In Too Deep (39 page)

Liz chuckled next to her. “It takes practice. Here.” She lifted a stranded noodle, inviting her to consume it.

Erin opened her mouth and Liz placed the tip of the noodle on her tongue. Slowly, she sucked the noodle in, wishing instead that she could suck on the fingers feeding her.

“Can I ask you something, Erin?” Liz lowered her hand, a thoughtful look on her face.

“Sure.”
Please ask me to eat you now.

“Earlier today when you asked me why I trusted you—well, I guess I’m wondering the same thing. Why do you trust me?”

Erin finished chewing, a little surprised by the question. She had no problem answering it truthfully. “Because you saved my life.”

Liz stared at her and then smiled, the answer obviously satisfying her. “Thank you for telling me.”

“You’re welcome.” Erin smiled in return. “By the way, this is really good,” she said, pointing to the food.

“Glad you like it.” Liz remained next to her, pulling her own cushion and bowl closer. “I seem to be fresh out of forks, so it looks like I’m going to have to feed you.” She grinned a devilish grin before picking up another bite for herself.

Erin laughed. “Next you’ll be telling me you’re fresh out of swimsuits again.”

“Now that you mention it…” Liz laughed again and pinched out another bite, offering it to Erin.

She took the mouthful seductively, lightly sucking on the sticks as they were eased from her mouth.

Liz stared, obviously affected. “Before I forget,” she said, “or better yet, before I get carried away and forget, what happened with Patricia that got you so upset? That is, if you don’t mind my asking.”

“No, it’s okay.” Erin answered softly. “They think I’m covering for you.”

“Covering for me how?”

“They think I’ve been conspiring with you all along,” Erin said. “Leading them away from you as a suspect.”

“They think that about one of their own?” Liz asked, her dislike for the Valle Luna Police Department and its male heads clear.

“Apparently so. I guess they want you so bad they’re willing to throw anyone in the pot with you.”

“My God. I’m sorry, Erin. I never should’ve asked you to keep quiet about Jay. They don’t know, do they?”

“Patricia didn’t say. But if they don’t know, they will eventually. Maybe not tomorrow or even next week. But I can’t see them letting this go any time soon. Someone will always be at it, and as long as they are, they will eventually discover your sister.”

“What happens to you when they do?”

“Lucky for me, I can simply claim that I didn’t remember.”

“No,” Liz said adamantly. “You shouldn’t lie. Not for me or anyone else. It was wrong of me to even ask. I love my sister, but I won’t see you go down for this. I’ll tell them everything.”

“Don’t.” Erin said, placing a hand on hers. “They’ll spin it any way they can to see that you’re punished to the full extent of the law. They hate you, Liz. They want to see you burn for these murders, one way or another. I couldn’t bear to see that happen. You didn’t kill those men, Jay did.”

Liz looked down at the hand resting on her own. “I should’ve stopped her as soon as I suspected it was her. I was just so afraid that I would lead the police right to her, and I wasn’t convinced she’d done it. It’s not like her to hurt people. She’s too damn afraid of people to hurt them. She’s so disturbed from what happened to her when we were kids.”

“What did happen to her?” Erin asked after a long pause.

Liz took several moments to form the words. Finally, looking steadily into Erin’s eyes, she said shakily, “She was kidnapped and then raped and tortured by a murderer when she was eleven.”

“Oh, my God,” Erin let out, truly horrified.

“Jay saved me that day. She told me to run. She let him take her instead of me.”

Stunned into silence, Erin watched Liz virtually crumble in front of her. The bond between the two sisters was still very in evidence, and the guilt Liz felt was obvious from the strain in her voice.

“You feel that you owe her,” Erin said calmly, truly feeling for her.

“Yes. She protected me and now I have to protect her. Even if…even if she killed. I have to get her help. No one will ever understand her like I do.” She lapsed into thought, then said, “I was willing to protect her at any cost to me or anyone else. But I won’t see you get hurt in this.”

“But she’s your sister. You hardly know me.”

