Shane found it hard to concentrate on the road. She’d never seen Haley this happy, and all she wanted to do was watch her.
“Do you want to drive?” Shane found herself asking as she slowed for a stop sign at an intersection. She’d never let anyone drive her car, so she had no idea why she was offering all of a sudden.
“The only stick I’ve ever driven was my father’s old farm truck, but it was three on the tree.”
“Four on the floor isn’t so bad. I’ll show you, if you want.”
“Hell yeah,” Haley said with a huge grin.
Shane drove for another mile, then pulled off onto a side road that led to an open, empty parking lot. She turned the car off and looked over at Haley. “The gears are very simple. First is up; second is down; third is up and over to the right; fourth is straight down. They are tight, but as long as you’re not hotrodding it, you’ll be fine. The clutch is a little stiff, so be careful not to pop it.”
Haley bit her lower lip, which made Shane want to kiss that tender spot when she opened her mouth to speak. “Are you sure about this? I don’t want to mess anything up.”
“It’s fine. Come on,” Shane said, getting out to walk around the car.
Haley got out and stepped around to the driver’s seat. She had to move it up two clicks to be able to push the clutch all the way down. After going through the gears with the car off, she pushed the clutch in one more time and fired up the engine. Feeling the power of the small block V8 engine was exhilarating and frightening at the same time. Shane waited patiently, watching her chest rise and fall with each nervous breath, until Haley confidently shifted into first gear and let off the clutch. The car lurched forward quicker than she’d expected, but she quickly got control as she shifted into second and raced around the outer lane of the parking lot. She didn’t dare take it out onto the main road. She’d never handled anything like this, and as much fun as it was, she didn’t trust herself to remember what to do with the gears and the pedals and everything else if something happened.
After a few minutes of joyriding, Haley brought the car to a stop in a parking space that Shane had pointed out to her. Then, she cut the engine off. “Holy shit,” she mumbled.
Shane laughed. “Better than sex?”
“Maybe.” Haley grinned and raised a brow, playfully biting her lower lip again.
“Come on,” Shane said, getting out of the car.
Haley followed, handing her the keys as they started down a path that led into the woods. “Where are we going?”
“To watch the sunset. I read that Radnor Lake was one of the best places to see it.”
“Oh, really. When did you look this up?”
“A week or so ago.”
Haley nodded and continued down the quarter mile trail, which eventually opened up into a beautiful lake. “This is gorgeous,” she whispered, walking down to the water.
Shane leaned against the side of a nearby picnic table and scanned their surroundings. She knew there was another parking lot on the opposite side, but no one was around. The sun was only a few minutes from setting, so they’d caught it with perfect timing. Bright orange, pink, and purple hues filled the sky.
“I feel so free,” Haley called, holding her arms out to her sides. She lifted her face to the sun and closed her eyes. She hadn’t realized how much weight she’d been carrying around until it was lifted away the minute she found out the letter writer was dead.
Opening her eyes, she walked up to Shane and wrapped her arms around her. “Thank you,” she whispered. “For everything.”
“I was only doing my job.”
Haley shook her head. “You did a lot more, and we both know it.” Letting go, she turned around and grabbed Shane’s hands, wrapping her arms around her as she stepped back against her. “I’m going to miss you,” she said softly, mostly to herself.
“I know. Me too,” Shane murmured, placing her cheek against the side of Haley’s head.
Together, they watched the sun paint the sky until it was no longer visible.
***
Headlights danced on the asphalt in the dark as the car drove along the back country roads. The top was still down, giving way to the diamonds of the night, sparking above them in the sky. The drive back to the house took a little longer with Shane obeying the rules of the road. The last thing she wanted to do was hit a deer or run off the road in the dark and total her car. Both women stayed silent, and the radio was off. Shane had turned on the radio, but Haley wanted to listen to what she referred to as the sounds of the night. Shane couldn’t see her face well in the dark, but she assumed her smile had faded away. Her mind shifted to saying goodbye. When she’d first met Haley, she couldn’t wait to end the case and be rid of her. Now, she had no idea how she was going to drive away in the morning and not turn the car around.
