by Katie Reus
For just a moment, raw hunger flashed in her eyes as her gaze landed on his mouth. He felt that look all the way to his core as she practically scorched him. He told himself it didn’t matter, to just let her go, but she took another step toward him. He wasn’t sure who made the first move but suddenly his mouth was on hers.
Moaning softly, she dug her fingers into his shoulder as he backed her up against the wall.
They were too exposed in the hallway, his brain told him, even through the haze of lust fogging his mind. On the off chance that Harper woke up, he didn’t want to have to explain any of this.
Holding Serenity tight, he guided them down the rest of the hallway and opened the guest bedroom door. Then he backed her up against it as it closed.
She arched her body into his, kissing him with a frenzy he hadn’t expected. Hell, he hadn’t expected any of this. He wasn’t sure what this meant for them but he was going to take it. As far as she wanted it to go.
He wanted to banish all the pain and fear he often saw lurking in her eyes. He wanted to see her smile on a regular basis, wanted those circles under her eyes gone. She deserved happiness. She deserved to live her life without fear.
While he might not be able to take away the fear or find the monster after her, he was sure as hell going to give her as much pleasure as she could handle.
She kissed him with abandon, sliding her hands over his chest as she learned his body. He’d fantasized about this, about her touching him. And if he was dreaming, he didn’t want to wake up.
It didn’t take long until he got her little tank top and flannel pants stripped off.
For a moment she looked self-conscious as he stretched her out on the bed.
He paused, looking down at her, taking in every line of her curves and taut, lean body. No doubt about it—reality was far better than his imagination. “This goes as far as you want. I just want to taste between your legs.” That was a lie because he wanted more, but for now he wanted to hear her come, wanted to hear her calling out his name as he brought her pleasure. What he wouldn’t give to chase away all the shadows in her eyes.
Thanks to the lamp he’d left on, he could see the pink blush of her cheeks, the color matching her tight nipples. “Lucas,” she whispered.
He knelt on the bed in front of her. “What? I’ve dreamed about tasting all of you.”
The pink of her cheeks darkened to red, the color spreading down to her neck.
He kissed her again, deeper this time, cupping her cheeks with his hands. He loved the taste of her, the feel of her, everything about her. He had Serenity stretched out naked underneath him, her legs wrapped around his waist as he took his time teasing his tongue against hers. There was something to be said for simple kissing.
Well, kissing and Serenity’s naked body underneath his. There was nothing in the world like this. She was fit and lean and appeared taller than she actually was because of all her muscle tone. He knew she worked out and took self-defense classes, and it sure as hell showed.
He reached between their bodies, trailing his fingers across her stomach and down between her legs. When he cupped her mound, she rolled her hips against his hand. God, she was so wet and soft. This almost felt like it was happening too fast, but they’d been building to this for months. All those weekly lunches and the low-grade flirting had been working toward something. He sure as hell hadn’t expected this so soon—wherever this was headed tonight—but he wasn’t stopping until she said to.
As he began slowly teasing her clit, she rolled her hips faster and faster, biting his bottom lip between her teeth. Oh yes, he would get her off. Hopefully more than once.
The energy humming through her was a palpable thing, practically buzzing in the air. All her earlier hints of self-consciousness were gone. Now it was just the two of them, here and now. No outside world.
He continued kissing her, blazing a path down her neck and chest, sucking each nipple until she threaded her fingers through his hair. Her body trembled as he continued.
By the time his mouth made it between her legs, she was clutching onto his head. And he loved the feel of her holding on to him. He flicked his tongue up the length of her slick folds, savoring the way she moaned out his name.
“Lucas.”
Hearing his name on her lips like that was a fantasy. Hell. He was keyed up, his body desperate for release, but right now was about her. He continued teasing her, using his thumb to tweak her clit as he dipped a finger inside her. She was soaking wet, all for him.
And he was rock-hard between his legs because of her. There was no hiding his reaction, and he didn’t want to. He wanted her to know exactly how she affected him.
She surged into climax faster than he’d expected. So much faster. The moans she made were the most erotic thing he’d ever heard, and when she collapsed against the bed he crawled up her body, capturing her mouth with his. He wanted to completely possess her, to make her his.
To his surprise, she pushed against his chest.
Disappointment filtered through him until she said, “My turn.”
At her instructions, he flipped onto his back, watching as she shimmied down his body and knelt between his legs. Moving faster than the speed of light, he tugged off his shirt as she got rid of his pants and boxer briefs. For some reason he hadn’t expected this boldness from Serenity, but he liked it. A lot.
Layers, he reminded himself. This woman had layers. And right now she was naked and all he could see, all he could think about.
Her jet-black hair fell around her shoulders in soft waves as she glanced up at him, looking every inch like a goddess. Keeping her bright blue gaze on him, she wrapped her fingers around his hard length and began stroking him, teasing him just as he teased her. The way she watched him as she touched him took his breath away. And when she leaned down and took him into her mouth, he forgot to breathe.
