Dancing with Detective Danger Read online

  When they’d reached the hill’s crest, Ben had spread a picnic lunch for them and, exhilarated from the climb, they had savored the meal, the grandeur of the landscape, and their closeness.

  Then they’d watched as a dramatic and roiling cloud formation overtook their sun-drenched day. Typical of Ben, he’d appreciated the exhilaration of a darkening sky as much as the blue sky. Gray clouds turned ominously dark with luminous orange backlighting an approaching tower of clouds. Sterling had urged him to follow her to the cabin they’d rented for the night, just a few yards down the trail.

  She’d seen it in him then, that roaring rage that drove him, as he’d stood his ground while the winds worked up around him. Lightning flashed, striking a tree and dividing it in half, but Ben’s excitement didn’t waver.

  As rain had begun to pelt them, Ben finally grabbed her hand and led her to the cabin. She knew it wasn’t that he didn’t care about her well-being as he stood in the powerful weather — it was that he completely gave himself to the experience and wanted the same for her. That evening, alone together in the cabin, Ben had asked her to marry him and she’d happily agreed.

  Sterling turned away from the window, shaking her head to rid the thoughts that tormented her. Not long after that day, everything had changed. Nicholas died two weeks later, and with his death came the death of dreams for the life she’d planned.

  A knock at the door scattered her thoughts. “Come in,” she called.

  “You always keep such late hours?” Ben strode into the office, still dressed in his deep blue suit. He fixed her with a piercing look.

  She kept her eyes locked to his. “Actually, I was just getting ready to go home.” There was no way he could have read the thoughts she’d been indulging in, but his look made her feel as if he somehow knew. Acutely.

  “Going home? Can I give you a ride?” he offered, cocking his head to one side.

  Sterling knew the beguiling move was unconscious on his part, but it pulled at her heart mercilessly. “No thanks. I have my car. What brought you up here?”

  “I need to discuss the Pamela Witt murder with you.”

  “Again?”

  “It can’t be helped. It takes going over and over the details to ferret out the truth, remember?”

  “You could have called, you know.” Sterling chose to ignore his jab.

  “I like to do interviews face-to-face, don’t you?” Ben’s eyes glistened hypnotically.

  Sterling knew all too well that Ben’s motives were mixed, and she was not about to sit there helpless under his spell. Still, she had no choice but to cooperate, at least to some degree. He had her there. Resigned, she gathered her things, walked to the door, and flipped off the light switch. City lights threw soft beams into the room, barely illuminating Ben’s dark good looks. Pausing, she waited for him to follow. “We can talk on the way down.”

  “Have it your way. So how’s Lacey’s son?”

  “He’s doing okay. The doctor wanted to keep him in the hospital overnight, though, just to be sure.”

  “That’s good to hear. Crazy kid,” Ben said, shaking his head.

  “He takes after his dad.” Sterling looked away so Ben wouldn’t see the emotions reverberating through her. Ben had worked on the force with Lacey’s husband. He knew the man had been fearless. Just like her father. Just like Ben.

  “I’m sorry, Sterling,” he said. “Tyler is such a good little guy and Lacey’s already had it pretty rough.”

  She hated when he said the right thing. His voice sounded so deep and warm, nearly mesmerizing, like the melody of a favorite song.

  Walking beside him, Sterling’s nerves fairly screamed recognition of his masculine presence. She swallowed hard. “Did you get the coroner’s report yet?” she asked, stepping into the elevator.

  “Yeah. No surprises there. Of course, the coroner found water in her lungs, but Pamela died of strangulation.”

  Her eyes glued to the little number lights, Sterling watched them count backwards until the elevator reached the first floor. Six-five-four-three-two-one. She could feel Ben’s eyes on her, and her heart beat a loud cadence in her ears.

  “So the perp strangled her — ”

  “With his hands,” Ben interrupted. “Like this.”

  He stepped in front of her and put his brawny hands around her neck. His eyes drew hers upward. The warmth was there, just like she remembered it. God help me!

