by Chiah Wilder
She nodded. “Last week a guy was watching me from across the street. I’m pretty sure he was the same one from before based on his height and build, but I couldn’t make out his face or any other identifying features. I called the cops and they patrolled the neighborhood for a while. I haven’t seen him since, and I haven’t had the vibe he’s watching me.”
“You didn’t tell me about the second incidence. Why didn’t you call me?”
“We weren’t talking.”
“Fuck, Hailey. That shit doesn’t matter when something like that happens.”
“I know. Anyway, it’s over and done, and we’re good, so all is fine.”
“Except for your fuckin’ garage. You’re gonna have to call me when you come and go. I’ll make sure you’re safe. I just don’t have a good vibe about all this.”
“Each time? You’ve got to be kidding. I’m in and out a lot.”
“Just call me when you’re on your way home or leaving in the morning. If I can’t make it, one of the prospects or brothers will be there. It’s just temporary until they catch the fucker.”
“Okay. I’ll admit, I’ll feel safer.”
“And if you stay late at the shop, call me. I don’t want you walking alone on the street either.”
“Isn’t this going to get old for you?”
He smiled. “Nah. Most of this is moot anyway because I’m planning on spending a lot of nights with you. Like tonight.”
She giggled. “Oh really.”
Slipping his hands under her ass, he cupped her cheeks and pressed her close. “Yeah. Really.” Then they lost themselves in a heated kiss.
When they arrived at the Victorian, Hailey bounced up the steps while Goldie walked behind her, loving the way her cute ass wiggled. Inside the house, he yanked her to him and kissed her passionately as his fingers pushed up the hem of her top. He’d been craving her nipple inside his mouth since she’d sent him the picture. Tugging her top over her head, he grabbed her bra straps and shoved them down past her arms. Her breasts tumbled out, and her delicate pink nipples, hardening nicely, beckoned him. He cupped her tits and squeezed them while he took one perfect bud into his mouth and sucked, licked, and bit at it. When he tweaked her other nipple with his fingers, she cried out and placed her arms behind her, arching her back and pushing her tits further into his face.
He sucked the delicate flesh of her breasts hard, knowing she’d have a trail of love bites all over her skin in the morning. He wanted to mark her, to have her think of him each time she saw the red marks decorating her tits. Then he felt her palming his painful bulge and he reached down and unzipped his jeans, his dick springing free. With her hands on his chest, she pushed back and looked down, a devilish smile dancing on her lips.
Hailey dropped to her knees and unbuckled his belt, then pulled his pants down past his knees, his gray boxers going with them. When she looked up at him with lowered eyelids and slightly parted lips, he thought he was going to lose it. Digging her fingers into the soft flesh of his inner thighs, she pushed his legs and he immediately spread them for her. She licked his inner thighs slowly, never quite touching his balls or his straining cock. Her fingers tickled his lower abdomen, behind his knees, and even his ass, but she kept them away from where he wanted them the most.
Goldie grabbed her hair, but she shooed his hand away and kept licking and touching him until he thought he’d have to hold her head tight and fuck her face hard. At that moment, she grabbed the base of his cock and licked up and down his shaft, rolling her tongue around all sides. Her heated gaze held his and he leaned back against the wall, enjoying the burst of sensations rushing through him as she worked his dick.
She gently kissed and licked the tip before she slowly drew it into her mouth, then a little more, until she had his whole cock inside her mouth, her lips tight around it as she swirled her tongue.
“Fuck yeah. That feels so good,” he rasped as they continue to hold each other’s gaze.
As she went up and down on his hardness, wet and sloppy, she gently cupped and caressed his balls. The small whimpers, moans, and “mmmmms” drove him wild. He watched as his cock disappeared between her lips over and over again.
“Don’t stop,” he said unevenly.
His breathing was rapid and ragged, and he was ready to explode. His balls tightened. The tension built until it broke, and he grabbed her hair, pulling her to him to meet his final thrust. Then a surge pushed through him and he exploded in her mouth, grinding against her.
