Unveiled Treasures (12 page)

“Why did you come out here?” she asked, her blue eyes staring right in to him.

“To see you, I can’t seem to stay away. You have dirt on your face,” he said as he stepped forward, gently running his fingers down her cheek.

The simple touch sent a rush of need straight through her. The combination of pent-up sexual frustration and anger made her more susceptible. She felt her body moisten and her nipples puckered in anticipation. Forgetting her own words of caution about not rushing in to anything, she slowly slid her arms around his neck and looked up in his gray eyes. The smoldering look of need he gave her made her feel powerful, and very sexy.

“Rachel.” It came out as a hoarse whisper. “If you start this, please don’t ask me to stop.”

“I don’t want you to stop, Todd. I want you to feel,” she purred as she pulled him to her and brought her mouth to his.

Burning white-hot need shot straight through her. He crushed his mouth against hers, nibbling at her lips and caused her to moan softly. His hands were everywhere. Igniting a fiery trail up her rib cage, he cupped her breasts and grazed his thumbs over her sensitive nipples.

She gasped and moaned, her hardened nipples ached for his touch as he cupped her breasts. She pressed closer to him as her own hands traveled up and down exploring his body. Running her hands through his hair, she let her head fall back exposing the smooth, soft skin of her neck for him to greedily feast on.

Todd scraped his teeth along her neck up to her earlobe. Flicking his tongue inside her ear, he whispered, “Let’s move this inside. I want to see you, all of you.” She nodded against his shoulder as he picked her up and carried her inside the house. Todd quickly made it down the hall to her bedroom. “This bed is big enough for five people,” he said as they fell on it together.

“I like a lot of room when I sleep,” she whispered, running her tongue around his ear and nipping at his lobe.

He groaned, grabbed her around the waist and kissed her. “I want to feel you under my hands, Todd,” she whispered as she unbuttoned his shirt. She exposed his solid chest lightly dusted with sandy blonde hair.

“Lady, you make me crazy,” he said, shuddering under her touch.

“Good. You’ve been tempting and teasing me since I arrived. Did you know I’ve wanted to sink my teeth in to you for days now?” she asked as she flicked her tongue across his nipple. He was gorgeous. His skin was a sun-kissed bronze color. She reveled in the way his well-defined muscles quivered under her touch as she ran her hands across every inch she exposed.

Groaning again, he stripped off her sweater and jeans before removing the rest of his own clothing. She lay on the bed with her cloud of dark hair framing her face as it fanned out on the pillow. She ran her hands across her own body, watching the way he responded to her actions. Reaching out for him, she whispered, “Make love with me, Todd.”

“I have been waiting to hear those words come from your lips,” he whispered huskily as he slid onto the bed beside her and pulled her into his arms. Slowly and gently, he began to kiss her eyelids and face. He caressed her body while his tongue darted in her mouth, tangling and intertwining with hers. Moist beads of perspiration formed on her skin as he took her on the most intimate and sweetest of journeys. Rachel began to grind her hips against him. He slid his hand down her torso resting it at the junction of her thighs. She arched and bucked against him as he slid his fingers inside her heat. She so was hot and wet for him. Crying out, she sank her teeth in his shoulder. Thrusting and grinding up against him, she erupted in his hand. Not giving her any time to recover from the first wave of passion, he sent her flying again, causing her to experience a flood of emotions and feelings she never knew existed.

* * * *

When he couldn’t take anymore, he positioned himself over her and looked into her eyes. “I want you to watch me take you,” he said as he slipped in to her silky wetness. Nothing could have prepared him for the battering ram of emotions that pummeled him as he began to slowly move inside her. She was tight and oh so very hot.

Contracting her muscles, she clamped down on him. She gave a feral growl, ran her nails down his back and started thrusting her hips up to meet his. “Now,” she growled in his ear.

Increasing the pace, he whispered in her ear, “Fly with me, Rachel.”