The iron gate swung open as they neared the house. Haley had obviously pushed the button on her keychain as soon as they were close enough. Shane pulled through the gate and continued up the long, winding driveway. Haley went to push the button to open the garage, but Shane stopped her.
“I’m leaving in the morning anyway. It’ll be fine,” she said as she pulled to a stop and turned off the engine.
Haley nodded, but didn’t say anything as she got out.
Shane watched her walk away as she pulled the top up. Haley was difficult to read. However, she’d gotten pretty good at it over the past month and a half, and the look she saw was full of emotion.
Glancing up at the star-filled sky, Shane let out a deep breath. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen when she entered that house. Part of her wanted to get back in the car and drive until she was back in Memphis. Part of her wanted to comfort Haley and take away her pain. No matter what she did, this was it. This was goodbye. For weeks on end Shane had wished and hoped to say goodbye and never look back. Now, she wasn’t sure she could say the words at all.
***
Haley was leaning against the kitchen island, staring her way when Shane finally walked into the house. Shane swallowed the lump in her throat. So, this is it. This is where we’re parting ways.
“I wasn’t sure how early you were leaving,” Haley said. “So…I figured I should probably say goodbye tonight,” she added, pushing off the counter.
Shane nodded, holding her breath as she moved closer, slowly closing the distance between them.
“I wish I could forget the past month and a half and only remember you,” she whispered, putting her arms around Shane’s neck in a warm embrace.
“Me too,” Shane murmured, wrapping her arms around Haley’s waist as she inhaled the scent of her hair. Knowing this was the last time she would ever see Haley or be this close to her, Shane leaned back, locking eyes with her. A second passed before their lips came together in an agonizingly slow, but incredibly passionate kiss. They stared breathlessly at one another as their lips gradually pulled apart.
Haley ran her hands down Shane’s arms as she stepped back, breaking the connection between their bodies. As her right hand came in contact with Shane’s left, she grabbed a hold of it and turned, leading her by the hand as they walked across the house and up the stairs. Coming to a stop in her bedroom, Haley faced Shane once again. Letting go of her hand, she reached for the tail of Shane’s shirt and pulled it up over her head, along with her soft cotton sports bra, revealing the strong upper body that was burned into her memory from taking care of Shane’s wounds a week earlier.
Shane tried to speak, but words failed her as the back of Haley’s fingers grazed her stomach when she unbuttoned her jeans. Knowing exactly what she was doing and forgetting all of the reasons why she should stop, Shane pulled Haley’s t-shirt over her head, tossing it back behind her. A pair of perky round breasts bounced free when she released the clasp on the lacy nude-colored bra.
Light from the full moon poured in through the open vertical blinds, casting the room in a soft glow. Two shadows mi
micked their every move on the wall behind them as each woman ran her hands over the smooth, naked skin of the other. They’d had sex before, but had never taken the time to feel each other…until now.
Haley’s mouth watered as she took a half step back to look at Shane. She’d never seen anything sexier than the half-dressed woman standing in front of her in pale blue moonlight. She looked like a real-life Calvin Klein ad with her jeans open and the waistband of her underwear visible. Unable to resist the urge to touch her, Haley moved closer.
Shane held her breath and tilted her head back as Haley’s lips and tongue grazed her chest, tracing a path between her breasts and up to her neck. She kept her hands on Haley’s waist, more to steady herself than anything else.
Haley found her way to Shane’s mouth, claiming her lips in a breathless kiss as Shane’s hands moved beneath the waistband of her jeans, slowly inching them down. Haley followed, gradually sliding her hands down Shane’s body before pushing her jeans off her hips. Their lips parted long enough to remove the clothing hindering them, before coming back together in another heated kiss.
