Part 9 (1/2)

Ethan placed his hand on the smooth skin of her forearm. ”You kept your word to her. You shouldn't feel guilty for that. You did what you could.”

”No, I didn't,” she said, her voice tight. ”The last time I talked to her I blew her off. She talked about wanting to get away, how her mom was a mess and her dad expected her to be perfect all the time. I told her she just needed to stick it out, she'd be off to college soon enough, blah, blah, blah.” She took a sip of beer and let out a disgusted sigh.

”Good advice.”

She shook her head and s.n.a.t.c.hed her arm out from under his hand. ”No-lame, parental, smile-and-nod advice. She needed someone to listen to her and I wasn't listening. And now she's gone, and I'm not going to just leave her out there like-”

She cut herself off, s.h.i.+fted her gaze away, and started to get off the couch.

”Like what?”

She sighed and closed her eyes, as though carefully weighing her response. ”When I was seventeen, my sister Mich.e.l.le ran away. We found her three months later. She'd been raped and strangled. She was fifteen.”

Her tone was even, careful to conceal any hint of emotion. Still, the blunt words. .h.i.t Ethan like a blow. ”That must have been awful for you. I'm sorry,” he said, his words sounding incredibly lame as they left his mouth.

”After my parents got divorced, she got into all kinds of trouble. You name it, she did it-drugs, s.e.x, everything. I ignored her, kept my head down and focused on being the smart kid who didn't cause any trouble.”

He could easily imagine her, dark-haired and somber, trying to keep her world together as everyone around her fell apart. He could relate.

”I'm sure Kara's fine.”

”Yeah, that's what they said about Mich.e.l.le. 'She's run away several times, ma'am. She'll come back when she's ready, ma'am.' And we were so tired of dealing with her by then we didn't even bother looking for her.”

”Toni, you were just a kid yourself-”

”I was her big sister. I should have looked after her.”

He set his beer down and slid his arms around her shoulders. She stiffened slightly but didn't move away. ”Kara's not like your sister. She's not-”

”Not a drug-addicted juvenile delinquent? Maybe not yet, but she's not exactly trending in the right direction.”

”Yeah, I know, but she's never run away before, and she's only been missing for two days. Even if she's with Toby, she's probably fine.” He felt like a broken record, but he wanted to ease the guilt and pain shadowing her eyes.

She looked up at him, her mouth pulled tight with strain, eyes dark and troubled. A heartbeat pa.s.sed. Two. In his efforts to comfort her he'd gotten closer, close enough that her thigh was pressed against his. Close enough to smell the sweet woman-scent of her skin.

His hand slid from her shoulder to her neck. His fingers slid up, tangling in silky black hair as his thumb brushed back and forth over the creamy skin of her throat.

The itchy, tight-skinned feeling was getting worse as every cell went on high alert, every nerve screaming at him to cover her mouth with his own, slide his tongue between those plump, rosy lips, kiss away the sadness and guilt.

Not the time or the place, Taggart. But his body was beyond listening. What the f.u.c.k was wrong with him? He never had a problem shutting down his libido. Sure, his brothers liked to tease him about being overs.e.xed, but truth was he was always in control.

Until now.

Her eyes widened behind the lenses of her gla.s.ses as he leaned forward, but she didn't try to move away or avoid his mouth as it came down and covered hers. His palm spread against her back and he pulled her close like he'd been dying to do since he'd first seen her in Jerry's kitchen.

Her hands came up, curling over his shoulders, resting there, as if she wasn't quite sure what to do.

He figured he'd give her a little hint, and slid his tongue into her mouth for a taste. She was hot and salty-sweet. A shaky breath spilled into his mouth and her lips parted wider, sucking him inside as she leaned in to the kiss, as eager for it as he. For all that she'd been throwing up a brick wall, there was no doubt she was feeling the same insane chemistry he was. Her hands clutched at his back, twisting the fabric of his s.h.i.+rt, and the hungry little sounds she was making in the back of her throat were driving him insane.

What had started as a comforting gesture quickly spun out of control. Any thoughts of work, of the case, flew out the window as the taste and feel and smell of her coursed through his veins. Ethan cupped his hand around the back of her head, holding her in place as his mouth moved greedily over hers. Tongues tangling, lips sucking. Ethan tried to remember the last time he'd gotten hard as a spike from just a kiss, and couldn't.

His free hand slid down the front of her s.h.i.+rt, closing over the soft weight of her breast. Her nipple was bullet hard, pus.h.i.+ng eagerly against his palm, and he tasted her startled gasp when he pinched it gently through the stretchy fabric. A gasp turned into a whimper as his fingers plucked and teased the hard tip, until her back was arching away from the couch as she sought closer contact.

His lips slid from her mouth, across her jaw, and down the length of her neck. Her skin was salty with sweat and arousal, the smell of her subtle perfume growing heavier in the sultry air of the summer night. His hand slid down one side of her waist, catching the hem of her T-s.h.i.+rt in his fingers on the way back up. He heard something rip as he tugged her s.h.i.+rt up over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and he cautioned himself to slow down. But sometime between meeting her yesterday and right this second, the skilled, always-in-control lover Ethan prided himself on being had disappeared.

Taking his place was a l.u.s.t-crazed, out-of-control hedonist who wanted nothing more than to tear off Toni's panties, shove his c.o.c.k in her as deep as he could get, pumping and thrusting until he came so hard he couldn't move. He tugged her s.h.i.+rt up over her head and flung it somewhere over the back of the couch.

