Chapter 6
Ethan couldn’t get Hazel out of his head. Six beers later, he didn’t want to.
Ethan and Finn were still at the bar, catching up as they hadn’t had a chance to kick back together in a while. Things in the pack had been crazy recently, with the constant rogue attacks and Gabriel’s orders to the rogue leaders that they had still yet to uncover. Ethan couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten tipsy, let alone drunk. While he wasn’t anywhere close to being drunk yet, he welcomed the slight buzz the beer gave him. He hated that it was hard for shifters to become drunk fast. It was times like today that he wished he could just swallow his pain and fall into the embrace of a drunken sleep.
The murder had left him and the rest of the pack shaken to the core. At least Ethan had thoughts of Hazel to keep his mind active.
It was almost like him thinking of what she looked like naked was enough for the universe to set things into motion. A ding from his phone notified him that he had a new, unread text from Hazel.
MATTHEW IS POSTPONING OUR MEETING TONIGHT UNTIL LATER. HE’S STILL WORKING. ARE YOU STILL AT THE BAR?
Ethan inhaled quickly as he ran through things he could say. He was buzzed enough to take a leap and hope that Hazel went with it. Texting back to her, Ethan wrote, I WAS JUST LEAVING, BUT I’M UP TO HANG.
Waiting for her to respond was killing him, and he was relieved that Finn was too busy talking to others around them to realize who he was texting. Finn would never let him live it down. He had been saying that Ethan and Hazel were going to get together for a long time now, and Ethan didn’t want him to rub it in any more than he already had.
Ethan breathed out and chuckled when he read the text Hazel sent him. OKAY. WHY DON’T YOU JUST COME OVER TO MY PLACE THEN?
She took the bait that Ethan was sending her. He didn’t know what to do other than smile and get up from the bar stool, pulling his black leather jacket on over his basic white tee shirt as his heartbeat thrummed in his chest.
The night had taken a very, very pleasant turn for him.
“I’m heading out,” he told Finn, who nodded and patted him on the back as he left.
The whole drive over to her house, which he mapped on his phone when she sent him her address, was hell. His body was longing for hers, and he hadn’t felt lust like that in . . . . Well, in a long time. He couldn’t believe that she went along with his hidden message. He knew that she would understand what he meant when he said that he was leaving the bar, but willing to meet up with her. She wasn’t dumb. And she accepted his little proposal.
And that was making his whole body heat up in anticipation as he pulled up to her place.
The storm was still raging, and as he got out of his car, he was instantly soaked. He regretted wearing his favorite leather jacket. He hoped it wouldn’t be too ruined after tonight. He ran up to her front door, knocking loudly to be heard over the howling winds and seemingly constant thunder.
Hazel opened the door with a smile, and Ethan found that she was soaked to the core as well. He stepped inside, averting his eyes quickly after gazing at her soaking wet white t-shirt that clung to her skin. She wasn’t wearing a bra. And from the way she was smirking at him, Ethan knew that she saw how he gazed at her chest.
“I had to run to the store really quick,” she filled him in, gesturing to her soaking body as she shut the door behind her, leaning up against it and giving him the most seductive look he had ever seen.
“What’d you have to get?” Ethan asked, somehow managing to look her in her eyes and not her body. It was the hardest thing he thought he’d ever done. There she was, wearing that see through white t-shirt that clung to her body and those jeans that shaped her ass better than anything he’d ever seen. And yet there he was, trying his hardest to be a gentleman.
“I had to get condoms,” she told him, her smirk widening a bit. She leaned against the door, readjusting her posture so that her chest stuck out and called to his eyes.
Well, that changed things. He smirked at her as he realized that they both were game. With her approval, he let his eyes roam all over her body as he stepped closer to her, willing himself to go slow and not pull her in his arms like he wanted to. Her pert nipples were enough to make him crazy, though he willed himself to take it slow. He wanted to play this thing out like a dance.