His hips jolted off the bed as he savored the sensation of her hot mouth on him. Sliding his fingers through the waterfall of her hair, he closed his eyes, moaning out her name. He wasn’t sure how long she sucked him, but he was certain he came too soon.
He was pretty sure he’d died and gone to heaven. The fact that Serenity was in bed naked with him, had just come against his tongue and then gone down on him? It was too much. He tugged her up into his arms, cradling her against his side. She made a pleased sound as she pressed her body to his.
“I know it doesn’t matter right this instant,” he murmured. “But I’ve got condoms—in my truck.” Fat lot of good they did him. He’d be more prepared next time. “And I’m clean.”
“I’ve got an IUD…and I’m clean too. So if we ever…” She cleared her throat. “We won’t need the condoms.”
All right, then. Their breathing and the light rain pattering against the rooftop and windows were the only sounds in the room, making it feel as if only the two of them existed. At least for this moment. She trailed her fingers gently up his abs, then laid her hand over his chest.
“We’re still friends, right?” Her voice was whisper quiet.
“We’re definitely still friends. Naked friends.”
She laughed lightly at that, cuddling closer to him. “I like being naked friends.”
He wanted more than friendship and it was pretty damn clear she did too, even if she wasn’t going to put a label on it.
That was okay with him for now. He’d been a Marine. He was very patient during an op.
And Serenity was worth fighting for.
Chapter 18
Her heart rate kicked up as Paisley opened her townhome door. Stupid, stupid woman. Paisley should be afraid, but instead she was letting the monster walk right inside her door.
“Hey, come on in,” Paisley said, her blonde hair pulled up into a messy bun that somehow still looked good. Because that was how Paisley was: perfect. Just like Serenity. They might be different in looks, but both women were beautiful with an air of fragility about them that men seemed to be drawn to.
Putting on a smile, she held up a bottle of wine. This was going to be so easy. And fun. “I brought sustenance.”
Paisley laughed even as she sniffled. Given her red nose and slightly puffy eyes, it was clear she’d been crying. Her boyfriend Mitch had recently broken up with Paisley so of course she’d called. It was the only time Paisley wanted friends around—when she didn’t have a man in her life. All she wanted to do was get married and have kids. Pathetic.
“I’m so glad you came over. It’s been so tense around town,” Paisley said.
“No kidding. I was worried even driving over here.” She held back a laugh at the lie. She wasn’t worried about anyone or anything.
“You can take off your jacket if you want,” Paisley said, nodding at the row of hooks by the door.
She did even though she had no intention of staying long.
“Come on, I’ve got snacks in the kitchen. Do you want to go out or watch a movie?”
“Definitely stay in.”
“Yeah, me too. It’s crazy about Adeline…” She trailed off, clearly not wanting to talk about it.
“I know. It’s awful. It seems mean to even think that if Serenity hadn’t come back to town…” She trailed off, lifting a shoulder.
Paisley didn’t respond as she pulled two wineglasses down from her open concept shelving. Then she said, “I feel bad for her. She lost her twin, survived hell, then lost her husband. She’s barely thirty and she’s already a widow and single mom. That’s gotta be rough.”
“Yeah. She seems to have bounced back pretty quickly though.” Too quickly. And it sickened her how everyone felt sorry for poor Serenity.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, look at her and Lucas Jordan. She’s not hurting for company.” It was a struggle to keep the bitterness out of her voice. Lucas hadn’t looked twice at anyone since he’d moved back to town. He was a sexy, wealthy bachelor and Serenity had just scooped him up.
“So what? She’s a grown woman. I say good for both of them. He hasn’t even dated anyone since he moved back to town anyway. Or I don’t think he has. Not that I didn’t try and make a move on him,” Paisley added, a half-smile pulling at her lips. “You did too, if I remember correctly.”
“Hardly,” she snorted out. Even though she was annoyed that Paisley didn’t agree with her about Serenity, she didn’t let it show. Soon enough Paisley would know exactly how she felt about her.
After pouring their glasses of wine, she waited until Paisley was distracted by her phone and poured in a sedative. She’d stolen the ketamine from the local vet and she was pretty sure about the dosage. She just wanted to knock her out, not kill her. Well, not kill her right away. She was going to be joining Adeline soon.
“So tell me about Mitch. Has he called?” she asked, sliding the glass over to Paisley, wanting her talking.
Paisley’s expression darkened as she looked up from her phone. She immediately picked up her wineglass and shook her head. “No. And I heard he took Cindy Morrison out last night. And stayed over. Bastard,” she muttered.
She made appropriately sympathetic sounds as Paisley rambled on about her ex-boyfriend and drank her wine.
Considering her slight frame, after a half glass of wine it didn’t take Paisley long until she started blinking as she tried to keep her eyes open. Then she gripped the countertop. “I don’t feel so good.”
“I’ll help you sit,” she said, gently easing Paisley onto one of the sofas. Just like that, her friend slowly drifted into unconsciousness, her head falling back against the cushion. Perfect.
Now it was time to get to work.
