An Eternity in a Moment

by K Carothers

  He took the stairs down to the first floor and headed to a vending machine at the end of the main hallway. He could use a stiff drink right about now, but water would have to do. And with a bottle in hand he left the building through a side door to get some fresh air.

  There was a break area with a picnic table nearby, and he sat down heavily, taking a swig of the water. This case was getting uglier by the minute. And to make matters worse, Jeff Kilbride had just gone home with a bad case of stomach flu, and the assistant chief wouldn’t be back from Mexico until Sunday.

  Luke watched a couple kids cross the street to the grocery store a little farther down the block. They were jaywalking, he noted with a wry smile.

  Then he looked beyond them to the parking lot of the store, and his expression sobered when the significance of the location dawned on him. He could see the parking lot from this angle, which meant the security cameras there could have caught activity at the door he’d just exited—the only one to City Hall that wasn’t under video surveillance itself. Frank’s car had been there all night, but had Frank?

  Luke threw his water bottle into the recycling container and immediately jogged over to the grocery store to check it out.

  * * *

  An hour later Luke found out that Frank hadn’t left City Hall the night of the murder—but someone else had come in.

  He sat in a back office at the grocery store and rewound the video, pausing on the frame when the person—most likely a woman—first walked into view. She was facing away from the camera, but he could see that she was petite, with long white hair—or maybe blond hair. Light blond hair.

  It struck him then who the woman was, and he stared at her image in shock. Shit…Stella Givens. He was sure of it.

  He hit play again and watched as someone opened the side door for her, though it was too dark to see who actually let her in. But he knew who it had to be.

  “Shit,” he said out loud this time.

  He made a mental note of the timestamp on the video as she was about to go in. Exactly 11:00 p.m. Then he hit fast-forward until he got to the image of her exiting from the same door alone…1:35 a.m.

  He sat back, running a hand through his hair as the full implications of the video hit him. So this was why the mayor had been so evasive in answering questions about the city budget. He hadn’t been working hard on the budget—he’d been working hard on diverting money away from it. And it meant they were dealing with something that ran even deeper than murder. Now he was pretty sure they had fraud and embezzlement on their hands.

  He thought about how upset Frank had looked after finding out about Tina’s infidelity. The man really did deserve an Academy Award. While his wife had been cheating on him, he’d probably been carrying on an affair with the city treasurer and robbing the people of New Dublin in the process. A brand new Cadillac certainly wouldn’t have been approved by the city council—or the whopping fee that Frank had likely paid for his wife’s murder.

  And Stella Givens, sweet-as-pie Stella Givens…She didn’t own any Cadillacs, but the stables on her sprawling ranch were full of their four-legged equivalents—horses. Some of the finest Arabians Luke had ever seen. He knew she bred them, and otherwise spent most of her free time taking them to shows, so he’d figured she was financing her extravagant hobby that way. But the city had probably been footing those bills too.

  Luke blew out a sigh and checked his watch. 5:54. He’d wait to discuss this new development with the chief tomorrow. They were scheduled to meet with the DA in the morning to review the murder case anyway, so they could figure out the best way to investigate this then. Hopefully the chief was up to it.

  He also knew that if he called an emergency meeting now it would kill any chance he had of seeing Erin later. And after all the ugliness he’d uncovered at every turn these last few days, he needed to see her more than anything, to be reminded that there was still good in the world, that there was still love.

  Chapter

  15

  Erin sat in one of the chairs on the front porch and waited for Luke, excited and anxious at the same time. She knew that after everything they’d already been through she had no reason to let anxiety undermine her happiness, but there were still so many unanswered questions between them that part of her couldn’t help but feel anxious, no matter how much she abhorred the emotion. It was proof that she was human, she reminded herself. In fact, everything she’d ever felt—good and bad—was just proof that she was human. She didn’t need to be embarrassed about the bad. Maybe she even needed to embrace it.

  Her lips quirked up into a wry smile. Jenna was really getting to her now.

