by Sacchi Green
I opened the door just as she raised her hand to knock. Up close, she looked thinner and more worn than I remembered, more haggard. We stood staring at one another for a moment before she spoke.
“That’s a nice shotgun you have there,” she said. “I didn’t piss you off the last time we talked, did I?”
I allowed my lips to quirk. “Nothing personal. We mountain folk keep them around to deal with critters and revenuers.”
The corners of her mouth inched up. “While I am a federal agent, I’m not with the Treasury Department.” Her gaze took a slow trip down to my feet and back to my face. She definitely still found me attractive. “You look good, Maverick.”
I hadn’t heard that nickname in a long time. It was a nod to Bret Maverick, the gambler from the most awesome TV show ever. It reminded me of the life I’d had to walk away from, and it hurt like hell hearing her say it.
“I’m Leann Parker these days, at least according to the birth certificate your people conjured up for me.”
She took off her shades and slipped them into her jacket, looking at her scuffed boots as she toed the ground. The skin under her eyes was dark, and her face was gray. Sleep, it appeared, wasn’t among her top priorities. Guilt tinged her voice, though I couldn’t tell if it was for checking me out or reminding me of my lost past. “Yeah…I shouldn’t have brought that up. Sorry.”
“I think you better come on in and tell me what’s on your mind. You didn’t drive all the way up here for nothing.” I glanced past her at the SUV. There weren’t any other people with her. I stepped back and opened the door wide. “Where’s that clean-cut partner of yours?”
She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she walked past me to the window where I’d stood earlier and stared out. “He’s in the hospital,” she said softly.
I closed the door, set the shotgun against the easy chair and walked up behind her. She flinched a bit when I laid my hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry to hear that. What happened?”
Lily reached up and covered my hand with hers. It was rough and calloused, like mine. Standing this close, her apple-scented shampoo flooded my senses. The firmness of her muscular shoulder under the soft leather of her jacket made my heart beat a little faster.
She half-turned toward me. I knew my expression showed no sign of how she affected me. I hadn’t gambled professionally for five long years, but my poker face was still in place.
Anger and guilt fought for control in her eyes. “Jake Latrell escaped from prison last week. He almost killed Karl, and he’s looking for you.”
My stomach did a slow, queasy roll. I’d been afraid of something like this ever since I’d testified against the mob boss. A blast of cold adrenaline shot through me, and I took a sharp breath. “Oh, my god! I need to get out of here.”
She grabbed my arm as I started toward the shotgun. “He’s not going to find you here. Trust me, I’ll keep you safe.”
I forced myself to stand still, but I could feel my face twitching. Even my control wasn’t good enough to block outright terror. Latrell had killed a man right in front of me, and I had no doubt he’d be happy to do the same to me.
Lily wrapped her arms around me, anger and despair replaced by the same comforting demeanor she’d used to keep me sane before the trial. I didn’t know how she could do it, putting her own pain on the back burner while dealing with mine.
Her warmth sank into me, and her closeness muted my fear to manageable levels. I brought my trembling hands to her hips, buried my face in her hair and cried. The hot tears humiliated me, but once they started, I couldn’t stop them.
She whispered soft words in my ear and stroked my hair until I finally raised my head and wiped at my face. My body chose that moment to react to her pressing against me. Tingles ran across my skin, tightening my breasts and making my breath catch a bit in my throat.
Lily’s face turned a nice shade of pink. She felt it, too. The attraction was still there, but, again, the timing sucked. I slowly pulled away from our embrace.
“I need some tea before I can wrap my head around this,” I said. “Please, have a seat.”
“Sounds great,” she said, with a hint of regret in her voice. Relief, too, unless I missed my guess. Our mutual sexual awareness put her in an ethical quandary. She wanted me, but she was responsible for me.
I left her eyeing the furniture scattered around my living room and walked into the kitchen. With practiced motions, I lit the gas stove and quickly had a kettle of water heating while my thoughts raced. I had no idea what to do about Latrell—or Lily.
