by Milly Taiden
Brock shook his head. “She’s like my sister, jackass.”
“Oh.” His jealousy disappeared. “So what do you mean?”
“Erica is a very important part of our group, yes, but she’s also very independent and self-controlled.”
Trent ignored his cup, his interest now fully on what Brock said. “I know that. She’s made it clear in all the time we’ve worked together that she doesn’t depend on anyone.”
“Do you know why?”
The waitress came back with their food just then.
She put the plates and drinks in front of each of them and curled a hand on her hip. “If either of you need anything else, I’ll be right over by the counter. Just wave and I’ll come right over.”
She sauntered off, wiggling her butt. Trent couldn’t help it. This time he did chuckle. He glanced back at Brock to find him grinning and getting ready to eat.
“No. I don’t know why, but I’m assuming it’s got something to do with her past.” Trent put fries, ketchup, and mayo on his burger and then added the top bun. He put the massive burger straight into his mouth and took a large bite. Damn, that was a good burger. Probably made better by the fact he’d worked himself into hunger devouring Erica’s sexy body.
“OK, I’m going to give you a summary so you’re not caught unawares, which I have a feeling might happen. Erica was abandoned by her mother into the court system.”
Trent was about to take another bite but stopped, shocked by what Brock had said. “What do you mean she was abandoned?”
Brock sipped on his drink before answering. “Exactly what I said. Her mother was freaked out that her little girl kept telling her about crimes people had committed and told the court system she couldn’t handle a crazy kid. So Erica went into the foster care system.”
Trent sat immobile. He couldn’t believe a mother would do that to her child. “How old was she?”
“Four,” Brock answered, popping a fry into his mouth.
Good lord. Could a woman really do that? A mother? It didn’t seem possible to him. His mom had been both mother and father to five unruly children, but she’d never lost her patience with them. And he knew they’d done enough stuff to make a saint drop his halo and kick their asses. His father had been Alpha of their pack, but when he was killed his mother took him and his sisters and moved away. She had been unwilling to let anyone in the pack tell her what to do. She raised them among the humans. So Trent didn’t see how Erica’s mother could have actually given up her daughter. Trent lost interest in his food.
“What happened then?”
Brock swallowed what he’d been chewing before answering. “She went through a slew of foster homes until she was about fifteen. That’s when her last foster parents had her committed.”
“Wait, what? What do you mean they had her committed?” His voice rose in anger. Erica was not crazy.
Brock nodded. “Yeah. She told the foster mother that the foster dad had raped a girl who had previously stayed with them and was later found dead. Erica had found the girl’s bracelet, and when she touched it she saw what he did. It created a mess for Erica.”
Trent could only imagine how alone she must’ve felt when she told the truth and was labeled a liar and crazy. His stomach clenched, and the urge to go over to the room where she sleeping and hold her struck him. He never wanted her to feel alone again. He looked up and saw Brock eat the last of his burger. “What happened after that?”
“Well she was in a hospital for a little while. They did all kinds of tests, and Erica realized she needed to keep her mouth shut in order to be set free. Once they found out she really wasn’t crazy, they sent her to a group home. But by then she’d enrolled in an early college program. One thing she’d never done, even with all the things she was going through, was let her grades slip. She was accepted into a criminal justice program and went off with a full scholarship. That’s when her life really started.”
Trent could sense a hidden message in there. “But?”
“But she learned not to trust anyone. When she came to the academy she was always alone, but she has a deep connection to the crime victims in a way no one else has. And from that, she could understand things about the perpetrator that no other evidence could show us. I created a new unit, a special unit, and wanted her. She was the only person who could do what she does. She sees the crime as it happened. She sees the killer.”
“How did you find out about her ability if she doesn’t trust anyone?” Trent’s jealousy returned.
