Confer, Lorelei - Deadly Revenge (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (17 page)

Dave took a seat facing her on the other end of the short couch. “So, how was the rest of your day?”

“It was fine after I talked to my mother and Sue. For some reason they always make me feel better, more grounded.”

“I worry about you. I wish I could help you feel safe and secure.” He caressed her hand that lay across the back of the sofa.

“Oh, Dave, don’t get me wrong. You do make me feel safe. That’s why I call you first after the police. I don’t know who else I would turn to if you weren’t here.” She smiled.

He leaned in and kissed her hand. “That makes me feel good.” He continued kissing her hand. He kissed all the way up her arm, her shoulder, her neck until he reached her mouth. He gave her a light butterfly kiss—his lips barely touching hers. Then he deepened the kiss. When she opened her mouth for him, their tongues tangled together. His arms went around her and he pulled her closer to him. Her arms went around his neck as she clung to him.

The pre-heat buzzer from the oven brought them both back to reality. The dinner rolls were ready to go in. Both of them broke apart quickly.

Tory put the dinner rolls into the oven while Dave started the grill. She handed him the marinated steaks and the utensil to use with them. Dave grilled the steaks while Tory tossed the salad. Once they were both seated at the table, Tory sipped her wine, the candlelight reflecting off her glass as she touched it to her lips.

“So, how is your steak?”

“Done to perfection.” Tory cut another piece of steak and quickly put it in her mouth.

Dave watched her lips as she ate and talked, remembering the taste of her. “The whole dinner was great, Tory. Would you like more wine?”

“Sure, I could drink a little more,” Tory answered as she once again ran her hands through her hair.

Dave helped Tory clean up the dishes after dinner, and even cleaned the grill.

After dinner, they relaxed on the sofa.

“Why do you think these murders are happening?” Tory asked.

“I don’t know. Since you have some knowledge of both the victims, can you think of anything they had in common, like did they both belong to the same club, drive the same kind of car, or frequent the same restaurant? Anything at all?”

“The only things I can think of that they had in common was that I found them and they were both on Braedden Properties.” Her voice quivered. “And to top it off, I think the police suspect me as the murderer.”

“That’s nonsense. The Chief never mentioned anything like that,” he said as he moved over closer to her, picked up her hand and rubbed her fingers. “I’m more concerned about you. We both know that can’t be true. When we finish the investigation and put all the facts together, we’ll find the real murderer. In the meantime, we should forget about all that. We need to relax and enjoy each other.”

* * * *

Dave moved in closer to her and picked up her hand. He kissed her every finger. “I care for you, Tory. I’ll take care of you. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

Dave kissed her lips and wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. Dave wanted to console her. He had a hint of remorse about everything she was feeling bad about. He wanted her to be sure about him, to trust him, be strong for him, and know he would protect her in any way possible.

He deepened the kiss. Her fiery response surprised him. He forced open her mouth and put his tongue inside. He savored the taste of her, the taste only she had. He pulled her close, wrapping one hand around her neck to pull her closer and the other around her waist. She responded by wrapping her arms around his waist and shoulders, pulling him closer.

He kept his eyes tightly closed. In the absolute darkness, she was all heat and sensation to him, her lips a source of cool fire that burned everything they touched, spawning jolts of desire that spiked through his body, leaving him mindless and weak. He kissed her earlobe and tear-stained cheeks, making her gasp. He slowly pushed her down onto the sofa, making her draw in her breath sharply.

He kissed his way to her earlobe and whispered sweet nothings in her ear. She put both her hands on each side of his face, looked into his eyes.

He kissed her as he gently lay on top of her.

She arched her pelvis against him, her nipples already hard and erect. She tensed with anticipation and moaned. Her breathing heavy.
She unzipped his pants and ran her hand over his erection, squeezing as she stroked it up and down, up and down. Dave writhed beneath her ministrations, and she didn’t want to stop.

Dave groaned as he slipped her bra off her soft, smooth shoulders. He rubbed his fingers across her nipples, sending a quiver through her body.

Suddenly his mouth closed around her nipple. She gulped for air, a flabbergasted sound of pleasure. He licked her.

* * * *

She wanted to thrash and gyrate and beg for more. Her nails dug into the cushions. He found her other nipple and rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger, with just enough force to make her abandon all effort at quietness. She moaned out loud.

She murmured while he kissed her neck and shoulders, “Dave, oh, Dave. We shouldn’t do this. I’m not that kind of woman. I don’t want to get involved in another relationship right now.”

“Tell me to stop and I will,” he said just as he slid his hand up her velvet thigh to her wet-for-him panties. He moved her panties to one side and began gently stroking her outer lips. She was so hot and wet. He used one finger and entered her. She arched her back toward him.

She wanted more of him. No, she wanted all of him. She continued to stroke his penis, rubbing the moist droplets around the head.

He stood and quickly removed his pants and shirt while she removed her remaining clothes. When he lay beside her again on the couch, he kissed her and began moving his hands all over her soft and smooth body. He caressed her breasts then replaced his hand with his lips, suckling like a baby. His hands continued to roam over her body, under her arms, down her stomach, up her thighs until he reached her hot, wet spot. He again entered her with one finger, then two fingers. She tried to move closer to him to take more but couldn’t. She moaned and rolled her head to the left and right in sexual frustration.

