Stripped Bare

by Lacey Thorn

  “Now that is the way to start off your day,” she breathed and he chuckled giving her a quick kiss before helping her to lower to the floor forcing him even deeper and leaving them both gasping for air again.

  Slowly he pulled free of her tight grip and holding the condom snug to his body with one hand used the other to turn the water off. He opened the door and stepped out discarding the condom and grabbing a towel then wrapping it around his waist before grabbing another and turning to her. She moved onto the mat and wanted to purr again as he briskly moved the towel over her skin drying all the water from her. He reached back to the stack she kept in the bathroom and tossed her one to use on her hair, which was hanging in wet ropes down her back.

  She smiled as he wrapped the first towel around her toga style and tucked the end into her cleavage to keep it on. He moved out the door toward her bedroom and she just did what she would normally do. She bent over at the waist and briskly rubbed and squeezed the towel in her hair trying to get as much water as possible out of it. Shep’s voice came from the doorway making her smile again.

  “Now that is a sight to view every morning,” his voice was husky again and she loved the sound of it.

  “I’m hoping we didn’t send Griff screaming from the house,” she said laughing.

  “He left earlier,” Shep said as she flipped her hair up and turned to face him while still squeezing the towel in her hair. He was reclined in the doorway just watching her, sexy and comfortable in nothing but a towel.

  “Where is he off to?” she asked finally tossing the towel toward the hamper and reaching for her brush and a hair band.

  “Today is his nephew’s first birthday and frankly, his sister would kill him if he missed it,” Shep offered his eyes still glued to her every move.

  “Is he heading back today or tomorrow?” she asked pulling her hair back into a high ponytail and putting it up. She reached for the moisturizer on her counter and rubbed it on her face.

  “I told him we’d call him later and let him know if we needed him to come back or not,” Shep said and she noticed something in his eyes that had her pulse picking up.

  “What else?” she queried.

  “I’ve made another call to a friend and they’re willing to offer what help they can,” Shep answered.

  “So why am I getting an uncertain vibe from you?” Stace asked.

  Shep sighed and turned to move back into the bedroom so she followed him.

  “Ally has a gift that some people don’t understand,” Shep offered.

  “Okay,” she replied. “What kind of gift? Is she psychic or something?” she asked jokingly but she could tell from his silent frown that she had hit dead-on.

  “Ally has been able to help in several cases with the police and with us,” Shep said. “With all the dead ends we’ve encountered so far I didn’t see the harm in giving her a call.”

  She watched his eyes and saw past the frown to the uncomfortable way he didn’t meet her gaze this time. That was a huge tell for a man who demanded it. “Is she your girlfriend? A past girlfriend?” she asked her stomach clenching. He had said that he was single and she didn’t see him as one who would lie just for sex.

  “No,” Shep said. “Ally is a great friend, engaged to my best friend.”

  “But,” Stace prompted when he didn’t finish what she felt was a still open sentence.

  He sighed and ran his fingers through his wet hair. He reached for his boxer briefs and dropped his towel before pulling them up his legs and on. “We have a different kind of relationship,” he admitted.

  “How different?” she asked still not sure what he was getting at. She took his lead though and started pulling clothes from her drawers and closet and began dressing.

  “Blake and I have been friends longer than either of us has known Ally,” Shep said. “It was almost love at first sight for Blake ignited by a lot of lust.”

  “And you lusted for her too?” she asked.

  “Yes, and no,” Shep answered and sighed again, his fingers working through his hair once more. Stace had to hide a grin. Obviously he wasn’t sure how she was going to take what he had to tell her. Which meant that it was more than just sex for him or it wouldn’t matter to him. But he actually seemed to care what she thought, how she took what he was about to share. Share? That was a thought.

  “Do you have a little ménage relationship with your best friend and his fiancée?” she asked and the look in his eyes answered for him.

