* * * *
Annie lay on the bed, half-dozing when the right side of the bed dipped. A strong masculine hand found her feminine folds and stroked.
“Jesse.”
On the other side of her, Grant stirred, rolling to his side so he could watch. The moon sent dazzling silver to play against their flesh. The night had a surreal quality to it.
“I need you, Annie.”
The honesty of Jesse’s words touched her heart. “Then take me.”
He rolled on top of her, gently, holding the bulk of his weight on his own arms. When his cock slid into her, she wrapped around him, arms and legs, and pulled him fully onto her.
“Fuck me,” she whispered.
The feral sound he made stirred her juices, a primitive part of the mating ritual that hid beneath the veneer of civilization. Hot and hard, his latex-covered cock filled her completely.
Jesse usually waited for her, but this night, he seemed unable to control his thrusts, his paces. That pleased her. She wanted to just give to him, let him take what he needed to have, however he wanted to have it. When he stiffened inside her, when she felt the perspiration break out on his skin, when that deep groan tickled the skin under her ear, she felt filled with satisfaction. She had made him lose control. She had given him release.
When he rolled to the side, he brought her with him. He withdrew from her, gently, then moved her leg atop his hip.
Why became clear a moment later when she felt Grant move in behind her, felt him stroke gently against her anus.
“Will you let me take you here, Annie? I’ll be gentle.”
“Yes.” She hissed with pleasure when he spread a chilly, silky lubricant on her, working his finger back and forth and then in and out.
Then his finger left her. His cock was there, gentle but persistent. He pressed forward, one hand on her hip, holding her still, bracing her.
Annie moaned, the sensation of this profoundly personal touch arousing and painful at the same time. Burning, stretching, her body slowly opened to allow his invasion.
Jesse pulled her leg just a bit higher on his hip, the motion spreading the cheeks of her ass just a bit more, but it was enough.
“Oh God,” Grant swore.
Annie felt his cock go deeper, slowly, and the arousal was different, not better but different and keener and centered lower in her body.
“Don’t move,” he said as he rested his forehead against the back of her head. “If you move, I’ll lose it.”
“Please.” She needed more, needed something.
“Stop?” Grant asked, and Annie knew he would if she gave the word.
“No. I need….”
She never finished the sentence. Just then Jesse stroked her pussy, taking her clit between his fingers, caressing it, his touch light and fast.
Annie screamed as she came.
Chapter 14
Veronica killed the lights on her Caddy as she turned off
Main Street
. The moon shone bright enough for her to see her way as she edged her car onto Back Street. Within moments, she’d reached the parking area behind Annie’s store. She’d planned to walk over from her apartment, but at the last minute she’d been swamped by an overwhelming urge to be certain Annie was at the Conrad place, and not at home.
It wasn’t much past eleven. Veronica had driven out of town, taking the county road that wound past the ranch. She’d seen Annie’s car parked by the porch, the yard light glinting off the creamy Pontiac. As she let her vehicle idle on the side of the road, trying to decide if she should stay or go, the lights in the house went dark.
Barring anything unexpected, Annie should be staying put until morning. Which meant it would be as safe as it was ever going to get for a little innocuous break and enter.
This was her first, and would likely be her only, opportunity to search Annie’s small apartment above the store. She’d been hoping for chance for the last six months, but, until very recently, Annie rarely left home.
Not to discount the true-to-life maxim that timing was everything, but if anything was going to happen, it would be within the next few days.
That moron is too stupid to play it safe and wait. No question about it. Things were about to break.
The answer must be here. Everything had happened so suddenly back then that there had been no time for any kind of shrewd moves.
Besides, the poor bastard hadn’t had a shrewd bone in his body.
Fifty dollars paid to the landlord got Veronica into the three story walk-up the Rutherfords had occupied in Queens the day after Annie left town. She’d had a full day to search that cramped, two-bedroom apartment, and had come up completely empty-handed.
Hopefully, she’d have better luck tonight.
She closed the car door softly, then stood still for a minute, looking around. The stores on
Main Street
each had a small back lot serviced by the narrow Back Street. Her eyes were drawn to the heavens. Another cloudless night—no surprise there. The climate was so damn dry here, there were rarely any clouds. Her gaze took in the carpet of stars. Even from the small town of Branchton, where some ambient light flickered into the dark, a million stars could be seen. She’d lived most of her life in large cities, the last dozen years before coming here in New York.
She would have sworn that stars were only a myth.
The cry of a coyote, somewhere north of town, sent a shiver down her spine. She listened, waiting. The answering howl came, a haunting sound that cried out to the primitive human within her. Shaking her head and shaking off the unwelcome sensations, she focused on listening for closer sounds. The wind whispered softly, of course. Rarely did the air remain still. But no sounds of man disturbed the night. The occasional car would drive down Main, but at this hour, most people here in Hicksville were tucked safely into their beds. Annie’s was the only occupied second floor on this side of
Main Street
.
They really did roll the sidewalks up in Branchton. She couldn’t wait to put this town and this state behind her.