“Well, isn’t that interesting?” he asked her, smirking and leaning his whole body up against hers. He smirked, even more, when he saw her eyes flutter slightly from being in contact with his body.
“I thought so,” she replied, shivering as he glided his fingers over her bare arms. He could feel the goosebumps he left behind as he danced his fingers over her skin.
“Look at you,” he muttered, playing with her hair and pushing it back behind her shoulders as she gazed up at him. “You’re all wet.”
That made her smile. When he gently pulled her waist to him and leaned down so that their faces were only inches apart, she inhaled sharply, her eyelashes fluttering.
“I am,” she responded. “I think you’re to blame for that.”
That was enough for Ethan to act. He gently lowered his head, his lips finally meeting hers after their teasing dance. Now, it was Ethan’s turn to get goosebumps as Hazel pulled him closer to her, wrapping her arms around his neck and lifting herself on her toes to kiss him.
“Your bedroom’s upstairs?” Ethan asked breathlessly as he picked her up, his hands holding her butt as she wrapped her strong legs around his waist, allowing him to carry her.
“Yeah, second door on the right,” she replied in between her hot kisses.
Ethan somehow managed to get them both upstairs and on her bed without tripping, though he didn’t know how. When she touched him, he couldn’t think straight. It was like he was in heaven when he was around her, and he would even go so far as to say that her touch alone made him hear angels singing.
Ethan lay Hazel on her bed and climbed on top of her. He was only on top of her for a second before she kicked him over, putting his back on the mattress and straddling him. He lifted his front half so that he was sitting up while his feet touched the floor below him. Hazel began to remove his jacket, which became a bit difficult because it was wet from the rain.
She finally got the jacket off and threw it on the floor. Ethan felt cold air hit his steamy skin, cooling him momentarily until Hazel’s hands caressed his bare arms, leaving heat in her wake. Hazel readjusted herself as she straddled him, making her breasts at eye-level with him. The white V-neck t-shirt she was wearing gave his eyesight enough, but not his hands or mouth.
“I want your shirt off,” he told her, tugging at the shirt where it was tucked into her jeans. He finally got it off of her, leaving her chest bare and open to him. He began to caress her breasts with his hands, playing with her nipples as he kissed her neck and chest. She gasped in pleasure as his tongue played with her nipple, causing her legs to tighten around him where she was straddling him.
“I like you bossy,” she breathlessly told him as she played with his hair, her eyes shut in contentment. His arms tightened around her waist in pleasure as he heard the enjoyment in her voice.
“Do you always go braless?” he asked her, looking up at where she was above him, her head tilted back in pleasure. She looked down at him then with a wicked smile on her face that caused his core to jump with excitement.
“I’ll wear anything for you,” she told him as she dropped her hand to play with his hard desire. “Or nothing.”
She stood up and brought Ethan with her, her hands pulling his belt buckle. He tore off his own shirt as she quickly undid his belt and unbuttoned his jeans. He let them fall to the ground, kicking them away as he pulled her to him and gently pushed her back on the bed where her back hit the mattress. She lifted herself up on her forearms and grinned as he stood over her.
God, she was something.
He began to unbutton her jeans, pulling them off of her athletic, muscled legs slowly. When
he finally got them off, he gazed below at her. Finding she was only wearing a thin red, lacy thong; his desire flared up like never before. She made him crazy, that much he knew.
“Why don’t you come here and touch me, baby?” She smirked at him, her eyes glistening with excitement. He grinned back at her and shook his head in disbelief as he lowered himself on top of her.
In an instant, Ethan removed both his underwear and hers, leaving both of them naked from head to toe. Ethan was in awe of her body, and from the way she gazed at him, she was, too.
“Wait,” she muttered, sliding away from him to grab a condom that she had put on her nightstand. Both she and Ethan laughed as she hopped back to bed. “Can’t let my purchase go to waste, can I?”
“I see you’ve only bought one?” he challenged her, kissing her as she ripped open the package and deftly slid the condom onto him.
