Evil Secrets Trilogy Boxed Set

by Vickie McKeehan

  “Spam has yet to be defined as food.”

  “Not when you’re hungry.”

  That statement put a sobering end to the teasing. He realized now a starving kid might consider Spam a luxury. “It’s just that I haven’t eaten chili and eggs since college.”

  She cast him a long look. “You are a food snob.”

  He grinned. “I guess I am. Let’s eat this before it gets stone cold.”

  Either he was extremely hungry or she did make the best scrambled eggs and chili concoction he’d ever tasted. Surprisingly, the meal turned out to be a tasty change of pace.

  They ate in companionable silence until Quinn gushed, “See, lots of protein in one fell swoop.” She picked up her beer. “You really think Cade Boyd is a serial killer?”

  “Mr. X thinks so. Since Connor didn’t kill Claire, I’d bet money she was one of Cade’s victims.”

  She shuddered. “You have no idea how creepy that makes me feel. God, I wished I had listened to Kit way back when.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Good question. Have you ever thought you knew more about yourself than anyone else did at the time but in the end you realized that maybe Mom was right about a few things all along? I didn’t have the Mom thing going on. We were always willing to play that role for each other, though, get up in each other’s face, give it our all, or tried to.” She sighed. “Turns out, Mom was right.”

  “Mom being Kit or Baylee.”

  She laughed. “In the instance of Cade, yeah, that was Kit. But it just as easily could have been Baylee Diane, depending on the situation. You think you’ve put it behind you, but the man just isn’t able to let it go. Eight of my neighbors are dead because Cade wanted to get back at me for something that happened when I was nineteen, might as well be ancient history.”

  “The Boyd brothers have a problem with women, Cade in particular.”

  “I know and it has me thinking about Baylee. If Mr. X hadn’t taken out Connor, she’d still be dealing with the custody battle from hell.”

  “Don’t think about it. There’s no need. Connor’s no longer left to hurt Sarah or Baylee. It’s done.”

  “Thanks to…”

  “Yeah.” He took a pull on his beer. “Let’s clean up these dishes and take a walk, stretch our legs.” He cocked his head. “Yeah, I know you said you were exhausted but a walk on the beach will help you relax.”

  She eyed him, not buying that for a minute. “Sounds good but you just want to—relax me—and get me into bed. Besides, I cooked, so you get to do cleanup.”

  “But it’ll go faster if we both load the dishwasher,” he pointed out, grinning. “And we both want to—relax—eventually.”

  “Okay, but you’re breaking the hard and fast rule of the kitchen.”

  “Another Mom thing?”

  She chuckled. “Now that I think about it, it’s Kit’s steadfast rule, probably because she always did the cooking while Baylee and I got stuck doing the dishes.”

  “Smart woman.”

  “Oh yeah. Kit’s no dummy, even though Alana did everything she could to make her feel like total crap.”

  “I’m glad I never knew the woman. Jake did, though. I remember how he described her back then. Of course I didn’t realize she had a daughter she’d habitually abused. But Jake told me about Alana’s—lewd conduct during a business meeting. She tried to coax him into bed.”

  “Please do not put that image in my head.” She puffed out a breath. “But that sounds like something Alana would do. I saw her at her worst, so nothing you could tell me would surprise me.”

  “Yeah? How about knowing that on the night she died, she and Jessica were still out patrolling an upscale Beverly Hills bar for…”

  “Companionship?” Quinn finished for him, cocking a brow in amusement.

  “Okay, we’ll call it that. It got me to thinking though. Why would old Sumner Boyd put up with such an arrangement from his very public figure of a wife?”

  “Because the old goat was more than likely screwing anything and everything he could that got within ten feet himself.”

  “Probably. I don’t think the word faithful ever entered into their long partnership. The cheating was more than likely a two-way street. But there were rumors at the courthouse...”

  She tilted her head and waited. “Something tells me you’re about to surprise me.”

  “Gossip around the courthouse said Jessica had a female lover.”

