Laurie fought the urge to hang her head. Unfortunately, he was right and telling her aunt the truth would be difficult. It would require more explaining than she wanted to engage in tonight. She pegged Royce with a hopefully heartfelt expression. “Please call her. Tell her I’m okay at least.”
He snagged his radio off the belt. “Dispatch, this is Kinston. Call Fiona Miles and tell her I found her niece, Laurie, along the side of state road one forty three sporting a flat tire and a dead cell phone. We’re on our way back now.”
“Roger that, Royce,” a barely understandable voice squawked back.
He secured the radio back on his belt and turned to Laurie. “We’ll keep this motel incident just between the two of us.”
Colin cleared his throat. “Make that the three of us and you’re still going to pay for this door.”
Royce turned his head and glared at Colin. “I guess it would be a waste of breath to tell you to stay away from her.”
From the doorway Colin nodded once. “You got that right.”
Laurie was ready to go but her car was trapped in the parking space until Royce moved his car. She crossed her arms wanting some answers. “Tell me, how did you know I was here if you didn’t follow me?”
Royce sighed deeply and eyed the ground. “I didn’t follow you this time. But I did follow you the last time he was here. When I got the call from your aunt, I played a hunch.” The disappointment in his tone set her on edge. She hated that he thought he was allowed any explanation of her affairs, but since he’d just told a whopper of a lie to appease her aunt, she had little to say for now.
“Please move your car so I can go.”
Colin didn’t say anything else, but he watched her from the doorway until she left the parking lot. She couldn’t read his blank expression, but perhaps she had disappointed him.
Silent tears slid down her face as she headed for home with Royce’s cruiser hot on her bumper the whole way as if she might make a desperate attempt to flee his jurisdiction.
Royce’s lame account about finding her alongside the road with a flat tire was the concocted story they repeated to her aunt again once he escorted her home.
It was no secret that Royce also wanted her undying loyalty for doing so. She wasn’t inclined to give it to him since he’d humiliated her so thoroughly at the motel.
Guilt-ridden over worrying her aunt, Laurie spent an hour consoling her and promising endlessly to be more careful in the future about keeping her cell phone charged up. An hour before dawn she climbed into bed. Alone.
During the entire trip from Millbrook to Montgomery, Laurie had thought of nothing else other than Colin’s wounded expression when she’d left. Certainly he’d been angry that Royce had burst in wielding a gun like a rogue cop in an action movie. She was touched by his disappointment that she had to leave.
Torn between her growing love for Colin and the need to keep him quiet from her aunt, Laurie wondered what her future love life held. Would she forever have to sneak off to cheap motels to have one? Royce was too involved either way, but she didn’t have a choice at the moment.
Lust had made her life complicated but her lovesick heart suffered the most from tonight’s fiasco.
* * * *
Much later, Colin slipped under the covers alone. He couldn’t get back to sleep. Laurie’s scent permeated the sheets and he spent the rest of the darkness sporting a hard on that throbbed with every breath he took. He fell into a troubled slumber around dawn and stayed in bed late the next morning to compensate for the lost sleep.
After a late breakfast in bed, that he wished he were sharing with Laurie, he headed to the Millbrook Police station for a visit with his cousin, Billy.
Entering the front door of the building, he made his way to the stairwell leading to the second floor. He paused briefly on the step where he’d first made Laurie’s acquaintance. He shook off the memory as it only made him melancholy and sent up a silent prayer that he’d be able to continue their secret relationship. Laurie was his last best chance for any kind of relationship with either of them for the time being. He didn’t want Laurie to end things today when he meet her.
Her other personality, Rachel, crossed his mind on the clandestine drive. Did she have a different address? Surely not.
Colin shook off his memories from the night before and climbed the stairs. He headed towards his cousin’s office to see if his favorite relative was in residence. From the door, he saw Billy Hubbard sat at his untidy paper-strewn desk in the center of a room full of other detectives and their messy desks.
He strolled across the room unseen and slid into the chair parked in front of his cousin’s desk. “Hey Billy. Are you busy?”
Billy’s head shot up in obvious surprise. “Colin? Damn, are you back here again? You must have a woman tucked away somewhere. I know you don’t keep coming back here to see little ole me.”
Colin grinned and shrugged. “You underrate yourself.”
“Oh yeah?” His eyebrows went up. “Then let’s go out drinking tonight.”
Colin shook his head and laughed. “Sorry, dude, no can do. I got a hot date with my secret woman tonight.”
“Ah ha.” Billy stood when he did and punched his arm. They shook hands over his desk. “What’s her name and does she have a semi-attractive sister? Hell, I’d settle for an ugly one.” Billy’s laughter rolled across the room.
Colin paused as Rachel popped into his mind but shook his head. “Sorry. She’s an only child. You’ll have to find your own ugly date.”
“Damn it. Why are you here, besides to torture me?”
“I have a favor to ask.”
Billy threw his pencil down onto a pile of paper. “Of course you do.”
“It’s simple. I just want to look into a possible homicide from a few months ago.”
