Deceiver Read online

  Dan nods. “Well, let’s talk about it if your hunch turns out to be true. After we confirm it’s her. Right now, I guess we’d better get Rufus loaded up so I can take him home.”

  Rufus rides between us on our way to Dan’s, his head in Dan’s lap as Dan pets him lovingly. I grin at them. “You two look like best friends already.”

  “I like him,” Dan chuckles as he stretches Rufus’ long ear. “I haven’t had a dog in years. This might take some getting used to.”

  “Yeah. You’re right. For me, too. I can already see he’s getting more attention than I am. Maybe this was a mistake.” I giggle.

  “Oh, I plan on showing you some attention, too. Very soon.” He waggles his brow and grins.

  I smile, shivering as goosebumps swim down my arms. That sounds promising.

  Chapter Ten

  “I don’t know that he’s housebroken.”

  Rufus runs around Dan’s living room, sniffing everything and investigating his new home.

  “That’s okay. We can work on that,” Dan says, bending down to hand Rufus a piece of hot dog that he’s just returned with from the kitchen.

  “He is a pretty dog.” I’m starting to warm up to him now that he’s stopped barking and growling at me.

  “Yes, he is.” Dan strokes him sweetly, and I’m almost jealous. “Okay. We haven’t eaten,” he says, standing and turning to me. “And, we didn’t stop anywhere. How about I whip us up some dinner?”

  “Really? You whip us up some dinner?” I giggle.

  “Hey,” he snaps, sounding offended. “Baby, I’ve got skills you haven’t even seen the likes of yet.”

  “Oh? Please show me, by all means,” I flirt.

  He leans forward, takes me into his arms, and plants a Casablanca kiss on me. By the time he releases me, standing me upright again, I’m panting and dizzy. Lord, have mercy! My panties are getting moist.

  “Dessert later,” he says with a wink. “Right now, we need food.”

  I follow him into the kitchen and sit down on a bar stool to watch. Propping my chin in my hands, I rest my elbows comfortably on the bar as I enjoy the show.

  “Let’s see.” He focuses on the contents of his fridge. “We’ll need these, and these, and oh! Definitely some of these.” He retrieves some eggs, a fresh container of mushrooms, and a shiny green pepper. “Omelets, anyone?”

  “That sounds really good.” I grin, rocking back and forth as I imagine dessert.

  He dumps the ingredients on the counter and begins to collect all the utensils.

  “Let me help,” I offer.

  “Nothing doing!” He points at my chair, meaning to keep my ass in it, I suppose. “I promised you a nice dinner, and I’m going to deliver it.”

  “Okay, okay.” I hold up my hands, signaling defeat. “I’m just not used to sitting around and watching people cook me dinner, much less—” I stop myself.

  “Yeah? Much less what?” He cracks several eggs into a bowl.

  Oh, shit. “Nothing. I don’t know.”

  “You’re not getting off the hook that easy. Finish. Much less what?”

  I feel my face turning red as I shake my head and grin.

  “Are you blushing?”

  “No,” I reply as if that’s preposterous.

  “Yes, you are. You’re blushing.” He leaves the eggs and saunters toward me, inserting himself between my legs. “Now you really have to finish.”

  His deep, smoky eyes draw me in, and I have thoughts of fucking his brains out, right here in the kitchen in front of Rufus. Fine.

  “Much less by a hot guy who I’d much rather be eating right now.”

  “Fuck,” he whispers, more to himself than me, I think, as his stare burns into me.

  He cups my face in his hands, leaning forward to kiss me softly as he steps closer into me, farther between my legs on the stool. His tongue lightly skims across my lip, and his hips flex desperately against my sex.

  I reach my hands around him, cupping his ass in my hands, squeezing and pulling him into me as I moan. A liquid rush of excitement hits my throbbing pussy like a tsunami as his rock-hard cock rubs against me.

  Suddenly, he steps back, tugging at his crotch and shaking his head as he grins.

  “Oh, no.” He chuckles. “Just hold that thought. I’m not taking you in the kitchen. Not right now, anyway.”

