Lone Wolf Standing

by Carla Cassidy

  She took several steps toward him in the tiny room and then placed her palm over the frantic beat of his heart. She grabbed his hand and placed it over her own heart, which beat just as fast, just as frantically as his own.

  “What are we doing, Sheri?” he asked, the warmth of her skin through her nightgown a burning fire that radiated through him.

  “I don’t know, but I don’t want to stop.”

  That’s all he needed to hear. With one hand still grasping at the towel at his waist, he reached for her with his other arm.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck as their lips found each other’s. Hot and eager, their tongues battled as she pressed her body more tightly against his.

  The kiss seemed to last both an infinity and a mere second. He broke the heady contact, needing to maintain control, yet not wanting to, desperate to manage the situation when all he wanted to be was wildly out of control.

  “Come to my bed, Jimmy. Come and make love to me.” Her voice was husky, breathless and her eyes were the color of glittering, polished amber.

  “I’m not your prince.”

  She smiled, an alluring temptation that simply fired him hotter. “Right now I don’t need a prince, but I do need you.” She reached out and grabbed the hand that wasn’t holding the towel over what had become an almost painful arousal.

  He stared deep into her eyes, seeking a part of her that didn’t want to follow through, a place that might be resentful when they were finished with what apparently was about to happen. He found nothing but desire shining there and he could do nothing to deny her...or himself.

  He allowed her to pull him out of the bathroom and down the hallway to her bedroom. It was still early enough in the morning that the only light was the faint stir of dawn as they entered her bedroom.

  The bed was a jumble of lavender sheets and purple spread, and as they fell together on top he was surrounded by her scent, the fragrance that had muddied his head for a couple weeks.

  He had no idea where his towel went, but when he reached to embrace her once again, he was naked. It didn’t seem fair that she still had clothes on, so he grabbed the bottom of her nightgown and swept it over her head and then tossed it to the floor. She wore nothing beneath it.

  For a moment he simply gazed at her beauty in the golden glow of dawn. She was pint-size perfection, her small breasts in perfect proportion to her tiny waist and slender hips. Her skin glowed in the faint light spilling in through the window and exposed a smattering of freckles on each of her shoulders.

  She stole his breath away.

  He wanted to tell her how beautiful she was, but he didn’t have the words. Instead he drew her against him and kissed her deep and long, her warm naked curves fitting against him as if they’d been made to mold together.

  Her hands caressed up and down his back, as if memorizing each muscle, every sinew, and as she continued his want of her grew bigger, brighter, burning out the last of any rational thought he might entertain.

  He slid his lips from her mouth down the sweet curve of her jaw and then nipped his way down her throat. She moaned and the sound of her pleasure only torched his higher.

  Moving downward, he teased one of her nipples with the tip of his tongue. She moaned again and moved her arms up to tangle her hands in his hair.

  Her body squirmed beneath his as if she were eager for him to touch her, to kiss her everywhere, and he complied, languidly loving her body with his tongue, tasting her skin like forbidden fruit that would never be offered again.

  He was ready to take her, to have her hot and fast to satisfy his own need, but he also wanted to make this an experience she’d never forget. He wanted to set the bar high for any prince who would eventually come after him.

  “You’re driving me crazy,” she finally gasped as his fingers stroked the inside of first one silky thigh and then the other.

  “I want you crazy...crazy for me.” He took her mouth with his in hard demand as his fingers slid across her warm, moist center.

  Once again she moaned and raised her hips to meet his touch. Her fingernails lightly scratched across his back, an erotic sensation that made him fight for self-control.

  Her pleasure first and then his own, he reminded himself. He wanted her sated, breathless when he finally sought his own release.

  He moved his fingers more quickly against her sensitive flesh, watching her face, feeling the tension that built in her body. Her head thrashed against the pillow, her hair spilling first one way and then the other.

  And then she was there, rippling shudders rushing through her as she cried out his name. While she was still gasping from the force of her climax, he positioned himself between her thighs, his gaze meeting hers as he slowly entered her.

  Her eyes were like those of a wild jungle animal, golden flecks sharp and glittering with bold invitation and a renewed hunger. Surrounded by her heat, he was almost afraid to move, fearful that with a single stroke he’d be finished and this moment would end.

  Still, his body moved without his mind in charge, pulling back slightly and then stroking more deeply into her. The pleasure was mind-blowing and she encouraged him, grabbing on to both sides of his hips to guide him.

  Faster, more frantic they moved together, their breathing wild and irregular and escaping on moans and gasps. He realized he couldn’t hold back any longer and was grateful when he felt her body stiffen and shudder at the same time he released.

  He collapsed just to the side of her, not speaking until he could finally find his voice. “I thought you weren’t a morning person,” he finally said.

  She leaned up on one elbow to gaze down at him. “I wasn’t until now.” She reached out and traced her fingers over the barbed wire tattoo. “Tell me about this.”

  “I got that when I was eighteen and thought I was going to be the biggest badass in Philly. I was training in martial arts and running with a gang of guys who now are probably dead or in prison. I consider it a badge of shame.”

