Chapter 31

Riley's night had been long and tense, and the condition of the victim had imprinted itself on his mind. How, he wondered, could one human being be so brutal with another? Leslie Finnegan had suffered both a broken arm and cracked ribs, a concussion and severe bruising and tearing in the vaginal area. He was sickened by the medical report and more determined than ever to find this piece of scum who had invaded the peaceful environment of his town. The worst part of it was they had no leads whatsoever. Today, after he managed to catch an hour or two of sleep, he and his partner would start the door-to-door canvas in the neighborhood to find out if, hopefully, someone had seen something out of place.
"He may not live in the neighborhood," their lieutenant had cautioned them. "Or even in Calderwood."
That was true. But Riley and his partner had been cops long enough to know predators like this often went hunting in their own backyards. They were egotistically confident no one would suspect them. That ego was often what tripped them up, fortunately.
Tomorrow would be a long day, and he'd be operating on little sleep. But what he had in mind when he got home was far removed from sleep, despite the fact that he needed it. He needed Lia more. Just thinking about her sent heat surging through his body and swelled his cock. But - shockingly, because he hadn't been prepared for it - it also gripped his heart. How in hell had this happened in a matter of hours?
It was well after two in the morning before he pulled up to his house. On the drive home from the police station, he'd wondered if she'd still be there. He'd had the scary feeling she was going to have second thoughts and pack up and leave while he was gone. Maybe she'd had a change of heart and decided to leave, even before accomplishing her errand. He let out a breath of relief when he saw her car still parked there. But she'd left a table lamp on for him, a soft beacon in the blackness, and he saw her purse was there, along with her keys. The feeling of comfort it gave him nearly took his breath away.
The door to his bedroom was open, and the moonlight shafting in through the window outlined the curve of her body beneath the bedclothes. Her silky hair was spread out on the pillow, the streaks like fairy paint in the silver light. He stood for a long moment, just drinking in the sight of her. The stress of the night, the ugliness of the crime he was investigating, his anger at what had been done to tonight's victim faded as the reality of her washed over him, soothing him.
God, he'd love to yank back the covers and lunge himself into her, but he was reluctant to wake her. She was sleeping so peacefully.
He undressed as quickly and quietly as he could, leaving on only his knit boxers, and as gently as he could, he lifted the covers and slipped into bed beside the woman who had so quickly become the focus of his life.
As soon as he settled himself, Lia turned over and nuzzled her face against his chest. Her lips pressed against his skin, and her breath was like a tiny breeze ruffling the scattering of hair. He curled his arm around her, holding her close, but, in a moment, she lifted her face.
"Hi." Her voice was sleep-drugged.
"I didn't mean to wake you," he apologized.
"I was only half-asleep anyway," she told him. "I couldn't completely relax until I knew you were home."
Riley's heart stuttered at her words. Had anyone ever cared that much about him except his parents? He stroked lightly along the length of her spine, a soft caress. The warmth of her body seeped into his system.
"Bad night?" she asked.
"Yeah." He really didn't want to discuss it. "Sometimes the ugliness of the things people do just gets to me."
"Maybe you could use a little of my special medicine."
"Yeah? Exactly what are we talking about here?"
She tossed back the covers and rose to her knees, her lips curving into a sexy smile. "I think I have just the medicine you need, but you're terribly overdressed for it."
"Overdressed?" He looked down at his boxers. "But I'm wearing next to nothing."
"That's right," she chided. "It's the next to that's the problem."
With her slender fingers, she tugged at the waistband of his shorts. Immediately, his cock swelled to immense proportions, and an ache began low in his balls. God. It seemed all she had to do was touch him and he had a boner that could pound concrete.
"What did you have in mind?" His voice was thick with sudden lust.
"Give me a hand here, and I'll show you."
Nudging her hand to the side, he yanked his boxers down and kicked them off. When his shaft popped free, Lia's eyes widened, and her small tongue came out to lick her lower lip. As if there was a string directly attached to his cock from her mouth, Mr. Boner flexed, and a tiny drop of fluid seeped from the slit to sit atop the head.
"When you do that thing with your tongue," he told her, "it makes me want to fuck you blind."
She gave him a tiny grin. "Maybe I can do something else with my mouth that will also give you ideas."
Wrapping her slim fingers around his stiff shaft, she lowered her head and closed her lips over him. The heat of her mouth scorched him, and his hips lifted involuntarily off the bed. When she did one experimental slide with her lips from tip to root and back again, he thought his eyes would cross. Then she did it again. Tightening her grip on him, she set up a rhythm, mouth and hand, up and down, slide, slide, slide. So slowly he thought he'd lose his mind. He tunneled his fingers in her hair. Wrapping the strands around them, he tried to guide her, to urge her to increase her pace. Tighten her lips around him. When she lifted her mouth from him completely, he groaned in protest.
"No," he growled. "For god's sake, don't stop."
"Not even for this?" she teased.