Liz shook her head. “I do know you. I don’t know how it’s possible, but I do. And I would do anything to protect you as well.”

Erin was shaken by the words. She wanted to protect Liz too. And she would, as long as she could. “Liz, I can promise you this. I won’t say anything about Jay as long as she continues to live in peace. But if I suspect that she’s involved in more violence…I will have to tell.”

“I understand. I feel the same way. As soon as I get another update from my private detective, I’ll fill you in.”

With a deep sigh, Liz lifted Erin’s hand and placed a soft, warm kiss across her knuckles. “Now, let’s think about more pleasant things. You up for a swim?”

“That depends.” Images of their last pool encounter flooded her mind as well as her loins. Letting her raging libido give her confidence, she said, “Are you fresh out of swimsuits?”

“I am,” Liz responded in a deep voice laced with innuendo.

Erin tried not to shudder at the sight of Liz’s shirt moving against her breasts. “That’s too bad,” she countered.

“Is it?” Liz rose to her feet and unfastened the remaining buttons of her gray shirt.

Erin watched, completely mesmerized, as the last button was released, exposing a muscled abdomen and the promising spheres of rounded breasts.

Liz seemed to relish her delight in the striptease. “Your turn,” she said.

Erin looked down at herself. “No fair. I don’t have any buttons.”

“Well, that’s not good enough.”

Erin grinned. Bending over, she pulled off her boots one at a time and tossed them aside. Then she pulled off her socks and stood beaming at her dinner companion. “Your turn.”

Liz trailed her fingers down her exposed skin as she watched Erin study her. When she reached the waistline of her jeans, she unbuttoned them and inched them slowly down over her hips. The shirt she wore was rather long, covering her most intimate area, but not before Erin saw the lack of underwear.

As her face and body burned with pure desire, she continued to watch with voyeuristic delight. Liz pulled the jeans down past her ankles, tossed them across the room, and stood before her, nude, save for the smoky gray shirt seductively covering her erogenous zones.

Erin gulped at the sight but tried not to show how shook-up she really was. Instead, she gave a half grin and lowered her hands to inch up her shirt. She brought it up with agonizing slowness, watching Liz’s face as she went. She could see the bold desire in Liz’s eyes and she found that the exhibition was turning her on tenfold. Her skin felt unbelievably sensitive as the shirt, along with her fingers, maneuvered up and over her body. She let the shirt fall down next to her and stood before Liz, breathing heavily in her black lace bra.

Liz sucked in a quick, hot breath of air as she again was treated to the sight that had haunted her for weeks. She stepped closer, reaching out to grab hold of Erin’s jeans. “You’re behind. I think I need to help you catch up.”

She yanked Erin closer and unbuttoned her jeans. As she lowered the zipper, she watched Erin’s eyes flood with a darker shade of desire. With her own blood throbbing angrily between her legs, she pushed the denim down and off and took in black panties, a sculpted torso, and full breasts. Erin was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. No other woman could ever compare.

With slow deliberation, Liz drew open her own shirt. Their eyes locked and Erin reached up and ran her thumbs across the taut nipples, her fingertips rimming Liz’s aching breasts. Sensation shot through Liz like hot fingers, moving from her breasts and igniting her very core. Liz choked back a near cry of desperation as her shirt fell to the floor and she was exposed, more so than she had ever felt with anyone.

Erin eyed the beautifully carved body before her. She was unbelievably gorgeous. Near perfect in almost every way. From her sculpted face and high cheekbones, to her broad strong shoulders and arms, to her creamy rounded breasts with the dark rose centers and her exquisitely etched abdomen, right down to her long, strong legs. Of course, Erin thought as she ran a light hand down to the thin patch of dark hair between those legs, she had saved the most delectable morsel for last.

Liz shuddered once again and grabbed Erin’s hand, halting its pursuit to the nucleus of nerve endings. “Your turn,” she gasped out.

Erin stared at her lips, wanting so desperately to kiss them. She was unable to move, completely mesmerized.

