Trial by Fire (20 page)

Eve stepped forward and gave him a brief, sisterly hug. “You need anything, big guy, you let me know.”

“I appreciate that, Evie.”

“Same here,” Zack said, squeezing his shoulder. “Whatever I can do.”

One by one they drifted out, much to his relief. He disliked the spotlight, and hated being the object of sympathy. He’d always been the team’s pillar of strength. The one they counted on to be their rock.

Right now,
he
couldn’t count on himself.

Dragging his tired carcass to the bunk was a huge effort. In their small room, Salvatore had removed his boots and stripped off his outer layer of protective clothing.

“
Cristo
, I smell,” he grunted, peeling off the navy polo. He stretched, flexing the lean, bronzed muscles that made women lose their morals. A gold cross rested against his chest, seeming out of place on such an irreverent guy. “Mind if I go first?”

“Naw, go ahead.” He turned toward his bed. And stopped cold. “Jules?”

“Hmm?”

“Is this yours?”

“What?” Clutching a clean pair of boxers, Julian glanced toward the lieutenant’s bed. “Oh, the cell phone? I thought it was yours, man.”

Howard stared at the black, rectangular flip phone, jaw clenching. Fear rose to choke him, lethal as the smoke from the fire. The tiny object lying next to the cell phone quadrupled his alarm. “You thought the ring was mine, too?”

“Say
what
?” Julian strode over to peer down at the diamond ring resting atop the spread. “How in the hell did that get there?”

Salvatore’s confusion was genuine. Any hope that this might be one of the man’s stupid pranks fizzled. Instead of attempting an answer he didn’t have, he bent, reaching for the phone.

“Wait!” Julian grabbed his arm. “I don’t think you ought to touch it. That detective might want to see this. Look, that could be blood.” He pointed to the miniscule prongs holding a solitaire diamond.

Julian was right. A dark reddish substance could be seen in the crevices. He swallowed hard. “I need to open the phone. The damned thing wasn’t left here for no reason.”

“Use the edge of the sheet,” his bunkmate suggested.

“Good idea.”

Right. Like either of them had a freaking clue. Using the sheet, he pried up the earpiece. The screen saver blinked on, and the bottom dropped out of his stomach.

“Oh, God, no.” He dropped the hideous thing, backpedaling into Salvatore.

“Madre de Dios,”
Julian whispered, crossing himself. “I’ll get the captain.”

“Tell him to call Detective Ford, and get the cops here pronto.”

The other man bolted from the room, leaving him alone with victim number two.

Mouth open in a silent scream, eyes bulging in horror. Bound to the bed, helpless as the dragon’s flame ignited her creamy skin and long, dark hair.

12

Kat rolled onto one elbow, peered at the digital clock through bleary eyes, and groaned. Thirty minutes until rise and shine. Reality was creeping in with the brightening of the sky outside her window. All too soon, she’d have to leave her warm, comfy nest and get ready for another day with the rug rats.

Flopping back onto the pillows, she smiled to herself. She was supposed to have been born a rich, bored heiress. Obviously, there’d been an error at the soul factory, and she’d become a poor teacher instead.

On the other hand, she’d met Howard. Maybe her divine guide knew what was best for her after all.

A knock from the direction of the living room startled her, and she sat upright, one hand splayed across her chest. Under her palm, her heart beat a mad tattoo. Had the noise been someone rapping on her door, or was it an intruder?

She slid out of bed, grabbing her terry cloth robe from the foot. She tied the belt around her waist and knelt, fingers closing around the handle of the Louisville Slugger on the floor. Not as efficient as a gun, and using it required getting way too close to an attacker, but at least a bat couldn’t accidentally go off and kill an innocent person.

As she stood and moved out into the short hallway, four soft knocks sounded. Someone was at her door, trying not to wake the neighbors in the process of rousing her. If she’d been fast asleep, she might not have been awakened by the quiet noise. The idea gave her the creeps.

