Fatal Jealousy (Black Widow Book 1) (3 page)

Ellie turned to look at him. She felt very shy under his sweet gaze, “Passion is very necessary for life.”

The corner of his lips rose seductively, “Because it leads to ecstasy and complete satisfaction.”

Ellie cocked an eyebrow at him, “Dale, is sex all you think about?”

“I also have some artistic background.”

“Of course you do!”

“I’ll have you know I was essential in all the art classes.”

Ellie noticed the defensive tone in his voice. She decided to show a little interest, “Were you a tutor? And which class did you like most, sculpture or painting?”

“Both.” He moved closer to her, placing his hand behind her and leaning forward leaving an inch between their faces, “I was the subject.”

Ellie held her breath, captivated by his eyes. It was like getting tempted with one kilogram box of chocolate. You know you shouldn’t have too much of it, but the sweet arousing temptation is just too good to pass up.

The spell was broken when the waiter came with drinks, “Carson! It’s been a while.” He turned and looked at her and nodded with approval, “She’s sizzling.”

Carson handed him his gold card, “Find your own date, Teddy.”

Walking away, “I can try, but she won’t be as appetizing. She’s a perfect ten Carson!”

“Nice friend,” Ellie whispered, biting the inside of her cheek to hide her annoyance. She wondered if this was a routine for Dale. Did he bring all his dates to his spot or only the ones that proved hard to bed on the first date?

He handed her the martini, “He’s too nosy for his own good.”

“Why? Because he rates every girl, you bring here?” She pointed to the bar, her livid gaze set on him, “When is he going to hold up my scorecard, I’d like to know if I’m top five?”

Carson heard the anger in her voice and he knew the date was about to go up in flames. He took her drink and placed it on the table. Grabbing her hands, he pulled her off the couch and dragged her to the dance floor, “Before the possibility of a third date is ruined, let’s go dance.”

“Dale...” she started, reluctantly.

“No talking, just dance,” he spun her around and brought her to an abrupt stop against him. He dipped her low and then slowly bringing her up, whispered in her ear, “You are the only girl I’ve brought here,” he chuckled, “I met the others here.” He held her close to him.

Unbelievable, arrogant ass!
“Of course you’d think that makes everything better. I should feel extra special!” She said, with a sarcastic smile.

“Ellie-” he started, but she cut him off.

“You brought the new sheep to join the rest of the flock in the shaving barn.” He looked away, sucking in his lips to hide his smile. That only angered Ellie more. She looked around, “Any of your one night stands here? I’m not going to risk getting beat up over a man, especially not you.”

Carson laughed, swaying to the beat, forcing her to move with him, “They understand. They love dancing and salsa has a way of provoking desire.... and passion.”

Ellie saw the desire in his eyes as his hand settled on her back, right above her ass. She leaned closer to his ear, “It’s going to take a lot more than dancing before I let you get your
passion
anywhere near mine.”

Carson laughed, spinning her around again. He stopped her back against his chest, “You are evil, a complete temptation that drives me crazy. I like it.”

It only took a minute before the music took over her, “I’m not like your type of girl, and I’m determined to teach you that before whatever this is goes any further, or ends.”

“I’m going to enjoy the lesson,” he ran his fingers lightly down her arm. He smiled at the goose bumps his touch gave her. She gasped and placed her hand over his when he trailed his fingertips up her thigh, pulling her dress up with his thumb. As much as she fought it, she wanted him. He brushed his nose along her neck and then planted a track of kisses when she turned her head onto his shoulder.

He whispered in her ear, “And don’t worry, it’s going to be an exclusive lesson.”

She placed her hand on the back of his thick neck, “You, going off sex for days, weeks and maybe even months? Are you sure you can handle that?”

He turned her to face him. He brushed his lips over hers, “I don’t think we’ll make it to months. And besides, when we finally indulge in the passion, it’s going to be explosive. I’m not going to risk tainting that.” He bent her over and placed a trail of kisses down her neck to the sweetheart top of her dress.

She gasped, sinking into the pleasure his lips gave her, “We are never going salsa dancing again.” She whispered.