“Fuck!” he yelled as he threw his head back, his hand fisted in her hair. He stayed like that for a while, then slowly pulled out of her.
She wiped her shiny chin and grinned at him. All at once, he kicked his pants off and shoved her onto the floor, tearing off her skirt and panties. Throwing one leg over his shoulder, he bent over and made a trail of love marks from the tops of her tits down to her belly. Scooting down, he dipped his tongue between her puffy folds, loving how wet she was.
“I love tasting you,” he said between licks.
“It feels so good. So damn good,” she murmured.
After several minutes of licking, soft nipping, and light sucking, he dropped her leg and slid up to kiss her. When he dipped his tongue into her mouth, he tasted the brine of his cum and the sweetness of her juices as they mingled together, making an intoxicating elixir of raw desire.
“Do you like the way you taste on my tongue?” he said as he plunged two fingers into her wetness.
“Oh…,” she moaned against his lips.
Then he kissed her as he fingerfucked her and rubbed his thumb against the side of her engorged button. Each whimper she muttered, he swallowed, each moan filling his mouth until he felt her warm walls clamping around his fingers. He held her tight as she deafened his ear, her body quivering and shaking as she rode the wave of her orgasm.
“Goldie! It’s so good,” she chanted over and over as more quivers rocked her. And all the while he held her, loving the sight of her climax so completely.
They lay on the floor of the foyer for a long time, their sweat-drenched bodies soon dried and cold from the AC blowing over them. Hailey stirred, then tilted her head back and kissed his chin. “That was amazing. I’ve never experienced sex like this before. Were you this good in high school?”
He laughed and squeezed her close. “You bring out my primal desires.” He kissed her forehead, then pushed up. “Let’s get off this hard floor.” She giggled as he pulled her up.
“Do you want to spend the night?” she asked.
He detected apprehension in her voice. “I’d planned to. I’m fuckin’ starved. Do you want to order a pizza?”
“Okay. I could eat a slice or two.”
Thirty minutes later, they were snuggled on the couch, chomping on pizza and watching TV. If he were at the club, he’d be downing shots, watching his brothers fuck, and getting hit on by scantily clad women. I’ll take a night of pizza and Hailey next to me any day.
And that surprised the hell out of him.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Detective Jack Barnard perused the crime scene photos for the umpteenth time, trying to pick up something he may have missed. His chief had loaned him out to help Sheriff Wexler and his department to find and stop the serial rapist who’d just been elevated to a murderer.
“Pick up any new clues?” Wexler said as he placed a cup of coffee on Barnard’s desk, then slumped in the chair in front of it.
Shaking his head, he picked up the coffee and took a sip. “Something happened that night that made the perp change his MO.”
“Maybe she recognized him,” Wexler said.
“I agree. Killing her became necessary to avoid being caught, but now that he’s done it, he has a taste for it. I’ll bet he experienced the ultimate high. From what the previous victims told us, this bastard gets off on control, but more importantly, the terror he inflicts. Knowing you’re about to die is the ultimate fear, and he’s not going to stop.”
“He could be a newcomer, or perpetrated his crimes elsewhere. He’s meticulous in making sure he doesn’t leave any evidence, but he fucked up this time. Two types of blood were found on the carpet. My guess is he cut himself while killing the victim.”
“Did DNA come back?”
“Not yet. They’re backlogged, but once we get it, we’ll put it in the national database and hope we get a hit. There’s a connection to Cherry Vale. Two out of six of his victims came from there. Aren’t there a string of suspicious patient deaths from there?”
Wexler nodded. “Three of the patients had above normal doses of a heart medicine in their system, and one of them had an abnormally high level of insulin. But these people were old, and there were no signs of sexual molestation. Besides, this rapist is all over the place with the women he goes after. Some are in their forties and fifties, some young and blonde, some brunette. There doesn’t seem to be a pattern.”