“Oh, babe, I bought a whole box,” she whispered to him and nipped his ear.
That was enough to make Ethan feel like he was going to explode right then and there. He entered her slowly at first, both of them gasping with delight. Hazel clung onto his back as he bit her neck and picked up the pace and timing of his thrusts. The faster and harder they went along, the tighter Hazel clung to his back, leaving little nail marks on him. Her pleased noises increased with each thrust, making Ethan grip the bed’s headboard as his own desire fueled his lust.
He was in heaven. It was that simple. She was below him, moaning in pleasure as they rocked together. The way she shut her eyes and gripped him continuously kept him on edge, and when she finally let out one last gasp, he knew he was done for. She had his heart, his desire, and his lust.
She clenched around him as she finished, arching her back as she let her orgasm flow around him, resulting in him moaning one last time as he let go of all of the pent-up pleasure and desire he had been barely holding in. Sweat beaded their skin as they panted, drawing in ragged breaths. Ethan fell on top of Hazel, rolling to the side as he slowly began to catch his breath. His arm was still slung over her lower abdomen, resting against her hot skin.
Ethan opened his eyes and gazed at Hazel, surprised to find her looking at him with a peculiar look on her face. He didn’t know what that look was, but it made him want to start up things again. And again and again and again.
“What?” he asked her as he pulled her hair behind her ear; giving him a full view of her beautiful face. Yep. He decided she was an angel.
“That was the best sex I’ve ever had.” She laughed, wiping some of the sweat off of her forehead.
Ethan pulled her body closer to him, their naked bodies touching and thrumming with fulfilled pleasure together. As he kissed her, her tongue slid into his mouth and danced with his own.
“I have a feeling you came from heaven,” he murmured into her ear as he nipped her neck, making her gasp and clutch his body closer to his. He looked back at her face to see a glorious smile on her face.
And then she got up and left him on the cold bed, leaving his grasp.
“Don’t leave me,” he moaned, a smile on his face as she looked down at him.
“I have to take a shower.” She winked, walking to the bathroom that was adjoined to her bedroom. He watched her every step of the way, his desire flaring up again as he gazed at her body.
His heart hadn’t slowed its beat since he walked into her house, and he couldn’t stop the emotions and desire that flared up again. It didn’t matter that he was pleased only a few minutes ago. It didn’t matter that Hazel made him crazy and fulfilled his desire like no one else. He wanted more. He wanted more of her and only her.
Hazel reappeared in the bathroom doorway, staring at where he lay on the bed. She grinned that wicked grin of hers.
“I said, I have to take a shower,” she repeated, nodding back as she disappeared into the bathroom again.
Ethan smiled and laughed in disbelief that this was his life now. He bolted up and all but ran to the bathroom, where he picked up Hazel, who was also laughing now, and ran into the shower with her in his arms, the water falling over them.
Chapter 7
Hazel left her house, dancing on clouds. She felt like she was buzzed from drinking shots and shots of tequila, even though she’d only had that glass of whiskey at the bar. Ethan left her drunk with pleasure and happiness–and even fuller of lust if that was possible. By the time Matthew finally called her, ready to meet up and discuss the case, it was two-thirty in the morning, and Ethan and Hazel had pleased each other three times already, in three different areas of her house. And three different positions.
Thank God for shifter adrenaline. She knew that if Matthew didn’t call, they would’ve been up all night with each other, only becoming exhausted once the sun rose.
Matthew wanted to meet at the precinct, and Hazel still had a key to the back door of the building to let herself in when the department was closed. If anyone was arrested during the department’s closed hours, they went to the jail instead of the department. Hazel didn’t know if that ever happened in Jerome, but they still had people on call in case it did.
Matthew had given Hazel the key a few years ago when he came to work in Jerome and declared that she would be his assistant. Matthew wasn’t one that slept very well. Hazel always joked that he looked just like the depressed, work-crazed detectives on those dark TV mystery dramas that always dealt with a crazy detective. Matthew never enjoyed these jokes as much as she did.