  She thought about going back into the house to look for her cell phone in case Luke called. That would also keep her from obsessing over all those bothersome questions churning in her brain. She’d lost track of the phone earlier in the day and couldn’t remember where she’d left it. She’d been doing that a lot lately.

  But a moment later Luke’s blue SUV came down the road, and he pulled into the driveway. Her heart started fluttering in her chest—though it had nothing to do with the questions she’d had, which suddenly didn’t seem that important—and she waited at the edge of the porch as he headed up the walkway.

  Then he saw her and smiled, and she couldn’t wait a second longer. She flew down the steps and ran to him.

  Luke caught her in his arms, gathering her tightly against him, and for a while they just stood there holding each other.

  “God, you feel so good,” he eventually whispered. “You have no idea how much I needed this.”

  “Oh, I think I do.” Erin lifted her head from his chest and gazed up at him with a teasing glint in her eyes. “And you have no idea how glad I am that you’re here and not at Lexi Hightower’s house.”

  “I wouldn’t be there anyway, even if you hadn’t shown up at the station and chased her off.” Luke chuckled and tenderly kissed her forehead. “We ran into each other by accident today when she was at City Hall on other business, and she asked if I’d be interested in doing some consulting work to improve security at the factory. That’s all it was, and I told her I didn’t have time.”

  Erin slid her arms around his neck. “Maybe that’s all it was for you, Detective, but I heard what she said. When she asked if you were free tonight I really don’t think she was worried about her screws being stolen.”

  Luke grinned, lowering his mouth so it hovered just over hers. “I see the claws are out again. But I’d rather have you use them on me.”

  Erin drew his head down the rest of the way, and their lips met in a long, heated kiss, tongues joining in, stroking and circling the other’s in an erotic dance that heightened the pleasure of the kiss even more.

  Luke softly groaned when they finally came up for air. “We really need to talk, but right now all I want to do is rip your clothes off and make love to you.” He cupped her bottom in his hands, pulling her up against the hard evidence of his arousal, and brushed his lips seductively over her ear. “Do you think Jenna would mind if I get a much more in-depth tour of your bedroom this time?”

  Erin felt her anxiety return as soon as he asked the question, and she realized there was another reason for it, one she hadn’t thought about before—or maybe one she hadn’t let herself think about before. “Jenna’s asleep. But Luke…”

  Hearing the hesitancy in her voice, Luke eased back and searched her face. “What’s wrong, Erin?”

  She wasn’t sure how to say it. “What if…What if it isn’t, well, like it was at the hotel? I mean…I—I guess I was kind of drunk that night after all.”

  “So you’re worried I might stink in bed if you’re not drunk?” Luke asked with barely suppressed laughter.

  Erin’s eyes widened in horror. “Of course that’s not what I meant!” She felt her face get hot with embarrassment and nervously fiddled with the collar of
his shirt. “It’s me I’m worried about. What if I’m not good at it—at sex—if I’m not drunk. Until the other night with you it wasn’t—”

  Luke pressed a finger to her lips. “I don’t think you’re going to have a problem, Erin. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about alcohol, it doesn’t turn someone into something they’re not. Alcohol takes inhibition away, and tends to reveal a lot about who a person really is underneath it all.” He grinned devilishly. “And I like what I found out about you. But let me also give you a little lesson in physiology I guess they never taught you in school. If anything, alcohol can make it harder to have an orgasm—for both men and women. And you, my sexy Harvard grad, did not have a problem with that at all. So I’m sure it will be a virtual slam dunk now that you’re sober.” His grin widened. “If you let me score, that is.”

  The worry in Erin’s expression faded, and she gave him her own version of a devilish grin. “First you’ll have to stop talking and start swinging the bat.”

  Luke chuckled. “I’m more of a football guy, so let’s talk in terms of touchdowns. Like how I want a touchdown here.” He pressed a slow, sultry kiss on her lips. “And a touchdown here.” His mouth descended to the juncture of her neck and shoulder, and he sucked deeply there.

