“Hmmn.” She was about to say something when Lukas captured her lips with his and proceeded to kiss her senseless. His tongue swept in, caressing the inside of her mouth and stealing any resistance she may have had. Her knees felt weak. The man really could kiss!
His hands ran up and down her back pulling her close. She felt her breasts press against his naked chest and longed to be naked, too. It seemed like he read her mind as those large, warm hands tugged her dress down her arms, the material sliding, then pulling taut over her pert mounds. Finally, with one last tug, the dress dropped below and revealed her to his eyes. Lukas stared hard, loving what he saw. Perfectly shaped breasts sprinkled with freckles and topped by two cherry-pink nipples. His mouth literally watered, and he couldn’t wait to kiss each freckle and lick those cherry peaks.
“Damn!” He leaned down, wasting no time, and took one into his mouth, sucking hard, and running his tongue over the rigid nub.
Elsa melted. Her fingers buried themselves in his hair and she struggled to remain standing. Seeming to understand her need, Lukas reached around and lifted her, his hands cupping her ass. Elsa wrapped her legs around his waist, and he carried her the few steps to his bed where he laid her down and switched to the other nipple giving it equal attention. She got wet fast under his ministrations growing needier with each nip, and each lick. He worked his way back up where he claimed her lips again, kissing her until her body begged to be relieved of the tension he was creating. Clothes came off, and before she knew it, they were both naked. Lukas rose above her sitting on his knees. He placed her legs on his shoulders and leaned forward. With one hand to guide himself, he found her slick opening and poised his tip at her entry.
Elsa wanted him so badly that she couldn’t wait any longer. It had been ages, and she needed to feel him deep inside her. “Lukas. What are you waiting for? Fuck me!” She wiggled her hips forward trying to push his cock in.
He smiled. With his fingers, he began to caress her moist folds. He watched her close her big green eyes and sigh. He pressed further and found her clit, rubbing it in circular motions with his thumb. Still, he held back.
“Lukas, please!” Elsa clutched his arms, digging her nails in. He found her need so arousing that he couldn’t hold back anymore. Without warning, he plunged deep. “Yes!” Elsa’s head rolled back, and her spine arched as the pleasure swamped her.
Lukas reared back and thrust hard again, and again, finding a furious rhythm. Elsa matched him and they fucked hard breaking out into a full body sweat. He allowed her legs to spread out and wrap around his waist. This brought him closer to her and he cradled her head in his hands, kissing her with desperate passion. There was no finesse this first time, only hard and fast sex. Tension built, and Elsa dug her heels into his tight ass forcing him deeper. Her nails scraped his back and sweat pooled between her breasts causing their chests to form a weird suction that made a wet sound when they parted. She knew she was about to orgasm.
“Fuck me, Lukas!” Hearing the need in her voice, he propped himself up on his hands and plowed her into the mattress. Each stroke brought her closer, and with the next, she tightened up around him and exploded.
“Oh my God. Yes!” The spasms overtook her body.
Lukas felt each one gripping his cock, and they brought him to the edge and sent him flying. He reared back and came hard, shuddering before falling forward onto her. They lay there, panting and trying to catch their breath.
“You are an amazing woman, Elsa Kreiss.” He caressed her cheek.
Elsa laughed. “And you are one lusty lover, Lukas Trommler.”
“I was inspired.” He smiled; eyes closed.
Elsa waited a moment, and then pushed him off and sat up. “Where are you going?” He watched her wondering what she was doing.
“I’m going to use your toilet.” She stood up and walked naked to the bathroom, picking up her clothes along the way. “And then I’m going home.”
“What?” Lukas sat up, fighting the lethargy. “Why?”
“Because I have to work in the morning, and I also have a brother to care for.” She traipsed down the hall and walked into the bathroom, closing the door.
Lukas sat in his bed, confused. He’d often left women immediately after having sex, but he was also usually at their place. He rarely brought a woman home, and even then, they didn’t stay long since he would gently talk them around to leaving. But he wasn’t ready for Elsa to leave. He wanted her to stay, and here she was leaving him like a cheap one-night stand. He didn’t like it. He waited until she came back out, fully dressed.
