LifeoftheParty (3 page)

He bucked against her and shoved her away, snaking his hand
between them to rip the buttons from her shirt. A quick flick of the clasp and
her breasts spilled from her bra, Doug seizing a nipple between his teeth,
pulling. She jolted against him, groaning, her breath coming hard, shoving her
fingers into his hair. As he licked and sucked, the combination of heat and
cool sent ripples of beautiful agony through her and she writhed against him,
pressing into his groin. Again he pushed her away and, grasping her hips, fell
to his knees.

Gina looked down. “Oh God… Oh Doug,” she heard herself say.
He slid his hands down her thighs then slowly slipped them under her skirt,
sliding it upward, taking the fabric with them, over her stockings, her garters,
back up her shivering thighs until he reached her panties. He looked up at her,
one hand cupping her pussy.

Her chest was heaving, her nipples rock-hard, her panties
soaking his palm.

Those icy eyes caught on hers looked so different now, a
kind of fever simmering beneath them. She felt raw, exposed, yet oddly
comforted, as if she’d run into someone familiar far from home. She desperately
hoped he felt that way too, that it was more than simple lust or there’d never
be any hope for them, as when she pressed a hand to his shoulder, his gaze was
almost pleading. Right then she would have given him anything. Yet somehow she
knew
taking
was more on the agenda.

A second later he yanked her panties down and, grasping her
ass, sank his mouth onto her.

A bolt of pleasure rocketed through her, her knees buckling.
Good thing he held her up, his hand firmly under her ass as his tongue flicked
wildly against her clit, a scream caught in her throat. Almost instantly she
came, her hips quivering as he raced his tongue around her clit and over her
slit, wave after wave of pleasure gripping her so intensely it flirted with
pain. And when he parted her lips and drove his tongue inside her, she almost
shot through the roof, her body shaking so violently she nearly tore the hair
from his scalp, her fist falling to pummel his back.

“Stop! Stop!” she demanded, still coming, his mouth
relentless as he pushed her higher and higher, his hands gripping her ass so
tightly she could feel his nails digging into her skin. Gina didn’t know how
much longer she could stand it but she didn’t want him to stop either,
wondering what she’d finally say to him when he did. Yet inwardly she exalted.

This was Doug.
Doug.
Who else could make her feel
this way? She slipped her hand to his lips, touching the tongue tasting her. It
was hot and cool and persistent, and when he caught her finger and nipped it,
sucking it into his mouth, that gesture seemed more intimate than if they were
both naked, lying in each other’s arms. It was then he finally released her,
and with her clit still throbbing, dripping with satiety, he slowly kissed his
way up her fevered body to the curve of her jaw where just as suddenly he
stopped. He pulled back slightly, staring at her.

With her breasts still exposed, her skirt still pushed
around her hips, his hands still holding her up, Gina was completely under his
power and the idea terrified her. Terrified and thrilled her. And like he had
so many times before, she wanted his massive cock pummeling her, fucking her
senseless. But even more she wanted him
inside
her, all of him—mind,
body, heart, and she wanted it with a hunger so overwhelming she couldn’t let
it show on her face. Unlike the man who was staring at her, his expression
marked by an intensity she hoped to God wasn’t contempt.

Then all at once he kissed her, his hands ravaging her hair,
combs dropping away to send it spilling about her shoulders, his mouth musky
with her taste, his cock pulsing against her belly. She snaked her hand into
his trousers, touching it. He jolted and just as quick as before, he whisked
her around, a look of horror on his face.

“I have to go,” he said.

Gina grabbed his arm. “Doug! Don’t leave. We have to talk.
Believe it or not, it’s life or death. You have to help me.”

He took a step back. “Get someone else.”

“There
is
no one else.”

But she knew the fact there always had been someone else was
why he was leaving now. “Doll, you haven’t changed a bit. Still in summation
mode.” He bolted out the door.

“Doug.” Gina stumbled, fumbling with her ruined clothes as
she flew to the window. “Doug!” But he was already in his car, his arm flung
across the seat as he fishtailed down the drive. She ran to the window
opposite, seeing him whip out into the street, nearly colliding with an
oncoming truck. Doug stomped the gas, tearing away.

