Blood Trails (20 page)

A surge of heat hit her core so fast her legs went weak.

“Oh, Lord.”

Bud put a finger to her lips, turned her to face him and slid the washcloth around her waist, down her buttocks, then around to her belly.

“Hold on to me.”

Holly grabbed hold of his shoulders, then locked her hands around his neck as he moved the washcloth down between her legs. The nubby texture of the warm, soapy cloth quickly aroused her. Bud dropped the washcloth, pulled her out from under the spray and pinned her against the wall.

She saw his eyes darken and his nostrils flare, as he parted her legs and slid inside. His erection was full, his penis hard and swollen, and the feel of him slowly filling her was an excruciating moment of completion.

“You like that, baby?”

She nodded.

He gave a quick thrust, filling her completely.

She moaned.

He braced himself, planting his hands on the shower wall on either side of her head. “You want more?” Their gazes locked. His eyes were so dark they looked black. She saw heaven waiting for her. All she had to do was say yes.

“All of you, Buddy. I want it all.”

A muscle jerked at the side of his mouth, and then he swooped. His lips caught hers in a hard, hungry move, capturing and parting them before the onslaught of his tongue. He began to move within her in a steady rhythmic motion—all the way in to his hilt, all the way back out to the swollen head, then back again…over and over, slowly increasing the tempo, pushing deeper, taking her higher.

Holly met him thrust for thrust as the steam from the hot water began to build, filling the shower and then the bathroom, until they were lost in a fog of lust. One moment she was still with him, and then she shattered. The gut-deep groan came up her throat just as the climax burst within her, turning the blood flowing through her body into a heat-seeking missile. It slammed into her groin with such force that she forgot to breathe.

Bud pulled her hard against his chest with one hand while he held on to the shower rod with the other, and then, thrust after shuddering thrust, emptied himself into her womb.

Whit Carver strode into headquarters, then straight to his office, carrying a handful of files and a box of doughnuts. He dumped the files on his desk, then carried the doughnuts through to the headquarters of the task force.

Two detectives were still going through old files, and another was moving pushpins on the map.

“Anything I should know about?” Carver asked.

The detective turned around. “We had the addresses wrong on a couple of the first victims—just correcting them.”

Whit walked up to the map and gave it a new look, then frowned. It didn’t change anything obvious. He snagged a doughnut and went back to his desk.

It was a little over an hour later when one of the detectives came looking for him.

“Hey, Whit, did you know that Riverfront Wholesale wasn’t always Riverfront Wholesale, and that it used to be at a different address?”

Carver stood up. “Why are we just now becoming aware of this?”

“We started out going through the old victim files with the task of matching those victims to Mackey and his place of work, which is Riverfront Wholesale. We were told he’d always worked for them. It was only when we started looking for info on his old routes that we found out the company had changed hands and its name, and moved.”

Whit’s interest surged.

“Get the address of the old company, and if he’s still alive, I want to talk to the original owner.”

Whit went back to his paperwork but couldn’t concentrate. He rejoined the task force on the pretext of getting himself another doughnut and a refill on his coffee. In truth, with this new information, he wanted a fresh look at the map.

Bud was at the concierge desk, while Holly was trying to call Maria. She’d gotten through to her sister’s room, only to find out she wasn’t there because she was in the process of being released. That was good news, but Maria wasn’t answering her cell phone. Then it occurred to Holly that it might not have survived the explosion, so she would have to count on Maria to call her when she got a chance. She dropped her cell back into her purse as Bud came up behind her and slid his hand along her waist.

“Come on, sugar. Let’s get the car. We have some where to go.”

Holly turned. She was still reveling in the fact that the man she loved was freaking amazing in bed—and in showers, and standing up, as well as lying down. She shivered with longing. He was a habit she didn’t want to break.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” He took her by the hand and headed for the exit.

When the valet brought the car, Bud surprised her by putting her in the passenger seat.

