Trial by Fire (13 page)

“Not yet, darlin’. Not until I’m deep inside of you.”

Letting go of her hands, he tugged at the button on her pants and in seconds, he had her jeans at her knees. Slipping her shoes off her feet he yanked off her pants and tossed them to the ground. His eyes widened at the sight of the lacy thong covering her mound. With a flick of his wrist, he ripped it free. Tossing the piece of lace over his shoulder, he spread her legs wide apart and gazed at her. The cool air on her bare legs was startling and more erotic than she could have imagined. Lying virtually naked on the hood of his car, the contrast of the still warm engine beneath her to the cool night air against her heated flesh sent shockwaves of desire through her.

When Nate buried his mouth against her soft folds, she cried out stunned at the heat coursing through her. His tongue was devastating, wicked. He teased her throbbing nub until she was sobbing, begging, aching for more.

“Oh yeah, darlin’. Jesus, honey. You’re wet. Soaking wet. It’s okay, baby. I can’t wait either. We’ll go slow later, but now, Erin, now I’m gonna bury myself so deep inside of you, you won’t know where you start and I end.”

With one hand he unfastened his pants and released his burgeoning erection. He dragged her legs up over his shoulders and pulled her hips toward him. With one hard thrust he drove into her with a harsh groan.

Erin was stunned at his ferocious entry. Usually, he teased her, taunted her, moving in and out, thrusting, pulling back, dragging her from one pleasure peak to another. But now he was hammering her, harder, deeper, faster than he ever had. He was like a passionate tornado intent on filling her completely. To her surprise, her body took over as though she had no control but to climb with him. His mouth was all over her breasts, sucking, nipping at the tender peaks.

Not able to stand another second of his erotic assault, Erin screamed as her climax flooded over her in excruciating waves of pleasure. Her keening wail filled the still night air echoed by his triumphant shout as he drove into her.

Nate collapsed against her unwilling to pull out of her. If he could he would spend a lifetime buried inside of her. Her shuddering cries, waves of aftershocks and her fingers tangled in his hair holding him tight against her trembling body were balm to his troubled spirit. He refused to let the ugly thoughts careening through his muddled brain intrude on this moment, Every breath she took was hot against his cheek. Her whispery cries begged him not to let her go. Nuzzling between her breasts he crooned soft passionate words, praising her body, how she made him feel, how much he craved her touch, and how much he loved her.

A shiver racked her naked body and Nate allowed himself to feel the cold air. Tugging his jeans over his hips, he kicked the pile of her clothes to the side and scooped her up in his arms.

“I need to get you inside, Erin.” At her soft moan, he added, “I won’t let go of you, darlin’ but you’re shivering.” He gave a soft snort. “Neither one of us seemed to notice it, but it’s cold baby.”

Holding her tightly in his arms he strode through the dark house to their bedroom and into the master bathroom.

“Let’s get in the shower, baby. It will warm you. God, the last thing I want is for you to catch cold. There’s no way we could explain this one away.”

After a long hot shower, he dried her off and carried her naked to their bed. He crawled in beside her and held her close to him.

“I’m sorry, Erin.”

When she startled and stared up at him with a frown, he shook his head and grinned.

“No, darlin’, not for stripping you naked and taking you on the hood of my fucking car. Hell no! I’ll remember that until they put me in the ground. Damn, how can you get any sexier than that? The hottest women alive—on top of
my
car? Naked under the stars? Sweetheart, just know that should I ever be away from you for more than four hours and I’m forced to jerk off, that little episode from tonight will be my inspiration.”

He hesitated then looked down at her and shrugged.

“Erin, it made me crazy to see you talking to Sam the way you were.”

Erin’s voice was soft, consoling. “Nate, I was being pleasant, cordial.
Normal.
He’s a runner. You know how much I love to run. It would be the same if you met someone who was into mixed martial arts. You would want to talk with them, discuss it. I know you would, Nate.”

Nate let out a heavy sigh. “Baby, this isn’t about anything rational. I’m nuts, you already know that. I’m the most possessive son of a bitch you’ll ever run into but… I don’t know how to say it except that ConnorfuckingFreud is right. I am wound up tight. As much as I would like to keep the murder investigation at arms-length, I can’t.”

“And Laura? You can’t keep her at arms-length either?”

