Standing in the bathroom doorway, Elle was as naked as the first time he’d seen her, but she no longer looked like a deer in his headlights. The wildness in her eyes was gone, and her friction burns and bruises had faded significantly in the past two days. Her wet hair hung over her shoulders, almost reaching her nipples. She stood tall and slender and curvy in all the right places. Damn, she’s so hot.
“Well?” she asked, sashaying across the room to him.
She stopped less than two feet away. He inhaled the pleasant scents of shampoo and soap and woman.
“Well?” she repeated.
“What?”
She cocked her head coyly. “Who were you talking to?”
“Who?” His mind went blank except for the image of her body, beckoning him like a siren’s song.
Her fingers plucked gently at his chest hair and then traced circles around his nipples.
His dick sprang to life. Giving his head—the one with a brain in it—a vehement shake, he stepped back out of her reach. Shit, he was in big trouble. “Dammit, Elle. Have mercy.”
Slowly, she slid one foot and then the other across the carpet, ending up even closer than before. “What are you afraid of, Luke? Does anything more than LAS violate some unwritten moral code of helpful, handsome, homegrown deputies?” Careful not to hit his bandage, she draped her arms around his neck and pressed her bare breasts to his chest. “Well?”
Shit, shit, shit. He jammed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and gripped the fabric to keep himself from embracing her and caressing her naked back from neck to ass. “Listen, Elle.”
She smiled seductively and lifted her chin so her lips were close to his. “I’m listening.” Her warm, fresh breath mingled with his.
“What am I afraid of?” He sighed. “You. You’re hot, and I want you…bad. But, despite what you said, I don’t get the vibe that you’re really into casual sex. And that’s all it could be. Not only do we live on opposite coasts, but you’re also a city girl and I’m a country boy. Basically, we live in different worlds. I’m thinkin’ why start something when it won’t end well?”
Her smile faded. “Different worlds?”
“Yeah. And I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Her body stiffened, and her eyes flashed. “Oh, I see. You’re afraid I’m going to fall head over heels in love with you, and you’ll break my heart.” She took a step back and poked his chest with her index finger. “Not to worry, Country Boy. I don’t give my heart away so easily.”
He gave Elle a reciprocal poke in the chest, which caught her completely off guard. “You think we can have lots of no-strings-attached sex, and you’ll be able to just walk away…unscathed?”
“Sure. I might miss your really big dick, but I’d be fine.”
He knew it wasn’t true, and her pretending otherwise pissed him off. “So, this could be sex just for the sake of sex. No commitments. No emotions.”
A smug expression spread across her face as she nodded. “Right.”
He stroked his chin. “I’m not sayin’ you’re lyin’. I’m just having a hard time believing it. But maybe you can convince me. When was the last time you slept with a guy just for the hell of it? Or only because you were in the mood to have a stiff dick inside you. Or you just wanted to ride a big ole cock. Tell me, Elle. When?”
Her cheeks glowed bright pink, and she gulped but remained defiant. “I…I don’t remember.”
“Let me help you narrow it down. Was it since you broke up with Carmichael?”
She huffed. “That was only two months ago.”
“I’ll take that as a no. And sweetheart, there’s no mandatory waiting period on screwing after a breakup. In fact, breakup sex is awesome.”
“You would know?”
“Damn straight. But let’s get back to you and when. If it wasn’t after Carmichael, how long before him?”
Stubbornly, she pressed her lips together, but he could see her defiance draining away.
Finally, she sighed. “I’ve never had sex without being in a committed relationship until…you know…yesterday…with you. Satisfied, Deputy Helpful?”
Her admission didn’t surprise him because he’d suspected the truth all along. But being right didn’t feel like a victory. His anger died; confusion replaced it. If Elle didn’t believe in casual sex and she understood it was all he could offer, why was she putting on this seductive act just to have more sex with him?
Maybe her past sexual experiences had been unsatisfying. Maybe she was only looking for better sex, not a relationship, this time. Maybe she wanted nothing more than mind-blowing, bone-melting sex.