  Sterling lifted Ben’s hands from her neck, and felt herself tremble. She hated it. His skin felt so inviting against her fingers. “We’re on the ground floor, Ben.”

  Ben dropped his hands to his sides and stepped off the elevator. Thoughtfully, he rubbed his thumb against his chin. The rasping of his thick beard stubble sounded crisply inside Sterling’s head, drawing her in like a bee to honey.

  “We found Jerry’s fingerprints on a glass in the bathroom,” he said, eyeing her as she stepped out into the night.

  Sterling cleared her throat. “So they were enjoying a little early morning tryst. That would explain why there was no sign of forced entry and why the dog didn’t attack the killer. The dog must have known the killer. It seems pretty open and shut, huh?”

  “Maybe,” hedged Ben.

  “Maybe a little too neat?”

  “Yeah. But then, what’s wrong with neat?”

  “Well, here’s my car,” she said, stepping several feet away from Ben. Sterling pointed her remote key toward her car and put her hand on the door handle. Her hands still trembled, despite her efforts to calm herself. Nervously, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Ben standing on the other side of the lot.

  “You know, it seems like you’re always walking away from me,” he said, his voice low.

  Instantly, Sterling pivoted. “Don’t do that.” She faced him with as much composure as she could muster.

  “Don’t do what?” A few succinct broad strides and he closed the distance between them.

  “Don’t keep referring to the past.”

  “I can’t help it, Sterling. Maybe that’s because what we shared isn’t really in the past.”

  Standing close, he looked down at her with such sorrow, she wished she could reach out and hold him, tell him everything would be the way he wanted it. With strong emotions seething just under her skin, it would be so easy to tell him things could be the way they used to be.

  Instead, she backed away. “Where’s your car?”

  “It’s not here.” With a shirk of his shoulders, Ben shoved his fists into his pockets. “I had a road officer drop me off.”

  “How were you going to give me a ride?” she asked, flabbergasted.

  “Okay, so maybe I didn’t think it through.”

  A smile got out and she started to chuckle. “You nut. Come on, I’ll give you a ride to your apartment.”

  As Sterling pulled out of the parking space, Ben flashed her a wide smile. “Could we have dinner first? I’m famished.”

  “No. Just tell me where you live and I’ll take you home.”

  “I live at the same place on State Street,” he mumbled, settling into the seat.

  Thank God he doesn’t live far. I can’t take much more of this. It took all of her determination to withstand the overpowering awareness of him charging the air.

  Ben made attempts at small talk, for which Sterling felt grateful. Every time she opened her mouth, she heard herself stammer like a child.

  Silently, she pulled into a parking space outside of his apartment building. It felt like an eternity since she’d been here with him. But parts of her reacted like she was coming home.

  “Maybe there is hope after all,” Ben teased, his eyes glinting. “You still know the way. Maybe someday you’ll be back — to stay.”

  He climbed out of the car, and Sterling char
ged after him. She knew she shouldn’t let him get to her, but this persistence had to stop.

  Marching behind Ben up the stairs, Sterling fumed. “Why are you doing this, Ben Kirby?”

  He said nothing.

  “Don’t ignore me.” He unlocked the door and she stormed inside right behind him.

  “Gee, come on in.” Sarcasm dripped from his voice. “But watch out for the dog.”

  “Dog?” Sterling started, just as the streak of black and brown fur rambunctiously rounded the corner. “Mr. Teeth! What is he doing here? He’s still limping?”

  Ben crouched to corral the dog, and began scratching him affectionately under the chin. “The neighbors at the condo said his name is Joe, not Mr. Teeth. Somebody had to take him in. The animal control guys wanted to keep him, but he’s our only witness to the Witt murder.”

  “Excuse me, did you say witness?”

  “Yes, witness. And yes he’s limping. The vet said he has a bruised muscle. Probably got kicked.”

  Sterling watched uneasily, thinking of stepping out through the still open front door. “Well, that might explain why Lacey and I could get away from him at the condo. You two seem to have hit it off.”

  “He’s not so ferocious once you get to know him. He’s all bark. Besides, we have a lot in common. We’re both trying to get over broken hearts.”

