“Keep your eyes closed, Matty,” he said as he ever so slowly eased himself in. She didn’t need the gentleness; he was doing it to torture her.
Other than his hands on her hips, the only parts of their bodies making contact were the most intimate ones. And while the slow torture was building to a sensuousness she’d never experienced before, she wanted more. And she wasn’t shy about letting him know.
Dash didn’t say a word when she pleaded with him; he just gave her everything she asked for. And when she wanted more, when she wanted him faster, he gave her that, too. And then, finally, between the friction, the connection, and everything else, she arched off the table and locked herself around him. He pressed into her impossibly deep and she felt him pulse against her insides as he let out a very primal sound.
Once all the tremors died down, she lazily opened her eyes. His hands were resting on the table beside her thighs, his head was bent down, and he was breathing hard. She lifted a hand and traced a finger along his forearm. His eyes came up and he smiled.
“My day definitely just got better,” he said, making her laugh.
“Maybe we could just stay here for a while. The chair in your office is pretty comfortable,” she suggested, only partly tongue in cheek.
“Nice thought—”
Dash cut off whatever else he was going to say when, as if on cue, they heard a knock on the front door. She sat up and they disentangled themselves.
“Ian,” he said in explanation.
“You called Ian?” she asked as she pulled on her underwear and pulled up her dress straps, making sure everything was in place.
Dash nodded. “I didn’t like the idea of Bob’s toe just showing up, so I called to get his opinion.” He was doing his best to clean up and make himself presentable but it was little more complicated for him than for her.
She walked by him and placed a kiss on his cheek. “I’ll go let him in. Come out when you’re ready.”
Ian’s upper body was visible through the door’s window as Matty approached. He raised his eyebrows at her as he entered.
“Did I interrupt anything?” he asked, knowing full well he had.
“Nope,” she countered. “Perfect timing,” she grinned, making Ian laugh.
“Perfect timing for what?” Dash asked, entering the room.
“For not interrupting anything,” Ian responded.
Dash’s eyes went from Matty’s to Ian’s. “I was just looking at the toe under the microscope.”
Matty laughed and Ian chuckled as he crossed his arms over his chest. “So that’s what they’re calling it these days?”
“That’s not what I’m calling it,” she said. “But if it makes Dash feel better,” she added with a shrug. Ian shook his head and tried to stop grinning.
“The toe,” Dash said holding out the paper bag.
In a flash, Ian was all business. “And?”
Dash glanced at Matty and she gave him a look that let him know that he shouldn’t even think about hiding anything from her.
He let out a deep breath. “It looks like it was sliced off with a very sharp blade.”
“Intentionally?” Ian asked.
Dash wagged his head. “It’s possible Bob walked into an old bear trap or something like that.”
“But that’s not what it looks like to you, is it?” Ian asked.
With obvious reluctance, Dash shook his head.
Ian let out a grunt of disgust. “Great, just what we need, someone mutilating animals.”
“On top of the body that dropped into Brad’s truck,” Matty added. Ian shot her a look and she shrugged. “Sorry, just stating the facts.”
“Such as they are,” Ian said. “Well, I guess I’ll take that,” he reached for the bag Dash held. “And we’ll get a team up to have a look around Brad’s property, if you don’t mind, Matty?” he added.
“Of course not,” she responded.
“We’ll need you to show us where Bob was when this happened and where you found the toe today,” Ian continued. When she nodded, he seemed about to say more, then thought better of it and changed topics. “Vivienne and I are going to The Tavern for dinner tonight. Do you guys want to join us?” he asked.
“The Tavern? Where’s that?” Matty asked.
“Just south of town about a half a mile,” Dash answered.
She looked at Dash and raised her shoulders. “I’ve only ever been to Frank’s or Anderson’s, I wouldn’t mind trying someplace new. And it would be nice to see Vivi again.”
Dash and Ian shared a look. “You went to Frank’s?” Dash asked, his lips twitching.