  Erin closed her eyes in pleasure. “Mmmm, I think I might actually like football.”

  Luke reached under the back of her shirt and unclasped her bra as he trailed more sensuous kisses over her neck. “And I definitely want a touchdown here,” he said, sliding his hands around to her breasts and lightly stroking her nipples, rousing them to hardened peaks.

  Erin felt liquid heat flood her, and knew with certainty then that her problems with intimacy were a thing of the past. “You’re very good at body checks, Detective,” she breathed, clutching his shoulders. “They’ll help get your puck in the net for sure.”

  Luke raised his head and looked at her in admiration. “Hockey references. Very impressive.”

  Erin softly smiled, though it was more in response to the heavenly sensations his fingers were eliciting. “I’ve lived in Boston for the last fourteen years, so I was bound to learn something about hockey.”

  “I think I’m going to like Boston,” Luke said, tenderly kissing her mouth.

  Erin’s smile instantly vanished, and she stared up at him in shock. “Are you saying what I think you are?”

  Luke tugged her bra back into place and refastened it. “I think we should go sit down on the back porch swing and talk about all that before I score too many touchdowns to think.” He flashed her a grin and took her hand, leading her toward the back of the house.

  Erin followed him, still not quite believing what he’d said. Going back to Boston was the biggest obstacle she’d thought stood between them. And now, apparently, it wasn’t an obstacle at all. She felt like another huge weight had just been lifted from her heart, and it soared to the stars.

  Then they turned the corner to the backyard, and her breath caught at the sight that met her eyes. “The fireflies are out,” she whispered, coming to a halt. “I’d forgotten about them.”

  Hundreds and hundreds of fireflies filled the yard—little twinkling balls of light that flitted over the grass, the wildflowers and the pond, which itself was gleaming under the bright light of the full moon above.

  “Come on.” Luke pulled her across the yard to the field of wildflowers and stopped in the middle of it, gathering her close. “Dance with me.”

  Erin smiled up at him. “We don’t have any music.”

  “Of course we do, and in a venue that can’t be beat.” He started swaying gently back and forth. “Thousands of crickets are playing in the band. There’s a huge disco ball hanging up there in the sky. The floor is completely decked out with flowers, and our fellow dancers are fireflies. What more could you ask for?”

  “Not a thing.” Erin nestled her head on his shoulder as they continued swaying to the music of the night. “I never want this dance to end,” she said after a while.

  “Neither do I.” Luke stopped moving and eased her head up, cradling her face in his hands. “That’s why I don’t want you to leave here alone. When the time comes, and if you’re not sick of me by then, I want to go back to Boston with you.”

  Erin felt tears fill her eyes. “I’ll never be sick of you, Luke. There’s not a doubt in my mind that I want you in my life—forever. But are you sure? I don’t want you to do something you’ll resent me for later.”

  A look of pain briefly mixed with the tenderness in Luke’s expression. “When you left here the last time you took my heart with you. And if that happens again I think it would kill me. You mean more to me than this town, or my job, or anything else. My heart is where you are. It always has been and always will be. I want to go back with you—I need to go back with you. I love you.”

  Erin looked into his eyes and knew that she loved him too, so much she ached with it. “Luke, I…” But she couldn’t get the words out.

  He gently put a finger to her lips. “I don’t expect you to say anything back right now. I’ve known how I felt about you for as long as I can remember, but it’s way too soon for you. I get that.”

  Erin shook her head. “It’s just something that’s hard for me to say, Luke. Jenna told me the other day that nothing is easier done than said, but for once she was wrong. I haven’t even said those words to her. I’ve tried, and I freeze up every time. I know it’s crazy. I can bring a dying person back to life, but a lot of things that are easy for most people have always been the hardest for me, like saying those three words…It should be such a simple thing to do, but when I try to say them I feel like I’m about to jump off a cliff. And jumping off a cliff would be crazy to most people.”

