Blade Dance (3 page)

Austin nuzzled the back of her neck.

“Yuck, cowboy, I spilled my coffee. And your hair is still wet. You’re dripping on me.”

“Sorry, darlin’, I couldn’t bear to spend another single minute away from you.”

She twisted in his arms, kissed him. “That’s the best excuse I’ve ever heard. You’re forgiven.”

He took her face in his big hands, returned her kiss with enthusiasm.

She leaned into him. “
Mmm
, baby, I missed you, missed you, missed you.” She inhaled, deeply. “And you smell so good.”

“Definitely better than I smelled before. I missed you, too. You left me alone with Gallows-Boy. You know how cranky he can be, especially when he’s tired.”

“It wasn’t like I did it on purpose, y’know.” She tapped against the cast with her fingernails.

Austin snorted. “Like getting shot in the line of duty is a good enough excuse for leaving me with him.”

However, his interest in her closeness was immediately evident beneath the towel wrapped around his waist, as his erection tented the terry cloth.

Her eyebrow arched then she smiled. “Wow, you
did
miss me.”

He pressed against her, and her body thrilled with the feel of his hard muscles and rigid sex.

“Wallis, darlin’, don’t keep me in suspense—panties or commando?”

“
Hmm
. Guess, cowboy.”

Tormenting her, his hands crawled slowly up the sides of her body as he pulled the shirt over her head. He tossed it over the back of a kitchen chair. Naked, she stretched her arms over her head, her nipples perking without delay.

“Oh, yeah, baby. Commando is definitely the way to go. Shows how much you love me.”

With a broad grin, she leaned her back against the counter, rested on her elbows. Her sensual pose gave him ample opportunity to caress her firm breasts, kiss and suckle her pebbled nipples.

“Wallis, baby, you taste so good. Are you ready for me, sweet thing? I mean,
really
ready for me?” The stiff condition of his cock already proclaimed
his
state of readiness.

“Cowboy, I’ve been ready for you since the moment you guys pulled out of the driveway and left me to my own devices. I think you should be very nice to me, make up for lost time.” She pulled him close, kissed him deeply. Her tongue traced the tender skin that outlined his mouth. As she pulled his towel free, she was rewarded with a groan from deep in his throat.

“Honey, you know I’m
always
very nice to you. How are we going to manage this, with the cast and all? I don’t want to hurt you.”

“
Mmm
. Follow my lead, Texas.”

Pulling out a chair, she covered the seat with his towel, motioned to him. “Sit.”

“Baby, are you sure?”

“Stop talking. Just sit. Spread your legs.”

Austin did as directed.

“Oh yeah, I love a man who responds to a woman’s wishes.”

Turning her back to him, using both hands on the kitchen table for support, Wallis bent from the waist, presented a rear view as she gyrated before him, just to make sure she had his undivided attention. When she felt his warm hands on her buttocks, pulling her backward, she slowly lowered herself onto his lap until his cock was completely buried inside her hot, wet pussy. With her unencumbered foot flat on the floor for stability, her casted leg stretched straight out, safe from harm. She sighed, settled, and placed her hands on his thighs for balance.

Grasping her hips, Austin thrust his rigid pole farther up and into her. “Damn, Wallis girl, this is heaven, and I’m home.” His soft, Texan drawl sounded like choir music to her ears. He nibbled the back of her neck, which sent shivers—delightful shivers—up and down her body. The shivers extended to her sex, which pulsed around him.

She rested the back of her head against his chest. “
Mmm
, oh yeah, baby, your wonderful cock feels so fuckin’ good inside me.”

He laughed. “Trash mouth.”

“Hey, can’t help it. I missed you.” She rode his shaft, lifting, twisting on the downward slide, rising again and falling, repeating the incredible feeling of being stuffed near to overflowing with his long member.

Suddenly, there was a grumble from behind them, shocking Wallis from her sex-induced reverie.

“How rude is that, to begin without me?”

She turned her head so Michael could kiss her. “Hey, baby, g’morning. You know how impatient the cowboy is. Always with the instant gratification, just like a six-year-old.”

Austin thrust upward again, pumping into her tight, needy channel. “Does this feel like a childlike anything?”

She moaned and settled her ass against him. “Hush up, cowboy, and fuck me like you mean it.”

