How Far Will You Go?

by Barbara Baldwin

  As the song ended and the audience erupted in applause, Kelly finally sucked in a breath. Her head spun, her pulse raced and when she looked, her fingers trembled on the empty beer bottle. Did he love her, like the song implied? Had the proposal he made earlier not been in jest? Kelly was scared to death to find out because she knew her heart would break if he had just been singing the words.

  She needed another drink. Without asking anyone else, she headed for the bar. She pulled a five from the built in bra in her halter dress and handed it to the bartender who grinned and opened his mouth to speak but a dark voice whispered in her ear instead.

  "Can I put your change away?"

  Her knees buckled.

  A warm hand circled her waist and pulled her against a hard hip and muscled chest. A chest she had mapped with her hands and knew every dip and curve of.

  "Hey.” The word came out a breathy whisper. What was it about Lou that turned her on so quickly? Well, besides the obvious. She admitted that he was handsome, but he hadn't even been that cute in high school and she had still fallen for him.

  "You okay?” he asked.

  There it was. Those simple words that spoke of his concern and caring and she knew that was just one of the things that made Lou so special.

  "You're an instant hit,” she said instead of answering his question. “Do I have to stand in line now for an autograph?"

  He gave her one of his sexy grins. “Babe, you can have anything you want without standing in line. You know that.” He leaned closer and blew a puff of hot air in her ear. “Is it later yet?"

  Kelly was trying to act nonchalant as she took a swallow of beer. Lou took the bottle from her and tipped it to his lips. She was just about ready to reply when she caught a flash of Suzie, bearing down on them from the right. The Suzie he had been dirty dancing with; the one who had been clinging to his arm.

  "I think your dance partner is looking for you."

  "What?” Lou asked, and then groaned. “Crap. She wouldn't let go of me."

  Kelly arched a brow. “You didn't seem to mind, Mister hands-all-over-her-hips."

  Lou choked on the beer, pounding on his chest with a fist before looking at her. “I was trying to get a little space between us.” Then he grinned; an oh-so-macho-male smirk. “You're jealous."

  "No way.” She'd deny it to her dying day.

  Lou frowned as Suzie came closer. He grabbed her hand and tugged. “Come on. We've been here long enough."

  Kelly agreed and hurried to keep up with Lou's long strides. She knew Maggie would understand if she disappeared.

  Soon they were driving out of town toward the river, crossing the bridge, then swinging right along a dirt road. Kelly knew most anyone who parked drove left to where there was a flat bluff overlooking the river and the lights of town. The road Lou drove down was dark with overgrown trees hanging so low, she could hear them brush the roof of the car.

  "Your mom isn't going to be very happy if you get her car dirty."

  "She won't mind. Especially since I'm usually the one that washes it for her.” He slowed; squinting through the window and Kelly wondered what he was looking for. Before she could ask, he pulled the car into a grassy cove, hidden from the road by an abundance of trees. He stopped, turning the lights off and total darkness surrounded them.

  "Isn't it funny how our lives play out?” Kelly asked. “You're back at the ranch and I'm back helping Mom in the café. Just like high school."

  "There's a lot of difference between then and now.” Lou opened his door and got out. “Come on."

  She slid across the seat and exited his side. He was digging in the trunk when she walked up. “How is it different?"

  He shoved a quilt into her arms. “For one thing, you've got the hot body of a full grown woman instead of a seventeen year old."

  She liked the way he said that. “And?” she urged him to continue.

  He had grabbed a bottle of wine, a couple cups and slammed the trunk lid. “And, Miss Kelly Jean Baker, you'll just have to figure the rest out on your own."

  He turned and began to walk and Kelly hurried after him, afraid she would trip in the dark if he got too far away. As it was, she had a hard time walking in the grass with heels on. The minute Lou stopped, she flipped out the quilt and kicked off her heels, stepping onto the soft cotton.

  Lou flopped down on the quilt. “Come here."

