Hot for You (16 page)

A cry ripped from her throat as she climaxed
again. Hot tears rolled down the sides of her face as her body
shook and trembled. It was all too intense, too much, and she could
barely hold onto reality. Her body vibrated as he continued to take
her, her core spasming around his cock. Every movement he made was
almost too much for her to bear.

She felt like her mind was floating away from
her body, everything was so incredible, so unbelievably powerful.
Spots flickered in front of her eyes and she wondered for a moment
if she was going to lose consciousness.

As she looked into his eyes, she worked to
reel her thoughts back in. His expression was fierce, like some
proud warrior. She would have thought he was angry if she didn’t
know better. It was like he was as on fire as she was, burning even
hotter and brighter.

He shouted her name as he moved in and out of
her several more times. She felt his cock throbbing inside her as
his climax took him to even greater heights. She could see
unmistakable pleasure in his eyes, pleasure that bordered on the
verge of pain. She knew how he felt because it had been the same
for her.

His body shuddered and then he collapsed
against her. He barely held all of his weight off of her. His
thick, muscular body was hot and slick against hers. She wriggled
beneath him, loving the feel of his cock still inside her and the
heat of his body.

He brought his mouth to hers and kissed her
hard before moving off of her. He brought her into his arms,
holding her close. “I’m never letting you go,” he murmured.

Despite the promise in his words and her own
misgivings, she snuggled against him, feeling as if in that moment
they had become one. He stroked her hair away from her face and
rested his chin on top of her head. She gave a happy little sigh
and drifted off to sleep in his arms.

***

Nathan scowled as he stared at his computer,
not really seeing the screen as his thoughts raced. At the bar
Carilyn Thompson had rejected him, just like every one of the other
three women. Who did Carilyn think she was, anyway? God’s gift to
men?

That Cody McBride was a real problem. Not
only was he in the way with Carilyn, but he was working to catch
the arsonist…and what if he was close?

Nathan needed to take care of McBride before
he got too close. Nathan had made sure the first arson investigator
had been injured severely enough that he’d been forced off the job.
Nathan would have to more than hurt McBride to get him out of the
way.

He could arrange for McBride to die. That
would fix everything.

Nathan’s stomach felt queasy as he thought
about Janice’s body. His first kill.

Killing Janice had been easier than he’d
thought. Would McBride be just as easy? All Nathan had to do was
make sure McBride was in the right place at the right time—meaning
right for Nathan, wrong for McBride.

He thought about sending another email to
Carilyn. He could send something that would really unnerve her. But
should he hold back, lulling her into a false sense of security? As
much as he wanted to torch them all, biding his time might be the
best thing he could do for now.

With an angry brush of his hand, he pushed
his hair out of his eyes and stood so fast that he knocked his
chair over. It hit the floor with a hard thump. He held still for a
moment, hoping that old hag, Mrs. Richter, hadn’t heard. He
couldn’t afford drawing attention to himself and she took every
opportunity to stick her long nose into his business.

Maybe he should kill the witch. He gave a
smirk at the thought of lighting that bag of bones on fire. If it
weren’t for the fact that it would mean losing his own home, he’d
burn up her place too. Of course he also couldn’t afford to kill
her because the police would likely be banging on his door while
searching for the hag if she turned up missing.

It surprised him how easily he was thinking
about killing now. It was a line he hadn’t known he could ever
cross… But now that he had, it would be easier to do it again.

Nathan’s cell phone rang, jolting him out of
his thoughts. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the
screen. Of course it was his mother. No one else called him.

“Hi, Ma.” He tried to inject a little
enthusiasm in his voice, but it wasn’t easy. With her health
failing, it tore at him every time he talked with her. Even after
all she’d done, he still loved her. “How are you doing?”

“Not so good.” Aggie sounded sour. “Why
haven’t you come to see me?”

“I will, Ma,” he said. “Soon, I promise.”

Her tone was sharp. “You haven’t bothered to
come here for a while. You don’t give a damn about me.”

