Divorced, Desperate and Deceived

by Christie Craig

Joey’s heart thudded against his sternum. His hands sweated and itched inside the rubber gloves, but he just kept telling himself that he was doing the right thing. That was all he had to hold on to.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Kathy bit her lip and tried to decide what she wanted to do. Big mistake. Luke didn’t wait for her to tell him to enter; he just walked in. Clicking at his heels was the puppy.

  With Luke inside the small bathroom, it suddenly felt smaller. His dark blue eyes met hers, and he winked. His shiner had faded—or maybe it was the low lighting. Only one bulb over the small mirror spewed out any wattage.

  He didn’t talk. Instead, he studied her. Slowly he moved to the sink and set his gun and Harry’s phone on the counter. Then, turning around, he put a hand on each side of her face and kissed her.

  It wasn’t the hot kind of kiss she’d expected. Instead, it was soft. Gentle. Sweet. Tender.

  Then it got hot.

  His tongue moved over her bottom lip before it delved inside her mouth. His hips brushed hers—just ever so lightly—and that brought back the achy feeling between her thighs, the hunger that she’d felt when he’d kissed her earlier.

  His right hand moved under her tank top, along her back. Skimming, barely touching the skin that covered her rib cage, he slipped his fingers under her bra to cup her left breast. Her nipples, already tight, tightened some more.

  “Do we really need all these clothes?” he whispered against her lips. And just like that, he caught the hem of her shirt and slipped it up.

  Kathy raised her arms. The bra and shirt were whisked off, and they landed on the bathroom floor.

  She had never been a shrieking, modest type. Sex meant getting naked. But it had been a long time since she’d bared her breasts for a man. Kathy found herself wanting to cover up, but then she looked at Luke—looked at him looking at her. He appeared to like what he saw. Feminine power helped her to fight the urge to cover herself.

  Luke gently swirled his finger around her right nipple. “You’re even more beautiful than I imagined,” he murmured.

  Kathy found herself nibbling at her lip.

  He brushed his hand sideways, onto her left breast, and then with his index finger he traced a line down her abdomen, past her navel to the snap of her jeans. Pushing up on the tips of her toes, she pressed her lips to his. As soon as her lips brushed against him, he pulled back.

  “For the record, you kissed me this time.”

  She recalled telling him earlier that she hadn’t been the one who’d kissed him. This turnabout seemed fair play. She smiled. “Okay, you got me on that one.”

  “Oooh, I like a girl who knows when to concede,” he replied.

  He had her jeans loose in a trice, tucked one hand inside the back, slipped his palm down between her jeans and panties and cupped her left cheek. Then, with only a light pressure, he bought her against his body, where she felt the impressive bulge behind his zipper.

  Breath held, she pushed herself closer to him. His fingers wiggled against her butt and every nerve ending in her body focused on where his hand would go next.

  “You think that water’s hot yet?” he asked. With his free hand, he stuck his arm behind the shower curtain. The hand inside her jeans moved around her hip to rest low on her abdomen, and his fingers toyed with the elastic band of her panties.

  “Maybe…” Anticipation laced her tone, and she didn’t try to hide it.

  His fingers finally slipped inside the front of her panties. The sweet ache doubled between her thighs. Moisture collected deep in her center as she waited for his touch to slide lower.

  Instead, he pulled his hand out of her jeans and knelt in front of her. As if taking his time, enjoying it, he untied the shoelaces of her sneakers.

  She couldn’t remember the last time anyone removed her shoes. She definitely couldn’t remember the last time anyone removed her shoes while gazing up at her naked breasts. Probably because it had never happened.

  He smiled at her and raised her foot to pull off her Reebok. “You know,” he said, “you look good from all angles.” After removing her sock, he looked down at her foot and ran a slow finger over the top of her painted toenails. “I knew they would be painted pink.”

  Chills ran up her foot and found the place between her legs.

  “Even your feet are sexy,” Luke said.

  Kathy’s gaze made its way down his pant legs to his bare feet. He must have taken off his shoes in the living room.

