LifeoftheParty

by Trudy Doyle

  She crossed her own. “Sure. But I never expected it to get so personal.”

  “What was that Tip O’Neill said?” He thought a moment. “All politics is local. That’s how this guy felt. Falco wrote that bill to screw him, not to free people incarcerated falsely. For him it got personal, and you were the ones that sprung them. But that’s not why I’m here. What I want to know is,” he leaned into her, “how it got so personal toward you.”

  Those eyes were back, steely and crystalline. Gina picked up the BlackBerry, went to email and, finding the first message, handed it to Doug. “These were sent to my email account.”

  He glanced at the screen. Sometimes People get in the way.

  His eyes flared.

  Gina’s heart skipped. That one infinitesimal gesture said it all. He did still care. He had to. Because if he didn’t it would surely be over for her.

  “How did he get your address?” he asked quietly.

  “I have it on my card. It’d be easy enough.”

  His jaw tightened. “Show me more.”

  She took the BlackBerry from him, scrolled some more and handed it back. “Then there was this.” Sometimes the Bullet misses the target and people get hurt. She got up and, leaning over his shoulder, scrolled to the next. “Then this.” Sometimes the Worst things happen even with your friends all around you.

  Doug’s hands reddened, his fingers tightening. “He’s referring to the rally. When is it?”

  “Sunday. In front of the county courthouse here in Riverboro. It’s his hometown, so he wants to go back to his roots.” Her eyes softened with admiration. “The outgoing governor is coming to formally throw his support to Jack, as well as both senators and a couple more representatives from neighboring districts. There’s also going to be a coalition of victims’ rights advocates and their supporters.”

  “Which will surely bring out this wacko.”

  “Which is why I need you.” She slid the BlackBerry from him again, scrolling once more. “Especially because of this. Because before he was vague. This time, he gets a little more direct.” Such a shame to break those lovely, long legs, slit that pretty little throat, put a bullet into that filthy brain.

  He thrust it back at her. “You’re not going.”

  She nearly laughed. “What do you mean? Of course I am. I have to.”

  “Are you joking?” He stood up, looming over her, the chair between them. “With this kind of threat, you’re nothing but a target.”

  “So I’ll keep moving. But I’ll be there.”

  He swiveled around the chair. “Do you have some kind of death wish?”

  Every instinct in her was on fire. “Are you telling me you care?”

  A vein in his temple twitched. “Not a bit, doll. I’m talking purely professional.”

  “Then professionally speaking, you know I have to go. So take this job, keep an eye on the crazies and allow me to do mine.”

  “An outside rally? You’re just asking for it.”

  She lowered her gaze and back. “I’ll be fine. I’ll have Superman watching out for me.”

  “Maybe you won’t.”

  “Won’t I?” She tilted into him, playing her trump. “Ah c’mon, Doug. You can’t help yourself.”

  It was as though a bomb went off in his head. His eyes flared and he seized her mouth with his, his hand sliding under her ass to lift her to the back of the chair.

  “You’re right, goddamn it. I can’t keep my hands off you.” He kissed a line down her throat to the swell of her breasts. “You’re like a goddamned sickness in me.”

  She hooked her finger into the knot of his tie and, undoing it, tossed it to the floor, flicking a few shirt buttons open to kiss the pulse point thumping wildly at his neck. “Oh I’ve missed you,” she whispered, his hands kneading her back, her tongue trailing to his ear. She flicked it and he flinched against her, his fiery-hot hand snaking under her sweater to her breasts, her nipples hardening instantly. She kissed her way back to his mouth and fell into it, his tongue lacing with hers so intensely it made her head spin.

  “A terminal sickness,” he whispered, sliding his lips to her neck. He bared her shoulder, his mouth trailing kisses down the slope.

  She tossed her head back, lolling in the bliss. How she had missed the scent, the feel, the sight of him. She slid her hands past his neck and into his jacket, his own hands lifting just long enough to let it slide to the floor. But it was hardly enough. She wanted the saltiness of his skin on her lips, his musky taste in her mouth. She raised her head and caught him looking at her, a hunger in his eyes, a rising urgency in his breath. She kissed him quickly then slid from the top of the chair.