  She frowned. “Why?”

  “I was at a bad place in my life when I got it. A couple of years ago I thought about having it removed, but then decided I needed it as a reminder of where I’d been and how far I’ve come since then.”

  “And the other one?” She reached across his chest to touch the tattoo in the shape of a shield. As she did her body was warm and comforting on his.

  “The day I was accepted into the police academy I knew I wanted a detective’s shield, so I got the tattoo to remind myself of my goal.”

  “There must have been a lot of personal and emotional growth between the two,” she said as her hand moved from the tattoo to lie in the center of his chest. “Like a battle between good and evil that happened right here in your heart.”

  He nodded, wondering if she had any idea how absolutely gorgeous she looked at the moment, with her lips slightly swollen from his kisses, her hair a chestnut tangle and her eyes still glowing with residual sexual fulfillment.

  As much as Jimmy wanted this moment to go on forever, he knew it couldn’t. He had to ask the question that burned foremost in his mind.

  “So, what happens now? We didn’t exactly plan for this to happen.”

  A frown once again streaked across her forehead. “No, we didn’t plan it. But now we get up, we have coffee and we go on with our lives.” She worried a hand through her hair, as if to attempt some kind of order. “This was one-time magic, Jimmy. We both know we aren’t meant to be together for any long-term relationship and we’d be fools to pretend otherwise.”

  He was surprised to discover that her words hurt just a little bit. One-time magic, and yet already he wanted to repeat it. He rolled away from her and sat up. “Of course you’re right.”

  He found his towel on the floor and once again wrapped it around his waist. “Coffee is made. I�
�ll meet you in the kitchen.” He started to leave the room but paused as she called his name.

  “I think I’ll be fine here now that Highway is back. He alerts me to anyone coming close to my house and I have my gun and a phone to call for help.” She sat up and grabbed the sheet to hide her breasts. “It’s been two weeks since I was chased in the woods. Maybe we all overreacted and there’s really no danger lurking around.”

  She was not only kicking him out of her bed, but also kicking him out of her house. He merely nodded and continued to the bathroom. It took him only minutes to wash up and dress, and then he headed into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee.

  He stood at the back window and stared beyond the clipped grass and toward the forest where the early sun couldn’t begin to penetrate the primal tangle of trees and bushes.

  Had they all overreacted? There had been no threat to Sheri at all since that night in the woods. Yet there was no way he thought she’d surprised a hunter.

  The facts read more like an attempted abduction. Besides, she’d scarcely been alone since the night of the attack. The perp hadn’t had another chance to attempt to get her again. The danger wasn’t gone. It was simply waiting.

  Despite knowing there were no facts to back him up, his gut instinct told him that the attack on Sheri was somehow not only tied to Liz Marcoli’s disappearance, but Agnes Wilson’s, as well.

  His gut told him that they had a serial kidnapper working their town. More, he had the feeling that the same perp could potentially be a serial killer.

  There was a malevolence he smelled, he tasted in the air, and his biggest fear was that evil had chosen Sheri as his next victim.

  Chapter 12

  It had been an awkward, quiet breakfast and ride in his car and Sheri had been grateful when he’d finally dropped her off at the store.

  She had known that making love with Jimmy was wrong on all kinds of levels, but when she’d seen him standing in the bathroom, that white towel precariously balanced on his slim hips and his magnificent chest bare, she knew she had to have him.

  She’d been fighting the sexual chemistry that sparked in the air between them since the night they’d shared the kiss, and that morning she’d simply decided to stop fighting.

  He’d wanted her, too. She’d seen his desire the minute she’d stepped into the bathroom, had seen his heat in the depths of his eyes.

  “Good morning,” she greeted Jennifer as she stepped into the store.

  “Back at ya,” Jennifer said. She was planted on one of the chairs behind the register, a cup of coffee next to her.

  “If you can hold down the fort for me for an hour or so, I’ve got some paperwork that needs to be done in the office this morning,” Sheri said.

  She felt the need to be alone, to process the early morning lovemaking and her ambivalent feelings toward Jimmy. Besides, she really did need to take care of writing checks and ordering inventory.

  “Not a problem,” Jennifer said. “As you can see, the place is quiet for now.”

  “If things get busy, come and get me,” Sheri instructed. The large back room not only held a huge storage area with shelving, but also had a restroom and a small enclosed office.

  Sheri went into the office, closed the door behind her and sat at the desk. Even though she’d showered before dressing for the day she imagined she could still smell the scent of Jimmy lingering on her skin. It was the scent of minty shaving cream, cool, fresh soap and very hot male.

  She punched the button to awaken her computer and then leaned back in the comfy leather chair and closed her eyes.

  For several long moments myriad thoughts flittered through her head. Had she really just startled a hunter in the woods that night? Did Jimmy make love with such mastery with all the women he’d been with before?

  Why would a hunter be wearing a ski mask in June and why tranquilize her dog? Why not just beat feet out of the area? Was Aunt Liz dead or alive? Why, even knowing he was wrong for her, did she want to make love with Jimmy again?

