by Debra Webb
But this was only the beginning. As the news spread, all three women would be hunted down and revealed as the long-lost Barker children. There was no stopping this frenzy. Lyle McCaleb and Joel Hayden were on high alert for the wave to hit them by noon tomorrow. The Colby Agency would be bombarded with calls and protesters. This was going to get ugly.
Russ and Olivia were out in the open, where anyone could reach them. He held the curtain aside and checked the parking lot again. The only available parking was in the front, facing the street. He’d tucked the rental next door behind the pharmacy, which prevented it from being visible from the street. Problem was, this was the only motel in town and anyone looking for Olivia would start here. If they were lucky, most would assume they had left Granger.
Simon had no news on Clare and Weeden. No vehicles had been reported stolen from the area where the abandoned sedan they’d left behind had been found. No one matching their descriptions had taken public transportation or rented a vehicle from any agencies requiring ID. Depending on the funds readily available it was possible Weeden had purchased a used vehicle from an individual. The transaction wouldn’t show up in the usual places so long as Weeden didn’t attempt to register the vehicle and he wouldn’t. With the news of Olivia’s presence in Granger all over the airwaves, Weeden and Clare would be well aware of her movements.
Russ checked the weapon in his waistband and turned to consider the bathroom door. She’d announced she needed a long, hot soak as soon as they’d gotten into the room. She’d offered to let him shower first but he’d needed to confer with Simon so he’d passed.
She’d been in there a long time. As much as he didn’t want to disturb her, he needed to see that she was okay. He crossed the room and rapped on the door. “You doing all right in there?”
“I’d be doing a lot better if I were at a spa,” she called out, her voice muffled by the closed door. “A good neck rubdown would be perfect right now.”
He couldn’t turn this into a spa but he’d been known to give a pretty damned good rubdown. His body tensed at the thought of touching her that way. Most likely it would be better if he stayed out here with that door between them. He’d already suffered a lapse in control when he’d permitted that kiss. As much as he understood allowing a personal connection to build, he couldn’t regret kissing her.
“Take your time,” he said, his voice sounding rusty. He cleared his throat. “Relax and those tense muscles will loosen up.” Too bad he couldn’t take his own advice. His whole body was rigid with tension that had everything to do with visions of her body.
He turned away from the door, proud of himself for doing the right thing, as challenging as that move was. “Good for you, pal,” he muttered. This night was already going to be challenging enough with only one bed. The motel had one kind of room and those rooms had one bed. He wasn’t about to let Olivia out of his sight, so sharing a room and a bed would have to work.
“Actually,” she called out, “I was hoping you’d volunteer to give me a neck rub. I’m out of the tub now. Everything covered from neck to knee.”
He closed his eyes. Wished she hadn’t asked. The door opened and steam billowed out around him. A lungful of damp air filled his chest as the cloud dissipated and the image of Olivia, clad in only a towel, filled his eyes. Her hair was damp and clinging to her neck. Her skin was flushed from the warm soak and she looked as soft as smooth-whipped cream.
“I’m sorry.” She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. He tensed, worried or maybe hopeful that the towel would tumble to the floor. “I’m certain you want to have a shower and all I can think about is my own selfish pleasure.”
“Trust me,” he promised, the words sounding more like a growl, “skipping a shower to give you pleasure would not be a hardship.”
Her eyes rounded as if she’d only just realized how her request sounded. “I’m sorry. I…” She shook her head. “I was about to say I didn’t think of that, but the truth is that’s all I thought about while I was relaxing in that steamy water.”
She took the three steps that stood between them and stared up into his eyes. “I kept thinking about the way you kissed me and the idea that I’ve never enjoyed a kiss more. I’m certain it’s the stress and the insanity circling around me right now. Desperation, too. Your kiss felt…real and fulfilling. Is that crazy or what?”
Considering he felt ready to tear off that towel and show her what true fulfillment was, he kept his mouth shut.
His silence did the trick. She stared at the well-worn carpet. “What am I doing? You’re trying to do your job and I’m behaving like a teenage girl who doesn’t understand the difference between physical attraction and the beginnings of a real bond between two people.” She drew in a deep breath and met his eyes once more. “Forgive me, I’m not myself.” She rolled her eyes. “With my track record, it’s obvious I wouldn’t know a real relationship if it hit me over the head with a gavel.”
He couldn’t let her dangle out there another second. “Relationships are complicated. I’ve bombed at a few myself.”
“I can’t even say that.”
She went to the closet where he’d stowed their few belongings and rummaged through the bag from the store they’d hit last night. She pulled out a blouse and slacks and undies. His throat went dry as he contemplated the idea that the tiny scrap of silk she held in her hand would soon be hugging that luscious bottom of hers.
“Turn around,” she ordered.
Russ blinked. Tried to formulate a move based on her direction but it wasn’t working.
She gave him an expectant look. “Turn around so I can get dressed. It’s too humid in that bathroom. The fabric will just stick to my skin.”
He turned around, his muscles screaming at the move. If he didn’t get the need that she’d aroused under control soon he was going to explode.
