by Lily Rede
Evie spread his shirt wide. The headlights cast the sculpted muscles of his torso into sharp relief. She licked the line that separated the impressive ridges, and then abruptly sank her teeth into one tough pectoral.
“Shit.”
Colin arched under her, pressing her mouth harder against his chest, his swollen cock harder against her stomach.
Evie let him go, staring at the mark she’d made, shocked at herself even as satisfaction threaded through her – mine. Any other woman who saw him now would know that he’d been branded and claimed. Don’t touch. Evie scowled at the idea of other women seeing his chest.
“Dammit,” she muttered.
Colin, panting and tight, still managed a smirk.
“Do you want me to tattoo your name across my ass? That might be a little more permanent.”
“Shut up.”
Evie pulled his head down for a kiss, hot and wet and seductive, tongues tangling, teeth scraping, breath mingling as she realized with a start that he was becoming her drug of choice – a craving, impossible to kick, addictive temptation personified. She wasn’t comfortable with the idea, so she focused on the moment – the heat of his mouth and skin, the rasp of stubble, and the thickness of that luscious cock swelling between them.
She scraped her nails up the length of his erection through the denim, her pussy already wet in anticipation. Colin yanked his mouth away and let his head fall back against the hood of the car with a thunk.
“Are you going to fuck me or not?” His voice sounded aggravated. “Because if you’re not, at least take out my cock so that I don’t come in my pants like a fifteen-year-old with his first dirty magazine.”
Evie’s breath hitched at the thought – Colin straining against the handcuffs, his jeans pulled low, letting her watch as he let go, his come splattering those rock hard abs and chest, the heat in his eyes an inferno.
His groan pulled her out of her reverie.
“God, you love the idea, don’t you? Fine, you can tie me down and watch me come for you every day of the week if you want to. Right now, just touch me.”
Drawing out the moment, Evie undid his belt buckle, unsnapped his jeans, and carefully drew the zipper down. Her hands moved to his hips to tug jeans and underwear down over his ass, freeing the hard shaft and the heavy sac beneath.
His cock was always a surprise, the width and length promising all sorts of naughty delights. Feather light, Evie swirled a finger around the head.
“So you are packing a weapon after all. My mistake.”
Colin laughed, but it became a moan as her nimble fingers trailed down to cup his balls, gently caressing. He shuddered.
“I hope you’re enjoying yourself, Deputy Asher, because arrest or no arrest, the minute I’m out of these handcuffs, your hot little body is mine.”
He spread his legs as far as the denim trapping them would allow, giving her more space to play.
“Big words from the man in handcuffs.”
She straddled his thighs, the residual heat from the engine keeping them warm on the chilly fall night. Not that she needed it – Evie felt like she was going to self-combust any moment now.
“I don’t know where to start,” she murmured, drinking in the sight of Colin spread out before her like a feast, his cock rampant and straining, the damp tip glistening.
“Put your mouth on me.” His voice was tight.
With a tiny grin, Evie leaned forward and kissed the tip of his nose, letting her pussy rub the ridge of his erection. Yum. His snarl of frustration became a choked groan as she slithered down to repeat the delicate caress on the head of his cock.
“For fuck’s sake, Evie – ”
The rest of his exclamation was lost in incoherent babble as she licked a luxurious path from root to tip before opening her mouth wide to take the head of his cock, and then more. She steadied herself with one hand on his abs and found them tight and trembling. Not altering the slow rhythm she had set, Evie looked up to see Colin straining to hold his head up despite his arms being trapped under him, his spine gently arched.
He was watching her. The knowledge had her pussy pulsing. She pulled her hair out of the way and wrapped a hand around the base of his shaft to tilt it, adjusting her angle so that he would have an unobstructed view of her sucking his cock. The taste of him was as she remembered – hot and earthy and exciting, velvet poured over steel. She swirled her tongue around the head and took as much as she could, uncaring that his size made taking all of him impossible.