“Frank and I are like this,” she said holding up her crossed fingers. “We have a little understanding now. He makes me the iced mochas I want and I don’t actually order them out loud, so the rest of his customers won’t find out. It’s our little secret.”
Dash and Ian laughed.
“Of course it is,” Dash said. “Come on, Matty, I want to go home and change. I imagine Ian does too. Meet you there in an hour?” he asked and Ian nodded. Dash locked the front door after the sheriff left then turned toward her.
“Ready?”
“It just dawned on me I’ve never seen your house,” she said as they headed toward the back door. “It makes sense and all, but still.” And it actually did seem strange, and that it was strange at all was even stranger. Because it felt like she should know more about him than she did, it felt like she did know more about him—even though they’d only spent one night together.
“It’s nothing too special, but I like it. Let’s drop your car at your place, we can check on the animals, and then we’ll take my truck back to my house. You can poke around and be as nosy as you want while I shower and change.”
And they did just that. She’d thought about showering too, but curiosity had gotten the better of her and she’d spent the time exploring Dash’s house and the surrounding land instead. His place wasn’t as big as Brad’s, but it had a great screened-in porch with a swinging bench seat that overlooked a field and a swimming pond. It was the same Greek Revival style as most of the older homes in the area and had three bedrooms with two baths upstairs and a kitchen, dining room, living room, and powder room on the bottom floor. The grounds were mostly grass, which made sense—with the amount of time Dash spent away from home, it would be hard for him to tend any kind of elaborate garden. But the whole piece of property was tucked up on a quiet dirt road and it felt peaceful and, with its warm colors and inviting furniture, cozy.
By the time Dash came trotting back down the stairs, Matty had decided that his home, whether intentional or not, was a perfect reflection of him: strong enough to withstand the years, yet welcoming, unfussy, and comfortable.
Right on time, they walked into The Tavern, a building that also looked to double as an inn. The restaurant and bar were to the left of the door and, as they entered, Matty caught sight of Vivi talking to the bartender and Ian leaning against the bar listening. When he saw them, Ian signaled Matty and Dash to meet him at a table in the back.
“Vivienne is just finishing some wedding plans with Rob, the owner,” Ian said as they sat.
“Are you having the reception here?” Matty asked.
Ian shook his head. “No, Rob is providing the bar services. The wedding will be at the church downtown and the reception will be at a bed and breakfast near our house.” When he spoke a small smile touched his lips.
“You like saying that, don’t you? ‘Our house,’” Dash said.
Ian cocked a brow and his smile spread. “It ain’t bad,” he said.
“What isn’t bad?” Vivi asked, joining them.
“Marriage, being together,” Matty answered.
Vivi cast an affectionate look at Ian. “No, it’s not. Although the getting married part isn’t quite as fun.”
They paused in their conversation when Rob, whom Vivi introduced to Matty, stopped by to take drink orders and drop off menus.
“Big
wedding?” Dash asked, returning to the topic when Rob had departed.
Ian shrugged. “Vivienne has a huge family.”
“And every one of them wants to be involved in every part of this,” Vivi added.
“Only because they love you,” Ian pointed out.
Vivi let out a little laugh. “I know. Believe me, I know. And it will be fun. But it’s going to be crazy, I can promise you that. My father was one of four and my mother, one of six,” she said, looking at Matty. “I think Windsor may be in for a shock when my Italian brood descends on the town. Then again, they’re a fun, easy-going bunch and they tip well, so I’m sure everyone will have a good time.”
Matty murmured her agreement. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have such a big family. When she got married, if she ever got married, she’d have lots of friends to invite, but for family it would really just be her mom and Charlotte, plus Charlotte’s mom, Nanette. Her dad wasn’t in the picture and with her grandmother gone, it was a pretty small group.