  She stepped closer, but some imp in her head decided to tease him.

  "Sing another song for me."

  In a movement quicker than she could follow, he surged upward, grabbing her around the waist and dragging her down with him as he fell back on the ground. She tumbled across his chest, laughing.

  "Lou, I want a song.” She braced herself above him on her elbows.

  She could just make out his face in the faint moonlight that filtered through the trees. His eyes glittered, one brow arched as he contemplated her.

  With a deep voice softened by the night, he sang. “Babe, I need you, babe—"

  She couldn't believe he knew the old Sonny and Cher song. “That's ‘I got you, babe',” she corrected.

  "I need you, babe,” he repeated in an urgent whisper, his breath hot on her neck, his words trailing off as he began to nibble and nip down the neckline of her dress.

  Kelly gasped as his teeth drew aside the material and exposed her breast to the night air. He wasn't touching her with anything except his tongue, but she felt it over her entire body. Tingling sensations of electricity shot down her arms and legs. She involuntarily shivered as his hot, wet tongue circled closer and closer. When he finally sucked her nipple into his mouth, she groaned, her arms collapsing as he rolled her over so she was beneath him.

  Lou knew with a flash of clarity that there was no place else on earth he would rather be than in Kelly's arms. If she didn't want to marry a cowboy, he would tell her what he really did. If she wanted him to stay in Dexter, he would. Hell, he could run his business from anywhere, as long as she was within sight every minute of every day.

  As he adored her breast with his mouth, she caressed his neck and shoulders. When he released her only to capture her mouth in a hot, devouring kiss, she slid her hands between them, managing to unbuckle his belt and unzip his pants. He hissed against her lips when her cool hands slid beneath his boxers and circled his hard shaft.

  "Roll over,” she whispered, nudging her shoulder against him. And he did, taking her with him, but she wiggled loose, pushing his shoulders into the quilt.

  "Lie still.” She deftly unbuttoned his shirt, spreading the silk fabric open and starting a slow massage of his chest. Her skirt was scrunched up around her waist, her bare legs spread wide to straddle his hips. His hands slid up her thighs, but when he tried to sneak beneath the hem of her dress, she stopped him.

  "Don't even think it, Kincaid. This is my date and it will proceed according to my plan.” Her voice, soft and seductive, still held a note of steel.

  "And if I don't want to lie still?"

  She didn't say a word. She just lifted her hands off his chest and came up onto her knees so that her hot feminine core no longer rubbed against his stomach.

  He let his arms fall open. “Okay, okay."

  She smiled, settling back down with a wiggle. “That's better."

  Lou groaned. Her hands and ass were creating an acute agony that bordered on pain. He closed his eyes, knowing the sight of her was enough to make him come, and he wanted to experience her attention a little longer.

  He jerked when her tongue licked across his nipple. He moaned as her bare breasts rubbed against his chest. His eyes flew open to see that she had removed her dress and lay atop him with only the skimpiest black thong that covered practically nothing.

  "Close your eyes and just feel.” He wasn't sure if she had said the words or if they simply soaked into his body from hers as she continued to rub against him; her breasts against his stomach now, her pubis sliding down the ridge of his shaft.

  Her
hot tongue zigzagged across his abs; her fingers now tucked into the waistband of his slacks and boxers; her ass on his thighs. He prayed she wouldn't end her exploration anytime soon.

  With a slight tug, she managed to get his pants down over his hips and he sprang free. For a moment, there was no other movement and he felt he would explode simply from the wanting. Almost as if she read his thoughts, a fairy light touch slid up the underside of his penis from his sacs to the very tip. Her fingernail scraped delicately over the head, then trailed down the other side to the base, circled once and continued down his thigh.

  Lou was a quivering mass of nerves.

  "Lou?"

  God, her mouth had to be within a hair of his penis because he could feel the heat of it as she breathed.

  She said his name again and his member jerked, tapping against her.

  "Huh?” It was a guttural sound, but all he could manage.

