Shot in the Dark (12 page)

Luci climbed up the pool’s ladder and walked the short distance to meet him. His gaze dropped to her breasts.

“God, you’re so damn beautiful,” he muttered, closing in and taking the pink tip of her nipple between his lips. Luci arched against him as he made quick work of the bikini ties over her hips, and tossed the bottoms free.

He guided her to sit at the pool’s edge. Her eyes were half-hooded and sexy as she watched his every step. He dove in and swam until he stood waist deep before her.

Leaning back on her elbows, Luci was by far the most amazing sight Dev had ever seen in his life. He widened her feet until he could see the blonde curls glisten at her apex of her legs.

Dev slowly traced his fingers up her inner thigh, feeling a shudder through her body as he dipped his head. Sliding a finger inside her, he licked a slow swipe with his tongue.

Luci’s body, now hot and dry from the afternoon heat, arched and attempted to move closer. He knew she was about to have an orgasm, and the strokes from his tongue were torture. But watching her was torture for him too. If it wasn’t for the cool water around his shaft, he would have already come.

His breath feathered the curls between her legs as he broke contact and kissed a heated path up her stomach, breast and then to her mouth.

Pulling her to the pool’s edge, Dev tore open the foil package and sheathed himself. The buoyancy of the water helped keep his balance despite his bad leg. His cock grew insistent between them, as her hands roved the skin of his shoulders and over his biceps. He wanted her so much his own legs trembled.

“Make love to me,” she whispered, melting his heart. It was the only thing he wanted to do… now, and for the rest of his life.

Chapter Twelve

Luci looked at Devan standing between her legs. His thick hair shone like polished obsidian in the harsh sun. Water trailed in tiny rivulets down his chiseled chest.

He eased the crown of his cock into her, his face tight. He swore quietly under his breath, she was sure from fighting the same overwhelming sensations she experienced now they were joined. She wanted it to last, but she was so close. Her inner muscles tightened as he drove the full length.

Hypersensitive from his mouth and the hardness inside her, Luci felt her coiling climax teeter on the edge.
Luci barely noticed the splash of water on her legs as he crushed against her, again and again.

Devan dropped his mouth centimeters from hers. Each time he drove deeper, he drew a harsh breath. Moving her hips she wrapped her ankles in the dip of his spine, and forced him to make shorter, harder strokes. His erection was large; reaching hidden places deep inside her she didn’t know existed.

Luci let herself be pulled under by the sensation, as he found the pace to push her over the edge. Coming so violently in a mindless pleasure, she cried out. White hot heat spiraled from the top of her head to her toes, as a deep shudder pulsed through her.

His hands went to her thighs, holding her tightly as he drove home. A blur of sensation swamped Luci as she crested another peak, feeling Devan wedge against her core. With a long groan, he shuddered his own release.

Sweat glistened on his forehead as he dropped, half sprawling over her body.

He smiled against her shoulder. “That concludes our swim lesson for today. If you would please fill out the comment card regarding your instructor’s techniques on the way out, it would be appreciated.”

Luci kissed him above the ear. She couldn’t remember ever being this happy. How had this adorable, silly man fallen her direction? All the nights he’d sat in his car at the espresso bar and they had deep discussions, she’d known he was smart, but from the glower he usually wore, she’d assumed he was sullen and moody. That wasn’t the real Devan.

In the past she’d never had this kind of luck with men. But Devan had only been with her a few days. He’d never made a promise of anything more. Wrapping her arms around the expanse of his broad rib cage, Luci wished they could stay forever in each other’s arms, naked and happy. But she knew it wasn’t a good time for her to commit to a relationship.

Devan peeled himself off her prone body, took a step back, and wiggled his foot. “Hey, I think you may have found a miracle cure. The muscles in my foot aren’t nearly as numb as they’ve been.”

Pulling up on her elbows, she said, “I think it was probably the chiropractic adjustment, not having sex with me.”

“Let’s find out.” He pulled himself out of the pool.