  “Alana? I thought she loved men.”

  “I’m pretty sure Alana loved Alana.”

  Quinn laughed and shook her head. “Okay, can’t argue that logic.”

  CHAPTER 12 Book 3

  After they were done with kitchen duty, Reese grabbed her hand and tugged her out the back door. They immediately toed off their shoes and hit the wet sand.

  Walking along the sandy beach under a brilliant starlit sky not twenty yards from the house, it felt like they were a world away from L.A. instead of fifteen minutes by air.

  On the warm June night, the light breeze that blew in over the water stirred the air and felt good on the skin after they’d been inside the stuffy, closed-up house.

  “I’d forgotten how peaceful it is here.”

  “Believe it or not, this is my first visit.”

  “Really? Lucky for you I know the Island like the back of my hand. It’s a shame we’ll only be here for one night.”

  Studying the relaxed calm on her face for the first time since her apartment blew up, he wanted to keep that stress-free look there for as long as possible. “Who says?”

  “Shouldn’t we get back to L.A.?”

  “Sure. Eventually. But what’s the hurry? We’re here. Nothing’s stopping us from enjoying the Island for a couple of days.”

  She laughed. “I wouldn’t mind some downtime if I could spend it here. I’d forgotten how fond I am of this place.”

  “Taking an extra day won’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Why here?”

  “Because coming here was the first time I ever went anyplace—with friends.”

  “Aw, baby.” With that, he reached and coaxed her into his arms. “I have to do this,” he said as he tugged on the bright blue Scrunchie holding back all that black hair up in a tight ponytail. He watched as it fell down around her shoulders.

  “I’ve seen you wear your hair pulled back ever since that night at the hospital, except for the other day standing in my guest room—after your shower. You were damn sexy standing there with wet hair. I’ve imagined it down for a while now, draped around your neck.”

  “It gets in my way if I don’t pull it back.”

  “I guarantee it won’t get in mine,” he promised as he nibbled down her jaw, taking a good hold on all that hair.

  She sucked in a breath right before his mouth came down full on hers. Hard. His arms locked her up.

  “Let’s go back inside,” he whispered while he pulled her along toward the house.

  Expecting him to immediately lead her upstairs to the bedroom, he surprised her by going over to his gear still sitting in the entryway and digging out a music CD.

  “What’re you doing?” She asked clearly perplexed.

  He looked around for a CD player, spotted the one he recognized as Dylan’s sitting on top of the old-fashioned stereo system that looked like it belonged in a’70s sitcom. “Setting the mood,” he explained as he slid the silver disc into the slot.

  A little embarrassed for some reason, she stuck her hands in the back pockets of her jeans and rocked on her heels. “Reese, I don’t need ambiance.”

  “Sure you do. Ambiance is an essential part of seduction.”

  “It is? Since when?”

  The lilting voice of Teddy Thompson singing Tonight Will Be Fine drifted from the speakers. “Since now. Dance with me, Tyler. Put everything out of your mind. It’s just the two of us and no one else right now matters.” He held out his hand.

  She opened her mouth, fully intending to
come back with something smartass until she met his eyes. Either those calm gray pools were tugging at her heartstrings or it was the dose of lust she recognized in their depths.

  Unbelievably moved because she couldn’t remember the last time anyone had seduced her into bed with music and a dance, she finally found her voice. “I bet this gets you laid a lot, huh, Mr. Smooth?”

  “It certainly never hurts my chances. Come on, Quinn, where’s your sense of adventure? Adventure isn’t just a ride in the air or a bounce at sea.”

  Recognizing her own words, she lifted her arms, draped them around his neck.

  He circled her waist in a liquid embrace. They swayed to the melody until soon she wasn’t sure where he began and she ended.

  Never known as light on her feet, she knew rhythm when she sensed it. The man knew what to do with his feet. She floated, dreamlike in a fog, caught up in the man, the tender way he held her, the way his body responded to the song and to her.