“No, Erin, I can’t. I thought I could and at least on the surface I handled it today. But it’s taking a toll. And she’s doing everything she can to get under my skin. But tonight I took it out on you, and on Sam. And I’m sorry. Tomorrow, I’ll make the rounds and apologize to my family for disrupting a pleasant evening. But first I need you to understand. And damn, honey, I’m sorry. I embarrassed you and made a total fool of myself.”

Erin eased out from under his arm and to his surprise crawled up over him straddling his hips.
He gave a grunt of surprise mixed with appreciation. Tossing her long curly hair over her shoulder, she tipped up her chin.

“I have a confession to make.”

He frowned, a sick feeling of dread hitting his gut. Damn what if he’d not been so off base? What if she was interested in Sam? He did his best to keep his voice flat.

“What kind of confession?”

She smiled, tracing circles around his nipples. Her smile broadened when they hardened to hard peaks and Nate sucked in a sharp breath. As though she wasn’t tormenting him with her fingers, she said casually, “Pretend there was a beautiful female mixed martial artist at the table. And you were having a great time discussing all the moves you both know? If I heard you planning to spar with her, do you know what I would do?”

He couldn’t hold back his grin. “No, what would my little spitfire do?”

“I’d invite her to go running with me then I’d make sure that ‘somehow’ she tripped and sprained her ankle. Not bad, just bad enough so that she couldn’t go in the ring until her tour here was over.”

Nate stuffed down his chuckle and frowned in mock dismay.

“So you are saying that I should arrange for Sam to have an ‘accident,’ one that will put him in a cast for a month or so?”

“No, silly. The only way I’ll run with Sam is if we’re part of a group, and you’re there too.”

She looked down, her cheeks flushing a soft pinkish color.

“I just wanted you to know that I get jealous, too.”

Nate saw the fear lurking in her eyes.

“But you know how much I love you, Erin, don’t you?”

She nodded. “And you know how much I love
you
.”

A naughty smile tugged at the corner of her mouth and her eyes sparkled mischievously. Tweaking his nipples, and positioning her bare crotch against his hips, she whispered in a throaty voice, “Do you know what, Detective?”

Lifting her hips to allow his iron hard staff to rest against her bare bottom, he growled,

“No, you little tease, what?”

Rubbing her damp folds over his aroused staff, she whispered, “Sometimes you talk too much.”

Chapter 13

“You seen Carter, Scottie?”

“You mean the tall black dude, Nate?” Scottie answered.

Nate gave an aggrieved sigh. Guess that’s what Sam has to expect in ChicadiafuckingFalls—and probably every other damn place. Had to wonder what the guys called
him
behind his back. He could only imagine. Especially the way he’d been acting this last couple of days.

“Yes, if by that you mean Commander Samuel Carter, LAPD.”

Scottie’s flush confirmed that he got Nate’s point.

“Yeah, sorry, Nate. He left about ten minutes ago, heading for the shower. We all was hopin’ you’d get here before he was done. That was quite a show the two of you put on yesterday. Nuthin’ like showin’ us wannabe’s how it’s done right.”

Nate agreed. “Yeah, he’s a talented guy.”

Nate headed to the locker room, not looking forward to the conversation. But he never shirked a hard exchange even if it required an apology.

Sam was tucking his dress shirt in his pants and turned when Nate sauntered toward him.

“Been looking for you, hotshot.”

Sam shrugged. “Looks like you found me.”

Nate grinned. “I see you’re not going to make this easy for me. But then if the roles were reversed I’d be making you crawl on your knees over broken glass.”

Sam’s lips quirked but he didn’t answer.

“Look, hotshot, I was an ass last night. I spoiled Mama D’s dinner and if it’s any consolation to you, I’ll be paying for it for weeks to come. I embarrassed Erin and everyone else and I’m sorry.”

Sam nodded, but again, didn’t speak.

“I’m not making excuses, far from it. But I’m wound pretty tight and I took it out on you. My apologies.”

“Thanks, Nate. I appreciate the apology.”

Apparently done with the conversation, Sam finished tucking in his shirt and grabbed for a comb.

Nate had to admire the guy’s presence. Hell, he was as cool as Nate was. But his dismissive demeanor rankled. Against his better judgment, Nate pushed.

“One point, hotshot. Although I’m sorry that I was an ass last night, the message stands. Erin is my woman. Period.”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “Hmm. I didn’t see a collar on her. Bro.”