Liz stepped ever closer and ran her hands up and down Erin’s sides, awakening her skin instantly. Shuddering, Erin and braced herself on Liz’s shoulders.

Liz felt her nostrils flare as she leaned in and inhaled the skin of Erin’s neck. She at once recognized the scent of her and clenched her legs together against the mounting pressure between them. Then, as she allowed the scent to swirl in her brain, she reached around and unhooked her bra, bringing it forward across her shoulders and then letting it fall as it freed her ample breasts.

“My God,” she breathed out before she even realized it. She looked into Erin’s burning green eyes as she touched the puckering dark honey nipples. “You are so beautiful.”

“Ah…” Erin clung to her wrists and moaned, her head tossed back. “If you don’t stop…” She caught her breath. “I’m going to come.” Every stroke against her nipple felt like a hot stroke between her legs. She couldn’t understand it, but it was happening. Almost like magic.

Liz growled in response, and with obvious reluctance she lifted her hands from Erin’s breasts. Erin tried to regain control of her breathing, but it was difficult. She could still feel the hot fingers playing on her nipples. As she breathed deeply, she focused on the fierce blue eyes and loosened her grip on Liz’s wrists, letting her hands once again fall to her sides.

Liz moved closer, this time resting her hands on the black lace panties. As she lowered herself to remove them, Erin stiffened. Hot breath struck her nipples and she nearly came on the spot.

“Oh God. I think you better leave the panties to me.”

“You that excited?” Liz looked up at her, an eyebrow raised.

“You have no idea,” Erin said huskily.

“I think I might.”

“If we’re going to make it to the pool, we better go now.” Erin was not sure if she could even walk.

Liz grinned and took her hand. “Let’s go, then.”

As they stepped outside, Erin realized she was nearly nude and instantly covered herself, afraid that someone would see.

Liz walked unabashedly to the pool ahead of her. “There’s no one around to see,” she offered as she dipped a foot in to test the water. “I don’t have any immediate neighbors. And if you’re worried about air voyeurs, the sun’s just about completely gone.”

Erin glanced to the west and saw the last finger of sunlight bidding the earth good night. She relaxed a little and dropped her arms, enjoying the feel of the warm night air on her aroused breasts. She watched as Liz descended into the pool, one step at a time, before diving in at the last step.

She surfaced in the luminous water, looking like she had just stepped out of a magazine. Erin watched as she ran her hands back over her wet black hair and looked up at her, eyes blazing nearly the same shade of blue as the pool.

“You coming?”

Erin laughed, thinking just how close she had been to doing just that moments before.
Christ, yes.
She slowly ran her hands down over her body until she reached her panties. Then, while holding Liz’s gaze, she carefully inched the panties down over her hips and thighs to her ankles. She stepped out of them and kicked them into the pool and dove in.

The water felt cool and refreshing. As she surfaced, she wiped her eyes and searched for Liz. She was gone. With the sunlight quickly descending into night, it was difficult to locate her right away. The lights in the pool changed color, and she could see no sign of her under the water. Just as she was about to turn to look behind her, she felt a warm body press against her back.

“I’m right here.” Liz breathed in her ear.

Erin gulped as hot hands ran up and down the sides of her body. She tried to turn, but Liz inched her hands up to her breasts, where she firmly grasped her nipples. Erin cried out as wonderfully erotic sensations flooded through her. Liz nibbled on her ear and then moved to her exposed neck, which she bit and sucked while pinching and rolling Erin’s nipples with her fingers.

“Oh, God. I’m going to come.” Erin squeezed her eyes shut, trying desperately to ignore the overwhelming flames burning in her nipples, burning between her legs.

“No,” Liz whispered, pulling away from Erin’s neck. “Not yet.” She let go of her nipples and turned her around. “I want so badly to take it slow with you, but I don’t think I can,” she confessed breathlessly.

“I don’t want you to take it slow. I want you so bad it hurts.” Erin cupped Liz’s face with her hands. “Kiss me,” she demanded, pulling her into her.