Justice for Hildie

by Reina Torres

  “Look. I said the wrong thing. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

  Her inside voice said that he did. At least a little. Filters went down when emotions climbed.

  “I can promise to keep her safe, Hill. I can do that.”

  “You’ve got enough to do, Jake. I know what I’m doing. This is not my first rodeo. And while I look like a ditz sometimes, I know what’s at stake here. I know what I need to do, and that’s take care of my client.”

  “Maybe Sloane can talk some sense into you.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone, keying in his password.

  “Get out.”

  He looked up, and she could see the odd mixture of emotions on his face. “What?”

  “If you think calling my friend-”

  “Your boss-”

  “I’m in charge right now.”

  “Don’t do this, Hill-”

  “Out, Jake!” She pushed at his shoulder and was surprised when he stepped outside into the hall. With a satisfied nod, Hildie swung the door shut.

  It stopped a hair short of the doorframe, shuddering when it hit Jake’s shoe.

  Jake pushed the door open again and stepped inside, his phone dropping to the carpet near his feet. “You didn’t just do that.”

  “What?” she shrugged and looked at him with wide eyes. “Close the door on you? Of course, I did. You’re not going to pull rank on me, Jake. That’s not how this is going to work.” She gestured between the two of them. “We can’t work like this. If that’s what you think, then leave.”

  Her eyes watered as the combination of her nerves and frustration pushed her closer to the edge.

  All his frustration and bluster seemed to disappear in that moment. He moved closer, his hands on her shoulders, his warmth seeping into her. “Hill, I’m sorry. I didn’t want it to blow up like this.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “When I called to let you know what was going on, you didn’t answer your phone.” His arms wrapped loosely around her. “When Vicente got Sloane to answer she said you’d left her a note. Thinking about you out there with Joe on the loose. I knew what you were doing. We had an APB on your car, with every officer in the area looking for you, still nothing.

  “I went crazy thinking of what could have happened to you… what was happening to you… the only thing that kept me sane was having Sloane tell me you were okay. That she believed that you were okay.”

  She tilted her head back and looked up at him. “I was okay, Jake. I’ve done this before. And just because Joe’s some bad guy who sells drugs doesn’t make him any more dangerous than a man who thinks he’s losing his whipping post. Possessive men with a nasty streak have broken homes, broken bones, broken lives. And I’m not going to argue with you about this tonight. I’m exhausted.” She managed to wiggle her arm between them and set it on his chest. With a gentle nudge she put some space between them. Space that she needed to be able to think and breath. “I want you here, Jake. I want to sleep in your arms, and if you’re willing I want you inside me, surrounding me with your strength. But, if you intend to badger me thinking you can get Anne’s location out of me, then leave.

  “I don’t know where she is right now, and I don’t know where she’ll be tomorrow. That’s the whole point of this. But I can’t fight with you. I won’t argue.”

  “You want me. You just don’t want me to talk.”

  “I don’t want you to argue.”

  He heard her. He really did.

  “I need you, Hill. I need to hold you and know that you’re really here. You were gone. You were out of touch. I had no way to reach you, and I felt like I was going to lose my mind.”

  “I’m here.” Hildie reached up and slipped her hands around to the back of his neck, tugging him down toward her. “I’m alive. And every cell in my body wants to be owned by yours. I need you, Jake. I need you inside me. Hard, driving, pushing me all the way up the mountain and over the edge because yes, I was afraid too.”

  All of the simmering remains of his anger went up in smoke. He wasn’t angry at her. He wanted to throttle Joe Merrel for putting her in danger.

  But now, he pushed all thoughts of anyone else out of his head. He had Hildie right there, in his arms. And she needed him.

  Wanted him.

  “I don’t want you to be afraid of me, Hill.”

  “Oh god,” she shook her head, “I’m not afraid of you, Jake. I’m afraid of how much I need you right now. I’ve never felt this out of control for any man in my life. I never knew how much I could need someone to touch me. Take me.”

  He swallowed hard and watched as her eyes looked up at his throat.

  Hildie licked her lips before her gaze lifted to meet his again.

  Jake dropped his hands onto her hips. “Lift up your shirt. I need to see you.”

  She followed his words without question. Lifting her blouse so that he could see her belly and her pale pink bra.

  Fuck. He’d only wanted to see how her skirt was held on, but he saw her nipples drawn tight under the silken fabric, and his mouth went dry.

  “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “You won’t.”

  He shook his head. “You can’t possibly be ready for me.”

  She dropped one hand from her blouse and slipped her hand between her skirt and her skin. He followed the progression with the shadows created by her clothes and he knew the instant that she had her hand between her legs.

  A deep indrawn breath raised her shoulders and parted her lips. Her eyelids fluttered for a moment, and then she moaned.

  When she withdrew her hand, she held it out to him, and he took hold of her wrist. Even in the half-dark of her room, he could see the glistening sheen across her fingers.

  Jake leaned forward and closed his mouth around her fingers, using his tongue to taste her heat. When he was done, he looked down into her face and nodded. “You tell me to stop, and I will.”

  She nodded. Her eyes bright with need. “Just do it, Jake. Please.”

