She opened to his kiss, tongue meeting his in a joyful dance, even as her hands, so small compared to his, moved down over chest and hips, ending in a slow stroke of his rising manhood. He gasped against her mouth, and she pulled back just enough to murmur, “I think I win...” before turning off the water, reaching for the towels.
Not about to let her get away that easily he grabbed her, his hardness between her legs, and she pulled back, laughing. She broke free of the bathroom and ran, towel flapping behind her like a cape, naked into the master bedroom.
Luke took off after her and found only the towel at the doorway. He dashed into the hall and followed her soft padding footfalls down the main stairs into the entryway. His towel snagged on the banister on the landing, and he abandoned it easily. The house was theirs, after all. Intent on following, he spied her as she ran down the last part of the staircase and ran in hot pursuit, but when he arrived at the bottom of the staircase she was nowhere to be found.
He stood and pondered a minute, then walked the width of the entrance to the door to the study. He threw the door open with an “AH-HA!”.
The room was empty.
He stood there, trying to decide whether to try the kitchen or dining room next, and yelped when she grabbed his balls from behind. He spun and caught her wrist as she tried to escape, pulling her to him, feeling her tight body against his.
“I want to make love to you in every room in the house,” she whispered in his ear, nipping at the lobe, sending shockwaves through his system.
“Am I going to have to play hide and seek?” He smiled against her neck, leaving a trail of tiny kisses that left her breathless.
Dani laughed and pushed him away, palms flat against his chest. “Do you know how silly you looked with that thing pointing straight out ahead of you like a bobbing divining rod?”
“It seeks out beautiful naked women,” he said, and grabbed her cheeks to pull her to him.
“Does it work?”
“So far, so good,” Luke chuckled. “Just the rooms in the house? How about the tennis court and the swimming pool and, let’s see...”
“Oh, a real outdoorsman, are you?” Dani teased, giving him a playful squeeze. She pulled away from him and spun, dancing across the floor to the front door. “Why not? Let’s start in the front yard and...” She opened the door.
Luke wasn’t sure who was more surprised: Dani or the Atlanta police force who had arrived en masse complete with SWAT team. Maybe it was the state police or the FBI, who were currently arguing over jurisdiction while their naked suspects chose that moment to flash them.
“SHIT!” It might have been Luke who said it, it might have Dani. Certainly, the young policeman in the riot gear was too tongue-tied at Dani’s nakedness to have completed an entire thought. His eyes never left her...assets.
Dani slammed the door and locked it. She turned to Luke, hands out in a ‘what the hell are we going to do’ sort of gesture.
“Clothes!” he yelled, and they pelted up the stairs to the rooms they’d been held in for weeks.
I am not getting stuck in this damn house again! I’m not getting stuck in this damn...
“This is the police!” A bullhorn broke through his thoughts as he skidded through the bedroom doorway, landing half against the dresser. Thankfully it was already broken, and therefore finding clothes was a matter of merely reaching in and grabbing what was there. He found underwear, hopping on one foot frantically, trying to get it on.
“This is the FBI!” called a new voice. “Come out with your hands in the air!”
Luke could hear a helicopter getting closer. Great, maybe that was Benny’s men coming to get revenge. It would complete the day. He pulled on a shirt and leapt into a pair of jeans. Wait, hadn’t he seen his wallet in the master bedroom? He hadn’t seen it in weeks.
The helicopter seemed to want to land on the roof, it was so close. He grabbed some socks and pushed them in a pocket. Holding his tennis shoes, he ran to get his wallet just as the pounding began anew on the front door.
He nearly ran into Dani coming out of the bedroom. She had his wallet and watch. How she’d known to grab them he had no idea, but never had he wanted to kiss her more than in that moment. He noticed she’d managed to pull on a t-shirt, bra and shorts; like him, she carried her boots with her.
She grabbed his arm. “Now what? I thought your friend fixed this!”
“I guess he’s not much of a friend!”
“What the hell is his problem?” Dani yelled. “He was invited to the wedding!”
A door broke open. Luke rushed to the top of the stairs, but the front door was holding under the pressure of the pounding.
“DADDY?”
Edwin Rineheart stood at the end of the hallway, the light streaming in behind him. He’d broken through a door that apparently led to the roof, where Luke could hear the whine of rotors.
“Come with me if you want to live,” he said in a bad accent. Then he laughed. “I always wanted to say that!”
Dani looked at Luke, her eyes wide. Panicked. He shook his head no. “You can’t trust him!”
The front door shattered open and the SWAT team broke through.
“On the other hand—” Luke grabbed Dani’s hand and bolted after the retreating back of the man who had started this whole mess.
Chapter Two
“What the hell do they want?” Dani turned to Luke. The mic on her headset was connected to the headsets everyone in the helicopter wore, so private conversations were out. Luke decided to concentrate on putting on his shoes and socks, not exactly keen on having a discussion everyone could hear.
“They want the USB!” Edwin shouted into the mic. Marcus turned the little craft east and laid on the speed.
Luke’s head shot up. “West! Head west” he shouted, casting an uneasy glance behind them. The mansion was already lost in the trees.
Marcus looked at Edwin and raised an eyebrow. “Airport’s east.” He shook his head, shooting a glance at Luke that said he clearly thought his passenger was crazy.
“Yeah, and if the cops saw a helicopter, they’ll figure out we went to the airport. There’s police helicopters there, too. We need to go west.”
Edwin turned to Marcus, and after a long moment the older man nodded. Marcus spun the copter in a lazy arc and headed into the sunset. “What’s west?”
“Katie melted the stick,” Luke said, tying his shoe and straightening. Dani was still lacing her left boot. “If you had tennis shoes you’d be done by now.”
She shot him a look, her eyes half hidden by a curtain of long blond hair, still wet from the shower. “You in a hurry?”
He looked at the helicopter and the two men in the front seat. “Yes!”
She paused for a moment and shrugged, conceding the point.
“Wait, what?” Edwin spun around in his seat. “What do you mean ‘melted’?”
“She put it in the microwave,” Dani said, finishing her laces and sitting back. “Is that why you came back? For that?” Edwin said nothing, and Dani barked a laugh. “I should have known. You didn’t care about me. You don’t care about anyone. You’re just trying to save your own skin.”
Luke reached for her hand. Her fingers were cold.
“I tried to save you from the wedding,” Edwin shot back. “Marcus killed Katie to save you. We tried to pull you to freedom. You refused!”