Nate’s gut clenched at the provocation. His voice was soft.

“You ain’t lookin’ hard enough,
bro.”

To Nate’s surprise, Sam turned and faced him. A slight smile hovered on his lips and his tone was casual.

“Hmm. I know you aren’t looking for advice from me, but I’ll give it anyway.”

Sam persisted, ignoring Nate’s frown.

“You can take this or leave it, Nate. But, if I had a woman like Erin that I was as nuts about as you are her, I might be looking for a collar
and
a leash.”

Nate’s voice was as casual as Sam’s, but laden with danger.

“You wouldn’t be dumb enough to be threatening me, would you, hotshot?”

Sam shrugged. “Not a chance. Just some friendly advice. And a question. You two are obviously in love with each other, why
don’t
you have a collar on her? And by that I mean a ring. I’m assuming you plan to get married. At least a ring would tell the rest of us that the gorgeous creature we just met has been captured by none other than the ‘big dog’ himself.”

Nate was surprised and thrown off guard. Hell, this guy really was something. Another fucking Connor in the making. Damn, that’s all he needed. More people giving him unwanted advice. He didn’t hide his annoyance.

“Uh, thanks for the advice, hotshot. But you don’t know Erin or me well enough to understand. We’ve both agreed that marriage is a dead end street and that what we have is much stronger.”

Sam laughed and shook his head. “I don’t know, Nate. I’ve got three sisters and have had more than a few relationships. I’ve never met a woman yet who didn’t want that ring to make it official. That’s just how they’re wired, big guy. But Erin may be the exception to the rule. She sure breaks every other rule. I don’t know when I’ve seen a more beautiful, more appealing woman.”

At Nate’s growl, Sam held up his hands. “Hey, what do I know? Guess you can just growl at any guy dumb enough to look at her. At least that will work when you’re around.”

Letting the veiled threat hang between them, Sam reached for his duffle bag.

“See you at the meeting with the accountant. Thanks for the apology.”

Grabbing his gear, he headed for the door.

~~~

Leave it to Eric Jacobs to come up with forensic accountants who were closer to the criminals they caught than they were to the suckers who abided by the law. Eric had been on Nate’s Ranger team in Afghanistan. They’d hit it off when they realized that they were both as far off the grid as you could get and still be in the active military. Since they’d retired from active duty, Nate had called on his former teammate whenever he needed help with a job he couldn’t ask uniformed cops to do. Eric never let him down. His ties to the dark side were stellar. He was expensive as hell—a cost Nate gladly passed on to the Chief. Never lost a chance to rile his mentor, if he could.

Doug Nunn was a small, bespeckled man. His heavy beard shadow had nothing to do with current style. It had more to do with bad genes. A Richard Nixon kind of problem. His partner, Ralph Weise, looked like a tow-headed kid fresh off the farm. But his eyes gave him away. They betrayed life experiences of men three times his age. The kind of experiences most men avoided no matter how old or how tough they were. Both Ralph and Doug were smart as hell.

Ralph summarized.

“Nate, to us it looks like a case of simple tax evasion. Peterson was siphoning money from his own company and parking it in off-shore accounts. He started eighteen months ago with small chunks—a couple hundred thou or so. A year ago, he started getting serious. Best that we can track, he’s now got about ten million give or take a million sequestered where the IRS ain’t ever going to see it.”

Nate frowned. “How did it get by his accountant? Or was he in on the scam?”

Doug Nunn pursed his lips as if offended by the simplicity of the scam. “Any accountant worth his salt should have picked up on it. You don’t tap off that much cash without someone noticing. But, giving his incompetent accountant his due, the money came from a number of sources. Some from the business, which the accountant should have caught. But most came from his investments. Dividends that weren’t declared, you know the gig, Nate. The big advantage Peterson had was that his grandpappy set up a bunch of trusts. Peterson oversaw them all. There was enough fluidity in the accounts and enough of them that it was relatively easy to make transfers that didn’t end up where they should.”

Ralph jumped in. “Not that I want to support incompetent accountants but these guys clearly took the facts as Mike presented them and never looked beneath the surface. Mike fired the old-timer who’d worked with his father and then for years with Mike. The young guy he hired was right out of grad school. Smart, with books. But savvy? Not a lick of street smarts. Easy to dupe.”