  Dammit. He can have me in the kitchen, in the bathroom, on the floor, in the entryway, or right here on top of the bar, for all I care.

  “I want you in my bed tonight,” he says as he softly strokes my face. “I want to take my time, to start at your feet and kiss you all over, lick you, taste you. I want to make you come over and over until you beg me to stop.”

  Pant. Pant. Not sure if it’s me or Rufus I hear.

  “First, I’m going to feed you.” He steps back to the counter and begins to whisk the eggs.

  “Voila.” He places the steamy hot plate in front of me. “Omelets par Dan. I hope you like.”

  I smile at my plate, picking up my fork and reminding myself to try not to eat the whole damn thing at once. I’m still not recovered from our earlier encounter.

  “Mm.” I look at him, my eyes wide as I chew. “It’s delicious,” I reassure him, because it really is.

  He sits down beside me, picking up his fork and digging in. He nods. “Not too bad.”

  I try to pace myself so I don’t look too eager, and when he’s done, I clear away our plates.

  He gives me the stink-eye. “At least let me do this.”

  He doesn’t look pleased, but he lets me. I rinse the plates and start to load them into his dishwasher.

  “I have a lead in the Hines case,” he says suddenly out of the blue.

  I drop one of the plates. Fortunately, it lands in the dishwasher and not on the floor.

  “Sorry.” I smile nervously as I pick it up and load it properly. “So, what kind of lead?”

  “A woman,” he replies. “A friend of Hines’ who he was apparently seeing.”

  I close the dishwasher and dry my hands. “Oh? You think she did it?”

  “I don’t know. She has a rock-solid alibi.” He stares ahead blankly as he nods. “But, there’s something I can’t really put my finger on. My gut tells me she has something to do with it.”

  I step back to the bar, standing beside him, and tickle his arm with my finger. “I thought you said he was dirty?”

  He cuts his eyes to my finger as I gently drag it up his arm toward his chest. “He was. In fact, he was the dirtiest cop I’ve ever seen.”

  “Well, then. Maybe one of his dirty friends did us all a favor and we should just be grateful?” I unbutton the top button of his shirt.

  He swallows hard and looks at me. “Maybe.”

  “Maybe it was some kind of drug deal gone bad?” I suggest as I unbutton the second button.

  “Maybe,” he whispers.

  Suddenly, he stands up, scooping me into his arms and whooshing me toward the hallway as I shriek.

  “Maybe, I don’t really give a shit right now,” he says, kicking open the door of his bedroom and marching us toward the bed.

  He eases me to my feet, keeping a tight grip around my waist, and kisses me with fever as his hands roam wildly up and down my back, finally coming to rest on my ass.

  “You have too many clothes on,” he whispers, and I kick off my shoes with such vigor, they fly across the room and nail a picture on the wall. He grasps the bottom of my shirt and yanks it over my head. “That’s better, but I think we need to get out of these, as well.”

  Kneeling, he tugs down my pants, and I step out of them as he leans forward, kissing me intimately and tossing my pants aside.

  I twist my fingers in his hair. “Mm.”

  “This is what I dreamed of last night,” he says, hooking his fingers into the waistband of my panties and wriggling them down my legs. “Ah, yes,” he groans. “That’s nice.”

  He kisses my patch, licks me thoroughly, and t
akes in a deep breath before standing up. “God, you smell good.”

  Nuzzling my neck, he reaches behind me to unclasp my bra and threads it slowly down my arms, tweaking my nipples with his thumbs.

  The moonlight shines brightly through the window, outlining his face with a soft, seraphic glow as he takes me in, caressing my breasts. I’m more than a little self-conscious standing in front of him naked while he’s still fully dressed, so I reach forward to finish unbuttoning his shirt. My fingers feel fat and clumsy. He must see that I’m struggling because he begins to help, starting at the bottom and working his way up. When our fingers meet in the middle, he rips off the shirt, flinging it away as his fingers begin working deftly at his jeans. Hungry eyes travel slowly up and down my body, studying me, devouring me, and he licks his lips.