“Guys tell me that I push them away.” The sound of silk gliding across her skin whispered over his senses. “I’ve always thought they were just using that as an excuse to move on. But now—” the sound of a zipper skimming upward grated on his oversensitized nerves “—I wonder if maybe they were right. I think it’s true. I don’t know how to bond that way because of what happened when I was a child.”
The closet door bumped to a close and he jumped. His brain kept assimilating images related to the sounds of her movements. He tightened his fingers into fists.
“Personally, I’ve always thought it was a cop-out when people blamed their issues on their childhoods. I mean, jeez, just because your mom or dad didn’t show you any affection, did that mean you were destined to become an addict or serial killer?” The water came on in the sink, which was stationed outside the bathroom door. “Really, isn’t our destiny our own to determine? We don’t have to choose a certain path.”
The swish and scrub of her brushing her teeth had him fighting the urge to turn around. Surely she was dressed by now, but she hadn’t given him the okay. Should he just stand here like a statue and wonder?
More running water. More swishing and scrubbing, then the inevitable whack of the toothbrush against the basin. “Guess I was wrong. I can see now that whatever happened in that house when I was a child has a direct correlation to my ability to trust and form bonds now. No matter how my adoptive parents tried, they couldn’t erase the imprint of that horror.”
She was opening up, trying to make sense of the emotional battle taking place inside her. He should be saying something. Offering his thoughts, cheering her on for coming to terms with her past…something…anything besides wishing he could strip those newly donned clothes off her and…
“There should be plenty of hot water by now.” She touched his arm. He jerked, railed at himself for being so damned selfish. “You okay? You haven’t said a word while I went on and on about my problems.” She moved around in front of him and searched his face. “I really went off on a tangent, didn’t I?” She bit her bottom lip. “Sorry about that. My boss and I carry on
conversations like this all the time. It took years for me to feel comfortable having a discussion like this with him. He’s probably my best friend as well as my boss. I’ve known you less than two days and already I feel comfortable.”
The words were on the tip of his tongue. A nice, amiable response. A thank you for sharing and feeling able to do so. But none of that came out. “Why don’t you take those clothes back off and let me show you just how comfortable things can get, the way I’m feeling right now.” The ferocity in his tone startled even him. He wanted her badly…and he wanted her now.
She stared at him for three long seconds before her pupils flared with undeniable desire. “I…” She moistened those soft, pink lips. “I don’t know what to say.” She looked basically anywhere but at him.
He’d gone too far to back out now. “Don’t say anything.”
His fingers were in her hair before he could stop himself. Her breath caught as he closed his mouth over hers. The sweet minty taste filled him and he wanted to taste every square inch of her. Her fingers were tearing at the buttons of his shirt. His were fumbling with the hem of her blouse. They worked around each other, the moves seemingly choreographed as her blouse came over her head and off and his shirt was peeled away from his back and arms.
The idea that he should have taken that shower flitted through his head but he couldn’t slow down long enough to ponder the notion—not when she wore no bra and her firm, high breasts were right in front of him, the nipples hard with need. His palms closed over the lush mounds and she leaned into his touch. He lowered his head and tasted first one then the other before ushering her down onto the bed. He lowered her zipper and dragged off her slacks, leaving nothing but that scrap of black silk covering her hips.
Russ stood at the foot of the bed and admired her body for a moment. She was trim and athletic with just enough feminine curves to add up to pure perfection. He unfastened his belt, liking that she watched his every move. He placed his weapon on the bed and tugged off his jeans. The condom in his wallet went down next to the weapon. Then he hauled off his stained jeans and tossed them aside. His shorts went next.
She continued to openly study him and he liked it. His body hardened even more as her gaze roved over his lower anatomy. He shucked his socks and reached for the condom. The pulse at the base of her throat fluttered as he watched her watching him tear open the necessary precaution. He skimmed the protection over his arousal and moved onto the bed, crawling on all fours up the length of her.
Belatedly, he grabbed the weapon and put it on the bedside table and reached for the light.
“Leave it on.”
Surprised that she wanted the light on, he lowered his hand back to the bed. In his experience women most often wanted the light off.
“I like looking at you.” She reached up and feathered her fingers down his chest. “Your body is amazing. So strong.” She stroked his chest again, only this time her hands moved even lower, allowing her fingertips to glide over his length. “You make me want to do things I’ve never even considered before.”
He lowered his face closer to hers. “We’ll do whatever you want, Liv.” He brushed his lips across hers. “Just tell me what it is you want most and we’ll start there.” His body was vibrating with the urge to take her hard and fast but he wanted to do this right. To make her feel all those wondrous sensations she’d missed out on before.
She encircled his arousal with her fingers. “I want this now.” As if to underscore her demand, she wrapped her legs around his and lifted her hips.
As much as he wanted to grant her every wish, he needed to be sure she was ready. Reaching downward, he trailed a finger down her abdomen, traced those most intimate parts of her and then delved inside. She was ready all right. Hot, slick and undulating invitingly against his touch.
He shifted to his knees and lifted her bottom with one hand while guiding himself into her with the other. Once he was inside her just far enough, he grasped her hips with both hands and held her steady as he slowly thrust fully inside her.