  He started on her second Reebok, and when that was unlaced and removed, he stayed where he was, kneeling in front of her. Cupping his hands on the sides of her ankles, he ran his hands up the sides of her thighs, over her jeans. Then, hooking his thumbs in her belt loops, he whispered, “I want you naked.”

  Slowly, deliberately, he pulled her jeans and panties downward. She watched as the pale blue panties descended, exposing the clearly defined triangle of dark red hair at the V of her legs, and she saw his chest expand and his eyes widen. The look on his face—that one expression—was worth the torture she’d put herself though while waxing three nights ago. The tightening of desire low in her belly had her clenching her legs tighter together.

  He pushed the jeans and panties the rest of the way down her thighs, past her calves. When they puddled around her feet, she stepped out of them. And then she stood there, with him kneeling in front of her, totally, completely naked. Nothing had ever felt so right.

  Touching the inside of her ankle, he moved his hand up. His palm slid along her inner calf, past her knee and slowly inched between her thighs. But right before he arrived at her center, he slipped his fingers out from between her legs.

  She frowned and shifted her gaze to his eyes. He was watching her, a sly smile on his lips. He knew exactly what she’d been wanting and had purposely held back.

  Standing, he reached for the buttons of his shirt. He released one, then leaned in and kissed the edge of her lips. He pulled back and released another button. She watched his fingers move from one to another. Finally his shirt hung completely open. He slid it off his shoulders and let it fall to the floor. But instead of going to work on his jeans, as she expected, he closed the distance between them. Her hard nipples brushed his chest, and her breasts ached to be touched.

  Kissing her on the cheek, he wrapped one arm around her waist and extended his other hand into the shower, testing the water temperature again. “You okay?” he whispered in her ear as he pulled it out.

  That’s when it hit her: She was standing there, not participating, just like she had with Tom.

  “I’m sorry,” she muttered.

  His brow creased. “About what?”

  “I…” She tried to remember some of the tips of what men liked, but for the life of her, not one piece of advice rose into her brain.

  “I…” She met his gaze again. A swarm of butterflies started doing the tango in her stomach, and she looked away. “I’m really not very good at this.”

  “Good at what?” He turned her chin and forced her to look at him.

  She felt her cheeks flush. “Sex.” She forced herself say it, hoping it would stop at least some of her insecurities from eating her alive. “My ex…He said that I—”

  “No.” Luke pressed a finger to her lips. He gazed at her with a look that was part frustration and part compassion. “Stop.”

  “Stop what?” she asked, his finger still against her lips.

  “That is wrong on so many levels,” he said. He waved a hand around the room. “Do you see your ex in here?” When the puppy barked, he added, “Not you, Goodwill.”

  Kathy cut her gaze from the dog back to Luke. “No, he’s not here.”

  “Good, because I sure as hell haven’t invited him. And I’d prefer you didn’t either.” He touched his index finger to her temple. “Not even up here. This is you and me. No one else.”

  His smile touched something inside her, and she felt a surge of self-confidence. “Thought you liked threesomes,” she te
ased.

  He smiled. “We can discuss that later.”

  She sighed. “Can we start over?”

  “Start over? No!” His gaze whispered down her naked body. “Let me make that clear. Hell, no.” He reached around her waist and pulled her against him. “It’s taken me over two and a half years to get you naked. There’s no damn way I’m starting over.”

  Kathy laughed. “Then maybe you should get naked with me.”

  “Now that”—his hand whispered up her side to pass over her breasts—“sounds like a better idea.”

  He started to reach for his jeans, but she caught his hand. “Let me.” She reached down to undo them.

  Joey walked through the dark woods, letting Foster lead the way. Crickets and night birds sang in the distance. A soft wind stirred the trees, and the scent of pine filled the air. Their footsteps were nothing more than a soft padding accompanied by an occasional crack of a twig.

