Rumble on the Bayou (18 page)

She shrugged off her T-shirt and reached for one of the towels, drying her long hair as best she could, then grabbed the other towel to dry her body. When she was done, she wrapped herself in the blanket and curled up on one corner of the couch.

"Can I come out?" Richard called from the other room.

"All clear," Dorie said and he opened the door and walked into the kitchen. He wore a beach towel wrapped around his lower body, which might have covered the important parts, but left his chest open for full consideration. He must have a hell of a workout when he's not trapped in small towns.

"Would you like a drink of water?" he asked.

It took her a second to realize that one, he had asked her a question, and two, she was staring quite openly at him.

"No," she said and spun around to stare out the front window. Behind her, she heard him open the refrigerator door. She told herself she wouldn't look, but sure enough, he was just bending over to remove the water from the refrigerator when she shifted her gaze back to him. It was a hell of a view. His back and shoulders were as equally impressive as his chest, the muscles rippling gently from top to bottom. He wasn't overdone, like some she'd seen before, but he was definitely built.

Just before he turned around, she caught sight of a scar, low on the back near his waist. It was a bullet hole. She was sure of it. Although she hadn't had the pleasure of the experience, she had seen many in her lifetime. In their line of work, it was impossible not to. Living in Gator Bait, where accidental gun discharge was as common as jaywalking, only added to the odds.

Richard took a seat on the couch and looked closely at her. "You feeling any better?" he asked, and she was surprised to hear the genuine concern in his voice.

"I think so," she said. "I'm still cold, though. I can't seem to get warm enough and it's got to be ninety degrees in here."

Richard nodded. "It's shock. It will take a while to wear off. But at least your color is coming back. You really had me worried for a minute there."

Dorie squirmed uncomfortably and looked down. "I know you're probably used to working with tougher people. I'm really sorry you're stuck here in Gator Bait with me."

"Hey," he said and put one hand on her blanket-covered leg. "You don't have to apologize to me. Everyone has weak moments. That doesn't make us incapable. It makes us human."

"I bet you've never had a weak moment on the job," she said, still unable to look directly at him.

"You're wrong," he said softly. "I had the worst moment possible on the job. I hesitated, and because of that, an agent died and the killer got away."

She raised her head and looked at him. He stared straight ahead at the wall, the pain on his face clear as day. "Do you want to tell me?" she asked.

He looked back at her for a moment and nodded. "It might help you understand why I take the chances I do and why this case is so important to me." He took a big drink of water and rubbed the side of his face.

“
It was a little over eight years ago. I was still a bit of a rookie then, but the agent who had been after Shawn Roland for years asked me to back him up on a check of an abandoned building. He had received a tip that Roland was staying there."

Richard paused for a moment, fingering the edge of the towel, then continued. "His regular partner was in the hospital having his appendix removed. He didn't want to waste time asking the agency to reassign, so he asked if I'd go. I said I would."

"Did you find Roland?"

"Yes and no. Roland was there. The DNA match later confirmed it, but I never saw him. We were ambushed from the beginning. As soon as the other agent entered the stairwell, shots rang from above us. He was hit and instantly went down. I heard running on the stairwell, and he told me to go after him. Kill him if I needed to. Just don't let him get away again."

"But you didn't go?" she whispered, already knowing the answer.

*No. l started to, but I couldn't leave him that way. I radioed for an ambulance, then tried to suppress the bleeding."

"He didn't make it," Dorie said, her heart constricting.

Richard shook his head, the horror and misery of the situation etched on his face. "He was pronounced DOA at the hospital. And because I didn't follow orders, he died for nothing. Maybe I could have gotten Roland right there and finished all of this."

"Maybe. But there's no way to know for sure. The agent you were with had chased Roland for years and hadn't caught him. Do you think that agent was incompetent?"

Richard looked directly at her, his eyes beginning to turn red around the edges. "No," he said quietly. "He was one of the best we had. He was my father."

She felt a rush of blood to her head, unable to fathom what he must have felt, must still feel to this day. The pain on his face was unbearable, but Dorie knew he'd made the right decision, regardless of the outcome. She leaned over close to him and put her hand on his arm. "You did the right thing. Don't ever doubt that."

"But he died anyway. Nothing I did made a difference."

“
It makes a difference to you. If you had gone after Roland and your father had died, you would have always wondered if you could have saved him. That would have been harder to live with. Roland is only temporarily out of reach. That chance will come again."

His expression hardened and he nodded. "You're right. I'll get another chance, but I've got to stop risking so much trying to force one. Coming here today was a mistake. I should never have asked you to do it."

"I wanted to be here," she said simply, knowing she would have done the same had she been in his position. "Nothing that happened has changed that."

He reached up with one hand and stroked the side of her face. "I hope you still feel that way after this," he said and leaned over to kiss her.

C
HAPTER NINE

Dorie was surprised at the tenderness of the kiss. Soft and undemanding, his lips pressed against her own, his hand still gently touching the side of her face. The heat returned to her body in a flash and her breasts went on high alert, her nipples rubbing against the soft fabric of the blanket. The warmth spreading between her legs told her that despite her reservations, her body would not be denied.