“Was Carmichael a good lover?” he blurted out.
She blinked. “Richard was…attentive.”
“Attentive? What the hell does that mean?”
“He paid attention to me. He was…considerate.”
“Duh. I know the definition of ‘attentive.’ But how can it describe your sex life with Carmichael?” Luke asked.
“Richard was…” She hesitated. “Was aware of my sexual needs.”
“Skip the psycho-babble. Was the prick good in bed or not?”
Elle deflated before his eyes. Her shoulders slumped, and she trudged to the bed and plopped down. He fought the urge to go to her, to console her, to make love to her.
Sighing, she clasped her hands in her lap and stared at them for several moments. “As you now know, I didn’t have much experience to judge Richard by, but I’ll give him credit for trying. For various reasons—which I think are too private to reveal—he was rarely able to satisfy me. Sex had been a one-sided pleasure in our relationship for a long time. So, to answer your astute question: No, the prick was not good in bed.”
An awkward silence followed.
“I’m sorry, Elle. I shouldn’t have pried.”
She shrugged. “No, but you did. And now you can add another notch to your belt or your headboard or wherever you keep the tally.”
“I don’t keep count of the women I’ve slept with.”
“Oh, of course you don’t. It would be far too many notches,” she said snidely. “I’m just referring to the number of women who’ve told you that you’re the best they’ve ever had. Cliché, I know, but there it is.”
After a few moments of stunned silence, he was able to reply. “You’re being ridiculous. I don’t keep track of that either. Sex isn’t about numbers; it’s about pleasure. When I’m with a woman, I just want to give her all the pleasure I can.”
“Well, aren’t you noble. And they say chivalry is dead.”
He waited and waited until she finally met his gaze. “I don’t think so, Elle. It’s just who I am.”
“I see. I’d be happy to complete a customer satisfaction survey for you.”
“Stop it, Elle, just stop.” A weight like one of the boulders on Stone’s hillsides settled in his chest. Luke yanked his hands from his pockets, stomped across the room to stand in front of her, and grasped her shoulders. He saw the tears in her eyes before she turned her face away. “Dammit, how did we get here?”
She swallowed hard a couple times. “You were trying not to hurt me.”
“That was a rhetorical question, but you’re right about how this argument started. But now I feel like the crap I get on the bottom of my boots when I’m working in the barn. Sometimes, I’m not good at expressing myself—I’m a guy, ya know—but hell if I can figure out how I dug myself in so deep. What gives?”
A tear spilled from her eye and meandered down her smooth cheek. Leaning close, he kissed it away.
Elle shuddered with a sob. “Oh God, Luke, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s come over me. This behavior is totally out of character.” She folded her arms across her breasts to cover them, rolled her eyes, and forced a laugh. “I can’t believe I came prancing out of the bathroom naked. I’ve never been an exhibitionist.”
He released her shoulders and straightened. The pain in his chest told him the sex issue hadn’t been r
esolved, but if she wanted to pass it off as a joke, he’d go along…for now. “Yeah, well, you almost gave me a heart attack.”
Suddenly modest, she yanked the comforter around her and escaped to the bathroom.
Chapter 21
I’m sorry we’re so late,” Elle said when she and Luke entered the main house a short time later.
“Stone thought you two were going to spend the whole day—” Sean began until interrupted by his boss’s elbow in his ribs.
“Recuperating,” Jake finished diplomatically.
Embarrassment warmed her cheeks, and Luke stiffened beside her. She didn’t dare look directly at him, so she inhaled a fortifying breath and moved on. “Well, I’m eager to find my kidnapper, but I don’t know what we can do without any of the files. I keep repeating the same stuff over and over to Luke, but it doesn’t give us any leads or get us any closer.”
“You should tell Sean and Stone everything. Maybe fresh ears will catch something I missed. Meanwhile, I’ll check my e-mail to see if my boss had the Sheriff’s Department docs sent to me. Then we can all study those. Hopefully, something will pop.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” Elle said.
