Worth Any Price

by Jacqueline DeGroot

  She looked up at him with puffy, tearful eyes. “You know the really sad thing about all this is that he was a pitifully inadequate lover. I could have done better, a lot better. But I thought he was special, that he cared about me. He worshipped my body, loved looking at it, and was always complimenting me on it—he made me feel so good about myself. Like I was the most beautiful thing in the world. Ironic isn’t it?”

  Kel didn’t say anything; he couldn’t think of anything to say to that.

  “My psychiatrist once told me that it probably would have been better for me if I had never discovered his dirty secret.”

  And Kel couldn’t help agreeing. Several other women and their kids would certainly have been better off if she’d never found those pictures of herself.

  “I hope you catch him,” she said as he walked away, “he’s ruined enough lives.”

  He only nodded as he walked down the hallway to join the other detectives. Fragments of her bitter words swirled around in his head as he unconsciously put one foot in front of the other. The words He was a pitifully inadequate lover, kept running like a banner across his mind, and finally he made the connection. His friend, Ben Atkinson, the profiler had said pretty much the same thing. The guy you’re looking for is probably pathetic in bed.

  They had him. They knew who he was—Harold Francis Satterfield. Now they just had to find him. Another thought occurred to him and he turned back to her. “Did your husband own a boat or have access to one?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, a jon boat. He kept it at a friend’s house on the Waterway. Their house is for sale and they don’t live here anymore, so until it sells, he keeps it beside their house under a tarp.”

  “Do you know where that is?”

  She gave him a house number on Masonboro Loop.

  Dear God, that was just a couple of houses down the waterway from Laura’s house.

  Kel watched as the small boat was loaded into a van. It was being taken to a garage where crime scene techs would go over it, looking for anything that would give them a clue about where they could find this disgusting son-of-a-bitch. The ground underneath had been all but vacuumed as they tried to capture anything that might have fallen from the boat when it was turned upside down. He fingered the small plastic bag that contained the one thing they had managed to find, wedged as a shim under the seat. A flyer, folded the maximum times an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper could be folded—six. It was a promotional flyer, the kind you’d find under the windshield of your car after spending three minutes in the grocery store. It was promoting the Exclusively for Women gym on South College Street.

  He felt for the tiny palm tree in his pocket and thought of Laura. He wondered how she was feeling, wondered if she was thinking about him. He looked at his watch. She should be picking Kayla up from her parents’ house right about now. He’d wait until he got back to the office before calling her. Meanwhile, he had to find Harold “Frankie” Satterfield.

  Chapter Forty-two

  Rand was sitting at his desk when Meggie opened the door and walked into his office. He hadn’t been sure she’d come. He dropped his pen on the open patient file and stood to greet her.

  “You looked surprised to see me,” she said with a laugh.

  “I am.”

  “What did you want to see me about?” she asked, feigning innocence. She was perky and happy and it did his heart good to see her that way.

  He smiled and walked over to where she stood by the door, then reached behind her to lock it. “This,” he said as he placed his hand on her jaw, cupping her head behind her ear with his splayed fingers. Ever so slowly, he bent his head and took her parted lips with his. As he savored the feel of her soft lips against his, his other hand snaked out, circled her waist, and pulled her tightly to his chest. Then the plundering began in earnest as his lips molded themselves to hers and his tongue delved into her soft, moist recess, tasting and taking her essence with a fevered passion.

  She shouldn’t be allowing this, this was highly unprofessional. But she had no choice. The feel of his lips pressed against hers, his tongue tracing every nuance of her mouth, and his warm, hard chest pressing against her breasts attested to the fact that she had absolutely no control of this situation. He could have lifted her up, placed her on the desk, and climbed on top of her and she would have been unable to stop him, he had so affected her senses.

  Fortunately, he had more decorum than she at this moment and he pulled back to stare down at her wet lips. “I don’t know if you know it or not, but you’ve been ruining my sleep and interfering with my work since the day I met you.”

  “At Eddie Romanelli’s?”

  “No, in the operating room. Three weeks ago, the Marchetti resection.”

  “You were attracted to me then?” she stammered.

  “From the moment I saw your eyes over your mask. I waited until you came out of recovery just so I could see your lips.” He kissed her again, lightly this time, savoring the feel of her lips against his. “I noticed how every once in a while you’d pat the patient’s hand or shoulder, even knowing he couldn’t feel it. And you stand without moving for hours as if it’s effortless. Everyone else is constantly shifting back and forth on their feet and it drives me crazy.”

  “Mountain pose.”

  “What?”

  “Yoga. It centers you perfectly. You fit into your pelvis and you settle, it takes the weight off your spine.”

  “You’ll have to show me that sometime.” He bent and took her mouth with his and softly used his lips and tongue to feel every curve of hers.

  “I only have twenty-five minutes before I have to pick Toby up from school,” she breathed as he continued kissing her.

  “Then you have to agree to see me tonight.”

  “I’m not ready to get a sitter for Toby.”

  “I’ll come to your house.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Thomas watches everything I do.”

  “Then bring him to mine.”

