Arresting Developments (8 page)

But she already knew he was worlds better than the immature boy from her past.

Dex was all man—tall, strong, incredibly appealing in every way. And he had that sexy smile that made her want to grab him and kiss him every time he aimed it her way. But he was so much more than that, just based on what he’d said when he’d been delirious. She knew that he’d been worried about leaving his company to fly out to Mystic Glades, but he’d done it anyway because he wanted to protect his best friend from what Dex believed might be a very bad decision. And as soon as he’d realized his friend Jake had thought it all through and was determined to continue on the route he’d chosen, Dex had supported him in that decision.

And then when he’d found himself here, even knowing that someone was trying to kill him, he’d continued to put his life on hold to help her, a stranger, simply because he felt an obligation to her for helping him after the crash. He was putting all his resources behind trying to help her. And then he’d risked his life for her twice tonight—first going after the intruder by the shed and then going through the house in the dark, without a weapon, to find the intruder because they’d both believed him to be inside. What did she know about Dex? She knew that he was a good person, kind, and genuinely caring.

She curled her fingers around the doorjamb. If loving him, just this once, was a mistake, why did the thought of being in his arms feel so right? She was tired, so tired, of being on guard and worrying all the time. Just this once, she wanted to push all her worries aside and simply live. Especially if she’d be spending the rest of her life in prison or—worse—facing the death penalty.

With that thought, she pushed herself forward until she was standing at Dex’s door. This was what she wanted, one night of joy, one night to treasure and hold close to get her through the darkness that surely lay ahead.

She turned the knob, then slowly pushed the door open. “Dex?” she whispered. If he was asleep, she’d go back to her room and know that this was a mistake.

The covers rustled in the big four-poster bed. “Amber? What’s wrong?” He slid out of bed, the moonlight glinting through a slit in the curtains, revealing that he was wearing only boxers.

Her mouth went dry at the sight of all that skin and those sculpted muscles as he strode toward her. He stopped in front of her and moved her to the side as he peered into the hallway. Always the protector. She loved that about him, even though she knew she could protect herself.

“Nothing’s wrong,” she said.

He stepped back and turned around. “Then why—”

She pushed the door closed and, for emphasis, turned the lock. “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat and his hand shook as he swept her hair back from her face. “Canoe Girl, don’t tempt me. Because since I met you, I’ve been thinking about little else but getting you into bed.” He dropped his hands to his sides, his fingers curling into fists as if to make him stop from reaching for her.

“Why fight it, then? I want the same thing.” She reached for her nightshirt to take it off, but he grabbed her wrists.

“Don’t. I’m trying to be noble here. You’re just feeling beholden to me because I paid your bail and hired a lawyer. I wouldn’t want you to feel obligated. Please, go back to your room.” He reached for the doorknob, but she moved in front of him.

“Amber—”

“Dex,” she whispered back, as she swiftly pulled her nightshirt over her head and tossed it to the floor.

His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open as he looked his fill. She was completely naked and knew she was being unfair. But just the fact that he was trying to be noble had made her want him even more. He truly was a good guy. She just wished she’d met him years ago, that he could have been her first, and maybe her last, and that she could have been anywhere but here back when her grandfather had gotten sick. Maybe, just maybe, things would have turned out differently.

She ruthlessly stepped forward, sliding her hands up his glorious chest, reveling in the catch in his breath and how his muscles tensed beneath her fingertips. She slid her fingers up, up, up until her body was pressed flush against his and her hands were behind his neck. A shudder racked his entire body, and he groaned. It was a groan of surrender, because suddenly he was pulling her tighter against him, against the hardening erection pulsing against her belly, and molding his lips to hers.

His kiss was like fire, igniting all her nerve endings, tightening her belly almost painfully and melting her insides. She shifted against him, their mouths greedily moving against each other as she tried to get closer, closer. He reached down and lifted her into his arms, one arm beneath her bottom, his hand molded against her thigh as the other wrapped around her back. He turned with her in his arms and pressed her against the door.