The ritual of boiling water and setting up for tea calmed me. By the time I walked back into the living room I had regained my composure.
She’d settled on the love seat. Good call. The couch had a spring that would change the religion of the unwary.
I sat next to her. “Thank you for the hug. I really needed it.”
Her lips curved upward. “It was my pleasure.”
It had been mine, too. “Okay, first things first. Is Karl going to be okay?”
Her expression darkened. “He’ll live, but it’s going to be a long recovery. Latrell and his goons really hurt him. They broke both arms, both legs, smashed his hands and snapped eight ribs. They left him for dead, but he still managed to call 911.”
I touched her arm for a moment. “That’s horrible. I understand why Latrell wants me dead. You don’t cross the likes of him and just walk away. But why attack Karl? You guys didn’t arrest him.”
She shrugged, her fingers nervously tapping on her leg. “I expect he thought we could access some government database and find your new identity. When he found out we couldn’t, he had his men beat Karl with a tire iron.”
I looked down, suddenly aware of how bad off Karl really was. “I’m so sorry.”
Her flat voice did nothing to hide her pain. I ached, watching her struggle to keep her tears back. “Latrell tore up my apartment first, but I wasn’t there. If I’d been home, Karl might be okay.”
“Then you’d have been beaten, maybe killed.” Just the thought of her being hurt squeezed my heart.
“I’d rather it had happened to me.” Lily leaned back on the love seat, sorrow etching her beautiful face. “He’ll never fully recover. He’s got a wife and kids, for God’s sake.”
“He’s alive. You have to focus on that. What else can you do?”
She sat up, her eyes blazing. “I want to track the son of a bitch down and empty my clip into him, then reload so I can do it all again. But they won’t let me. They wouldn’t even let me stay with Karl.” The pain in her voice bled through her rage.
I wanted to tell her I’d help reload, but that wasn’t helpful. Instead, I took her hand into mine. “Your boss made the right decision. I know you’re hurting, but you have to trust that they’ll catch up with him and make him pay. I seem to remember you telling me that very same thing the last time we were together.”
Her lips twisted. “Trusting the system doesn’t seem to have worked out so well for any of us where that bastard Latrell is concerned.”
I nodded. “Yeah. You said he wouldn’t find me here. Is that true?”
“If he had any real chance of finding you, they would’ve sent a van full of marshals to hustle you off to a safe house. My presence here is insurance, nothing more.”
I opened my mouth to tell her she was hardly just that, but she cut me off. “I really can’t talk about this right now.” She took a deep breath and looked around. “You have a nice place here, and it looks like you’ve settled in pretty well. Found a good-looking guy to heat up your nights?”
“Out here?” I choked. “You’ve got to be kidding. The men around here think a good time involves beer, monster trucks and country music.” I shuddered. “I can’t stand country music.”
She shook her head and smiled. “I’m sure you could convince someone to turn the radio off once in a while.”
“Maybe, but I never found anyone worth the headache. I
still have big-city tastes, and while I’m sure the men here are as good as anywhere else, they just don’t interest me. I’ll stick with silicone, thanks.”
The sharp whistle of the kettle cut off whatever response she was going to make and gave me an excuse to focus my attention elsewhere while I considered what to say next. Not that it helped, because I was still thinking when I came back with our chamomile tea. She took hers and immediately set it down on the coffee table.
I sat beside her, sipped the soothing liquid and watched her over the rim of my cup. She’d rebuilt her “tough cop” façade, smoothing over the cracks of weakness she’d shown. Her life revolved around protecting others: comforting them through the pain and chaos of entering the witness protection program and leaving everyone and everything they had ever known behind them. In the time I’d spent with her before, I’d never heard her sound like she needed help and healing in her own life.
Whether she admitted it or not, she did now, and I wanted to be the one to help her.
“I like it here well enough,” I said. “The quiet relaxes me, but I miss playing cards. None of my neighbors will play with me anymore, not after an unfortunate incident at the county fair.”
