In Too Deep (12 page)

Adams’s face was expressionless and Erin wasn’t sure what she was thinking. Nervous, but determined not to show it, she headed for the door. She could feel the ice blue eyes boring heat into her back. “Thanks for the drink,” she said, as she pulled the door open.

“You’re welcome.” The voice came from directly behind her.

Startled, Erin turned. She hadn’t even heard Adams approach.

Adams placed a finger on her lips as if to silence her, then ran it slowly down her neck to the top of her breasts. Erin looked into her fire-and-ice eyes and saw the raw desire churning within.

Careful to steady her breathing, she tore herself away and, without looking back, walked briskly and purposefully out the door, past Angie and her small harem and down the stairs to the crowded dance floor. She wanted to leave, but she knew she couldn’t run out of there like a scared rabbit. Instead she grabbed the nearest woman.

The young blond stranger was momentarily surprised by her aggressiveness, but she relaxed quickly and smiled at Erin as they danced. Erin closed her eyes and forced her body to move. The physical exertion did little to distract her from the raging feelings Adams had elicited. She danced hard, grinding her body into the other woman, trying to look like she was having fun.

After two long songs, she gave her partner a wink and nonchalantly exited the dance floor, hoping she had put on a good enough show. Sweat dripped from her body, and her nerve endings and loins were still alive and hungry. She fished out her car keys from her pocket and ran out into the parking lot. The desert night air felt like a furnace turned on low and it did little to cool her insides down. She cranked up her car and threw it in reverse.

She had done it. The first contact was over and she had done exactly what was required, maybe even more. She could only hope Adams would remain hooked. She drove several blocks before she pulled over into a grocery store parking lot. After parking in the rear and away from the other cars, she turned off her car and collapsed back against the seat. Her breathing was still rapid and her heart raged in her chest.

She sat in silence for a while, allowing herself the time to absorb all she had seen and experienced. Would she be able to keep up the charade? Would she be able to successfully and safely interact with Elizabeth Adams next time? That icy stare flashed before her, and she cranked up the car and put it in drive. As she turned onto Paradise Drive, she rolled down the windows and let the furnacelike heat assault her face, hoping against hope that it would melt Adams’s glacier blue eyes from her mind.

Erin pulled into Katherine Chandler’s driveway and shut off the Honda’s engine. Before getting out of the car, she glanced up and down the street, making sure she hadn’t been followed. Seeing no other vehicles, she locked the car and headed indoors, tossing her keys on the coffee table.

She went through the required routine, checking in with J.R. before she stripped off the suede vest and removed the wire from her bra. She was unbelievably thirsty and strolled into the kitchen. It felt good to walk around the cool house in her bra.

The phone rang just as she began to fill a glass with ice for some tea. Erin answered quickly. It was Hernandez. He and Stewart were staked out in a house close by. They all knew that once Adams ran her license plate, it would be only a matter of time before she tried something intrusive.

“Line’s all clear,” he said, referring to any phone taps. “And there’s been no movement on the house.”

“Okay, thanks for the update.”

They said good-bye and she carried her tea back to the living room and took a long sip before pulling off her boots. Once free of their binds, she collapsed back onto the couch, feeling exhausted in a strange way. It was difficult to have to pretend like she was a confident, relaxed human being while having to really be guarded for her own protection. The task was physically and mentally trying, and it hadn’t helped that Adams was alluring and devastatingly beautiful. It was hard to look at her and imagine her as a ruthless and sadistic killer. Yet that’s how Erin had to see the woman. Her own life depended on it.

She eased back and tried to relax, to find some sort of comfort in finally being away from the club and her dangerous world of make-believe. But her body and mind wouldn’t unwind. Her blood was alive and buzzing with sexual energy.

The phone rang again and she sat up and snatched it quickly. “Hello.”

“Great job tonight, Mac. I got killer sound.” J.R. seemed just as keyed up as she was. “No pun intended.” He laughed at his own comment, not caring if she found it funny or not.

