Part 4 (1/2)
”Gloria McBeth's parents deserve to look at their daughter's killer.”
”And I deserve a chance at a full life,” Erin drawled. Then she linked her hands through Seth's and Eddie's arms and pulled them, forcibly, from the room.
Seth's amus.e.m.e.nt at seeing the b.a.s.t.a.r.d lambasted quickly faded as his anger surged back to the fore. He followed Erin out of the office, his head still feeling rather rattled, anger churning in his gut. He wanted to storm back into the office and slam Colton against the wall and demand answers, and tell him he was keeping Erin safe and that was what mattered. But he still had that odd, m.u.f.fled feeling in his head, accompanied by a pain that increased with every step he took, and he kept hearing the echo of her voice.
Seth, don't let him make you angry. He's going to push, he's going to be ugly, nasty, a f.u.c.king coward and he's going to make it look like you could have saved Glori...
I need you.
I need you.
I need you.
I need you.
”Hey, man, you okay? You look kinda pale.”
Seth shook his head, pressed the heel of his hand to his temple and shook off the trance-like state that seemed to have fallen over him. Eddie was staring at him with worried eyes, while Erin continued on into her office.
f.u.c.k. The woman's made of ice, he thought when she didn't even spare him a glance while he tried to hold his splitting head together. Why in the f.u.c.k are you surprised she doesn't care that you're going crazy?
The pressure, the daze seemed to finally be receding as he stood leaning against the wall, eyes closed against the harsh fluorescent light. He was startled when he felt Erin's soft, cool fingers on his cheek. She pressed a canned soft drink into his hand as he stared into her unreadable eyes.
A mask.
Why did it always seem like there were two people living inside her skin? The cool, clinical cop who didn't give a d.a.m.n about anything or anybody, and the soft, s.e.xy, sweet woman he had fallen in love with...the one he had convinced himself didn't exist.
”Headache?” she asked levelly.
”Yeah.” He popped the top on the drink and downed it even though the headache, or whatever in the h.e.l.l it was, seemed to be nearly gone.
Who in the h.e.l.l are you, Erin?
She heard him, clear as day, as she walked back into her office. She was lucky enough to have claimed an office for her own, even though the tiny closet didn't exactly meet her definition of an office. But she had her own s.p.a.ce, and she could have quiet when she needed it. When Seth and Eddie crammed in behind her, taking up the two chairs she had managed to fit in with her desk and computer, there was no room left.
Seth dropped wearily into a chair, staring at her with dark eyes.
Who in the h.e.l.l are you, Erin?
She sighed, wearily, rubbing the curve of her neck absently before booting up her computer. ”Colton is going to see my b.u.t.t fired if I live through this,” she said grimly.
”You are going to live through this,” Seth said through gritted teeth.
Eddie didn't comment on that part, merely laughed and said, ”He won't dare fire Captain Vincent's daughter. Even if he outranks the Captain, he won't dare. s.h.i.+t, girl, half the city government is your blood kin.”
She smiled and sighed again. ”f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.d,” she said, too tired to even notice the surprise that flared on each man's face. ”Thinks I'll actually let myself come that close to being raped?”
They spoke briefly about the chief, then ran some reports. Seth took a list, Eddie took a list, and Erin took the rest, but they knew it was more for show than anything else. Their man wasn't on this list. They had to wait until he moved on Erin. She looked at the other files on her desk and said, ”I've got some other things I need to get done.”
They read the easy dismissal and Eddie trooped out, but Seth lingered in the doorway until she finally looked up at him, a faint line of irritation between her soft, tired eyes. He said gruffly, ”We need to talk.”
”We just spent the past several hours talking, Seth.”
”You and me.”
”Why? Seth-”
He came back in, closed the door behind him and dropped his file before he came behind the desk. Erin watched him with wide, startled eyes as he dropped to his knees in front of her and buried his wide-palmed, long-fingered hands in her hair, staring intently at her as he slowly lowered his mouth to hers.
Oh, h.e.l.l.
When she didn't pull away, his lips came down on hers with bruising, hungry force that took her breath away, his tongue driving inside her mouth. One hand tangled and fisted in her hair, holding her head still and steady while the other slid down her nape to her back. Bringing her to the edge of her chair and aligning her body to his, he spread her thighs and jerked her already wet, aching s.e.x into contact with his rigid c.o.c.k.
Erin whimpered low in her chest as he started to rock his body into hers, his free hand on her b.u.t.t, holding her tight against him as he ate at her mouth. He caught her tongue, sucking it greedily into his mouth and she sobbed when he bit down on it before tearing away and jerking her head back. Working his hot, avid mouth down her neck, down the vee neckline of her vest-top, he used one hand to open the b.u.t.tons.
He tore her bra open and Erin stared down at him as he caught one swollen, pink nipple in his mouth, sucking it with deep, hard draws, while he lifted his eyes to meet her gaze. One hand was still buried in her hair, holding tight, as he slowly trailed his other hand down across her abdomen. He pulled away from her nipple to stare into her eyes as he freed the b.u.t.ton on her trousers.
”Seth...” she whispered shakily.
”I can smell how hot you are,” he said softly as he slid his fingers inside her panties. He traced the hard, swollen bud of her c.l.i.t and groaned roughly in approval as she whimpered and rocked against his hand. ”You're already wet.”
He slid his hand lower and plunged one thick finger inside her. He shuddered as she closed tightly around him, fighting the slow invasion of his finger as he withdrew only to thrust it in again. ”Oh, baby, you're tight,” he murmured, leaning forward to catch the fleshy lobe of her ear in his mouth. ”How long has it been for you, Erin?”
She was silent, hardly able to think past the feel of him inside her, stretching her. He pulled out, pushed back in and Erin buried her face against his neck to stifle the low moan that fell from her lips.
He pulled her back, still using the grip he had on her hair, loving the soft, silky feel of it. He had loved seeing it spread out all over his pillow while they made love, loved feeling it on his thighs as she sucked on his c.o.c.k, loved feeling it on his chest while they slept. ”How long, Erin?” he asked, driving his finger back inside, and starting to circle his thumb around her c.l.i.t.
”Seth,” she wailed softly, pressing her forehead against his, riding his hand in near desperation.
”How long?” he persisted, adding a second finger. She squeezed tightly around him and he groaned. Should have locked the f.u.c.king door, Porter, he told himself. No. He didn't want his first time back with Erin to be in her office. ”How long has it been since your last lover?”
”Three years,” she whispered raggedly, her nails biting into his neck as she shuddered and s.h.i.+vered around him.
Three years. Son of a f.u.c.king b.i.t.c.h. He lowered his mouth to her ear, pushed his fingers deeper, more roughly inside her and loved it when she whimpered and bucked as he asked, ”Are you telling me you haven't been with anybody since me?”
”Yes...”
She could have cried when the heat of his body left hers. She was cold, empty, aching and confused. The distant mechanical snick only further confused her but then she felt his hands on her again and Erin could have wept. ”Hold on, honey,” he whispered. She shuddered, her body feeling too tight, too hot, too small as he slid her trousers and panties off. She felt the cold of her desk biting into her back and opened her mouth to cry out but his hand covered her mouth and he rasped into her ear, ”Shh, shh. Quiet, baby. Quiet.”
He took her hand and pressed it in place where his had been, pus.h.i.+ng it down until she realized what he wanted. All she wanted was his s.e.xy, talented mouth on her, or his hands and...what in the h.e.l.l was he doing?