“I disagree. The pattern is blonde, curvy, in her twenties, and connected to Cherry Vale. I think the others are random to throw us off his pattern. He thinks he’s real smart, so he goes after women who aren’t his actual type to make us think it’s all random. He’s attacking in all parts of town rather than one specific area. But the only thing he’s been consistent about is the two women who work at Cherry Vale. That’s his pattern.”
“So the old people dying is to throw us off?”
“Could be.” Barnard scrubbed his face. “We gotta get this bastard before he strikes again. I can guarantee the next attack will end in murder.”
Jack Barnard knew his stuff. He’d seen a lot of horrible things people did to each other, especially when he worked at the Los Angeles Police Department. After years of the rat race, he decided to relocate to a smaller city. When he’d visited the southwestern part of Colorado, he’d fallen in love with it. He’d spent several vacations in the area, so when a position came up with the Durango police department, he applied. When he got the job, he was elated. He packed up the few things he had and never looked back. He loved working for a small department and being able to devote most of his time to his cases.
When his chief sent him to Alina to help out with the rapist case, he’d thought he’d be able to get in there, figure it out, and stop the bastard, but it wasn’t playing out that way. Now a woman had been murdered, and that made Barnard madder than hell. This sick bastard thought he was smarter than the cops, but he’d made a mistake and left his DNA at the scene. That’s the way it was with serial criminals when they started to feel too cocky. It usually happened that way, and that’s when Barnard would zoom in for the kill. He just hoped he’d be able to find the killer before he struck again.
And the only thing certain was that the bastard would strike again.
Barnard would bet his life on it.
Chapter Twenty-Five
For the past couple of weeks, Hailey had been on top of the world, and her relationship with Goldie played a big part in her happiness. She’d never been involved with a man who made her feel as special as he did. And the sex was beyond fantastic. She never knew her body could feel so delicious. Since they’d given in to their desire, they’d been at it nonstop, and she didn’t dare wear anything low-cut or too revealing because her body was covered with love bites. When she looked at them, her insides would flutter; she loved seeing his mark on her.
“That guy looks kind of suspicious,” Ellie, one of her employees, said to her.
Hailey looked up and saw a man standing by the ribbons and bows. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite place where she knew him from. “I’ll take care of it,” she replied to Ellie and walked over to him.
“Can I help you?” She racked her brain, trying to remember how she knew him.
“Hi. How’re you doing?” he asked as his dark eyes bored into hers.
“Fine. I’m sorry, but you look familiar. Have we met?”
His eyes narrowed. “You don’t recognize me? I’m Kingsley. I work at Cherry Vale.”
She smiled broadly. “Of course. That’s it. You’re one of the CNAs. I’m sorry. I don’t see you that often.”
“I usually work the day shift.” His piercing stare moved down to her bust and she quickly crossed her arms over her chest.
“What can I do for you?”
“Uh… I came in here to get some flowers for my wife.”
“How nice. What’s the occasion?”
“Her birthday. She told me that I never give her flowers, so I thought I’d surprise her.”
“She’ll love it. What’s her favorite flower?”
“I don’t know. What do you like?”
“I’m all over the place. I love roses, lilies, sunflowers, orchids, and tulips. I could keep going. I can make you a beautiful arrangement. What’s your wife’s favorite color?”
“Red? Maybe blue. I’m not sure.”
“Okay. What’s your price range? I can fix up something real nice for you, and I guarantee your wife’s going to love it.”
Kingsley darted his eyes around, then shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’ll come back.” He rushed out the door.
That was strange. They have so many wackos working at Cherry Vale. I can’t wait until Aunt Patty gets out of there. Hailey went back to the front desk and pulled out a book of arrangements. She’d promised to send over some samples to the couple she’d met with the day before.
“What did that guy want? He was sort of creepy,” Ellie said.