“Oh, Matty, I meant to touch base with you on those numbers,” Vivi said, bringing Matty back to the conversation. “We’ve had a couple of busy days at the lab so I haven’t had a chance to look at them. But things should calm down in the next day or two, so I’ll dig into them then.”
Matty wasn’t ready to talk about what she’d found quite yet, so when Rob returned with their drinks, she hoped he’d also serve as a distraction.
No such luck. “Numbers?” both Dash and Ian said at the same time as soon as Rob stepped away.
Matty cast a quick look at Dash. For some reason she felt a little niggling of guilt for not having told him about the numbers. “Uh, it’s okay, I figured it out. Have you been able to ID the man who fell into the truck, yet?” she asked, trying to change the subject.
“No, she hasn’t. The fingerprints were degraded, the facial recognition didn’t give us any hits, and the guy wore dentures, so no dentals. It may take a bit longer than we thought. But just what is it that you’ve figured out?” Ian pressed, his voice somewhat stern.
“Yes, I’m curious, too.” Dash’s tone was laced with more than just curiosity.
Vivi must have sensed something; her eyes went from Matty to Dash and then back again with a look of question and apology.
Matty sighed. “I found an old racing form at Brad’s and there were some bumps on it. Vivi’s cousins told us it was braille and that it was a string of numbers. Vivi and I were trying to figure out what the numbers meant.”
Ian sat back and crossed his arms. “Let me get this straight. Brad left you what amounts to a secret message?”
“More like a string of them, right Matty?” Dash added. And he was not happy.
“Meaning?” Ian pushed.
“You found the form in the liquor cabinet, didn’t you?” Dash asked.
Matty nodded. Dash then filled in the blanks for Ian, telling him of the set of directions Brad had left that included the reference to the cabinet, where she found the racing form, which led to something else.
“So what are the numbers?” Vivi asked. Her voice was soft, no doubt trying to balance out the tension coming from the male side of the table.
“It was an ISBN number. To one of my books, actually. One that has a very significant character who is blind.”
“And?” Dash pressed with a piercing look.
Matty looked away for a moment then shrugged one shoulder. “And Brad had a copy in his library and inside it were some pictures. Nothing incriminating, just strange,” she said, cutting off both Dash and Ian’s inevitable questions about the content of the images.
“Strange in what way?” Ian asked.
Matty wagged her head. “There were a couple of pictures from New Orleans after Katrina. A few from what I think is Haiti after the earthquake and a couple others I didn’t recognize. They aren’t nice pictures but they aren’t anything you wouldn’t have seen in the media.”
“And that was it?” Dash said.
Matty nodded, then paused a moment before adding, “There were two pictures that had names written on the back, but I don’t know who they are and haven’t had a chance to look them up. The names are written on the back much like my mom used to write the names of other kids in pictures with me, so she wouldn’t forget who they were. It kind of reminded me of that.”
The table was silent for a moment while Rob brought their meals.
But when Rob was gone, Ian leaned forward. “I don’t want to make you worry or anything, Matty, but have you talked to Brad since he left?”
Stalling for time, Matty ate a spoonful of onion soup before answering. She wanted to respond to Ian’s question but didn’t really want to get into the dynamics of her family.
“Brad and I aren’t close, but the answer to your question is no, I haven’t heard from him. I’ve called and left a few messages, but he hasn’t gotten back to me.”
To her surprise, Dash laid a reassuring hand on her leg under the table. She gave him a grateful look. She didn’t feel under attack, or even all that worried, but it was nice that he recognized her unease in discussing family.
“I’ll call him tonight and leave a message myself,” Dash said. “Maybe if he thinks I’m calling about one of his animals he’ll call back.”
Ian looked like he was about to say something but Vivi cut him off. “So, how’s the book coming along, Matty?”
Matty smiled at Vivi’s show of support, even though Ian had a little frown lingering on his lips. “It’s going really well; between talking with Chen Zheng, a friend of Brad’s and an expert on Chinese politics, and just having some time away, I’m almost back on track—nearly done, actually. But enough about me,” she added. “Tell me about the wedding plans?”
