At Cross Purposes

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AnEllora’s CaveRomantica Publication www.ellorascave.com At Cross Purposes ISBN # 1-4199-0557-0 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. At Cross Purposes Copyright© 2 Edited byBriana St. James. Cover art byWillo . Electronic book Publication: April 2006 This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher,Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.®1056 Home Avenue,AkronOH 44310-3502. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously. Warning: The following material contains graphic sexual content meant for mature readers. This story has been rated S-ensuousby a minimum of three independent reviewers. Ellora’sCave Publishing offers three levels ofRomantica ™ reading entertainment: S (S-ensuous), E (Erotic), and X (X-treme). S-ensuouslove scenes are explicit and leave nothing to the imagination. E-roticlove scenes are explicit, leave nothing to the imagination, and are high in volume per the overall word count. In addition, some E-rated titles might contain fantasy material that some readers find objectionable, such as bondage, submission, same sex encounters, forced seductions, and so forth. E-rated titles are the most graphic titles we carry; it is common, for instance, for an author to use words such as “fucking”, “cock”, “pussy”, and such within their work of literature. X-tremetitles differ from E-rated titles only in plot premise and storyline execution. Unlike E-rated titles, stories designated with the letter X tend to contain controversial subject matter not for the faint of heart. ATCROSSPURPOSES SaharaKelly Trademarks Acknowledgement

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The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the followingwordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction: Rolex: Rolex Watch USA, Inc. Smith and Wesson: Smith and Wesson Corp. SigSauer: SIG Swiss Industrial Company Taser:TaserInternational, Inc. Chapter One “C’mon, Big John…signme!” Barbara grimaced inwardly as she purred the words to the handsome man with the pen. She nearly winced as he smiled politely and scrawled his name across her chest—if it was indelible ink, she was going to have to spend even more time in the shower getting it off her skin after this horrendous night was over. That didn’t take into account the amount of time she would need to get the four gallons of gel out of her hair or the day or two it would take for the marks from this damn push-up bra to fade from beneath her breasts. Going undercover sucked. Detective Barbara Fremont simply hated going undercover. Especially when required to play the role of a blonde bimbo. “My name’s Bambi.” She added the giggly whisper for effect. If the guys at the station ever heard her in full “dumb blonde” mode, she’d never live it down. Butsomebody from theSpringfieldpolice department had to get involved in this case and follow where it led. Barbara had lucked out. The store manager elbowed her out of the way and she stepped back with a frown, quickly hiding it with another vacant toothy smile.That guy was seriously asking for a well-placed spike in his foot. And she was wearing the perfect spikes to deliver the blow. She wandered away from the two men and let her eyes drift over the store itself. Not convinced that this was the seat of the bootlegged DVD ring that apparently operated out ofSpringfield, she once again surveyed the place and its patrons, under cover ofscoping out the latesttitty flick.

It had begun with a phone call to the chief from some high-placed State dude over in the capital. They’d bagged a truck with ashitload of bootlegged movies, and that truck had been registered inSpringfield. If it turned out that it was an interstate matter, the Feds would be brought in.

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The driver, of course, couldn’t speak English, had only a slip of paper with a delivery address inNew York Cityand had no idea who paid him or where his load had originated. It wasn’t exactly a dead end but it came damn close to it. Hence the involvement of the Springfield PD, and Barbara’s current assignment—check out the video stores, locate any DVDs that might have been bootlegged, identify anybody with the capacity to produce large numbers of DVDs and do it surreptitiously if possible. And of course it was an assignment tailor-made for anybody with Barbara’s assets—a very curvaceous bosom and a lot of unruly blonde hair.Two things she’d done her best to ignore since she first set foot in the police academy, and been studiously ignoring ever since. Unfortunately, she was theonlyone who ignored ‘em. When it came to shit like this, playing the role of idiot porn fan, Detective Fremont was top pick. She swore the guys chose the tightest outfit, the shortest skirt and suggested the worst makeup they could think of. She resisted the urge to scratch at her scalp, lest she dislodge the beehive currently pretending to be a hairstyle. She could have opted for a wig but the whole hygiene thing bothered her. Unless it was brand new, who knew where it had been? They were good guys at her station, each and every one a straight-up officer she’d gladly have at her back if it came to a shootout. They were her friends, her colleagues—her coworkers. In that unique way of police departments everywhere, they looked out for their own. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t indulge in a lot of horseplay within the station. And putting a sexy blonde with a 38DDbustline in their midst brought out the

horseplay. No matter that she’d scored in the top five percent when it came to firearms, or aced her way through the academy. Nope. None of that mattered. Barbara was held in warmth and affection—and ogled on a daily basis. She had a year’s supply of stripper pasties in one drawer, the biggest can of hair spray she’d ever seen in another and a book thoughtfully provided one Christmas on how to be a “Blonde”. She accepted it all with good humor and in the spirit in which it was given. The whole sexual harassment thing was ignored amongst the strength of the friendships in a squad room. Barbara trusted these guys with her life. Their sense of humor left something to be desired, but when the chips were down and the weapons drawn, they covered her back and she covered theirs. She would never ask them to change. And here she was, flashing the assets she usually kept under wraps, in an attempt to blend into the adult video scene and track a bootlegging ring. Life, she mused, was pretty damn funny at times. And this time the laugh was at her expense. Jerking her thoughts back to the current situation, she let her gaze drift to Big John Johnson, the guy everybody wanted to meet. She’d read his profile, knew he was ahelluva lot better educated than anybody would guess and that he was a well-respected adult film director.

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She’d also seen a hint of distaste at the back of his eyes. This was a man who wasn’t thrilled to be here, who seemed surprisingly weary of the fuss and bother. Her intuition told her he wasn’t a suspect—he had too much on the line to risk it all for the sake of the money bootlegging could bring in. And now he was talking to some mousy girl, an oddity in this world of plastic and sex. She dismissed them both from consideration. Wherever the trail led, it wasn’t going to end up with Big John, also known as Jack Foster. That much she knew for certain.

The crowd was thinning now as the night progressed. A burst of laughter from the register drew her attention back to the manager—Lou something or other. And he was a fish of a different color. He’d snagged her interest right off the bat. She was used to being leered at, but hehadn’t. His first gaze had been—assessing. Yeah, that was the word. He’d assessed her from head to foot within two seconds. Then the heat had built and she’d got the usual wide grin and the “come right on in, sweetheart” line. But that first impression had stuck in the back of her mind. Sure he was a businessman and needed to check out his customers. But it was more thanchecking out . It was a cautious and thorough appraisal of each and every person that came through his door. He was built tough, tall with muscles that screamed “workout” on a daily basis. He had the obligatory dark stubble on his chin, blue eyes that were surprisingly clear and dark hair brushing his shoulders. Clearly the man was into the cover-model look and equally clearly the women who came in appreciated it. Had the circumstances been different, Barbara might have done some of her own appreciating. But she was on duty and couldn’t afford the luxury of letting a guy appeal to her on a personal level. Something about this man set off alarm bells in the professional portion of her mind and she studied him with intense interest. He missed nothing, giving coffee to Big John, chatting with customers, pointing out videos, ringing up sales—he did it all with charm and humor. And behind it wassomething Barbara couldn’t pin down. She browsed more racks, moving quietly through the store, mingling as unobtrusively as was possible for a woman in four-inch heels and with most of her tits hanging out. Customers came and went, for lack of a better expression, sometimes with a purchase, sometimes not.

Barbara watched it all, cataloging anybody who might be of interest to her current case. The only one she came back to, time and time again, was Lou. Sidling up to the register, she caught his nametag. LouFranconi. She filed it away in her mind and watched as Big John left with the mousy woman. Which pretty much signaled the end of the “event” and it didn’t take too long for the store to empty. Perhaps now was her chance to check out this Lou guy. He was unsettling enough that he might have something going on, something that prickled Barbara’s police intuition.After all, who better than a

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manager to get into some bootleg action? He was in an ideal position to buy black market stuff at a lower rate than his usual stock, thus clearing ahelluva lot more on the proceeds than the regular rate. Yeah. He was about the only suspect she could nail down. Definitely worth a closer look. Perhaps if she played her role to the hilt, she could get him to offer her some “cut-rate” DVDs. She pasted her “dumb” grin over her face, tugged down her clingy top another inch or so, thrust her breasts out and strolled up to the register. “Hi.” She had to be a hooker. Lou couldn’t see any other reasonable explanation for the fact that MissSupertits was still hanging around. He’d had his eye on her for most of the night, since there wassomething about her that made him itch. And when Investigator LouFranconi itched in a certain way, something was usually out of place other than his balls.

Since she hadn’t tried to steal a video, stash a vibrator down her cleavage or offer him a special deal on a shipment of bootleg DVDs, the only other alternative was that she was looking to cash in on her night by turning a trick or two. At his expense. “Hi.” She smiled at him, a dimpled work of art that should have melted his sneakers. But it didn’t, since he noticed the smile didn’t quite make it to her large hazel eyes. Oh yeah. She was all about business. And the business was pointing directly at him, barely concealed by a clingy top and the frills of the lacy bra she wore beneath. He let his gaze wander over her breasts. They were beauties, and if they were fakes he’d like to shake the hand of her plastic surgeon. In spite of himself, Lou felt a stirring tingle around his cock. He was human after all, and she was one fine piece of walking steam heat.“Hi yourself. Find anything you like?” He nodded at the racks of sexually explicit videos. She licked her lips and once again, Lou’s cock twitched. Shit, she was good. “Well, now you come to mention it…” Her eyes clashed with his and fuck if he didn’t hear the sound of the collision. Like glass breaking or something. “Damn, girl. You sure have a way of looking at a man.” He leaned towards her, elbows on the counter, wondering if she’d back away a little as he closed the gap between them. She didn’t. Instead, she leaned forward too, deepening the shadows between her gorgeous breasts. “I guess that wouldkinda depend on the man I’m looking at…” Touché.Lou caught a whiff of her fragrance, something simple and floral, at odds with her appearance.

