Authors: Ronica Black
“I’m very interested in you.” The ice was finally starting to melt
“Do you always go to such lengths with women you are interested in?” Erin rested her elbows on the table, cradling her chin with her hands.
“I usually don’t have to.” Adams sat motionless, her confidence unwavering.
“You’re implying that I’ve been less than cooperative?”
“Something like that.” A twitch of a playful grin formed at the corner of Adams’s mouth.
Erin breathed deep, thankful that she hadn’t pissed the woman off. But just to be on the safe side, she decided that she should try to explain. “I’m a very private person, Liz.” She spoke softly but held her tone firm. “And I’m not easily impressed with wealth.”
Adams shifted a bit in her chair. “Lesson well learned.”
The man returned with their entrees, and they dined in comfortable silence for a while, Erin eating more than Adams, who ate slowly and quietly. She did take the time to refill their wine, and Erin gave her a grateful smile.
“I’m glad you like the food,” Adams remarked.
“Like it? Are you kidding? It’s the best I’ve eaten in a long while.” Erin knew she sounded more than impressed, but she also knew it would take some work to warm her companion up again. Mindful that she needed to get her talking again, she said, “You’re spoiling me.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
“So, why so interested in me?”
Adams put her fork down, the flicker of life returning to her eyes. “Honestly?”
Erin nodded encouragement.
“Well, at first it was your looks. You’re very easy on the eyes.” This remark was said in a deeper, more seductive tone. “But then, after I spoke to you, it became more.”
“More?” Erin felt the heat returning to her cheeks in response to the intense attention. The flattery was affecting her, causing involuntary responses in her body. She took another sip of wine, willing it to release the hot blood in her cheeks.
“You aren’t like most women. You want more than a meaningless fling or the flair of money and power. You demand more.”
Erin lowered her eyes guardedly and continued to sip her wine. Patricia Henderson had been right. Adams found Katherine Chandler’s elusiveness intriguing. Already, she had her pegged and was lifting her game in response. Patricia was turning out to be right about a lot of things.
“I hope I wasn’t too frank.” Adams allowed her plate to be cleared by the man who had walked in to retrieve them.
“No, not at all. You were fine.” Erin hoped she sounded cool, relaxed, and unperturbed.
“Would you like dessert?”
“Oh my gosh, I don’t know.”
“Maybe just a bite?”
Erin sighed and laughed. “You twisted my arm.”
“We’ll share dessert,” Adams informed the man in white. She rose and walked over to Erin, pulling her chair closer to her. “I thought maybe after this we could go for a swim.” The suggestion was put out in the air lightly, as if she were treading very carefully with Erin.
“I don’t have a suit.”
Adams raised her eyebrow mischievously.
“Oh no! No, you don’t! Don’t even think about it!”
Adams laughed heartily and clasped her hands over Erin’s in an effort to calm her. “I’m kidding. I have dozens of suits. Several of them are brand new, never worn.”
Erin thought about fanning herself to cool the hot blood that rushed to her face like a flash flood. The thought of skinny-dipping with Liz Adams sent her heart racing and her blood pumping. Images of the woman diving nude into the tropical paradise in the backyard excited her, as well as aroused her—two things she definitely should not have been feeling.
This was not good. She was finding that she was way too attracted to the beautiful murder suspect. But she couldn’t tell her no, not after she’d pushed her so far over dinner.
“I promise I’ll behave. And I’ve kept my hands-off promise so far. Well, up until now.” Adams removed her hands from Erin’s.
“Yes, I suppose you have.”
“So what do you say?” Adams grinned at her playfully.
“Sure, a swim sounds nice.” The boys back at the station were probably getting a real kick out of listening to this. Right about now, Erin knew they were wishing they had hidden cameras in the backyard. She hoped J.R. wasn’t broadcasting her attempt at seduction for all to hear.
Before the conversation could get any more embarrassing, the chef returned with a single plate and huge smile. He was obviously pleased that his food had been received so well. Adams had probably threatened to make his life hell if it wasn’t. After describing the dessert, a hot apple macadamia crisp, he left them alone and Adams took a spoon and scooped up a sizable, steaming bite.
She maneuvered the spoon toward Erin. “Careful, it’s hot.”
Their eyes locked. Erin’s chest was rising and falling quickly and she was certain Adams could see right through her. She blew on the apple crisp and took a slow bite, careful to wrap her lips snugly around the spoon as Adams pulled it back out.
“Mmm.” She kept her eyes locked on the other woman’s, knowing the sight of her eating was turning Adams on. “Now, your turn.” She picked up the other spoon and dug out a bite. “Careful, it’s hot.” She grinned and blew on the pastry.
Adams placed her hand over Erin’s and leaned in to take a bite. The scene was erotic and captivating, causing butterflies to fly madly in Erin’s stomach, despite the meal she’d just eaten.
“How is the apple crisp, ladies?” The young man without the hat stood in the entrance of the room with his hands clasped politely in front of him.
A low growl escaped from Adams as she tore her eyes from Erin’s. “Fine. Thank you.” Anger laced her words and the server quickly removed himself from their presence.
She turned to once again look at Erin. “Now, where were we?” She picked up her spoon to scoop out another bite, but Erin stopped her by placing her hand over the Adams’s.
“I can’t eat another bite, Liz. I’m stuffed.” She offered a reluctant smile. “But it was very good. It was wonderful.” Catching the disappointment on Adams’s face, Erin was glad that she wasn’t the man who had interrupted them.
Adams rose and kissed Erin’s hand with soft, warm, lingering lips. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Please allow me to wrap things up with our chefs. Make yourself at home.”
For a minute or so, Erin waited, physically cringing, preparing herself for the screaming she was sure she would hear after Adams vanished. But when there was no yelling, she relaxed and rose to wander about the house.