  Another person might consider the surroundings peaceful, but the gun in his hand, the one Foster had handed him, sucked the peacefulness right out of it for Joey. The fact that he might at any minute be taking a life and possibly losing his own shot all inner peace right to hell.

  The question was when Joey should do it. Foster had said there were two possible locations. What if this one wasn’t right? What if Foster’s information was wrong? He’d kill Foster if he had to, but what if he didn’t have to? What if Hunter and the girl just disappeared? Call him a coward, but Joey really hoped that was how things turned out.

  Then he remembered the look on Lola’s face when the jerk had touched her, and he wasn’t so sure.

  After a few minutes, they came upon a small house. All the lights were out. The surrounding woods were silent.

  “I don’t think this is it,” Foster said, keeping his voice low.

  Joey listened to the nothingness, gripped the gun in his hands and hoped like hell the corrupt trooper was right.

  “A man never tells a woman no when she wants to take his clothes off.”

  Luke dropped his arms to his sides to let Kathy do the honors. He watched her hands move to his fly and felt the tips of her fingers slip inside the front of his jeans to release the button. His body reacted as she brushed past sensitive skin.

  She worked to release the button, and he let himself enjoy the view of her breasts jiggling ever so slightly with her movements. Her nipples were a peach color, several shades darker than that lovely spray of freckles across her nose, and her right nipple brushed against his chest as she moved. He ached to draw it into his mouth and taste it.

  His gaze whispered down her breasts to her tiny waist. Then to her hips, which were flared, rounded and gave her body the perfect hourglass appearance. The red curls covering her sex drew his attention, and he felt himself grow frantic with need. His fingers itched to slip inside her folds and see if she was already wet for him. God knew he was already hard for her…and getting harder.

  He realized she still struggled with the button. “Do you want me to do it?” he asked, trying not to sound impatient.

  She looked up from his zipper. “Are you in a hurry, or is it that you don’t trust me?”

  “No.” He grinned and sighed. “Take your time. The view is kind of nice.”

  Did the woman have a clue how beautiful she was? He didn’t think she did. Her words replayed in his head: “My ex said…” And while he hadn’t let her finish her thought, he assumed the memory wasn’t a good one. He suspected that the vulnerable look in her eyes, the insecurity, had all come from what that asshole had said.

  Her ex deserved to be tortured for any pain he might have caused her. At the same time, Luke delighted in the fact that he himself would be the one to turn her around. He planned on showing Kathy Callahan just how beautiful she was and returning some of the self-confidence she so rightly deserved.

  She finally got the button free, as if a little clumsy from a case of nerves, and she tucked one hand inside his pants as she used the other to slowly undo the zipper. The back of her hand brushed against his dick, and a low hiss passed Luke’s lips before he could catch it. His pelvis pressed against her hand.

  Kathy looked up at him. “Wouldn’t want this zipper to catch on anything.”

  “Ouch.” He grinned.

  She smiled back at him, and now that the zipper was down, she placed both palms on his chest. “Of course, the last time wasn’t my fault. I didn’t know he wasn’t wearing underwear!”

  A laugh spilled from Luke’s lips, and he pulled her against him. “Okay, I’m going to want to hear that story. Just not now.”

  “Why, do you have other plans?” she asked, teasing. It was the tone he now knew she used to hide nervousness. But she slid her hands down and gave his jeans a little push.

  His cock, freed of his boxers, brushed against her abdomen. That light touch brought another moan to his lips. But with his jeans pushed only to his thighs, she seemed to hesitate at finishing the job. She kept her gaze on his face, almost as if embarrassed to see what she’d uncovered.

  “What’s wrong? Scared to check me out?” he asked, hoping the joke would erase her tension.

  “Not scared. I just like surprises.” She pushed his jeans all the way down. They bunched around his ankles. Then she knelt in front of him.

  He saw her gaze widen when she saw his surprise. And damn, if he wasn’t a bit astonished himself! It had been a long time since he’d risen so proudly to the occasion—which meant the real Kathy did more for his libido than the fantasy Kathy he’d been making love to in his mind.