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He smiled, all teeth and crinkly eyes, the look he’d perfected to put women like her at their ease.“Oh yeah?”

In another place, at another time, Lou would have made a move on this one, for sure. She was hot, contradictory and sexy as they come. She wouldn’t have been a hooker and he wouldn’t have been a cop. It would have been a night to remember. But—thatwas fantasy.This was reality and Lou watched her carefully. She didn’t move at all, neither relaxing nor moving in for the kill.“Most definitely.” Heat curled around them both, trapping Lou fair and square. “My name’s Lou.” “Yeah.I noticed.” She glanced at his nametag. “I’m Bambi.” “Of course you are.” He let his gaze wander very obviously to her breasts. “It’s a pleasure to…meet you, Bambi.” Her eyes flashed as he looked up again.“Both of you.” Her husky chuckle made his cock ache.“Cute, Lou.Very cute.” “So.”He cleared his throat. “You pickingup a video or something tonight?” “Oh definitelysomething .”She pushed a strand of hair back behind her ear. “But I don’t know about a video.There’s several I’d like to take home and…spend somequality time with…” Again she licked her lips, sending several X-rated visions into Lou’s brain that threatened to detonate once they got there and send his entire libido into overload. “…But they’rekinda on the pricey side for a girl on a budget, you know?” There it was.The come-on. She was out for money, cold hard cash. Lou’s desire withered a little. “I understand. Sometimes I wonder at the cost of some of ‘emmyself. It’s hard to tell whether they’re worth it…” He stared at the expressions crossing her eyes. She was good, but not quite good enough to keep all her thoughts hidden from his trained gaze. There was calculation, curiosity, assessment—and, if he wasn’t mistaken, a healthy dose of sexual heat. “I’msure they’re worth it.” She raised one eyebrow slightly, jerking Lou back into a sensual haze. “One just has to check them out carefully, doesn’t one?”

“Mmm-hmm.”He nodded.Time to push the envelope. See if she was up to his speed. He reached out his hand to her lips and extended one finger. “Open your mouth.” Eyes widening in surprise, she did as he asked, parting her lips and jerking a little as he slid his finger in between. He pulled it out again, damp with her saliva, and lowered his hand, smearing the ink signature on the curve of her breast. “It’s a shame to see a man’s name on something so…sowomanly.” He let his

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fingertip linger on her heated flesh. “Don’t you think?” She didn’t bat an eyelash. “Ithink …you missed a bit.” She grasped his hand and raised it to her mouth once more. Carefully she licked around the finger, delicately caressing each millimeter of skin, sliding her tongue down to the webbing at its base and finally sucking it into her mouth only to release it with a little pop. Glancing down she pushed his hand to her chest and swiped at the last of the inky smudge. “There. That’s better.” Game, set and match to the babe. Lou had to laugh. He’d been bested at his own game. “So does that get me a discounted video or two?” She tipped her head questioningly, smiling at him. This time the smile went right to her eyes and Lou gulped. When she turned off the plastic and turned on the real woman, she was a killer. “Meet me ‘round back in ten minutes. I have to lock up.” “Thanks, Lou. You’re a peach.” She nodded and clicked her way to the door on those ridiculously high heels of hers. The ones that made her bare legs look about a mile long beneath her shortshort skirt. So she was a hooker and he had every intention of seeing she ended her night in the local lockup. Probably be the best thing for her—get her off the streets and out of those shoes for a while. But there was no law anywhere that said he couldn’t enjoy the experience. Itwouldn’t be entrapment. Justfun .

Shehadhim. It wasn’t entrapment, since neither had mentioned any kind of special pricing on the videos or anything illegal. If he wanted to sell her a few at a cut-rate, that was between him and the store. If he wanted to sell her a few that didn’t have the correct labels on them, well, that would be between him and the District Attorney. All she had to do was get one, prove the label wasfake and she’d be home free. He probably thought she was a hooker, by the come-ons he’d given her. But again, neither had mentioned sex or sexual acts for money. She’d keep the conversation strictly about the videos, see what he had to offer,then get the hell out as quickly as possible. Reaching into her large bag, she felt the comforting coolness of her cuffs. And, although she should have left it at home, the familiar grip of her personalSig P239, a nice little compact pistol that was almost brand new. The perfect weapon for carrying concealed, she’d bought herself one of them recently, knowing it would tuck neatly out of sight amidst the stuff in her bag and—crucially—not catch on anything if she had to draw it in a hurry. It was her 9mm insurance policy and ahelluva lot more reliable than anything a company could offer. Her heels clicked on the concrete of the alley between buildings as she made her way cautiously to the rear of the store and the loading dock that opened up to the stockroom. There were no trucks on the

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service road at this time of night—all was shadows and the murky gleam of amber street lamps. Perfect. Barbara fluffed her hair, told her hormones to go take a walk and tried to focus on the job at hand. So what if he was one delicious hunk of male that she wouldn’t mind a wild weekend in bed with? A lot of it had to do with the fact that her sex life was pretty much nonexistent at the moment. In fact, she couldn’t remember her last date. And wasn’tthat sad?

She sighed,then straightened as she heard the keys rattle inside the store. It would seem Mr. Lou Franconi was indeed “locking up”. The small door opened next to the loading dock and Lou came out, securing it behind him. He glanced down to see her waiting at the bottom of the stairs and smiled. “Got a little something you might like here.” He nodded at his backpack. “Cool.” Barbara pasted a look of vacant sexual enthusiasm on her face. Or at least hoped she did. Watching him walk down the stairs with an easy stride, she was struck once more by the inherent sensuality of his moves. By the muscles that rippled under his shirt and by the attractive planes of his face. God, he was quite lovely.A work of natural grace and masculine appeal. He joined her in the shadows formed by the concrete steps and the back wall of the store, effectively cornering her. Shit. She wasn’t thinking straight, obviously, since this wasnota good professional position to be in. Letting a possibleperp corner an investigating officer was a serious lapse in judgment. So was lowering her gaze to his crotch for two seconds, but she couldn’t stop her instincts. She looked. And there was a nice healthy bulge behind his fly. Oh yeah, baby. Oh no, Detective. He leaned against the wall and produced a couple of DVDs from his bag.“How about these?” She took the top one.Eat Your Heart Out . “Oh wow. This one is neat. Thanks, Lou.” He moved in a little closer. “You like?” “Um, yeah.Haven’t seen this one yet.”And it wasn’t on the damn list of bootlegged titles, either.Fuck . “I have more.Wanna see?” His eyebrow rose as he gently ran a finger down her cheek.

“Sure. I’ll look at anything you got.”Oops.Wrong thing to say. “I waskinda hoping you’d say that.” He reached for her hand and steered it towards his jeans. “Youare

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getting me hot. You know that, don’t you?” Barbara slipped into hooker-mode. He might not have any illegal merchandise, but if she read him right he was about to proposition her. She hoped he liked the thought of a night in a cell. “I’d hoped so.” It was a provocative purr accompanied by the lightest of touches to his groin. “Mmm.”He growled the sound, startling her a little. “I don’t usually go for this, you know.” Lost in the sensation of heat from beneath the worn denim, Barbara had to struggle to keep track of what he was saying.“Really?” “Really.”He pushed his hips forward, letting her feel the extent of his arousal. And there was quite a bit ofextent to feel. “Wait up, here. I’m starting to hurt.” His hands unsnapped his waistband and lowered the zipper partway, revealing a serious lack of underwear and onehellaciously fine cock. The woman in Barbara licked her lips and kicked the detective in her out of the way. This was the kind of guy who could really blow up her skirts. “Oh my, Lou.This is a pretty damn fine piece of equipment.” She stopped short of touching him. “Matches yours, baby.”His fingers ran around the lace of her bra, sending delightful shivers to her nipples and elsewhere. “Seems like we’d fit good.Maybe.” He moved even closer, letting his chest brush her breasts, his backpack and the videos forgotten on the stairs next to him. Barbara shuddered as a firm hand clasped her thigh and ran up towards her buttock, sliding easily beneath the elastic of her panties.

“No thong? I like thongs.” He sounded disappointed. “But who cares? You feel good, Bambi.Real good.” Strong fingers kneaded her buttocks and it was all Barbara could do not to moan out a sound of pleasure. This guy knew his way around a woman. “Suppose you and I get better acquainted?” The zipper was down all the way now and something hot and hard was digging into Barbara’s flesh. “Mmm.”She couldn’t help the sound. She was horny, aroused by the sex that had surrounded her all evening and confronted with one luscious piece of male that met all her requirements and surpassed quite a few of ‘em. And she loved sucking cock. She was on her knees with her hands around him, inhaling his tangy scent before her mind clicked back into gear. The cold concrete beneath her knees jerked her back from her fantasy.Time to get serious. “Is this what you’d like, Lou?” He cleared his throat harshly. “What do you think?”