She thought she was in control until he whispered, low and rough, “Sweet Evie, the way you suck me. Take a little more, baby, and I’ll give you everything I have. Is that what you want? Want me to fill your mouth?”
Evie was a little shocked when a whimper escaped her throat, the erotic words pushing her closer to the edge as Colin sneakily took control back from her, rocking his hips up with sexy little thrusts that pushed his throbbing flesh to the back of her throat. She struggled to control her gag reflex, breathing carefully, wanting him to explode for her. Wanting it all.
Colin’s movements became less controlled, and with her free hand, Evie cuddled and petted his balls, paying special attention to the soft skin behind them. They were drawn up tight. Above, his body was hard, sheened with sweat, the hottest thing she’d ever seen.
“God, Evie – ” he bit out, and then he exploded in a rush, filling her mouth as he had promised. Evie took it all, his pleasure pushing her almost to the point of climax herself. When he was done, he collapsed back in a limp sprawl, and she lapped gently at the head of his cock, marveling that it had barely flagged. Oh, the possibilities.
“I hope you’re not done having your wicked way with me,” he murmured, looking up, his eyes brimming with satisfaction.
Evie pressed soft kisses to his abdomen and then slid off to shuck her jeans and panties.
“Not afraid of getting arrested for indecent exposure, Miss Asher?”
“Right now I wouldn’t have a problem with it if you decided to fuck me on the main stage at the Harvest Festival.”
They both sucked in a breath as her wet core slid against his bare cock.
“Please tell me there’s a condom in your wallet,” she moaned, relieved when he nodded.
She dug it out and dropped it on his chest, and then tugged the wide neck of her long-sleeved tee shirt down, along with the cups of her bra, tucking them under her breasts to display and frame the mounds and the tight nipples.
Evie braced her hands on the hood and bent over to rub the hard little nubs over Colin’s chest, electricity zinging through her at the contact as his cock jerked beneath her, hardening another inch.
“Fucking tease,” he groaned.
She was back in charge, and Evie couldn’t hold back a grin. She cupped one breast, holding it up to his mouth.
“Suck,” she ordered.
Nothing could have pleased her better than the worshipful, “Yes, ma’am” before he went wild for her, sucking and nipping and reveling in her breasts until she was panting, rolling her hips to let her swollen clit ride the ridge of his cock.
“I can feel your hot juices sliding down my dick, baby,” he muttered, letting her nipple go with a soft ‘pop,’ “Put me inside.”
Hands practically shaking, Evie sheathed him with the condom and then positioned herself over the throbbing shaft.
“All mine,” Evie murmured, the words just slipping out against her will, but she couldn’t dwell on it because the broad crown of his cock was parting her folds, luring her down until she was fully impaled. And then she just couldn’t think at all, because he was hot and big and letting her fuck him exactly how she wanted to, her pussy filled to bursting with every decadent stroke.
And if that weren’t enough to incinerate her control, the look in his eyes as he watched her take him would have done the trick. She rode him until she came, crying out her pleasure, her head falling back. She thought she was done, but he simply gritted out, “Again,”
his cock still rock hard inside her as he held on and she started moving, fresh shards of pleasure tearing through her system.
“Touch yourself, Evie. Show me what you like. If my hands were free, I’d roll those tasty little nipples and stroke your sweet clit until you shattered for me.”
And so she did, touching and teasing her most sensitive flesh while he watched her. When she couldn’t take it one more moment, she swooped down to capture his lips as pleasure crashed over them both, his groan against her mouth long and satisfying.
“I think this round is yours,” he whispered.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
COLIN STROKED EVIE’S HAIR in the pre-dawn light seeping into his bedroom window, feeling like he was getting away with something as contentment drifted through him. Of course, if she had been awake, she probably would have jerked away. After they arrived at his house last night, they’d been too tired for anything more than a three-minute shower before they tumbled into bed. Colin had been surprised at how tight his muscles were from the stint in handcuffs, and reminded himself not to piss Evie off. He grinned as a shard of remembered pleasure shivered through him.