“Again with the trash mouth. Whatever shall we do with you?” Austin responded to her command, nearly lifting his hips off the chair in an effort to bury his flesh in hers. Mindful of the leg cast, she couldn’t swivel her pelvis against him as well as she wished to—so she rode out the storm in a state of wanton need, her fingernails scraping the skin of his thighs.

Michael moved closer, pushing her closer to the precipice of sensual overload. He’d dropped his own towel, stroked his very aroused member.

She licked her lips at the sight of him working his sex. “Gallo, come to me, let me help you with that.”

He obliged.

Wallis took Michael’s shaft in her hand and leaned forward, bringing him close to her mouth. His low, growly moan convinced her that she had the situation under control. To drag out his torment, she slowly, ever so slowly, took his cockhead between her lips. With a swirl of her tongue, she snatched up the silvery drops of pre-cum and pulled him deep into her mouth.

Austin’s entire body stiffened, his muscles tensed at the sight of his woman sucking off his best friend. He moved his hands to her waist, drove into her with steady thrusts.

With a low groan, Michael wrapped his fingers in her auburn hair as he fucked her mouth. “Wallis, baby, I’m so close, it’s embarrassing.”

Encouraged, she freed up a hand, slid it under Michael’s heavy testicles, fondled them with a touch of rough, which she knew would set him off. They responded by firming up like tennis balls as they drew up to his body. He was, indeed, close to the edge. She brought her hand back to his cock and applied a firm, twisting motion. He framed her head with his hands, guided her where she needed to be. In a few seconds, unable to extend his own exquisite ordeal, he roared to the heavens and shot his load deep into her throat. She sucked him hard and tight, not willing to lose a drop.

Watching Michael’s cock pulse as he emptied his seed into Wallis’s mouth set Austin off. He slammed into Wallis with a harsh groan, his hands locked on her hips like vise grips as he emptied his seed into her welcoming channel.

Finished with Michael, Wallis wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, left him leaning against the kitchen counter to catch his breath. She damned near growled at Austin as his post-orgasmic rhythm slowed. “Cowboy, don’t you dare lose me, do ya hear? I’m right there, baby, I’m right there.”

Austin’s hands slid upward from her hips to her waist to her breasts. He tweaked her nipples, nipped her shoulder, pulled her tight against his still-hard, still-pulsing cock. He twisted his pelvis and drilled into her—the flood of sensations he delivered pushed her over the edge with a sharp cry. He continued to rock her as she shuddered, the tickle of his softening cock bringing on more throbs from her hyper-sensitive pussy.

Wallis fell back and rested against his heaving, sweat-streaked chest. “Christ on a cracker, I missed you guys so much.”

Michael helped a wobbly Wallis rise from his friend’s lap, so the big, blond Texan could stand and stretch.

Austin kissed the top of her head. “C’mon, wench, let’s get you cleaned up while Gallows-Boy makes breakfast. Well, I guess it would be brunch.
Hmm
, well, let’s get all of us cleaned up. Michael, you go first so you can start cookin’, then Wallis and I will take care of business.”

She yawned, snuggled in Michael’s arms. “Y’know, there are a multitude of bathrooms in this place, so no one needs to queue up. And I’m so wonderfully relaxed, I could use a nap.”

Austin caressed her bottom. “Darlin’, relaxed or not, don’t interfere with our planning.”

Wallis allowed Austin to lead her to the bathroom. As he gently wiped her down, he was able to move her limbs as if she were a posable doll. She sighed.
I could certainly become accustomed to this. I could be a kept woman
.

By the time the couple returned from washing up and dressing, Michael had set out a large platter of grilled pineapple rings over raspberry waffles, with a bowl of honey butter on the side. A mound of crisp maple bacon surrounded by freshly sliced wedges of orange finished the offering.

Wallis wore a bright red sports bra decorated with hot pink hearts, and black capris that were stretchy enough to pull over her lime green fiberglass cast. She sat back in her chair, her casted leg resting on an ottoman that had been dragged in from the parlor. She gazed at her men, enjoyed the view.

Austin, her blond Adonis, usually close-cropped and impeccably turned out, was overdue for a haircut and a shave. He’d swapped his towel for a pair of khaki shorts that showcased hard, muscular legs with a few long scratches, newly obtained, on his thighs. Bulging arms and shoulders stretched out a worn, red T-shirt with a white fire department logo. Michael,
always
in need of a haircut and a shave, moved easily around the kitchen with nothing covering his brawny, black-haired body except a pair of brief orange shorts with a sky blue logo,
Ski Aspen—Stay Upright
.