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“I think you need to tell me what you like and how you like it…” She cradled him in her hands, a long silk and steel length that was swelling even more within her grasp. “And how much?” The question didn’t surprise her, merely raised a cautious flag in her brain. “What do you want, Lou? Tell me. Turns me on to hear you talk about what you like. Money doesn’t matter at a time like this, does it?” Carefully she touched the tip of his cock with her tongue, a light flick, no more, but enough to make him tremble. “Fuck. I want that.Whatever it costs. I don’t care—just suck me, babe.” Barbara made a great pretense of settling herself in front of him, while her free hand groped in her bag for her cuffs. He fidgeted as well, his hips squirming as she palmed him. “You got cash, Lou?” She breathed the words onto his balls. He groaned. “Whatever.”

“Okay. You win.” She leaned in for the kill and with a lightning move born of experience snapped her cuffs onto his wrist with a click. Only to findher own wrist cuffed at the identical moment. There was silence as they stared at each other. Barbara spoke first.“Police officer. You’re under arrest.” “State police investigator. You’re under arrest too.” SaharaKelly Chapter Two Desk Sergeant Sam Taylor stared at the two people in front of him. “I don’t give a fuckwho he says he is,he’s under arrest for solicitation of prostitution.” Blonde hair flew around as she yelled out her anger. Lou was having a really hard time holding back his laughter. As soon as he’d felt the steel band snap around his wrist a lot of questions had been answered and the whole picture had fallen into place. She wasn’t a hooker, she was an undercovercop . “And I demand proof of her identity or I’ll charge her with flat-out solicitation.Sex for money, baby. You asked for it.” Lou added fuel to the fire. “I did not. You offered it. This wasnot entrapment.” She spun around and glared at him.

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“At no time did I offer a specific amount of money for a specific sexual act. You were the one on your knees, honey.” Sergeant Taylor choked. “Er…Barbara?” He looked helplessly at her over the identification that Lou had placed on the high desktop. “That’sDetective Fremont .” “Sorry, DetectiveFremont. But his ID checks out.” The desk Sergeant looked uncomfortable. “These are legit papers. I can check with State if you want…” “Why don’t you do that, Sergeant?” Lou nodded at the older man.“While I’m filing charges against this hooker here.” “I amnot a hooker .” “Then stop fuckingscreaming like one and act professionally.” Lou snapped his response back, watching her face as she fought the urge to punch him. He could read 1 herso well, it astounded him. She was all fire and anger and a helping dash of embarrassment, pushed along by the fact that his cuffs still dangled from her wrist. She sucked in a breath, closed her eyes and visibly counted to ten. Sucking in that breath only deepened her cleavage and Lou fought a couple of battles of his own. He turned to the desk Sergeant. “Look, my friend. YourBambihere came on like gangbusters, got me all hot and bothered, took me out back of an adult video store and went down on her knees in front of my dick. What’s a guy supposed to think?” “That there is a God after all?” The Sergeant grinned back at him. Lou laughed at the squawk of fury he heard from the woman next to him. “So help me, Sam. You’ll pay for that comment.” She was seething. The man behind the desk straightened his shoulders. Lou recognized the look. It was time to put the fun aside and sort out the mess. He gave the guy a break. “Okay, Sergeant. Here’s the deal. We’lluncuff each other and go our separate ways for tonight. I have an appointment with your chief in the morning. At which point, your detective here can apologize. And I’ll refrain from filing any charges of a sexual nature. How’s that?” “Apologize?For what, youasshole ? You’re the one trying to get a free blowjob for some cut-rate videos.” She whirled on him. “You may be somehifalutin State cop, but you know the rules as well as I do.” He stepped closer to her, admiring the way she refused to budge an inch.“Yeah. We both know the rules,Barbara .” Her chin went up and her eyes blazed with temper and a heat Lou would have liked to stoke higher.

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Much higher. “And we bothbroke them. Doesn’t it make you wonder why?” His gaze fell to her lips as she licked them in that provocative way she had. “Pity we busted each other quite so soon. It could have been a helluva night.”

“I’mgonna shoot him, Sam. So help me I’mgonna shoot him dead. Bang.Right between the eyes.” Barbara held her hand to his forehead and pulled an imaginary trigger. Sam chuckled. “And then I’ll turn the gun onyoutoo.” She keyed Lou’s cuffs releasing him. “Now get me the fuck out of these things. I want to go home. This night has pretty much sucked allaround. ” Lou sighed as he released her and took his own cuffs back. “Unfortunately, it didn’t.” Barbara’s muted howl of outrage wasn’t lost on either man as she stalked out of the station. They were silent for a moment,then Lou spoke. “You know, that’s one hell of a woman you got there.” “Yep.”Sam nodded. “She’s a good cop.Works hard. Can’t help the hair and the…er…” He waved his hands in the air leaving Lou in no doubt of what Barbara couldn’t help. “Nice to know.”He reclaimed his ID and his badge. “I’ll see you later, I guess.Got to be here ateight a.m.Where do I go?” Sam gave him a brief layout of the station. “Good luck.” He chuckled once more. “I got me a real strong feeling you’regonna need it.” Lou left the police department with a rueful smile on his face. He agreed with Sergeant Sam. He was definitelygonna need it. ***** Barbara threw her bag down on the couch and stripped off her sleazy clothes with a huge sigh of relief. Her apartment had never seemed so welcoming or comforting as it did at this moment. It might be on the large side for one person and pretty much empty

ofmore than the basics in the way of furniture, but at this moment it seemed like heaven on earth. She’d been on difficult cases before, but this—this adrenaline rush that still shook her from head to foot—was different. Heading for the shower, she scrubbed herself raw, needing to cleanse the totalclusterfuck of this past night off her body. Then she poured herself a glass of wine and snuggled into her favorite ratty robe, hair tied turban-style into a towel. She wouldn’t go to bed at all, it was too late and she had an early call. The recliner would work as well for a nap.

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She’d done it before and knew she’d do it again. She was a police officer. She did what she had to do to get the job done.And done right. Setting her clock radio for six-thirty, she leaned back and closed her eyes. The wine was spreading its soft relaxing warmth through her tired limbs and finally Barbara let it all go. She slept.And dreamed. Ofhim. Hard muscles slithered over her body, teasing her, tantalizing her and sending a flood of wetness to dampen her thighs. She knew she was dreaming, but couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, could only feel. He was hot to her touch, heavy against her breasts, solid and smooth between her legs. She ached, her pussy pulsing eagerly, lips parting, juices running freely in preparation for his entrance. She wanted him, wanted that cock she could still see so clearly. Wanted that flared and purple head to thrust into hercunt, withdraw and thrust again and again. She wanted to come around it, squeeze it with every fiber of her body and make him come too. It was lust, desire and need all rolled into one subconscious bundle, a dream that reflected the passions she’d long suppressed. She knew who he was; his blue eyes blazed with a fire matching the one burning inside her.

She groaned as he lowered himself between her thighs. “Lou…” Blatantly Barbara spread her legs wide, inviting him into her secret places. He made no sound—spoke no words, just caressed her, nipping at her breasts with teasing love bites, sending gasps of delight shimmering through her body. She felt swollen, needy—wanting everything he had, everything he could give her. She clawed at his shoulders in an effort to get him inside her, even going so far as to slide her own hands over her belly and part her pussy lips, revealing that pearly bud that screamed for his touch. He was hard, his cock nudging and demanding entrance, about to penetrate that which she so willingly offered. Somewhere a bell rang, startling her, and she looked around to find she was naked on her own desk in the station house.With Lou poised on top of her about to sink himself to his balls between her legs. Faces blurred, watching them, as Lou slowly but inexorably entered her, his cock stretching her, finding a home for itself as he slid inside. It was horrifying, erotic and arousing, and Barbara sobbed out her pleasure at the feel of him as he pulled out and then slammed back home into her, his powerful hips thrusting again and again and driving her to the inevitable precipice. She shrieked as he took her, mercilessly and with consummate skill.

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And woke up with her hands between her legs, shaking and sweating and trembling on the brink of a massive orgasm. She was too far gone down the road to her climax to turn back. Two brief caresses of her own fingertips and she was falling apart in the recliner, biting her lips against the mewling cries of her peak. Her cunt throbbed and clenched—on emptiness. Her clit screamed and her breasts ached as she rode out the sensations rocking her body. It was completion—of a sort—

theeasing of her adrenaline and the sexual tensions that had riddled her since she first set eyes on that damned man. She refastened her robe and sighed. She couldn’t help wondering as she drifted off to sleep again whether Lou would be as good in person as he was in her dream. With her luck, probably not. That thought haunted Barbara the next morning. Tiredly she’d readied for the day, slipping into her jeans, shirt and blazer and taking comfort from the feel of her sneakers and the service pistol lodged against her spine. No massive hairdo either, just a thick braid lying between her shoulder blades. Her badge was clipped snugly to her waistband and Barbara swiped a quick lick of gloss over her lips. That was it. Bambi is dead. Long live Detective Barbara Fremont. Feeling protected and comfortable in her work clothes, Barbara headed out for the station. She had a gut feeling that there might be repercussions from last night’s fiasco. She figured she could talk her way out of them. She’d been doing her job. He’d been doing his. Fortunately, they hadn’t gotten as far as doing each other. It had beenfrickin ’ close, though. Barbara made herself a mental promise.Stay away from LouFranconi . Do not look at or speak to LouFranconi . Above all, do not lust after LouFranconi . Her resolve was solid as she strode into the squad room. It softened a little as she noticed another man standing next to the chief and besidehim —Lou. When he turned and stared right at her, the heat in his eyes melted what was left. Fuck. I’m in big trouble.

