by Desiree Holt
“So it seems.”
“But they damn sure would make good candidates, the more I think of it. They have this arrogance about them that says everything belongs to them.” Then she sighed. “I’d like to think if it was one of them who attacked me, I’d have recognized him in some way. But to tell the truth, Alex, I was so frightened out of my mind I’m not sure anything would have registered anyway.”
He truly admired her for having made something of her life, even if she had closed herself off emotionally. And for having the guts to tell him about it the other night.
Micki Schroeder aroused feelings in him that went beyond primal sexual urges. At once he felt protective. For whatever reason, he wanted to be the one to show her that sex when it wasn’t forced could be beautiful and erotic and pleasurable. Too bad that wasn’t going to happen. He certainly couldn’t jump her bones in her family’s home, and the likelihood of them being alone in a conducive situation was slim to none.
Besides, this investigation took every minute of his time, despite the fact he had all three of his detectives working on it day and night. All of his well-trained senses told him Bill Schroeder’s death was tied to Holly Martino’s. And that meant a connection to the deaths of all those young girls over the years and the well-concealed history of rapes. Thinking about it all made him want to hit someone. But if he solved one, he was pretty damn sure he’d solve all the others.
A couple of questions plagued him every time he read through the reports. Had the individual rapists planned each attack in advance, targeting the daughter of whoever was hosting the party? And if Bill Schroeder was part of this evil group, had he known his daughter was a target, or had it been a spur of the moment thing for whoever was guilty? It seemed to Alex they would have had an unspoken agreement that their daughters were forbidden territory.
He had no real idea how many men were involved, but he knew they had to be friends, and friends of long standing. Like fraternity boys who made a stupid pact, they would swear each other to silence. And also, to leave all their daughters alone. But what if somehow, some way Bill Schroeder was part of this elite group from hell and had discovered the pact had been broken and his daughter attacked? Would he have been on a rampage? Want to expose the group even at his own risk?
Alex wondered if he could still get a copy of the guest list from the party where Holly had been attacked and compare it to the one at the Schroeders. No one knew Holly had brought him the torn panties with the infinitesimal amount of semen on it. He’d managed to grab Schroeder’s boxer briefs, dropped them in an evidence bag and driven them to Billings himself. He’d made sure the tech who would analyze them knew this was an extremely confidential situation and he was to contact no one but Alex with the results. And when Alex told him in great confidence what it was related to, he agreed without hesitation to put a rush on it. The story of Jeff Bartell and the series of rapes that covered several years was well known to every member of every branch of Montana law enforcement.
He hoped to have the results today or tomorrow.
Fucking damn was all he could say.
Well, he wasn’t getting anything done in the office except hurting his brain. His detectives had isolated five names of men identified as Bill Schroeder’s closest friends, and they matched the names Micki had given him. They were men Schroeder had graduated from Montana State with and partnered with on business deals. ’That was as good a place as any to start, to see if he could trip someone up about something. He’d discovered that police work was a lot like being in the SEALs—you defined the parameters of a mission, created a plan, worked it over until it was second nature, and then implemented it.
He had managed to interview three of them, and none of those meetings had produced a damn thing except to make him madder than ever. Okay, then. He’d grab some lunch then call and see if he could get some time with the other two men on his list.
But first he’d stop at his house and take Jeff Bartell’s reports out of his personal safe where he kept them, not sure they’d be secure in his office.
Gathering the files lying on the top of his desk, he shoved them into a drawer and locked it before buzzing his admin. Helene Carletta guarded his office like a lioness and was as essential to his success as any of his deputies or detectives.
“I’m heading out for a while,” he told her when she answered. “Doing some old-fashioned detective work.”
“Good luck with that,” she grunted. “I’ve got things under control here.”
He’d just bet she did.
He headed out to his sheriff’s department SUV in the back lot, and in seconds was on the way to the house he was renting outside of the small town.
This is a sign I should have stayed home and tried to be useful, as unpleasant as it might be.
Micki leaned on the steering wheel of her rental car and swallowed tears of frustration. There were a lot of things she could do, but hauling her car out of a ditch wasn’t one of them. Served her right for not paying attention when two moose had leapt from a thicket of trees and raced across the road. The only way to avoid hitting them was to yank the wheel to the right, but the gravel on the shoulder was soft, and she’d slid into the ditch next to it.
She’d been lucky the airbag hadn’t deployed. It was bad enough she’d banged her head on the steering wheel and jolted her shoulder. To make matters worse, she had no cell reception, so she couldn’t even call a towing service. What good was having a membership if you couldn’t get hold of anyone.
Well, it was her own damn fault she’d ended up out here in the middle of nowhere, isolated from all help. She was well aware, even as little as she was home, that a lot of people around here carried signal boosters in their vehicles for situations like this.
Al she’d wanted to do was clear her head. As big as the house was, she’d felt suffocated. The housekeeper kept trying to feed her, and her mother was in full drama queen mode. Lucky Jason had escaped to go to the funeral home. She probably should have gone with him, but all she wanted with the funeral was for it to be over. She had never been as close to her father as Jason was. There had always been some invisible barrier between them that she never understood.