Her fingers fisted in the sheets as her body rose instinctively to meet him. Her cries told him she wanted more so he began to move, ensuring full penetration with each drive of his hips. She climaxed almost instantly. That only fueled the fire roaring inside him. Made him want to bring her to that place over and over again before he plunged over that incredible edge.
To do that he had to slow things down. He started with her nose, kissing her face…all those features he adored. The dimples that appeared when she smiled, like now. Those long, long lashes that shaded her big dark eyes. Her chin…that long slender neck. And those breasts, man he loved her breasts. Just the right size. He moved down her slender rib cage, paid special attention to her belly button and then he showed her how a man could cherish a woman’s most intimate places.
When she screamed with release a second time, it was his turn. He filled her over and over, until she came with him. Then he slumped onto the bed and drew her into his arms. If not for needing a shower so bad, he could have snuggled that way right there for the rest of the night.
He waited until she was sleeping soundly before slipping away. With his weapon in hand, he stalked to the bathroom and climbed into the shower. Leaving the door open to the room and working as quickly as possible, he was in and out of the shower in about three minutes. He tugged on clean jeans and a tee. He had more socks but he’d either have to do laundry or make another hit on a department store for shorts. Didn’t matter. The well-worn jeans suited him just fine.
To his surprise, Olivia was not only awake but dressed and sitting on the side of the bed when he came out of the bathroom. He joined her and waited for her to say what was on her mind. He hoped she wasn’t already regretting their lovemaking.
Without meeting his gaze, she asked, “Should we talk about this?” She shrugged. “I don’t usually get intimate with strangers.”
And there came the guilt. He reached over and took her by the chin to turn her face to his. “We’ve shared too much the last thirty-six hours to be called strangers. What people feel is not always best measured in terms of time. At this moment we need each other and maybe that need won’t be as intense tomorrow or the next day but that doesn’t change what it is right now.”
Her lips trembled into a smile. “Have you ever considered changing career paths? You’d make a very persuasive trial attorney.”
“I’m not sure that’s a compliment, but I’ll take it as one coming from you.”
A solid rap on the door had him reaching for the weapon at the small of his back. “Go in the bathroom and shut the door.”
He got another surprise when she actually did as he said without a word in challenge.
Russ went to the side of the window farthest from the door and lifted the curtain away just far enough to get a look at the person knocking. The light at the door revealed a man in a rumpled suit. As the guy reached up to knock again, he set his left hand on his hip, pushing his suit jacket aside as he did so. The weapon and badge attached to his belt shouted cop loud and clear.
Russ noted only one sedan in the dimly lit parking lot besides the two that had been there when they arrived. Obviously the guy was alone.
The two deputies who had showed up at the old Barker place had apparently informed the detectives division. Judging by the guy’s age he was old enough to have worked the Princess Killer case. Gray hair, glasses, lean, wiry frame for a man undoubtedly well into sixty. Time to find out.
Russ tucked his own weapon back into his waistband, in front so the guy could see it, and then reached for the door. When he and the man with the badge stood face-to-face, Russ waited for him to speak first.
“Detective Marcus Whitt,” he said without offering any other ID as proof of his word. “Mr. St. James, may I have a few minutes of your time?”
“Sure.” Russ stepped back and opened the door wider, then closed it behind the detective. “Have a seat.” There were two chairs flanking a
small table in front of the window.
“That’s not necessary.” The detective braced his hands on his hips and got right to the point. “Ms. Westfield came to see me last week and I told her in no uncertain terms that there was nothing to be gained by digging around in the Barker case. Apparently that message didn’t get through to her. I don’t know how much you know about this case, but your agency has a reputation for doing the right thing. I’m certainly hoping you’ll do the right thing here and take Ms. Westfield home before this gets any worse. She’s already caused enough pain to the families of the victims by pursuing a stay of execution for that monster Rafe Barker.”
Russ weighed his words for a bit, mostly to keep him calm. The man was more than a little worked up. “I appreciate you stopping by, Detective, but you need to be aware that I work for Ms. Westfield. If she wants to look into the case, then that’s what we’ll do.”
“I’ll be calling your superior,” Whitt threatened. “One travesty of the justice system has already taken place with the overturning of Clare Barker’s sentence. I’m not going to sit back and wait while another killer gets off.”
“What is it you plan to do? It’s a free country as long as no laws are broken. It’s not like we blew up anyone’s car or slashed their tires.”
“Are you accusing me of something, St. James?” He cocked his head. “I’m not a P.I. like you. I have a sworn duty to uphold the law. The citizens of Granger depend on people like me to ensure the bad guys are taken off the streets and kept off the streets. It’s people like you and that misguided woman you’re with who hurt those who’ve already been hurt far too much.”
“Misguided?” Olivia joined their friendly meeting. “That’s what you think I am? Rafe and Clare Barker were charged with numerous murders, including the murders of their three daughters. Clearly mistakes were made. If one or both are guilty, then they deserve the sentence levied by the courts. But the fact that my sisters and I are alive insists that we take a second look. You should be the first in line to ensure that it’s done properly.”