“He’s thinking about getting his wife some flowers for her birthday. He works at the rehab center where my aunt is.”
“Oh. How’s Patty?”
“Doing better every day. Her doctor said that if she keeps it up, she’ll be able to come home in a month or so. I can’t wait.”
“Are you going to stay on when she gets back on track?”
“I’m not sure. It’ll depend on what my aunt wants to do.”
Hailey resumed what she was doing, not stopping until she heard Ellie say, “Damn, he’s hot.”
Lori, another employee, replied, “I’m waiting on this one.”
Hailey looked up and grinned when she saw Goldie. Damn, he is hot. And he’s all mine. A slight tug at her heart reminded her that she didn’t really know where she stood with Goldie. They were having a good time and enjoyed being with each other, but he never talked about them in the future, only the present. She tried so hard to be cool with that and not let herself get caught up in her feelings for him, but the more time they spent together, the stronger her emotional attachment to him grew.
The one thing they never spoke about was Ryan. Of course, they mentioned him when reminiscing about the past, but he was the elephant in the room, and neither of them wanted to face it.
“Hey.” He leaned over and kissed her deeply.
She pulled back a bit as all eyes were on her. Ellie’s shocked expression was classic, and Lori’s frown surprised Hailey. Several people in the shop turned away, pretending to be interested in plants and ribbons they hadn’t even been looking at before Goldie appeared. And Goldie just didn’t give a damn about what people thought. He was unfiltered, confident, and lived in the moment, and those were the things that made him irresistible—besides his drop-dead-gorgeous body and face.
“I came by to take you for a ride. It’s too nice outside to waste it cooped up.”
“Don’t you have to work?”
“Nope. And you’re taking off too. You work too damn much.”
Hailey waved her hand over a bunch of notebooks in front of her. “But I have all this work to do.”
“You taking one day off isn’t gonna close down the business. You can pick it up tomorrow. Let’s go.”
“Let me get this straight. You’re not asking me to go with you—you’re telling me.”
“Yeah. We’re wasting time. You can put your pur
se in my saddlebags.”
Ellie gently pushed her arm. “Go on. We can handle things in the store.”
Giving Goldie a half smile, she shook her head. “All right. You win. I’ll go get my purse.”
When she came back out, Ellie told her that Goldie was waiting for her outside. His metallic silver bike glimmered in the sunlight, and he looked so badass leaning against it. The flirty smiles from the women who passed by him didn’t go unnoticed by Hailey, but he didn’t pay any attention to them; his eyes were fixed on her as she approached him.
“You look too sexy with your Harley. All the women want to climb on behind you and wrap their arms around you,” she said as she handed him her purse.
He curled his arm around her and drew her to him. “You’re the only one I want on the back of my bike,” he whispered in her ear, then nibbled her neck.
She chuckled and planted a kiss on his soft lips. She’d never get tired of kissing him. He was hands down the best kisser. The way he held her and the intensity he gave to each kiss blew her mind. She figured he’d had a lot of practice with a bunch of women, but she didn’t like to think about them. Especially the women who lived at the clubhouse. Sometimes it gnawed at her, so it was better to push it away and pretend they didn’t exist.
“Climb on,” he said.
When they’d gone to Dolores Canyon a few weeks back, she’d been petrified of his motorcycle. It was so big and there was nothing around her to make her feel safe. All sorts of graphic scenarios played in her mind as she settled herself behind him. At first it was damn scary, but as they rode, she let her body relax and move with the rhythm of the bike. The feel of the powerful engine vibrating beneath her made her admire the way Goldie maneuvered the bike around the curves. The landscape and the smells of the pines, the earth, and the rippling creek hugged her in a way she’d never experienced before. It was like she was part of the scenery and it was part of her, and it gave her an incredible sense of freedom. And holding on to Goldie, her front pressed against his back, her hands clinging to his tight stomach made her horny, which surprised the hell out of her.