The Wharf (12 page)

“Just that Cookie turned her life around shortly after my father’s suicide. She went from streetwalker to house seller in record time.”

“Maybe the tragedy inspired her to do something more with her life.”

“Possibly, but it takes some quick money to turn your life around like that.”

“Are you suggesting she got it from your father?”

Ryan took a bite of his food and a long swallow of his beer, then placed the mug on the table. “I hate to even think it, but it sure seems like a coincidence that she winds up with the means to change her life after witnessing Dad’s suicide.”

“That’s one proposition I would’ve liked to have heard.”

“Maybe Cookie didn’t know why he’d asked her to join him on the bridge.”

“Why would he even want a witness? Wouldn’t leaving his personal effects on the bridge be proof enough that he had jumped?”

“I don’t know, Kacie. Maybe we’re just reading way too much into Cookie’s presence on the bridge. She was there, and she saw him, a cop who had arrested her pimp. Maybe it was what it was—a coincidence.

“I’m not sure questioning her again will do any good, but I might give it a try anyway.” He dropped his napkin on the table. “The discovery of Cookie does indicate there’s a lot of untapped information on my father’s case. Who knows what more we’ll find out when we start going through the case files—witnesses, suspects, victims.”

Kacie slammed the glass she’d been drinking from on the table, and the water sloshed over the rim. “Sorry. You know, Ryan, I’m not sure we need to delve into all of that. This is more of a personal story from your perspective.”

“Really?” He tapped his unused spoon against the table. “I thought the point of this book was to prove my father’s innocence. That’s why I signed on.”

“And I think we can do that by telling your story.”

“It’s not my story, Kacie.” He cocked his head. “It’s my father’s story, and to get it right we need to burrow into the past.”

She threaded her fingers together. “We’ll have to dig into the case file after we pick it up from Records when we drop off the suicide file. Maybe we can split it up. I’ll take the victims, and you can have...whatever.”

“Yeah, and the best part is we don’t even have to go back to Records to muddle through the stuff. My brother’s fiancée made copies of everything in the case file and organized it.”

“Even the pictures?”

“Everything.”

“That’s great.” Kacie glanced at her phone. “Can we get going?”

“Dessert?”

“No, thanks.” She pressed her fingers to her temples. “I’m not feeling that great.”

She didn’t even make a move for her wallet to pay for the dinner. He placed his own card on the table and covered her fidgeting fingers with his hand. “We’ll take a taxi back to the hotel.”

“That’s okay. I could use the fresh air.” She waved her fingers in the air to get the waiter’s attention. “Where are these cataloged and organized notes?”

“In my hotel room. My brother Eric gave them to me before he went back to D.C.”

“That’s convenient.” She took a sip of water and closed her eyes. Then she pulled in a long breath and straightened her shoulders. “Not sure if I’m up for any more work tonight. Maybe my body’s trying to tell me to take it easy.”

“Then let’s get out of here so you can...take it easy.”

By the time he’d paid the bill and they stepped out into the cool night, Kacie had gotten her color back.

“You’re feeling better?” He adjusted her jacket around her shoulders, and his fingertips brushed the smooth skin stretched across her collarbone.

Her eyes met his, and her lips parted. “I feel...fine.”

She wriggled deeper into her jacket, and he had to stuff his hands into his pockets to keep from pulling her lush body into his arms.

“Great. If you start feeling lousy again, let me know.”

She hooked her arm through his, pressing her shoulder against his shoulder. “What’ll you do? Sweep me up in your arms again and carry me back to my room?”

The scent of her perfume and her soft hair tickling his chin overwhelmed his senses. Was she coming on to him? She’d been holding him at arm’s length up to that point, despite his broad hints that she pushed his buttons in all the right ways. Maybe it was just because she’d been feeling faint. Once she came to her senses, she’d probably push him away again and insist on professionalism. So, should he take advantage of her momentary lapse of professionalism?

He left his hands in his pockets. “If you collapse on the sidewalk, I’ll definitely call an ambulance.”