An hour later, Luke’s plan had yielded no results. She’d retold her entire story—even the mortifying parts—and answered dozens of questions. Her frustration level had also hit an all-time high.
When he’d found no e-mail with the promised documents, Luke had silently listened to her talk even though he’d heard it all before. She didn’t think his gaze had left her face once because every time she’d glanced at him, those amazing blue eyes were focused on her. He made sizzling memories surface and concentrating difficult.
“Bottom line: You think Richard Carmichael hired someone to kidnap you to teach you a lesson, and Johnson thinks it’s Blue Van Man because the jerk’s obsessed with you. Right?” Jake asked.
Elle sighed. “Yes, you summed it up nicely.”
“Why don’t you think it has anything to do with your investigative reporting? Some of it is damn toxic.”
“Why thank you, Mr. Stone,” she said drolly. “It’s only toxic to guilty people. Behave yourself, and you won’t register on my radar.” Jake pinned her with his steely gaze until she had to seek refuge in Luke’s welcoming eyes.
“Are you one of those people who sees everything as black or white without any gray areas?” Jake asked.
“I have a strong sense of right and wrong, if that’s what you’re asking. But I have been known to support a position if the end justifies the means. It depends on how offensive the ‘means’ are.”
He smiled. “Offensive…or illegal?”
“Something can be offensive by being immoral or unethical while not technically being illegal.”
“I’ll try to remember that. But can’t the opposite also be true: Something can be technically illegal, yet moral or ethical?”
His serious, penetrating stare told her that he wanted a thoughtful response, not a flippant retort. She pondered his hypothesis for a full minute before reaching a conclusion. “I think you’re right. I can imagine instances where doing the right thing might require not following the letter of the law.” She thought a moment longer and added, “Especially to rectify a previous wrong.”
“I’ll remember that, too, Ms. Bradley,” Jake said.
“Who do you like for the perp, Stone?” Luke interjected.
Luke probably thought he was defending her by deflecting Stone’s attention, but she didn’t need his help to hold her own with their intimidating host.
Jake frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. “First, I’ll explain why I don’t like either Carmichael or Blue Van Man for it.”
Elle leaned forward with anticipation and noticed Luke scowl. His reactions were annoying but also endearing. She smiled and rested back against the couch cushion instead, immediately softening his expression.
“Carmichael is a blowhard, as my dad likes to say. He’s all talk and no action. Hiring and managing a kidnapper is tough work,” Jake began.
“Doesn’t driving all the way across country and distributing flyers about my kidnapping qualify as action?” Elle asked.
“Useless, just-for-show action. Seems more like an egotistical road trip with no results.”
“I agree, Stone, but I do find it suspicious that he ended up in LA at the same time Elle escaped in Ramona—only a hundred and fifty miles away,” Luke said.
Jake nodded. “Yeah, it is odd, but they…” He hesitated. “But don’t you think the FBI would’ve checked out his story…to some extent?”
“You mean with credit card charges for hotels, restaurants, and gas along the way,” Luke said.
“Exactly.”
“How do you know he wasn’t caravanning with the kidnapper’s RV? When we reached California, maybe Richard and the guy decided to split up to put some distance between them until Richard decided where to go from here,” Elle suggested.
“Carmichael’s cell records would’ve been reviewed for any unusual calls,” Sean said.
Luke shook his head. “But if they had any brains, they would both have been using burner phones.”
“True. Where do you think the kidnapper was headed with you after Ramona, Elle?” Jake asked.
“Mexico.” She gulped. “I was scared to death that if the bastard got me into Mexico, I’d never be seen again. I’d simply disappear forever. Of course, that scenario is only plausible if Richard wasn’t involved.” She paused. “I’m not convinced the FBI did anything to verify Richard’s story. His father has a lot of influence in Washington.”
