by Lily Rede
And now the whole room was staring at Candace, and Evie felt a real prickle of intuition as the gears started to realign in her head.
Candace sputtered.
“This is preposterous! I could never kill anyone, much less Alan!”
“She was with me.”
The whole room gasped as Dreyer Morton stepped up to take Candace’s arm. The moment was almost theatrical. Candace permitted the support for all of thirty seconds, taking in the shocked and curious looks of the people who had known her her whole life, and then she stumbled toward the door.
Evie stood, intent on going after her, but Dreyer blocked her path.
“Leave Candace alone.”
“Get out of my way.”
“The woman just lost her husband. Show some respect!”
He sneered down at her.
“You’ve been nothing but a blight on this town since the day you arrived. Not surprising. Do you all remember Laura Asher?”
Evie’s heart sank as a dozen heads nodded eagerly.
“A promiscuous girl. A drug addict. Ultimately, a murderer. This woman who is supposed to serve as a role model for our community was raised by a drunk who couldn’t remain faithful to his wife, who had no respect for the sanctity of marriage. You would know something about that, too, wouldn’t you Ms. Asher?”
“Don’t – ” Evie began, but the words got stuck as Dreyer thundered on.
“She had an affair with her married police captain, lured him away from his wife. Why do you think she came back up here? They clearly didn’t want her in New York. And now I have it on good authority that she’s been attempting to seduce Colin Daniels when she should be focused on catching the murderer that threatens our graceful shores.”
The murmurs of disapproval were like shards of glass in Evie’s heart. She tried to formulate a rational argument, but all she could see were eyes glaring at her, heads shaking in disapproval, and Millicent Grayson, who looked her over with hatred and disgust. She couldn’t bear to look at Mary, knowing that the disappointment in her eyes might kill her.
The doorbell clanged, but Evie didn’t see Tony until he was gripping her arm, sympathy and anger warring for dominance in his eyes.
“Go home, Evie,” he said gently, “I’ll take it from here.”
“She doesn’t even deny it!” crowed Dreyer, until Tony stepped up to face him.
“You’ll want to sit down, Dreyer.”
“You don’t order me around, Sheriff. My taxes support your department, and – ”
Tony said nothing, but the look in his eyes must have been enough, because Dreyer trailed off, and with as much dignity as possible, returned to his booth.
Tony nodded to Evie.
“Go. I’ll call you later.”
Numb, Evie nodded and headed for the door as behind her, a swarm of locals descended on Dreyer’s booth, anxious for all the gory details.
THE SLUT COP WAS finally getting her due, and while it wasn’t exactly as she had planned it, the shattered look on Evie Asher’s face was enough to fill one with satisfaction. Now Colin would see the error of his ways as the town voiced their disapproval. He’d no longer feel the urge to slide between the slut cop’s thighs and gorge himself on her toxic flesh. He’d finally be the man she’d dreamed of, the one she’d watched grow up, a better man than his father. Clean and wholesome and pure, just for her.
It was all coming together.
COLIN HUNG UP THE phone for the fifth time and cursed the fact that his number was listed in the local phone book. He felt a little dazed by the onslaught of worried calls from Bright’s Ferry residents – the preacher, the mail carrier, his third grade schoolteacher Mrs. Taylor. So many people who had listened to Dreyer spewing the worst of Evie’s life out to the public and offering nothing but judgment and condemnation. Suddenly running off to Rome seemed like a fantastic idea.
Rationally, he knew that Evie had support, too. Tony knew her past and didn’t seem to care, and Colin was sure that Grace and Jocelyn would stand by her, no matter what. But the timing couldn’t have been worse, and now the town would spend less time on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary and more time second-guessing every move Evie had made since she came to town.
Tony had called a little while ago to explain everything, and Colin waited in vain for Evie to show up. After an hour, he realized that she wasn’t coming, and that just pissed him off. She wasn’t answering her phone.