“I have the directions, so I’m driving. Buckle up,” he said, and winked to soften the order as he slid behind the wheel.

Holly reached for her seat belt as Bud started the car.

The secrecy of the moment was a rush, as she was sure Bud had known it would be.

Watching her reliving the devastation of her past without being able to help or fix it was torture for him. He wanted her happy, not in this constant stage of torment and fear. And right now Holly’s eyes were dancing.

Holly kept up a constant run of questions. Every time they passed a tourist attraction, she asked, “Is this it? Is this where we’re going?”

“Nope, that’s not it,” he would say, his delight increasing, and keep driving.

After the third failed guess, Holly threw up her hands.

“I give up. Surprise me.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do ever since we got in the car, and I think we’re almost there. I see the turn coming up.”

Bud took the turn onto South Brentwood Boulevard. When he turned into the parking lot of the St. Louis Galleria, she leaned forward.

“We’re going shopping?”

“In a manner of speaking. Just let me get parked here, woman.”

Holly was excited about spending the day with Bud again and had no complaints about the choice of location. But then they parked and didn’t get out.

Bud leaned across the seat and cupped her face.

“In all the years I’ve loved you and imagined what this moment might be like, not once did I ever think it would take place in the parking lot of a shopping center in St. Louis, Missouri.”

“What moment?”

“The moment where I tell you how much I love you and that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Granted, in one respect this is sort of sudden. But from my point of view, it’s been a long time coming. I already know you like making love with me, but would you like to spend the rest of your life with me, too?”

A huge smile spread across Holly’s face as she clasped her hands against her breasts in sheer delight.

“I would like that very much.”

Bud began laughing as she came out of her seat and crawled onto his lap. He cradled her there, cupping the back of her head and pulling her close. The kiss began as a gentle, seal-the-deal moment, but the longer he held her, the harder and more passionate it became, until they broke apart a little flushed and a lot breathless.

Bud pushed a tumbled curl from the corner of her eye and stroked her lower lip in a slow, sensuous caress.

“Come inside with me, darlin’. According to the concierge, there’s a great jewelry store in here. We’re about to pick out your engagement ring.”

Holly was teary-eyed but laughing. “Kiss me one more time for good luck, and then let’s do it.”

Bud happily obliged.

Hours later, Holly still couldn’t quit looking at her ring—a white-gold band with a one-carat princess-cut solitaire setting. It was perfect, and the smile on her face was proof of her joy.

With a recommendation from the jeweler, they were on their way to a special celebration dinner at a place called Tony’s Restaurant, which happened to be on Market Street near their hotel. That it was a St. Louis icon as well as a four-star restaurant was just an added bonus.

The host who seated them caught on to the fact that they were celebrating, and when Holly flashed her ring, the reason for the celebration became obvious.

He passed the news to the waiter, who spread the news inside the kitchen. Tony himself came out to greet them personally, carrying a complimentary bottle of champagne.

The day couldn’t have ended better if Bud had planned it. The horror of the past few days was forgotten in the old-world glamour of the place and the expectation of an exquisite meal.

Bud couldn’t stop touching her. He took every chance he got to reach toward her, brushing a tendril of hair away from her face, touching her arm before he spoke. A part of him felt as if he were in a waking dream.

Holly was in a slight state of disbelief herself. Bud took her breath away. He was so open with his feelings now, yet she kept thinking of how skilled he’d been at hiding them. All of this should have been startling, even shocking, because it was happening so fast, but they’d known each other far too long to stand on ceremony.

And after what had happened to Maria and Savannah, she’d learned the hard way how fleeting life and happiness could be. She didn’t intend to miss her chance.

When their food came, Holly focused intently on the quiet elegance of the uniformed waiters and the deliciousness of the meal. She began imagining owning her own catering business or even a restaurant one day. Cooking food to perfection was a skill she’d learned years ago at Hannah’s knee, and learning new techniques was a source of delight.