“I love you, Ma,” he hurried to say. “It’s
only been two weeks.”

“Only two weeks?” The shrillness of her
response made him wince.

“I’m sorry.” He knew better than to make
excuses and he knew better than to stay away so long. He just hated
to see her looking so sickly and he hated visiting the rest home
with all the sick old people in it. “I’ll be there this weekend. I
promise.”

“What did I do to deserve a boy who doesn’t
care about his own mother?” She grew even shriller.

A sick feeling settled in his belly. “I love
you, Ma,” he said again. “I’ll see you Saturday.”

“I don’t feel so well.” Now she sounded
pathetic, as if the energy she’d expended yelling at him had
weakened her. “I need to lie down.”

“I’ll see you in a few days,” he said before
she hung up.

Heart heavy, Nathan headed to the table where
his scrapbook was open with his latest find front and center, and
he pushed away thoughts of his mother.

It had been a risk, but he’d gone back to
Leigh’s house to get the picture of Carilyn with Leigh and some
other slut. He’d grabbed it on his first trip there but had set it
down and forgot to take it with him until he was already home, but
he hadn’t dared to go back right away. He ran his finger along the
edge of the picture as he wondered if Carilyn had noticed the photo
was missing when she went back.

He glanced at a TV monitor next to his
computer. He had mounted a camera across the street from Leigh’s
house, on a neighbor’s home, aimed at Leigh’s front door. Carilyn
had finally shown up again today…unfortunately it had been with
McBride.

He’d thought of booby-trapping the house to
go up in flames if anyone came back, but that wasn’t personal
enough. No, he planned on having some one-on-one time with
Carilyn.

Perverse pleasure had him flipping through
the pages of his scrapbook again. He found the page with the
picture of Janice just moments before he had fried her. He liked
seeing her tied up, fear in her eyes while he set the Barbie beside
her. At that moment he hadn’t intended on killing her, but it had
happened and he couldn’t say he was sorry.

It was almost a shame no one would ever see
the scrapbook. It was filled with so much detail that he felt a
lump of pride in his throat every time he looked at it. Each step
he’d taken was well-documented. He loved looking over the details
of his triumphs and reliving every precious moment.

With each page he flipped through, his smile
broadened. The beauty of the fires he had set was enough to bring
tears to his eyes. In each photo, he could almost see the lovely
orange and blue flames dancing, hear the crackle and hiss as the
fire burned, feel the caressing heat, and smell the acrid odor of
the smoke. Beautiful.

He reached Carilyn’s section. In the photos,
her hair looked like flame against her pale skin. In one image she
was watching her car as it burned. The look of shock on her face
made her somehow even more beautiful to him.

In contrast, the photo with her, Leigh, and
the other woman showed a happy Carilyn with laughter in her eyes.
What had she been thinking when that picture had been taken? About
some dick boyfriend?

He scowled. He couldn’t wait to teach her a
lesson when he had her all to himself.

When he got to watch her burn.

***

“I had no idea that Arizona has a wine
country,” Carilyn said to Cody as he helped her into the wine tour
company’s black Excursion SUV limousine in front of the
Hummingbird. She had never been in an SUV limo before, and she was
amazed at how large an interior it had and how luxurious the
butter-soft leather seating was.

“There are vineyards and wineries across the
state.” Cody settled into the seat next to her as the limo driver
closed the door behind him. “I thought you might enjoy a tour of
our wine country.”

“I’m sure I will.” She smiled as she opened
the brochure the driver had given her. “This says, ‘according to
the
Wall Street Journal,
the Verde Valley is an emerging
hotspot vying for Napa-like status.’”

“It’s been some time since I’ve been on one
of these tours.” Cody glanced out of the window as the limo started
to move. “The last time I went was a few years ago with a
good-sized group.”

“This is my first time on any wine tour,”
Carilyn said. “Do we have this huge limo all to ourselves?”