  He shoves his jeans down, underwear and all, stomping out of them before he strips off his socks. Then, he steps into me, kissing me, his warm hands gliding up and down my sides as he shoves me gently toward the bed. I lie down, and he stands over me, his impressive erection reaching toward me as his smoldering gaze assesses.

  I can’t decide whether to stick out my tongue and lick him or cover myself up. The way he stares at me, possessing and consuming, but then, I’m so hot, I don’t care. Fuck it. Get an eyeful.

  “I could almost stand here and look at you all night,” he says, stroking his cock.

  Oh my God. I almost melt into the sheets.

  “Almost.” He grins, crawling in between my legs.

  Keeping to his word to taste all of me, he picks up my foot, raises it to his mouth and kisses it lightly before dragging his tongue along the inside to my ankle. Pausing to kiss and caress it before continuing up my calf to my knee and leaving me trembling and breathless.

  He places my leg on the bed and then leans down, his eyes full of heat and locked on mine as he licks and nips his way up my thigh to my anxious sex. He grips my thighs to still me as his tongue circles and snakes around my clit, wiggling and licking. I gasp and moan, grasping at the sheets like a drowning victim reaching for a lifeline. He covers my aching clit with his mouth again, sucking noisily, and I close my eyes, whimpering and writhing beneath his grip.

  “You taste like Heaven, baby,” he coos as he slips a finger inside me.

  “Ah.” My back arches off the bed.

  “You’re so wet for me,” he whispers as he drills his fingers in and out. He buries his face into me once more, covering me with his hot mouth, pressing his tongue against me as he sucks and drills and circles.

  I feel myself building, like this might actually rip me apart. I draw up my legs and bury my fingers in his hair, pulling his face into me as hard I can. Then, I let go, crying out as a warm streak of wet lightning races up my spine and buries itself in my belly, all the muscles in my body tense and on fire. The spasms go on and on as he flattens his marvelous tongue against me, pressing and pushing, until finally, they ebb and I relax back into the cool sheets, breathless and dizzy.

  “Oh my God,” I pant.

  “Do you know how delicious you are, sweetheart?” He crawls slowly up my body, pressing kisses into my stomach and dragging his tongue to my breast. “How much I want you?”

  “Mm.” I moan as his tongue circles my nipple, tweaking it back and forth. “I want you inside me,” I beg, drawing up my knees and squeezing them tightly against his hips.

  He sucks noisily on my nipple. “Oh, and you shall have me,” he promises, and then sucks hard on my other nipple, his cock tapping impatiently against my entrance.

  I slide my hands up his muscular arms, winding them across his thickset shoulders, and I drag my nails across his back. He inhales sharply, flexing his hips, until the tip of his cock presses into me, eliciting a gasp from my lips. He pauses, straightening his arms and hovering over me, his dark, hooded eyes assessing me as he pushes himself in a little further.

  “Yes,” I encourage. “Yes.” And, he pushes a little further. I squeeze my eyes shut and moan as my fingers dig into his arms. He pushes a little further and then pauses.

  “More?”

  I open my clenched eyes and peek at him, wickedness playing on his lips as he stares down at me. “Oh, yes.” I nod emphatically. “Yes.”

  He closes his eyes as, slowly, he buries himself inside me, groaning and flexing and grinding.

  “Fuck,” he breathes as he drills at a soft, slow pace. “You. Feel. So. Good.”

  “Dan,” I moan, my pleasure intensifying once again.

  He sits up on his knees, looking down at me as he cups and squeezes my breasts, his rhythm paced and reserved. I arch my back, pressing my breasts harder against his warm palms.

  “Mm,” he moans and then reaches down to hook my legs in his arms. “Hang on, baby.”

  Hang on? To what?

  Suddenly, he pounds into me with an awesome force, fast and unrelenting. The headboard bangs against the wall, and I throw my hands above my head, bracing myself against it. I’m on the edge again, ready, gritting my teeth against the blissful wave that’s about to overwhelm me. It starts at the pads of my feet, hot and tingly, creeping up my legs to my core, swelling until it explodes, until I explode, crying out and convulsing around him.

  The pounding finally stops, and he grinds into me, his fingers pressing into my hips, pulling me against him as he finds his own blissful deliverance.