Once the entrées were in front of them, the waiters stepped quietly away. Finally they were alone. Bud dug into his filet mignon with Chianti sauce as passionately as he’d made love, groaning in happy ecstasy as he chewed.

“This is one of the best pieces of beef I’ve ever tasted…with the exception of your steak with mush room sauce.”

Holly rolled her eyes. “Please, I’m competent. This is heaven.”

“Taste this,” Bud said, as he fed her a bite.

“Yum,” Holly said, savoring flavors as she chewed. “That is amazing…and so tender it just melts in your mouth.”

“Sure beats those steaks I burn on the grill back home.”

She laughed. “They aren’t that bad. We eat them, don’t we? Now you have to try my linguine with lobster and shrimp.”

She stabbed some pasta, then spun it into the bowl of her spoon before popping it into Bud’s mouth.

“What do you think?” she asked, absently wiping a tiny droplet of sauce from the corner of his lips with her thumb.

Bud caught her hand before she could take it away.

“Hey, I was saving that for later.” He licked the droplet from her thumb without taking his eyes from her face.

It was instant lust. Holly stifled a soft moan as his tongue slid across the surface of her skin. To save her sanity, she quickly pulled her hand away.

“You are so bad,” she whispered.

Bud arched an eyebrow, then leaned over and whispered against her ear, “Then I’ll have to practice some more tonight to improve my skills.”

Holly shivered, but she wasn’t going to let him get the best of her. Before he knew it, she’d turned her head and kissed him full on the mouth.

Despite the food they’d been eating, all he could taste was Holly. She was in his heart and his blood, and there was nothing to be done but enjoy it.

“I love you, Robert Tate.”

She gutted him. “Love you more,” he whispered.

Nearly two hours later, they were on their way out with a to-go box of ricotta cheesecake with raspberry sauce and two little plastic forks tucked inside for their convenience.

The moment they walked out of the restaurant Bud shifted into protection mode, scanning the area as they waited for the valet to return with their car. Even after they were back inside the hotel, he didn’t operate under the assumption that they were safe. He paid close attention to anyone who came close to them as they made their way up to the room. It wasn’t until they were behind a locked door that he let himself relax.

“At ease,” Holly said, as she tossed her purse onto the table and kicked off her shoes.

“What?”

“I saw you scoping everyone out.”

He put his arm around her waist and then planted a swift kiss beside her earlobe.

“I didn’t come here for my health. I came for yours.”

And just like that, reality returned. Holly had two sisters in hospitals in two different cities, because people had tried to kill them.

She cupped his cheeks. “You made today so special, I almost forgot why I’m here.”

“You make every day special for me.”

“Thank you, Bud, for waiting around for me to grow up.”

“I would have waited forever.”

He tilted her chin just enough, then kissed her—softly at first, and then with increasing fervor.

“No more waiting for either of us,” she said, then gave her ring yet another look. “And this is so special. You have amazing taste.”

Bud slid his fingers through her hair, then touched his forehead to hers.

“Yes, actually I do. That’s why I fell in love with you.”

A group of people passed outside their doorway, talking loudly. It was enough to break the mood and the moment.

“How about we change into comfortable clothes and watch some television?” Holly said. “I need to let my meal settle a bit before we tackle that dessert.”

“Definitely,” Bud said, and reached for the remote as Holly began digging in the dresser for her sweats.

Bud tweaked her nose in a quick teasing manner as he headed for the bathroom. Holly smiled, knowing there was more than teasing behind that look in his eyes. Just thinking about making love with him again made her shiver.

She took off her good clothes and put on the sweats, then crawled up in the middle of the bed and began flipping through the channels.

All of a sudden she saw the name
Savannah Slade
flash across the bottom of the screen in a crawl and fumbled at the remote to turn up the volume as she began screaming, “Bud! Bud! Come here quick!”

He bolted out of the bathroom on the run, ready to fight, and found her on her knees in a panic, pointing at the television. She was crying and talking all at once, and he couldn’t understand what she was saying.