by Milly Taiden
“Honestly? I think the ex either did it or knows who did. This is aggravating as hell. The bodies have been scrubbed clean, so no particular scent is left behind. Even their apartments are so filled with stuff we can’t discern a particular scent. So that’s my guess. Look. Two girls went out with the same guy. They both disappear, are murdered, and there’s no other links between them. And we know that they were killed by the same guy.”
Brock nodded and handed his plate to the waitress, who had popped up out of nowhere.
“Can I get you anything else, handsome?” She gave Brock what Trent assumed to be her version of a sexy smile.
Brock grinned, probably because of the lipstick, and pointed to the pie display. “Do you have apple over there?”
“Sure do. Want it warmed up with some ice cream?” She licked her lips, and Trent almost burst into laughter.
“Yes, please.” Brock winked at the woman, and she sighed as she walked away, completely ignoring Trent in her haste to get the piece of pie.
Trent shook his head. “That’s messed up, man.”
“Hey, if it gets me some food without spit in it, I’ll gladly smile and wink at anyone handling the stuff that’s going to go in my mouth.” Brock was unapologetic.
He did have a point.
“Did Donovan find out anything else about our victims and their social media?” Facebook, Twitter, and all the other social sites made things even harder for them. Donovan would have to search through both of their profiles and check for anything strange.
“Donovan said Lisa might have been dating a professor, but that’s not definite. She’s still going through emails, texts, and chat logs.”
At the mention of a professor, Trent jerked his gaze to Brock. “Gina Torres babysat for one of the professors in the college.”
Brock’s brows lifted in obvious interest. “We’ll need to find out who he was and if it was the same guy.”
Anita returned with Brock’s apple pie a la mode, and Trent ordered Erica’s cheeseburger. He made sure to get her curly fries instead of regular and to ask for it cooked extra crispy, just the way she liked. When Brock gave him a you’re-so-screwed grin, Trent glowered. Yes, he’d been so interested in his mate that over the years he’d learned everything he could about her. Don’t ask him how, but he knew she loved to eat ice cream when they couldn’t find a missing person. And the flavor had to be mint chocolate chip.
He knew she liked to read romances when she thought nobody was watching. That one he’d found out by sheer luck. She’d dropped her electronic reader, and he’d bent down to pick it up and seen the name of the book. He’d looked it up and found out it was the kind of sappy romances his sisters liked to read. Erica might not believe in relationships, but she liked to read about happily ever after. He also knew she was allergic to most flowers, except tulips. She loved the color blue and cried at romantic comedies. Yes, he was a peg or two short of a stalker, but this was his woman. The woman he’d been giving time to come to grips with him. He’d been so drawn to her from the beginning it was hard not to go out of his way to find out more about her.
“Donovan said there were a few names that popped up repeatedly on the Facebook pages, and she wanted to check them out before saying whether she thought anything might come of them.”
“Something about this just doesn’t sit right. Those two girls were nice, outgoing girls. Nobody seemed to have anything against them. So who could’ve done that? Even the woman where Gina Torres rented said she didn’t think Derek Holmes would do something like that.”
Brock stopped mid-bite, frowning in concentration. “Derek Holmes, that’s the ex-boyfriend?”
Trent nodded. “And he’s also under the belief he’s god’s gift to every new girl in that college.”
Brock laughed. “Sounds like someone else I know.”
“Hey, I resent that. I do not think I’m god’s gift to women.” Trent drank the last of his soda and placed the glass on the table with a thump. “I know I am.”
Once Erica’s food was ready and Brock had finished his pie, they paid the check. The waitress returned with the receipt and handed it to Brock. Her phone number was written in the back of the paper with a message that read: “call me, hotstuff.”
Trent laughed the entire way back to the room.
SEVEN
Erica woke up to the smell of food. When she opened her eyes, Trent was sitting beside her on the bed with a Styrofoam container in his hands.
“Hey there, Sleeping Beauty. I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you something to eat.”