  “Take off your skirt.”

  She laughed as she did it, but it was a triumphant sound that lit up her face like a lantern. “I can’t wait to feel you inside me again.”

  He reached into his pocket and swore. “I didn’t plan on this.”

  Hildie reached out and tugged open his buckle. “That’s what those tests were for. Now help me.”

  His cock swelled, hardening so fast that he was almost afraid that he’d catch it on his zipper. “Move your hands, baby.”

  She let go and reached for her top, pulling it up and over her head in one move. As she dropped her hands back down one strap of her bra slipped off her shoulder and hung precariously close to her elbow. The top of the cup was pulled down enough that he could see the caramel tinted skin at the tip of her breast.

  He needed a taste.

  Jake kissed her, hungrily eating at her lips as his hands reached down and cupped her ass, one full rounded half in each hand. His fingertips slipped higher and the tip of his index finger was wet with her need.

  He caught her gasp in his mouth and lifted her up against the wall. He held her there, higher than he needed to if all he wanted was so thrust up inside of her. He wanted more and watched as she looked down at him with a hint of confusion

  Closing his mouth over her nipple, he felt the fabric of her bra slide between his tongue and her skin. The friction made her gasp and press even closer.

  It was heaven to feel her wiggling against him, her hands clamping down on his shoulders.

  “Yes,” she moaned as his teeth pulled the pale pink cup from her breast. “I want to feel you against me.”

  He bathed her nipple with his tongue and then pulled her breast into his mouth, swirling it against her sensitive flesh.

  Hildie wrapped her legs around his middle and pulled him closer. He regretted leaving his clothes on. He would love to feel her wet heat against his belly, but even as good as that would have felt, he wanted more.


  And knew she wanted the same.

  He’d taste more of her later. Taste every inch of her beautiful body when he had the chance, but he knew the need she felt, it rode him too. Jake took the precious moments he had to pull one more groan from her lips as he pushed his jeans and boxers down.

  Feeling the cool air against his cock only made the need stronger. Thick and hard, it only took a slight nudge with his fingers to fit against her body as he lowered her down the wall.

  She moved against him, struggling until she felt the tip press against her skin. Her sigh was a heavy one, and he felt her squeeze her thighs against his sides to open her body to him.

  Incredible.

  The way her folds spread around him and then pulled him in like the waves at the edge of the beach. Drawing him in as if it was nature itself working magic between them.

  Wet and slick, the inside of her body welcomed him deep. When he found himself seated completely within her, the feeling of her ass against his thighs wrung a growl from his lips.

  “So damn good.”

  He felt his dick twitch and the answering quiver of her flesh.

  “Move.”

  He heard her order and got to work.

  Out to the tip and back again, he used his hands to keep her from hitting the wall. Every painful press of his knuckles against it felt like a dream because he was balls deep inside of her.

  Hildie’s hands moved over his shoulders as he thrust harder into her pussy. Her fingers bit into his skin, her mouth speaking to him in a language he didn’t hear, but felt against his skin.

  Her breathless cries and pleas felt like electricity coursing through his body.

  Thrust after thrust he felt her body envelop him in ways that he’d never believed were possible. She was in him almost as much as he was in her, filling the both of them with a desire that began to chase away the frustration.

  He had her against the wall, but he was still in the clutches of fear. He tried to shut out the images that had welled up inside of his head when she was missing. Imagining her at the mercy of Joe Merrel for a second time had almost sent him over the edge.

  So, he gave. He pushed inside of her again and again as he whispered to her a thousand different words that all said the same thing. He needed her.

  In and out, he surged into her body, gave her the rush of an emotional tide greater than the anger she’d felt earlier and then she broke, shattered in his arms. She bathed his cock with her release, and he let himself push her farther than they’d ever gone before.

  He lowered her slowly to the floor, making sure that her feet were set under her before he straightened to run his fingers through her hair.

  “You’re so beautiful, Hill.”

  Her laugh was rough. “You’re just saying that.”

  He knew she was pushing him, using her words to lash out. He understood the feeling. There was still some residual frustration rushing through his veins too.

  “I mean it.”

  “Talk later, cowboy.” She lifted her chin and pointed at the bed. “On your back.”

  It took a moment for his brain to function enough to understand what she said.

  “Bed.” She repeated. “Now.”

  Okay.

  He turned around, and she cleared her throat.

  “Shirt off.” He reached for his buttons, and she walked to the side of the bed to watch. “Pants and boots too, while you’re at it.”

  He’d always loved Hildie’s banter, but hearing her ordering him around the bedroom? Yeah, he could get used to that.

  Sometimes.

  “Hurry up, Jake. This,” she gestured along the sides of her body, “doesn’t like waiting.”

  His shirt fell somewhere behind him, and he almost fell headfirst when his foot got hung up in his boot, but he was on the bed and on his back less than a minute later.

  And Hildie, bless her beautiful body, was on the bed and straddling him just moments after that.

  She sat on his thighs and looked him over from head to cock and back again. “You didn’t come.”

  “I wasn’t ready.”

  Her eyes widened at the admission. “What’s it going to take to get you there?”