  “Where you going, doll?” he asked thickly, but he’d know soon enough. She nuzzled his shoulder, his arms still around her as she slowly undid his shirt, easing him around until he was braced against the back of the chair.

  She spread his shirt until it too fell with his holster to the floor, nearly gasping at the taut, muscular expanse of his chest. Then she saw it, near his right breast, precariously close to his heart. It was fading, far from the angry, gaping wound when she’d last seen it, knowing it was her fault it was there. She could feel his eyes on her as she brushed her fingers over it, felt his hand fall to her hip when she rose up and lightly kissed it.

  She laid her head against his chest, feeling his heart pounding reassuringly, thinking back to the night when that same sound was nearly a wish. She took in his scent, his breathing as it rose and fell. God, how she wanted him, feeling his abs tighten as her hand wandered down the hard ridges to his belt. She looked up at him. He was still watching her. How could she ever tell him what she had to? Maybe if he still loved her it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe if she kept trying, he’d remember how much he did. She unbuckled his belt and, easing down his zipper, fell to her knees.

  His fingers speared into her hair as she lowered his cock to her mouth. He still smelled of soap, and she wondered if he had come straight from his shower expecting this, and that thrilled her. Her tongue reached out and she flicked him, his fingers tightening. When she circled his head with her tongue, she could feel his nails digging into her scalp. With her other hand she cupped his balls, rolling them between her fingers.

  She flicked again, once, twice, sliding her hand over his hard, firm ass. He groaned. She flicked some more, circled once, twice, three times, gently kneading his balls, his cock throbbing in time with her clit. Little electric stabs sparked her groin as she mouthed the head of his cock, pulling, tugging. His ass tightened under her hand, her panties soaking through to her jeans. Then she rose up on her knees and, widening her mouth, took him as far as she could down her throat.

  “Gina!” he cried, grabbing handfuls of her hair as she sucked him, her tongue flicking wildly on each return. His balls were as hard as granite in her hand, his cock a pulsing firebrand in her mouth, so hot and wet she thought it would singe her lips. But still she sucked, faster and harder and with a rising, half-crazed need, wanting him inside her so badly her joints ached. She grabbed his hips, digging her fingers into his already fevered skin. If she could swallow him whole she would.

  “Doug,” she moaned, sliding kisses up the length of his cock, “I want you so badly I could just—”

  He yanked her to her feet, kissing her with manic force, all tongue and lips and the same overpowering need. Before she could think, he had her twisted around and against the sofa. In one swift movement he unzipped her jeans and slid them from her, her panties following. Then just as quickly they were falling to the cushions, his mouth on hers.

  “Finish me, doll,” he breathed, Gina panting atop him. He kissed her cheek, her neck, his slickened cock pulsing against her. “And let me taste you while you’re doing it.”

  “Doug, but I—” But he had already twisted her around, sliding her to him, his massive cock begging for release just inches from her mouth, his own latching on to her pussy.

  “Oh…” Her hips bucked as he flick
ed her clit, his finger sinking into her vagina. Gina felt her eyes roll back in her head as her body started to tremble, pleasure radiating from her insides out as he pumped her, sucked her, flicked her mercilessly. She looked down, nearly blinded with rising bliss, then suddenly she seized his cock, her back arching as she bent to him. Then she opened her throat and took him down it.

  She heard his head thump against the armrest, his body jerk as she sucked and circled as relentlessly as he’d done her only moments before. Within a second he was back at her and she was coming, momentously, voluminously, her body quivering with a pleasure only heightened by Doug’s. She swallowed spasm after spasm, each one adding another glorious explosion to her own. On and on it went until finally Doug fell away and Gina let go, his cock slipping from her lips as she collapsed breathlessly against his thigh.

  “Jesus…” Doug sighed, stilling. After a few seconds Gina felt his hands at her hips, twisting her toward him. “Hey, doll, come here.”