  “We did,” he answered. “But I haven’t been with them that way in a long time now. It was clear to me that they had something special and I didn’t want to be a third wheel in that.”

  “You wanted it for yourself,” she said reading it so clearly in his eyes. “Yet, you remain good friends and somehow having fucked you I’m certain she wouldn’t say no if you wanted to join them again.”

  He was over to her gripping her arms and pulling her close before she finished the last word. “Fucked? Is that all we’ve done?”

  “It’s been what, Shep, two days,” she replied. “Not even that fully yet. What do you want from me?”

  “I’d like to think I was more than a good fuck,” he said.

  He was. Incredible. Magnificent. The best fuck of her life. She sighed. “I’ve got a lot going on right now,” she said.

  “And you feel guilty for having me, being with me while your sister is still missing,” he replied.

  “I don’t know what I feel,” she stated. “I’m a fountain of emotions right now and I’m not used to that.”

  “It is hard to be detached when it’s family,” he agreed. “Or when you might feel something you never have before.”

  Her gaze locked with his and slowly she nodded. “I do feel something,” she admitted. “But you are an amazing sexual feast,” she said. “Let’s just get through this without labeling it right now.”

  He grinned and it was wicked and hot. “An amazing sexual feast, huh.” He wiggled his eyebrows making her laugh.

  “You have to know how amazing you are,” she said. “And I lose myself when I’m with you. I’ve never had sex like this before.”

  If anything his grin grew bigger and she shook her head laughing. “So is there still something between the three of you sexually?” she asked.

  “Yes and no,” Shep replied.

  “Can you ever just say one or the other?” she asked.

  “Well, I did say that I haven’t been with them in a long time,” he answered.

  “But the offer to is still open,” she stated and he nodded. Honestly she wasn’t jealous. Yet. It would be interesting to meet this woman, Ally. Obviously Shep felt something for her. Plus it would be intriguing to actually meet the last woman to have slept with him, to have felt his amazing cock. And the idea of two men at the same time. Hell, she might enjoy that herself.

  “When will she get here?” she asked. She wondered if Ally would want a little three play without her fiancée around? She had to admit that now that the thought was in her head she couldn’t get it out. She’d never been with another woman before but the idea was just as intriguing as being with two men. She had to stop thinking like that or she would be a wet mass of hormones again begging Shep to fuck her one more time. And thinking of Shep made her realize that she didn’t want anyone else right now.

  “This evening,” Shep said. “I told her to pack an overnight bag.” He was watching her and she wondered if he thought she would be mad or jealous. She just smiled and nodded.

  “Okay,” she sat down to pull her shoes on and Shep did the same. He was still watching her as if he didn’t trust her relaxed acceptance.

  “Nicole should be here soon,” she said as they both stood. “I’ll let you take lead and ask the questions this time. In fact I’ll move to the other room after introductions are made. I don’t want to influence what she says or what you ask in any way. We can compare notes after, see if anything different came up with you.”

  “Sounds
good,” Shep agreed. But before she could move to the door and out of the bedroom he pulled her close again and took her mouth with another scorching kiss that she felt all the way to her toes.

  “Not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?” she asked breathless again.

  “Just because,” he said with a smile on his lips.

  She was smart enough to know that it was to assure her that she had nothing to fear with Ally coming here. If he only knew the things going through her mind he would be the one scared.

  Chapter Six

  Shep hadn’t been able to find out anything new from Nicole. In fact the entire day was a bust. Nicole had told Shep the same things she had shared with Stace. Chloe didn’t normally stop at the tavern so her Friday night visit had been impulse. They didn’t go there preferring to go out closer to the college they both went to and hanging with friends.

  Nicole had started crying then and Stace had felt those tears as if they were hers. Nicole had looked her right in the eyes and asked if she thought there was any chance that Chloe could still be alive. Stace wanted to believe that there was a possibility, didn’t want to take the hope away from Nicole. But she couldn’t lie either. So taking a deep breath she shook her head and felt a pain in her heart as Nicole seemed to fold in on herself and her crying turned to hard sobs.