Chapter Four

Audrey placed the case folders on the table in the case room. She was glad they didn’t have to work a case that past weekend, but she also wished there wasn’t a case waiting for them that bright early morning. She sat down as the rest of the team trickled into the room, all with their own weekend story to tell before they turned on a huge screen and their good moods destroyed for the duration of the case. Carson was the last to walk in. Unlike him, he sat down quietly, his attention completely commanded by his blackberry.

“Aren’t you going to tell us how your weekend was?” Paloma was curious about the change. Although secretive, he was usually the loud one every morning before the case, soaking up the joy before finding out what the case was about.

After a few seconds of punching in letters on his phone he looked up at the team with a smile on his face, “Did someone say something?”

“Are you texting?” Audrey shrieked, “Can anyone else see him texting or have I finally lost my mind?”

“He is texting,” Richard shook his head laughing, “I thought that wasn’t your style Carson?”

Before he could answer, his phone beeped. He looked down to read his message and laughed before he typed up a response.

Doran’s brows shot up, “Did he just giggle?”

Gwen’s interest got spiked, “Who are you texting?” When he didn’t answer nor raise his head to acknowledge she’d spoken, she reached out to grab the phone. He pulled away, holding the phone securely away from her.

“What’s up?”

“You don’t text, and you don’t give anyone’s messages that much attention, not even your own mother’s.” Gwen answered with an insincere smile on her face.

Audrey was excited, half jumping on her chair, “You met a girl didn’t you?”

“We met at a bar I was trying out for the first time...”

Kevin laughed, “What, you were running away from all your old girlfriends?”

“Very funny. We spent the weekend together.” When his friends got the look on their faces like they’d heard that story before, he was glad to shock them, “In public. We haven’t slept together yet.”

“You should take her to that salsa bar,” Audrey suggested.

Carson smiled at the memory of that night, “I did, on Saturday.”

“And you are telling us you didn’t sleep with her?” Gwen asked.

“Nope.”

Audrey’s face dropped even more, “So how long is this game going to last?” She knew it was only a matter of time before he’d grow bored chasing her.

“I’ll let you know once she tells me.” For the first time ever, he wasn’t taking the lead. He liked that, probably because it was Ellie.

Gwen tapped him on his forearm, “Does this have the potential of being serious?” She asked more for her sake than his.

“Yes, no, maybe, I don’t know. But the status quo hasn’t changed,” he said more to her, than the rest of the group.

“I hope it does,” then she turned on the screen. The second she did, all their good moods were destroyed. “Three girls, all seventeen years old, of Orange County were abducted from their homes in the middle of the night while they were asleep. They were found a week later still clothed in their pajamas, but all presented signs of sexual assault, with deep lacerations over their bodies and facial disfigurement.”

“Were the killings all done in the same way?” Carson looked carefully at each picture, his demeanour hard and cold. It was like holding his breath under water as he struggled to distance himself emotionally from the victims.

He hated it when the victims were just kids.

“Yes,” Audrey answered drily, keeping her gaze away from the screen. She found reading the case details more bearable than looking at the pictures.

“They all seem to be from different racial backgrounds,” Doran added.

“Preppy schools, applications and admissions to some of the top, not to mention, expensive universities,” Paloma offered.

“Any of them have scholarships?” Kevin asked.

“No, all funded by their parents.”

“Look at the way the unknown subject disfigured their faces. He or she knew these girls. There was nothing random about this.” Richard added.

“They all use to go to the same high school before two of them transferred in the senior year,” There was an audible crack in Audrey’s voice. Seven years on the job and she still couldn’t get use to it.

Carson put his hand tenderly on her shoulder, “Right after he dumps the body, he picks up a new victim. The last victim was found yesterday, has someone been reported missing?”

“This morning, Nicole Joseph’s mother went to wake her up and she wasn’t in bed.”

“It’s amazing parents aren’t sitting at their daughters’ windows with shotguns, I would,” Doran said, disappearing in the moment for a second, “Have they started processing the last victim’s room?”

“No. They are waiting for us.”

“Let’s go,” Richard got up, “Audrey tell the Orange County police we’ll be there in an hour.”

She nodded, turning off the screen with slight relief. She turned to Carson before he disappeared out the door, “Does your new girl know about your job, the kind of people you chase down on a daily basis?”