“Oh, that’s comforting.” She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder like a satisfied cat.

This time the strands of her hair caught on his beard. He pulled one hand out of his pocket and curled his arm around Kacie’s waist. He waited for her to pull away or engage with some distraction, like her phone.

She snuggled against him, her curves fitting against the hard lines of his body.

He tightened his hold, his fingertips sinking into the swell of her hip.

They strolled down the sidewalk, side by side, fitting in with all the couples on their date nights.

They stopped to watch the robotic man. Kacie pulled a dollar bill from her purse and dropped it into his bucket.

“Is that tax-deductible, too?”

She laughed, a warm, sultry sound that made him feel as if they shared some deep secret that set them apart from everyone else around them.

“No, it is not.” Then she smacked his backside, allowing her fingers to linger and brush against the denim.

She’d better not have been teasing, because she’d just made him hard past the point of no return.

As their hotel rose before them, Ryan grabbed Kacie’s hand and quickened his steps. When they hit the elevator, he punched the buttons for both floors. His room, her room—he didn’t care where this happened.

But she apparently had a preference. When the doors opened on her floor, she punched the button to close the doors. When the car hit his floor, he took one step off the elevator, straddling the door, and she brushed past him into the hallway.

She glanced over her shoulder. “Are you coming?”

When she looked at him like that, he had every intention of coming. He followed her provocatively swaying hips toward his room and shoved his key card in the slot while she wedged a shoulder against the door.

He pushed open the door, and she fell into the room. He caught her shoulders and pulled her close, gazing into her liquid brown eyes.

Her lashes fluttered and she ran her tongue along her lips.

His tongue followed suit before he plunged it into her warm mouth. She closed around him and took a step closer, pressing her breasts against his chest, hooking one arm around his waist.

He let the door slam behind them and then deepened his kiss as he placed both hands on her derriere, pulling her close and fitting her against his pelvis.

She gasped into his mouth, her body going limp.

He backed her up against the wall and yanked the jacket from her shoulders. As it fell to the floor, he slid down the zipper of her skirt.

He didn’t even have to pull it off. It joined the sweater on the floor. He ran one hand up her smooth thigh and traced the line of her panties with his fingertip.

She squirmed against him, but he had other plans. He grabbed the edge of her sweater and tugged it up. She raised her arms and he pulled it over her head and tossed it over his shoulder.

Her breasts, encased in a lacy black bra, heaved with her panting breath. With each expansion of her lungs, the flimsy lace could barely contain the smooth, milky flesh. The bra hooked in the front, making his life a whole lot easier. With one little twist, he unhooked the bra and Kacie’s breasts spilled into his greedy hands.

He cupped them in his palms and ran the pads of his thumbs across her rosy, peaked nipples.

She hissed and threw her head back, banging it against the wall.

As he rolled one nipple between his thumb and forefinger, he dipped his head to suck on the other. At the contact, her hips lunged against his, and he grabbed a handful of her luscious backside to steady her.

He teased her nipple with his tongue and lips, blowing on it gently while he pinched her other nipple.

The sensations drove Kacie wild with desire.

Moaning, she thrashed her head from side to side and curled one leg around his denim-clad calf.

Her hands clawed at his T-shirt. He’d stripped her down to her panties and he still had every bit of clothing on. How had that happened? She’d planned to seduce him in a controlled manner, keeping him on a tight leash, and she’d wound up quivering, almost naked, against the wall.

He grabbed her hands with one of his, cinching her wrists together over her head as he continued focusing his attention on her breasts.

The tender suckling of the one contrasted with the almost painful tweaking of the other until she couldn’t distinguish the pleasure from the pain and they merged into one overwhelming sensation of need.

She tried loosening her hands from his grip, but once she got them free, he flattened his solid body against hers. One hand came up behind her and yanked her panties down around her thighs.

He cupped her bottom and extended his fingers between her legs, thrusting them into her wet folds.

She whimpered. It was all she could manage.