Dave removed his fingers and moved his body on top of her. His shaft was ready to enter her when she reached down and touched it, rubbing the velvety soft head with her fingers, smoothing the lubricant all over. She directed it to her opening and Dave thrust into her.

* * * *

He groaned. She was so hot and wet inside, he was on fire. As he thrust in and out of her, she quickly matched his rhythm, arching into him to take all of him.

“Dave, oh my god, it feels so good.”

A deep guttural moan came from within Dave.

Tory was breathless as she pulled Dave’s mouth down to hers. He kissed her lips, and then moved to her neck and ears, reaching even lower to suckle her breast one more time. Tory couldn’t hold out anymore. She let all her inner inhibitions go and soon found herself in ecstasy. She closed her eyes and saw stars, the world spinning around.

Dave called her name, “Tory, Tory.” She soon felt his hot, liquid seed spilling into her.

He kissed her as he gently lay beside her.

Both full of wonderment, disbelief, and bliss.

Both content.

Chapter 26

The following morning was cool and rainy. Neither Dave nor Tory wanted to leave the warm comfort of each other’s arms, let alone the bed they had shared all night.

“Hummm nice,” Tory murmured as Dave caressed her breasts.

“See why I like your place better?” Dave asked with a smile as he kissed Tory good morning. He still hadn’t decided which town house or apartment he liked best but enjoyed staying at Tory’s.

“Hmmm, I like my place better too,” she answered with a kiss, snuggling closer to him.

“You do know I have to go to work today, don’t you?” Tory reminded Dave with another kiss.

“I know. And I need to get to work, too. Let’s take a shower together for a good morning send off,” Dave said as he yanked the covers off of both of them at the same time, pulled Tory gently to the edge of the bed, took her hand, and escorted her to the bathroom.

They walked hand in hand into the bathroom. Tory turned on the water in the oversized shower and got clean towels out of the closet while Dave adjusted the water temperature and jumped in the shower.

“Come on in, the water’s great,” Dave said with a smile.

Tory stepped into the shower and was quickly grabbed by Dave and pulled under the shower’s spray. Water sluiced over both of them as he quickly plundered her mouth. His hands caressed her breasts with soap, along with her stomach all the way down to her feminine curls. Tory took the hint and soaped up her hands and massaged Dave’s entire body with a thick, soapy lather.

Their bodies burned where they touched, locked together nipples to knees. Dave’s erection throbbed between Tory’s thighs.

She slowly opened her legs to him. His arms went around her and lifted her up by her hips as she wrapped her legs around him. He pushed her back against the wall as he slowly entered her. He started moving in and out of her, taking her breath away. She moaned and muttered, “Dave, oh, Dave.” She knew as soon as he reached his climax because he pulled her tight to him, held his breath as he filled her with his seed. They held each other close until they could control their breathing.

* * * *

Tory had a job to do and quickly found herself dressed and at her desk. Mid-morning, Tory left the office to drop some papers off to one of their tenants about a rental increase. When she reached the cottage-like house, she parked her car along the sidewalk. She got out of the car, walked up the driveway past a parked car and onto the porch. She knocked on the door two or three times.
That’s odd. I just spoke to her a couple of hours ago and she was expecting me. She was going to take a relaxing bath and said to “come on over.”

The hair on the back of Tory’s neck bristled as it had before when she felt someone was watching her. She didn’t know what to do. Should she call the police? Should she go inside? Or should she call Dave since he had been elected lead detective on the murder cases? She called Dave for advice.

“Just sit tight. I’ll call the police and be there in a few minutes.”

Dave got there before the police and attempted to calm Tory down. There was no reason for Tory to be alarmed. They had no reason to think the worst, that she would find another body. He kept Tory occupied outside by their cars until the police arrived on the scene. He explained the expected procedure to her, different now since there had been two murders. State officers were now involved, all reporting their findings to Dave.

After no response through open windows, three local police officers broke down the front door to get into the house. Shortly thereafter, the area was secured with yellow crime scene tape and a flurry of police officers scurried throughout the house and yard. Dave had briefly looked at the body and recognized it for what it was—a murder.

Outside, Dave reminded the attending officers that no one was allowed inside the house or across the crime scene lines unless they were a part of the forensics team, then the area was truly secured until the forensics team arrived.

Chief Carr was assigned to guard the scene.

Once the death was labeled a murder, local and state police began to gather at the scene. So within about ninety minutes of the first request for an ambulance, five police officers, two state and three local police officers, were on the scene. A member of the County Attorney’s Office and the county medical examiner were there as well. Neighbors started showing up, coming out of their houses to see what was going on, and were able to identify the victim. Her name was Ellen Wells.

* * * *

Chief Carr soon met with Dave who then explained the routine to him for complete clarity.

“We found the body of a young woman, assumed to be the tenant, Ellen Wells. She was naked, lying in the bathtub, the water having slowly drained out, looks like an accidental drowning.”

“Oh, my god,” Tory said as she turned her face toward Dave. “I just spoke with her on the phone a few hours ago. How can this be happening? This town is my home, yet everywhere I go there’s death.”

“Tory, when was the last time you met with Ms. Wells?”

“I, I’ve never met her,” she said through quivering lips. “As I said, I spoke with her on the phone a few hours ago about signing the papers I brought with me about a rent increase. She was fine. She said to come over anytime today, she was going to take a long soak in the tub.”