“Damn,” she muttered, falling back against Roark’s desk.
What the hell would she do now?

* * * * *

Doug careened through traffic, barreling up the street to
the River Line Light Rail’s parking lot, wedging the car into a slot near a
clump of evergreens. He grabbed a towel out of his gym bag, yanking down his
zipper a moment before his cock near exploded into his hand. With Gina’s taste
on his lips, he emptied himself into terry.

Holy fuck, how he still wanted her.

He closed his eyes, replaying the last few minutes as he
regained his breath. Two and a half years later she was still a goddess, a
goddamned bitchy Venus, snaring him with one blink of those sherry-colored
eyes. He ached for that gorgeous ass, those thighs like velvet, a pussy so deep
he could sink every inch of himself. And those tits, heavy and overflowing in
his hands…how he loved to bury himself against her. How he loved the curve of
her neck, the silkiness of her chestnut hair, how she sighed when he kissed her.

How he had loved her. And how she’d ripped his heart right
out of him.

He opened his eyes. To his right, a woman and her kid were
getting out of their car. And staring dead at him.

He closed his jacket over himself, grinning. She slammed the
door and, grabbing the boy’s hand, scuttled away.

Doug swiped, zipped, tossing the towel over the seat. He
started the car and pulled out, heading toward Route 130 South and Camden.

“Jesus Christ,” he said, his hand roaming for his flask.

* * * * *

FIFTH DISTRICT, CITY OF CAMDEN POLICE DEPARTMENT

DETECTIVE UNIT

1:29 P.M.

“Welland!”

He turned, scanning the length of the big room. Past the
rows of desks, past the myriad detectives and their accompanying effluvia stood
Captain Halchak, his arms crossed, a scowl on his face.

“Yes sir?”

“What are you doing here?”

Doug closed a desk drawer with his knee. “Just picking up a
few things. Seen Stewart, by the way?”

“Stewart’s been reassigned for the duration.” The captain
backed into his office. “Now get over here.”

Doug dropped some cuffs in his pocket and, swiveling around
the desk, went to him.

“Did you see her?” Halchak asked without preamble.

Doug closed the door but didn’t sit. “Yeah. This morning.”

“And?”

He cleared his throat. Just the thought of her shot an ache
to his groin. “We didn’t really have time to talk.”

The captain’s brow rose. “But you’ll be getting together
with her again,” Halchak said, not as question.

“She wants to.”

“You have to. Seems she really is in some deep shit.” He sat
back. “I take it you’ve heard of Jack Falco.”

“The congressman? The one they call ‘the ladies’ choice’?
Yeah, a big player. I think I’ve even voted for him once or twice.”

Halchak snorted. “So you do take your head out of your ass
sometimes.”

“Every now and then,” Doug said, dropping to a chair. “You
know, after I’m done beating off to the porn sites.”

Another snort. “Anyway, he’s primed to toss his hat in the
ring for governor next run.”

“Yeah? So what’s this got to do with Gina?”

Halchak raised a brow. “I guess you really didn’t have time
to talk. She’s his chief of staff.”

Now it was Doug’s turn at surprise. “Last I heard she was
working for the DNC, you know, the Democratic party, down in Washington.”

“You need to update your surveillance, bucko, she left them
for K Street.” Halchak checked his screen again. “Says here that’s where she
hooked up with Falco, lobbying for the DNA Identification Clearance Act, the
bill he co-sponsored.”

Doug’s fists tightened. So that’s where she’d been, trailing
after that show pony? He wanted to break the fucker’s neck. He shifted in the
chair. “Again, what’s it got to do with Gina?”

“Falco, as you might know, has been trying for years to get
DNA identification out there as normal procedure in capital cases. But it
hasn’t made some people too happy. I’m sure you’ve heard of prisoners locked up
for years, getting their DNA analyzed, and it proves them innocent. Well, Gina
Bardone has defended about a dozen or so of these cases, and every one of them
got sprung.”

“Why am I not surprised,” Doug mumbled.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Halchak eyed him but continued. “Anyway, that’s what brought
her and Falco together, more or less. And that’s what also made Gina more
visible. And more of a target.”

Doug leaned forward in his chair. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying someone wants to kill her.”

