Page 38 of Diamonds in the Mud

“Apparently?” I asked. She shrugged.

“I’ve got a request in for more details and to be added to the loop, but since Sharon’s death, I doubt they’ll give me much. It seems like their case hit a dead end.” She rolled her head towards me. “No pun intended. I have known Sharon Taylor my entire life. Even though I never had a personal friendship with her, she was there when I received my badge. What happens now? What do Felix and Ben have in store for you?”

“I’m to use you,” I answered and saw a twitch in her lips. “Yeah, Felix is expecting all the juicy details of our sex-capades.”

She chuckled. “Well, we’d better make sure our stories match then.” She shifted and moved over me. Her legs straddled my hips.

“Oh?” I smiled and gripped her hips with my hands, digging my fingertips into her softness. I’d dreamed of this. Of this very moment. The feel of her, the soft subtle scent of leather and flowers that she carried on her. “And how do you propose we do that?” I asked, trying to keep my heart from exploding in my chest.

Instead of answering, she brushed her lips across mine softly. The featherlight touch was almost my undoing.

How long had I gone without the feel of a soft woman next to me? Too damned long, that was for sure.

While she ran her mouth over mine, tangling our tongues in tantalizing play, I moved my hands all over her body. Even though she was probably the tallest woman I’d been attracted to, she was still so much smaller than I was. Her body fit tight up against mine and when she started moving her hips, I about lost it.

I was holding back years of pent-up desire, so I lifted Rayne in my arms and carried her the few dozen steps or so into the bedroom.

Her body slid down mine, and we both took a moment to remove our weapons—my Glock, which I slid into the finger-coded safe on the nightstand, and her Beretta.

“Nice piece,” I said as she sat it and her holster down on the same nightstand.

“It’s my personal piece.” She smiled. “I have a few different ones. We can compare and appreciate each other’s weapons later.” She laughed as she unbuttoned her blouse.

My mouth watered when she exposed a simple skin-colored bra underneath. She was lean, toned, and had tan lines that crossed over her perfect skin, indicating she’d spent some time outside recently.

She tossed the shirt onto the chair next to the bed and reached to start pulling my shirt over my head.

“God,” she purred as she ran her hands over my chest. Then she traced one of my tattoos with her fingertip. “I’m a sucker for these. I have a few myself.” She smiled up at me.

I nodded and started tracing the small, curved flowers on her shoulder.

Pulling her closer, I kissed her until we both felt unsteady as we frantically peeled off layer after layer of clothing.

When we finally fell onto the bed, every bit of clothing was gone. The feeling of her skin against mine sent shock waves through every fiber of my being.

This was new, I kept telling myself. This mattered.

How long had I managed to avoid letting down my guard while on the job? Not caving to any of the pleasures dangled in front of my face for years. And trust me, there was plenty of pretty fruit willingly offered.

None of them had mattered. Not one was worth taking that step. This step. The one I so desperately wanted with Rayne.

I’d asked myself why. Why her?

Then I’d think back to the handful of conversations we’d had. How the time I’d spent with her had mattered more to me than any I’d had over the years.

Besides my boss, Rayne was the only person who knew me.

Now, I was lucky enough to be able to spend these moments with her and vowed to stretch the time out for as long as I could. I was going to explore every inch of her soft sexy body so that I could memorize every curve. I knew there might come a time when things changed. In my line of work, things could grow dark very fast. I might not always get to be here with her in the future.

I ran my mouth down her neck and lapped at each breast while her fingers dug into my hair, holding me, pushing me where she wanted.

I followed all of her demands until I settled between her thighs, which wrapped around my shoulders.

When I tasted her for the first time, I knew there was no way in hell I would stop at having her taste on my tongue just once.

I dipped one of my fingers inside her as I continued to suck at her skin. She arched. Bucked. Moaned.

Every movement and every sound that she made affected my body, and I knew I was running out of time.