His tongue dueled with hers, tasting, teasing, fanning her pleasure higher and higher. He broke the kiss, both of them gasping for air as he moved his mouth to the side of her neck. She leaned her head sideways, shivering in delight at the feel of his lips, his tongue, against the sensitive skin of her collarbone.

Unable to bear the growing pressure inside her, she rubbed her body against his and angled one arm down his back to his hip. He jerked against her, the cloth of his underwear the only barrier keeping him from penetrating her. He shuddered again and moved back to her mouth. But, instead of kissing her, he stared down into her eyes.

“Are you sure about this?” he whispered.

In answer she stroked her hand down his flank.

He growled low in his throat and captured her lips in a searing kiss as he turned and stumbled toward the bed. Holding her with his hand beneath her bottom, he used his other hand to rake the covers back, then gently laid her down on the soft mattress. But, instead of following her down, he pressed a quick, hard kiss against her lips and let her go.

“Dex—”

“I’ll be right back.”

She turned her head on the pillow and watched him cross the room to the dresser. His suitcase was sitting open on top. He fumbled inside and when he turned around she realized what he was holding. A condom. Or, more accurately, a box of them. He tore the top off, grabbed one and let the box drop to the floor as he hurried back to the bed and sat down on the side of the mattress.

“You always travel with a box of condoms?” she asked.

“My assistant packed them when he sent everything to me.” He hesitated, the packet in his hand. “If you want to stop, I’ll understand. I’m not exactly a celibate guy or a wait-until-marriage kind of man. Some might even call me a womanizer. Obviously my assistant thinks so, since he made sure I was prepared for any...ah...emergency.” He gave her a lopsided grin.

He waited, looking like he fully expected her to tell him to forget it. But just the fact that he was being honest was an added turn-on for her. Honesty was so rare, and to her knowledge Dex had never lied to her, about anything. And even though “womanizer” wasn’t in the least bit flattering, he’d readily admitted that the label might fit. But did it really?

She ran a finger down his thigh, delighting in how his muscles tightened beneath her touch. “Are you one of those one-night-stand kinds of guys?”

He slowly shook his head, watching her finger as it moved toward his inner thigh. “No.” His voice was raw, tight. “If this...what we’re doing...is a one-night stand, then I’d have to admit it’s a first for me. But I’m not one for being alone, either. I like being in a relationship.” He gave her a wry smile. “I’m just not very good at them.”

She stopped with her hand poised just inches from his erection, tenting his boxers. “Are you in one now, a relationship?”

He frowned. “Of course not. I would never cheat on anyone.”

She hooked her finger inside the elastic band. “Then what are we waiting for?”

His smile in the dark made him look like a charming rogue. “I have no idea.” In no time he’d shucked his underwear and rolled on the condom. Then he was pressing her back against the mattress, the light matting of hair on his chest tickling her sensitive skin.

Any doubts or worries that she’d had disappeared beneath the flood of sensations he was awakening inside her. Like a master, he stroked her body like a fine instrument, stimulating every nerve ending, making her restless and yearning beneath him, never knowing where the next stroke would occur. Although he seemed to touch her everywhere, his movements were unhurried as he fully devoted himself to wringing out every last bit of pleasure that he could in one spot before moving to the next.

It was as if he wanted to leave no part of her untouched, unclaimed, before he finally moved up her body and captured her lips again. For the first time ever, she let go, allowing herself to submerge completely, awash in the flood of emotions and feelings he’d created inside her. She was just as eager as he, touching everywhere, stroking, petting, caressing until she felt she’d die from the pleasure of it.

And then he moved above her, looking deep into her eyes as he poised himself at her entrance and laced his fingers with hers above her head. He leaned down, slowly, oh so slowly, and gave her the sweetest kiss ever as he pressed inside her. It had been so long, too long, and she tensed against the invasion. But he whispered reassuring words in her ear, then made love to her mouth with his lips and tongue in rhythm to the movements of his hips, capturing her gasps of surprise and pleasure. She relaxed beneath his sensual onslaught and was soon just as frenzied as him, straining toward the next peak, riding the sensations higher and higher until an explosion of pleasure shot through her and she cried out his name.

