“I am.” She unhooked her weapon and badge from her belt and set them on the dresser. He did the same. She kicked off her shoes, unfastened her pants, and stepped out of them. He watched her undress down to her bra and underwear before he closed the distance and cupped her breast. He kissed the hollow of her neck.
“This feels so good,” she said.
“I’m only getting started.” He tugged his tie and then quickly pulled it free. Her long fingers unfastened his buttons, and he shrugged off his shirt. She ran her hands over his T-shirt. “Please tell me you don’t iron your undershirts.”
While kicking off his shoes, he pulled the T-shirt over his head, revealing the flat belly that she still couldn’t resist touching. He slid the strap of her bra off her shoulder and kissed the top of her breast. With him, she never felt the anger and fury that Benny had unleashed when he’d touched her.
She slipped off her panties and stood naked before him.
He tugged her toward the bed, sitting on the edge. His erection pulsed against her, and the overwhelming desire she’d thought had died elbowed aside all her fears as she took control.
She knelt in front of him and ran her hand across his pants zipper. He reached to unfasten his belt buckle, but she brushed his hand aside. She was in charge. She unfastened the buckle and slid the zipper slowly down while looking into Novak’s eyes. She pulled his pants down and freed his erection. Slowly, she sucked. He moaned with pleasure as she slid her mouth along the shaft. He ran his fingers through her hair. When he groaned as if he might release, she playfully pushed him back on the bed.
“In the nightstand,” he said.
She opened the drawer and found the packet of condoms. She tore open the wrapper, and with trembling hands, slid it over him.
He lay back on the bed and moved to the center. She climbed on top of him and slowly lowered herself onto him. He hissed in a breath but didn’t rush her as she adjusted to the sensations bombarding her body. This was good. This was so good.
His hands slid up her flat belly to her breasts and then her shoulders. He pulled her toward him and kissed her. One hand gripped her buttocks, and then he banded a hand around her waist and rolled her on her back.
She stilled, wondering if she could handle this. His erection pulsed against her clitoris.
Sensing her stillness, he raised his face and studied her closely. “You okay?”
“Let’s take it slow this time.”
He rose up on his elbow, then slowly pressed back inside her. The sensation was different but good. He pressed in to the hilt and held steady. His fingers brushed her center, and she hissed in a breath as a bolt of desire rushed her senses.
“You’re pretty good at this, Novak.” Her voice was so breathless she barely recognized it.
A smile curved the edge of his lips. “I like to think so.” He drew circles and moved in and out of her. Involuntarily she arched into his touch and gripped his buttocks. She lost track of how long he touched and caressed her. He brought her to the brink several times, but each time backed off. By the time he pushed into her, she was throbbing with need. Cupping his face, she kissed him, tilting her hips up so she could take all of him.
When her release came, she arched and moaned, letting loose tension and fears that had been building for years.
“Good?” he whispered close to her ear.
“Better than good.”
He moved inside of her, driving her back into the mattress. He came and collapsed against her. He lay on top of her, their hearts beating furiously.
He rolled on his back beside her. Neither spoke as they caught their breath.
“Thanks, Novak. I needed that.” She laughed.
Ken arrived at the city jail after visiting hours. He’d not been here in over a year. Wendy would be pissed when she found out he’d taken the car out alone, but assuming he got back safely, he’d deal with her then.
He moved up to the front desk and grinned at the guard as he pulled out his badge that he’d broken out of the shadow box the department had given him when he retired. He didn’t recognize the guy and hoped they’d never met. He didn’t need a lot of time here, but he needed to get inside.
The deputy glanced at the badge. “What can I do for you, Detective?”
“I’d like to talk to one of your inmates. Won’t take long. Just pulling together details.”
“Sure. Who?”
“Benny Santiago.”
“Sure. Might be a minute. Get checked in and I’ll buzz you in at the door.”
He did as told, and when the door buzzed, he moved through it, realizing how much he missed the job. Retirement hadn’t been optional. It sucked. He settled in an interview room, asking the guard not to tape the session.
He sat in his chair and leaned back as if he had all the cards in a high-stakes game. He tugged at his cuffs and then the front of his jacket, which had gotten tight in the last year.
The door opened, and a shackled Benny Santiago was ushered into the room. The deputy locked the prisoner’s handcuffed hands to a metal ring secured to the table.
The dealer showed no emotion. That was the way guys like Benny played it. Show nothing. But Ken knew the gears in the dealer’s head were spinning as he tried to figure out what the hell was going on.
Benny slouched back in his chair. “What do you want?”
Ken waited until the guard left. “To see you. And to let you know that I’m the guy who’s going to kill you.”
That prompted a grin. “Really? How you gonna do that, old man?”
“Won’t have to raise a finger,” Ken said. “See, I was in the game a long time. Made a lot of connections, both friends and enemies.”
“There a point to this?”
“I know the prison where they’re sending you. I made calls and asked a few of my buddies who work there if they could spread the word about you.”
The grin faded. “What have you done?”
He was old, his memory abandoning him more each day, but there was still enough left of him to hurt this bastard. “By the time you arrive, the right people will know you sold them out for a reduced sentence.”
“I didn’t tell no one shit.”
“Benny, that’s not what they’re hearing. These very nasty guys think you snitched like a little bitch.”
“Fuck you.”
Ken didn’t flinch. In this moment, he felt like his old self, and it felt fucking good. “No, pal, fuck you.”
“Why you doing this?”
“You made a mistake when you hurt Julia Vargas.”
“I didn’t know she was a fucking cop.”
“Doesn’t matter. You did, and now you will pay.” Chuckling, Ken stood and moved to the door.
Benny’s chains rattled against the ring and he tried to jerk them free. “You can’t do this!”
“It’s done. You’re a dead man.”
“I’ll tell. They’ll come after you.”
“Maybe the cops will. But I don’t give a shit. I got nothing to lose, Benny.”
Novak liked seeing Julia in one of his white shirts, which skimmed her long, tanned legs. He’d slipped on gym shorts. A frozen pizza cooked in the oven as she sipped coffee.