  She slinked around, straddling him, her pussy moistening his belly. Funny how he’d always called her doll. He tossed her around like one. A funny-looking doll with her hair in tangles and her sweater askew, her only piece of clothing left on. She pulled it off and looked down at him. Shirt off, trousers around his hips, shoes and socks still firmly on. Kind of silly when she was so naked. He raised a finger to her navel, circling it before he traced a line to one breast, his hand opening to weigh its heaviness, then continuing on to her neck, her cheek, tracing the line of her jaw to her lips, thumbing first the lower then the upper. His hand cupped her chin.

  “Gina,” he whispered.

  She slid to his side and he spooned against her, their arms and legs tangling around each other’s. He brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her neck, his breath warm and sweet against her skin. She laced her fingers into his and, holding them against her heart, let herself fall asleep with nothing between them except the truth.

  * * * * *

  7:43 A.M.

  Doug awoke with Gina’s taste in his mouth. He opened his eyes, blinked, focusing on the room. She was gone. He ran a hand over his head, spiking his hair. A cold dread washed over him. Jesus, she couldn’t just leave. Then he heard shower water raining and he exhaled, a slow, cleansing breath. He rolled from the sofa, gravitating toward it. Through the crack in the door he saw her, opaqued by the translucent curtain. Her neck was arched into the water, her arms raised and fingers sunk into her scalp as she shampooed her hair. He hardened instantly. He dropped the last of his clothes and slid the shower curtain back.

  She froze, gasping slightly before her mouth crooked. “What took you so long, sailor?”

  He growled something under his breath and stepped in.

  His insides squeezed as he saw her standing there, all slick and soapy, her long, chestnut hair a foamy tangle as rivulets of water snaked around her breasts, down her belly and into her pussy. He pulled her to him, kissing her deeply, lacing his fingers into her hair as her lush, full breasts pressed against the hardness of his. She arched her neck back and let the water rinse her, the stream straightening her long curls until the weight of the water pulled her hair halfway down her back. He kissed her neck, her shoulder, the tip of a nipple. When he pulled it into his mouth and nipped her she bucked against him, raking her nails in an electric line down his back.

  That was all he needed.

  He pressed her against the wall, his mouth seizing hers. He bit her lip, the corner of her mouth, his hand splaying around her breast, his hard length immobilizing her. She squirmed against him but it was useless. She wasn’t going anywhere unless he allowed it. His hand slid down her thigh, his fingers pinching her clit. She jolted, crying out, and he laughed, low and sultry as he flicked it, his index finger sliding into a slit already moist and slick and so hot he felt singed. As her clit went rigid against his hand, he teased it, sliding his fingers around it, slipping his hands to the firm mounds of her ass. He lifted her, her legs instantly wrapping around him, her clit lightly resting atop the long shaft of his erect cock.

  “Jesus, Doug,” she said breathily, her hands pressed against his chest, her eyes half-masted with desire. She squirmed in his grasp, her clit a hard, pulsing knob.

  He kissed her neck, swirling the bar of soap around her pussy. And then he began to move.

  If there was cruelty involved, it was only self-inflicted. Because with this warm, slickened goddess in his hands, her voluptuous breasts rising and falling with her quickening breaths, her skin like velvet and pungent with arousal, all he wanted to do was sink his cock into her pussy until he touched her womb, until his balls melded against her, until her climax squeezed his own clean out of him. But he just couldn’t. Which only frenzied him more.

  What the fuck was he doing?

  He stared at her, this luscious woman in his arms, half-wondering if she were real or this was just some waking nightmare he’d walked into because, Jesus Christ, didn’t she once nearly drive him out of his mind? Yet here she was, softly moaning against him, and he was crazy for her and wanting more, with as bad a jones as any junkie.

  “Gina,” he growled.