“We’ve talked about her mostly, nothing much about me.”

“If you like her, don’t,” Audrey swallowed the bitter lump in her throat, “tell her you are a plumber or an insurance agent.”

“Why?”

“You seem to really like her and I want this to work out for you, but I don’t think she’ll want to hold her breath every time you leave to find psychopaths who do this,” she held the case file up.

“Richard’s wife seems to be doing just fine.”

“When was the last time he invited us to his house for a barbecue?” Carson didn’t have to do the math, it had been over a year since he last saw Richard’s wife. “Exactly, I think she’s getting tired of holding her breath.”

****

Ellie stared at the color filled canvas in her office, still smiling to herself. She was glad her classes were over for the day because in her state of mind she wouldn’t be able to pay attention to a single student.

“Earth to Ellie,” Kris waved her hand in Ellie’s face, “Hey are you in a coma?”

“Will you stop that,” Ellie laughed, pulling Kris’s hands away, “What do you want?”

“Details,” she chirped excitedly, “Who’s the new guy and how good is he in bed?”

“Kris!”

“That answers my question,” she teased, braiding her long brown hair over her shoulder, “Is it anyone I know?”

“No. He was a blind date, and Ellsa set us up.”

Her face creased in horror, “Oh no. Dump him before he turns you into a snobbish robot!”

Still stuck in her daydream of Dale, “Relax, he’s more our type than hers. He said he doesn’t know her, but guys lie all the time.”

“What’s his name?”

“Dale Carson,” she purred out.

“He sound’s white?”

“Actually his dad is Scottish and his mom is black.” She danced around her office like a giddy school girl, “He’s arrogant, very sure of himself and he has this mystery about him.”

“Ahh!” Kris screeched excitedly, “he sounds so hot!”

“He is,” she exhaled loudly, “That body was made for sin!” She closed her eyes and swayed her hips, back in his arms, “He salsas like a Mexican heartthrob in a romantic telenovela!”

“And yet,” she smacked Ellie on the back of her head, “You still haven’t slept with him! Your stupid policy of three weeks is going to send him running Ellie.”

“It’s not stupid, and I doubt he’ll go anywhere. This is like a game to him and from the little I know about him, he seems the type who loves to win.” She leapt at her phone when the message tone went off.

“You’re texting!” Kris screeched giddily again.

Ellie felt her heart drop once she read his message. She wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole!
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Ellie, you know better!
“He’s going away on business. He doesn’t know when he’ll be back.”

Kris moved to Ellie and held her in a bear hug, “He’s blowing you off already? I’m so sorry. Think of this as a good thing. If Ellsa set you up, he had potential of being an asshole.”

Ellie wanted to hold on to some kind of hope. She really liked this guy and she really didn’t want him to turn out to be an asshole. Her phone beeped again. She read the message and smiled, “The arrogant ass.”

Kris leaned forward to read the message herself. “‘Here is a picture of myself just in case you miss my dazzling smile. I’ll call you tonight, it would be selfish of me to keep you craving my voice for an entire day,’ Aww, he’s a hot arrogant ass.”

Another beep pulled Ellie’s attention, but Kris grabbed the phone before she could read it. “I’ll text you every day at eight hundred and twenty hundred. I expect a prompt response.” Kris raised her brow at Ellie, “Is he an army guy?”

Ellie shook her head and took the phone back, “I don’t know.” She read the new message and laughed, “Don’t take any extra students while I’m gone.”

“What?”

“Private joke,” Ellie held it away and typed in ‘goes both ways.'

Chapter Five

Carson walked into the dark strip club with some reservation. He never thought of Ellie as the clubbing type, sure she loved to have fun, but nothing that looked this seedy. This place was more his speed. He weaved through the large dancing crowds keeping an eye out for her. He hadn’t seen her for two weeks, they’d texted and spoken the whole time, but it wasn’t the same as seeing her. He wasn’t the type to admit it, but he’d missed her, a lot. He was getting attached, and that worried him. Usually this was the point he’d cut his losses and run, but Ellie was different. He just wanted more of her and the longing for her wasn’t completely sexual.