  Stace stood for a moment, uncertain as she had never been before then finally stepped up to the chair Nicole was sitting in. Nicole had latched onto her immediately wrapping her arms around her waist and burying her head in Stace’s belly. Stace just held Nicole, letting the girl pour her grief out. It was hard to admit but Nicole was probably more of a sister to Chloe then Stace had ever been.

  When Nicole inally left, Stace had needed to get out, to do something, and thankfully Shep had understood. They had gone to the police station and talked to the lead investigator again. Shep had been great, putting everyone at ease and they had eventually been able to speak to the officer who was first on the scene. Shep had even taken the time to hunt down and speak directly with the 9-1-1 operator who had answered the call. Still, nothing. No “aha this is what I missed” moment. Nothing to point them in a new direction, hell any direction. Nothing. And four weeks was quickly turning into five.

  How did a woman just disappear and no one have any idea where or why? There had been no other reported cases of woman drugged in the area. Which didn’t mean that it hadn’t happened, just that it hadn’t been reported. But it also meant that no one had died from an attempted date rape drug gone wrong either. There would definitely be a record of that.

  “Ally will be here soon,” Shep said breaking her out of her thoughts. “Maybe she’ll be able to pick up on something and help.”

  Yeah, the fiancée of his best friend whom he had fucked as well. A psychic who could maybe channel her sister or her sister’s kidnapper and point them in a direction. Just what she needed. And that bitchy thought made her realize that she needed a moment alone. It was a good thing that this woman was willing to drop whatever she had going on in her life and offer to come help Stace. Stace knew that.

  “I’m going to head up for a bit, Shep,” she said. “Take a nice long run on the treadmill and then hit the shower.”

  He nodded seeming to understand that she needed some time to herself. He walked over to her and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead then ran his fingers over her cheek.

  “I’ll take another look at the files and,” he glanced at the clock before turning back to her, “fire the grill up in another hour.”

  “Sounds good,” she agreed and turned to mount the stairs.

  Shep stopped her with a tug on her hand and she looked back at him.

  “No matter what you think, Stace,” Shep said. “You are not to blame for this. Everything points to a random act and even had you been here you might not have been able to change things.”

  “But I would have been there, in the first days and maybe I could have found her immediately,” Stace argued.

  “Maybe is not a game to play,” Shep said. “There are a lot of maybes and what ifs and if you focus on those you’ll drive yourself crazy.”

  “I know that,” she said.

  “I know you do,” Shep said and gave her a piercing look. “You know it but you need to believe it. Sometimes bad things just happen for no apparent reason.”

  She nodded. Knowing it didn’t make it any easier to accept. And with her background it was hard to believe that being here on the day her sister was taken wouldn’t have made a difference. But she hadn’t been and no matter how guilty she felt about that it couldn’t be changed.

  She turned again and this time Shep didn’t stop her as she headed out the door and up the stairs. She would change and take a good long run before cooling off with a shower. Running always helped her clear her head which was why she kept a treadmill here at the house. A run and a shower and then it would be time to meet Ally and deal with the complications of that. She almost laughed. Her life was definitely never low-key.

  * * * * *

  Shep heard the car pull up and headed to the front of the house. He could hear the shower still running and groaned as he had to give up the thought of joining Stace in the water with an offer to wash her back and any other place she wanted him to. He sighed then, hoping that this meeting wouldn’t be as awkward as he feared. Blake was his best friend and if he was to have more than a casual affair with Stace then she would have to be comfortable. Friends like Blake were rare and he didn’t ever want to give up a friend for a woman.

  And Ally was part of that friend package now. He remembered when he had first met her. He’d wished that he had met her first, that he had been the one to lay claim to her heart. But seeing her and Blake together he knew that the two of them were meant to be the couple they were. In fact that was why he had moved back from the two of them. He’d wanted to find what they shared for himself. It was too soon to tell if he had a chance of that with Stace but he was definitely hoping to have the opportunity to find out.

