Lost Souls

Rather than sliding into the car, she rose on tiptoe and leaned against the door to plant a kiss right on his mouth.

Sam didn’t respond. His eyes glittered with quiet fury. An action that inexplicably turned her on even more. Opening her mouth against his, she licked the hard line where his lips met.

Their eyes remained open. Her unspoken challenge was answered by the narrowing of his midnight eyes.

Cait bit his bottom lip.

A chuckle shook his chest. Then his hands rose to cradle her cheeks, a tender gesture that fueled the flame licking at her skin.

Two minutes later, they were wrestling to remove her trousers and shoes in the backseat of his car. She rose over him, straddling his waist. Not until she slid down his cock did they both pause, shocked by the overwhelming arousal that had guided their every move.

“We’ll get this out of our systems,” she said, gliding slowly up, then down.

His hands clamped on her bottom, forcing her to move at a more urgent pace. He leaned up to rub his lips against the pulse throbbing at the side of her neck. “Tomorrow, this never happened,” he growled.

“Agreed,” she said, then groaned because she knew the statement was a lie. Moisture seeped from inside her, easing her movements. She’d never felt like this. Driven, greedy, desperate to claim every thick inch.

After Morin, men hadn’t interested her much, because she’d known they wouldn’t measure up to the memory of the one glorious night they’d shared. But Sam was different.

“You’re so damn tight,” he muttered. “Christ, when’s the last—”

“Shut up,” she said. She hadn’t made love with a man since Morin, and with him, only once. She didn’t want that memory intruding.

Then she couldn’t hold that thought long because sturdy, hung-like-a-god Sam was moving her again, his grip so strong that even though she was on top, he was completely in charge.

Lord, she loved it, wished the rest of their clothes were gone. Caution, the fear of being discovered coupling in a car, two cops fucking like teenagers, was the last thing she was worried about.

How fast could he bring her to orgasm? Now that was a question worth pondering. She kissed him, her hands on his shoulders as she pressed up and down, trying to fight the slower rhythm he wanted. “More, Sam. Faster, God, please.”

“Baby, keep making noises like that and I won’t be able to wait.”

“Who’s asking you to?”

His laugh was husky. “We’re gonna get arrested.”

“Leland’ll have my ass. Be worth every embarrassing minute.” A moan escaped her lips.

And then he slid a hand between their bodies, his broad palm covering her hipbone to hipbone. One calloused pad slid into the top of her folds, rasping her clit.

Cait’s head jerked back; her body went limp. Impaled on his cock, her hips sliding forward and back, grinding her sex against his, she let go, letting the pleasure wash through her, wave after endless wave.

When she came back to herself, Sam had her folded against his chest. His cock was still hard and pulsing inside her.

She lifted her head. “Sorry about that.”

His teeth flashed again. “That you left me behind? Selfish of you.”

They’d sat there, panting hard. And she’d known there was no way this was the one and only time they’d succumb to their longing. However, instead of becoming a distraction for their professional partnership, they’d melded together like a single entity, working like a well-oiled team.

They’d married quietly, telling Leland but not announcing the event widely. Although he’d made noise about splitting up their partnership, the threat was always “After you wrap up this next case.”

Until her past found her. And the voices that had been an ever-present, indistinguishable murmur grew louder and more distinct.

Cait had battled for her sanity the only way she’d known how. She drank, grateful for the peace the alcohol provided, however temporary. The deeper into the bottle she fell, the more Sam had drawn away, confused and hurt.

She’d been unwilling to share the reasons for her fall. And toward the very end, when the voices and drinking became almost constant, she’d been unable to keep it from interfering with her job.

The night a uniformed officer had been killed, she’d heard him calling her toward the shooter. When she’d found Orlando Cruz and drew her gun, she knew there was no going back. She’d told the truth at the administrative hearing that had followed the shooting, about how she’d found Cruz when no one else had known where to look, and damned herself.

Leland had pressed her to resign, to save her father’s name from being tarnished.

Nothing had ever been the same between her and Sam. He’d finally left her for good because she’d stubbornly refused to get help.

Cait rolled onto her side and curled into a ball. “This can’t be it,” she whispered. “We’ve just found each other again. There’s so much left to say.”

Footsteps padded nearby.

“Go away, Morin.”

“Not Morin, sweetheart. But you might want to be nicer to him the next time you see him.”

Cait’s heart stopped. Her head turned to find Sam, dressed in his dress shirt and trousers, striding toward the bed. When he sat on the edge of the mattress, she gasped, because his weight caused it to dip.

She reached out a shaky hand and felt solid muscle wrapped around steely bone. Her heartbeat raced, and she sucked in a breath. If she blinked, would he disappear? “How can this be? Is this real?”

His dark gaze steady, Sam shook his head. “We only have now.”

Her heartbeat continued to thunder inside her chest. “This is his shop. Time stands still.”

One corner of his mouth lifted. “Gonna stay here forever, Cait?”

Although she knew the lie she spoke, she said the words anyway. “If it means I can have you? Yes.”

Sam’s chest rose around a deep inhalation. “Morin worked a little spell. Drew me here.”

“A summoning.”

“Not quite. For as long as the candle he burns lasts, I’ll be with you.”

Cait drew a ragged breath. “No! It’s not enough.”

Sam swallowed, but then forced a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Baby, we shouldn’t waste time railing against what we can’t have.”

For as long as Morin’s candle burns. Cait sniffed, then forced away her tears and her denial. She offered Sam a nod, telling him she understood.

He reached and tucked her hair behind her ears. “I love your hair. Love the color, the thickness.”

“Love pulling it,” she said with a little smile.

As his smile deepened, his eyes wrinkled at the corners. “Yeah, I do.” His fingers wrapped around a lock and tugged. Then he smoothed his fingers along her cheek and rubbed his thumb across her lower lip. “First time I met you, I knew I was in trouble. So much fire in your green eyes. So much attitude—every bit of it bad.”

She chuckled, surprised she could manage to laugh. Then her breath hitched. “I was groaning inside. You were too good-looking. A distraction. And the longer we worked together, the harder I struggled to hide the fact you turned me on.”

“I didn’t see you fighting it. Those glances, always so busy checking me out. Wanted to tell you to stop, but then I’d have to admit I’d noticed. Besides, I was doing my own looking too.”

Her strength returning, she pushed up to sit beside him. “I wanted you, but I didn’t expect to fall for you. We