Rumble on the Bayou (24 page)

Squeezing her shoulder with one hand, he barely managed to say, "I can't hold back much longer."

She removed her mouth from him long enough to reply, "Then don't," and returned to her task, increasing the tempo with every stroke.

A couple of seconds later, the heat rushed through him, and he climaxed.

As soon as his muscles worked properly again, he reached down and drew her up to him, eager to bring her as much pleasure as she had given him. Not willing to be outdone, he ran his hands across her breasts, then down her stomach. As he moved his hand lower and lower, he felt her tense with anticipation. Before she could protest, he lifted her from the floor and laid her on the small bed. Kneeling in front of her, he grabbed her legs and pulled her toward him, kissing the inside of her thighs as he teased his way to her center.

She gasped at the first stroke of his tongue and he felt another wave of pleasure run through him. Determined not to be the only one with no staying power, he began to work Dorie with his tongue and fingers until her legs trembled. Increasing his speed and pressure slightly, he sent her over the edge, her soft moans enough to turn him on all over again.

He rose up from the floor and stood above her, the length of him already standing at attention. Dorie eyed him for a minute and smiled. "I guess we better do something about that."

It was the only invitation he needed. Lowering himself over her, he entered her slowly and gently. All the pent-up energy had been released with his first orgasm, so there was no hurry now, no need to rush. Now was the time to savor, to enjoy every inch of the woman beneath him.

Dorie wrapped her hands around his head. She threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled him in closer for a kiss. Long and slow, he kissed her, his tongue brushing hers with gentle strokes that matched their sexual rhythm. He felt her body tighten around him and knew she was getting close again. He grew harder with anticipation and knew it was time to send them both over the edge.

She moaned softly, then bit his lip, gently at first, then moving down to his neck, increasing pressure with every nibble. Her nails dug into his back, causing him to pump harder and faster. He rubbed the engorged nipple on one of her breasts, the pressure of her teeth on his neck and her nails pressing deep into his skin about to drive him mad with pleasure.

Her body tightened around him one last time, squeezing so tightly he cried out and buried his face in her neck. With one final thrust, they climaxed together. He gasped at the intensity of the orgasm, frozen in place as he felt her body contracting around him. Her hands slid from his back and dropped to her sides, her body limp, and he knew she was in the same place he was. Heaven.

They collapsed in a heap on the tiny bed, clean clothes scattered around them, never uttering a single word, and it was only a matter of minutes before they fell fast asleep.

***

A couple of hours later, Dorie woke from that sleep with a start. In the dim glow from the running lights of the boat, she could see the cabin was empty, but she heard a noise outside. Lightly placing one hand over Richard's mouth, she shook him. He awakened immediately and gave her a questioning look. She removed her hand and pointed to the side of the boat next to the pier. He nodded and they rose silently from the bed, threw on their clothes, and retrieved their weapons.

She pointed to a window on the opposite side of the boat and they crept out the window and around the cabin until they had a clear view of the other side. No one was there. They held in that pattern for about a minute, and Dorie strained her eyes to make out something, anything in the blackness, but couldn't detect movement at all.

A group of clouds began slowly making its way across the sky, allowing the moon to peek through. In the dim glow, she saw a clump of brush about fifty yards from the boat sway slowly in the still night air. She tapped Richard on the arm and pointed to the brush. This had to be their intruder.

They crept around the boat and stepped off onto the pier, trying to move as quietly as possible. Despite their best efforts, the pier still creaked as they walked. Dorie muttered under her breath, but couldn't really complain. Were it not for the creaking pier, someone would have been in her boat, and with the way they were sleeping, she wasn't sure either of them would have awakened in time to protect themselves.

Guns drawn, they made their way down the narrow path to the brush. The moon had disappeared behind the clouds again and it was only the thousands of times that she had walked this path that kept them on it, but when they arrived at their destination, the intruder was gone. Dorie scanned the area, then continued quickly up the path toward the road, with Richard following close behind. They were just a hundred yards or so from the road when they heard an engine start. She began to run, desperately hoping to catch a glimpse of the intruder or the vehicle he used, but the taillights were already fading in the distance by the time they reached the parking area.

Yanking her keys out of her pocket, she ran to her jeep, hoping she could catch him by car, but pulled up short when she discovered that every tire on her vehicle had been slashed. A glance at Richard's car told her it had suffered the same fate, and it looked like their prey had escaped again.

Frustrated beyond belief, she shoved her gun back in the waistband of her jeans and began the walk back to the boat in stony silence. This wasn't going as she'd expected and she was uncertain how to handle the situation. She didn't like being wrong, and she had been very wrong in her assumption that Roland wouldn't bother with her, especially at her home. Despite all her earlier protests, she couldn't think of anyone else who would creep around her boat in the middle of the night. Well, except Richard, but he was already there.

Still pondering their next move, she stepped onto the pier and her cabin cruiser exploded.

The blast threw her backward several feet and onto the ground, a shower of splintered wood and broken glass pummeling her. Covering her head with her arms, she rolled into a tiny ball, trying to protect the most vital organs and hoped Richard had done the same. He had been behind her on the path, but she hadn't felt him fall with her during the blast.

When the shower of debris stopped, she looked up and saw Richard struggling to his feet just a couple of feet away from her. "What the hell was that?" Dorie asked. "Don't tell me Roland's gun connections also dabble in explosives."