God, the man still made her horny as hell. Now that she knew how good he was in the sack, she’d never be able to look at him and not think of his tongue or cock in her pussy.
When she sat up, the cool air made her nipples pebble. Trent and his sexy smile had made her forget she was naked under the sheet. She pulled the blanket up to cover her breasts. Her eyes strayed down to his crotch where proof of his straining erection was visible. Pushing the hair away from her face, she peered back at his eyes.
“Feel free to drop the sheet, beautiful. I like looking at your body.” He grinned.
Did he ever stop? Oh, hell. She didn’t want him to. The man was fantastic for a woman’s ego. “Thanks, but I think I’ll get dressed.”
She gave him a pointed look.
He just sat there, his smile widening some more. “Go ahead.”
Yeah, he was definitely shameless. The crazy part was that she liked it. She was still all kinds of horny for the big pain in the ass, and now he wanted to watch her dress. Talk about torture in the first degree. And why did the prospect of him looking at her send excitement shooting through her? Erica looked Trent straight in the eyes, dropped the sheet, and got up from the bed.
A sensual rush went through her when she saw him lick his lips, a hungry spark darkening his eyes. They were inches away from each other, and his face was level with her breasts. She took a moment to torment him with the vision of her full breasts then turned on her back. The groan she heard come from Trent was enough to make her grin. She bent right in front of him, ass high in the air, showing off her wet pussy in the process, and picked up her panties.
She straightened and walked toward the bathroom. Forget feeling bashful; she wanted him to want her.
“Erica?” His voice was hoarse.
“I’m going to take a shower.” She stopped at the door and looked over her shoulder at him. His gaze was fixated on her ass. “Feel free to join me.” She added, walked over to the tub, got in, and shut the curtain.
She heard him curse while removing his clothes at record speed. The sound of his footsteps when he neared was drowned out by the loud clatter of the water running. Cool water kissed her skin, and she stood under the spray for a few moments before Trent was pulling her wet body to him.
Their lips met in a blazing kiss. His hands roamed around her waist and squeezed her ass. She moaned into the kiss, raking her nails over the back of his shoulders. Urgency to have him made her push him back until he ended up with his back on the slick tiled wall, away from the spray.
Fire shot through her, arousal rising to scorching heights. He sucked her lips, nibbling at the corners. She pulled away from him and glanced into his sexy eyes. Taking her sweet time, she placed butterfly kisses over his jaw. The slight facial hair growth made her pussy moisten even more. She loved the rugged look, especially on Trent. It was sexy as hell. Gliding her hands down his body, she placed kisses on his torso until she reached his nipples.
When she licked around the tight bud and grazed her teeth on it, he groaned and thrust against her stomach. His rock-hard erection pressed hot on her belly. She continued her journey down his body, biting, sucking, and licking her way down his muscles. The journey ended with her on her knees before him. His nostrils flared, passion etched onto every line of his face.
His cock called her attention. She grabbed the thick length in a tight grip and sucked the mushroomed head into
her mouth.
“Oh damn.” He pulled her wet hair away from her face, holding the long mass in his fist while he watched.
She licked a slow trail from his balls up the vein on the underside, until she was once again popping the head into her mouth. Trent’s groans had her moving a hand between her legs to play with her pussy.
“Yesss. God, you’re fantastic.”
Hollowing her cheeks tight, she sucked him in as far as possible. Trent started to thrust into her mouth, sliding and gliding over her tongue. She kept a firm grip on the base of his shaft the entire time. She bobbed her head repeatedly and twirled her tongue over him. His dark, enigmatic gaze kept her entranced, pushing her to pleasure him further. Moving one hand to fondle his balls, she jerked and sucked him faster in her mouth.
“Just like that. Suck me.”
It was an incredible turn-on to hear his dirty words. She moved her fingers into her slit and finger-fucked herself while tightening her grip on his dick.