  Her hand was on the move again, this time circling him and stroking. “Is it all right if I...” she hesitated, stroked him again, then said, “If I taste you?"

  Lou could barely stand the torture of her soft hands on him. He didn't know if he would survive her sweet mouth. But damn, he had to try, didn't he?

  "Sweetheart, you can do whatever—” he gasped when she squeezed him and pumped. His hips came right off the blanket. “I don't know how much I can take, Kel."

  "Just a little, please?"

  She didn't wait for his reply, which was good because Lou was beyond words when her lips closed around the very tip of him.

  Kelly couldn't get over the feel of Lou, hard and long, in her hands. He was like velvet-covered steel and as she stroked him, she could feel the rapid pulse that beat beneath his hot skin. She ran her tongue up his length.

  A deep growl vibrated through Lou's body and into her, touching her in places that went well beyond the physical. Her very soul was wrapped up with Lou's, and as she worshiped his body, she poured her love into him.

  Her hair fell down around her face as Lou scattered pins when he plowed his fingers through it. His hands were shaking and Kelly felt a sense of power in her ability to bring him to the very edge of his control. She took him deeper, her tongue swirling and tasting, giving Lou this ultimate gift that was more intimate than anything they had experienced before.

  "Baby, stop!” Lou's hands tightened in her hair.

  She released him, slowly, sliding her lips up his length, and then kissed his smooth skin, right at the most sensitive place on his inner hip, before kissing her way up his torso. As she slid up his body, touching him with her own body in as many places as she could manage, Lou caressed her back, his calloused hands sliding down her spine to her butt.

  "You're killing me,” Lou whispered hoarsely when she kissed his chin, just before he tilted his head and captured her mouth in an almost brutal kiss. His teeth scraped her lips, his tongue seduced her, but Kelly gave back one hundred percent.

  Lou slid his thumb under the side of her thong and with a single jerk, tore the delicate material away. He lifted her hips to slide into her.

  "More!” she cried as she straightened, taking him completely in one hot, wet slide. Her silky breasts bobbed in the moonlight; her smooth stomach tightened in ripples of muscle as she squeezed around him and Lou knew he was mere seconds away from climaxing.

  He moved his hands to the front of her hips, his thumbs slipping into her wetness to rub her clit. His touch made her clench him tighter and he groaned out loud as the hot flood began deep inside and rapidly forced its way outward.

  "Now!” he hissed, clutching her hips and moving her faster against him.

  "No!” Kelly gasped. “Make it last.” She twisted against his hands, at the same time bucking faster and faster. “Make it ... oh, yes!"

  Kelly screamed his name as she convulsed around him, her hips jerking in the throes of her orgasm. The feel of her milking him and look of wonder on her face sent Lou over the edge. He closed his eyes as he shattered, tingling electrical currents racing throughout his body. Thunder crashed and lightning flashed and Lou thought it was all because of Kelly and the phenomenal orgasm she had given him until a fat raindrop splattered on his face.

  Before he had recovered sufficiently to even care that it had started raining, another noise pricked at his conscience and it took him a minute to decipher the muffled sound.

  His cell phone was ringing.

  Chapter 8

  "You'd better have fucking shot someone,” Lou growled into his phone.

  Kelly flinched at his language. She had never heard him sound so angry. And shooting? Good God in heaven, what was he involved in?

  She tried to move off him but he gripped her hip with one hand as he shook his head, refusing to let her go. He scowled, and she didn't know if it was meant for her or whomever he listened to on the phone. She slapped at his hands, wanting to get up, not liking this side of him. She had to bend one finger backwards before he finally released her and she scrambled off.

  He sat up then, his expression changing from disbelief to anger then finally to resignation.

  "Shit!” He flipped the phone shut and sat for a moment longer with his elbows on his raised knees, his hands rubbing across his face.

  "What's going on?” she asked as he stood and grabbed his clothes with angry movements. He turned as he jerked up his trousers. She looked at his broad back, his shirt wet and becoming transparent from the rain and she wanted him all over again. Even though his anger frightened her.