Kat tiptoed to the door and squinted through the peephole. A flood of relief whooshed the air from her lungs. Even in the hazy, dim predawn light, the huge shadow standing outside could only belong to one man. She simply didn’t know anyone else so darned big.

“Who is it?” she called, just to be certain.

“Kat, it’s me, Howard.”

Convinced, she unlocked the door and let him in, then closed and locked it behind him. He walked past her and stood in the center of the room in the darkness, hands in his jacket pockets.

“Jeez, you scared the ever-lovin’ hell out of me,” she scolded, without too much heat. Marching past him, she propped the bat against the back of the sofa and switched on a floor lamp beside it. “What on earth are you doing here at six in the mor—”

She turned to face him, and the words strangled in her throat. Howard was dressed in his regulation blue pants and polo shirt, brown jacket open. Why had he left his shift an hour early to come here, and why did he look so down?

His gaze was trained on the floor as though the carpet held life’s answers. His funky hair was even messier than usual, and he smelled of smoke. A black smudge streaked from his jaw down his neck, but his face and hands were basically clean. Like he’d washed but missed a spot or two.

Slowly, he raised his head. Misery swam in his chocolate brown eyes. The devastation on his handsome face squeezed her heart. Lines of exhaustion bracketed his sexy mouth, and the weight of the world seemed to rest on his broad shoulders.

“Good Lord, what’s wrong? Howard?”

“Kat, I . . . I need you,” he whispered.

“Oh, honey.” She reached him in three steps, burrowed into his warmth, his strong arms around her. He pulled her so close, they might’ve been one person. Surrounded her, held her tight, his face buried in her hair. She wrapped her arms around his waist, thinking how strange it was for this mountain of a man to need comfort, and how wonderful that he’d sought her and nobody else.

Cheek pressed against the hard wall of his chest, she listened to the frantic thud of his heart. His pain was a tangible thing, a deep ocean, drowning him in furious, relentless swells. She held him, trying to be his anchor, not knowing what else to do. What to say.

“The boy,” she said in sudden realization. “The one who touched the power line. He died, didn’t he?”

His big body shuddered. “God. Yes, he did.”

“Oh, Howard.” She gave him an extra hard squeeze. “I’m so sorry.”

“Me, too. But that’s not why I’m here.”

Kat’s concern for him grew by leaps and bounds. By his admission, nothing in his job was more difficult than the loss of a child. She pulled back to see him better, cupping his face in her hands.

“Then what has you so upset? Sweetie, talk to me.”

“Later.” His lashes lowered, his dark gaze fixing on her mouth. He kissed her gently, his tongue sweeping past her lips to play with hers. To brush behind her teeth, seeking, tasting. He broke the kiss. “Later.”

“But—”

“I need you, Katherine,” he said, his voice thick. “I need to be inside you, making love to you. I
have
to. Please don’t turn me away.”

The soft plea, raw with honesty, shattered something inside her. No one had ever needed her so much. No man had ever gazed at her as though she were the air in his lungs, as though she had the power to crush him with a word. This man—
her
man—was hurting. Badly.

And he came to me.

Clasping his hand, she led him to her bedroom. He stood watching as she peeled off her robe, tossed it to the floor. The woman in her relished the barely audible intake of breath, the tensing of his body. The predatory glitter of his eyes in the darkness as he stripped off his jacket and shirt.

She positioned herself on the bed, enjoying the view as he made short work of the rest of his clothing. Naked, he approached, crawled onto the bed, straddled her hips. He rose above her, muscled thighs trapping hers, big, work-roughened hands cupping her full breasts. She studied the curve of his jaw, his neck, his smooth, luscious chest. She loved the indentation at the hollow of his throat, the tufts of hair under his arms, the line from his navel to the base of his penis that ended in a soft nest.

Ooh, yes. Best of all, she loved how his long, thick erection rested atop her belly, his sac nestled against her sex. His body language vibrated male dominance. Possessiveness. And Lord help her, she longed to be possessed.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured.