Satisfied that no one would see her, she made her way across the dirt lot to the stairs leading up to Annie’s apartment. She climbed quietly, conscious that she was trespassing. She suppressed the twinge of guilt and stayed vigilant. She’d left her purse in the car so she tucked her keys into her left front jeans pocket. From the right one, she extracted a small tool and a keychain penlight.
Inserting the pick into the lock, she had the door open in seconds. She closed it softly behind her.
Veronica didn’t turn on the lights. Annie had left her curtains open—another indication the woman really had left Queens far behind, mentally—and the moon shone into the kitchen, illuminating the room.
Veronica got right to work. Turning on the penlight, she clamped it between her teeth so that it lit only the immediate area. She began with the drawers under the counter, looking through each one, pulling each out, and looking underneath for anything that might be secreted there. Veronica really didn’t expect to find the goods, but she thought there might be some sort of key. She could imagine that a safety deposit box held what she was looking for, and she could even imagine Jimmy getting one, even though a thorough search of bank records had come up a big fat zilch.
Next, she went through the cupboards, dragging one of the chairs from the table so she could reach the upper shelves. She checked the fridge, the freezer, the stove. She moved the washer and dryer, though if Annie had been sly enough to tape the key on the inside shell of the dryer, Veronica wouldn’t find it. She had no clue how to get the appliance apart. She even picked up the cutting board Annie kept in the middle of her small kitchen table, examining it under the tiny light she’d brought, searching for a seam or some indication that the board hid a secret pocket. Nothing.
Veronica gave the rest of the apartment an exacting search. Annie didn’t have a lot of stuff or a lot of storage space.
She thought she hit pay dirt wh
en she found an envelope at the bottom of a metal box full of photos. The envelope, small and white had Annie’s name written on it in her late husband’s hand. But all it held was a pair of ticket stubs to a Yankee’s game.
The bedroom was the last room Veronica searched. She sat on the bed while her mind turned over the possibilities.
She’d had no indication that Annie was hiding a secret agenda. The assumption had all been hers, based on the fact the woman had more or less run away from her past.
But if Annie didn’t know anything about what her husband had done in the two years before he died, then what? If Jimmy had stashed the goods, Annie would have found it, or, given the time she’d spent on the search, Veronica would have. So nothing had been left in an obvious place. It must have been hidden, either in a safe place back in New York, or maybe secreted somehow amongst Annie’s stuff.
She couldn’t very well tear Annie’s things apart. So that left only one option. She would wait and watch. If that moron showed up, she’d know—and go from there.
Veronica reminded herself of one very important fact. The man might be a moron, but he also might know where the goods were. And if he showed up, then they had to be here.
* * * *
Rick left his car on one of the side streets and walked back toward the store. He figured there must be a back entrance if Annie lived there. He found it in no time.
He couldn’t imagine his little sister-in-law living in this dry-as-dirt, wind-always-howling piece of Nowhere, Wyoming. She was New York born and bred, just like him. He’d only been in the area a day and already his skin was crawling. Give him traffic, tall buildings, and that old concrete jungle any day.
No cars were parked on the dirt lot behind the store, though there was one behind the next building. He didn’t actually see any people, but just because he didn’t see them didn’t mean they weren’t there, looking out, spying on him.
The smart thing to do would be to wait in the shadowy corner by the shed just over to his right. Wait and watch, see what was what.
Rick hadn’t always done the smart thing. But he planned to, beginning the moment he’d walked out the gate of that prison. He could stand in the dark for an hour or so. Hell, he’d waited all those stinking days and nights behind bars, and had already come across the country. What was waiting out in the night shadows compared to all of that?
It would be easy to just barge right in on Annie, but he didn’t know if she was alone or even if she was home.
That quick flash of her in the window as he drove by earlier had been a hell of a tease and a hell of a turn-on. And not nearly enough to satisfy the wanting that had built up while he’d been away.
The sound of a car engine got his feet moving. He trotted over to the shed, slapped his back against the wall and sucked in his belly just as headlights swept the tiny street behind him. Then they cut off even as the car moved closer. For one wild second, he figured he’d been seen, that someone had called the local cops.
Fuck. What the hell is this? The late model Caddy coasted past him, stopping not far from the bottom of the stairs that lead up to the second floor. In the light that flashed in the quick moment when the car door opened then closed softly, Rick caught a glimpse of sleek black hair pulled up in a clip and white creamy flesh.
Now isn’t this interesting? He watched the woman, watched as she looked around. Skulking. A howl cut the night, the piercing cry making the woman jump, unsettling her. Him, too. He hoped to God whatever that had been was far away and not hungry.
After a few moments, she went up the stairs to Annie’s apartment. She paused at the door, looked around, then bent down. Then she was inside.
Rick waited but no lights came on.
Working on a hunch, he crept over to the car. One eye on the apartment upstairs, he looked inside.
A woman’s purse lay on the front passenger’s seat. Rick tried the door handle. Unlocked.
City girl should know better.