He soon joined her in his own climax and collapsed against the mattress, rolling to his side with her in his arms.

Chapter Nine

Dex put away the last frying pan and plopped the dish towel on the countertop as he eyed Amber washing the kitchen table.

She glanced up at him, then quickly looked away, her face heating to a pretty shade of pink that wasn’t actually so pretty since he knew why she was blushing. She’d barely been able to put together two words since they’d woken up in each other’s arms this morning. What he didn’t know yet was whether she regretted making love with him or whether she was just being shy because she was so inexperienced.

He winced. How many lovers had he had over the years? A dozen? Maybe more? And if he guessed right Amber had probably had only one lover other than him. And the only reason he figured she’d even had one was because she wasn’t a virgin. He’d taken her boldness at the beginning of the evening as a sign that she was comfortable with what they were going to do, that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. Now he wasn’t so sure. Regrets? Yeah, even if she didn’t have any, he sure as hell did. He knew better than to take advantage of someone as innocent as her. In the light of day, knowing her future was so uncertain right now, he felt doubly like a heel, as if he’d really taken advantage of her when he should have been protecting her from the harsh world that her aunt certainly didn’t care about protecting her from. Amber had no one in her corner. He should have been her champion, should have been strong enough to say no when she came to his room. He swore beneath his breath.

Amber jumped and turned, her hands clutching the damp paper towels that she’d just used to clean the table. “Something wrong?” she asked, her gaze darting to the back door as if expecting to see another intruder.

He shook his head. “No. Sorry. Just thinking.” He glanced at his watch, then at the dark clouds hanging in the sky. “It’s closer to lunchtime than breakfast, not that you can tell with the clouds blocking out the sun. I imagine Garreth will call soon to give us an update on the case.”

She tossed the paper towels into the trash can beneath the sink and shut the cabinet. “You don’t think the medical examiner would really have something to say already about my grandfather do, you? Won’t he have to run tests?”

He shrugged. “Can’t say for sure. I’m no expert on things like that. But I’m hopeful it won’t take long.” As much money as he was paying his lawyer to encourage him to speed things along any way possible, he’d be surprised if it took long at all. Garreth could work miracles, and Dex made a point of not asking how he did it. Most of his lawyer’s tactics fell into a need-to-know category and Dex figured he didn’t need to know. Plus, in this case, his lawyer had already told him that “samples” had been taken and preserved from the original autopsy, so the testing had begun last night courtesy of a private lab in town that had been generously encouraged to work all night. Dex was not a patient man and he had enough money that he didn’t usually have to be patient.

He leaned back against the counter with his legs spread in front of him. “The investigation would probably go much faster if you admitted whatever you know about what really happened.”

She met his stare, unblinking. “I’ve said everything that I’m going to say. There’s nothing else that I can say.”

“Why? Who matters to you so much that you’d lie and risk the death penalty to protect them?”

This time it was her turn to wince. Obviously she didn’t relish the idea of facing a death penalty. Maybe that was the weapon that he could use to get her to tell him the truth.

He shoved away from the sink and moved to stand directly in front of her, making her crane her neck back to meet his gaze. He was much taller than her and he wasn’t above using that to his advantage, to intimidate. Usually he used his height and his brawn to intimidate men across a boardroom table or in a dinner party that was really more of a mental wrestling match to see who could gain the upper hand with a potential client for a future investment. But if using his physical size and strength to get Amber to back down would save her from prison, or worse, he was all for it.

“Tell me about that night,” he said.

“I already did, and it’s part of the public record that I’m sure you’ve already read.”

“Tell me again. But this time, don’t leave out the part about why you supposedly would want to kill your grandfather.”

She shook her head. “I never said that I wanted to hurt my grandfather. I didn’t. It was an accident.”

He may have found the perfect weapon, even better than the threat of a death penalty. Amber obviously loved her grandfather very much. The idea that she’d hurt him on purpose was repugnant to her. She wouldn’t want anyone else to believe that, either.