  Seeing her, naked, kneeling, her mouth inches from his cock…it all took his libido and arousal up a notch. But in spite of the sweet fantasy flashing through his head, an escapade where she wantonly pleased him, he wanted tonight to be about pleasing her.

  Telling himself they could explore his other fantasy later, he pulled her upright. “Ready for that shower?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  He slipped a hand around her waist, moved the shower curtain back and led her into the cascading water.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Jason stood under the one streetlight in the makeshift car lot and took in every word Harry Johnson said.

  “Hell, yeah—he had a gun and threatened to shoot me. And then he kind of threatened to kill the girl,” the used car salesman was saying, leaning against a black pickup truck with a FOR SALE sign.

  Kind of threatened? Jason waited for Turner to ask for clarification.

  “What kind of gun was it?” the other cop asked instead.

  Jason fought the desire to push Turner out of the way and ask his own questions. It wasn’t that the guy was doing it wrong, but Jason had a separate agenda, which wasn’t so much about catching Bradley as finding Kathy. Hell, he’d promised Sue to do just that.

  Chase, standing beside him, muttered something under his breath. Jason’s guess was that his friend was champing at the bit as well. But this wasn’t their case. It wasn’t even their jurisdiction; so they both had to wait until Turner finished questioning the man to move in.

  The moment Turner closed his pad, Chase spoke up. “You said Bradley ‘kind of’ threatened to shoot Miss Callahan. What did you mean by that?”

  The salesman passed a hand over his belly and pulled himself away from the truck. “He said she was annoying him. And that he’d take his frustration out on her if I didn’t get out of the car. But…”

  “But what?” Jason snapped.

  “But then she told me that he wouldn’t hurt her. And she thumped him on the side of the head and started yanking his hair.”

  “She did what?” Turner reopened his pad, clearly surprised.

  Johnson looked back at him. “Yeah, it was strange. She just kept saying, ‘He won’t hurt me, see?’ And then she’d give him another thump on his ear. I’ve had my ears thumped—it hurts!”

  Jason and Chase looked at each other. “What did Bradley do?” Jason asked.

  “Nothing, but he
looked like he was getting pissed. I didn’t want to chance it. I got out of the car. But Lord have mercy, I sure do hope that gal is okay.”

  Turner asked a few more questions, then thanked Johnson and explained how to fill out a stolen-car report. Then he, Chase and Jason all started to walk away. Turner headed for his car.

  Chase growled to Jason, “None of this fucking makes sense.”

  “I know,” Jason replied.

  “Oh!” Johnson called out, and Jason and Chase turned. “There is one other thing…”

  The spray of water hit her directly in the face, so Luke adjusted the showerhead. When he looked back at her, he was again struck by how damn beautiful she was.

  “You look good wet,” he said. He reached for the bar of soap and moved it over her breasts. She stood there, and he could tell from her expression that the pleasure wasn’t all his.

  After teasing her nipples with gentle caresses, he turned her around. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Do you have any idea how many times I thought about having you like this? Of us, naked in a shower?”

  “How many?” she asked, her voice low.

  “Every time I was in your bathroom with you. I could always smell that peach soap you use. I’d get hard just walking in there.” As he moved the soap over her back, he got his first real look at her naked behind. It didn’t disappoint. “Then there was the time I came over and you were prancing around in those cutoff jeans. Do you have any idea how hard it was to crawl under your sink after that?”

  Moving his hands up from her waist, he followed her sides to her underarms. Once she was soapy and slick there, his hands again found their way to her breasts. She let out a soft moan and fell against him.

  Her backside brushed his cock, and a bolt of pleasure surged through him. Unable to resist, he shifted his hand down to the little triangle of hair at the juncture of her thighs. Her skin was wet, but a wetter, slicker moisture met his fingers in the folds of her sex. Her head dropped back against his chest, and then her eyes closed and her mouth fell slightly open.

  “You like that?” he whispered in her ear, watching streams of water roll down her breasts and bead on her nipples.