Wallis was sure her heart kicked in an extra beat as it expanded with love for her partners. Five years earlier, they’d met at an upscale State Police charity fundraiser outside the capital city of Albany. They’d barely been out of each other’s company since then. That the two men had already been best friends didn’t hurt, either.
Instant attraction is not a myth. Truly, love at first site
. It was a choice she’d not come to regret.

Brunch finished, the guys cleaned off the table, put everything away, did the wash-up. Then they settled across from each other, holding their mugs of coffee, not making eye contact. There was definitely the overwhelming specter of an elephant in the room.

Austin returned to the table with his briefcase, pulled out his laptop and a blank incident report. He fussed with a pen, clicking it repeatedly.

Wallis felt she’d waited enough. “Okay, let’s have it. What happened? What are you trying not to tell me?”

Austin shook his head. When he answered, his voice was raspy. “We found her. Right where the so-called anonymous tip told us she would be. You know, and we know, that the lead did not come from a concerned citizen who happened upon the body. It was him. The killer. Gloating. Taunting. Screwing with us.”

“Would you have found her, otherwise?”

Michael took over. “Maybe not by us, but she would have been found before too much longer. Old logging road. Hunters or hikers would have discovered her, if the critters didn’t carry off her remains. She was left at the edge of a paved road, about a hundred yards before the roadway changed from asphalt to gravel. Smart move. Hard surface tough to pull up any discernible tire tracks. McGuire was with us—if anyone can get tire prints, she’ll be the one.”

Wallis’s gut lurched.
Damn, shouldn’t have had brunch first
. “How similar?”

Michael, brilliant at reading crime scenes, massaged his temple. “Same.”

“Tell me.”

Austin picked up the narration. “We decided to forego the LEO’s pissing contest regarding jurisdiction at the crime scene and took a quick look. Victim had strawberry blonde hair, a bit lighter than yours, not as long. Probably late twenties. Very pretty. Outdoorsy, all-American look. Naked. Limbs spread out. Shallow cuts with a very sharp blade, following the veins in her arms and legs, even her hands and feet. Maybe not enough to kill, but enough to hurt, terrify, maybe weaken. Blood trails all over her skin, but no puddling around or under her. Ground was clean. Best guess on our part? She was tortured and strangled somewhere else, then her body dumped and posed at the site. Won’t know for sure until the ME does her job. Maureen Hunt caught this one. No one better.”

He stopped for a breather, visibly disturbed by the memory. “When they turned her over, it looked like something had struck her from behind, across the shoulders. The same as the others. Maybe a length of two-by-four, or a baseball bat. Something solid—forensics isn’t back on the other samples. Probably intended to knock her down, overpower her, without the UNSUB personally touching her. I’m guessing she was bound with duct tape, like the others. The paper evidence bags stuck to her wrists, could be from the adhesive. The ME will know more after the autopsy.”

Wallis’s head dropped to the table. She really felt nauseous.

“Baby, do you want me to stop?”

“No. I’m all right. I need to know what happened. Guessing is worse than having the facts.” Her pen was poised over her notebook.

“Everything was consistent with what we saw at the last two sites. Her clothing folded under her head, like a pillow. Violated with a large, realistic, flesh-colored dildo, maybe a John Holmes wannabe, still in place. Trying to track down where it might have been purchased, and by whom. She appeared to be strangled. Small splotch of dried biologic material on her privates. Don’t know if the perp jerked off before or after he killed her. The only thing different—this time, the duct tape was left over her mouth. The other two times, only tape residue was found on their wrists, ankles, and mouths. Not the tape itself.”

“Maybe she was either screaming more to grab attention, or trying to talk him out of what he planned. He didn’t want to hear it. He either forgot it or left it to make a point.” Michael played with his coffee mug, turning it round and round in place. “Just saying.”

Wallis flipped to a new page of the steno pad in front of her, scribbled a few notes.

“Okay, so that’s one small change, but I’m thinking it’s insignificant. Whatever this guy is doing must be working for him. Serial murderers repeat what works. Whatever’s easier. Killers don’t necessarily have specific signatures, like on TV and in the movies. He’s been getting away with this, so why should he alter what he’s doing?