Billy’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Why? Do you have new information on one of my cases?”
“No. It’s probably nothing. I just want to get some facts straight before I investigate further.” Colin hedged.
Billy’s eyebrows went straight up towards his receding hairline. “Are you going to pull federal jurisdiction on me?”
“Nope. This is totally informal. Just for me. Cousin to cousin.”
Billy shrugged. “Okay.”
Together they looked up the newspaper account of the man Laurie might have dreamt about killing. Colin remembered the exact date because it was the day before he’d left for Columbia.
He made a few notes about the case and kicked Billy off his computer and logged into his government account to check on any overlap of federal cases.
An interesting note popped up after peeling back a few layers of security. There was no title on the file. A classified, numbered only case file came up on a short list. Colin knew it was top secret by the sequence of numbers assigned and he had a hunch it was assigned to a certain group headed by Paul Kelly, director of the Protocol Agency and Rachel’s boss.
If Rachel had been involved in the case, and he suspected she had, then her memories were showing up in Laurie’s dreams. He wondered if that tidbit of information would have an impact on the enforced restraining order they’d saddled him with regarding Rachel.
Laurie reciting her dream of him licking her while handcuffed to a bed had shocked him. She thought it was a product of her own imagination after meeting him at the police station.
Colin mentally rubbed his hands together. He couldn’t wait for the next opportunity to work with the Protocol Agency. He’d ask a few pertinent questions when Mr. Kelly wasn’t expecting it. The mystery surrounding Rachel and the Protocol Agency intrigued him.
If he didn’t fear more nosebleeds and headaches, he’d ask Rachel about the case. Although if he asked Rachel about a case she remembered from that personality, she shouldn’t have any problem. Unless he had to explain how he knew about it from her other personality’s bad dreams.
Rolling his shoulders slowly, he shook his head and wondered
how far into this Twilight Zone episode he’d be willing to go. Given how attached he’d already become to the both of them, he figured he’d go quite a ways into uncharted territory.
Colin had followed Royce and Laurie back to Montgomery the night before. He knew where she lived, but he hadn’t stuck around very long for fear of being caught spying. There was a sense of peace in knowing her permanent address, just in case.
Beyond Rachel’s already apparent jealousy, he knew he needed to be cautious about asking her anything regarding Alabama and Laurie’s life. While it had been okay to talk with her about Columbia, it was bad news to mention the pubic library in Montgomery. And he could talk about Alabama with Laurie, but not Las Vegas or Columbia.
Flexing the muscles in his shoulders again from sudden tension, he wondered why any sane man would invite such stress by trying to live two separate lives with two different women.
Crazy.
He logged out of Billy’s computer and considered his options. He’d think long and hard before asking either Rachel or Laurie anything specific. The eerie nature of his relationship with each woman made him feel slightly guilty. Like he was cheating.
Colin had always been a one woman at a time kind of guy. Most of his past relationships had been very short due to the erratic nature of his line of work. Disappearing for long periods of time without a word was not conducive to permanent relationships.
Rachel and Laurie each represented aspects of what he considered his perfect woman. Rachel was ambitious, talented, outgoing and sexually adventurous. Plus, she was fun to work with and understood his job obligations because she, too, was a spy ensconced in his convoluted world of secrets. Meanwhile Laurie was shy, slightly innocent about sex, and readily available for welcome home reunions courtesy of her loving arms. He’d never considered giving up his career for a home life before, but Laurie made the idea more and more appealing.
Most amazing of all, technically they happened to be sharing the same body. So why did he feel like a cheater?
Strolling back into the room, Billy approached the computer desk where Colin sat pondering life and asked, “So, did you find what you were looking for?”
Colin closed the computer down. “Yeah. Thanks. Are you free for lunch?” he asked and stood to stretch.
Billy grinned. “I am if you’re buying.”
“Fine. Let’s go.” Colin wished he had someone to confide in about his unusual relationship troubles.
While he loved his cousin, Billy wasn’t the kind of guy he could share this dual personality sort of information with. Billy would think it was great. Redneck mentality. Two for the price of one is a good deal. Billy would probably applaud or slap him on the back and say, ‘good job, dude’.
Colin was very attracted to both women. It shouldn’t be such a problem that they shared the same body.
“Are you sure your secret hot woman doesn’t have a sister or a cousin?”
He sighed. “Positive.” She just has multiple personalities.
* * * *
“Hands in the air, sweetheart.” Colin’s voice called across the entrance lobby of the library. “I’ve come to take you in.”
Laurie sat at the circulation desk minutes before closing. She paused her card-stamping task to see a grinning Colin approaching the desk. “Where will you take me?” She smiled and played along.
“Anywhere I can get you to go.”
She glanced over his shoulder to ensure they were alone. The library was already empty of patrons tonight. “So did you find anything out?”
“Yep.” He gave her a mischievous smile. “I’ll tell you everything you want to know, for a kiss.”
Tilting her head to one side, she pretended to ponder his demand. “Fine. I guess a kiss isn’t too high a price to pay.”