  Only Lou had efficiently dismissed her; the phone call he had gotten now paramount in his mind.

  She dashed with him to the car. He threw the quilt and bottle of wine into the trunk as she climbed in the front.

  "Lou, you said someone got shot!” she questioned him as he slammed the car in gear and spun out of the clearing. Tires squealed as he took the turn onto asphalt without stopping.

  "Nobody got shot,” he said, his expression grim.

  "I heard you!” Kelly couldn't believe that after all they had experienced; after what she had done to Lou not more than five minutes ago, that he would lie to her. “What is going on, Lou? Why would someone call you at two in the morning?"

  He braked the car to a stop and Kelly realized they were parked in front of her house. She didn't even want to think about how fast he had driven to get them across town already.

  "I can't explain it to you right now. You just have to trust me.” He reached across the back of the seat, curling his hand around her neck and pulling her towards him. Hot lips pressed against hers in a quick, hard kiss. “I've gotta go."

  He reached over, pushed open the door and sat there watching her, waiting for her to slide out. Kelly thought about staying put and making him take her wherever it was he was going, but one look at his dark, foreboding expression and she quickly got out of the car. Before she had time to question him again, he was backing out of the drive, leaving her standing in the rain.

  * * * *

  Damn, this was not the time for Kelly to learn what he really did for a living, Lou cursed, reminding himself again that this was why he didn't get involved with women, especially in the middle of a job.

  As he drove like a madman, he replayed Dom's call in his mind. His voice had crackled across the air, breaking up as lightning interfered with the signal. “Behind ... plant ... your ass over here.” The phone had gone dead.

  Why the hell did the CoKan investigation have to explode now? His balls tightened as he recalled how Kelly had looked as she had shimmied back into that scrap of a black dress. They never had enough time together. He had wanted tonight to be special; had wanted to tell her he loved her and wanted to marry her. Now that would have to wait, hopefully, she would too.

  Lou turned off his headlights as he coasted behind CoKan Packing Plant to their prearranged rendezvous point. He could barely make out the shape of a car behind the stack of shipping crates and began to think it might not be Dom's when a minute beam of light flickered, was gone,
then flickered again.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, Lou rolled down the window before shutting the car off. He couldn't take a chance that someone would see the dome light if he opened the door, so he pulled himself out through the window.

  "You trying to advertise we're here?” Dom whispered with a nod at Lou's shirt, the white silk practically glowing in the dark.

  Lou jerked the shirt over his head and tossed it back into the car. “I wasn't exactly expecting ... shit.” He had automatically reached behind him for his gun only to remember he didn't have it.

  "Christ, do I have to remember everything?” Dom handed Lou his shotgun and pulled his automatic from a holster under his arm.

  "Are you two boys done gabbing?” Tasha whispered from behind the crates. “We've got to get around to the other side pronto."

  The drizzle muffled any sound they made as they crept past tractor-trailers and various pieces of machinery, keeping to the darker shadows as they made their way around the building. Lou was in front and he stopped quickly, backing flat against the building when a garbled flood of Spanish burst through the night.

  Whoever was around the corner was making no effort to keep quiet, apparently feeling safe at this time of night. The plant operated twenty-four hours seven days a week, but Lou had been on surveillance long enough to know that at three in the morning, the shift workers were done with their breaks and no one patrolled the outside perimeter of the plant.

  Although he couldn't see exactly what was going on, he heard enough to distinguish at least two different speakers—not native-speaking Hispanics—giving orders as they unloaded their cargo, a truck full of illegals.

  Lou wasn't about to barge into the middle of anything without knowing exactly how many men there were and what kind of weapons they had. “Better call for backup,” he hissed over his shoulder to Dom.

  "Already on the way.” Dom had no sooner said the words than a squeal of tires came from the other side of the parked truck. Three police cars immediately flooded the scene with headlights as loud speakers blared.