Deadly Double

Breathing became a chore while she still fought to push his head away. The chant of his name slowly became cries for a mercy that never came. When her third orgasm slammed into her with the force of a locomotive, she was clueless to the mindless chatter that tumbled from her lips.

Granted a slight reprieve, Josie panted as though she’d just completed her first triathlon. The new world continued to spin inside her head, while William temporarily left the bed.

She was just getting her bearings when he returned. She heard a rip and turned to see him opening a condom. Without murmuring a word, she reached for the packet. “Not yet,” she whispered.

She leaned forward, kissed him tenderly, and began her own slow decline down his broad chest, past his rock-hard abs, and settled her mouth around his thick shaft.

A low sigh of pleasure escaped William, while his strong hands glided through her black hair. She took her time rewarding him with the same intense pleasure he’d given her. And like her, he found himself repeating the Lord’s name.

“I can’t take it anymore,” he said. His strength easily allowed him to extract Josie from her loving worship and place her on her back.

It took no more than a couple of seconds to slide on the condom; but before he bulldozed his way into her, he reminded himself to take his time, to extend the pleasure for as long as he could.

But he wanted to take her now. While his needs and his wants warred within him, it was Josie who made the final decision. “I need you,” she whispered. He thanked her by claiming her soft lips for another deep and intimate kiss...and, simultaneously, eased into her moist cave.

Josie tore her mouth away to gasp at just how well and perfect he fit. When he rocked slowly inside of her, she lifted and locked her legs around his hips. In no time, they found their own rhythm and lost themselves in the splendor of the other.

She was the first to utter a strangled exclamation as she was pulled into a vortex of euphoria.

Feeling her body tense around him, William picked up his tempo and coaxed her with erotic talk to give in to her building climax.

This time as she cried out her release, it felt as if she’d shattered into a million pieces, but then just as suddenly she was more whole than she had ever been.

Moments later, a strong force gripped William and extracted a roar from him that undoubtedly filled the entire house.

Josie wrapped her arms lovingly around him as if sensing his moment of vulnerability. For a few seconds, his body quaked with aftershocks while their hearts thundered against one another.

They held each other, enjoying their quiet intimacy and treasuring it like a precious jewel.

All too soon the real world, complete with its problems, started to creep back into Josie’s thoughts. What in the hell was she doing?

As if he’d heard her thoughts, William turned his head and peppered the side of her face with light kisses. Gradually, she became aware of the strain in her splayed thighs. Lord, was she ready for another round? Despite his growing erection, he seemed to be content to kiss, cuddle, and wipe every bad thought from her head. And thank goodness, it was working.

In some strange way, Josie found that being in William’s arms erased the past sixteen years. Their bodies welcomed each other home like the separation had been no longer than a few hours. Josie wondered how that was possible. “I never thought I would have the chance to hold you like this again,” William whispered. “You feel so good.” “I’m having a hard time believing this night as well,” she said. He leaned over onto an elbow. He stared down at her face, which was bathed in moonlight. “Any regrets?” “Plenty.” William frowned.

A slow sardonic smile curved Josie’s lips. “But none about tonight,” she added, and then watched him visibly relax. “I guess I don’t have to ask you the same question?” “No regrets.” He kissed her. “Tonight was perfect. And it’s just beginning.” She chuckled. “How is it that you just happen to have condoms with you?” “What can I say? I’m a boy scout through and through. We’re always prepared.” Laughing, she accepted another kiss from him, and then snuggled closer. “I love you, Josie,” he confessed out of the blue. “I always have and I always will.”

Josie closed her eyes and became alarmingly still in his arms. Making love was one thing, but opening her heart was another. Love meant trust and how could she trust anyone again?

“I know that you love me, too,” he said, as if he didn’t notice the change in her body. “You might not be able to say the words, but I felt how your body responded to me.”

He kissed the lobe of her ear and chipped at the wall she was already beginning to rebuild. “The body never lies,” he murmured, and lifted his head. “And neither do your eyes.”

She met his gaze and was propelled to a new level of defenselessness. She forced herself to look away, but could only do so for a few seconds before her gaze returned to his magnetic presence.

Slowly, his head descended. Both kept their eyes opened as their lips met.

“Say it,” he urged, lifting his head once again. “Say you love me.”

Don’t you dare! His head dipped again, but this time his soft lips drew a taut nipple into his mouth. She felt the playful flick of his tongue and her insides melted instantly. “I’m still waiting,” he said, moving to the other breast.

Don’t say it.

“You’re not going to tell me anything I don’t already know,” he said.

She shook her head as tears swelled in her eyes.

William inched lower, igniting fires within as he went. “I love you, Josie,” he whispered and kissed her abdomen. “I love you, Josie.” He kissed her belly button.

Don’t say it!

“I love you, Josie.” He nudged her legs open.

Don’t! “I love you, Josie.” He kissed her inner thighs. Tears slid from her eyes while her lips trembled. “I love you, Josie,” he said, locking his arms around her hips and sinking his tongue deep within her.

She gasped as she arched her body and was once again thrown back into that new world of pleasure. For hours, William wore down her defenses, and she was mindless to everything else around her. By the time dawn approached, Josie feared that her heart had finally returned to its rightful owner.

Chapter 25

Ming felt terrible that she’d fallen asleep during her husband’s hot-oil body rub. Its dual purpose was to relax her and initiate foreplay. Well, one out of two wasn’t too bad, she thought.

Like most mornings, she woke to the rich aroma of fresh, brewed coffee and the sizzle of turkey bacon. Lord, where would she be without her domestic husband?

Climbing out of bed, Ming shivered in the room’s cool air. It would’ve been okay if she’d slept in her thermal underwear like she’d wanted to, but since she’d planned to have sex, she was stuck in some useless satin garb that made her colder than the room itself.

“The things women do for men.”

Once beneath the shower’s blast of hot water, Ming’s thoughts returned to her work; particularly to Michelle Andrews and how the woman had her hands in quite a few cookie jars.

Andrews was Daniel Thornton’s last known girlfriend and she was also a longtime mistress of Dr. Ambrose Turner. Both men were dead.

And where was the real Josephine Ferrell?

She probably needed to face the fact that there was a strong chance they wouldn’t find Josephine. Ming exhaled and dipped her head into the steaming water.

So far, the likely scenario was either Andrews or Dr. Turner killed Thornton, Bancroft, and Ferrell. With Ferrell gone, Andrews could switch identities with her reclusive sister without anyone being the wiser.

The plan had a few sparks of brilliance, but the execution was entirely too sloppy. Of course, at the moment, she couldn’t prove any of it.

Ming reached for her half-empty bottle of Herbal Essence and wondered how she was going to paste this puzzle together. She squeezed a quarter of shampoo into her hand and gently worked her hair into a thick lather.

“Fingerprints,” she whispered. Somehow, she needed to get Michelle’s fingerprints. “Oh, that should be