  With his cock against her pulsing clit, he slid her back and forth, the water raining between them slickening the slide. She groaned, arching, gripping his shoulders as his shaft teased her clit with such savagery her body fairly pulsed. Back and forth he slid himself, from the cleft of her ass and across her slippery pussy. She felt exquisite, she looked beautiful and he couldn’t believe how he had actually survived two years without her. She writhed, moaning as Doug’s fingers dug into her cheeks, and he didn’t know how much longer he could take it. His legs were weakening, his groin was tightening, the urge to sink himself into her so overwhelming he pulled back, pressing the glistening head of his cock against her clit. Suddenly she cried out, spasming against him. He thought he would die.

  He held her body against his, his cock between their bellies as she bit his shoulder, riding out her orgasm and just as suddenly he was coming too, shooting a gallon of lust between her breasts. She was still coming when he pulled her up and caught her mouth, kissing her wildly. His come had slickened her skin, erupting over the curve of her breasts and around her nipples. He kissed her once more then leaned her back, Gina bracing her hands against the wall as he held her into the shower’s rain, a sated yet questioning look on her face. He lowered her to her feet.

  He didn’t want to answer anything. He just took her in his arms and kissed her and, grabbing the bar of soap, washed away their lovemaking, smiling with satisfaction when again, the brush of his hands made her erupt. They still had it, he knew.

  So he shouldn’t have been surprised. Not when they stepped from the shower, when he toweled her long hair, when they took turns drying each other, when he rubbed lotion all over her body and watched her skin glow under his touch, when he dropped to his knees and tongued her almost to the point of amnesia. But not quite. Because after they dressed, after she had slipped into a tailored suit and he’d slipped into his holster, as they sat across from each other at the little table with coffee mugs between them. Just as he was about to slip into official police procedural mode and drill her about the case when all he really wanted to do was drill her and couldn’t, she slid her spoon from her mug to the table and, setting her sherry-colored eyes on him said, “Okay, Doug, let’s get it over with.”

  Chapter Four

  HOLLY HOUSE INN

  8:22 A.M.

  Doug glared at her from over his coffee. “You want me to say it? Okay.” The mug hit the table with a thud. “You kicked me in the balls when I was half-dead and then you walked out on me. There. Out in the open.”

  “I didn’t walk out,” Gina said. “You threw me out.”

  Doug pushed up from the table. “Merely a technicality. You were on your way out anyway.”

  She rose to meet him. “I didn’t have a choice.”

  “Ah, sure you did. You always have a choice.”

  “
No.” She looked away, drawing into herself. “Sometimes you don’t.”

  She could see it even now, as she stood in that tiny kitchen, with Doug so close and the heat between them barely banked, that horrible day two and a half years ago. She had been out on the West Coast for nearly two weeks, fielding regional leaders for the primary, part of her new job as Assistant to the Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee. She was a rising star in the DNC, the feisty former trial lawyer with insatiable ambition and indefatigable energy. But that morning when she stepped off the red-eye, all she wanted to do was collapse into her lover’s arms. Maybe for the last time.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  She had known Doug only a couple of months, but she knew from the moment he hit the witness chair at the trial that would end her career as a defense attorney, she’d fall hard for the hard-boiled police detective. The trial took two weeks, but as soon as it, and their conflict of interest, were over, they scrambled to the nearest hotel, barely making it into the room before he’d ripped off her panties and fucked her right atop the credenza. And with such deadly force, Gina’s screaming had security at their door within minutes.

  “I-I’m fine—I am,” she half laughed, half panted out, Doug’s cock still ramming her.

  “Yeah, go away or I’ll call the cops!” Doug yelled, bending to add breathlessly in her ear, “Not that they aren’t already coming.”

  “Are they? Shit, Doug!” Gina arched up, ready to shove him off when Doug laced his tongue into her ear and she was gone in a wave of bliss, his cock emptying itself inside her.

  “God damn,” Doug breathed, collapsing against her. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

  “Especially when I have three dozen Trojans in my purse,” Gina said, her hand on his ass. And God! What an ass, she thought, her fingers smoothing it.

  He lifted up. “Oh well, if it turns out you are, I’ll just have to marry you.”

  Gina stared at him. “You’re joking, right?”