“I get that you have to work, but can’t you stay a little while longer?” He walked over to her, still naked, and visibly ready for round two.
“No. It’s nearly two in the morning already. I’ll get maybe three hours of sleep if I’m lucky as it is.”
He enfolded her in his arms and kissed her softly. “Who needs sleep?” His teeth nipped her lower lip.
Elsa giggled. “I do. I have bad guys to catch.”
Lukas ran his hands over her lower back, buttocks, and thighs while sucking on her earlobe. “I’m right here. Catch me.”
Feeling wicked, she reached down and gripped his penis gently pumping it. He stopped kissing her and she heard the hissing intake of his breath. She teased him with her fingertips. “I already caught you. Now, I’m setting you free.” Releasing him, she backed away and spun toward the doorway.
“You’re just going to leave me like this? That’s police brutality, Kreiss.” He followed her down the hall, cock bobbing like a divining rod seeking moisture—her moisture.
Elsa reached the front door, and stopped, laughing as she turned around. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. We’ll do this again. I promise.” She opened the door.
“Soon!” he said as she walked out. “I’d walk you down, but...” He pointed at the engorged cock that seemed to be following her movement as she walked to the elevator.
“It’s okay. I carry a gun.” She winked at him, and then stepped inside the elevator.
Chapter Eight
JOSEPH HEINZ AROSE early as was his custom on workdays. But today was Sunday, and he was putting on a suit and tie, combing his graying brown hair into some semblance of order, and even splashing on a bit of cologne. After checking his choice of dark gray coat and slacks against a white button down shirt and blue tie with flecks of green and silver, he grabbed his wallet, keys, and his service firearm and put each item where they belonged, back pocket, side-arm holster, and palm of his hand. Heinz whistled a tune as he walked to his car. He was on his way to pick up Birgitta for church. Sure, it wasn’t a date. He knew that. This was all part of the investigation. Still, there was a spring in his step, and a song in his otherwise guarded, and curmudgeonly heart making its way past his lips and floating off into the breeze.
The day was overcast, and the forecast was calling for rain with falling temperatures. Traffic was light, and Heinz made it to Mahler’s residence in less than twenty minutes. There would be no going inside to wake her up today. For that, he was thankful. Sort of. On one hand, he wouldn’t make a fool of himself again, but on the other hand, he wouldn’t get to see what he saw the other day, probably never again after his thoughtless action of walking into her bedroom unannounced. As he pulled up to the curb, she walked out of her front door. For a brief moment, he once again saw her in his mind naked, wet, and with her long, dark hair hanging in curls over her shoulders and across her breasts. He unrolled his window and let the cold air hit him in the face. Mahler opened the passenger door and slid in.
“Good grief, Joseph! Close your window. It’s cold out here.” She slammed her door shut and reached for the seatbelt.
He rolled the window back up, irritated now. “And good morning to you too.” He put the car in gear and pulled out into the lane.
“What’s wrong with you? Hot flashes,” she joked, making him grumpier.
“I contacted the Avilovs and witnesses this morning. We’l
l be sitting with them. Both girls will be in attendance and can point out the young man if he’s there.”
“That helps.” She shifted around, and he caught a whiff of her perfume.
Heinz looked over at her and finally noticed what she was wearing. Not her usual business attire at all. Instead, she was wearing a black patterned dress with a red sash around her tiny waist. He’d never really noticed her waist size before since she wore suit jackets most of the time, but he noticed now, and he remembered the forbidden glimpse he’d caught of her in her bedroom. Her legs were accented with smoky-colored nylons, and she wore black classic pumps. Instead of her usual tight twist, her hair was put up loosely, and a few curls framed her face around her ears. She even seemed to be wearing makeup, which made her dark eyes appear wider, and her lips, redder.
He cleared his throat. “You look different.”
She looked down at her dress. Even wearing a dark overcoat, which at the moment, was open, she did look quite a bit different than usual. She’d dressed with care this day. “Well, it is church, Joseph. I see you also went the extra mile today. Not bad.” She lifted an eyebrow, her red lips twitching at the corners.