A couple of antsy phone calls later, Colin was reaching for his keys. It irked him to discover that Evie had chosen to go back to her cabin instead of coming to him, but at least she had had the presence of mind to commandeer Zeke and a volunteer from his security detail to watch her house. He wasn’t going to let her weather the storm alone, sitting at home wallowing in self-pity, or worse, packing her things to leave Bright’s Ferry behind.
He opened the door…to find Candace on the other side.
“Colin, we must talk.”
“This isn’t the best time, Candace.” He wasn’t thrilled with her, but attributed her outburst to grief over Alan’s death. Colin couldn’t process the idea that she was sleeping with Dreyer Morton – the idea was off-putting, like realizing that your parents still slept together.
He scooted around her and headed for his truck, turning back as the three guards scrambled around him.
“I’m just going over to the Asher cabin. There’s already a detail up there, so why don’t you go on home, guys? I’ll call when I’m heading back this way.”
“Uh, Colin, you’re kind of under house arrest,” one of the guards muttered, scratching his neck.
“And I’m going to sleep with the deputy who arrested me. Anybody have a problem with that?” Colin’s temper was frayed, and the blunt words did the trick, because the guards slunk back in a chorus of sheepish denials.
Candace wasn’t so accommodating. She hurried up to him, moving stiffly.
“So it’s true? You’re actually having an affair with that woman?”
Colin wrenched the door to his truck open.
“It’s hardly an affair, Candace. We’re both single. An affair implies that someone is being cheated on, which is not the case.”
“You were with Deirdre Small!”
“What Deirdre and I had was casual. Either one of us could have broken it off at any time. And you’re one to lecture me on infidelity, Candace. This is – ” He paused, trying to think of a suitable definition.
Candace reddened, but pressed on.
“The woman is a menace, Colin. What would your parents say?”
“I think they’d be glad that I’ve finally found someone I think I can be happy with.”
Candace practically snarled.
“There are better women out there for you, Colin. You don’t want to waste time on someone so corrupt.”
Colin stared at her, surprised. Candace was a stern and prudish woman – that was no secret. Maybe not so prudish, he amended to himself, thinking about her dalliance with Dreyer Morton.
You never really know what’s under the surface.
“I’m sorry you feel that way. If you need me for anything, I’ll be up at the Asher cabin, comforting my girlfriend. She’s had a crappy day.”
He left her standing, shocked, in front of the house as he drove away.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
EVIE COULDN’T STOP CRYING. It was as though a dam had burst, and all the stress and pain of the last few months – Hell, of her entire life – had gushed out, leaving her a watery, washed out mess. She sat in the living room with a pint of ice cream, wallowing in all the ways she’d screwed up, and wondering if leaving town might not be best for everybody.
Her words from this morning came back to her and she thought of all the lives that would be in danger if the killer wasn’t caught – Jocelyn, Grace, Tony, Colin. The thought of Colin had fresh tears welling up.
He’s probably trying to explain to his adoring population why he got mixed up with a useless
cop with bad judgment and a giant red SLUT painted on her house.
Evie scooped another bite of butter pecan, knowing that her time to drown in self-pity was limited. At some point, Colin was going to show up, and things would just go downhill from there.
Can you break up with someone you weren’t technically dating? she wondered, morose.
A glob of ice cream dropped to her shirt and Evie stared at it for a moment before putting the ice cream down and yanking the shirt over her head. She carefully undid the dressing on her side, assessing the stitches.
“Fuck it,” she murmured, “I want a bath.”
COLIN JERKED THE TRUCK to a halt in front of Evie’s house, pleased to see Zeke and one guard standing watch outside the house.
Zeke shook his head as Colin approached.
“Heard some awful things about Deputy Asher. Amazing how folks’ll pry into things that are none of their business. She’s a fine person.”
The tension coiling in Colin’s stomach eased a fraction.
“Yes, she is. And she’s lucky to have you watching her back, Zeke Biggs.”