Luci squealed and crab walked backwards, thinking he looked like a golden lion stalking his prey. Following her backwards, he moved onto the grass under the shade of a tree.

Stretching out beside her, he ran a finger up her bare stomach. His brows furrowed in thought. “I’m not trying to convince you to ask me over to spend the night, but I’m concerned about leaving you home alone.”

“Devan.” She clasped his hand in hers. “You can’t be with me around the clock. You’re a detective, and I know you have more to do than babysit me.”

He blew out a snort. “Now that I’m on desk duty, there’s always more
paper
work to do. Just when you get one file cleared up, there’s a dozen more like it waiting in the in-box. They’re like giant puzzle pieces, trying to stay focused and remember which facts belong with which case file.”

“I know how you feel. My acupuncture and anatomy classes are becoming increasingly difficult. There are so many nerves and muscles in the human body!” Luci exclaimed with a sigh.

Devan placed a damp finger into her belly button and drew it across her flat stomach. “What’s this muscle?”

“Linea alba.”

His touch dipped into the dent of her collarbone.

“Trapezius.” She rolled to face him and grinned. “If I pass your anatomy lesson, am I going to get dinner?”

“Oh yeah… dinner, and
dessert
. For some reason I’m suddenly starving. There’s a great Thai place close by. I’ll grab some take-out and then I’ll be right back.” He paused as he stood. “Will you be all right here by yourself, or do you want to come with me?”

Luci stretched out her naked body, loving the way his eyes turned a shade of brown somewhere between rich coffee and cocoa.  “I’ll be right here.” She ran fingers up her bare leg and around the tip of her breast and shot him a sexy smile.

Dev rolled his eyes and groaned. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. If it takes longer than that, I’ll go back into the kitchen and prepare the food myself.”

He looked out into the pool and toward his swim shorts floating in the deep end. Shaking his head, he reached for a towel.

As he walked towards the house he turned and then said, “Don’t move.” He looked her up and down. “
Really
… don’t move.”

Over the high fence, Luci heard the sound of Devan revving the engine of his car. She looked around for her bag and pulled on her clothes. Even though it was against Devan’s wishes, she wasn’t going to sit around naked. It was bad enough she’d just let a man make crazy-love to her in a stranger’s pool. This wasn’t like her at all.

Having men ogle her had always been one of the obstacles to working at the espresso bar. At first she couldn’t help but think of her stepfather. But she’d thought it was a safe place to work… until the other night.

She would have been a mess if Devan hadn’t been with her almost every waking minute. She shouldn’t rely on him so much; he might not be there tomorrow. Luci had been the one who’d cared for Jon; she wasn’t use to needing someone. But she did need someone, and Devan had been there.

Her attacker’s face swam into her memory. She yanked on the hooded sweatshirt. What did she remember about that night? It was difficult, but if she could remember anything, it might help keep the robber from victimizing others. Luci owed it to those women, and she owed it to herself.

Pulling a pad of paper and a pencil from her backpack, she began to sketch.

The sound of Devan banging through the sliding door startled her. She’d been focused on drawing, and lost track of how long he’d been gone.

He caught the look on her face and his gaze grew concerned. He set the white plastic bags on the glass table and came toward her. “What’s the matter?” he asked.

Luci lifted the pencil and handed the pad to him. “It’s still hard for me to remember my attacker’s face, but I think I remember the tattoo pattern on his forearm. I thought it would help your investigation if I could make a sketch of it.”

Devan took the drawing from her hand and glanced at it. “You’ve remembered the details well.”

“Thanks.” She gave him a weak smile and bent her knees to rest her head on them. “I hate thinking about it.”

“I’m on duty tomorrow morning. I’ll run a trace. I’ll also see if there were any similar descriptions of tattoos in the other robberies.”

“I hope there’s food in there.” Luci motioned to the bags on the table. “Did you have to cook it yourself?”