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He knew when she walked into the room…some sort of sixth sense jarred his spine and he turned to see her stalk through the assembled officers. She looked every bit as good, if not better, than she had the night before. Oh fuck. I’m in big trouble. Her hair was smooth and tidy, pulled back off a face that bore no traces of last night’s war paint. Now it was clear and creamy, her eyes glowing hazel beneath softly curved brows and lips that simply shone with a color that was all their own. The jacket and T-shirt clung to her body and although it was an outfit clearly designed to minimize her femininity, it didn’t work. Not for Lou anyway. His mouth still watered at the sight of her and when their gazes collided, the heat returned full force to his groin. He stifled a groan and quickly looked away. This was no time to get a hard-on, he was here on business. Pleasure could wait. “‘Kay, folks.Listen up.” The chief of the Springfield PD stepped to a battered podium. “This is Investigator LouFranconi . He’s here at the request of the State criminal investigative services, and—surprisingly enough—a few executives who deal with videos you won’t find at your local rental store.” There was a murmur and a chuckle or two at those words. The chief continued. “So the deal is about bootlegging porn DVDs. You all got the memo about the truckload our State colleagues busted. And the fictitiousSpringfieldaddress on the registration.” There were nods from the squad. “Didn’t that rule us out, Chief?” One detective called out the question from the back of the room. “Nope.Turns out that there have been several trucks stopped, all with fake or stolen plates and registration, but all with a link to our fair city.”He turned to Lou and the man next to him. “Investigator Franconi will fill you in, and then we’ll let Mr. Chuck Matthews have a word. Chuck is here on behalf of the adult video studios in

town. And no, he’s not under arrest. This time the saints and the sinners are on the same side of the street.” A general laugh greeted this statement. Lou stepped forward. “Thanks, Chief.” He looked around, studiously ignoring Barbara although he knew she was staring anywhere in the room but at him. “Basically, we’ve got squat on these guys. There are too many links toSpringfieldfor us to ignore them, but they’re all circumstantial.” He pulled out a small notebook. “In the last six months, illegalbootleg DVDs have increased by thirty percent in the state

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capital. Most of them are pornDVDs, although we’ve seen a few blockbusters come over the hill.” He smiled. “I’m guessing that porn is a more marketable commodity in a town with four colleges in it.” Lou noticed answering grins on the faces in the room. “The only concrete information we have is that the registration addresses seem to be within a six-block area ofMainand Oak streets. Yeah, they’re fakes, but one of our sharp-eyed lads noticed they havethatin common. The chief has kindly volunteered two of you to check out the locations, cross-reference them with any known illegal activity and see if you can pull any miracles out of your hats. I’m told you’re good at that.” This time there was outright laughter. “We have a couple other ideas we’regonna explore, but for right now I think that’s it…” He stepped back as Chuck Matthews moved forward. “I’d just like to add a word or two here.” He looked awkwardly around. “I can’t say I’m used to speaking to so many…er…representatives of law enforcement. But on behalf of the studios here in town, I want to thank you for your help.” He swallowed. “Usually we’re on opposite sides, but we keep our noses clean and you guys have helped. This is a nasty business that’s hurting our bottom line. We offer a product to those who want it. That’s all. Moral issues aside, our business is being ripped off by these ass—er—jerks, and we’d like it stopped.Soon.”

There were a few sympathetic nods. “So thanks for your help. And would the visitor who swiped Delicious Deirdre’s tassels please return ‘ em. She can’t twirldiddly these days.” There were roars of laughter and paper clips flew through the air towards one hapless young lad who was blushing to the tips of his ears. Lou joined in. The poor bastard wasgonna get the teasing of his life after this. The chief stepped forward. “Wesley?” “Sir.”The blushing kid sat up straight. “Locker and desk check. Fourteen hundred hours today.” “Yes sir.” “And if there’s oneshredof forensic evidence indicating the presence of a tassel, you’ll be reading parking meters for the rest of the month.Capisce?” “Yes sir.” The kid gulped andblushed beet red. The chief grinned and nodded. “Fremont.My office. Everyone else—Sargewill run over the rest of today’s roster.” Risking a quick glance at Barbara, Lou saw her jaw twitch as she clamped her mouth shut. Other than that, her face was expressionless as she grabbed her bag, a few papers and straightened her jacket.

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She exchanged greetings with a few others in the room as she moved through the exit out into the hallway and her next meeting. Lou smirked inwardly. He knew who was going to join Barbara in the chief’s office. Chuck Matthews would be there, as would the chief.Along with a certain investigator. And he wassoooo looking forward to it.

Barbara was gritting her teeth as she walked into the chief’s office. She knew she was probably in for some shit after last night and mentally prepared herself to take it like a…a police officer. She knew the chief and liked him.Alot.He’d been running the department with an iron hand and a warm heart for ten years since a stray bullet had cost him the use of one arm. But there was a wife and two kids who still had their husband and father thanks to that intervention. She doubted there was an officer in the station who wouldn’t have walked through fire for the guy, herself included. So whatever he doled out, she’d take. She wasn’t prepared for Chuck Matthews andthat man to follow her into the small room.Which suddenly seemed ahelluva lot smaller. “Sit down,Fremont.Gentlemen.” The chief pulled out his chair and plunked himself behind his desk.“So talk, Chuck. Tell us what you guys aregonna do to help our detectives here.” He grinned. “And when did you last call your mother?” “Uhh…” Chuck, incredibly, blushed. Barbara blinked. “You two know each other?” The chief smiled. “He’s my sister’s kid. Good boy, all things considered, even taking into account what he does for a living.” Barbara gulped, digesting the news. “Okay, here’s our plan.” Chuck leaned one hip on the desk. “We have a new movie coming out soon—a hot one with a couple of name stars in it. We’regonna premiere it right here inSpringfield.” “Where?”Barbara had her pen in her hand and was busily taking notes. “At the Venus.”Chuck glanced at her. “It’s not the fanciest place in town, but it’s in reasonably good condition and gets plenty of traffic.” “Okay.” Barbara nodded. “We’re hoping the chief here will send in a couple of pairs of eyes to scope out the crowd on opening night.”

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Barbara frowned. “Because…?” “Because…” Chuck waved his hands.“Because to get a copy of a movie to bootleg, first they have to have some kind of master tape. We’re damn sure there are no leaks of anything like duped reels of film from the studio. All those gaps have been closed—very thoroughly. Say what you want about Big John, but he’s good at this business. Well respected.” Barbara nodded thoughtfully. “So somebody’s at the opening of a film and doing what…filming the film?” “Yeah.Somethinglike that. There’s various ways of doing it, but these days—given the state-of-the-art digital photography equipment you and I can buy at our local electronics store, it’s most likely some patsy with a camera concealed in a hat. Something small, something digital, that records directly onto one ofthose memory stick things.” He sighed. “It’s so damn convenient—so damntiny—that you’d never know.” “Jeez.” Barbara widened her eyes. “Sounds like something out of a spy novel.” Lou weighed in. “You’re very close to being right on the nose, Detective. A lot of today’s micro-technology was born in some top-secret Pentagon research lab. Look at cell phones and their video technology. People are filming events with their goddamnedphones as soon as it happens.” She frowned. “The quality sucks, though, doesn’t it?” Chuck nodded.“Yeah. There’s no way anybody could pick up a whole movie with a cell phone. Besides, somebody pointing one at a movie screen would be pretty obvious. We’ve seen a few trailers that might well have been swiped that way, though.” Barbara looked back at the chief. “Okay. So we’ll have plants in the audience for opening night. Is that the plan?” “Pretty much, yeah.”The chief’s face was inscrutable. “Since you and InvestigatorFranconi have already met …”

Barbara fought the blush.Here it comes… “It’s been decided that the two of you will work together on this part of the case. Hit the theater, take a look around and do your damnedest to find anybody who might be recording the film.” There was a distinct gleam of amusement in the chief’s gaze. “You’ll both be undercover, of course.” Barbara opened her mouth to respond, but Chuck spoke first. “I don’t even know what to tell you to look for, Detective.Somebody who keeps their hat on. A glowing red LED light if you’re lucky. It could be in a lapel, even in a box of popcorn…” He sighed. “We’re on it.” Lou spoke calmly. “If he’s there, we’ll get him.” “Good.” Chuck eased off the desk. “Igotta go. Thanks for your help. We’ll keep the department posted about the premiere—times and so on.” He shook hands with Lou and Barbara and grinned at the chief.