Quick and quiet, he scooped the bag, then shut the door softly. He kept a lookout as he reached in, extracted the wallet. Flipping it open, he found the driver’s license. Daring to take his eyes for a moment off Annie’s apartment, he pulled out his cigarette lighter. Squatting down, he flicked it, quickly scanning the information in the flickering flame. He didn’t know the town, but it was so freaking small, he wouldn’t have any trouble finding that address.
He returned the wallet to the bag and put it back on the car seat. Shutting the door silently, he slid back to his hiding place.
Annie obviously wasn’t home, or Veronica Ferris wouldn’t have just pulled that little B & E.
He’d wait and see what the Ferris woman came out with. And if she hit the mother lode, he’d simply relieve her of the goods.
Twenty minutes later, the door opened and the woman emerged. She carried nothing in her hands. The moon spotlighted her silhouette as she descended the stairs and headed for the Caddy. Her clothes clung tight, he could see she had nothing in her pockets but the keys she pulled out.
Rick was in no hurry to follow after she drove off. He knew where she lived. Casting a glance up toward Annie’s place, he considered searching the place himself, then shook his head.
He’d wait, catch Annie at home. Besides, he had an idea where the stones were. He really did want to spend some time one-on-one with Annie. If the little cunt knew what had gone down, knew about the gems, he’d soon know. If she didn’t, then he’d find what he was looking for on his own. Checking around him, he could see no sign of anyone lurking about. Anxious to get back to some semblance of civilization, he headed back to his car.
He’d have to figure out where Annie was, and when he could get her alone. Then he could get on with the rest of his life.
* * * *
From his position in the field just a half dozen yards the other side of Back Street, Billy Woods lowered his binoculars and rolled over onto his back. I’m getting too old for all this skullduggery. He had a kink in his neck, one in his back, and could only be grateful the grass hadn’t been thick with dew.
He also had one hell of a dilemma.
It looked as if Annie Rutherford really was smack dab in the middle of this mess when he would have sworn she wasn’t. It also looked as if the players were a bit more desperate than he calculated. If he weren’t careful, all the work of the last seven months would go into the toilet and the fortune he’d been counting on would slip right through his fingers.
He sat up, massaged his back, and got to his feet. For a long moment, he contemplated his next step.
Then a smile ghosted across his face. The way he saw things, he had one chance to do what he’d set out to do when he’d left New York.
It was time to get to work.
Chapter 15
Annie came awake to the twin sensations of being cuddled between two hard male bodies and having a work-roughened male hand stroke down her naked back.
“Mmm.” She wished she could offer more articulate conversation than that, but words were beyond her.
“It turns me on that between us, Grant and I can reduce you to incoherent sounds.”
Annie laughed, the sound low and sultry even to her own ears. “What time is it?”
“Can’t see the clock from here. Besides, I am too busy looking at your luscious ass.” Jesse spoke softly. Annie turned her head toward the other side of the bed, where she knew a clock kept time on the bedside table. She felt her smile soften as she realized Grant was asleep. She cast her gaze to the time. It was just past midnight.
Sighing, she turned her head, laid back down on her pillow, and looked at Jesse. Beautifully naked, he lay on his side, propped up on his right hand. The look of male smugness on his face gave her a warm sensation in the pit of her belly. He looked like a man who had just had himself one hell of a good time.
Which she could attest was nothing but the truth.
“What are you smiling at?” he asked, his own grin widening.
“You and that smug look you’re wearing.”
“You should smile over that, sweetheart. You put it there.”
“Yep. That’s why I’m smiling.” She felt her teasing mood slip just a notch. She let it. Focusing on his eyes, she said, “Do you have any idea what a wonder it seems to me that I can satisfy you both? That I can have orgasm after orgasm without having to reach for them?”
“I meant what I said earlier, Annie.” It would seem the teasing mood had slipped just a notch within Jesse, too. His grin smoothed into an expression she could only call contemplative. “I don’t like to talk in disrespect of the dead, but that asshole you were married to needed to have a beating laid on him for how he treated you, and what he did to you.”
“I’ll remind you that I chose that asshole. So part of the blame is mine.”
“For being deceived?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe a part of me recognized my father in him and decided escaping home was worth the bullshit I’d go through with Jim. Which makes me responsible not only for what happened to me, but for my baby’s death, too.”
“Bullshit.”
Grant’s one-word epithet cut into the night. She felt him shift on the mattress.
“We all make errors in judgment, Annie. That’s not the same as being guilty in the sense you mean.”
Grant copied Jesse’s pose. Anne turned onto her back so she could look at them both. They were strong men, both more muscular than Jim had been. Yet not one ounce of fear stirred in her. She lay more vulnerable than she’d ever been in her life and felt completely safe.
“Stop beating yourself up, sweetheart,” Jesse said
“It’s how I feel.”
“Yeah, we got that. Maybe after a while, we can get you feeling some other way.” Grant smoothed the sheet she’d automatically hugged to her breasts when she turned onto her back. Then he pulled it to her waist. “Given enough time, I bet Jesse and I could get you feeling nothing but very well loved.” He began to caress her breast, nearly robbing her of all thought.
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