  “I can’t, he has school tomorrow.”

  He took a deep breath and she could hear the frustration he was experiencing when he let it out. “Okay, let’s do this. I’ll call Kel, we’ll see if he and Laura and Cayce and Meggie want to get together with all the kids for a barbecue at my place this weekend. How does that sound?”

  “Doable, very doable.”

  “Good. This is the hardest I’ve ever had to work for a first date.”

  “We are so beyond a first date.”

  “You don’t know how happy am I am to hear you say that,’ he said with grin. Then he kissed her on the nose and set her away from him. “You’d better get going or you’ll be late getting Toby.”

  But before he let her leave, he pulled her back for one more deep, soul-melding kiss.

  At nine o’clock that night, Rand knocked on her door. When she looked through the peephole, then opened the door to him, the shocked look on her face was priceless. “I thought we agreed that this wasn’t—”

  He cut her off by placing his fingers over her lips. He stepped inside and closed and locked the door behind him. “I had a buddy of mine ask Thomas to play poker tonight. We’re clear until at least two or three in the morning.”

  She just stood there staring at him.

  “Aren’t you going to invite me into the living room?”

  “Oh. Yeah, sure. Man you are one determined man aren’t you?”

  “When it comes to you, yes.” From behind his back he produced a bottle of wine, a spray of fresh orchids, and a box of Godiva Chocolates. “The beginning of a proper first date.”

  She laughed. “That’s the equivalent of more than one date—more like six or seven in my book.”

  “Good. Then we’re beyond the randy
sex of our first date and can move on to the real deal—the lovemaking. Go put a dress on, and some heels. I want to dance with you.”

  “I can’t go out dancing with you tonight, Toby’s asleep in his room.”

  “Who said anything about going out?” His hand dipped into his pocket and he brought out a CD. “Put on something soft and sexy. Show me where your stereo is and I’ll do the same.”

  The clock in the dining room chimed then sounded off twelve bongs. They had danced through the CD twice, her hips swaying into his, his hands wandering and arousing her with their light sensual touches.

  “It’s late, I’ve got to get some sleep. I have to get Toby up at seven.”

  He stopped dancing and lifted her chin with his fingertips. “I don’t want to go,” he said simply. And then her world spun as he captured her lips with his and didn’t let go. His hand came up to hold her head as he pulled her face closer to his and his tongue breached the barrier of her teeth. He lapped at her tongue, twining in and out, chasing it while he alternately sucked and nibbled on her bottom lip.

  “Meggie,” he breathed against her lips, “I don’t know what you’re doing to me, but I can’t seem to get enough of you. Just the taste of you is driving me wild.”

  His words were driving her over the edge. She felt the heat of their embrace, the desire pooling in her center, and she timidly touched her tongue to his, causing him to groan as if he was in pain.

  His lips seared into hers and his tongue parlayed with hers, and then he dropped his head and kissed the long column of her neck, showering her with one hot, burning sensation after another. When his lips found their way to her bare shoulder, he used the palm of his hand to ease her shawl collar down to her elbow, exposing a full, ripe breast to his waiting hand. His palm curved and he cupped her under her breast, hefting the weight of it in his hand while his thumb grazed the peaked nipple. It was her turn to groan and he thought he would die from the sheer pleasure of hearing it. He bent to take her nipple in his mouth and she swooned against him, unable to support herself from the sudden collapse of her legs. He caught her in his arms and carried her to her bedroom, never once taking his mouth from her breast.

  As tenderly as he could, he laid her down on the soft linens of her bed. Then he kicked off his loafers and levered his body down to hers. As he stretched out beside her, he heard her mumble something and, desperate not to have her deny him, he covered her mouth again with his. He plundered her mouth with his rolled tongue, thrusting and retreating repeatedly into her until the rhythm was so compelling that she reached her hands up to hold his head to hers as she followed his lead. He had one hand under her shoulders holding her to him, while with the other, he stripped her dress all the way down past her knees. When he felt rather than heard her gasp against his mouth, he slid his hand back up along her outer thigh, grazing her hip and hugging her waist before caressing her breast again. Instinct took over as he subtly read every nuance of her body as it responded to his.

  A woman with breasts this large and responsive was every man’s dream, and as she moaned to every type of caress he used on them, his body grew hard and more demanding. Moving his lips from one fully distended nipple to the other, he used his hand to caress her waist, her flat abdomen, and then to delve down into the region between her thighs.

  He cupped her as his middle finger fluttered against her labial lips, beckoning them to open to his touch. They flowered open like the full ripe petals they were, and he groaned at the silky, slick wetness he found. “You are so wet,” he murmured into the cleft between her breasts. He licked her cleavage and the mounds of flesh under her nipples as he moved his tongue lower and lower with a definite target in mind.

  When his mouth grazed her furry mound, he felt her hands reaching down to stop him. He knew he had to act quickly or all would be lost. She couldn’t come to her senses now, he couldn’t stand the agony of it if she did. His lips joined his fingers where they opened her wide for him and he kissed and sucked on her slick lips while he insinuated his body between her legs. He had taken her dress all the way down her legs and it was bunched at her feet. Had he known all night long that she’d had no underwear on, he would never have been able to stand it. His tongue joined the action as his hands spread her legs even wider.