“Did he ever leave the house?”

“Once or twice a year, maybe. Other than that, he pretty much stayed on the property. He liked to work in the garden out back.”

“You were in charge of the groceries, then? Buying everything for the household?”

“Yes.”

“If you didn’t want to hurt him, why would you buy peanuts, then, when you knew he was highly allergic?”

“I...must have made a mistake. Grabbed them by accident and tossed them in the pantry without thinking.”

“Then why didn’t the police find anything in the pantry?”

Her gaze dropped from his as she tried to think of something plausible, which only had Dex fisting his hands together. It was so painfully obvious that she was innocent. How could the police not have seen that years ago? He’d have to ask Holder and Garreth to review the original interview. She’d never been taken to the police station, had only been questioned at the house. So maybe that was the problem? They hadn’t had the kind of in-depth questioning that might have revealed her subterfuge, and whoever had asked her questions didn’t note her body language or hesitation or just plain didn’t know how to read someone.

“Amber?” he prodded. “Why didn’t the police find anything to do with peanuts when they searched the house?”

“Maybe I...threw it out?”

“They looked through the trash. If you’re going to lie, you need to come up with something better than that.”

Her face reddened. “It was a...traumatic event that morning. I wasn’t thinking straight. I was more worried with trying to save Grandpa. If there weren’t any peanuts or peanut oil here, then maybe one of the jars that I used to mix his tonic had been used for peanuts in the past. And I didn’t wash it well enough. I don’t know. All I know for sure is that no one else was here, no one else could have done it.”

Again, her gaze slid away. And again, Dex knew, with absolute certainty, that she was lying.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and moved past her to look out the back windows. “You know, they say lethal injection is far more painful than people think. You don’t just go to sleep and feel nothing.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” she snapped.

“Then tell me what happened that day.”

She joined him at the window and stared out. “He was sick, with the flu or something similar. And he was miserable, achy. I wanted to take him to Naples to see a doctor, or get a doctor to come see him here, but Grandpa was...stubborn. He insisted he’d be okay and refused to see anyone. He wanted me to take care of him. And I had been doing that for a long time—always have been a healer, basically. So when he refused a doctor I went into town to get a few things I’d need in addition to the plants I grew in the garden for mixing potions. When I got back, I mixed his tonic and gave it to him. He was resting comfortably at bedtime so I went to bed without another thought about it. When I woke up, he was...gone.”

“You went to town? Where? For what?”

Her shoulders tensed, and he knew she must have slipped, in telling him about going to town. Had something happened in town that made her suspect who might have something to do with her grandfather’s death? And if she loved her grandfather so much, why would she protect him or her?

“I needed...supplies.”

“Okay. So you went where?”

“Here and there.” At his exasperated look, she said, “I’m pretty sure I went to The Moon.”

“The Moon? I saw a shop across from Buddy’s that was called The Moon and Star. Faye Star owns it, from what Jake told me. Is that what you’re talking about?”

“Yes. It was just The Moon when I lived here. They have potions, too, and sometimes I use those as raw ingredients in the things that I mix up.”

“So maybe you grabbed something with peanut oil in it on accident?”

She shook her head. “No. Impossible.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because as soon as we realized that Grandpa had most likely died of an allergic reaction, I called and asked about peanuts. The owner of The Moon at the time was also allergic to peanuts and never has them in the store, in any form. The tonic couldn’t have gotten contaminated that way.”

“Because you checked. Which just goes to prove that you really don’t know how the peanuts ended up in there, do you? But you suspect someone else who may know, right?”

“Why do you keep saying that?”

“You have an honest face, Amber. Every time something bothers you it shows in your eyes, in the way you tense up. And in your voice. It’s like you have a light bulb on top of your head and it blinks every time you try to talk around the truth. And you’ve done nothing but talk around the truth every time I ask you about your grandfather’s death. You’re hiding something. You may not know exactly how he died, but you suspect someone. I thought you loved your grandfather?”

“I do. I did. Very much.”

“Then why would you protect the one person that you think might have been responsible for his death?”

