He dared to look at her, her eyes closed, her mouth open, cheeks flushed. She gave herself completely over to him, no inhibitions. He kissed her hard as he thrust into her one final time. She clutched him, her body shaking with her own release.
“Julia.” He kept her there, holding her up, catching his breath while peppering her with kisses.
“Take me to bed,” she whispered.
He picked her up. She wasn’t expecting it and grabbed on to him, a shocked smile crossing her face.
He’d never laid his eyes on a more beautiful, sexy woman. Her hair had fallen completely out of whatever tie she had it in. Her skin moist, flushed, glistening. Those eyes—their dark green appeared black in the dim lighting. And he’d never get enough of that fine mouth. He paused while walking up the stairs just to kiss her again.
Julia almost melted from the sweetness of Connor’s spontaneous kiss.
She’d never done anything like that before—sex up against the wall. But she hadn’t wanted to wait. A primal desire, a need, had welled up inside her as soon as he touched her and she’d wanted him right then, right there. The wall just seemed like the right place at the right time.
Now they could go slowly and fully explore.
He laid her on her bed, looking at her with a mixture of awe, desire, and love. Love? No, she was mis-reading that. Maybe she was projecting her feelings into his expression. She’d loved Connor Kincaid from the minute they’d been thrust together during the Crutcher investigation five years ago. The way he’d kissed her then. The way he touched her now. She hoped, over time, that they could fix their problems and create something special. But Julia wouldn’t rush it, didn’t even know if she dared dream it. For now, they had tonight.
She was still dressed, but Connor had lost his jeans before coming up the stairs. She started to unbutton her blouse but he pushed her hands aside.
“Allow me.”
He bent down. With his teeth he unfastened the top button of her shirt. His tongue circled the tender spot between her breasts. She swallowed, her mouth dry.
He moved to the next button. Bit it. Pulled it from its hole. Used his tongue to push the fabric apart, his mouth feathering kisses along the edge of her lacy white bra. She breathed deeply, let out a sigh.
His teeth unfastened the third button. She arched her back, wanting to pull the shirt over her head and dispense with the teasing. At the same time, she wished she had a dozen buttons so she could enjoy his exquisite ministrations. She reached for him, grabbing his hair in her hands, rubbing his shoulders. She wanted to touch him everywhere all at once.
He ran his tongue under her bra, just missing her hard nipples. She squirmed, wanting to feel his mouth on her breasts, his hands on her hips, his penis deep inside her again.
Pulling back, he bit open the fourth button.
Connor was enjoying the slow torture. Julia’s face glowed, her body responded, her hands never stopped moving. He kissed her stomach, circling slow, wet kisses down, down to her navel where he darted his tongue in and out to mimic lovemaking. She moaned, her hips moved off the bed, and he ran his hands under her shirt, undid the front clasp of her bra, and watched her breasts pop free.
The fifth button took a little too much time, his own breathing becoming labored as teasing Julia also gave him intense pleasure. He was too rough and the button popped off into his mouth. He moved up her body, kissed her, shoved the button in her mouth with his tongue. “Sorry,” he whispered.
She spat out the button and laughed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled Connor into a hot, wet embrace.
He pushed the blouse and bra off Julia’s shoulders, his hands finding her full breasts, his thumbs circling her nipples in time with the kiss she lavished on him. The playful moment soon transformed into a passionate need, the need to be naked, the need to be as close as possible.
Connor broke off the kiss and sat up, straddling her. He pulled off his T-shirt and Julia stared at his dark, hard, muscled chest. She reached up and touched the short, curly hair in its center, her thumbs rubbing his nipples with the same strokes he’d given her only moments before. His body tensed and he closed his eyes as her hands massaged his chest.