Shane wrapped her arms around Haley’s waist, closing the gap between them as their nude bodies came together. Carefully, she walked her backwards until the back of her legs came in contact with the bed a few feet away. Haley got up onto the bed, lying on her back in the center. Shane followed, running her mouth languidly up one thigh, then starting over with the other, carefully skirting the one place she wanted to taste the most. Casually moving further up, she traced a path over Haley’s flat stomach before suckling the erect pink nipples of her breasts…finally landing on her lips as she lay her body down on top of her.
Haley’s legs parted, allowing Shane to settle between them as their lips locked in a heated kiss. She ran her hands through Shane’s hair and raked her short nails down her back as her body hummed with energy fueled by desire.
Sensing Haley’s need to be touched, Shane ran her hand down between them, settling her fingers on the warm wet folds of her center. Haley’s breath hitched in her throat. She fought hard not to break the kiss as Shane’s fingers began slow, steady circles around her clit, inching agonizingly closer to slipping inside of her with each lazy pass. Unable to hold back any longer, Haley broke the kiss and rolled Shane over. Then, she sat up and straddled her. Long blonde waves of curls swayed along her back with some strands falling forward over her shoulder.
Shane stared up at her as she ran her hands along her thighs, up to her waist. Haley was beautiful, but she was breathtaking in the moonlight. Sitting up, Shane put one arm around Haley and pulled her close, pressing their breasts together while her other hand slipped between them, finding Haley’s warm wet clit once more.
Haley gasped and bit down on her lower lip as Shane’s fingers pushed inside of her. She wrapped her arms around Shane’s shoulders as their mouths came together in another searing kiss. Slowly, she began moving her hips up and down, sliding herself along Shane’s fingers, nearly freeing them before burying them deep inside once more. She was so close, but it felt so good, she never wanted it to end. In the back of her mind, through the thick fog of euphoria, she knew the end meant the end, and she was in no hurry to get there.
Shane let Haley control the pace, and by the feeling of the warm, wet muscles clenching her fingers, she knew it wouldn’t be long. She tried not to burn each second to memory, but it didn’t matter. She already knew this night was going to haunt her dreams until she forgot every last detail.
Haley tangled her fingers in Shane’s short hair, and Shane tilted her head back. The desire burning in Haley’s wild eyes nearly took her breath away. Shane tightened the arm draped loosely around Haley’s waist and rolled her to her back with Shane on top of her, and her fingers still buried deep inside of her. Haley gasped as Shane moved down her body, dragging her lips along her sensitive flesh until she settled between her legs. Shane’s eyes met Haley’s once more in the moonlight as her tongue snaked out, licking her swollen clit while her fingers thrust in and out of her.
A carnal cry escaped Haley’s lips as her spine arched. She reached down, grabbing Shane’s head and holding her mouth in place as she rode the wave of pleasure bursting from her body. The moonlit room faded to black as her eyes slammed shut and her body went limp from physical and mental overload. Shane waited half a minute before slowly freeing herself from the confines of Haley’s grasp and sliding up beside her.
Haley took an extra minute to catch her breath and clear the fuzz from her mind. Her green eyes opened and closed for a few seconds before lazily landing on the woman lying next to her. Slowly, she shifted to her side and reached out, tracing her finger over Shane’s cheekbone and along her jaw line, then back up to her lips before inching down her neck to her chest. Keeping her hand moving, she ran her finger between her breasts and over her taut stomach muscles, slowly taking in every inch of the amazing body next to her.
Shane’s senses were heightened like never before. Her body buzzed like a hot electrical wire. Sensing her need, Haley traced her path lower, running her finger down one thigh before moving back up to her throbbing center. Warm wet folds spread open as she slid her fingers through them. A soft moan escaped Shane’s lips, which Haley silenced with a kiss as she pushed her fingers inside. Shane’s hips rose, meeting each agonizingly slow thrust. Her heart pounded like a bass drum and her skin tingled like an addict at the highest of highs. Feeling like she was literally going to fly apart at any moment, she gripped the sheet beneath her, searching for anything to ground her.