He paused for a moment to enjoy the view and nearly came in his pants at the sight that greeted him. Toni was half reclining against the cus.h.i.+ons of the couch, clad in tight jeans, and nothing on top but a creamy satin-and-lace bra that barely covered even creamier skin.

He tugged the cups down and covered her left breast in his hand, the plump, succulent flesh looking all the more delicious contrasted against his big, tanned hands. Her nipple was a rosy-pink, tight little bud peeking over his fingers, making his mouth water as he antic.i.p.ated sucking it hard between his lips.

He'd been with more-well-endowed women over the years, but hands down, Toni Crawford had the prettiest t.i.ts he'd ever seen. Creamy white with tight, pink nipples that begged to be sucked. His breath exhaled on a groan as he bent down for a taste, meaning to tease her with his tongue, but instead losing all technique and finesse as he sucked her hard into his mouth. Her fingers twisted into his hair, and the little shock of pain was enough to make his c.o.c.k harden another inch.

He shoved her back onto the couch and used his knees to spread her legs, and even through her jeans he could feel her heat as his stomach pressed against the sweet spot between her thighs. The smell of perfume and aroused woman filled his head. He wanted to move his hands and his mouth lower so he could explore the blossoming heat at her core. But he couldn't get enough of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He sucked greedily at one while his hand played with the other, stroking the smooth skin, pinching the tight tip in his fingers.

Toni's breath was coming in short, hot pants, her hips lifting and grinding against him. Ethan adjusted himself until his fly was perfectly aligned with her s.e.x. The heat of her seared through the fabric barrier of his trousers as he began a slow, circling counterrhythm guaranteed to drive them both insane. He closed his eyes, savoring the taste and feel of her nipples against his tongue, the sound of her breathy gasps as he rubbed his c.o.c.k against her, bringing her closer and closer to the edge. Her legs trembled faintly against his, her fingers gripped at the muscles of his a.s.s.

G.o.d, she was hot, purely responsive, with no pretense or calculated moves. He could feel her body stiffening, every sinew going tight in preparation for the impending explosion. When she came, it was going to be so hard, so good. And when she came down off that high he was going to strip off their clothes and start the process all over again.

A shrill noise cut through the sounds of heavy breathing and smacking lips, accompanied by a vibrating sensation next to his b.a.l.l.s. Ethan jumped like a cat and tumbled to the floor, groping at his pants as his s.e.x-fogged brain realized that both the noise and the vibration were coming from his pocket.

He pulled out his BlackBerry, recognizing Kramer's number as Toni pushed herself upright and pulled her bra cups back into place. She stared at him, dazed, as though she wasn't sure where she was or what she was doing.

”Ethan Taggart,” he answered the phone, his voice only moderately more raspy than usual. He glanced up at Toni, silently cursing at Kramer's unbelievably s.h.i.+tty timing. Her face was flushed pink, her pulse still thrummed in her throat. Her lips were swollen and parted as her breath came out in shaky gasps, and all Ethan wanted to do was throw the G.o.dd.a.m.n phone across the room and relieve the s.e.xual frustration coursing through both their bodies.

But duty called. ”Got your message,” Kramer said curtly. ”You're sure she's in Vegas?”

Ethan stood up and turned his back on Toni, to give her a chance to compose herself and also because the sight of her, clothes half off and primed for one of the biggest female o.r.g.a.s.ms of the century, was playing way too much havoc with his concentration. ”It's the best lead we have so far. I was about to follow up with the detective a.s.signed to Kara's case when you called.” It was only a partial lie. But he didn't think Jerry would appreciate the truth that Ethan was going to get back on the case only after he'd f.u.c.ked Toni every which way he could think of.

Which was messed up. Ethan had never let s.e.x interfere with work and he wasn't about to start now. As much as his aching c.o.c.k would argue differently, Kramer's call was a blessing. He didn't want to do Toni in some fast, furtive f.u.c.k on her couch. He wanted the time and the room to explore her at his leisure and find out what she liked. There would be time enough after they brought Kara home to explore chemistry that snapped, crackled, and popped every time he was in the same room with her.

”I don't want to leave it to the police or anyone else. You go to Vegas. You get her back.”

Ethan stifled a sigh and took a look at his watch. It was already after ten. If he moved fast, he could be in Vegas by one a.m. ”I'll call you when I get there,” he said and hung up.

Toni hurried by, T-s.h.i.+rt clutched to her chest. He heard a door close behind him and water running as he willed his c.o.c.k back into a semirelaxed state. What a f.u.c.ked-up night. Two minutes ago, he was on his way to spending several hot, sweaty hours with a woman he wasn't even sure liked him, and now he was flying to Vegas.

The fan hummed, stirring the hot air of the apartment. Ethan could detect the faint aroma of s.e.x breezing by on its way out the window. Desire twisted in his belly, and despite all of his rationalizations, he wondered if he could possibly talk Toni into a quickie up against the wall before he had to go.

She emerged from the bathroom, s.h.i.+rt tucked tightly into her jeans, hair brushed into a sleek curtain. And judging from the grim set of her mouth and her tightly folded arms, h.e.l.l would freeze over before she indulged in his up against-the-wall fantasy.

The wall was back in place, every brick cemented tight as she brushed past him to go to the kitchen.

”That was Jerry,” he said. ”He wants me to go to Vegas tonight.”

Her head whipped around. ”You're going tonight?”

”As soon as I get the plane ready.”

Her eyes widened behind her gla.s.ses. ”You have a plane.”