“Take off my skirt,” she said, the material bunched up around her middle. He turned the material, found the zipper, and slid it down. The sound was nearly as erotic as what was to come. He pushed the skirt over her hips, taking her panties with it, and then his mouth was on her toes. Kissing, sucking, teasing. Slowly, too slowly, he kissed her ankle. Calf. Under her knee. His tongue trailed along her thigh, higher, higher, small circling motions giving her a taste of what was to come.
His hands kneaded her muscles, not leaving one inch of skin untouched, unloved. Between his mouth and his hands, Julia thought she was going to die of the most painful pleasure known to woman.
He blew kisses into her moist center and she gasped, arching her back, physically begging him to taste her, to give her the pleasure she was on the verge of spilling.
But he barely skimmed his lips across her sensitive path, instead planting his mouth on her navel.
He moved constantly, touching, kissing, licking. She writhed beneath him, hands in his hair, his chest, his beautiful hard muscles. Being in bed with Connor was better than she’d dreamed, the reality superior to the anticipation.
Tonight they could forget the past, the lines they’d drawn in the sand five years ago. This night they could enjoy what they both had wanted for so long, what they’d waited for, what they needed.
For now, now, she had him, and she was going to show him how well they fit together.
Connor was ready to enter Julia for the second time that night, his body tight and hot, Julia moving beneath him. He kissed her, and she pushed him away.
For a split second he thought he’d done something wrong. But there was a half smile on her face, and she rolled over so she was on top.
In a sudden move, she slid onto his dick, fully sheathing him. He froze, fearful one move might set him off. She sat on him, her heavy breasts rising and falling with her own restrained passion.
She made love to him.
Her arms came down, one on either side of him. She controlled the pace—slow, steady, easy. Her lips were swollen from their earlier kisses, red and lush. He leaned up to taste them.
The light touch of lips on lips made Connor’s heart flip. He grabbed her hands, held them tight on either side of his head. Julia’s eyes stared into his, open, dark, full of lust and love, need and want. Their faces were mere inches apart; her eyes never left his. He swallowed, feeling a connection he’d never felt with another woman. With each easy, languid movement, Julia was drawing him in. Deeper, deeper, until he was falling into her eyes, lost, his orgasm building as his heart swelled. The quiet, unhurried lovemaking brought him to a level of sensuality he had never experienced.
It was the woman he was with, not the act of sex, that made this moment so incredible.
It was as if Julia saw the realization cross his face, because at the same time he knew no woman could fill his heart like Julia, she rolled over, pulled him on top of her, and whispered, “Make love to me.”
He did. In and out, touching her, kissing her, never breaking eye contact. Her breath came in gasps, their hands entwined, and they were coming together, a long, languid release that left them satiated and complete.
Connor kissed Julia lightly, the same way she’d kissed him at the moment he realized there was something more between them than he’d accepted before.
He spooned her into his arms, held her close, vowing he’d find a way to keep her always with him, where she so obviously belonged.
TWENTY-NINE
FAYE LOOKED even worse than Emily had the morning after Victor’s murder. Dark circles framed her pale blue eyes. Her hair was limp, her skin even paler than usual.
They observed her through one-way glass. Faye was in the hospital’s locked psychiatric ward.
During her medical
exam, the doctors discovered that Faye had been cut on her right arm. The wound had been sewed up with regular household thread, and Faye insisted she’d done it herself.
Dillon shook his head and said to Julia, Connor, and Will, “While it’s possible she dressed her own wound—she’s lefthanded—I highly doubt it.”
“She looks like she’s going through withdrawal,” Julia commented.
“Looks like it, but her tox screen came out clean. The reason I don’t think she sewed herself up is that she had Amytal in her system, a prescription barbiturate given to patients when they go in for surgery or to reduce pain and lower blood pressure. How would she know about that? And where would she get it?”
“You mean a doctor prescribed it?”
“It can be found on the streets, but these were within normal limits and she has no signs of long-term drug abuse. We ran through the drugs Bowen prescribed for her—none of which she filled—and it wasn’t on the list. But someone knew what it was for, or someone with access and knowledge gave it to her.”