Haley wanted her mouth on her, but there was no time. Shane had been ready to release before she’d even touched her. She picked up the pace, giving her what she wanted as she placed the pad of her thumb against Shane’s clit, rubbing it back and forth with each deep thrust of her fingers.
Shane’s lungs gasped for air as a powerful climax tore through her like a freight train, leaving a panting, limp body in its wake. It took a minute for her senses to calm and breathing to even out. She felt completely exhausted.
Haley stayed in her arms, listening to the sound of Shane’s heartbeat and soft, even breathing as she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 38
The soft cotton sheet slipped loosely over her smooth, tan skin as Haley stretched in her sleep. Long blond curls cascaded over her naked back. The staccato sound of rain pelting the window pulled her away from the confines of a sweet dream she’d never remember. She reached out, rubbing the cool sheet beside her before opening her eyes. A piece of paper dropped into her hand when she bumped the pillow it had been lying on.
What did you expect? She sighed, finally lifting her lids to the empty room. Rain poured down outside, streaking the windows and blurring her vision. The sun had tried to rise two hours early, but was stuck behind the heavy clouds. She placed the paper back on the pillow and stared at the ceiling. In time, she’d read it, but at that moment, she didn’t want to know what it said.
***
Shane downshifted and pumped the breaks as the traffic slowed to a crawl through the construction zone near her exit on the interstate. She’d been on the road for the last two and half hours, leaving the dark, dreary rain behind a while ago. She’d turn the radio on and off so many times in the last hour, she had a feeling she might break the knob. Every station was playing sappy sad songs, at least that’s how she was interpreting them. She knew she was a coward for not waking Haley when she left, but what was she supposed to say to her? They were wrong for each other on so many levels. Hell, they’d spent the better part of eight weeks hating one another. There was no way one night would be enough to change that. That last two weeks had certainly eased the tension between them, but Shane wouldn’t call it anything other than a working relationship. She couldn’t…because if she did, it would be real. She didn’t want it to be real. She wanted to forget all of it, especially the way Haley had looked, sleeping next to her as she gutlessly penned her a letter. That was an image her
brain would more than likely keep forever to haunt her dreams like the beating of a dead horse. However, she didn’t have to try hard for her mind to put her right back there, pen and paper in hand…even while driving down the interstate, she could see the words as she wrote them.
Haley,
Forgive me for leaving this letter. I couldn’t say goodbye to you, and truth be told, I still can’t. It didn’t take me long to realize I’d met my match in you. We played an antagonistic, and sometimes seductive, game of chess with one another over the past six weeks. I have to admit, I’m sorry to see it end, but this was a game that neither of us was going to win. I did my job; the letter writer is no longer a threat, and now it’s time to go back to our very different lives.
For last night…there are no words. At least, none that make sense to me in the moment. I’ll never forget you, that I do know.
Always,
Shane
The drive through Memphis took about half an hour, and once she reached her condo on the river, Shane pushed the button for the garage and parked her car. It felt so good to be back. She couldn’t really call it home. In fact, she hadn’t called anywhere home for some time now.
The smell inside wasn’t pungent or stale, but it definitely wasn’t the fresh country air she’d gotten used to. Shane opened the French doors to the balcony, letting the faint breeze blow in from the river while she walked over to the liquor cabinet and poured two fingers of her favorite bourbon over ice. Then, she stepped outside, taking a seat in one of the two chairs. Ice clinked against the edge of the glass as she took a long swig of the golden liquor.
The sun was high in the sky, and a few runners were jogging along the path that wound along the river. A tug boat chugged along, pushing a barge through the muddy Mississippi, and a small boat was anchored outside of the channel with two men fishing in it.
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