Richard slowly shook his head and stared at what was left of the boat. The entire back and middle was gone. Only a portion of the bow remained, stuck in an upright position deep in the bayou mud.

"Explosives are a new one. I've never heard anything about Roland using explosives." His voice shook slightly as he answered. "You sure you're all right?" He stepped close to her and put his arms around her.

She gave him a squeeze and pulled away. "Well, at the moment, I have exactly seven hundred dollars in my checking account and absolutely no assets left at all, but I suppose things could be worse." She cast one final forlorn look at her previous residence and sighed. "I don't suppose you have a phone in your car, do you?"

"Yeah," he said and fumbled in his pocket for the keys. "I guess we better call Joe, right?"

She nodded. "No one else to call, and the boat's not presenting a fire threat to anyone, what's left of it anyway."

They headed back up the path to the car. Richard sighed and she looked over at him. "Something wrong? Other than the obvious."

He shrugged. "I'm just wondering who's going to kill me first, Joe or your dad. This wasn't exactly what we had in mind when we decided I should come out here tonight."

Dorie stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him." We decided? And who exactly constitutes we?"

He fidgeted a bit and finally blurted out the answer. "Me, Joe and your dad. Joe and I called him after you left the station. He was plenty mad. My ears are still raw, and Joe, well, let's just say that your dad cut him no slack."

"Damn it! I ought to whip the entire lot of you. What part of I can take care of myself' are you people not understanding?"

He looked instantly contrite. "1 didn't mean to imply you couldn't take care of yourself. But I don't want to see you hurt and if anything were to hap pen to you, I'd blame myself. Roland is supposed to be my problem."

"Roland is society's problem," she shot back and started to continue her tirade but the pitiful expression on his face made her back off a little from her indignation with a resolved sigh. She wouldn't want to be in Richard's position either. The last thing anyone in law enforcement wanted to do was endanger the very people they were paid to protect. Shaking her head at the entire mess, she stomped over to Richard's car. He unlocked the car door, pulled out his cell phone, and handed it to her.

"Coward," she said and dialed Joe's number. There was no answer at his house, so she hung up and dialed his cell.

"No answer?"

"Not at his house. Of course, the sound from that explosion probably carried halfway to Lake Charles. Joe would have immediately assumed that it had something to do with me and is probably already on his way." The cell phone finally made a connection, and Joe answered with a yell that could probably be heard from fifty yards away. It took Dorie a minute to explain to Joe that he was speaking to her, not Richard, and there was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone before the sound of Joe's cell phone snapping shut echoed in her ear.

The fact that Joe was obviously too angry to speak and hadn't even asked if Richard was alive or dead let her know that he was probably going to kill them both when he got there-just to save Roland the trouble.

“
That went well," she said and handed the phone back to Richard. "You might want to think about drowning yourself, or making use of a firearm. Hell, at least rub some blood on your face. If you appear hurt, Joe will probably be less likely to kill you.”

He laughed at first, but when she didn't join in or even smile, he sobered a bit and went back to frowning. Dorie squinted, as she looked down the shell road trying to catch sight of headlights, but the tall, thick marsh grass blocked out any light whatsoever. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Richard swipe one bloody forearm across his head and she bit back a smile.

"What's taking him so long?" Richard asked.

"I don't know," Dorie replied. Even though she knew they hadn't been waiting long, she also knew that it felt like forever. Not happy standing around any longer, she was about to suggest they start walking and meet Joe on the road, when his truck squealed into the parking area throwing a shower of rocks and dust. Joe took his time getting out of the truck then strode purposefully toward them.

He only took a moment to ascertain their physical health then glared. "I ought to kill the both of you right here just to keep anyone from being accidentally hurt in the cross fire."

"I told you," Dorie muttered low enough so only Richard could hear.

Joe turned his glare specifically to Richard. "And some job you managed. I send you out here to protect her, and she still almost gets killed. How in the world did you miss someone rigging a bomb to her boat?" He looked back and forth between the two of them then held up one hand. "Never mind. I don't want to know."

"We were just sleeping, Joe," Dorie said. "Honest."

Richard nodded rapidly and held up one hand. "Scout's honor. We were just sleeping."

Joe narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, well, Dorie normally sleeps very lightly, like a cat. I've been to enough conferences with her to know what it takes to make her sleep soundly and since there wasn't enough time for her to consume that much beer, then it had to be the other."

Dorie gave Richard a guilty look and couldn't bring herself to look directly at Joe. "All right, Joe, you've made your point. I'll just have to step it up a notch."

Joe shook his head in disbelief. "You two are amazing, but your ridiculous lives have made me realize two things. One, when all of this is over, I'm taking a vacation-a long one."

"And the second?" Dorie asked.

"As soon as the cafe opens tomorrow," Joe said, "I'm asking Jenny out. Before it's too late to be asking. Working with you two is obviously not safe."

That said, he stalked back to his truck and climbed in the cab, slamming the door behind him. Richard gave Dorie a look of dismay. "This is going to be the longest five-mile ride of my life."

She took another look at Joe, the anger still clear on his face and nodded. “Maybe we ought to ride in the back. Give him a chance to cool off."

Richard nodded and seemed relieved. "Good idea," he said and climbed over the tailgate and into the back of the pickup. He extended one hand back for Dorie, and she grudgingly took it and hopped in the bed beside him.