That sounded pretty, but it was bullshit. I hated living way out here, hiding from men who wanted me dead. Every single day I fought the urge to drive to Vegas, find a high-stakes game and play until the men with no necks came to drag me to my death. I missed that life so badly I could taste it.
The corner of Lily’s mouth twitched. “Liar. Don’t try to fool a cop. Me, I’d love to live out here. These days, it seems like the only time I get to explore the great outdoors is when I’m on a manhunt. The rest of my time is spent babysitting witnesses.”
That brought a smile to my face. “It wasn’t Disneyland, but looking back it wasn’t so bad.”
She sniffed. “Maybe from your perspective. I seem to recall losing six months’ pay at the poker table.”
“I forgave that and the fifteen years’ pay the other marshals owed me. I even gave back that one guy’s Harley.”
“How generous.” Her shoulders relaxed a little. “There were some good things about being locked in a cabin with you, though.”
I made a mental note to thank god for that opening next Sunday. “Like what?”
Lily shrugged. “You have a wonderful personality, and it was great watching you beat the pants off Paul Jenkins, the jerk. Being with you didn’t feel like work at all. It was more like summer camp.”
“Lily, you lived in my back pocket for three weeks straight. I don’t think you took a minute off. You should get away and have a real vacation.” I took another sip of my tea. “You’re always so focused on everyone else that you never take time to heal your own wounds. You need to smell the flowers and get laid before you go bonkers.”
Her eyes widened. “I know the woman with no love life isn’t telling me I need to do the horizontal mambo.”
“Maybe I am.” I hadn’t realized it, but I’d just made the first move in this dance. The time was right to raise the stakes.
She laughed bitterly. “I can’t just turn the job off. I don’t get to have a personal life. When I am at home—which is rarely—all I do is think about work. And don’t get me started on dating. Either my badge turns them off, or their parole officer calls while we’re making out.”
I shook my head slowly, smiling at her bad joke. “You overthink things. Sometimes you just need to take a chance. I learned that playing poker.”
“All I know about poker is to fold when the cards suck.”
“People fold too often when they shouldn’t. Sometimes you have to go big even if you don’t know how the hand is going to play out.” I set my teacup on the saucer beside hers, pushed aside the butterflies in my stomach and kissed her. That hollow place inside me that I had suppressed for so long opened up and desire raced through me.
She stiffened and pushed me back. “What are you doing?”
“Something I should’ve done five years ago. Back then, I was too lost in my own fear to see what was right in front of me. I’m not going to make that mistake again.”
Her mouth opened and closed twice before she found the words to speak. “I think you misunderstood something.”
“Did I? I don’t think so.” I smiled as I leaned in again, my nose almost touching hers. My nervousness had vanished, replaced by the confidence of a professional gambler who knew she held the winning hand. “You wanted me then, and you want me now. I can see it in your eyes.”
And I could. The blooming arousal she protested didn’t exist made her pupils grow larger as I watched, signaling the heat building inside her even better than the red flush that crept up her neck.
She licked her lips, a nervous habit I hadn’t seen from her before. In gambling, we called that a “tell.” “Look, I don’t think either of us needs this kind of—”
Sometimes talking is a mistake. I captured her lips with mine again and, after a moment’s hesitation, she melted against me. Her mouth opened in surrender to my advances, and she brought her hands to my arms. My heart soared.
Her wet mouth hinted at mint and honey and wasn’t anything like I’d expected. I kissed her soft lips and stroked her tongue with mine while my heart pounded. Raw hunger deepened my urgency. I only remembered to breathe when my lungs started burning.
We broke apart enough for her to look into my eyes. The haunted look was gone, replaced by raging desire. “I thought you weren’t interested in girls.”
“I’m interested in you.”
I pulled her jacket off her arms and eyed her shoulder holster. It held a big, black gun that looked intimidating just sitting there. I reached for the strap, but Lily stopped me and slid it off effortlessly. It made a dull thud as she set it on the coffee table.