  “Fuck!” He squeezes his eyes closed, and I feel him as he detonates inside me, pumping and groaning. He presses and pumps and then finally pumps again, pushing every last drop inside me until he lets go of my legs and collapses on top of me.

  “My God,” he pants, his hot breath on my ear.

  “Tell me about it,” I pant back, trying to lift my heavy arms, dragging my hands up his waist to rest on his back.

  Suddenly, and definitely unexpectedly, Rufus begins to howl, and I jump about three feet off the bed.

  “What the he—” Dan sits up, pivoting his head toward Rufus. “What’s your problem?”

  Rufus barks in response and then sits down beside the bed, staring up at Dan and wagging his tail.

  “I think someone’s jealous.” I giggle.

  “Well, if I have to choose…” Dan lifts himself out of me and lies down beside me on the bed. “Then, I’m afraid Rufus is not going to be happy.”

  He props his head against his fist, resting on his elbow, and he looks down at me, a satisfied smile on his face as he draws little circles around my nipples with his finger.

  “I don’t think it’ll come to that.” I laugh, thoroughly enjoying the feel of him against my skin. “I’m just glad you’re taking him.”

  “I’m just glad you’re here.” He leans forward, softly kissing my breast. “At my house…” He kisses my nipple. “In my bed…” He kisses my other nipple. “In my arms.”

  He wraps his arm around me, pulling me to him, and he kisses me, stoking the fire once again.

  Somewhere on the floor beneath us, Dan’s phone rings.

  “Well, shit,” he mumbles, obviously not pleased by the distraction. “Where’s my pants?”

  He hops off the bed and starts poking around at the stray clothes on the floor until he finds them.

  “Yeah. Cole,” he says in a curt, but professional tone.

  I find it very sexy as I watch him being all “cop-like.” He stands there in the middle of the room with his phone, totally naked and with unwavering confidence. Of course, it’s easy to see why. His tall, lean body is so well-defined, gorgeous. There’s not an ounce of fat or flab anywhere on it that I can see. Even his ass has muscles. I pinch my muffin top and grimace. What in the hell could he possibly see in me?

  I can hear the loud, high-pitched voice of the man on the other end of the phone. I can’t make out what he’s saying, but he’s talking fast, excited.

  “What? Wait. Slow down and say that again.” Suddenly, he looks anxious, angry, upset even. “Bullshit. I’ll be right there.”

  Uh-oh. I sit up on the edge of th
e bed, reaching for my underwear as he stares at the wall in front of him, somber, saying nothing. “Um… Is everything okay?”

  “No,” he replies. “No, it isn’t.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “They can’t do that!” I argue.

  “I’m afraid they can.” Dan’s knuckles are almost white as he grips the steering wheel.

  “But, the bodies… You found the bodies. He did it. They were right there!”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does matter. I don’t understand, Dan. How could they let him go?”

  “Because I fucked up,” he snaps.

  I stare at him, blinking, and then turn my head to look out my window.

  He sighs. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap.” He reaches over the console and places his hand on my leg, stroking me gently. “But I did. I fucked up.”

  I shake my head. “No, you didn’t. You found them. No one else would have. It’s been what? Thirty years? No one else found Juliet. You did.”

  He stares ahead silently.

  “You promised that little girl’s parents you would find their daughter, and you did that, too. You did exactly what you said you would do.”

  “I was stupid,” he says. “And their killer’s going to walk because of it.”

  “I don’t understand how they can ignore two bodies.”

  “Search warrants are very specific. I had a warrant to break up and dig beneath the sidewalk leading up to his house. I did not have a warrant allowing me to dig up the floor of the toolshed, which is where we actually found them, both of them. They were beneath the new cement floor of his toolshed.”

  “That’s insane. You can’t try him at all?”

  “Sure, without the bodies. Good luck getting a conviction without those.”

  I sigh and stare quietly out my window. This isn’t at all how I imagined our evening ending.

  We pull into my driveway, and he shuts off the truck, stepping out without saying a word and walking around to my door. With a fake smile, he helps me out, then pulls me to him, squeezing me gently and lightly kissing my hair.