  When the track switched to In My Arms a faster tempo, Reese never missed stride but kept her hugged up as they took another spin around the room, this time at a faster pace.

  She wasn’t sure when his tongue began to trace along the pulse in her neck or zero in on that sensitive spot next to her ear. All she knew was she didn’t want him to ever stop this romantic gesture, so she tilted her head to give him better access.

  His mouth covered hers briefly until he suddenly stepped back. His hands tugged up his own T-shirt and sent it flying in a basketball arch across the room. “Miss Tyler, you’ve bought into part of the package. Now it’s time to check out the whole thing.”

  Quinn blinked in surprise as she stood watching the stuffy lawyer turn into one of the Chippendale dancers.

  With the drum beat soaring, he slowly unzipped his jeans, all the while keeping time to the music. His hips gyrated while at the same time, leg by leg, he kicked out of the denim. By the time the song changed to Looking for a Girl Reese was down to his boxers.

  Not to be outdone, Quinn returned the favor. She pulled her Tee up and over her head, tossing it in the air. Doing her best to keep the beat, she unhooked the front clasp of her bra, but kept it in place in a teasing fashion. Seductively, she moved first one shoulder, then the other.

  Reese let out a low whistle of encouragement.

  Striking a sexy pose, she let go of the bra and twirled it in time to the music. She unsnapped the top button of her jeans, slowly glided down the zipper.

  Reese narrowed his eyes as he watched her slither out of the pants one long leg at a time. He sucked in a breath when he realized she wore no underwear.

  They made a dive for each other.

  She ran her hands along his back, worked his boxers down and off.

  He tilted his head down and devoured.

  Her breath hitched.

  He felt her tremor right before he took the kiss lower. Adept fingers ran a line to her breast where they toyed with a nipple as he began a slow taste and lick along her neck.

  He backed her up in the direction of the sofa.

  Quinn grabbed his butt on the walk backwards until together they missed the couch entirely and slid down to the rug on the floor.

  Between mouthy kisses, she murmured, “Now. Reese. Now.”

  Body to body, he covered hers.

  She yanked his head down to her level, fed off his mouth.

  He nibbled his way down her neck again, nipping and biting before coming to a stop at one rippled peak. His tongue savored the texture before toying with its hardened point.

  He went after the other until it popped out firm and rigid.

  His fingers sought out the heat. Stroking, probing, he felt every layer by rising layer as he watched her climb, watched her eyes glaze over with pleasure. She cried out when she came.

  “Now, Reese, now—for God’s sake!”

  “Mmm, not yet. I need to taste you first.” He moved lower, used his tongue until he tormented a couple of low moans out of her. First in, then out, until he felt her body quake and shudder to another climax.

  With that, he rose over her, his mouth connected with hers again. He wrapped his hands around her hips and drove himself inside.

  Under him, this time, Quinn launched her own beat to match his. Fast, slow, and then long, slick strokes.

  The minute he felt her body quiver once again, he let himself go, flowing everything he had into her.

  Quinn breathed out a shaky breath. “God, how did you— hold out for that long? I came three times, that’s—unusual for me.”

  “Superior intellect?”

  She poked him in the ribs. “Show off. And what was that Chippendale routine? Work your way through law school as a dancer?”

  “Hey, who says a lawyer shouldn’t be able to take his best girl for a twirl on the dance floor every now and again?”

  She giggled in spite of herself before meeting his eyes. They were staring into hers.

  He leaned down, kissed her nose, then all at once reversed their positions until he was the one on the floor. “You have the most incredible body.” He ran his hands along her rear end and up her back, twirled some of that black silk through his long fingers.

  She gave him a mouthy, wet kiss. “You have a really nice ass.”

  He busted out laughing. “I get that a lot.”

  “You do not.”

  “You’ll never know, will you?”

  “You surprise me, Brennan.”

  “And you are way too serious, Tyler. You need to lighten up, get some spontaneity in your life.”