She grabbed her jacket and the wine bottle, and placed her things together on the counter while she busied herself wiping down everything she’d touched. Then she put on cleaning gloves, washed the wineglasses and put them back up so it wouldn’t appear as if anyone had been there.
For good measure, she used Paisley’s thumb to open her cell phone and sent a text to herself, canceling tonight. Immediately after, she sent one to Mitch from Paisley’s phone, telling him that she missed him and asking if he wanted to come over and hook up.
She’d watched enough crime shows to know how to clean up after herself. She’d been over here on multiple occasions before so it didn’t matter if her DNA was found here, but she wanted to wipe down what she could.
Careful, careful. That was what mattered now.
Getting out of here with Paisley was going to be tricky, but she planned to use Paisley’s own vehicle to transport her to the waiting car. It was why she’d parked down the road and walked. So no one would remember seeing her car parked in front of Paisley’s place.
She had all of this planned out perfectly. No one was going to catch her. She wasn’t going to make the same mistakes her father had. No way.
She was having too much fun. And she was just getting started. Once she finished with Verona Bay, she was moving on to someplace bigger. With more people to choose from.
Somewhere she would have no problem blending in and disappearing.
Chapter 19
Serenity ran a comb through Foxy’s longer fur, smiling to herself as she purred like a cat instead of the Japanese Chin she was. She felt weird being in her shop, working like normal when Adeline was missing, but she was going to keep things as steady as possible. And she really hoped the Feds found something on the cameras they’d set up. Though it was horrifying to think about someone she knew doing this to her, she knew it was a real possibility that the killer might show up again.
After talking with Amy this morning, in her head she’d been going over names of who had been in college at the same time as her, when everything had happened. She’d blocked out almost everything when she’d moved away, cutting ties with almost everyone and trying her hardest to simply forget college.
Unfortunately a lot of people had gone to college with her and now lived in Verona Bay. Some of those people had been at school with her even though they were a few years older, so it didn’t exactly narrow anything down. The people she saw on a weekly basis were Chloe, Paisley, Norah, Bianca, and Wilson, who worked at the local diner. And of course Lincoln, but she didn’t count him.
There were a few more, but those were the people she remembered as being in close proximity to her and Savannah during the insanity of the time Black was stalking their campus.
“How are things looking out there?” she asked Lucas when he stepped into the back room, Harper in tow. He’d taken her daughter out for a cupcake break while Serenity worked. As usual, when she saw him, her heart skipped a beat. Especially after last night. She hadn’t expected that intimacy, hadn’t expected any of it. But she’d embraced it and found herself warming up even as she thought of the way he’d brought her pleasure. She forced herself not to think of any of that as Harper bounced up and down.
Her daughter was so excited that Lucas had come with them today, and even though she was worried about Harper getting confused about his role in their lives, she loved seeing her so happy. Especially now with everything going on. She didn’t want the ugliness of reality to touch Harper. Her daughter had her whole life to grow up and realize how awful the world could be. She was going to try to keep her oblivious of the bad things as long as she could.
“Great!” Harper answered for him. “All of the washing stalls are filled except one,” her little girl said with pride. She loved the grooming shop and loved to tell her friends about all the dogs that came through.
There were stalls in the front where people could wash their own dogs. In the back was where Serenity did the actual grooming, which included haircuts, and then of course washing and nail trimming. But some people only needed a space to wash their pets. “How was the cupcake break?”
“Yummy. I had two and we brought you back some.”
“Thank you,” she murmured, looking over at Lucas.
In response, he gave Serenity a heated look.
She felt her cheeks flush and g
lanced away. After last night she felt almost nervous around him. This morning she’d told him that nothing would change between them, but she’d heard it for the lie that it was. No matter if she wanted things to stay the same—or to just be naked friends—everything had changed between them. She still didn’t want a relationship, but she also didn’t want a hookup buddy. Especially one who was already involved in Harper’s life. Not that he’d implied he wanted that anyway, but still. Ugh, her head was a mess right now. She had no business getting involved with anyone.
Even so, thinking about last night… She felt her cheeks flush even warmer. Damn it, she needed to get her head on straight. It was hard to do that, however, when six-feet-plus of the sexiest, sweetest man she’d ever known was mere feet away from her. “So when are you going to bring Daisy in here again?” There, that was a safe enough topic.
“Soon. Though you’re going to see her tonight.”
“I’m so excited Daisy is gonna stay with us.” Harper looked over at Lucas. “Can she sleep in my bed? Can I take her out for walks? Can I hold the leash?” She shot one question after another at him, not stopping to take a breath.
Serenity snickered to herself and turned back to the dog she was working on. Almost done. She’d let Lucas field all the questions for now. He’d proven that he had no problem holding his own.
Suddenly the door flung open and Paisley Long’s mom stormed in.
Serenity stared in confusion at the slender older woman with hair a few shades darker than Paisley’s. She didn’t understand why the woman was here or where the Federal agent who was supposed to be manning the cash register was. “Ms. Long, you can’t be back here,” she said, frowning at the rage on the woman’s face and her presence in general.