“Good, glad to hear it.”

“I knew you would give Adams a boner. And from where I’m sitting, she sounded like she had some hard-on.” He sounded muffled and far away, and Erin figured he was driving home and talking to her from his cell phone. “Now all you gotta do is let her fuck you with her big dick and maybe then she’ll tell you that she killed those guys.”

Erin rubbed her temple while resting her elbows on her knees. She ignored his crudeness, having heard far worse from him on other assignments. “Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be that simple.”

He seemed to miss the sarcasm in her voice, or maybe it got lost over the cellular static. “Hey, we all know that sex makes the world go round. Later, chica.”

Erin wished dealing with Adams would be as simple as J.R. made it sound. The thought of a sexual encounter with their striking target caused sporadically flying butterflies to invade her insides. Erin had to admit, she would gladly fuck Adams to get a confession. The woman was charming and gorgeous, a huge leap from the drug lords she was used to.

She gulped at the last of her iced tea and returned to the kitchen for a refill. The bottle of Jack Daniel’s she’d found the previous day sat on the counter, its silent presence speaking to her, promising to bring her down a level and perhaps help her sleep. She picked up the bottle and its misleading promises and put it away, knowing that nothing short of numerous powerful orgasms would ease the sexual charge coursing through her veins.

Images of Adams flashed through her mind. Hair as black as night framed her perfectly carved face, luring Erin in to be held captive in the electric blue of her eyes. Then there was her body. Its strength, beauty, and seduction slinked up, enchanting Erin with its promise of complete and total sexual satiation.

Her mind drifted to Patricia, to the sensual way she had moved between the two women, so erotic…so inviting. She placed the glass back on the counter and glanced down at her bare torso. With fingers still cold from holding her drink, she lightly stroked her abdomen, following the path of blond downy hairs. Her body shivered as she traced her fingers back up toward her bra, where she felt her nipples harden beneath the lace. The ring of the phone startled her and she nearly jumped out of her awakening skin.

Annoyed, she picked up and demanded, “What?” fully expecting it to be one of her colleagues calling to congratulate her on her success at obtaining lesbian status. At the same moment, the doorbell rang and she pictured the motley group of detectives standing at the door holding condom balloons and a cake with a dildo in the center and “Job Well Done” lettered in icing.

“Hello, Katherine.” A deep sexy voice purred into her ear.

Adams. Shock raced through her, and she eyed the front door.
Could she be here?
She snatched up her vest and slipped it on over her shoulders.

“Uh, hello.” She walked as quietly as she could to the door and peered through the peephole. Relief washed through her.

“Do you know who this is?” her purring caller prompted.

Erin opened the door. “I think I recognize the voice, but I don’t remember giving that particular person my phone number.”

Patricia entered quickly and remained silent, clearly picking up on the phone conversation. She eyed Erin’s open vest and looked away.

“It wasn’t hard to get and besides, I had to call, otherwise I might never have gotten the chance to apologize.” Her voice and words were disarming, especially to someone who was easily charmed by her looks and antics.

Katherine Chandler, unlike Erin, was not. “Apologize for what?”

“For my behavior tonight at the club. I was too presumptuous and I didn’t intend to give you the wrong idea.”

She was good.

“Mmm. Apology accepted.” Erin offered no more; she wanted to make her squirm a little.

“I hope I can look forward to seeing you again.”

“I don’t know.” She tried to sound uninterested.

“Let me make it up to you.” Adams was definitely squirming on her end of the line, like a fish trying to hang on to the bait. “Have dinner with me tomorrow night.”

“Dinner?” Erin hesitated purposely. “Tell me why I should.”

Patricia nodded her approval from the sofa; a good sign considering how well the detective knew Adams, Erin thought.

Adams laughed a deep, throaty laugh. “Because I promise you, it’ll be an evening you’ll never forget.”

“If I agree, will you keep your hands to yourself?”