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“See you Sunday?” “Call your mother.” The words were not a request. “Yes sir.” Chuck left with a smile. “He’s a good kid.Works hard.” The chief dismissed his nephew from the discussion. “Now, about this assignment…” “Chief, I…” Barbara’s words of protest died on her lips. “I owe Detective Fremont an apology, Chief.” Lou eased himself off the wall he’d been leaning against. “You do?” Barbara’s eyebrows flew up. The chief looked quizzical. “I heard.” “The events of last night shouldn’t have happened. I take sole responsibility. DetectiveFremontwas doing her job and I was doing mine. But I should’ve notified your office first that I would be doing a shift or two at All Night Videos, and for that I apologize.” Barbara’s mouth hung open. She had not been expecting this. “Uhh…”

The chief glanced at them both. “Don’t let it happen again.” “No sir.” Lou was properly respectful. “But…” Barbara stuttered. “You want me to work undercover withhim?” “Yes. He’s an unknown here in town. You’ve only worked a couple of vice cases, and you’ve already established an identity with your appearance in the video store last night.” His eyebrow rose. “I expect some people will remember you, Detective. That outfit was…er…” “Yeah.It was.” Lou grinned unrepentantly. Barbara’s temper soared. “Look, Mr.Franconi , I wasworking .” “Not a person in the joint would argue with that, honey.” Lou’s response was quick and amused. The chief stifled a laugh. “I think that will be all,Franconi . I need a word withFremonthere,then you can run over the case files together.” “Sir.”Lou shook hands with the chief and nodded at Barbara. “I’ll be at your desk, if you don’t mind. The files should be there already.” “Uhhh…” Barbara swallowed down a hot retort, but it was too late—he’d gone. She stared after him, nearly blinded by the firm and tasty ass hugged by his jeans. “Barbara.” The chief snapped his fingers. “Hey.”

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“Sorry, Chief.” Barbara blushed this time, no question about it. “He seems like a straight-up guy.” The chief’s eyebrow flickered.“Knows his job.” “Yes sir.” Barbara kept it short and sweet. The chief sighed. “Look. I’ve watched you turn into a damn fine officer. I’ve watched you grow and fight your way to get where you are. And I’ve watched you ruthlessly suppressing half of who you are.” She squared her shoulders. “I don’t understand.” “You are, in your own mind, first and foremost a detective. The personal stuff is second—if that. You’re losing balance, Barbara. You’re putting your job so far in front of

everythingelse that you’re in danger of forgetting that you’re also a really good-looking woman.” He leaned back in his chair. “Don’t do it. I’ve seen officers burn out real quick once that happens.” She shook her head. “I don’t do it consciously…” “I know. Believe me I know. But now you’ve run across a guy who’s gotten to you, right?” “Sir, InvestigatorFranconi and I…” “…Light sparks off each other. Shit, Barbara, even I could feel the heat between you two.” He chuckled. “Look, I have nothing to say officially about this. You two aregonna be undercover together, you’regonna have to work it out. But if he’s the one who gets to you, then don’t hold back doing something about it, okay? All I want to tell you is that he seems like a good guy and it’s time you remembered you’re a woman first, an officer second.” He paused. “Off the clock, that is.” Barbara shrugged.“Yes, Chief. Message received.” She stood. “But he’s a pain in the ass.Too arrogant for my tastes andfrickin ’ smart-mouthed to boot.” “Thereya go. A match made in heaven.” The chief laughed. Barbara rolled her eyes and left. What the hell did he know? He’d been married since the Stone Age. He’d probably forgotten what it was like to be a single, hard-working detective. And he’d never known what it was like to have to bury one’s sexuality every single day.To fight to overcome the stigma of having breasts and blonde hair. To make sure that every upward move, every promotion or advancement wasearnedby the sheer volume and quality of one’s work. Not one’s tits. Barbara sighed as she walked into the detectives corral and found her nemesis seated comfortably in her chair reading a file. As if they’d heard her thinking about them, her breasts began to tingle, nipples hardening beneath the serviceable cotton bra.

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He looked up and smiled. Shit. There go the panties too. Barbara bit down on the unusual pang of physical lust and walked unconcernedly across the room.Or tried to.

Chapter Three LouFranconi found himself in the unusual position of having to struggle to concentrate on the case. He loved his job, loved putting pieces of a puzzle together and solving it, adored the intricacies of crime investigation and generally was a happy camper when working on something that demanded his full attention. Today, everything had changed. He found himself distracted, aware of a woman on a purely physical level.And yet also aware that she was more than the body—alot more. And he wanted to be able to explore all that she was. Preferably while in a reclining and naked position. He had to focus on the papers in front of him, not the woman beside him. And it was fucking hard. To his astonishment he found thathard was an adjective that could almost be applied to him, as well. Barbara Fremont was getting to him in one big way. As far as he could tell, he wasn’t getting to her at all.That was going to change. He knew there was something there between them, and damned if it was going to be all one-sided. He leaned over her, letting his shoulder brush hers. “So I reckon they’ll bite when it comes to this movie. See the titles?” His arm slid along the back of her chair.“All ones with well-known stars.” Barbara shifted a little, moving herself away from his touch.Gotcha ! “I’ll take your word for it.” She scanned the sheets. “Got anything on the kind of surveillance equipment we should be looking for?” He reached across in front of her, appreciating the fine breasts she’d tried so hard to hide.“Yep.Right here.”

His words were all business even though his actions and his thoughts were anythingbut. “How’d you know so much about this stuff?” She was still thumbing through pages of neatly typed notes. “Worked a similar case a while ago.” Barbara glanced up at him, meeting his gaze with coolly professional hazel eyes.“Really?Where?”

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He paused. “New York City.” She leaned back, a question on her lips. “You’re kidding. You were a Big Apple cop?” “Yep.” She sensed his reticence. “Okay, look I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.” He twisted around and sat on the edge of the desk beside her. “You didn’t. I’m happy doing what I’m doing now. I wasn’t happy inNew York. End of story.” “‘Kay.” She turned back to the files. Lou sighed. “I’m sorry. That was abrupt.” For some reason he wanted to explain. “New Yorkwas fast and rough and the stuff we did was endless. Nothing ever let up, you know? It cost me amarriage, endangered my health and when I lost…a fellow officer in a bungled bust, I knew it was time to get out.” Barbara’s eyes turned sympathetic as she watched him speak. “I’m sorry for you. That’sgotta be the pits.” “Yeah.It was.” He pushed it away, as he always did. It was nearly five years ago. The pain would live with him forever, but his life had moved on into different and better paths. “So I called it quits, took at look around at what was out there and lucked into the State criminal investigations office just as they had two guys retiring within weeks of each other. They were desperate and I was available.” “Good thing all around, huh?”

“I’ve never regretted it.” And it was the truth. Lou was very content where he was. He felt as if he was actually doing some good—a feeling he’d fought for but never found in the busiest city in the world. Time to get back to the matter at hand.He reached out and pushed a stray blonde hair back into place, noting that this time Barbara didn’t flinch. “And it’s especially cool when I get to work hand in—er— handwith local authorities on a case like this…” He couldn’t miss the tiny shiver that crossed her shoulders. Wisely, however, he didn’t lick his lips or smirk, much as he wanted to do both. “Yes. Well, I’m sure the department appreciates the assistance.” She turned away again and flipped papers rapidly.“So this premiere event is set for—what—two weeks from now or so?” “Give or take, yeah. Chuck has to do whatever they do to get the reel ready for distribution. There’s also ashitload of promo stuff that’sgotta get out there, since they’re off their release schedule with this one.” “Isn’t that going to be a tip-off to our bootleggers?” “Doubt it. It’s BJ Studios’ anniversary coming up. They’regonna gear this movie towards some sort of a special deal to celebrate. I guess Chuck’s got all that worked out with his PR folks.”

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Barbara nodded.“Makes sense.” “In the meantime…” Lou let his gaze roam over Barbara, knowing she was waiting for his next words even though she didn’t move an inch. “I’ll head back to my office and get the preliminaries going.” “The preliminaries?”She was good.Still all business. Lou watched the pulse at the base of her neck as it throbbed and squelched down his smile. “Yes. I need to do some double-checking with our lab boys. They’re having a shot at analyzing the DVDs we busted. They may be able to tell us about the software that created them. There’s a clue we can use in that information. I hope.”

