opened the front door. Laurel appeared to be still asleep, facedown, hugging her lace-edged pillow. He unbuttoned his shirt and sat gently on the edge of the bed, making an effort not to wake her.
âGood morning, Sergeant.â She rolled over, flinging the bedclothes aside with abandon. The slim, sensuous body was naked. He noticed her flowered cotton nightgown crumpled on the carpet. She must have heard his car. âI assume this is a raid,â she said.
âHot damn.â Rick grinned. She was in one of those wild and crazy seductive moods. He was delighted, despite his exhaustion. Nothing chases the ghost of a sad and frustrating case and soothes numb weariness into a relaxed warmth faster than good sex.
âItâs inspection time, Sergeant. I want to see your weapon.â Her small hands, like darting birds, were busy with his zipper and the swelling behind it.
âJesus, I love it when youâre like this,â he whispered. âYouâre so crazy. You drive me nuts.â He fumbled with his shirt.
âNo, no, leave it on,â she murmured, her voice low and husky. âJust take off your pants. I like it this way.â
Her fine, soft hair billowed over the pillow. Her body was stretched out, taut and lithe, nipples on the small, firm breasts hard and pointed, her arms reached out to him. Golden shafts of morning light found their way through the leafy bower outside the window and played shadow games across her smooth skin. She was chuckling softly, her lips ripe and swollen.
âGet your handcuffs,â she demanded, her eyes apple green and brazen. âLet me show you how I handle a prisoner.â
Clumsy in his eagerness, he stumbled to the dresser, one bare leg free, the other dragging his trousers and boxer shorts. He found the cuffs, kicked off his trousers, left them in the middle of the floor and returned to her.
During their fun and games, she astonished him by easily slipping free of the cuffs. âHow do you do that?â he murmured. âIâve only seen a few escape artists who could pull that off. I had to chase them,â he recalled dolefully.
âMuscle control.â Her eyes were bold. âIt helps me do a lot of things extraordinarily well, donât you agree?â
He grinned lazily and yawned. âFor sure.â His voice was drowsy. She grew very quiet, eyes shadowed in the filtered light. She did not move, nor did her eyes change when he gently kissed her. âMaybe Iâm lucky youâre not always like this. I donât know if an old man like me could hack it.â
He asked her to wake him at five in the afternoon, then rolled over and drifted into sleep without seeing that his request caused her discomfort. Laurel sat up and stared hard at the clock, her brow furrowed. Rick was asleep. The entire day stretched before her.
Nine
Terry Lou Mitchell encountered Mary Ellen Dustin in the ladiesâ locker room at the fitness center. âI met Rickâs new significant other at that homicide scene on the island,â she said teasingly.
âItâs a damn shame,â Dusty said, her voice cool. âHe was a nice kid.â
âI must say, I was impressed by Miss Teenage America. All tan and sleekâand young.â
âMaybe thatâs the attraction,â Dusty said wryly. âItâs the first time I ever got dumped for a younger woman. Iâm not even thirty yet.â She swept her thick, shining blond hair back, away from the high cheekbones and strong face, and fastened it with a plastic clip.
âShe looks a little like you, you notice? Like your kid sister or your younger cousin. I was surprised.â
âNot as surprised as I was.â
âWho knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Not me. See ya out there. Iâm gonna try the treadmill for a while.â
The center was located in a renovated bayfront hotel and offered discount memberships to police officers and
A.S. Byatt
CHRISTOPHER M. COLAVITO
Jessica Gray
Elliott Kay
Larry Niven
John Lanchester
Deborah Smith
Charles Sheffield
Andrew Klavan
Gemma Halliday