Adams laughed once again, seemingly enjoying the game she thought Katherine was playing with her. “You have my word. I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

“Okay, then. I’ll have dinner with you tomorrow night.”

“Wonderful. I’ll have a driver pick you up at seven.”

“Wait a minute.” Erin protested. “A driver? No, I’m not comfortable with that. I’ll meet you at the club.”

Adams didn’t respond right away and Erin thought for a moment that she might actually refuse. “The club will be fine. Good night, Katherine.” The words were said softly, like a caress.

Erin hung up and sighed heavily. “I didn’t expect her to call so quickly.”

“You did good,” Patricia said.

Erin smiled, then remembered her vest wasn’t buttoned up. “I need to go change,” she said, heading for the bedroom. “Want to stay for a drink?”

“No thanks. I won’t keep you.” Patricia raised her voice so she could hear. “I just thought I should stop by to see how you are. Obviously, things went well with Adams.”

Erin returned to the living room wearing a black Adidas T-shirt. “She’s exactly how you said she would be—arrogant, ostentatious, and unbelievably charming.”

“Glad to hear she hasn’t changed any.”

Erin plopped down on the sofa and propped her feet up on the coffee table. “I did what you said, I played it tough.”

“So, how are you? Did she shake you up?”

Rubbing her hands on her jeans, Erin thought about the question. She knew Patricia was just looking out for her and she knew she had to lie in order to sound competent. “I’m fine.” She willed herself not to lower her eyes beneath Patricia’s searching gaze. “As for Adams, I got the impression that she’s mostly bark and less bite.” She hoped she sounded believable, because the truth had her insides knotted and her nerve endings screaming with want.

“That, Mac”—Patricia rose and headed for the front door—“is where you’re dead wrong.”

*

The morning sunlight filtered in through the vertical blinds, casting bars across the bed. Erin opened her eyes and squinted at the sun’s greeting. She stretched and felt calm and relaxed. She hadn’t slept that well in a long, long time. While the night had been pleasantly free of nightmares, it had brought dreams—dreams that left her feeling warm inside.

She snuggled down into the soft contours of the comfortable bed and closed her eyes, content in the feelings such dreams always left her with. She yearned to return to their tranquil confines. One dream played out in her mind.

It was late and a noise in the hall woke her. Startled, she sat up in bed and looked to the bedroom door as it slowly opened. Patricia stood in silence, wearing the jeans and tank top she had worn to the club. Erin didn’t question her presence, it being somehow understood.

Patricia walked slowly toward the foot of the bed, her face and body illuminated by the soft light of the moon, her eyes burning a deep midnight blue. Her hands crept seductively to the waistband of her jeans. With great ease she pulled on the buttons, popping them free down the fly of the tight-fitting denim. Slowly, and with obvious deliberation, she moved her hands back up to the tank top, scooting it up to bare her toned torso. In a single fluid motion, she pulled the top up over her head and let it fall to the floor.

Her eyes flashed in the moonlight and lightened several shades, and Erin recognized the fiery, hungry gaze. She didn’t know how or why, but Patricia’s eyes had changed to those of Elizabeth Adams.

The beautiful woman before her seemed to be enjoying Erin’s attention. Her breasts swelled with her breathing, the nipples dark pink and puckering. Her hands found their way back to the jeans and inched them down over her bare hips and thighs. Erin’s gaze floated up to the nude woman’s face. Elizabeth Adams teasingly licked her lips and crawled on the bed.

Elizabeth nuzzled her neck and Erin could smell the tantalizing scent of her cologne. Reaching for her, wanting to pull her closer, she placed her hands on the warm, strong back. A voice whispered in her ear.

“I’m going to show you how I love.” The voice was Patricia’s.

A thrill rushed through Erin and she bucked her hips, desperately wanting the feel of the woman against all of her. They kissed warm and deep, Patricia teasing with her hot tongue. The scent on Patricia’s neck was arousing and familiar, the scent of Adams’s cologne gone.