Well, not more than once or twice a week.
At least her gunshot wounds seemed to be healing nicely, though he was sure the healing process would be faster if she’d stop getting shot at and running herself into the ground. He wished he could say the same about healing her heart. The sexual games were all well and good – okay, better than good – but with every day that passed, Colin was becoming increasingly sure that he wanted to give a relationship with her a real shot. Of course, it was hard to tell if they’d have anything to talk about when someone wasn’t trying to kill them.
The thought had him stiffening, but then Evie stirred in her sleep, cuddling closer, her arm flung across him to anchor him to her side.
This is what I want.
So they’d started with danger and sexual chemistry. So what? The glimpses of the real Evie he’d seen under the porcupine exterior were enough to make him want more. That was the best he could do, but it was more than many couples started out with.
A couple.
Colin waited for the usual wave of revulsion, but it didn’t come.
Well, what do you know? The revelation deserved a reward, for both of them.
As dawn crept into the room, Colin swiped a condom from the night stand before easing Evie to her side, pulling her back against his chest. She grumbled as he lifted her leg over his hip, but he slid his fingers between her thighs to stroke her morning-soft folds until he’d caught her attention, and she was rocking against his fingers, making sleepy little sounds of pleasure.
“Awake?” he murmured, gently scraping his teeth along her shoulder.
“Did you wake me up just to torture me?”
Colin chuckled, but savored her sharp breath as he rolled on the condom and slid inside. Hot and wet and perfect.
“Just saying good morning.”
Her fingers came up to thread through his hair, tenderly holding his mouth to the curve of her neck as he rocked them both to an easy, gratifying climax.
“Good morning,” she whispered back, breathless, as he shuddered in release.
EVIE CAREFULLY PRODDED HER wounds before deciding that the bandages could come off her shoulder. Her side needed a few more days. She’d have to follow up with Jocelyn. The past week was definitely taking its toll – stress and dodging a killer and mind-blowing sex on the hood of a car were exhausting.
So much for casual and meaningless.
She frowned at herself in the bathroom mirror. They’d just have to deal with it. But she was disturbed by Colin’s behavior, and by her own. He wasn’t acting like someone determined to have a quick fling that ended in friendship. Instead, he kept pushing her boundaries, shoving her out of her comfort zone and offering an intimacy that both lured and terrified her. For her part, Evie was trying to tamp down on the hopeful little part of her that wondered, as he made love to her so gently in the rosy glow of sunrise, what it would be like to wake up every morning, cherished and loved by some who held her heart in his hand.
Not ready! Evie shivered, pushing the thought away.
Dressed, she wandered downstairs, following her nose to the coffeepot in the kitchen, where Colin was flipping pancakes, his expression far too grim for such a mundane task.
“What’s wrong?” Evie asked, pouring herself a cup and sitting down at the table, which was already set.
Colin smoothly slid a stack of pancakes onto a plate, grabbed the maple syrup from the cupboard, and joined her.
“Ever been to Rome? Let’s go to Rome.”
The non sequitor threw Evie for a moment.
“What’s in Rome?”
“It doesn’t have to be Rome. Paris. Buenos Aires. There isn’t any reason we have to stay in Bright’s Ferry.”
Comprehension dawned.
“Colin, we can’t just run away.”
“Why not? I have plenty of money. The killer is upset by the way I live my life, so why not just take my life somewhere else?”
He stabbed his pancakes.
“Look,” Evie began gently, “We’re going to catch her. I’ll admit this is not the easiest thing I’ve ever dealt with, but life in New York was no picnic. Even before I got shot there were drug dealers and rapists and murderers. I didn’t let them run me out of town.”
Her mouth twisted ruefully.
“I did that myself, sadly.”
“Evie – ”
“I don’t want to talk about it. Not right now, anyway.”