Her hands slipped between us, squeezing my breasts. A bolt of heat flashed down my spine and straight to my pussy. In an instant, I went from moist to dripping wet. I wanted her like I’d never wanted anyone else.
“I wish I had tits like yours.” Lily’s nimble fingers went to work on my buttons. My pulse raced at her whisper. My already tight nipples contracted almost painfully.
She licked her lips again as soon as she exposed the upper swells of my tanned breasts, cradled in my pink cotton bra. This time she didn’t look nervous at all. Her eyes reluctantly moved to my face. “We shouldn’t be doing this, but I want you. I need you. I need…this.”
I tangled my fingers in her thick, flaxen hair and pulled her face closer to my breasts. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, raising gooseflesh on my cleavage. I closed my eyes, and emotions I couldn’t even name chased each other through me, leaving me trembling.
Her soft kisses on my cotton-covered flesh felt extraordinary. My body flushed with heat, awakening at her touch. It spread across my chest, down into my stomach, and even lower. I shrugged out of my blouse with shaking hands and fumbled with the catch on the front of my bra. She took my globes into her hands as soon as they popped free, rubbing her thumbs across my nipples, making me gasp.
She ducked her head and captured one between her lips. Jolts of electric pleasure shot through me, and my skin became so sensitive that I could feel every strand of her hair as it gently brushed against me.
When I couldn’t take it anymore, I pulled her up and started unbuttoning her blouse. I felt like a virgin rounding third base. She smiled indulgently at my clumsiness, not rushing me or trying to take over. When I finally slid my hands up her bare sides, she shuddered.
Her unassuming white bra completely covered her small, firm breasts, but not for long. It quickly joined the growing pile on the floor.
Her nipples were tiny, almost as small as a man’s, but no one could mistake them for anything but all female. I smiled up at her bright eyes and bent my head to run the tip of my tongue around one hard nub.
“Oh, yes,” she hissed through clenched teeth.
I cupped her breasts in my hands and massag
ed them. Being with Lily didn’t feel nearly as strange as I’d expected. Just the idea of kissing my way between those muscular thighs made my heart flutter with anticipation.
She let me spend a few wonderful minutes returning her earlier favors with interest before she pushed me back onto the love seat and hovered over me. “I need to taste you,” she said, her voice rough.
Now her hands were trembling. I raised my hips so that she could tug my pants down. Unfortunately for her rising urgency, they tangled around my boots, and it took twice as long to get them off as it should have—which was three times slower than she wanted. By the time she finally got them off, she was shaking.
I lifted one of her hands and brushed my lips across it. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “I don’t know what’s come over me. I’m usually so smooth. Now I can’t seem to control myself.”
“I’m flattered. Make love to me, Lily.”
Her hands steadied as she pulled my panties down. They were white and didn’t match my bra, but I don’t think she cared. She held the scrap of fabric to her nose for a moment before she dropped it and knelt between my legs. Torturing me with only her fingertips, she ran them from my ankles to my thighs so softly it bordered on tickling and had my body twitching in seconds.
She seemed to know just when I couldn’t take it anymore and planted her palms against my inner thighs. Her blue eyes twinkled mischievously at me. “Should I stop?”
“Don’t you dare!”
She laughed, the first happy sound she had made since arriving at my door. “I am so going to enjoy this.”
Slowly, tenderly, she kissed my mound. Her breath shot across my aching pussy like a hot desert wind, raising a whirlwind of sensation that swept around my body. I moaned and lifted my hips, seeking more contact. I needed her now.
She eased my lips apart and slipped first one finger, then another inside me. I arched my back and pushed against her as she caressed my most intimate places. Her lips and tongue never slowed, melting my core.
When she sucked my clit, I thought my brain would explode. Her nimble tongue danced across it while her lips coaxed it from its hood. Electricity hummed throughout my body as she devoured my pussy, thrusting those wonderful fingers deep inside me until the world vanished in an explosion of color and pleasure. I wasn’t sure, but I may have even passed out.