  “I need to know you’re okay.” He took in another breath. “That we’re okay.”

  Her eyes closed. Her lashes casting a shadow over her skin. She shook her head. “Then I hope you’re prepared for a long night, Jake. My heart is still pounding inside my chest.”

  He couldn’t help it. Couldn’t stop himself. His gaze flickered down to her chest.

  Her own gaze followed after his and she smiled, but there was an edge to the slant of her lips. Lifting her hands, she cupped her breasts and gave them both a squeeze.

  She saw the way his dick twitched, still standing erect under her gaze. “You must really like these.”

  He nodded with his tongue pressed up against the roof of his mouth. He wanted to taste her breasts again, pull them deep into the heat of his mouth, and make her breathless with his touch.

  “Well, I hope you like watching them as much as you like touching them.”

  Leaning forward, she braced her hands on his chest, and he could only watch as they swayed toward him. Moving her hands further, she put one on each side of his head and bent her elbows until one of her nipples touched his lips.

  He wanted to open his mouth and catch the delicious bit between his lips or his teeth, but he lay still, letting her tease him with her touch and her scent.

  She did the same with her other breast, rubbing the swollen tip over his lips. Her laughter reached his ears. “I can see you sweat.”

  He nodded, and the sudden touch of her nipple against his lips had them both gasping in a breath. He tensed, and he felt her thighs squeeze against his sides.

  The sudden movement had shocked them both, but it seemed to drain the last of her humor away.

  Lifting one hand, she reached back and found his cock. Moving it an inch lower toward his belly, she pushed back with her other hand and sank down onto him.

  He squeezed his eyes shut, barely managing to hold back his release.

  It was one thing to bury himself deep inside of her, but to have Hildie engulf him in one eager push was almost too much for him.

  Her heat was still slick with her earlier release and the way her walls had closed around him reminded him of her mouth, greedily sucking him in.

  Her hands walked her back until she was seated upright, rising and falling over his erection as if she was afraid to stop or slow down the sensations that she was creating.

  “Faster,” she made the demand of herself, rising and falling with a look of frustration tightening across her features. “Faster.”

  She rocked against him. Rose and fell. Swiveled her hips in a way that made his eyes roll back from the sensation, but she pushed herself further. Chasing something she just couldn’t reach.

  “Hill, let me help.”

  “Yes, please.”

  He slipped his hand between her legs, and the same wet heat that he felt over every inch of his cock coated the tips of his fingers. Curling his fingers, he felt her arch against him. There. He didn’t try to coax her toward her orgasm. He helped drive her over the edge, and when she found her release, he did too.

  She fell against him, and he held her tight, turning them until she lay facing him on the bed.

  He didn’t try to talk to her because he had no words. He had never seen her lay herself bare before him and he knew how much it meant for her to let him in.

  Words would come later. They’d figure it all out after a good long rest.

  Jake smoothed his hands over her back over and over again until he was sure she was sound asleep. As he held her in his arms, he lay awake for hours, watching over her.

  Chapter 13

  SAPD Deputy Hayden Hatcher met Jake and Dax at the curb when they pulled up. She gestured at the scene where no fewer than twelve people were walking around. “All the crime scene photos have been
taken. The coroner was here, and his assistant is waiting to take the body after you get a look. CSU is still going over the scene.”

  Dax spoke first. “Thanks. Were you the one who found the body?”

  She shook her head. “One of the waiters came out for a smoke break. The light above the door,” she gestured with her flashlight at the aging fixture that dangled from the wall, “doesn’t work, and he stumbled over the body.”

  Jake narrowed his gaze at her. “He was the first smoke break of the night?”

  “Yeah. He’s the only one on the crew who smokes. The rest of the staff is on a ‘Kick It’ challenge. If you want to talk to him, he’s at Feldspar Hospital. He was covered in the victim’s blood and lost whatever he had in his stomach.”

  Jake’s unspoken question was easy to discern, and Hayden answered it.

  “No, not on the body, but he did decide that he’s going to join in the effort to quit.”

  Dax’s laugh was a short snort of sound that he smothered with his hand. “I bet. Every time he lights up after this, he’s going to see the victim in his head.”

  Hayden shrugged. “Better than hypnosis, but still, not an image I’d like in my head over and over.”

  Dax offered their thanks to Hayden and nudged Jake toward the scene.

  “Did you get a chance to talk to Hildie yet? Talk out whatever this is between you?”

  “Whatever this is… you mean the fact that we can’t seem to talk about anything at all without descending into a fight over Joe Merrel?” Determined to work even though his coworkers and friends seemed determined to play cupid after-the-fact, crouching down beside the body, Jake took a moment to remind himself to breathe in through his mouth as he examined the wounds on the victim. “Looks like the perpetrator made a single cut across his throat, probably deep enough to cut to the bone. He wasn’t going to survive the attack.”

  “There was no way to save him with a cut that deep. Finding him right after the attack might not have been enough either.”

  A CSU tech walked past, and Jake called him over. “Was he identified?”

  The tech looked down at the tablet in his hands and scrolled through his notes, finally nodding in reply. “Ted Collins.”