“Fuck!” He thrust his hips into her mouth and tensed. Warm semen slid down her throat, and she swallowed, their gazes still locked while she sucked down his cum. He was standing there panting while she licked his cock clean and stood.
The minute she straightened, he kissed her. Tongues rubbed, and her already throbbing body became one giant, aroused mass of nerves. He pushed Erica’s back against the tiled wall.
He got down on his knees and nudged her thighs wide open so he could fit his face in between them. She looked down and watched him lick a trail from her slit to her clit. Her breath hitched, and she leaned her head back, focusing only on what his lips were doing to her body. He grabbed her breasts and squeezed her nipples while licking her pussy.
“Mmm”
She moaned, loving the tweaking he did to her nipples. Her need for release made her widen her legs for more. She placed her hands over his on her breasts and guided him to pinch a little harder. It was enough to make her groan and roll her hips on his face.
She slithered a hand down and spread her lips open more so Trent could have easier access to her clit. The moment his lips wrapped around the tiny nerve bundle, she started riding his face. He moved a hand between her legs and soon two of his fingers were fucking her while he sucked on her. He growled. The sound sent vibrations into her pussy and made her gasp. After another, harder, pinch on one of her nipples, she soared.
“Oh, God!” Her body shook. Every single part of her felt overdosed on endorphins. Air panted out of her lungs, and if Trent hadn’t stood and held her in his arms, she would’ve slid down the wall into a boneless puddle on the tub floor.
His arms held her tight while he kissed her face. Their lips locked into a slow, sensual kiss. Trent pressed her body so close to his, their hearts were beating in duplicate gallops. On top of that, he decided to wash her with so much gentleness she wanted to cry. No one had ever been that sweet or nice to her. He cleaned her and himself and wrapped a towel around her body. Whenever she looked up at him, he would just lean down and kiss her again. The kisses, soft flutters that enticed her body all over again, freaked the hell out of her.
* * *
“Alright people, settle down,” Brock ordered the group sitting around empty pizza boxes. They were in the living room of the cabin they’d relocated to that evening.
He’d decided to get them a private space where they could work in a more secure area and spread out. Everyone got their own room, although Erica noticed Brock had given her a room next to Trent, and they had to share a bathroom.
Jane, who was the only one missing from the meeting, walked into the room a moment later. A deep shade of red covered her usually peachy complexion, and her narrowed eyes focused on Ramirez. Uh-oh. She dropped a folder on the coffee table and continued toward him. Ramirez sat on an easy chair, and Donovan didn’t seem to care that there were others in the room. She caged Ramirez in by placing her hands on the arm rests and leaning forward until their faces were mere inches from each other. Her dark red hair fell down her back in long ponytail, still wet from a recent shower.
“Listen up, Ramirez. I don’t give a shit how many women you have back in the department. I also do not care how sexy you think you are, but if you ever walk into the bathroom while I am showering without knocking again, I will cut your balls off and feed them to stray dogs. Do I make myself clear?” She punctuated each word with enough force to make even Brock’s brows lift.
Erica grinned and folded her arms over her chest, ready to enjoy the show.
Ramirez, the pervert, looked into Donovan’s green eyes and then right down her tank top. “Sweetheart, there’s nothing you have that I haven’t seen before.”
The minute he said the words, the silence became so intense you could’ve heard a pin drop.
Donovan’s indrawn breath showed how ready she was to kill Ramirez. Erica turned to check out Trent’s reaction. She could not believe Trent was smiling like a lunatic and elbowed him in the ribs.
“Ouch,” he grumbled.
“It’s not funny. What he did was completely inappropriate,” she whispered.
“I know, but I bet it was still fun.”
“Stay away from the bathroom when I’m in there, or I won’t be held responsible for what happens.” Donovan stood straight and glanced at Brock. “I mean it. I will hurt him if he does that again.”
She was practically vibrating with anger.
Brock glared at Ramirez. “You heard her. Knock on the door before you go in there. Don’t make me have to write out reports over murder. You both know that I don’t tolerate anything that makes anyone uncomfortable. When it comes down to it, our team’s base is mutual respect. We are still professionals.”