“I know the owner.” He shifted in his seat
and grinned. “Let’s just say she gave me a great deal.”

It was the day after Cody had worked another
forty-eight hour shift. They had just eaten an early brunch at the
Hummingbird in anticipation of a day touring the wine country.

Cody put his arm around her shoulders and she
snuggled next to him before tipping her face up to look at him. He
kissed her, soft and sweet and when he drew back he smiled.

Ever since the night they’d spent together in
each other’s arms, their relationship had changed. At first Carilyn
had been concerned about starting a relationship with Cody, after
all, she lived so far away. Now, she still was concerned, but she’d
decided to enjoy their time together and not worry about a little
something like distance.

A part of her felt that wasn’t fair to either
one of them, but she couldn’t get herself to put a halt to it. She
was attracted to him far too much.

While she relaxed against Cody, she watched
as the scenery sped by. It wasn’t long before they reached Old Town
Cottonwood and the first winery. It was a quaint town and the
winery was exclusive with a tasting room that was furnished in rich
woods and soft leather.

Carilyn was glad she’d worn something
tasteful yet casual, and she felt comfortable around other guests
at the winery. As much as she’d traveled, she’d never become a fine
wine connoisseur.

Cody taught her to swirl her wine in the
glass to aerate the wine’s myriad aromas and to inhale deeply
before taking a sip. She then swirled the wine in her mouth to pick
up different flavor and texture combinations.

She learned to select the lighter wines
first, before heavier and bolder wines, saving sweet wines for
last. She admitted to Cody that her favorite wines were the sweeter
ones. Wine tasting etiquette allowed for either swallowing the wine
after tasting or spitting it into a spittoon. If she drank too much
while tasting the wines, she would end up without a clear head, so
she tended to swallow only her favorites of those she tasted.

In between each wine she sampled different
kinds of cheeses and crackers, two of her favorite kinds of
food.

After visiting the first two wineries, it was
time for lunch. They were provided a picnic lunch to enjoy on a
deck overlooking Oak Creek. The artisan sandwiches were delicious
and she enjoyed the cool air and the smell of the trees, along with
Cody’s great company.

When they were finished with lunch, the limo
driver took them to Page Springs where they stopped at two more
wineries. While they traveled between wineries, they talked about
their day-to-day lives before they had met. Because she worked out
of her home, her days could be lonely, so she did what she could to
get out of the house. Still, she didn’t really get out enough.
Cody’s quiet time tended to be when he was on the ranch, away from
town and the fire department.

That evening, the limo rolled into Prescott,
taking them back to the Hummingbird. It had been an amazing day and
Carilyn hadn’t felt that happy in a long time. She’d enjoyed every
moment she’d spent with Cody during the day, and looked forward to
being with him alone at his home when they returned.

After they stepped out of the limo, Cody
turned to tip the driver. Carilyn stood on the sidewalk, a breeze
stirring the loose tendrils of her hair around her face. She
absently brushed strands out of her eyes but went still when a
prickle traveled down her spine.

Someone was watching her.

She whirled and looked behind her. No one
anywhere in sight. Feeling unnerved, she searched her surroundings
with her gaze but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Two women walked
out of an antique shop, chatting animatedly while someone turned
the “Open” sign to “Closed” behind them.

In the distance she noticed a man striding
down the street, his back to her. She hadn’t seen him until this
moment, but something about him seemed familiar, like she’d seen
him someplace before. She knew very few people in Prescott,
including some of Cody’s relatives and the firefighters she’d met
when her car burned up and at the fire station.

Even though she was seeing the man from his
backside, this guy seemed to have a different bearing, a different
walk, than anyone she’d met—that she could remember. He was hunched
over, his hands shoved into his pockets.

She moved her gaze away from the retreating
man and searched the street for a sign of anyone else. No one.

A hand gripped her upper arm and she
startled. She looked to see Cody as he smiled and slid his arm
around her shoulders. “Ready to go back to the ranch,
sunshine?”