Zeke reddened, pleased by the compliment.
Colin hurried up to the door, a shiver of revulsion snaking up his spine at the painted slur that marred the front of the cabin. He’d have to take care of that. Not bothering to knock, he stepped inside.
“Evie?”
The half-eaten pint of melting ice cream on the counter made him smile for a moment, but he put it in the freezer and looked around, the sound of running water drawing him upstairs to the master bathroom.
She was a vision, lying partially submerged in the old-fashioned clawfoot tub that was slowly filling with water and bubbles. Colin acknowledged that the vision didn’t usually include a swollen nose and eyes and tearstained cheeks, but she was still beautiful to him, and his heart rolled over. Her hair was piled high on her head, and tendrils escaped, sticking to her skin in the steam that rolled through the room.
He cleared his throat, and she cracked open an eyelid, glaring at him.
“Go away.”
“I don’t care what they think.”
“Of course you do.”
“Okay, fine, I do, but this isn’t the answer. Stand up to them. Show them that all of their stupid preconceptions about you are wrong.”
“They’re not wrong.” Evie swiveled to prop her elbows on the side of the tub, hiding all that glorious flesh from view.
“They are completely wrong,” snarled Colin, “Dammit, Evie.”
He closed the door, shutting them into a world of honeysuckle-scented steam.
“Forget what they think. Here’s what I think. You’re brave, you’re loyal. You’re tough as nails, but you’re nice to kids and anyone who doesn’t seem to fit in. You are the most frustrating, stubborn, prickly woman I’ve ever met, and you turn me inside out with just one look.”
She was staring at him, her eyes bright with tears.
“Shit, don’t cry, because I’m barely holding it together as it is, and I’m either going to smash something or fuck your beautiful brains out.”
His fists clenched at his side, but his cock jerked hard as her gaze traveled down his body to focus on it. She licked her lips.
“So you didn’t come over here to fuck me?”
“I came over to offer comfort.” It sounded weak, even to him, but he meant it.
“And you can’t do both?”
Colin struggled for control, but she wasn’t making it easy. Sex was a great way to make the world go away for a while, and he could comfort her with his body, but he didn’t want her mindless and lost to physical pleasure – she could get that from a good vibrator. He wanted her engaged, involved, giving as well as taking, shaking with pleasure because it was him, and nobody else.
“Let’s try something new.”
“There’s something we haven’t done yet?”
“Oh baby,” he rumbled, “there’s a whole list.”
He moved closer to the tub, but not close enough for her to reach.
“Drain some of the water,” he ordered, “Just leave a couple of inches.”
She did as he asked and then resumed her position, leaning forward against the wall of the tub.
“The way this works is that you get something you want, and then I get something that I want. No fighting for world dominance.”
“We take turns,” she whispered, her voice heated, and he nodded.
“Since you’ve had a bad day, you get to go first,” he insisted, amused by the eagerness in her expression.
“Take off your shirt.”
He complied slowly, taking his time with each button, watching as her arousal built with each inch of skin he bared. When there were no more buttons, he shrugged the fabric off his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor, and enjoyed the way her breath hitched as she devoured him with hungry eyes.
“My turn. Kneel up, baby. Show me those pretty tits.”
She only hesitated for a second, and then water sloshed as she rose, water and bubbles streaming off her luscious breasts. The crests were tight and swollen already, almost reaching for his mouth.
“They ache,” she murmured, cupping them for him.
“I know,” he agreed, “I’m going to make them all better. But first, your turn.”
He expected her to ask for his fingers on her nipples, or maybe his tongue, but clearly Evie wasn’t fooling around.
“I want you in my mouth.”
EVIE WATCHED IN DELIGHT as Colin’s body jerked hard at her erotic demand. To his credit, he reined it in, taking his time as he opened his jeans, tugging them and the soft boxer briefs just far enough to lift his engorged cock and the heavy sac free, framed by the dark denim.
