out. That makes sense. Someone was helping him and they may or may not be involved in the original murder but they might be the person who shot Darrell. I guess it’s progress.”
“Then you think Darrell killed Marshall?”
Zach grimaced as he studied the crime scene. “I’m not ready to say that yet. It’s a definite possibility but Darrell could have been hiding out here simply because he was a suspect, not because he did it.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, West nodded in agreement. “He might have been shot because he knew who the real killer was. Looks like we have two competing theories. How do we decide?”
Zach pointed to the door. “We’ve got tire tracks coming in and out of here. We’ll see what make and model vehicle they belong to. We also found a firearm under the body. We’ll see what ballistics can pull from it. Hopefully one of those two items will push us in the right direction. If not, there’s always old-fashioned police work.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Time to talk to Darrell’s soon to be ex-wife. What time do you think she gets up in the morning?”
* * *
Stretching and yawning, Leann padded on slippered feet into the kitchen. The heavenly aroma of coffee wafted around the house and she needed her caffeine fix soon. She had a big day ahead of her, although she hadn’t discussed it with Zach yet. She was going to look at a house with Dizzy. Her friend was willing to pretend that she was looking to buy, not Leann. If it got out that Leann was looking at homes…
It would be bad. Very bad. Right now she simply wanted the killer found and some semblance of normalcy to return to the town.
Stopping abruptly in the kitchen doorway, Leann saw Jason sitting at the table, not Zach.
“How long was I asleep?”
Smiling, Jason hopped up from the table and crossed over to the coffeemaker to pour her a cup. “I have no idea, but it’s about seven-twenty in the morning so you can do the math. If you’re wondering where Zach is, we got the call in the middle of the night. Darrell Madison is dead. Shot in the chest. Zach is working the scene and any follow-up. I’m protecting you for now.”
Leann simply could not drag her brother to look at houses. He might believe that Dizzy was looking for a new home but that wouldn’t stop him from pushing Leann to move back.
Focus. Dead body found. Think real estate later.
“He’s dead? Do you know who shot him?”
Jason shook his head. “We don’t but there was a gun found. Ballistics will tell us if Madison tried to use it to defend himself or if it was the murder weapon.”
Leann took a fortifying sip of her coffee. “Where does that leave us? Darrell was the main suspect. Do you have any others?”
Jason cleared his throat and tugged at the collar of his shirt. “No, and that means I need to shake things up a little bit in the investigation. Zach’s only been working the leads part-time because his main focus has been protecting you, but I really need him to work this case one hundred percent. I’m planning to have one of my other men take over your protection duty.”
It was all Leann could do not to burst into laughter. They’d really hit Jason where it hurt when she’d said Zach was considering moving to Florida with her. His best laid plans were slowly going up in smoke.
She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
His jaw dropped and he blinked in surprise. “What do you mean? You can’t say no.”
Stretching out her legs, she gave him a serene smile. “Sure I can. Being protected was my choice to begin with. You can’t force it on me. I was okay with it being Zach but I don’t want anyone else. If Zach needs to work leads I’ll simply go with him. I won’t be any trouble.”
Her brother paced the kitchen, his shoulders stiff. “I’m going to ask Logan to take over for Zach. He’s a great guy and I trust him completely.”
Leann had met Logan Wright and she trusted him too. But that wasn’t the point.
“Why don’t you have Logan chase down the leads then? Zach and I are used to each other. I don’t want to have to start over with someone new. This living together stuff isn’t easy.”
Jason’s gaze went to the staircase that led to the bedrooms. “Isn’t it a little quick for you and Zach to be living together? I mean…that’s a big step.”
/>
Older brother assumed she and Zach were sharing a bedroom.
“Frankly, that’s none of your business, Jason. I don’t ask about your sex life with Brinley because I sure as heck don’t want to know about it.”
His cheeks turning red, Jason shifted on his feet. “I’m just saying that I don’t think you should rush into anything. You know, Zach’s been single a long time and I doubt he’s the marriage and family type. If you want to settle down someday he’s probably not a good bet.”
Seriously? Jason was going to try that line? Her brother was standing in the middle of the most domestic bachelor pad ever spouting a line of bullshit no one would buy.
“Actually, that’s not the case at all. Zach definitely wants to have a family someday, and I think he’d be a wonderful father after all he’s been through in his childhood. If I remember correctly, Brinley took a chance on you. I wouldn’t have said you were exactly marriage material either when she met you.”
Her brother seemed to stagger back and had to place a hand on the counter to steady himself. “Jesus, you’ve talked about marriage? Are you that serious?”
It was fun to torture her brother but she didn’t want to be completely cruel. “In a very generic way, not in an ‘us’ way. We were simply talking about how he’d created a very comfortable home here for himself. That’s it. We’re not nearly close to getting hitched, so relax.”
“Thank God. That would be fast even for you, Sis. Take your time. Get to know one another.”
“How long did you give Brinley?”
“You’ve got me there. This is more of a do as I say, not as I do conversation.”
Slapping her empty coffee cup down, Leann grinned at her brother.
Reunited With Danger (Danger Incorporated Book 6) Page 14