"I still want to be here," Dorie said softly, "but with a lot less material in between us." Before she could change her mind, she gave Richard a smile and dropped the blanket from her shoulder, exposing herself down to the waist.

Richard blinked in obvious surprise and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say a word, Dorie leaned over, grabbed him by the back of the head and locked him into a kiss.

There was no gentleness in her kiss, just a hunger akin to starvation. Their lips parted and Dorie felt his tongue on hers, all tenderness gone. Pure appetite had taken over and it felt as if every nerve ending in her body were on fire. Dorie pressed one hand against his chest, the taut warm skin causing her head to spin, but there was no stopping herself now. She trailed her hand down his chest, across his abdomen and trickled her fingers across his lap, causing him to groan. Even though her touch had been light, there was no disguising his arousal and she gave him a smile.

"It's nice to see not only your wardrobe is stiff," she teased and pressed her hand on his erection, stroking the hard length of him beneath the towel.

His body stiffened and she heard a sharp intake of breath. "What are you doing to me?" he asked.

Dorie laughed. "If you don't know, then you're in for a real treat," she said. She pushed the towel to the side, freeing the long, hard length of him. Although she hadn't thought it possible, his kisses grew more intense as he reached both hands around to cup her breasts, his thumbs making a circle around her nipples. She gasped at first and felt another wave of heat rush over her. She had no more recovered from that action before he pushed the blanket down, exposing her lower body.

"We'll see who's in for the treat," he whispered, causing her skin to tingle with anticipation.

With a gentle touch, he reached between her legs, running his hand slowly up her thigh until she thought she would cry out from the agony of waiting for his fingers to touch her where she wanted it most. When at long last he reached the moist spot between her legs, his initial touch almost sent her over the edge and she gasped for air. He smiled at her and pressed his fingers into her warmth before resuming his kiss. Softly he stroked her, over and over until she thought she would explode. With every increasing flick of his fingers, she quickened the pace of her hand on him as her own pleasure increased, and she could tell it wouldn't be long before they both spiraled over the edge.

She broke her lips from his and looked him in the eyes. "I want you inside of me, now, before we're both done," she said and felt him stiffen even more in her hand.

He ripped the towel from around his middle and pushed her back on the couch, the blanket falling around her and sliding to the floor. He stayed poised above her for just a moment, then entered her fast and hard. She gripped his shoulders and cried out, pleasure rippling through her body.

His moans matched her cries and he began to move in and out, increasing his speed and strength with every thrust. She felt the heat come and knew she was close.

"Now," she said and dug her nails into the taut skin on his back. "Now." And she gave way, the climax consuming every inch of her body.

Richard's body stiffened as he gave one final thrust. He held that position for a moment, the muscles in his frame finally relaxing. She could still feel him throbbing inside of her.

She looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back and lowered his head to gently kiss her lips, then withdrew from her and moved to her side, still holding her tightly, both of them perched on the narrow couch.

As she lay in the aftermath of the hottest sex she'd ever had, Dorie could still feel her heart racing, not yet willing to slow down from the excitement and the release. The heat from Richard's body warmed her more thoroughly than the blanket had and she nestled against him, savoring the moment she knew couldn't last.

"Well, Deputy Berenger," Richard said and planted small kisses down the side of her neck, "I'm glad to know that all your skills match your gun-wrangling ability."

"You're not so bad yourself-for a city guy," she said, trying to ignore her body's response to his feathery kisses.

Richard laughed. "And you thought I had no talent at all."

Dorie grinned and pushed herself up on one elbow in order to look down at him. "As long as you remember-this does not change anything. I'm still in charge."

Richard ran one finger down the side of her breast. "Well, I can't say it doesn't change anything. My stay here has improved a hell of a lot from the first day. Although, now that I think of it, I saw you naked then, too. I just wasn't in the mood to appreciate it."

"And what makes the mood different now?"

Richard shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe an appreciation for your skills, maybe the fact that everyone in Gator Bait thinks you're some kind of god." He gave her a grin. "Maybe it was just being shot at. That tends to change one's perspective."

She smiled. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

Richard reached up with one hand and pushed a stray lock of hair from the side of her face. "I can't promise you things won't change. Life always changes people, and meeting you would have had an impact on me regardless of whether or not this happened. This just makes it even better. You're a hell of a lady, Dorie Berenger. Frightening sometimes, but a hell of a lady."

He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. She placed one hand on the back of his neck and gently returned the kiss.

The sound of a boat approaching made her break off the thoughts the kiss was leading to. She jerked Richard's arm up and looked at his watch. "Holy shit!" she said. "Joe would have left at least fifteen minutes ago to look for us. He'll be here any second. We've got to get dressed. I don't need that kind of aggravation."

She jumped off the couch and grabbed her clothes from the kitchen chairs. They were still damp, but her body was flushed with the heat of their lovemaking, so the wet clothes were no longer a concern. She tugged at the wet jeans that wanted to cling rather than slide, and finally managed to get them up and buttoned. She pulled on her T-shirt and quickly stuffed the thin lacy strip she called underwear into her jeans pocket.

Realizing Richard still hadn't moved, she glanced over at the couch and saw him staring at her, a goofy grin on his face. "Get a move on, Dick," she said. "Unless you want my dad to hear about this. Joe would pay money for the opportunity."