“You make me
feel
beautiful.” Capturing a tiny bead of pre-cum on the tip of one finger, she swirled the moisture around the head of his cock. “Nobody’s ever made me feel so great before. Just you.”

He groaned, rolling her nipples between his fingers. Plumping them to attention, sending little sparks of delight shooting to her sex. She felt herself grow wet and shifted, squirming a bit.

Scooting back to gain access, he skimmed a palm down her tummy. His fingers brushed her tawny curls, found the dewy folds. Deftly, he parted the lips to her opening. Dipped one finger into her heat, then out. In and out. Spreading the wetness all over her slick flesh.

“You’re so hot for me, aren’t you, baby?”

She arched into his touch. “Yes, oh, God, please . . .”

“Please what?”

“Make love to me,” she begged.

Parting her thighs, he rose over her. Guided the head of his cock to her sex, parted her opening. Stretched her as he slid inside. Deeper, deeper than she’d believed possible. He sank to his balls with a moan, filling her completely. Bracing his arms on either side of her head, he took her mouth in a slow, passionate kiss. Sucked her tongue as he began to shaft her in smooth strokes.

The earthy scent of him filled her senses as he stuffed her with his cock. Smoke, sweat, and the salt of his skin. So physically superior, yet vulnerable. All man.

All hers.

Howard broke the kiss, tilted his head back and closed his eyes as he made love to her. She’d never seen anything so erotic, so sexy as this man lost in passion.

“God, yes,
Howard.
”

The fire at her core, licking at her entire body, leapt higher. Burned hotter. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she clutched his shoulders, urging him faster. Deeper.

Gathering her close, he increased the tempo of his thrusts, sliding his cock out almost to the head, then driving home again. Each plunge brushed his penis along her clit with sizzling friction, driving her to a near frenzy.

His muscles flexed and bunched under her fingertips. His sheer power wrapped around her body, sweeping her closer to the precipice, yet protecting her. Promising to catch her when she flew apart.

His hips pistoned into her now, his balls slapping against her rear. The decadent sucking noises of sex, their pungent scent, the potency of the man loving her, flipped the switch. Drove her over the edge, decimated her scant control.

Kat cried out as her vaginal muscles began to spasm, clenching his cock. Three more thrusts, and he joined her with a shout, burying himself to the hilt. Spilling into her as she clung to him and milked his shaft, on and on.

Breathing hard, Howard held her tight, cock jerking for several long moments as he rode out his release. They were both drenched in sweat, but she’d never felt more wonderful in her life. She couldn’t fathom how she’d survived all these years without this man’s incredible lovemaking. Not only did she love his vibrant sexuality, but his warmth and companionship. The way he cared about others, even if he tried to keep his emotions hidden.

I love him.

The knowledge flattened her like roadkill twitching on the highway. How could she have fallen for Howard already?

But a woman’s heart knows what it knows. Lord help her, she didn’t have a clue what to do next.

One thing for sure, letting on to him definitely wasn’t on the agenda. Not for a while, until she knew how he felt.

He slipped out of her and rolled to his back, pulling her with him. She used his shoulder for a pillow and splayed a hand on his chest, stroking the supple bronzed skin.

“Now that you’ve had your comfort sex, is this the part where you spill about what’s eating you?”

The hand smoothing her back stilled. “You gave me comfort, true. But our loving was more than that.”

The words cloaked her in light. “I agree.”

“But I do owe you an apology.”

Rising, she peered at him. “What for?”

His expression was unreadable. “For barging into your home like a nutcase, and pouncing on you like a rabid horn dog, for starters.”

“Well, I sorta enjoyed the horn dog part,” she teased.

“I made love to you without a condom, baby. I’m sorry.”

He sounded so pissed at himself. Her lips curved up. “I was there, remember? I think at least half the responsibility is mine. Besides, we’re both healthy people and I’m on the pill—although accidents do happen.”