“Isn’t Garrett Bowen’s son a psychiatrist as well?” Connor asked.
“He’s in med school, third or fourth year. I was thinking about him,” Dillon agreed. “And he had some interesting things to say about his father when he went to view the body at the morgue. He was upset, but something was odd.”
“I’ll talk to him,” Will said. “Connor, want to come along for the ride?”
Connor hesitated, glanced at Julia. She nodded. “Sure,” he said.
“I’m staying to observe,” Dillon said. “I’m still worried about Faye’s mental health.”
“Yeah, the poor darling,” said Connor. He squeezed Julia’s hand. “Be careful.” He left with Will.
Dillon said to Julia, “The only person Faye wants to hurt is herself. You asked about withdrawal? Let me show you something.” He opened the medical chart. Inside were photographs of Faye Kessler’s back, arms, and legs. A multitude of scars crisscrossed.
Julia paled. “Who did that to her?”
“Mostly, she did it to herself. Except on her back. But she won’t talk about that.”
“She cut her own body.”
Dillon nodded. “It’s increasingly common among young people today. Even adults. A way to feel in control, or to feel something when they feel nothing. I think Faye is going through withdrawal because she can’t cut herself. Watch her.” Dillon cautioned Julia. “I’m right out here, and if I think either one of you is in any danger, I’ll be through the door in two seconds.”
Because Faye refused to talk with any doctor, Dillon suggested Julia go in and develop a rapport with the young killer. There were still too many unanswered questions. Julia entered the hospital room.
Faye wasn’t restrained, but the room was bare, nothing accessible that she could use to kill herself.
Julia swallowed a tickle of worry that she was going to do something wrong with Faye. She couldn’t think that way. After all, the girl had killed in cold blood. She’d been messed up long before she came here, so how much damage could Julia do just by talking to her?
It didn’t seem plausible that three teenagers could plan and execute such an elaborate set of murders. Dillon was right: someone had directed Faye and the boys. Maybe it was a brainwashing technique—Faye killed her partners and confessed in order to deflect attention from the person who’d put the whole thing in motion.
“Hi, Faye,” said Julia.
“I know you. Are you prosecuting me?”
“How do you know me?”
“I saw you at the school, picking Emily up sometimes.”
Julia shivered. This killer, who looked so small and frail in her hospital gown, had been watching her. She shouldn’t be surprised. Faye had already told them she’d spoken to Emily at school, and knew what had happened with Victor Montgomery. In her own way, Faye was trying to protect Julia’s niece.
“When we were doing research,” Faye continued, “we learned all about you.”
“Research about what?”
“Killing the judge. We needed to know your schedule, Emily’s schedule, the judge’s schedule.”
“So why did you kill him when Emily was in the house?”
“She wasn’t inside when we killed him. We heard her come in after. I hid under his desk while Skip locked the door. In case Emily came to his office on her own. But she didn’t. When we were sure she was upstairs, we left.”
Faye shrugged. Didn’t take her eyes off Julia.
“Why did you jeopardize Emily? The police thought she was involved.”
“I was sorry about that,” Faye said, sounding contrite. “Emily was always nice to me. I didn’t want her to get in trouble. But she’s in the clear now, right? Is that why you’re here? You want me to say she had nothing to do with it? Okay. Emily had nothing to do with it.”
“That’s not why I’m here,” Julia said. “The police seem to think someone else is involved. Not just you, Skip, and Robbie.”
“They’re wrong,” insisted Faye. “It was only the three of us. Now they’re dead. Maybe I should have killed myself instead of coming here.”
“You don’t want to die,” Julia said. “If you wanted to die, you wouldn’t have sewn up your arm.” She pointed to Faye’s bandaged right arm.
Faye looked at her arm, lost in thought, her blue eyes both blank and searching. “I hadn’t thought of that,” she said, incredulous. “Do you believe in love?”