In an agonizingly slow movement, she ran the tip of her tongue up one side of his shaft and down the other, pausing at the head to dip the point into the slit. Fire shot through him, searing his balls, and he moaned again. Using his grip on her hair he nudged her head downward again.
"More," he urged. "Please."
His entire body ached with need. Her mouth was so soft and hot and wet on him, the feel of her hair so silky in his hand, the faint garden scent of her soap tantalizing his senses. He thrust his hips at her, silently signaling her to take him deeper, but she was intent on teasing him, the minx. She continued to slide her mouth so slowly up and down his cock, her fingers squeezing him as she did so. On the downslide, she added a press of her tongue against the thick vein that wound around him and now pulsed as his hot blood raced to it.
Just when he thought he'd taken all he could handle, she loosened the press of her lips and dragged her teeth tightly up and down the tender skin. Jesus! His balls felt as if someone had stabbed them, and his every muscle clenched. He gripped her hair more tightly, trying to signal her to speed things up. Unfortunately for him, Lia was doggedly determined to do this her way and at her own speed.
Each scrape of her teeth, each glide of her lips, each swipe of her tongue only drove him harder and faster toward orgasm, yet not fast enough.
"Please," he begged.
"Please what?" Was she actually teasing him when he was balanced on a sexual precipice?
"Please take me all the way in your mouth." He could hardly say the words. "Please suck me harder."
Her soft laugh vibrated against his cock. "Well, why didn't you say so?"
When she lowered her head again, he released her hair, but it fell like a curtain hiding her face, so he immediately threaded his fingers through it, tugging it away. She tightened her lips around him and sucked, hollowing her cheeks. Riley's eyes crossed, and a groan tumbled from his mouth.
Lia slid her free hand between his thighs, cupping his balls with her palm and manipulating them with her slender fingers. Her other hand gripped his cock more tightly, squeezing it rhythmically. With every increase of pressure, his blood pulsed, and his eyes rolled back in his head. He was so aroused, he was sure he would spontaneously combust any moment.
Then she went to work in earnest. Her mouth was a hot, wet furnace, scorching his dick. Her lips were so soft, yet firm, as they stroked him the length of his shaft, following the path of her hand. Up, down, up, down, in, out. A steady rhythm, increasing more and more and more. She punctuated her caresses with short little pauses to drag her tongue over the surface of the head and probe the slit with the tip.
Jesus!
He wanted to come so badly, he was ready to promise her anything, anything at all if she'd just take him that last mile. The tightening of the muscles at the base of his spine was the signal that the orgasm was rushing through him. Sensing it through her contact with his body, Lia tightened her grip and sucked harder, squeezing his balls at the same time.
And he exploded, his semen blasting into her mouth. She sucked even harder, drawing every last drop from him. He shook with the force of the climax, his heart beating wildly, his big body shuddering with each spasm. At last, she had drained him dry, sucked out every last drop of cum, and left him limp and boneless. She trailed her tongue over the head of his dick again and up and down the stalk. Finally, she looked at him and gave him a knowing smile. She'd unlocked the secrets of his body, the smile told him, and she was going to build on it. The thought of what might be yet to come almost made him hard again.
Almost!
Riley waited for the beating of his heart to slow and his breathing to stabilize before he released his hold on Lia's hair and cupped her head. The moon outlined her body, so lush and graceful. He moved his hand, sliding it beneath the thick fabric of her nightgown and down the curve of her spine to the round cheeks of her ass.
"You did me in," he finally managed to murmur.
That was an understatement. With her powerful touch, she had wiped away the nastiness of the night and the evil he was forced to deal with and cleansed his mind. How, he wondered, had he gotten so lucky as to find this woman? And how could he convince her to stay after she got what she came for?
She shifted and moved around so her face was close to his.
"I think I might have to build up your stamina." She gave him that little knowing smile again. "I don't think it will be a hardship to work on it, though. Do you?"
"I welcome it," he told her in a rough voice. "Kiss me. I want to taste myself on your lips."
Her lips were cool and soft and flavored with the sharp tang of his cum. He licked every bit off the surface before sliding his tongue inside and gliding it over every inch of the interior. The blend of their flavors was intoxicating, as was the feel of her skin beneath his hands. Her breasts pressed into his chest like small, plump cushions, the nipples round and hard like gumdrops. He wanted to lift her higher, to his mouth, so he could take each one in his mouth and suck on them until she cried out in pleasure.
She broke the kiss and stroked her fingers gently across his brow.
"I know what's going on in your mind," she grinned, "and I'm all for it. But you've had a long, tough night, and the day probably isn't going to get much better. Let's get some sleep, and tonight we'll pick up where we left off."
"I'll hold you to it," he told her.
"I hope so." She winked.
Riley shifted on to his side and spooned around her body, pulling her tightly against him. He curved one arm around her waist, cupping a breast with his palm. The feel of his spent cock nestled in the hot crevice of her buttocks almost made him harden again. Almost, but not quite. Lia was right. He needed to get even a little bit of rest.