She arched back and gasped out his name as she climaxed again. Gripping his hips, she urged him deeper inside her, faster and faster.

Todd plunged into her. Unable to hold it back any longer, he buried himself deep inside her as he exploded.

Todd lay there with his head resting between her breasts, trying to regain control of his breathing. He propped himself up on one elbow and looked down at her. “Am I crushing you?”

“Uh uh,” she purred. She did a long felinelike stretch underneath him that had him hardening inside her again.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he said as he ran his tongue across her nipple. He was pleased when it hardened at his touch. “Because I’m thinking we need more practice before we get this perfected.”

She moaned in response as he started a slow rhythmic pace. “This time, I want to be on top,” she said just before she forced him on to his back. “You wanted me to watch you take me. Well, baby, you are going to watch me take you.”

Todd lay on his back while Rachel gripped his wet, rock hard shaft in her hand. He watched her straddle his body and rub his cock against her clit and swollen lips. “I like to watch. But I like being involved much, much more.”

Rachel smiled, ran one of her hands across her breasts and looked into Todd’s smoky eyes while she continued to rub him against her clit. They were a dark stormy gray, almost black. She smiled and started to rock back and forth faster. She could feel the pressure building and knew her release was close. Grinding her wet pussy against his hard cock felt glorious. “Todd, I’m going to come all over your cock and then I’m going to suck it. You make me so hot.” She screamed as she erupted all over him and scrambled to make good on her promise.

Todd growled and in a flash, he grasped her by the waist and positioned her onto her hands and knees. Grabbing her hips, he thrust his cock deep inside her from behind. Rachel cried out in ecstasy as he pumped his rod in and out of her body. His sac slapped against her clit as he continued to thrust himself in her sex. His blood boiled, never before had he felt so strongly or such intense passion for a woman. Slowing his thrusts, he pulled his cock out of her willing body to the tip before thrusting deep inside her again and again. He felt her vaginal muscles contract as she climaxed again. The pressure was more than he could stand. Pumping his cock as deeply as he could, he erupted inside her.

Chapter 9

Rachel woke alone in her bed. She felt deliciously used. Pale moonlight filtered through her window. Looking over at the clock, she realized it was still early evening. Snuggling back in the blankets, she found a note on the pillow beside her.

Didn’t want to wake you, you’re so beautiful when you sleep. I had to meet Mike at the station. Will stop by later, Todd

How sweet.
Smiling at the note, she reread it again. “If I get up now I’ll still have time to finish my office project before he comes back,” she said to herself just before she jumped out of bed. Pulling on a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt, she went off in search of Brutus. She found him patiently waiting by the front door. The moment she opened the door, his tail started thumping madly.

“Keeping an eye out for me, are you?”

He scrambled over to her so she could pet him. “Come on, big guy. I’ll get you some dinner before I go back in the garage.”

With Brutus happily eating his bowl of kibble, Rachel went back in the garage. She grinned devilishly as she remembered what happened in here a few hours ago. She’d thrown herself at a man with wanton abandon and was already looking forward to doing it again. Humming to herself, she began scouring the dusty shelves. Located on the top shelf, pushed way back in the corner, sat a small wooden chest. Tears threatened to spill when she recognized it as her mother’s old sewing kit.

She pulled the chest down and ran her hands across its smooth surface. She decided it would be the perfect addition to her office. She went about cleaning the chest with lemon oil, taking great pride when the wood finish began to gleam.

Rachel opened the chest and let the tears fall. This had been her mother’s. Time had lessened the pain to a dull ache, but she still had moments of overwhelming sadness when grief took over. Closing the lid, she carried the chest into her office and placed it in the corner beside her desk. “I need to find a table to stand it on,” she said to herself.

Hearing Brutus barking to go out, she hurried through the house. He was dancing at the door like he desperately needed to get outside. Opening the door, he dashed past her into the woods, barking frantically.