  Stace was unlike any other woman he had dated. She was strong in every facet of the word. That was a big turn-on for him. She wasn’t clingy or bitchy or whiny. She seemed to be a woman who knew her mind and spoke it. She was definitely a woman he lusted after and wanted to see a hell of a lot more of. But already it seemed more than just lust. Maybe it was the seriousness of what he was helping her with, her sister’s kidnapping. He felt for her. Not empathy or sympathy but something more that made him think that she could be more than just a few nights of great sex.

  He’d worked other missing persons cases, dealt with sisters, mothers, aunts, friends and plenty of them had been single and interested. But those women hadn’t even made an impression other than he felt contempt for anyone who would use something like that to try to get a man into her bed. Stace hadn’t tried to use the circumstance for her own purpose. She’d simply acknowledged the attraction and told him up front. Which had made him want her even more.

  A truck door slammed and he came back to the present with a slow grin that quickly spread into a full-blown smile. Blake had come with Ally. That little twist would maybe help diffuse the first meeting. Stace would meet Ally and see that she was happily in love with Blake. He wasn’t sure what had prompted him to share the relationship he’d once engaged in with Blake and Ally, other than as perceptive as she was, Stace would have known something had gone on.

  “So I hear you can’t handle something on your own and have to call my woman to come save your sorry ass,” Blake said as he and Ally walked up to the porch.

  Shep just laughed especially as he watched Ally give Blake an elbow to the abdomen.

  “Hey Shep,” she said and stepped right up to him, embracing him and lifting her face for a kiss. He brushed his lips over her forehead and gave her a squeeze.

  “I’m glad you could come,” he said his glance meeting Blake’s. “Both of you.”

  Blake nodded and wrapping his arm around Ally’s waist pulled h
er back against him while Shep turned to open the door. The shower wasn’t running so he knew Stace would be down soon. He held the door open while they walked in and led them over to the family-living room. It was almost laughable how comfortable he was in Stace’s home.

  “All right, well bring us up to date on what’s going on,” Blake said taking a seat and pulling Ally down beside him. She just looked at Blake, shook her head and stood back up to cruise the room looking at the pictures and things in it.

  “Missing woman,” Shep began. “Chloe Anders, age twenty-one. Five foot nine inches tall, approximately one hundred forty pounds with short brown hair and brown eyes.”

  “Is this her?” Ally queried holding up a framed photo of Chloe and the friend he’d met earlier, Nicole.

  “Yes,” Shep said.

  “Attractive woman,” Ally said.

  “Yes,” Shep answered and still the missing Chloe didn’t hold a candle to her sister.

  “She’s been missing a little over four weeks now,” Shep continued. “Recorded 9-1-1 call shows she knew she’d been drugged or at least suspected she had and called for help. Help didn’t arrive in time. Call records at least two men’s voices and the sound of her being moved from the car.”

  “The car is still here?” Ally asked.

  “It is still with the police but Stace can pick it up any time,” Shep stated.

  “Stace?” Blake asked and lifted a brow at Shep.

  “Stace Anders,” Shep answered. “She is the sister of our missing woman.”

  “And?” Ally prompted.

  “Chloe is a nursing student in her third year,” Shep continued not answering what they were asking. How could he when he wasn’t sure yet either? “She stopped in unplanned, as far as we can learn, at Tark’s Tavern that night and sometime while there was given a Coke, which we suspect was drugged. Nothing left in or on the car. No one remembers seeing anything at the bar. Her best friend didn’t know she was stopping at Tark’s as it wasn’t a place they hung out at. Police searched, questioned and came up with a big fat nothing. It’s as if she just disappeared into thin air,” Shep said. “And so far we’ve found nothing either.”