She closed her eyes as if in pain. “It’s not that simple.” She shoved the back door open and walked out onto the porch.

Dex followed her out, refusing to let her drop their conversation. They didn’t have a lot of time, especially with Garreth pressing for answers. If those answers ended up being nothing to change things, then Amber was in a world of trouble. He had to make her see that.

“You said you loved your grandfather, and yet you’re protecting someone who could very well have killed him. Explain that to me.”

When she didn’t say anything, he gently cupped her face. “Amber, trust me. I want to help you. But I can’t, not if you don’t tell me the truth.” He stared down at her, waiting. “Amber, where else did you go that day? Besides The Moon?”

She stepped back, shaking her head.

A bush near the bottom of the steps rustled. Dex shoved Amber behind him just as a man stepped out from behind the shrub. Buddy Johnson. He wore the same faded jeans and red-and-black-striped shirt he’d worn yesterday at his store, but they looked rumpled, like he’d slept in them. And big bags beneath his eyes told the story of a very restless night.

“Mr. Johnson,” Dex said, “What are you doing here?”

His sad eyes lifted from Amber, who had moved back beside Dex, and rose to meet Dex’s gaze. “I can tell you where else she went that day, Mr. Lassiter. And I can tell you whom she’s trying to protect.”

“Buddy. Don’t,” Amber pleaded.

He gave her a sad smile. “You’re a good person, Amber Callahan. And I hate to admit that I was one of the ones who thought you might have had something to do with your granddaddy’s death right after it happened. But I know better now. And I know who you’re trying to protect.”

“Who?” Dex asked. “Who is it?”

Buddy straightened his shoulders. “Me. She’s trying to protect me.”

* * *

“T
HIS
DOESN
’
T
MAKE
any sense.” Dex rested his forearms on his knees as he sat forward on the couch in the living room across from Amber and Buddy on the opposite couch. “Amber, you thought Buddy was the one who killed your grandfather?”

“Accidentally. Yes.”

“How?”

“I went to Buddy’s store to buy a new blanket because Granddad loved those thermal ones Buddy sells and Granddad’s was threadbare. Buddy is the one who packed the blanket and some other supplies into my backpack, including some new jars that I always order from him for making my tonics. Since I knew I didn’t have any peanuts in the house, those jars were the only way there could have been any peanut residue. I realized that later, and I knew Buddy would never intentionally harm my grandfather. They were best friends. I figured he had to have had the jars stored with peanuts or something and didn’t think about it.”

“But why wouldn’t you tell the police?”

She and Buddy both shared a frown, a united front, before she continued. “The police have never shown much love for Mystic Glades residents. I didn’t trust them to think it was an accident. I couldn’t risk something happening to Buddy.”

“But why? Why would you sacrifice yourself to protect him, especially if it was an accident?”

Buddy put his arm around her shoulders as if to protect her from Dex, which was really rather ludicrous, given the situation. “Mr. Lassiter, Amber’s a good woman and I’m sure she thought I wouldn’t be able to handle prison and she could. We always stand up for each other and she’s always respected her elders.”

Dex suspected there was more to it than that, but for now, he let it drop. “Okay, so is Amber right? That the jars you gave her were tainted?”

“I think so, yes. But I didn’t realize it at the time. I thought— Well, I’m sorry, Amber, but I couldn’t figure out any other way, so I assumed you’d done it.”

She shrugged. “How could you not? Even my own aunt thought the same thing. Still does.”

“Yes, well, it was a few weeks later that I was unpacking the rest of those jars when I realized a shipment of peanuts had come in the same box and were sitting beneath a layer of tissue paper. I figured during the shipment some of the peanuts had shifted and gotten oil on the jars. But by then, Amber was gone and there was nothing I could do to help her.”

“You could have helped her yesterday, by going into town and telling the police what had happened.”

He nodded. “You’re right. But I was scared, and ashamed. It took me a bit of time to come to my senses. I wanted to tell her first, and I came out last night to do that very thing. But then you saw me and came after me and I ran.”