His breath caught. It was still there. He wanted to choke
the life out of anyone even threatening a hair on her head. His hands gripped
the armrests. “You better explain yourself, Captain.”

Halchak eyed him coolly. It was clear he’d been tested by
far worse. “So far all it’s been is emails. But there’s a big rally coming up
this Sunday where Falco’s officially announcing he’s running for governor, and
they figured this is where whoever’s threatening her will make their move.
Because of his impending announcement, the state police will give him
protection if he wants it, especially because of this rally. So he’s got a plain-clothes
out with him for all public appearances.”

“Wait a minute.” The image of Gina with his pistol took on
new meaning. “You mean that bastard gets protection but he’ll just let her
hang?”

“He’s not letting her hang. Since Camden, and Riverboro
where the rally’s going to be, fall into Falco’s congressional district, he can
get her local protection. She got to pick and she picked you.” Halchak’s phone
rang. “Now every second you wait you leave her exposed. I suggest you get to
it.” He turned to the ringing phone. Doug stood up, summarily dismissed.

He left the captain’s office in a daze.
She picked you.
It made a good story. He could almost believe it. Yet no matter how much he
still hurt, the thought of anyone out to harm Gina nearly sent him into a blind
rage. He had no choice. He had to go to her. And once he did, if this afternoon
was any indicator, he knew there was no way he could keep himself from her.

Doug snaked through the rows of desks in the detective unit,
passing his own and Stewart’s, both vacant for the foreseeable future, and took
the elevator to the basement. He walked the long hallway to the last door at
the end.
Forensics
, it said,
Lateesha Ibayah, MD, DO
.

She was a strikingly lovely woman with deep-green eyes and a
luscious full mouth, and Doug always wondered why she chose to keep herself
hidden in the basement laboratory of a police station, dealing with bodies and
blood smears. She was at her computer, working on one report or another, the
light from her desk lamp illuminating her coffee-colored skin, the lab coat
draped over her chair allowing him to appreciate the generous curves of her
rigorously toned body. When she saw him approach, she looked up and winked,
Doug smiling with long-overcome regret, remembering a time when he was just a
bit in love with her.

She leaned back in her chair. “Well, well, look who it is.
Hey, party boy.”

Doug sank his hands into his pockets. How could he ask her
this? He could hardly think it, let alone say it, but he knew he had to. And
somehow he knew she’d understand. “Listen, Doc, I need a favor.”

“As if I’m not busy enough.” Then she laughed, shaking her
head. “Oh all right, where’s the body?”

“No body. This time it’s personal.” He shrugged,
unaccustomedly abashed. “Look, I don’t know how to put this, but I haven’t
been, well… Okay, let me just say my choice of female company lately hasn’t
been—”

“The kind you’d bring home to Mama? Hmm. I see perfectly, Dougie.
And let me guess.” She stuck a slender finger to her chin. “There’s this girl
you just met, and you’d like to—”

“In ways even you can’t even imagine.” He pressed his
knuckles to her desk. “So, can you give me some tests on the QT?”

“Oh Dougie,” she said, sliding up her sleeves as she rose
from the desk, “I’ll even do it myself.” She crossed to a cabinet, pulling out
blood collection tubes, needles and a rubber tourniquet. “Have a seat,
Lieutenant. When I’m done with you, there won’t be a fluid of yours unexamined
or a disease left to rule out.” As she jabbed the needle in, he winced. “Oh
yeah, I’m going to enjoy the hell out of this.”

* * * * *

HOLLY HOUSE INN—RIVERBORO

THURSDAY 31 OCTOBER

6:18 A.M.

Gina stumbled toward the door, wrapping her robe around her.
Logic assured her if the killers were coming they’d hardly knock. Still, she
had mace in her pocket and a steak knife in her hand she’d grabbed from the
tiny kitchen.

“Who is it?” she asked, her heart pounding.

“It’s me,” Doug answered. “Open up.”

Relief washed over her, but so did hesitancy. Obviously, he
still wanted her, but could he possibly still care? The very thought of it left
her breathless. And perplexed about what to do next. She laid her cheek against
the door, her hand on the knob. “So you don’t hate me after all?”

She heard him sigh heavily. “Just open up.”