She’d tried hiding on the sun porch and reading but was unable to concentrate. Then she attempted to talk to the housekeeper about the refreshments for the people who would be coming back to the ranch after the funeral, only to be told her mother had already taken care of that. Just sitting around didn’t help, especially when all she could think of was the sexy sheriff, wondering what it was about this man that appealed to her when no other man ever had. It was as if all her hormones had received a sudden huge jolt of electricity and now would not quiet down.
She wondered what it would be like to have his hands on her, stroking and caressing. His mouth on her lips. Her neck, her breasts. And holy hell, hadn’t that given her a hot flash. She never, ever had sexual fantasies. About anyone. But deep inside, where all her secrets lived, she had this persistent feeling that if, somehow, they ever made love, it would wipe away the nightmare that had gripped her for all these years and show her what it could really be like.
Yeah, that wasn’t happening. He was busy with his investigation, and she would be leaving before too long. Figured. She’d finally found a man who she knew could vanquish her nightmares, and the chances of them getting together were worse than slim to none.
She was so busy feeling sorry for herself and trying to figure out what to do that a knock on the window jolted her upright. She was stunned to see Sheriff Alex Rossi himself standing outside her car. He motioned for her to lower the window, so she turned on the ignition and hit the button.
“Didn’t mean to scare you.” His warm, deep voice poured over her like melted butter. “Seems like you might need some help getting out of that ditch.”
Her laugh was tinged with hysteria. No kidding. Got any suggestions?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.” He pointed straight ahead. “I live
a little way down this road from here, and I’ve got a big pickup with tow chains.”
“Oh my god.” How lucky could she get? “This may not be your lucky day, but it sure is mine.”
“Let’s get you out of here then we’ll take care of your car. Why don’t you unlock your door so I can get you out of here.”
But it took a little more than popping the lock. The car was tilted on its side, so when Alex reached in to help her, he ended up having to lift her out in his arms. He felt so solid and strong against her, the hard-muscled chest, the flex of muscles in his arms, the touch of his chin against her forehead. And holy hell, did he smell good. Better than any man she’d ever gotten this close to.
Was she dreaming all this? Had her imagination conjured it up because she was so desperate for…something?
She wanted to tell him she could walk but it felt so good to have him hold her this way, she let him carry her to his vehicle. For whatever reason, even though with every other man she’d had to work to conquer her fear of intimacy, even touching, with Alex Rossi she not only felt safe but craved it. Maybe with everything that happened she was losing her mind.
He opened the passenger door of his sheriff’s department SUV and slid her onto the seat, even fastening the seat belt for her.
A giddy little laugh slipped out. “I’m not a cripple, you know. I can belt myself in.”
“I know.” His face was so close to hers, she could count his eyelashes. “Maybe I just like having my arms around you.”
Then, so fast she wondered if she’d imagined it, he stood back and closed the door. The moment he was in the driver’s seat again, he cranked the engine and pulled out onto the road.
“Your car will be fine there,” he assured her. “Everyone knows I live less than half a mile from here, so this isn’t a place they’d want to commit a crime. How’d you end up like that, anyway?”
So she told him about the moose, and that led to discussing the wildlife in the area, and it was as if their fleeting moment of intimacy hadn’t even happened. Before they could even finish their conversation, he pulled onto a long driveway that led up to a two-story log house with a gabled roof. Sunlight filtered through the lodgepole pines surrounding it and dappled what passed for grass. Two long windows on either side of the front door caught the sun’s rays and reflected them back, casting a golden glow over everything. The scene was enough to steal Micki’s breath.
“Alex!” She couldn’t stop staring. “This is gorgeous. How lucky you were to find this place.”
He nodded. “No kidding. Hank Patterson was actually the one who turned me on to it. Problem was, I didn’t want to buy it until I was sure I’d be staying here for more than a minute and a half. Lucky for me, the owner was willing to rent to own. I have a year to make up my mind.”
“Oh my god.” He had helped her out of the vehicle by now. “It’s incredible.” She glanced up at him. “I know you’ve only been here a month, but how is it looking so far?”
“I could do a lot worse,” he admitted. “Come on. Let’s get my truck and tow chain and haul your car onto the road.”
Micki was amazed at how easy he made it look. He did all the work. All she had to do was sit in her car and maneuver the steering wheel until she was back on the road. He left his truck idling while he came over to the driver’s side of her car.
“Thank you so much for the help,” she told him. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come along.”
“Better get one of those signal boosters to carry with you. Although, I guess you aren’t planning to be around long after the funeral.”
She started to agree with him, but something stopped her. Would she be leaving? What did she have to stay around for? A sexy sheriff who probably thought she was an emotional mess and a pain in the ass?
“I’m not sure yet,” she heard herself say. “Jason wants me to call my office and tell them I’ll be here a little longer. We don’t even know yet what’s what with the estate. Well. I guess I’ll get going.”
“Where exactly were you headed?”