“Brutus, come back here!” she yelled. Hoping he wasn’t after a skunk or something worse, she walked out on the patio and called him again.

A black shadow disappeared into the forest, using the cover of darkness to hide. Rachel yelled for Brutus again and this time, although rather reluctantly, he returned to her side. He continued to growl and his attention remained intently focused on the woods.

Nothing moved. The night was still and silent. Somewhere off in the distance, she heard a coyote howl. She could hear herself breathing and the low, rumbling growl coming from Brutus. “Come on,” she said, placing a hand on his head to calm them both. “Let’s go back inside.” Rachel closed the door and locked it with a deafening click.

* * * *

Ed moved out from his hiding place. His own breathing had yet to return to normal.
Damn dog, I was almost there. A few more minutes and I would have been in, grabbed the necklace and been gone.
He admitted to himself he was a coward, and didn’t have the stomach to kill anyone, but he was running out of options and time. Mr. Vee was expecting delivery of The Irish Star on Sunday and he did not accept excuses. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he made his way through the trees vanishing in to the night.

* * * *

Rachel settled Brutus down and paced the floor. She wasn’t sure if what she’d seen was really human or if it was an animal. Todd said so himself, she was bound to get four-legged visitors from time to time. Besides whoever or whatever it was, had been scared away by Brutus. She couldn’t shake the prickly sensation on the back of her neck. She built a fire in the fireplace and still couldn’t settle down. Deciding a good way to burn off nervous energy was by working, she pulled out her paint cans and tools. Having finished sanding and sealing the living room floor, she was ready to take the next step. She covered the furniture with drop cloths and proceeded to get busy. The warm beige color Jessica helped her pick out was exactly what she was looking for. It was going to enhance her cream-colored sofas and cherry wood furniture beautifully.

A couple of hours later, Todd knocked at the door and sent Brutus into yet another fit of barking. Rachel opened the curtain and looked to see who it was before she unlocked the door.

“Sorry I took so long,” he said as he bent down to kiss her fully on the lips. “Mike and I were going over the case file and we got the fingerprint report back from the lab.”

“Do you know who he is yet?” She asked hopefully.

“No matches so far. We’re sending the prints to Phoenix, they have a bigger database and it’s linked with the F.B.I. We should hear something in a day or two. That is, if this guy has a rap sheet.”

“Sounds fascinating,” she said.

“Are you patronizing me, Rachel?” he asked defensively.

“No. I was being quite serious. Being a writer, I am fascinated in the who’s, what’s, where’s, when’s, why’s and how’s. I’ve been considering a story involving cops, a missing necklace and an abandoned cabin in the woods.”

“Very funny. Who told you about the necklace? Was it Jessica?”

“It doesn’t matter who I found out from. What matters, is that it wasn’t from you.”

“I was trying to protect you. You were so scared the other night. I didn’t want you worrying about the chance of someone coming back.”

Itching for a fight without even knowing it, she snapped back at him, “Well, I think someone did come back. Brutus ran them off. I couldn’t see a face, just a figure all dressed in black. They ran off in the woods. I came inside, locked the door and started painting my living room. What do you think of the color?”

Todd stood there gaping. Grabbing her arms, he shook her. “Why didn’t you call me?” he demanded. “He could have hurt you and you want to know what I think about brown paint? What in the hell is wrong with you, woman?”

She glared at him. “So now you think you have to protect me from the boogey man? Is that it? What do you think you have to prove to me? Do you think I’m that shallow and insensitive? Maybe you don’t trust me. Is there a nagging little voice in the back of your mind that thinks I might have something to do with this? Or now I’m going to make you prove your masculinity to me before I sleep with you again. You want to know something? I found you physically attractive when we first met. The more I’ve come to know you, the more I see of the man you are inside.” Her voice softened, “I see a caring and compassionate man with strong family ties. I see a strong individual with a sense of pride. You have a low opinion of yourself if you don’t see the same.”