Colin leaned forward and rested his arms on the desk. He sent her a soulful look. “Everything turn out okay last night once you got home?”
She nodded. For the most part it was all okay. Her aunt was still concerned, but she hadn’t mentioned it this morning. Laurie wasn’t sure what Royce might demand to remain silent. He’d followed her all the way to her house and even accompanied her to her aunt’s porch. She didn’t dwell on his whispered demand. He wanted future time alone for a discussion. She had ignored the request as they’d approached her house the night before. She didn’t mention Royce’s intimations to Colin.
“Tell me about the murdered man.”
“According to my source, the going theory is that the guy stayed late to embezzle funds from the company he worked for and under the duress of imminent discovery, he may have simply killed himself.”
Laurie frowned. “Are you sure? Why did the paper say homicide?” The dream had faded from her memory after time, but suicide had never even crossed her mind based on the newspaper account.
He shrugged. “In undetermined cases of suicide the investigation is often handled by homicide until relevant facts are made clear. I know they never questioned any suspects. It’s not an active case any longer so either way, I’d say you’re safe.”
“And the homicide detective didn’t remember me?”
Colin smiled. “He didn’t take your confession seriously since you told him you dreamt it. You didn’t end up in the report that’s on file.”
Laurie closed her eyes and sighed deeply in relief. “Thank you. I appreciate your checking on it.”
“No problem,” he grinned, “But you still owe me a kiss.”
“Do you want this kiss right now?”
“Depends.”
“On?”
“Whether I’d get a better reward for my eager willingness to wait until after closing time.”
She glanced at her watch. “That’s not for five more minutes.”
“Will the world stop spinning on its axis if you lock the doors early?”
She giggled. “Probably.”
“Are you going to lock us inside and do wild things to me in the employee’s break room?”
Laurie felt heat rush into her cheeks. There was a leather sofa and a dinette set in the employee’s lounge next to the vending machines. A split visual of using either or both for sex slid into her wicked mind. “You’ve corrupted me,” she whispered before realizing she spoke out loud.
“Regrets?”
She smiled. “None.”
“Lock up. Come on.” He grinned wolfishly. “Let’s take a break.”
“Four minutes.” She’d make him wait until closing time. He came up behind her and clasped his arms around her waist and proceeded to do his best to persuade her to close early.
Kissing the back of her neck, he teased her endlessly with whispered suggestions of what he’d do once they were alone until she locked the doors at just under a minute until the hour.
Laurie led him to the back of the library where the modest break room was tucked away. She could get away with perhaps a fifteen-minute interlude before she’d need to head home without incurring a call to the police station about her whereabouts.
Colin went straight to the sofa and sat on the middle cushion. He motioned her with one hand.
Hands on hips, she lifted a single eyebrow. “You’re getting awfully comfortable. I only owe you a single kiss.”
He grinned. “I just want you to be comfortable, darlin’. Come here and sit on my lap,” he beckoned.
Laurie strolled over to the sofa and stood a moment as if trying to decide the best course of action. In one fluid move, she lifted a knee and slid it along his outer thigh until they were connected intimately chest to chest. Lifting the hem of her skirt to accommodate the move, she lowered herself to straddle his lap as he’d requested. She dropped her skirt and slid her hands along his chest. His shocked expression told her she’d managed to pull off a bold move for once.
Taking his face in her hands she planted her lips on his and dipped her tongue into his mouth. His growl at her invasion moistened her core. Slipping his arms tightly around her torso, he devoured her mout
h until she felt something hard growing beneath her.
The thought that she had such an effect on him excited her. She’d agonized all day over leaving him the night before, afraid she’d never see him again. As his erection grew between them, she vibrated with renewed longing. She ground her clit against his rigid cock and a moan escaped her throat at the electric sensation of the connection. A few more rubs and she’d easily go over the edge of blissful orgasm.
Colin slipped a hand between their bodies to caress her breast. She pressed her hips forward to pleasure herself against his staff. He thumbed her hardening nipple and another rush of wetness centered between her legs. Did she have enough courage to initiate a sexual encounter in the library’s break room?
Laurie throbbed from mouth to core with impatient need. Operating under the assumption that each time with Colin was precious and might not be repeated, she made her decision. She wanted sex. She slipped her hands down to his belt and unfastened it. The button popped open on his fly before he disengaged from her lips.
“Are you going to ravish me right here in the break room?”
She giggled. “Are you going to stop me?”
He tilted his head back and laughed out loud. “Not likely.”
Hands securely fastened to her hips, he pulled her close against the bulge straining his pants. “Feel that?”
She nodded.
“You do that to me every single time I see you.”
For her response, Laurie rolled her hips to rub against his cock. She was on the verge of climax.
“You’re beautiful, even more so when you’re about to come. Let me help.” Never breaking the intense gaze they shared, he slid a hand beneath her skirt. He skimmed along her bare thigh and soon dipped under the elastic edge of her wet panties. She rose to balance on her knees giving him easier access. His fingertip niggled across her clit once before disappearing inside her body. She hissed in a breath as he stroked a particularly sensitive spot deeply.
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