  Sterling’s temper instantly flared. “It won’t work, you know. Your little comments won’t change anything. You’re only driving me crazy!”

  “I’m driving you crazy? I’m driving you crazy?” Ben stood to face her as Joe ambled away into the living room.

  “Yes.” Slamming her hands on her hips, Sterling stared Ben down. “Your comments keep bringing up old stuff. Stuff we settled two years ago.”

  In one second, he slammed the door shut and strode close to her. Standing inches from Sterling’s face, Ben peered down at her. “We never settled anything. You may have, I don’t know, but we never settled anything.”

  Ben’s eyes locked hers and suddenly Sterling felt her walls tumble. The pain filling his face gripped her heart. She knew she caused it. She had never meant to hurt him so terribly. Doing the right thing shouldn’t be so painful. Caught between the fear of what could happen and the agony of the moment, Sterling closed her eyes and collapsed against his chest. “I’m so sorry, Ben.”

  Ben’s body, rigid and hard, instantly drew up the buried cravings for his touch from deep and low inside her. As she let her mind relax, she felt a matching response, the taut muscles of his chest molding to her body.

  “God, I’ve missed you,” he breathed. Gently, reverently, he stroked her cheek, sending chills spiraling down her body.

  “This can’t be happening,” she murmured, her eyes still closed. The intimate brush of his breath on her face sent reason swirling up in smoke.

  “I love you, Sterling.” His voice sounded raspy in her ear, emotion tumbling out. “I’ve never stopped.”

  With every kiss Ben pressed to her hair, Sterling’s heart rose higher in her throat. His lips softly, hesitantly, touched hers. They felt warm and so invitingly tender. Weakly, she pressed her face into the hollow of his neck as he nuzzled her hair. She breathed in the warm, earthy scent of Ben — the only man who had ever gotten to her like this.

  His touch opened a door she’d closed and fiercely guarded since the day she told him goodbye. All the emotions she’d let dam up poured out in a torrent that swept her along at a ferocious velocity. Her breath labored. She had to slow things down, think. Instead, she reached up to hold Ben’s face between her hands, and found herself captured by the intense longing in his eyes.

  Gripping her tightly, Ben seared her lips with a hard, hungry kiss. “There’s been no one else, you know,” he said, his voice thick.

  Effortlessly, he wrapped Sterling in his arms, lifted her off her feet and carried her through the apartment to his bedroom. Gently, almost reverently, he laid her on his bed. Sterling felt his strength and knew he could overpower her. Ben stood above her, lean, agile, and assured, like a wildcat. But gentleness softened his power and she knew she wasn’t his prey. Compelled by some deep hunger of her soul, she wanted this as much as he did.

  His eyes — dark blue pools of heat — drew her in. Fears of the future drowned in those steady, simmering eyes. Ben pulled off his tie and shrugged off his suit coat. It fell silently to the floor and lay in a pool of moonlight filtering in through the window.

  Starkly, his holster contrasted against his white shirt, reminding her: Danger rode on Ben’s coat tails.

  Quickly, he tossed the holstered gun into the corner, unbuttoned his shirt, and stripped naked. Just as quickly, the fearful thoughts were driven from her mind by the restless winds of passion Ben stirred inside her.

  He lay down beside her and slid a warm hand inside her blouse, slipping it off one shoulder, then the other. Her breathing grew ragged as he took a nip of her shoulder. Traveling up to her waiting mouth, he teased it, taking his time to appreciate every sensuous delight.

  Sterling couldn’t stand it. The love she’d denied herself coursed through her body, firing her senses as though no time had passed. She wanted to feel him, all of him, with no holding back. She nipped at his ear, traced kisses down the angular line of his jaw, then gave life to her passion with a long, furious kiss.

  Ben wrenched off her remaining clothes and pulled her on top of him. Sterling moaned instinctively as he ran a finger down her spine and caressed the small of her back. Hungrily, he kissed her lips, plunging his tongue to taste of her deeply. Delicious tremors shivered through her as their thighs slid side by side.