  “We’re all crazy in our own ways, Erin. Some of us are just more willing to admit it than others.” Luke bent down and plucked a wild purple petunia from the field and tucked it behind her ear. “I love you, and I won’t expect you to say it back. I just hope one day you can, and you won’t feel like you’re jumping off a cliff anymore.”

  “Thank you, Luke,” Erin whispered. “And I promise, if you’re patient that day will come.”

  “And it will be the happiest day of my life.” Luke smiled, lightly tracing her lower lip with his thumb. “But right now it’s fine with me if we don’t say anything at all.”

  Erin grinned devilishly and took hold of his thumb, running her tongue over it. Then she sucked it into her mouth, enjoying the look of desire that immediately tightened his features, the heat that filled his eyes and warmed her just as much. And when she finally let go, she asked in a low, seductive tone, “Don’t you want to sit on the back porch swing and talk some more?”

  “No,” Luke answered, and hauled her up against him hard, capturing her mouth hungrily with his.

  Erin grabbed the back of his head, pulling him even closer, and their lips met in kiss after amorous kiss, while the fireflies danced all around them.

  “I feel like a man who’s been walking in a desert all his life searching for water,” Luke murmured, blazing a path of hot kisses over her face and down her neck, stroking the sensitive skin there with his tongue. “And now that I’ve found you, I can’t get enough of you.”

  Erin rubbed her cheek against his and ran her hands over the back of his shoulders, luxuriating in the feel of him. “I’ve never wanted anyone to touch me the way I want you to. And your fingers, your lips, they don’t just touch my skin, they touch my soul.”

  Luke lifted his head and smiled down at her. “You don’t ever have to tell me you love me if you say things like that instead.”

  Erin tenderly smiled back, and then lowered her arms to his shirt and slowly undid the buttons. “As much as I want you to touch me, I want to touch you. I want my hands on your body. I want to feel you, your skin against my skin.” She reached the waistband of his jeans and pulled the ends of his s
hirt out to finish unbuttoning it, then slid it off his shoulders so it fell amongst the flowers at their feet. “I want to take all your clothes off and ride you to the stars and touch the moon, Neal Armstrong.”

  “Okay, it’s official,” Luke said, undoing her blouse and bra and tossing them to the ground as well. “I don’t ever want you to tell me you love me if you say things like that instead.” He took a moment to enjoy the sight of her breasts in the soft light of the moon, running his hands over them, gently massaging. And then he kissed a sensuous path down her chest to one of her hardened nipples, sucking it deeply into the moist heat of his mouth.

  Erin grabbed hold of his shoulders and gazed up into the night sky with half-closed eyes, letting out helpless moans of pleasure as he continued to make passionate love to her breasts. But the fire he was setting ablaze inside her with his lips and tongue soon burned hotter than she could bear. “Luke,” she gasped, reaching down to unbuckle his belt. “I need you. Right now.”

  “God yes, honey.” He bent lower and quickly stripped off the rest of her clothes, then branded her skin with feverish kisses as he made his way back up her body.

  Erin urgently drew him up the rest of the way. “I remember when you first called me honey,” she said tightly, unfastening his jeans and tugging them down, along with his briefs. “I found out what an orgasm was about three seconds later. And I think I’m already halfway there now.”

  Luke groaned, kicking away his clothes, and pulled her with him into the flowers. “Now you’re just plain driving me crazy, honey.”

  Erin came down on top of him, her lips curving up into a grin. “I just might start to like crazy.”

  “Me too,” he said with a soft laugh. “Me too.”

  All humor was gone after that. Their mouths met in a searing kiss, then feasted on the other’s skin, hands exploring, bodies giving and seeking pleasure in return. And when desire turned to desperation, Erin lifted herself over him and took him inside her, letting sensation be her guide as she started to move. And it wasn’t long before she got into the rhythm, rocking her hips against his with unbridled passion.