He would have to find the man to get that answer, and he too had disappeared. ZiP troopers had found his team rather quickly, holed up at a motel. But there was no sign of their leader. According to them, he had returned to Atlanta, but Matt wasn’t buying it. His gut told him that if he found Frost, he would find Stella.
He pulled a cig out of the pack and lit one. He didn’t know if he was trying to calm his nerves or just needed something to do because he didn’t know what to do. He placed his hand on the bed, on the spot where she always laid. He ran his palm over the covers lightly. On any other night, she would be there right now, lying in his arms, holding her tight. All would be right.
For hours, he’d fought to deny his own emotions, but now, here alone, there wasn’t any need to fight it anymore. He allowed the fear to manifest itself, pure and unfettered. It gripped his gut like a cold fist twisting it into a knot. It was a strange emotion. He’d never been one to be afraid. A man in his position couldn’t afford to be. Fear caused doubt, hesitation. Fear got you killed. It felt like the tentacles of a monster spreading out inside him, uncoiling and reaching into every part of his being and soul.
His biggest fear wasn’t that he would never see her again. A cop lived with that reality every second of his existence. No. His biggest fear was not getting the chance to make things right by her. He’d been an ass to her at the hospital without cause or reason. He owed her an apology for that. But he knew deep down that he owed her even more.
He’d always tried to tell himself it’d never been anything more than the sex. It was easier that way. He was still a married man, and he was still her superior officer. The more he allowed feelings and emotions to enter into the relationship, the more it complicated everything, and it was complicated enough. Both were already risking far too much. If their superiors found out, the damage to their careers could be significant, something Matt feared greatly, considerably more than Stella. He’d recently separated from his wife and started preliminary divorce proceedings. The last thing he needed now was for her attorney to get wind of an affair. Talk about being behind the eight-ball.
He took a drag off his cigarette, held it, then blew it out long and slow, his eyes closed in deep reflection. It was too late, and he knew it. There was no longer any sense in denying it. He was in love with Stella and had been for some time. He just never had the balls to tell her. He’d been a selfish, gutless prick who chose ambition and self-preservation over her. And now, it might be too late.
He crushed his cigarette out in the ashtray on the nightstand usually reserved for those after-sex smokes. His hand moved to her pillow, pulling it to him. He buried his face in it, breathing in the scent of her, her perfume, her hair. He inhaled it like a dying man needing oxygen, as it conjured up images of her, memories of good times they’d had. It gave him strength for the moment. It gave him hope.
The first light of morning sun peeking through the slight crack in the curtains found him still desperately clutching her pillow.
***
Lulah tossed and turned for an hour and a half, unable to sleep and unable to ignore the rigid sensitivity of her hard nipples and the persistent wetness between her legs. Her fingers had done all they could to assuage the aching a couple of times earlier, but overall, they’d proven ineffective. Every time she closed her eyes, the vixen was there in front of her, naked, sexy and needing relief herself.
And the thing that stuck in her mind … by now, those pheromones Amber had let loose upon her hours earlier had probably worn off. The desires she now harbored were untainted and genuine. And they were all hers. Around midnight, she decided to go to the restroom. Or maybe her intended destination had been the kitchen and a glass of water. Afterward, she really couldn’t remember. She threw the covers off her naked body and sat up in bed. It seemed hot in the house and she told the home control system to adjust the temperature down a degree. She ran a hand through her long, brown hair, closed her eyes and leaned her head back, letting the immediate rush of cool air from the vent wash over her. It felt good on her bare skin, giving her goosebumps and making her nipples pucker even harder. Without thinking, her fingers found one and began pulling and squeezing it. She moaned to herself … and then she got the feeling. The one you get when you feel like you’re being watched.
How long had she been standing there, just inside the doorway, leaning against the wall? Damn, she moved like a cat! Lulah found herself miffed somewhat that the girl had slipped into her room uninvited, but the irritation evaporated like frost in the sunlight when she took in the vixen’s nude form in the moonlight that streamed through the window.
It was the first time she’d seen another woman naked in almost two decades, and she knew right then it’d been too long. If there’d been any doubt before how she might react, those questions were