  Slowly, Sterling raked her breasts against the curling dark mat on his chest, savoring the feel of Ben.

  He took her breasts in his hands, cupping them firmly but gently, and stared transfixed. “So beautiful,” he murmured and rubbed his thumb over a rosy circle. His mouth fastened to her, his tongue driving her passion. A low, primal moan escaped Ben’s throat as he plunged his head between the soft swells, then grabbed hard of her head to face his smoldering gaze.

  Ben’s eyes held Sterling’s, coaxing her to match his unabashed intensity. She felt carried along on a wild current of wind so strong, neither one could stop it. Nor wanted to.

  Ben pulled her tight and gracefully rolled over on top of her. Her body arched with abandon and she plowed her fingers through his thick, dampened hair, pulling his head close. His lips pressed hot kisses to her abdomen, licked playfully at her navel, then trailed more kisses along her thigh, taking her faster and deeper into the center of her being where the perfect love waited. Unleashed, it felt so right. She wanted nothing but to fuse completely with him.

  Urgent with need, Ben paused only long enough to ensure protection, but coming to her more fiercely, he melted to Sterling, meeting the aching inside her.

  As one with Ben, Sterling felt the primal rhythm take her over. Her body rising and falling in synchrony with his, she reveled in the hardness of his sculpted muscles. Her breath was his breath. His tender musings were her thoughts.

  As though riding with Ben on a wild wind, Sterling sailed higher and higher into a delicious paradise, where calmness and peace shuddered through her. Breathless and locked with Ben in intimate embrace, she tumbled with him straight downward toward earth, carried by the gentle breeze of satisfaction. Exhausted, she felt a contented rest take her over.

  Chapter Six

  “You should try to get some sleep,” Tyler’s nurse told Lacey. “We’ll keep an eye on your son and if there’s any problem we’ll wake you. But he’s doing just fine. I’d be happy to make up the hide-a-bed for you.”

  Even in the dim light from the hall, Lacey could see the woman’s eyes were kind. “Thanks. This chair will be fine.”

  “At least take this blanket.”

  As the nurse cl
osed the door behind her, Lacey huddled down deeper into the upholstered chair and unfolded the blanket across her lap. Lacey knew the nurse had no way of knowing that it didn’t matter where she rested her head, she would not be sleeping tonight.

  The soft sounds of Tyler’s breathing comforted her. The steady rhythm, in and out, in and out, assured Lacey that her son’s accident was just a bump in the road, not another tragedy. But even though sleeplessness ached at the back of her eyes, she would remain vigilant, like a sentry at the watch. It was the only way to make sure nothing would rob her of her cherished loved one.

  Thirty minutes later with her strained muscles begging for a stretch, Lacey unfurled from the chair and walked to the window, the blanket pulled around her shoulders. A starless, dark sky blanketed the night, but Lacey suspected the stars, hidden in the glow of the city lights, were twinkling brightly. Invisible, but always there.

  Lacey felt a tickle against her ear as one of the rose quartz earrings her sister had given her twisted gently. A shiver shimmied down her spine and her attention was drawn to an image reflected in the window. She blinked hard, twice. The blanket slipped from her fingers and cascaded around her feet. “Nicholas?” Freezing to the spot facing the window, Lacey squeezed her eyes shut. “You’re really letting your imagination run wild, Lacey,” she said, talking to herself out loud and not daring to open her eyes.

  Then she smelled it. The subtle sweetness of apple blossoms made familiar by association.

  The scent reminded her of a loved voice, a strong shoulder, a sweet smile. And, oh, how much she’d missed it all. She stood captured in the implausibility of the moment.

  “No, you’re not imagining anything, honey.”

  Still facing the window, Lacey slowly opened her eyes, a delicious feeling of finding something once lost lighting in her heart. “Nicholas,” she breathed. Her husband’s unmistakable sparkling eyes reflecting back at her melted all disbelief. “But how … is this magic?”

  Lacey felt his touch on her shoulder, so warm and known, and chanced to turn and look directly at her beloved Nicholas, or at least at the dream of him.