“I knew of her past from her files, but the way they worded things, it truly made her sound like an unstable person, a psychotic who heard voices. But the longer I worked with her, the more I realized her file was filled with lies. So one night on our first big missing person’s case, I handed her a photo of the victim. She grabbed it without realizing what I had given her, and you can imagine what happened next.”
Yes, he could. “Scared the shit out of you, didn’t it?”
Looking down at his burger, Trent decided to give it another chance. He picked it up, took a bite, and glanced back at Brock.
Brock nodded. “Hell yes. There we were, talking calmly one minute, and the next she was screaming at the top of her lungs to be let out. Thank god we were the only ones working that late, or someone would’ve thought I was killing her. It took some persuasion. I had to tell her how helpful it would be for the job if she told me about her skills. I was given the go ahead by superiors to create the Federal Paranormal Unit. You, Ramirez, and Donovan joined next. But I made sure to work one-on-one with Erica, alone at the crime scene or at the victims’ homes. Most cases I have acted as her guardian and helped her work up to the moment of contact. I made sure she didn’t push too far too fast.”
“Why do you have so much interest in her?”
Brock shook his head as if trying to let him know he was taking things the wrong way. “She’s got no one else. I couldn’t stand seeing her live her life believing she had no one on her side. She doesn’t trust anyone, but she knows I have her back.”
“So what you’re trying to tell me is that she’s going to make it difficult for me to have a relationship with her?”
Brock laughed. “Buchanan, she’s not just going to make it difficult, she’s going to make it so hard you’re going to think you’re back in boot camp.” He chuckled again like Trent’s love life was the biggest joke in the world. “I like you, and I think she likes you too, which is why I’m telling you all this.”
Trent frowned, trying to remember what he knew of her past love life. “But she’s had other relationships before, hasn’t she?”
Brock shrugged. “Not really. I know she dated in the past, but she always cut them off when they started to look for more. She’s scared to trust and depend on anyone. When she thinks that’s where the relationship is headed, she dumps the poor saps.”
“Wait, if that’s what’s waiting for me, why would you want to help me?”
“I told you, I like you, and I am pretty sure she does too. Erica is very private, but she’s got this entire ice queen persona going when it comes to men. She’s like a sister to me, and I want her to be happy.” Brock’s smile slid off his lips, his eyes taking a bright glitter Trent knew as some kind of paranormal energy fighting to come loose. “So that means if you don’t make her happy I will kick your ass.”
“Threat?”
“No. That’s a promise.”
Trent had a lot to think about. He contemplated the food that remained. His appetite had vanished, so he pushed the plate away. Things with Erica were not going to go as smoothly as he’d predicted. He knew what they had between them was special and worth pursuing. He’d never felt the way he did with her with any other woman. His mother and sisters had always told him that when he met his mate he’d know because he wouldn’t be able to stand the thought of being away from her. Just imagining Erica out of his life made his palms clammy, his stomach twist, and his anger soar. He just needed to f
ind a way around her mistrust.
He glanced up to catch Brock watching him with a smile. “I told you, she’s going to be a hard one.”
“She’s my mate.”
“Look, I know what that means to you, which is why I’m not going to give you a dissertation over your playboy past, but Erica doesn’t really know what a mate means to you. I trust that you have long-term intentions with her.”
Trent was no quitter, and Erica was the woman he wanted. And not just for a little while, he knew she was the right one for him. She was a prickly, sarcastic, bossy, and sexy-as-hell little harpy. Yeah, she was the perfect woman for him. His mate. “Don’t worry about me. I’m not letting her go anywhere.”
Brock laughed and ate the last of his fries. “OK, but you need to tell her about your little animal problem.”
Trent nodded. “I plan to. Soon.”
“Good. She already mistrusts people. The last thing she needs is to feel like you’ve been playing games with her too.” He leaned back on his seat, making the plastic on the booth seat squeak. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way, tell me about the case. Other than what she’s told me, what is your impression?”
“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.
Chapter 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 pu
lling 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.