With a sideways glance at Sean, Jake started to respond. But Sean, who’d been mostly quiet during the conversation, gave a single, almost imperceptible shake of his head. Jake exhaled as if frustrated.
Elle frowned. What’s going on?
“The feds, especially in Washington, have to deal with a lot of bureaucratic interference, but I believe they still manage to do a good job. I can’t imagine Secretary Carmichael even knowing the FBI was checking his son’s credit card history to confirm his story—unless he has a mole. But then, I don’t know either man personally,” Jake admitted.
“I wouldn’t rule out anything with Arthur Carmichael. The man is more interested in the almighty dollar than he is in protecting our country’s resources,” Elle said.
“Obviously, you don’t like him. But I thought he was your father’s business partner.”
She blinked with surprise. Most people thought the two influential men were only connected through her relationship with Richard. Few knew about their past dealings. A tingle of suspicion raised the hair at her nape. “Former business partner,” she clarified. “How do you know about that?”
Jake didn’t show any reaction. “I always do my homework, especially on people visiting me.”
How ironic. Someone investigating me. She bristled at the idea. “Well, your research is outdated.”
“And what’s wrong with the Blue Van Man as perp?” Luke asked, changing the subject at an opportune moment.
“From Elle’s description, I surmise he’s an obsessive stalker. But most of those creeps don’t have the balls to go after what they want. Many are just opportunists, who take advantage of an unexpected situation,” Jake said. “Elle’s abduction was carefully planned—down to the detail of which streetlight to shoot out. And her presence at that location, on that day, at that time, wasn’t a surprise opportunity. Blue Van Man may have vanished about the same time, but it doesn’t mean he planned the whole kidnapping and took her with him.”
“I still think he’s a strong candidate for kidnapper, but I also agree there are other explanations for his disappearance,” Luke said.
“Like what?” Elle asked.
“Like he left town because he realized he could never have you, and the timing was just a coincidence. But I don’t put much credence in coincidences.”
“Another possibility?” Sean asked.
Lu
ke shrugged. “He could be pulling some half-assed stunt like Carmichael, thinking he’s a white knight trying to save her, but not really accomplishing anything.”
“Under scenario number two, what would he do now that Elle is safe?” Jake asked, arching his eyebrows.
Luke pondered a moment. “Depending on where he went on his crusade, he’d either return home…” He turned his head slowly to meet Elle’s gaze. “Or try to see with his own eyes that she’s okay and then continue stalking her like before.”
Elle tensed. “Have you seen an old blue van hanging around?”
“No, I haven’t.”
She forced down the panic. “But he’d just be checking on me, not planning to abduct me, right? So, no real threat.”
“Unless the dude has decided he’s the only one who can keep you safe,” Luke said.
“Okay, now we need to be on the lookout for a blue van and a white pickup,” Sean said. “What did the San Diego FBI agent say about the van’s make and model?”
“Holmes said it’s a Ford cargo van, originally white but now blue, with a sliding door on the passenger side to access the rear of the vehicle, and only one window on each side,” Elle explained.
“What’s a college student doing with a cargo van instead of a car or truck? Maybe he lives in it,” Sean speculated.
“No, because Holmes also told me they raided Mike Milton’s apartment, but he wasn’t there,” Elle said.
“Let’s get back to who you like for the deed,” Luke said pointedly to Jake.
“I don’t have a name, just a category.”
“Meaning?”
“An enemy Elle made through her reporting,” Jake said.
“I have several of those, but I can’t imagine any of them resorting to kidnapping. I mean, the truth is out, the harm’s done, once the report is public,” she said.
“Perhaps it’s someone affected by an ongoing investigation. Kidnapping you would stop your research—”
“Only temporarily,” she interrupted and then gasped. “Unless…”
“Yeah, unless…” Jake exchanged a meaningful look with Sean and Luke before continuing. “I’m afraid we must consider the horrible possibility that the goal was to stop your research…permanently. So, Elle, what exactly were you working on right before you were abducted?”
Only Obsession (Rogue Security Book 3) Page 18