  Her eyelids snapped open and she sat forward and grabbed the mouse, moving it to bring up the program she needed to check and order inventory.

  For the next hour she kept her concentration strictly focused on business, refusing to allow it to wander anywhere else. She ordered supplies, wrote out paychecks and studied what had sold well and items that weren’t moving over the past couple of weeks.

  The ring of her cell phone interrupted her work. It was Marlene. “Sheri, can you come to the Dollhouse tomorrow evening around eight-thirty?”

  “Sure. What’s up?”

  “Roxy has finally agreed to meet with Ramona, but she wants you and me to be there.”

  Sheri smiled into the phone. “Is that so that we can keep Roxy from committing bodily harm on the woman who gave her birth?”

  “Something like that,” Marlene said with a laugh. “Actually, I just think Roxy needs our support. We both know she has the most baggage where Ramona is concerned and she wants us there when she meets Ramona after all these years.”

  “I’ll be there,” Sheri replied.

  It would be nice if Roxy could somehow make peace with Ramona, she thought after she’d hung up. It would be nice if they all could find peace. Ramona would never be a mother to any of the girls she’d abandoned, but she could have a role of some sort in all of their lives. Sheri still hadn’t figured out exactly what role Ramona should play in her own life.

  By the time she left the office the store was busy with customers. “I was just about to call you for help,” Jennifer said.

  “Why don’t you work the floor and I’ll man the register,” Sheri suggested.

  For the next couple of hours there was a steady stream of customers that kept both Sheri and Jennifer jumping. Sheri was grateful for the distraction.

  By one o’clock, the store had emptied and Sheri told Jennifer to head to the back room and grab some lunch. When Jennifer had disappeared, Sheri remained in the chair behind her register, her thoughts once again going to Detective Jimmy Carmani.

  He was nothing like what she’d envisioned for herself when it came to a lover, a husband or a lifetime partner. But he did stir her in ways she’d never felt before.

  It wasn’t the words he spoke to her or the things he did, rather it was the way she felt when he looked at her, the security that washed over her whenever she was in his presence. Being around him made her want to be a better person, made her want to be sociable and funny just to hear the sound of his deep, rich laughter.

  She stiffened slightly as she saw a white panel van pull to a stop outside and a familiar man step out of the driver’s door. Edward Cardell. What was he doing here? He’d been a major suspect in Liz’s disappearance and was still considered a person of interest.

  Sheri had met him only twice before, once at the police station and another time when he had come into Roxy’s restaurant while the three sisters were having a late lunch together. That had been three weeks ago.

  She attempted a pleasant smile as he walked through the door. He was a nice-looking older man who had secretly been dating Liz at the time of her disappearance, secretly because Liz hadn’t wanted Sheri and her sisters to know that she was seeing somebody.

  “Good afternoon, Sheri,” he said.

  She nodded, wondering what he was doing here. He didn’t shop in the store, their paths didn’t cross on a regular basis. To add salt to the wound, soon after Liz was gone, Edward had started seeing Liz’s best friend, Treetie Burns, further damning himself in the eyes of Liz’s nieces.

  “I just wanted to stop by to tell you that I just heard that you’ve been through some traumatic experiences lately and I’m sorry that your aunt isn’t here to support you.” His eyes radiated compassion.

  “Thanks, but I’m doing just fine,” she
said, not able to let go of the thought that it was possible he was the very reason her aunt wasn’t with them. As far as everyone knew he was the last person to see Liz before she’d disappeared.

  “I didn’t expect anything less of you,” he said. He remained several steps away from the counter, not attempting to invade her personal space. “She spoke of you so often. Of all of you, she always believed you were the most like her, strong in spirit and able to handle whatever life threw your way. She worried more about Roxy and Marlene, but she always felt in her heart that you would be okay no matter what.”

  “Why are you telling me this now?” His words stirred emotions Sheri didn’t want to tap into, emotions like deep grief and overwhelming sorrow.

  He shrugged. “I was up at the cabin fishing for a few days and when I got home I heard about you having problems with somebody. I just...I felt the need to tell you.”

  “I appreciate you stopping by,” she said, but she knew her voice didn’t hold the sentiment of thankfulness.

  He sighed. “You still think I did something bad to your aunt, don’t you?”

  “I don’t know what to think,” she answered honestly. “The only thing I do know is that until we have answers as to what happened to her, there aren’t many people I trust.”

  “I understand. I’m only sorry I didn’t get to meet you girls in the company of your aunt instead of under such terrible circumstances.”

  Thankfully at that moment the buzzer rang, indicating that somebody was at the back door. Jennifer appeared in the storefront. “Cheeseman Zooker is here with a delivery.”

  “I have to take care of this,” Sheri said to Edward.

  “Then I’ll just see you around,” Edward said.

  With Jennifer once again manning the front of the store, Sheri hurried into the back room to deal with the unpleasant Isaaic Zooker. He was known as Cheeseman in his community because his family provided the product not just to Sheri to sell to tourists, but also to Roxy for use in her restaurant.