Barbara nodded and he caught her sigh of relief. “Good. Yeah, that’ll help us.” “You got an email address?” She glanced up at him. “Why?” “Well, it makes sense for us to keep in touch. I can email you anything that turns up at our end, we can exchange ideas on it and you can print out a copy for your files.” He wrinkled his nose. “I have the greatest admiration for the administrative end of our job,but—” Barbara chuckled.“Yeah. They don’t always get the paperwork where it needs to be.” She reached for a slip of paper. “Here.My emailaddy .” She scrawled a few words and pushed it in his direction. “I usually check it in the morning.If I have time.” Lou stared at it.“No, not here.A personal one.” Barbara frowned. “What’s wrong with this one?” “Nothing at all.I just need to know that we can exchange emails with a certain degree of privacy.” He glanced around the room. “You want every officer in the place knowing every detail about this case? It’s not hush-hush, but I’d prefer to keep it low-key if such a thing’s possible. And let’s face it—when it comes to porn…guys will be guys.” Barbara thought about that and Lou watched intently as once again a variety of expressions crossed her eyes. He was struck anew by the fact that he could read her emotions quite clearly. It was strange—something he’d never been able to do with other women, especially his ex-wife. But then again, he’d never needed to, and—to be brutally honest with himself—never cared to. She reached her conclusion and wrote another line of words on the paper. “You have a valid point. Here. But if it ever gets out, your ass is grass. Understood?” He folded it and put it into his jeans pocket, hiding a smile of purely male satisfaction. “Okay.” He stood. “You probably should pick up a few DVDs too.” He let

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alittle heat seep into his expression.“Some porn ones. Just so you won’t be too shocked when we go undercover.” An eyebrow flew up over one eye, creasing her forehead. “Shocked? I’m adetective, forChrissakes . I don’t shock easily.” “Really?”He leaned close to her ear. “We’ll have to put that to the test.” Without moving the rest of his body, Lou ran his tongue lightly around her ear, chuckling as she shivered. “I’ll send you some.” His words galvanized her and she jerked away from his touch.“Not necessary, InvestigatorFranconi .” He laughed. “We’ll see. Nice meeting you, Detective Fremont. I’m looking forward to this assignment.” He spun on his heel and headed out the door before he grabbed her and did something totally stupid and against his usual rule of being subtle with women. The fact that he had to fight the urge to strip her and take her right there on her desk said a lot for the attraction that was curdling his guts and threatening to overheat his balls. The taste of her ear was on his tongue during the long drive home. ***** Barbara fought her own internal battle over the next few days. It consisted of doing her day-to-day job, focusing on what needed to be accomplished and most definitelynot rushing home to immediately check her email every night. Along with definitelynot spending every available free moment thinking about a certain investigator. And she knew she’d lost the battle when she found herself doing just that—dropping her stuff by the door and heading straight for her laptop to see if he’d emailed her, no matter what time she got in. It was almost a week before her vigilance was rewarded.

Hi Bambi. It was from Lou, emailed fromflyingfalcon @birdbrains.org . Barbara snorted. How like him—arrogant and funny at the same time. She shook off the notion that she found both qualities rather appealing and returned to her email. Got a report from the lab boys and I’m forwarding it to the station. Your copy is attached. Don’t delete it, babe. File it, okay? Babe?Where did he get off calling herbabe ? She shrugged. Emails were places where formality was unimportant to a lot of people. Clearly Lou was one of them. So did you rent any porn yet? It’s all in the name of research. I’ve got a couple I’m looking at right now. One has a blonde with a lot of hair and amazing assets. She reminds me of somebody, but damned if I can think who! LOL

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Barbara ground her teeth and reached for the “delete” key. But something held her back, a curiosity perhaps, or just the simple desire to read the rest of his message. You wouldn’t believe what she’s doing with her mouth right now, Barbara. Something I reckon you’d be real good at. But I digress—I shouldn’t get personal so soon, should I? I shouldn’t tell you that the mere thought of your mouth anywhere near me gets me sofrickin ’ hard… Just let me say this. I intend that we’regonna get personal. Don’t make the mistake of thinking otherwise. We’ve got some unfinished business between us—you know it and I know it. Barbara’s body heated and her panties moistened at Lou’s words. He wasn’t telling her anything she didn’t already know. Yeah, there was something between them.Some kind of weird sexual heat. Something that made herwant to grab him and fuck him senseless. If he’d been there right this minute— She read on.So for right now, it’s about the case.But soon… She frantically scrolled down the page, but there was nothing else, just his initials.LF. Wiping sweaty palms down her thighs, Barbara permitted herself a grin. He’d reached her, a place inside her that nobody else had reached. She had no idea if it was his eyes or his laugh or the humor that lurked hand in hand with a razor-sharp intellect.

It was all wrapped up in a very appealing package and she stared at her laptop blindly as she made a personal confession. “I couldreallygo for this guy.” The chief’s words came back to her. She knew he’d been right—that she’d forcibly suppressed her femininity in order to become “one of the guys”. To become the best police officer she could be, while not being judged on anything other than her skills. And she knew Lou was right too. There was unfinished business there. Over her solitary sandwich and glass of wine, Barbara discussed the issue with herself, trying to be balanced and sensible and not listen to her hormones. They were the ones screaming with excitement, keeping her body at a temperature a few degrees higher than she was used to and sending vividly erotic dreams to plague her rest. Why nothave an affair with Lou? He wasn’t from her station, or even her town. He was familiar with what she did for a living, which was a huge plus, since she wouldn’t have to explain her need to work late or the very odd hours a case sometimes required. She found him physically appealing, sexually arousing and all the things she’d hoped to find in a guy but so far hadn’t. He was divorced, which made him free to play. She wasn’t currently dating anyone. Perhaps a good roll around on the sheets with Lou and his hot body would be just the prescription for this nagging depression that had plagued her lately. So what the fuck are you waiting for? The hormonally charged scream in her head made her blink.

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I don’t know.Nothing, I guess . Fired by a new and tingling enthusiasm, Barbara sat down at her laptop. What did she have to lose? Hi Birdbrain… *****

Lou laughed out loud as he read Barbara’s response to his somewhat sexy email. It had taken him a couple of hours to get the tone he wanted—something between “here’s some case information, Detective Fremont” and “Iwanna fuck you so bad my teeth ache”. He was rather proud of the result. The Falcon?It’s a guy thing, isn’t it? LOL Yeah. She was probably right. He couldn’t imagine himself with an email address that involved the word “pigeon” or something. He read on. Thanks for the report—it’s a shame they couldn’t ID the computer, but let’s face it…it was a long shot to begin with. She was right about that, unfortunately. There had been nothing on the bootlegged DVDs to show either a source computer or software.Yet another dead end. Lou sighed. It happened. They moved on to the next avenue of inquiry. The guys here are cross-referencing the fake addresses. I just heard before I left the station tonight that there’s several possible locations for an operation like this. They need power, privacy and truck access. No phones necessary sincewi-fi andcellulars eliminate the need for those. At least those are the assumptions we’re working on. We’ve ruled out many of the businesses in the area with a door-to-door, and several have the power turned off. It’s not the most prestigious part of town, that’s for sure. Okay, that was good to know. Perhaps they were making progress. Slowly, but progress nevertheless. And no, I’m not watching porn. You have to understand that women don’t need porn to figure out what to do with their mouths. Aha. DetectiveFremontwanted to play, did she? Lou leaned towards his computer and grinned. This could be fun. We do silly things, like read. You should try it sometime. That way you get to use your imagination. Why copy somebody else’s moves when you can invent your own? Lou’s imagination was working just fine, reading or not. And the images it was currently generating could have powered half the state from their heat alone. He

fidgeteda little and adjusted the cock that had suddenly gotten rather uncomfortable between his legs.

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I’ve always believed in originality, whether in professional matters or personal ones. So porn leaves me cold. Hah. Likeanything could make her cold. He lifted an eyebrow in disbelief. But the written word—now there you’ve got a whole new kettle of fish. You should try downloading an ebook. I’ve sent a link at the bottom of the page. It’s one of my favorites. Lou scrolled down to the bottom of the email and found the link. He thought for a moment,then scrolled back up. He wanted to finish her letter first. And who the hell had time to read a damn book anyway? It was probably one of those soppy romances, the ones that flooded his supermarket checkout counter with covers featuring improbably muscled men clasping women who mostly had long flowing hair and a bad case of gas. Or at least that’s what their expressions looked like. You won’t find heat like this in a porn flick, because the heat’s in your mind. And where the mind goes, the body follows. They sure do it for me. But enough about sexy novels, I’m probably boring you. I’ll let you know if the investigation comes up with anything useful on the address survey. Thanks for keeping me in the loop.BF. Hmm. Lou sat back and considered the email. She’d told him a lot more about herself than she probably realized. He’d hung around enough psych experts to read between the lines—Barbara didn’t have much of a social life. Well, duh. She was a cop. None of them did. But—and here was the kicker—she had a very well-developed sensual side to her that she was releasing into the world of romance novels. And if he could get her mind turned on, then the rest of her would be hot and wet and willing. And wouldn’tthat be a night to remember.

Once again he scrolled to the link she’d sent him, this time clicking through to the on-line publisher. There were novels galore, most of them featuring scantily clad covers of improbable people in improbable poses. But the one she’d picked? A couple—cuddled together over a remote control.Even more interesting. Shrugging, he made the arrangements to buy it and within moments was the proud possessor of his first on-line erotic romance novel. He didn’t recognize theauthor, in fact the whole damn scene was alien to him. But he had nothing else planned for this evening, a six-pack of beer nicely cold in the fridge and his laptop. Besides, the title appealed to him. Why the hell not? Shortly thereafter, Lou curled himself into a comfortable position, popped the cap off his beer and opened the file. For Research Purposes Only.

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An hour later, he was sweating. Fuckingshit , if this was what women were reading to turn themselves on these days, he was missing out on some serious sex. His cock was aching, he couldn’t put the damn book down and he was fundamentally astonished at some of this stuff. What the hell had happened to romance while he wasn’t looking? Somebody’dturned up the heat and done a damn good job of it too. The characters were realistic and engrossing, their story ringing true as he read on. After one particularly spicy phone-sex scene, he had to stop and get himself another beer. For the first time in God knew how long, Lou was damn close to putting his hands on himself and jerking off. A vision of Barbara doing the same thing after reading books like this one nearly tipped him over the edge and he knew he didn’t dare finish the story. Not if he wanted to look himself in the eye without embarrassment in the morning.