  “Rand, no. We mustn’t . . . .” Too late, he now had her legs spread completely open, bent at the knees, his forearms holding her inner thighs down as he licked and kissed and lapped at her. Running his tongue up and down inside her slit, he probed deeper, enjoying the taste and feel of her against the grain of his tongue and curl of his lips. Expertly he tongued her and fingered her, backing away to look at her glistening, gaping opening. Greedily he went back for more, this time concentrating on the top of her slit where a hard bud was starting to tremble and throb. He took the small, full nub against his lips, and as he felt it shudder, he grasped her buttocks to lift her higher, giving him even more access to her. He felt her convulse against his lips. Her cry of ecstasy echoed in the room, and the sheer satisfaction of giving her such pleasure caused him to feel the urgency of his own much-desired release. He quickly stood, undid his pants and dropped them to his knees, but not before removing a condom from one of the front pockets. He tore it open with his teeth, pulled it out, and rolled it down onto his pulsing erection. Then he mounted her, positioned himself at her opening, and entered her.

  He reveled in the incredible feel of her tight sheath surrounding him, and he thrust forward repeatedly, pinning her to the bed. He knew he was only going to be good for a few more short thrusts and maybe one or two deep ones since he’d been so consumed with passion and his incredible desire to have her for several days now. Gripping her buttocks while he thrust into her, he exploded with the most incredible orgasm he’d ever experienced. It left him weak and completely drained as his head fell alongside hers on the pillow. Propping himself up on his elbows to keep the bulk of his weight off of her, he gasped, “Jesus, Meggie! I’m so sorry.”

  “That’s not exactly what a woman wants to hear a man say when she’s just given herself to him.”

  “You didn’t give yourself to me, I took you. I used every trick in the book to keep you senseless and I plain took you. I am so sorry.”

  “I wish you’d stop saying that. Couldn’t you just tell me you couldn’t help yourself and that it was the most wonderful feeling you ever had? That would at least make me feel better.”

  “Oh, Meggie, it goes without saying that I wanted you. I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you. But you were Thomas’ wife.”

  “I’m no longer Thomas’ wife. I haven’t been for a very long time.”

  “He’s always made it sound like you were getting back together.”

  “No, I’ll never be his wife again. Never.”

  “Would you consider being mine?”

  There was absolute silence while he stroked her back and waited for her to reply. A full minute passed before she said, “I think that’s fourth or even fifth date stuff.”

  “Gotcha. First we have anal intercourse, then we make out like teenagers in my office, then I practically rape you, then we get engaged. Do I have the order right yet?”

  “Somewhere in there is flowers, champagne, and chocolate.”

  “You had plenty of champagne last night, but I did bring flowers and chocolates.”

  “And condoms.”

  “Yes, we don’t want the pregnancy to come before the actual ceremony, now do we?”

  “Pregnancy?”

  “You are going to have a few babies for me, aren’t you? I moved back to Wilmington to find a wife, to settle down and have some kids. It just wasn’t happening in Chicago. After years of dating I simply could not fall in love. I can’t believe that it’s happening so fast now. But hey, I did bring you flowers. And orchids at that, they’re not so ea
sy to come by this time of the year you know.”

  “Why do you want to marry me Rand?”

  “Because sometime between you saying, ‘Clamp, retractor, we need more gauze here,’ and crying into my shirt at Romanelli’s, I fell in love with you. That’s why.”

  “You’re in love with me?”

  “Desperately.”

  She ran her fingers lightly over his face, stroked his eyebrows and lips, then softly ran her fingers through the hair at his temples. “Show me.”

  “Gladly,” he said with a big smile. His arms wrapped around her and he covered her soft, pliant body with his hard, demanding one. Her moans joined with his until they were in such a fevered frenzy that neither one heard when the front door was unlocked and Thomas came into the apartment.

  Rand was kneeling on the bed holding her centered on his erection, her back was bowed as his hand caressed her breast. And they were both screaming their release when Thomas saw them from the doorway.

  He had never been in this kind of pain before. Sure, he’d been jealous but never like this, and the fury sped through him until his rage became so great he wanted to lash out, and lash out with a vengeance that was lethal. He wanted to hurt as badly as he was being hurt. But even though his fists were balled and the cords on his neck were strained, he knew he would not be the victor this way. Rand was bigger, faster, and right now he had more to live for. Thomas stepped back from the doorway before he could be spotted and leaned on the wall between Meggie’s room and Toby’s.

  He heard them chuckle and whisper and murmur things about love. He heard Rand tell his wife that he loved her breasts. Those same breasts that he had just discovered she’d been showing to the whole fucking town of Topsail. Along with her ass! Three of the officers who had seen his wife all but naked had been at that damned poker party, and were just too happy to tell him all about her penchant for nude sunbathing. He had to come directly here and call her on it, because he didn’t want to believe it. She wouldn’t do that!