Tomorrow night, he'd make an excuse to leave Lia alone for a while and have a chat with Jamie and Mike. He wanted to tell them he sensed no evil in her, no intent to harm. And discuss with them the reasons he thought she was so intent on finding the book.
Even though the possibilities boggled his mind.
They were still racing around in his brain when he fell off the edge of consciousness into a deep, dreamless sleep.


Lia felt very domestic, fixing coffee and toast for Riley before he left for work. She hated the look of fatigue and worry on his face and in his eyes. She knew this case was wearing on him, and no wonder. This morning when he woke, they'd spent a few minutes cuddling in bed and he'd told her all about it. It was shocking and depressing to think someone was preying on women in such a frightening manner.
She set his food in front of him, fixed a mug of coffee for herself, and sat down opposite him.
"You look like you're dreading the day," she commented, noting the lines on his face.
"I am." He took a swallow of coffee. "And not only because of the horrific nature of the case. I hate the thought that someone in this neighborhood could be responsible."
"It might turn out to be someone completely unrelated," she suggested.
'"Maybe. But usually in cases like this, the perp is hunting in his own neighborhood. He thinks he's figured out how to make himself invisible. He's been getting away with it successfully, so he's feeling pretty good about it."
Lia shuddered. "What an awful thing to feel good about."
"No kidding." He bit off a piece of toast and chewed thoughtfully. "I keep trying to figure out if it's someone I know. And that's a frightening thing to think about."
"But maybe he's not. Maybe he just lives somewhere in the neighborhood, like you said. It's a pretty big neighborhood."
"This was the original genesis of Calderwood," he told her. "You see all the beautiful older homes here, the mature trees and landscaping, the wide sidewalks. That's why some of the streets back up to the large, forested area behind me. It's comprised of hundreds of acres designated as a nature area."
"So, some of the streets back up to it?" She carefully buttered a slice of toast and took a small bite. Was this area accessible to everyone?
"Only three of them," Riley told her. "That makes it somewhat private, which, up until now, has been a good thing."
"Nature area," she mused. "Are there wild animals, too?"
He shook his head. "Not so much. We've never had a problem, although there are a lot of deer. We don't bother them, and they don't bother us.
"Where exactly is the place where the attacks have been occurring?" She wanted to check it out herself. If she got a chance to run at night, maybe when Riley was working, she could keep an eye on it. She wondered how the rapist would react to a white wolf tearing his throat out.
"At a spot where two streets intersect. The original owners built around the thick stands of trees that come all the way to the sidewalk, so someone waiting, hidden there, could easily grab a jogger. Slap a hand over her mouth, stab her with his handy needle and its potent drug, and he's good to go."
Lia shivered as a finger of dread traced her spine. "Bad news."
"True words," Riley agreed. "You stay away from there. In fact, no jogging at night unless I'm with you."
"Okay," she agreed.
But she thought, "Yeah, right. I'll find a way for my wolf to run."
Riley pushed back from the table. "Gotta go, sweetheart." He stopped and looked at her with astonishment. "Lia, I-I'm...I feel...."
She laughed, putting him out of his misery. "It's okay to call me sweetheart, Riley. It's not as if you pledged eternal love."
But maybe he will.
Riley pulled her against him, one arm banded around her, the fingers of the other threaded in her hair. "You never know, Lia. This has happened damn fast between us, and I have to think it's for a reason."
"Me, too."
Mate!
She wanted to shout the word to him. Instead, she rose on tiptoe to place a soft kiss on his lips. "Take care of yourself out there."
"Count on it." He deepened the kiss then forced himself to take a step back. He'd never get to work at this rate. "What's up for you?"
She shrugged. "I'm going to tackle some of those books you checked out of the library for me. Maybe I'll take a trip to the market where we stopped yesterday and get some things to make you a special dinner."
"Cook for me?"
She wondered why that surprised him so much. Didn't other women cook for him? Didn't he bring them home with him? She'd love to ask him, but she hadn't wanted to make him feel as if she was giving him the third degree
"I have hidden talents." She reached up and touched his smooth-shaven cheek, loving the feel of his skin beneath her hand. If she had her druthers, she'd tell him to shed all his clothes right now and take her on the kitchen table. Later, she told herself, if things worked out for them the way they seemed to be. "I know you have no idea how long you'll be today, so just give me about a thirty minute heads up."
"I will." He kissed the tip of her nose. "With a hot meal and a hot woman waiting for me, I have incentive to clear things up as fast as I can."
She came to the porch and watched him back down the driveway, waving as he pulled out into the street. How had she had this kind of luck to meet him? Connect with him?
When he reached the corner and turned, moving out of sight, she went back inside, closing and locking the door. Then she headed to the kitchen to refill her coffee mug. She could hardly wait to dig into the library books, hoping against hope that she'd find some small clue somewhere.
Better yet, hoping Riley was willing to talk to Jamie and Mike about her.