His head was full of Barbara and sex and crazy stuff like how he could make her eyes roll back in her head as her legs clamped behind his back and he thrust himself into her with a force to rival any hero in a novel. Damn her. She’d gotten under his skin in a big way with her acerbic attitude, her sharp wits and that wonderful body that she totally ignored. He wanted to remindher what it was for. He wanted to play with her like the dude in the novel, push her past her limits,make her come until she screamed for mercy—and for him. Disgusted with himself, Lou hit the shower. Cold streams of water didn’t do much to ease his brain but at least they took the ache out of his cock. He was damned if he wasgonna jack off like some horny kid just because he’d read some romance crap. He was a cop.An experienced one, with a marriage and plenty of women notched on the sexual résumé which comprised his past. Porn didn’t get him this hard, so it followed that books certainly couldn’t, right? It was her. Barbara. It was allherfault. His cock jerked as her name crossed his mind.Shit . He wasn’tgonna get a lick of sleep with astiffy . He might not be able to banish her from his brain but he could ease the tensions riddling his body. With a sigh, Lou reached for the soap and lathered his hand. He let that damn face of hers swim into his vision and grasped himself, beginning the strokes that would give him a measure of relief. Her mouth, soft and warm, sucking him.Her eyes as she stared at his cock.Her, on her knees in front of him doing wonderful things to him. Fuck. Within moments he spurted come into the stream of water, wishing it was Barbara Fremont instead. Her body, her mouth, her face, her cunt—any part of her would be just fine. It had been a long time since Lou had gotten all hot and bothered like this.A real long time. He wasn’t sure if he liked it or not and was uncomfortable with the notion

thatat his age just the thought of a woman could send him reaching for his dick like a raw recruit.

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This is my weapon—this is my gun. This is for business—this is for fun. He grinned tiredly, remembering the catchphrase he’d heard many years ago in training camp. Slumping and limp, he let the water cascade over his shoulders. He wasgonna take his gun to Detective Barbara Fremont. And shoot her so damned full of his personal high-caliber live ammunition she wouldn’t be able to walk for a week. Exactly how he was going to accomplish that mission wasn’t clear, since although she seemed to be ready to flirt, he had no idea how far she’d take it. He guessed it was up to him to find out. The thought made him smile as he finally fell asleep.

Chapter Four “Package for you, Detective.” Barbara nodded her thanks as an officer passed her a thick manila envelope. It bore the return address of the State Office of Criminal Investigations and she knew immediately who it was from. The man who was plaguing her dreams with astounding intensity. The last few days had been spent exchanging increasingly heated emails, chuckling at his wicked sense of humor and finally recommending some more of her favorite ebooks by her favorite author. Apparently Lou had developed a taste for erotic romance. He had also upped the temperature on his personal comments, making her sweat ahelluva lot more than the weather, which had turned sultry. She turned the envelope over in her hand curiously as she dropped stuff onto her desk. It was heavy, with something hard-edged inside. Probably more reports or information on the case, maybe.She slit it open and peeked into the end. Sheeit.Amongst the paperwork and copies of files there were two small, thin packages, which Barbara immediately recognized as DVDs. And there was no way in hell she was going to remove them in the squad room. Casually sitting down and busying herself, her fingers itched to take a look at what he’d sent. She riffled through papers, opened and closed file folders and logged in to her desktop computer to check her email. All the while, the package sat inconspicuously next to her elbow and her coffee.

Finally, she could stand it no more. With a surreptitious glance around to make sure nobody was within peeking distance, she eased two fingers inside the envelope and pulled out the DVDs a little way. And immediately dropped them right back in again.

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They werepornDVDs. She’d seen the graphic image of a naked blonde on her knees in front of a guy and promptly started to blush. These werenot anything she was about to tip out onto her desk.That bastard. Barbara carefully removed the paperwork and shoved the envelope and its scorching cargo into her desk drawer. Thoughtfully, she locked it.Couldn’t be too careful with case-related material. Her brain snorted at her.Riiiight. There was a handwritten note on top of the printed papers.Promised I’d send these along. They’re hot. I enjoyed them, particularly the one with the blonde. But I think I’d enjoy the real thing a helluva lot more… Barbara’s jaw locked as she fought the urge to privately agree. “Whatchagot there, Barb?” She looked up into the grinning face of Detective Matheson. “Evidence, Frank.” “Ahhh.Still doing the porno research?”His eyebrows waggled. “You need anyhelp, you let me know, okay?” She sighed. “Go away. I don’t need any help.” “She sure doesn’t.” I know that voice. “Hey Inspector.Good to see you.” Frank nodded to the man standing behind her chair. “Well, like I said, you guys need an expert in this stuff—feel free to shout.” He grinned, unabashedly staring at the two of them. “Frank.Go away .” Barbara’s tone was icy.

“Yes, ma’am.”Still chuckling, Frank strolled off, leaving Barbara uncomfortably aware of Lou.And the heat from his body that was burning a hole in her spine. “Mornin’, Detective.” She swung around in her chair and found herself, once again, face-to-crotch with his fly. I simply have to stop staring him in the cock. Dragging her eyes upwards, she fought for some measure of professionalism. “Good morning, Inspector Franconi . What brings you over here so early?” And stop fucking smiling at me like that. Involuntarily, Barbara crossed her legs against the tingle that went straight from the curve of his lips to her pussy. She couldn’t miss the sparks that lit his blue eyes and

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turned them wicked. “You do, Barbara.” He stepped to her side and rested his butt next to her.His really nice tight butt. Ohmaaaaan. “I’ll take that to mean our case.” She yanked her mental panties back up and grabbed for the paperwork. “Has there been a break I missed?” Lou shook his head.“Nope. But Chuck sent a memo out yesterday—the premiere’s all set. Did you get a copy?” “Probably.”She riffled through papers, completely ignoring the fresh male scent that curled up into her nose, settled down and proceeded to play hell with her concentration. “Aha.” She grabbed a sheet. “Here it is.” Quickly she scanned it. “Good. It’s like he told us. The Venustheater , tonight—wow, that’s fast work.” She pursed her lips. “No point in waiting, I guess.” The rest of the memo dealt with the promo work the studio was providing. Lou tapped the paper with an idle finger. “They’ve put out the word pretty much every place we suggested, along with their normal PR locales. Local colleges gotflyers, subscribers to assorted sites got emails, fan club lists and so on.” He chuckled. “I doubt

thereare too many people in this town who don’t know thatStrange Lustis going to debut tonight.” “Helluvatitle…” Barbara finished reading the memo. “StarringLacyndaLuse ?” She looked quizzically at Lou. “You’re kidding, right?LayCinda Loose?” Deliberately emphasizing the syllables, she gulped. “Who the hell comes up with this stuff?” “Don’t knock it. She’s a number one attraction.” Lou’s face was innocent. “As is her costar, Seymour Dickie .” “The fact that you can say that without laughing makes me seriously wonder about you.” She shook her head. “Good to hear. I like the thought of you wondering about me. Wonder about me anytime. Wanderover me if you want…” And just like that the air started to crackle between them, stiffening Lou’s cock and sending his balls scurrying to do their own preflight checklist. Tense and tingling, Lou gulped. And it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. He watched her hands as she put the paper down, noting with some satisfaction the slight tremor his words produced. Gotcha.She might be all business on the outside, but he had a strong suspicion that she wasn’t as impervious to him as she’d like him to believe when they were face to face. Her emails had told him she was amenable to some light erotic humor, but that was an impersonal mode of communication. Looking into her eyes was something else again.

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But first things first.“So.We’regonna hit tonight’s show together and hopefully bust aperp . Sound good to you?” “Uh yeah.Sure.” She pushed her chair away from him, placing some distance between their bodies. “I’ll meet you there.” “Oh, not so fast, Detective.I’ve got one slight problem.” “Only one?You surprise me.” She shot a fierce look at him.

He grinned. “I don’t have any place to stay.” “Then find one.” She snapped back the answer within milliseconds.“Plenty of motels around.” “Ah good, you’re both here.” The chief appeared next to the desk, shocking the hell out of Lou who’d been so damn fixated on Barbara he’d ignored the rest of the room. “You’ve been briefed, Barbara?” “Yes sir.Got the paperwork about the premiere right here.” She pointed at her desk. “InspectorFranconi is about to find a motel for himself and then we’ll be all set for tonight.” The chief frowned. “Good lord, Barbara. Can’t he stay at your place? It’s only for a couple of nights. There isn’t that much damn money in petty cash these days and we’re paying for this.” She opened her mouth to argue, but the chief cut off her complaints. “Look, he’s paying for his own gas, using his own car and his presence here means a lot to the inter-agency bigwigs. Not to mention the guys who fund our budget. The least we can do iscover his expenses while he’s on this case with us.” “Okay, sure. I’ll book him a room on my credit card. No problem.” Her chin went up. The chief’s eyebrows went even further up. “I happen to know you’re rentingAlice’s old place. And I also happen to know how big it is.” “Alice? Who’sAlice?” Lou felt a show of interest on his part was appropriate. “Our ex-secretary.Vulture of a woman.Terrified the crap out of me when I was on active duty.She had about a dozen cats, several stray relatives who sounded just like them and theyallmanaged to live comfortably in that apartment.” He turned his steely gaze on Barbara. “You are adults and colleagues in this investigation. Act like it.” With that, he strode off. Barbara muttered something that sounded like “…interfering old busybody…”