  She wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “Like I’ve never heard that before,” she tossed back.

  Reluctantly, they started gathering up their clothes scattered all over the living room but they didn’t bother getting dressed. Naked, they made their way to the foyer, where Reese picked up one bag and Quinn the other.

  They lugged the stuff up the stairs. He watched her take point while he willingly followed her bare ass all the way up the steps.

  “I need that shower. Me first,” she declared.

  “Uh-uh. We shower—together. The hot water heater in this place looks like it was around in the ’40s.”

  Knowing it was true, she agreed, “Deal. If I remember correctly, the master bedroom is up here at the end of the hallway.”

  Sure enough they entered a large room with a hideous, ornate gold rococo bed taking up a good portion of the space. The two nightstands on either side had the same matching gold legs as the bed.

  “Oh, my God, I forgot about this.”

  “You mean the ugly furniture.”

  “Yeah, another thing we might have in common. You recognize bad taste when you see it.”

  Reese dropped his gear on the floor. “All it needs is one of those red canopies and I’d swear we were in a brothel.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “And how many brothels have you seen up close and personal?”

  He’d walked right into that one. “Well, whoever decorated this room I don’t think it was wife material, as in Baylee’s mom, Sarah Moreland.”

  “Like minds and all that because that’s what I was thinking. Ick, you don’t actually believe Alana and Jessica ever slept…” But all of a sudden another image popped into her brain, one she didn’t want to think about, one where she remembered Ella and William Scott sharing this very bedroom for six weeks during one summer vacation when Ella had finagled an invite. William Scott hadn’t declined the opportunity of having a willing partner for the duration of the trip either.

  “I’m not sleeping in here,” Quinn announced. “There’s a perfectly good room down the hall, smaller maybe but...” She trotted off, peering into the other rooms.

  She found the middle bedroom, one with mission-style furniture painted a pale but conservative yellow much more to her liking.

  Reese trailed in and said, “Ah, much better. At least we won’t wake up thinking we’re in a cheap motel room in Vegas.”

  But Quinn took one look at th
e unmade bed where the sheets and covers were thrown back every which way as though someone had just crawled out of it and said, “We need to change the bedding. I’ll go see if there are any clean sheets in the linen closet. You strip off what’s on the bed.”

  “Typical. You get what you want out of me and turn bossy.”

  “Hmm, let me get my whip out then,” she replied, rolling her eyes. She headed into the bathroom and soon came back with a mixed color assortment. “This is it, a pea green bottom sheet with bright purple for the top.”

  “Colorful,” Reese said as he bundled up the used bedding. “This entire place looks like it was decorated in the ’70s.”

  “Maybe even the ’60s. I know for certain the house was built in the ’40s.” She unfolded the green sheet; let it drift down to the mattress before tucking it in and under. “You know, I bet Dylan and Baylee were the first ones who’ve actually stayed here for any length of time in probably five or six years. As far as I know Mr. Williams stopped coming after Baylee left home.”

  “That must be why everything’s covered in several layers of dust. Why did you guys completely stop coming over here anyway?”

  She shrugged. “Once we moved out, the three of us just never made it back.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. It didn’t seem right. Baylee’s dad threw a fit when he found out she’d left home. There was about a year there when he blamed me. Of course, he was right. If I hadn’t taken the leap…” She abruptly stopped in mid-sentence and got busy working on getting the bed ready.

  Her reluctance didn’t escape Reese. For some reason, she obviously did not want to revisit that time period when she’d left home. Instead of asking any more questions, though, out of the corner of his eye, he watched those lithe arms, her firm breasts, flat stomach, watched that nude body bend and twist over the bed.

  The minute they got the last corner of sheet in place, Reese nipped her around the waist and backed her toward the bathroom.

  She squealed like a kid, pumped a fist in the air. “Shower sex? Yessss!” She ran her hands up and over the muscles in his shoulders, and then latched on to his ass again. “You take pretty good care of yourself, Brennan—for a desk-jockey lawyer.”