“Lucky for you, no.” A smile lit his handsome face. “I told them I had tickets to a ballgame, so I was on a time frame. I knew that information alone wouldn’t get them moving any faster, but the extra twenty I threw in had them hit the ten minute mark. It was amazing. They were so speedy I barely saw their hands move.”

Luci rose to her feet and pulled a white take-out carton from the bag. “You can’t be
that
bad of a cook,” she commented.

“When I was forced to cook at my shared apartment in college, I think I killed off a few roommates. Seriously, you think I’m joking about living on peanut butter crackers from the vending machine at the station?” He weeded out a pair of chopsticks from the bag and broke them apart, handing her a pair.

“Your body is a whole machine. You need to put the things in it that you expect to get out of it.”

Devan grinned, as he sat in a patch of grass and opened the lid of the box in this hand. “You’re such a tree hugger.”

“That’s what I am. Love it or leave it.” She watched his gaze flicker to hers, wishing she’d worded her last sentence differently.

He shoved a wad of noodles and vegetables into his mouth. “I better start eating healthy if I want to keep up with you. Another round like we had in the pool, and I’ll be down for the count. I think my legs are still numb.”

She raised an eyebrow in question. “Is your leg hurting now?”

“My leg always hurts, but it’s not bad. That’s not what I meant.” He scooted closer, holding a bite for her to take from his chopsticks, and then watched her lips for a long moment. “I came so hard, I thought I was going to black out.”

“
Oh
.” Luci’s cheeks flushed from his blunt statement. She met his eyes. “I don’t have a lot of experience with sex. I haven’t been with many men. But I’ve never felt like I do when I’m with you.”

His eyes grew dark. “You’re a sweet girl, Luci. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Sweet?
Like a candy bar? Cute like a puppy?
God.
She should have kept her mouth shut and enjoyed the evening for what she thought it would hold. Amazing sex. That was enough, wasn’t it?

She’d learned from her mother that sex could be used as a weapon. If you exposed your feelings they could be turned to hurt you. Luci wasn’t used to having sex, especially as great as the encounters with Devan. He’d made her feel like she was special, powerful and sexy. But their time together meant more to her than it did to him.

Sweet, innocent Luci, that was her. The dummy who was attacked because she stupidly opened the back door without thinking. Devan would take care of her until the next case came along, then some other innocent woman would need his protection and he’d be gone like a vapor trail.

Devan watered the plants around the backyard and then locked up the house. Luci tried to keep him engaged in conversation, but she could tell he was thinking of other things.

Probably how he’s going to let me down easy when he drops me off and says goodbye for the last time.
The thought brought a sudden ache in her chest.

****

Ivan slid under the trees through the dark shadows of the house. As he checked the numbers on the house, a cool chill ran through his veins.

Twisting his large knuckles into a fist, he smiled. He’d never taken his robberies in this country to this next level, though now, he wasn’t sure why he’d waited so long.

He’d looked up the woman’s address and saw an overhead shot of the street where she lives on the Internet… it gave him a huge rush.

Now he was here, outside the house where the pretty blonde barista lived. If she was home, it would be easy. But if she wasn’t, he was a patient man.

Ivan pulled the collar of his black coat higher and stepped out of the shadows. It was hard to see if anyone was home through the basement windows of the apartment. He’d have to be quiet. He didn’t want any surprises.

Taking the bump key from his coat pocket, he wiggled it into the lock. Pulling it out a notch, he heard the tumblers catch. Lifting a screwdriver from his other pocket he tapped the key into the lock. Not hearing movement behind the door, he turned the lock. 

At first it didn’t unlock. Ivan swore under his breath and pushed the key harder against the tumblers. Finally there was a click, and he silently twisted the doorknob swinging the door open.

His heart pounded in his ears as a floorboard squeaked under his foot. His gaze flicked around the dimly lit apartment.

It looked as though Luci Lombart shopped at a thrift store. His lip pulled up in a sneer. He’d had enough of living off the streets as a child in Russia. There was nothing hand-me-down at his place. Everything was new. Chrome and white. Polished and slick, just like him.