His suckling of her breast became more insistent, alternating with and matching the thrusting of his fingers.

The dual attack made it hard for her to breathe, hard for her to think, hard for her to remember why she’d initiated this seduction in the first place.

The rough denim of his jeans and the soft cotton of his T-shirt pressed against her naked flesh. How was he fully clothed? He had her at his mercy, when she’d planned to have him at hers.

Her legs began to shake and tremble. His thrusting fingers had begun to probe and stroke. Heat filled her belly as coils of tension tightened her muscles.

Clenching her jaw, she dug her fingernails into Ryan’s shoulders. Her leg crept up farther and farther until she had it wrapped around his thigh.

Then he raised his head from her breast and pressed his warm lips against her mouth. As his tongue invaded her, she exploded.

Her other foot came off the floor, and only Ryan’s body kept her upright as she thrust her hips against him over and over as the waves of her orgasm claimed her.

He kissed the sighs from her lips as she descended from paradise. When she once again had her feet firmly planted on the carpet, Ryan pinned her with his gaze and reached down to unbutton his fly.

His erection had been straining against his jeans, and once free, his hard, tight flesh brushed her belly.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, nudging her down.

She dropped to her knees in front of him. He was still fully clothed except for his jeans and the underwear twisted around his muscular thighs, exposing his throbbing erection.

She trailed her fingernails up the insides of his thighs, and his big body shivered. She took him gently into her mouth and he groaned, plowing his fingers through her hair.

He said through clenched teeth, “I don’t think this is going to last very long.”

She answered by wrapping her arms around his hips and digging her nails into his muscular buttocks. The musky taste of him filled her mouth, and at this moment she wanted nothing more.

How did she think she could hold herself aloof from this man? Disengage herself from the hot passion that coursed between them? Maybe she’d been fooling herself. Maybe she always knew how it would end between them.

And this had to be the end. Once he learned her true identity and her true purpose, he’d end it himself.

Oh, but right now it felt like a beginning.

He growled, a deep, animalistic sound from the back of his throat, and tugged on her hair, urging her to stand.

He kissed the pulse throbbing in her lower lip while he nudged his knee between her legs. Her heart galloped, skipping several beats along the way when she realized he planned to take her right here against the wall.

“There’s a bed in this room, you know.”

“We don’t need a bed.” He nipped her earlobe, and she sighed.

He forced her legs apart and slid one hand between her thighs. She hitched a leg around his waist, and he drove into her, pinning her against the wall.

She didn’t know how or when she’d managed to hook the other leg around his waist, but nothing was holding her up except him.

Wrapped around his body, she glanced over his shoulder into the mirrored closet door across from them and gasped. She resembled some wild creature, naked limbs wrapped around Ryan’s body, appearing to be a part of him, belonging to him.

Then she squeezed her eyes closed as her core tightened. His thrusts grew deeper and faster until the pressure finally broke and she cried out with her release.

She melted around him as the sweet pleasure continued to soak into her skin. He had to support her thighs with his splayed hands as she continued to straddle him.

Then his body stiffened, and his muscles tightened beneath her hands. The force of his passion exploded within her, and he moaned her name over and over as he spent himself inside her.

She’d never heard a sweeter sound.

At last he buried his face in the curve of her neck as they both panted. “That was even better than I imagined it would be.”

Her legs slid down his thighs, and she grabbed on to his shoulders. “And when exactly did you start imagining this?”

A slow grin spread across his face, and he pinched her chin. “From the moment I carried you from that sauna.”

Her pulse quickened. “You didn’t know anything about me.”

He snorted. “That’s never stopped a man from fantasizing.”

“You’re still dressed.” Her hands slid down to the front of his sweat-soaked T-shirt and she plucked it from his chest. “How is that even fair?”

“It’s more than fair.” Taking a step back, he hitched up his jeans, and his gaze tracked down her nude body, leaving prickles of heat in its wake. Then he swept her up in his arms as if she weighed no more than a kitten and carried her to the primly made bed.