Heinz turned his head away to look briefly out the driver’s side window and smiled. The rest of the ride was completed in a comfortable silence as they made their way into Wilmersdorf. The parking lot at Resurrection of Christ was full, and it took Joseph a few minutes longer than he cared for to find a spot. He really wanted to put his police parking badge on the windshield and just park up front, but that would give them away. They parked a half a block down and walked to the front steps.
The Avilovs waited there along with Nina and Oksana. “Herr Kommissar, Guten morgen. Detective Mahler.” Mr. Avilov addressed them as they approached.
Heinz was quick to remind him not to use their official titles. “Ah, yes. My apologies.” He looked contrite.
“Under the circumstances, it’s best to simply use our names, Joseph and Birgitta. In fact, it may help to introduce us as a married couple to put people at ease.” Heinz reached out and took Mahler’s hand, holding it as if they were, indeed, a couple.
Birgitta kept a straight face, but a small tick at the corner of her red lips gave away her thoughts on the subterfuge to the observant. She liked the idea. Karina Avilova noticed, and she couldn’t quite hide her smile. She understood a woman’s heart, and she sent a meaningful look her way. Fortunately, the men weren’t quite so attuned.
“Come. We need to get inside and grab our seats before someone else does. We always sit on the right. It’s easier to get out at the end of service, and we can see everyone from our pew.” Karina Avilova ushered everyone inside like a mother hen with a mess of chicks.
Birgitta spoke to Nina and Oksana. “If you see him, don’t be obvious. Just touch my hand and look in the direction where he is, but don’t stare. We don’t want to alarm him in any way. We just need to speak with him, see if he knows anything. Do you usually talk with him after services?”
“Sometimes, but only briefly. Without Liliya, he doesn’t pay much attention to me and Oksana.” Nina’s face was set in a pout as if this upset her.
Mahler chose to ignore the girl’s interest in the young man for now. They didn’t know yet whether he was even a person of interest, and until they did, she would say nothing. However, she decided that if he piqued even a remote hint of suspicion, she’d warn the girls off him immediately. No need to have any more missing girls’ cases. Heinz still had hold of her hand. It was warm and comforting. She tried not to smile, but it wasn’t easy to maintain indifference.
THE SERMON WAS LONG-winded in Heinz’s view, but he was sitting next to Mahler in church on a Sunday morning. He’d finally had to relinquish her hand because he couldn’t justify holding it any longer. Her skin was soft, and her hand felt small in his. It was a perfect fit. He would have held it throughout the entire service if he could, but it was perhaps best that didn’t happen. It was all he could do to stop himself from caressing each finger and drawing circles on her palm. And he couldn’t wipe away the image still burned in his mind from the morning before.
The Avilovs had introduced them to a few couples sitting close by as their cousin and his wife visiting from Frankfurt. Mrs. Avilov seemed to be getting too into her role as accomplice and invented an elaborate fiction about how he’d met Birgitta only a few years ago and fallen deeply in love. “Just look at them! Still the lovebirds. He can barely keep himself away from her. Still thinks she’s the most beautiful woman on Earth, don’t you, Joseph?”
Playing along, he’d looked at Mahler, and noting the blush on her cheeks from the embarrassing scene, found himself charmed and unable to stop his own words from spilling forth. “That she is, cousin.”
The low tone of his voice, and the unusual look in his brown eyes made Birgitta’s breath catch in her throat, and she started coughing uncontrollably which led to Heinz patting her awkwardly on her back until it subsided. Mrs. Avilov smiled to herself, proud of her accomplishment. It occurred to her that sometimes men needed a little nudge to see what was right in front of them.
Oksana suddenly reached over and lightly touched Mahler’s hand. Birgitta looked at the girl and followed her line of sight to a young man with dark hair sitting a few rows up on the opposite side. He wore a gray suit jacket with dark pants, and a white shirt. His thick hair was combed back, and at first, he seemed focused on the mass with eyes closed, but then he opened them, and began looking around. Finally, his gaze locked onto a young woman with blonde hair sitting toward the front.