She shrugged. “No place, really. Just out for a drive and to get away from the house.”
“I’d feel a lot better if you followed me back to my place and took a few minutes for a cup of coffee to settle your nerves. You may not think this was a big deal, but it was enough to shake you up.”
Micki looked up at him, trying to read the expression on his face. He had his sunglasses on now, effectively masking his feelings. Was she brave enough to be alone with him? Was this a signal to her? And would she ever stop thinking things to death?
She smiled up at him. “If you’re sure it’s no trouble, I’d love a cup of coffee. Maybe two.”
When his mouth curved in an answering smile something giddy raced through her.
“Then let’s do it.”
Back at his house he motioned for her to pull in beside him and park then as, if it was the most natural thing, took her hand to lead her up the few steps to the front door. It startled her that his touch did not frighten her. He tugged her in through the open door, and she gasped at the sight. The interior of the house was also all wood, but highly polished, with plank floors and log walls. Woven rugs brought in splashes of color, and Micki bet Sadie Patterson had a hand in that.
A comfortable couch and big arm chairs faced a fireplace, over which hung a wide-screen television. Beyond that was a dining room table with eight chairs and an open kitchen. A staircase against one wall led to the upper floor that looked down onto the main rooms. Micki was mesmerized.
“I take it you approve?” Alex chuckled, watching her.
“In spades. Lordy, Alex. This is a real treasure.”
He nodded. “I know. I might have to stay simply because I can’t leave the house. Come on. Let’s get you some coffee.”
A single-serve coffee machine sat in the counter in the kitchen area.
“This is one of the best inventions ever created,” he told her.
“I totally agree.” She was standing right next to him.
“So, what’s your pleasure?” He looked down at her, a strange expression in his eyes.
She opened her mouth to say something, but all she could do was stare at him and wonder what his lips would feel like on hers. In all her life, she’d never felt this way. For the first time she was close to a man without feeling any fear, and hungry for the touch and taste of him.
By the look in his eyes he was equally as affected, and the air between them hummed with intense sexual need and hinger.
“Micki.” He deep voice vibrated through her. “If you keep looking at me like that, we might not get to the coffee, and I might do something we’ll both be sorry for.”
“I won’t be sorry,” she whispered.
“Are you sure, Micki? The last thing I want to do is make things worse for you.”
“You can’t possibly make them worse.” She let out a breath. “In fact, I’m hoping you’ll make them better.”
“Okay, then.” He cupped her cheeks in his warm hands, lowered his head, and touched his mouth to hers.
For a fraction of a second she froze, and so did Alex. Then she tilted her head up to him and let herself fall into the kiss.
Chapter 6
God!
Her mouth was so sweet and warm, her lips so soft, like velvet. The moment his mouth touched hers, his cock came to painful attention, doing its best to push its way out of his pants. He cradled her cheeks in his hands, loving the silky feel of her skin, and ran his tongue over the seam of her mouth. She opened for him, and he slid in, heat flashing over him at the first taste of her. He was shocked when she gently closed her teeth over his tongue and treated it to a series of gentle bites. Fire stabbed through him, straight to his groin, and made his already painfully hard cock throb with need.
And that need took right over.
He thrust his fingers through her hair to hold her head in place and plundered her mouth. That was the only wor
d for it. He licked every bit of that warm cavern, tasting her, coaxing her tongue to dance with his. She tasted like seven kinds of sin, the warmth and electricity of her coursing through his body. The soft mounds of her breast pressed against his chest, and he wished he’d worn something besides his uniform shirt. The rigid fabric made it difficult for him to feel anything but the outline of that tempting flesh.
He eased one hand down her back and slid it to her front, tugging her T-shirt from her jeans and easing his hand up over her rib cage to cup one breast in his palm. When he gave it a gentle squeeze, a soft moan whimpered from her mouth. Beneath the thin satin of her bra, he felt the hard bud of her nipple and squeezed it, eliciting another delicious sound.
Tearing his mouth from hers, he trailed his lips along her jawline and down her neck, pausing only to nibble her earlobe. Another delicious sound rippled from her. His cock by now was so hard he was afraid if he bumped into anything it would break.
Micki slid her hands down his back and over his butt, squeezing the cheeks in a rhythmic movement. He turned, leaning against the counter, and pressed her body to his so he could feel the full length of her. Easing one leg between her thighs, he cupped her ass to bring her mound into full contact, moving his leg against it. He could feel the heat of her pussy even through both his clothing and hers. She was—
Fuck!
Suddenly it hit him what he was doing. This wasn’t one of his usual women, sexually experienced and giving as good as he gave. This was a woman who had been viciously raped as a teenager and never fully recovered from it. He assumed from things she’d said that her previous attempts had been less than fulfilling and had done nothing to erase her fear of it.
Gathering every bit of his self-control, he wrapped his fingers around her arms and slid her away from his body.
“Huh? What—” She looked up at him, bewildered. “What’s wrong?”
He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, willing his body under control. When he was sure he could speak intelligently, he cupped her face again and looked directly into her eyes.