Julia was only momentarily thrown by the odd question. “Yes, I do.”
“Have you ever loved anyone? Not like your family, who you’re supposed to love even when you hate them. But someone you met because of fate, who you let inside your body and your mind and you told him everything and he still loved you?”
“Have you?” Julia asked without answering Faye’s question.
“Are you a shrink, too?” Faye’s face reddened. “Shrinks always answer questions with questions. Trying to be smarter.”
“I’m not a shrink. I’m an attorney. And Emily’s aunt. I care about Emily. I care about you, too, Faye.”
Faye laughed a low, sick cackle that twisted Julia’s stomach into knots. “You care about me? Do you know what I did to Victor Montgomery? I took pruning shears and while Robbie and Skip held him to his chair, I cut off his dick.” She moved her hands as if they were holding shears and made a chopping motion. “Sliced it right off. They were new and sharp and they did the job. I slammed it down hard, but you know the penis is really just muscle and flesh and blood. Kind of rubbery. He was hard. Still, I just sliced right through it.”
Julia swallowed her revulsion. “Are you saying Judge Montgomery’s penis was erect?”
Faye laughed. “Exactly.”
“Did you have sex with Judge Montgomery?”
“No. I sucked him. Got him to the edge, then I sliced it off. Stuffed it down his throat, just like Emily wanted to do.
“Whatever. What’s done is done. You can leave now,” Faye said.
“Faye, we know someone helped you plan these murders. Tell me who and I can protect you.”
“Protect me from what? No one’s going to let me out of here. I’m okay with that. Really.”
“Faye, you need to be completely honest with the police. Tell them who asked you to kill Victor Montgomery and Garrett Bowen and Paul Judson.”
“A little bird told me,” Faye said, and started laughing.
After leaving Faye, Julia asked Dillon, “Do you think it’s all an act?”
“Faye’s protecting someone, no doubt about it,” he said. “A man. Someone she’s having sex with.”
“She’s only seventeen.”
Dillon raised an eyebrow. “Not that I condone underage sex, but it’s not uncommon.”
“You know what I mean. It’s not just her having sex, but killing without any remorse. Even killing her friends.”
“Like I said last night, she has no empathy for her victims. But there is one very unusual thing.”
<
br /> “What’s that?”
“She’s protecting someone, which means she is capable of emotion. You have to care about someone to go to prison for them. I certainly don’t think Faye cares enough about herself or even whether she lives or dies.”
Dressed as a nurse, and sporting a stolen security pass, Cami found it surprisingly easy to walk onto the secured floor of the hospital. She’d learned a long time ago that when you acted like you belonged somewhere, people accepted that you belonged. A form of psychology.
She ducked into a room when she saw Julia Chandler walk from Faye’s wing with a tall, handsome man. Cami recognized him. He’d been at Dr. Bowen’s fund-raiser.
Who had spilled her identity? It had to have been Jason’s parents. They were the only ones who knew who she really was, but it hadn’t occurred to Cami that anyone would have a reason to talk to them.
Again, the two-timing asshole was wrong. He said they’d never make the connection with Jason Ridge. Well, hotshot, they had. And now they knew Michelle O’Dell also went by the name of Cami.
Cami watched them walk past. As soon as they were out of sight, she strode down the hall. A doctor gave her a double look, but she just nodded curtly and kept right on going, chart in hand. Cami had a purpose. Don’t hesitate, always look like you know what you’re doing, no one will get in your way.
A guard stood at Faye’s door. He checked her ID, but fortunately didn’t look too carefully. It looked enough like her on the surface, though the woman in the photo was much older. Cami had stolen it from the nurses’ locker room.
After signing in with the guard, Cami entered the room. Faye was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
“Hello, Faye.”
Faye turned her head, surprised. “What are you doing here?”
“He wanted me to thank you for sacrificing yourself. It was such a noble thing to do, Faye.”
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