Donovan sat in a sofa opposite Ramirez and glared at him the entire time. He, on the other hand, smiled and winked at her. When Trent gave Ramirez the thumbs up, Erica smacked him upside his head.
“Seriously, babe,” he said while rubbing the back of his head, “you need to stop it with the violence. You know I’m ready to do your bidding. If you have some kind of fetish, I’m willing to explore that, but we have to agree to some limits.”
Erica rolled her eyes and tried to bite back a grin, failing miserably. He was like a big kid, and it boggled her mind that she liked him so much.
“You two…” Brock pointed to Erica and Trent. “Cool it. Must I give lessons on what is and isn’t appropriate work conversation?”
Erica blew Brock a kiss, but he just shook his head. “Alright, now that everyone has been reminded that we are still working a case, not participating in Spring Break, let’s get back to business.” Brock turned his gaze to a still-fuming Donovan. “What’d you find out for me on the social networking sites?”
Donovan took a deep breath and picked up the folder she’d dropped on the coffee table. “Lisa Summers and Gina Torres had four men in common. The subjects with the most intimate familiarity with our victims are two. One is Derek Holmes, who dated both girls within a six-month period. The other man was Professor James Green.”
“Professor? Is he the one Gina babysat for?” Ramirez leaned forward in his chair.
Donovan pursed her lips. “Yes. Gina babysat for James Green at least twice a week. Apparently his wife travels a lot, and he always hired Gina to watch his kids when he gave evening lectures.”
“And how did Lisa know him? Was she in his class?” Erica asked.
Donovan glanced down at her notes before she answered. “She was last semester, but this semester she was his lover.”
Trent whistled low. “Wow. I’m kind of jealous I didn’t become a college professor and have hot young girls hitting on me.” He pouted and placed his arm over Erica’s shoulders. She elbowed him in the gut again for his words. “Ow!” He rubbed his ribs and gave her a hurt look. “Am I going to have to take you to rage-a-holics? Because I bet I know better ways to work out our differences.” He winked.
“Oh, come on.” Donovan sighed in complaint.
“Focus, peo
ple, focus. Let’s get back to this case. What other people do they have in common?” Brock took a sip out of the soda can.
“The other two are Anthony Holmes, Derek’s younger brother, and Richard Thompson.” Jane said looking over her notes.
“Who’s this Richard Thompson guy?” Brock asked.
“I don’t know yet, but he seems to be really popular in the college. He’s friends with almost 20 percent of the student body on Facebook.” Donovan flicked a lock of stray hair behind her ear.
“OK, we’re going to have to interview these guys. Let’s start with the ex and the professor and work our way from there.” Brock looked toward Erica and Trent. “I’m sorry Villa. I’m going to have to ask you to work on this without me a little longer. I have to meet with the governor. He wants a personal visit with me on the status of the case. You and Buchanan take Derek Holmes. As the ex, he’s our most likely suspect.” He glanced over to Ramirez. “You will visit Professor Green.” Then he turned to Donovan. “Donovan, find out more about Richard Thompson and Anthony Holmes.”
Erica walked back to her room. She had so much on her mind she didn’t pay Trent any attention. She shut the door to her bedroom before he had a chance to follow her. It was time for her to get some space and think about the case. She wondered if one of the four men was the killer. Thoughts of the victims and what she knew of the killer rushed forth in her mind.
The man was tall, built, and strong. She wished she could’ve gotten a good view of his face or heard his voice, but unfortunately with both victims he’d been in shadow. She couldn’t make out the voice over the noise.
She thought back to Trent. He’d been himself and at the same time more attentive toward her. The silly, sexy part of him would never change, but now he seemed even more interested in pulling her into his jokes and making her laugh. She wasn’t sure what was going on inside her when it came to him, but she knew that the feelings growing for him were unlike anything she’d felt for any man before.