“But someday.” His eyes were steady.
She hesitated, and then, “Maybe.”
That seemed to satisfy him, and he reached for the syrup.
“Anyway, the point is that you can’t just run. What happens to everyone you leave behind? Jocelyn and Grace. Tony, Mary, Candace, Tom. Do you think the killer’s just going to leave them alone?”
Colin put his hand over hers, and though her heart quaked, she allowed it, twining her fingers with his.
A FEW HOURS LATER, Evie sat in the corner booth at the diner, waiting for Tony, who was up at the house, comparing the handwriting samples from the stalker’s letters to the pictures that Colin had taken of the vandalism at Gram’s cabin. Colin was sure he recognized the handwriting, but couldn’t place it, so Tony was trying to walk him through it, hoping to jar his memory.
She stirred a cup of coffee and watched people come and go. Occasionally one would smile at her, while another would consider her with suspicion or skepticism, and then turn away.
Dreyer Morton was alone in a booth by the window. He noted her and nodded, and then went back to his newspaper.
So much for being welcomed with open arms. Evie had a feeling that her poking and prodding into the lives of Bright’s Ferry residents wasn’t winning her any points, but at the same time, the fact that she was protecting Colin Daniels was a mark in her favor. The way she figured it, about half the town approved, while the other half was ready to write her off as Laura Asher’s troublemaking daughter.
It takes time, she reminded herself. She was here for the long haul, and would just have to find a way to make it work.
The front bell jangled, and Millicent Grayson walked in, carrying a curly-haired little boy who must have been no more than two. The locals greeted her warmly, and Mary hurried up to pinch the little boy’s cheek, dragging a little smile from the usually serious waitress. She ushered them to a booth, and as Evie watched Millicent get her son settled in a booster seat, she wondered if she could really be a killer.
She has a crush on Colin. She has no alibi.
It wasn’t enough, and Evie knew it, but two people were dead, and they were running out of time. The killer’s attacks were becoming more brutal, more intimate – first a gun, now a knife across poor Alan Wilkinson’s throat. At least they knew for certain that the killer was female. Evie and Tony had long suspected it, but Evie was willing to take any little shred
of evidence that would bring her closer to catching the stalker as a win.
The door clanged again and Candace stormed in, scanning the diner with steely eyes until she spotted Evie.
“Deputy Asher! I’ve been looking for you.”
She stormed up to the table, and Evie noticed that her gait was a little awkward.
“Shouldn’t you be at Town Hall, Candace? We’ve got better security there, and I’d really prefer it if you didn’t venture into public areas without – ”
“My husband is dead!” Her ringing proclamation brought the diner’s chatter grinding to a halt.
Evie flushed, “I know, and I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“I don’t need you to be sorry, Deputy Asher! I need you to do your job! You’ve got Colin under arrest up at that house, like a sitting duck.”
“It’s for his own protection.” Evie was starting to get pissed.
“I can see how well you’ve protected us, Ms. Asher.” Candace was contemptuous.
Dreyer folded his newspaper and stood.
“The Harvest Festival is the biggest event of the year. How many tourists are going to want to come to Bright’s Ferry with a killer on the loose?”
“We’re following every lead, Mrs. Wilkinson. I can assure you – ”
“Assure me of what? That our streets are safe? That no one else is going to get killed? Excuse me if I take your assurances with a grain of salt. Maybe we need to bring in real professionals who know what they’re doing. For all we know, you could be asking all the wrong questions.”
Evie felt her composure snap all at once.
“Here’s a question for you. Where were you last night?”
“Excuse me?” Candace’s voice was a choir of disapproval.
“Colin’s attacker was a woman, and you were conspicuously absent.”
“I was at the French film playing at the Fairview, and how dare you – ”
“Actually,” and a tall, gangly man with thinning hair pushed up his glasses, spinning around on his stool at the counter, “I was taking tickets last night, and I didn’t see you, Candace.”