And they spent the rest of the dinner talking about the invitations, the food, the drinks, and how over the top Vivi’s family was being about the whole thing. The two women even got Ian and Dash to smile and laugh a few times. All in all, the second half of the meal was much more enjoyable than the first—as far as Matty was concerned. But that didn’t mean she was oblivious to what Ian had been suggesting earlier.
Pulling Vivi to the side as they walked toward their respective cars after the meal, Matty spoke. “I’m not naïve, Vivi. I know that the things Brad left for me to find, along with not answering his calls, could mean something not very good. It’s possible he got himself mixed up in something and needed to get away, but the truth is, I don’t know. And I don’t know enough about him to know whether he’s the kind of person who’d get mixed up in something bad or the kind of person who’d just take off camping in the wilds for two weeks.”
Vivi gave her a sympathetic look. “So, what do you want to do?”
Matty shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t know what I can do other than what I’m already doing—calling, leaving messages. Maybe if he doesn’t come back when he said he would, then I could do something then?”
Placing a hand on her arm, Vivi made a suggestion. “Why don’t you let me look into a couple of things over the next few days? I’ll see if I can get a trace on his cell, maybe check his credit cards, that sort of thing. It might not tell us anything, but it may give us some indication if he’s traveling.”
Matty let out a small sigh. “Can you do that legally? I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
Vivi smiled. “I’ll come by tomorrow and you can fill out an official report that expresses your concern about him being a potential missing person. It should be enough to justify my actions if anyone ever questions them.”
“And what about them?” Matty asked, gesturing to the two men engaged in conversation a short distance away.
“We’ll keep it between us, for now.”
“Thanks, Vivi, I really appreciate it.”
“Appreciate what?” Dash asked, walking toward them.
“Nothing,” Matty said. Judging by the look on both men’s faces, neither was buying it.
“Time for us to g
o,” Vivi interjected, preventing any questions. “I have an eleven o’clock dress fitting in Boston tomorrow. Lucky me.”
“Oh, I think you’re pretty lucky,” Matty said with a smile and a pointed look at Ian.
Vivi laughed and wrapped her arms around her fiancé, who draped his arm over her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. “No doubt about it,” Vivi agreed.
CHAPTER 10
FROM HER POSITION LYING PRONE on the bed at Brad’s house, Matty watched Dash step out of the shower. It was quite a nice morning show.
“I’ll be late for work if you keep looking at me like that,” he said, shooting her a smile.
“Do you ever have a day off?” she asked, genuinely curious. She hadn’t given it much thought, but he seemed to have been working every day she’d seen him or spoken to him since she’d arrived.
He pulled on his boxers and a pair of jeans. “It’s not usually so busy, but the part-time vet I have to help out at the clinic is on vacation. She gets back in a few days. I do have a half day today, though, so I’m off this afternoon. Maybe we can do something.” He pulled on his undershirt before sitting on the side of the bed to put his socks on.
“Like what?” she teased, inching her bare leg from under the covers and nudging him with her big toe. He caught her calf and ran his hand up her thigh.
“I’m sure we can think of something,” he said, placing a kiss on the inside of her knee.
“I imagine we can.”
“Imagine away. All day,” he said, leaning over her and brushing his lips first against her cheek, then settling them on her mouth. Pulling away he grinned, showing his dimple. “I’ll call you this afternoon.”
And for the second morning in a row, Matty listened to the sounds of Dash taking care of the animals and then his truck fading down the driveway. Only this morning she wasn’t going to write. She felt like the book was in a good enough place that it could wait a few hours, so instead she rose, showered, checked on the outdoor animals, and tended the garden again. She didn’t have to think too hard about how the day would end, but she thought it might be fun to actually make a nice dinner using things from the garden. She’d pick up some local meat later in the day and a good bottle of wine.
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