Two steps had him within reach and Evie didn’t hesitate, but leaned forward to nuzzle his sac, enjoying the low groan as her tongue darted out for a leisurely taste. With delicate licks, she worked her way up his dick, humming her approval at his taste, raising warm, wet hands to wrap around the heavy shaft as she fed the wide crown into her mouth. She probed the tiny slit with her tongue, delighted when the move prompted a slight buckle of those powerful legs. Drunk on power despite his insistence that they were taking turns, Evie sucked him deeper.
“Easy, baby.”
Colin stroked her cheeks, speared his fingers through her hair, murmured his pleasure as she sucked and savored, a slow, erotic tease. Her pussy seemed to pulse in time as he fucked her mouth with shallow strokes.
“So good. Do you like it? Is sucking me off making you wet?”
She nodded and let him go to pump the shaft through her fingers, lapping up the bead of fluid that gathered at the head. Colin shuddered.
“Come for me,” Evie murmured, rubbing the crown against her lips before parting them again to take him deep.
Colin was helpless to do anything but obey, and exploded in a hot rush, hotter as she held his gaze while she swallowed, and then lapped his spasming cock with tender strokes, cooing.
“Your move,” she teased, placing a delicate kiss on the head as he shuddered.
He just rolled his eyes as he shed the rest of his clothing, and then climbed in the tub with her.
“What do you want me to do?” she asked.
“Nothing,” he replied, “You just get to lie there and let me play.”
“But – ”
“Shhh. It’s my turn, and this is what I want.”
He eased her back against the tub and kneeled between her thighs. Her eyes darkened as Colin spread her legs high and wide, propping her calves on either side of the tub so that she was fully open to him. In the bright light, she was rosy and glistening, her most private places laid bare.
Evie clutched the sides of the tub, uneasy with his scrutiny, but he teasingly rubbed her clit with the head of his cock, and she arched at the bolt of sensation.
“What are you going to do?” she gasped.
“That should be obvious, baby. I’m going to give you a bath.”
Colin grinned and reached for the soap, lathering his hands up before reaching for her foot. With slow, firm strokes he soaped and massaged, pressing into the arch of her foot and she nearly came from the exquisite pressure. Then his hands moved higher, stroking every inch of her until she had melted into a soapy puddle of lust. He paid special attention to her breasts, of course, and the undersides of her knees, the curve of her waist. Finally, when she was squirming beneath him, dying for him, he lowered slick fingers to her pussy, rubbing and stroking and squeezing until she came, crying out.
Colin rinsed her pussy carefully, and then grabbed a condom from his wallet, sliding it on. He came over her.
“Watch me fill you,” he said, and she did, gasping as his thick crown slowly parted her folds, her clit peeking out above, tight and slick with water and her own juices.
“I love watching your pussy work to take all of me,” he bit out, grinding the thick base against her, buried to the hilt.
He lowered himself to her, and she started to look away, but he caught her chin.
“No, baby. Look at me.”
And he started moving, her soapy skin making each stroke a sensuous, slippery glide. Through it, he held her gaze, and she was fascinated by the roiling emotion in his hazel eyes as he filled her body with his own, pushing them higher and higher. When she climaxed again, it was in a rolling, endless wave of delight as he followed and cried out her name.
Spent, Colin reached behind to turn the water back on, and then settled back over Evie, wrapping her legs around him in a snug embrace.
She didn’t realize she was frowning until he stroked the little crease between her eyebrows and tenderly kissed her lips.
“Your turn. What is it you want, Evie?”
That was a loaded question. She wasn’t ready to answer, but he seemed to realize that, and seemed satisfied with her mouth on his.
For the moment.
NO NO NO NO! He went to her anyway. Reviled and scorned by the town at last and Colin, the stubborn, stupid man, had chosen to ignore all the warnings, all the lessons, all the punishment, and immerse himself in filth.