Mahler turned to catch Joseph’s eye, but he was already looking in the same direction. They exchanged looks and waited.
THE SERVICE ENDED AND Mrs. Avilov once again ushered everyone out in a hurry so the detectives and the girls could be in a position to both see, and to engage the young man when he left. He wasn’t difficult to spot. He followed the blonde-haired girl out, hard on her heels. As he began to speak to get her attention, Nina Belova stepped in his path.
“Hello, Greg. Nice service today, eh?” Oksana stepped in beside her friend effectively cutting him off from the other girl who continued on, unaware, with her parents.
Hiding his frustration, Greg responded in a courteous manner. “It was quite uplifting, Miss Belova. And how are you, Oksana?” He clasped his hands behind his back and took a casual stance.
“I’m well, thank you.”
Birgitta stepped forward next to the girls. “And who is this nice young man?” She smiled and played her role.
“This is Greg Koslov. Greg, this is Liliya’s cousin’s wife, Birgitta.” Nina performed the introductions.
At the mention of her name, Greg’s face stilled, and the smallest twitch of his lips ticked once before he extended his hand in greeting. “Very nice to meet you.” He turned to Nina. “Any word on Liliya yet? It’s been a few weeks now, hasn’t it?”
Heinz joined them placing his arm around Mahler. “Hello, I’m Joseph, her other half,” he joked, grinning as if nothing were amiss.
“Yes, we’re all very worried. It’s not like her to just run off. Did you know her well?” Birgitta threw the question out.
“No, not really. I only met her once.”
“And where was that?” Heinz stared down at the shorter man.
Koslov looked at the girls, “It was that gardening event we did at the nursing home, wasn’t it?”
Oksana nodded, but said nothing else.
“Did you happen to notice if she spoke to anyone?” Again, Heinz took the lead.
“No, I can’t say that I did.”
“But you spoke with her, Greg. For quite some time.” Nina said this innocently enough, but her statement was anything but.
“Oh, and what did you talk to my little cousin about?” Birgitta suspected he was feeling cornered, so she smiled and kept her tone light.
“Not much, just gardening. I believe she mentioned something about Belgium, maybe that she wished to go t
here. Has anyone checked? Maybe she had a boyfriend and ran off.”
“We are checking everywhere.” Mr. Avilov stepped in. “So far, nothing. And I can tell you that if we find out someone harmed Liliya, there won’t be a place where that villain can hide where I won’t find him.” Avilov’s voice dropped low and his face contorted in anger. “I will kill him with my bare hands.”
Heinz placed a hand on Avilov’s shoulder. “No killing, cousin. We’ll find her, and if she was harmed, the law will handle it.” His words held a double meaning.
“So, what is it you do, Greg?” Heinz went back into subtle interrogation.
“I’m a sailor by trade.”
“You’re quite a way from a port here in Berlin,” Heinz pointed out.
“Yes, well, I’m visiting my uncle right now. I’ll be leaving soon to get back to work.”
“Well, it was nice meeting you.” Birgitta wound up the strange conversation.
“And yourselves. Nina. Oksana. It’s always a pleasure.” He shook Heinz’s hand, and then walked away quickly.
Mahler looked at Heinz. “He knows something.”
“I’ll get the car.” Heinz made his way down the block and jumped into his car. He pulled up to the curb where Mahler was being waylaid by Mrs. Avilov.
“What do you think he knows? Do you think he hurt our girl?” She was getting hysterical.
Nina and Oksana stepped to either side of her. “We’ll take care of her. Just go and find out what you can. Hurry.”
Mahler thanked them and told Mrs. Avilov she’d call her later if they find out any new information.
In the car, Heinz drove quickly to catch up to the young man who had walked three blocks down and entered into a dark sedan, quite a fancy car for a sailor.
“Something about him doesn’t strike me right,” Birgitta stated as she held onto the bar above her head.
“Nervous ticks.”
The Checkpoint, Berlin Detective Series Box Set Page 30