She made her way into a sunken living room, which held an enormous gas fireplace and several large, feather-stuffed sofas. She noticed there were no photos of family or friends on the walls, none on the tables. A beautiful oil painting of a woman lounging in the nude hung on the wall. The woman was pale, her skin like cream. Her features were classic and her body curvaceous.
“Do you like it?” Adams had returned in stealthy silence to stand at Erin’s side.
“It’s beautiful. She’s beautiful.”
“Yes, she is. Too bad she doesn’t exist.”
“She doesn’t?”
“Theoretically, no. That’s Aphrodite.”
Erin heard clanking in the kitchen and knew the two men would soon be gone and she would be left alone with Elizabeth Adams. The thought made her nervous, but not because she physically feared for her safety.
“Are you Greek?” She tried her best to sound at ease.
“I’m not sure.”
Erin recalled that Adams had been raised by an aunt and uncle, her paternity unknown, as well as the whereabouts of her mother. “You look like you could be.”
“Think so?”
“Yes.” Captivated by her beauty, Erin forced herself to look away.
Adams excused herself to see the chef and his assistant out of the house. From the profuse thanks Erin overheard, she guessed they’d been given a sizable tip.
“Ready for that swim?” Adams asked when she returned.
“Sure.” Erin shrugged, praying the pool water was cold enough to cool her blood down.
“I’ll go get you a suit.”
While she waited, Erin wandered slowly around the house, noting how neat it was. Not a single thing seemed to be out of place. She thought about looking in some drawers but didn’t want to risk that with Adams in the house. Not to mention the fact that the house was probably wired with cameras, just like the club.
“Here we go.”
Erin turned at the sound of the voice to find Adams wearing nothing but a black string bikini. She almost covered her eyes to end the sensual assault of the nearly nude, incredibly fit woman standing so proudly in front of her and offering her a bathing suit.
Erin looked away from the sculpted muscles before her and focused on the two scraps of material Adams handed her. “It’s so small.” She held it up to examine.
Adams shrugged her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I have others somewhere, but that’s all I could find.”
The apology sounded hollow, and Erin toyed with the tags on the tiny white suit, debating whether or not she should swim. She could almost hear the guys at the station cheering her on.
“You can change in here.” Adams took her hand, giving her no more time to refuse.
Erin followed her to a guest bathroom, noticing her strong, tanned legs and perfectly shaped buttocks.
How can anyone who eats have an ass like that?
“Come on out to the pool when you’re ready.” Adams flashed a perfect smile.
Erin watched her walk away, completely in awe of her incredible body, then closed the door to the bathroom and locked it. She made a quick, proficient sweep of the room, checking and double-checking for hidden cameras. Her previous narcotics assignments had left her well trained in the art of planting and retrieving hidden devices, and she knew the numerous locations to house them. The only place she couldn’t check for sure was the mirror.
Uncertain what could lie behind it, she walked over to the toilet, out of the mirror’s range, and took off her clothes, carefully removing the wire concealed in her bra.
“I’m going to put you someplace where I’ll know you’ll feel right at home, J.R,” she whispered, standing before the toilet and carefully lifting the lid to the tank. Using the beige-tinted tape that had held the wire to her skin, she secured the small black piece inside the tank and replaced the lid. She then stripped off her remaining clothes and set about covering herself with the Band-Aids and string Adams had so happily provided.
Thank God she managed her bikini line on a regular basis, she thought, standing before the mirror in the tiny white suit. Feeling unbelievably self-conscious, she gave herself the once over from every angle possible. She didn’t look half bad, her body being fit and toned, although nothing like Adams’s. That woman didn’t have an ounce of fat on her. She was all sleek, lean muscle, and beautifully bronzed by the sun.
Erin took a deep breath. “Well, here goes.”
*
George Michael crooned from the speakers in the backyard and it was now completely dark, the accent lights turned off. The pool light was now purple, and Erin breathed a little easier, knowing that she would be harder to see.
“There you are.” Adams was in the pool, resting her hands and forearms on the cool deck at the edge.
The pool changed color, casting a brighter glow on Erin. She hugged herself as if she were cold, and Adams grinned at her like a wet devil.
“I see the bikini fits. Barely.” Her eyes burned trails up and down Erin’s body. “Are you really cold or are you just embarrassed?”
She hoisted herself up out of the pool and slinked up to stand in front of Erin. She stood so close Erin could see the water dripping from her hands, her hair, the dark lashes that framed her eyes.
The warm night air shook in her nervous lungs, and she had to cough to clear them. “I’m fine.”
She realized she was still hugging herself like a scared fool and let her hands fall to her sides. For a moment, she was afraid Adams was going to touch her, but the woman walked past her and retrieved two glasses off a nearby table.
“I took the liberty of making you another sloe screw.”
Erin accepted the drink and thanked her. She sipped at it carefully, afraid to have much more, already feeling the effects from all the wine she had consumed at dinner.
“So, you coming in?” Adams walked past her back to the pool, where she deposited her drink on the cool deck before gracefully diving back in.
Erin crossed to the steps of the pool and set down her drink. The water was warmer than she had hoped for, feeling more like a lukewarm, dark purple bath. She stood on the last step, up to her waist in water, and looked around anxiously for Adams. She suddenly felt very vulnerable, like she was swimming in water full of hungry sharks.
Adams emerged from the water directly in front of her, startling her, causing her to lose her balance and fall from the step. Strong, slender arms steadied her.
“You okay?” Adams asked.
They were standing a mere inch apart in shoulder-high water. The glowing water had changed to a lighter green and it played in dancing white lines across Adams’s strong jawline. Her eyes were alive and bright blue, piercing Erin to the core.