Hazel knew that Ethan wasn’t too excited about her meeting with Matthew at two in the morning, but she somehow reassured him that this was normal and nothing would come of it. She knew that Matthew was too caught up in this case. After their talk earlier, she also felt that he finally came to the realization that they were no longer just going to fall into bed together.
At least, she hoped he was. She missed him as a friend, and she wanted to make their relationship platonic again if she could.
Hazel unlocked the heavy back door and pulled it open with her strength, the loud screech probably alerting Matthew that she was there. She locked the door behind her and walked to Matthew’s office in the dark. Her heightened senses helped her find the office in no time, and with no help, at all.
She walked through the open door to find Matthew with his head in his hands, the dim yellow office light bouncing around the depressing office. Papers and files were strewn everywhere. There was an empty pack of cigarettes next to a bowl full of ashes.
Hazel look around the room and walked to the board that Matthew had started. Pictures of people Hazel recognized around town, as well as Hann, were littered over the board, as well as photos of Camilla.
Hazel then discovered the murder scene pictures. She shuddered in disbelief as she took in the mutilated body that was shown in those grainy photos. She couldn’t believe that was Camilla Phillips. Blood was everywhere on the body and surrounding area in those pictures, and Hazel looked closer, stepping closer to the board, as she looked at the wounds covering Camilla’s body. Stab wounds, everywhere. Hazel shifted her eyes to the autopsy photos, showing a naked Camilla and the wounds that littered her body. Where she wasn’t bruised, her body had stab marks all over.
Hazel shook her head in disgust. Whoever did this was a monster.
“Forty-five wounds, altogether,” Matthew told her as she sat down across from him.
“I brought you something,” she told him, flinging an unopened pack of cigarettes she had bought for him earlier in the day. She had a feeling he would be empty when she visited him later.
Matthew nodded his thanks and opened the package, lighting one up as if his life depended on it. Hazel was just glad that she didn’t see any whiskey in the office. He tended to drink when he was stressed, and this case didn’t need a drunk detective at the helm. Matthew seemed to realize it, too.
“Do you have any solid leads?” Hazel asked the detective, settling in to listen. The first night of the case, if it hadn’t been solved yet, was always Matthew fill
ing Hazel in on all the details.
“Yes and no,” he responded, leaning back in his chair and taking a drag of his cigarette. “I’m going to start piling together some interviews tomorrow if you could be here. Talk to them outside and see if they say something odd. They’ll be on their best behavior with me, and they won’t say anything at all if they think they’ll slip.”
Hazel nodded. It made sense. It was their typical go-to move when they needed answers and they found that people were much more willing to tell a polite young woman than a detective like Matthew. Plus, people around here loved to gossip, and if they thought Hazel just wanted to chat, then they would spill the rumors.
“Of course, I’ll be here,” she told him, nodding. “But who exactly are you bringing in?”
Hazel needed to be prepared on whatever persona she would concoct for that day. Different people required different personality traits. When she was talking to an older lady, she played an innocent, doe-eyed girl who thrived on gossip. When she was talking to a middle-aged man, she played that innocent girl again–with a hint of seduction and sexiness.
“Her parents. Her next door neighbors. Her ex-boyfriends. Her friends. And some kids that she’s rumored to have hung out with. You know that gang of kids that do drugs over in those woods? I’m bringing a few of them in to see if they know anything.”
“Do you think they do? Know something, I mean?”
“We found Adderall with her body. A full bag of it. It’s not prescribed to her, and it seems like she may have gone to the forest to buy some from someone.”
“Adderall?” The drug rang some bells in Hazel’s mind, but she couldn’t think of why it sounded so familiar. Shifters didn’t need drugs, as their body healed themselves before an infection or sickness could hit. Drugs like cocaine or acid didn’t even affect shifters for too long because their body healed so quickly, leaving the whole society a sober bunch of people, for the most part.
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