Pasting his most angelic expression across his features, Lou looked at her. “It certainly would be a help, you know. Sharing information—ideas—about the case…”

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“Yeah.Right.”She snorted. “Look, with any luck this whole thing will be wrapped up and finished tonight. You can be on your way home right afterwards.” Sure, baby.With your screams of satisfaction ringing in my ears.Lou knew damn well that if he ever got that far he sure as shit wasn’tgonna hop out of her bed and head off down the highway. He planned on being far too exhausted to move, let alone drive. He kept his thoughts tucked away. “I’m sure you’re right. So really all I need is a place to shower and change. I can leave my stuff there and pick it up on the way out. I really would appreciate it, Barbara. Motels are so—impersonal, not to mention insecure.” She lifted a skeptical eyebrow. “You get nervous in motels?” “Yep.Don’t you?” “No.” “Been to many lately, have you?” “No.” She sighed. “Okay. End of shift you come home with me, we’ll get pimped up and do the theater assignment. Then you can go home.Deal?” “Of course.”He stood.No way in hell, babe . “Now perhaps we should run over procedures for tonight. Are we going to have any backup?” Barbara blinked as he deftly brought the conversation back into official channels and Lou suppressed a grin. She’d been right there with him in the sexual heat, her pulsethrobbing every bit as much as his. There’d been a slow burn going on in back of those hazel eyes, no matter how much she’d tried to conceal it. He could scent her body, warm and womanly with a fragrance unique to Barbara. She was well built—besides the obvious—all curves and strength within a silken covering of skin that looked like cream. He’d never gone much for blondes, but her hair was a natural sheen of glimmering sunshine, darker strands blending with lighter ones and haloing her face as they escaped her pulled-back braid and framed her cheeks.

She might pull the wool over the station’s eyes, but he wasn’t having any of it. Barbara Fremont was one extremely sensual woman buttoned into a life that was squelching those urges. He planned to do some liberating. She pushed back from her desk and walked over to a large bank of files, looking for something. He watched her ass sway in those snug jeans and wondered if he’d survive the liberation. ***** It was one of the longest days Barbara could remember and it pissed her off since she knew she was in for an even longer night ahead.

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Lou was a distraction she could ill afford when she had an assignment hovering over her since she liked to be focused and alert—something she was findingfrickin ’ difficult with him around. Finally, she called it quits. “Look, we’ve got a long night, how about we head out now, grab some downtime and then hit the premiere?” Lou nodded. “Good plan.” He glanced over at his backpack in the corner. “I brought clothes. You need to pick some up from supplies?” Barbara swallowed. She really hated having to go rummage through the station’s small selection of undercover wear, but knew there was nothing in her own personal closet that would come close to giving her the “look” she needed. The idea of slipping back into “Bambi-mode” was icky to the max anyway, and those clothes had long since been cleaned and returned to stock. “Yeah.I guess.” “Come on then. Let’s go shopping.” Lou turned for the door. “Hey. I can do that on my own, you know.” “I’m sure you can.” He grabbed his bag. “But I think tonight calls for something a little more sophisticated, don’t you? I don’t want to have to spend half the night explaining to people that I’m not your pimp and you’re not available.”

She pursed her lips and thought about that. “I’ll take that as a compliment. I think.” He grinned. “You should. You make a damn good hooker, honey. So good you fooled me. And yes, that is a compliment from one law enforcement officer to another.” She couldn’t help it—she grinned back. “Thanks.” “However—” He stared at her intently. “Tonight, you’re my arm candy, okay?” “Arm candy?” “Yep.You’re so expensive that only a dude like me can afford to take you out.” “Ahh.Thatkind of arm candy.”Barbara sighed. He intended her to look like a high-priced call girl rather than a hooker. Oh well. It could be worse. She wasn’t going to meekly surrender to his plan without a discussion though. “I don’t know if that’ll work…we don’t have any minks or diamond necklaces in stock…” He neared her—a little too near for Barbara’s comfort. “You don’t need any, sweetheart. You’re beautiful enough to knock ‘emdead without thosekind of trappings.” “Uhh…” Words failed her. He thought she wasbeautiful ? Damn it, why did he have to go say things like that and take the wind right out of her sails? Just when she was about to set up a really nice argument that would have lasted the rest of the afternoon and given her ample cause to slam her door in his face.

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Angrily she gathered her things and stomped down the stairs to the first floor.“This way.” Fuck if she knew why she was angry, but she was. Howdare he tell her she was beautiful? Nobody else ever had. They’d leered at her breasts, been blinded by the blonde hair and eyed her legs with a great deal of intensity while mouthing polite phrases to cover their true responses. But nobody had ever said she wasbeautiful . Until Lou.Theasshole . Still a bit shaken, Barbara led Lou into a side room and waved her hand at a rack of clothing. “This is it.”

“Why are you snapping at me?” “I’m not.” “Are too.” “Am not.” Lou sighed. “Okay. You’re just being your charming self.” He shook his head and looked at the clothes. “Jesus. Mixed bag here, huh?” He ran his hands over a corset that could have easily fit the chief. “Mixed genders too.”Barbara’s temper abated. It wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t help being—good-looking—funny—sexy…if only he wasn’t so damnnice to go along with it. She nodded at the clothing. “Some of this came from a transgender show that we busted a while back.” “You busted a bunch of cross-dressers?” “No. We busted a drug ring that was masquerading as a cross-dressing nightclub troupe.” “Ah.” He held up a garter belt the size of a hula hoop. “That would explain—this.” She couldn’t help the chuckle.“Yep.” “Well, that’s not going to work for you, obviously.” He pushed hangers around and before she could point out that she could pick her own clothes thank you very much, he made a sound sort of like “ Ah-hah”. “Ah-hah?”She blinked. “Here it is.” Lou was holding out a frail little black something-or-other that dangled precariously from a coat hanger. “This is it. Perfect.” He checked the back. “And it should fit you, too.” “Lou, I…” She opened her mouth to protest. There wasn’t enough fabric there to cover a small bumblebee.

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“You must have a pair of those high-heeledstrappy sandal things, right? I’ve never met a woman yet who didn’t have at least one pair buried at the back of her closet.” Fucking shit.He knew women all right. Barbara blushed. “So there we are then. This’ll do just fine.” He took the dress over to the officer at the desk outside. “DetectiveFremontwill take this one for tonight’s assignment.” The man’s jaw dropped, and only a very determined clearing of Barbara’s throat kept him from saying anything inappropriate. He simply nodded. “Good choice. Just got a few of these in when we closed the case on a designer knockoff ring.Excellent quality, Detective Fremont. It will—er—suityou.” He left it at that. She was profoundly thankful and gave him a nice smile in exchange as he filled out the necessary paperwork. Lou might know women butthese guys knew Barbara. It would have been more than the officer’s life was worth to make one teensy tiny comment at that point and theyboth knew it. Silently, Barbara spun on her heel and stalked out, leaving Lou to follow withhis dress. She just wished he couldwear the bloody thing, but this was going to be a straight bust not a transgender one. Focus, girl.Focus . They had an assignment—an important one. This would be the first shotanybody’d had at busting a movie thief and cracking the damn case. She struggled to jerk her thoughts into a more professional mode and ran through some of the basics in her head. As if he could read her thoughts, Lou stayed quiet while she drove him back to her apartment and parked the car, slapping the gearshift into “park” with a jerk. “So…you figure it all out yet?”He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Huh?” “I recognize the wheels turning there.A certain expression common to law enforcement when they’re thinking about a case.” He got out of the car and grabbed his bag.Andthe dress too,dammit .

She led him into the building and up the stairs to her door, unlocking it and waving him inside. “There’s a lot to consider.Where to sit in the theater to get the best overall view of the customers. What to be looking for.Whoto be looking for.”She threw her bag down with a grunt of frustration.“Too many damn variables for my liking.” He shrugged. “There always are. Don’t sweat it.” He looked around. “Where do I sleep?” She snorted. “You don’tsleep . You can change in here.” She led him down the hallway and pointed to a guest room. “This one’s got a small bathroom. There’s towels and stuff.” And that’s all you’regonna get, buster. “Thank you, gracious hostess.” He grinned and stepped into the room. “This’ll be fine.”

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“I should bloody well think so.” “For now.” He shut the door before Barbara could answer, leaving her staring at nothing with her mouth open.

Chapter Five “Huh. Who the hell does he think he is?” Barbara muttered as she shut herself into her own bedroom and tried to ignore the fact thathe was just down the hall.Probably undressing or something. She gulped at the mere idea. Inspector LouFranconi had another think coming if he imagined she wasgonna just drop her panties and screw his brains out without further ado. No matterhow strong the urges were to do just that. Oh shit.Frickin’lust . Why now? Why him? And why the devil did he haunt her this way? And if they were going to do the deed, should she just strip naked, go to his door and knock? Get it out of her system once and for all? Barbara sighed and slipped into an old T-shirt. She needed some rest before tonight. That was what she told herself, anyway.The fact that she didn’t want to see him, deal with him, watch him prowl her own private spaces—well, that had nothing to do with it. As she lay down on her bed and closed her eyes, Barbara let the truth seep into her brain. She was scared . She, Detective Barbara Fremont, a woman who could face down a drug-crazed maniac with a knife, was scared shitless of one man—LouFranconi . She could feel the attraction between them…a strong pull of like minds finding a mate, intertwining lives and bodies in a way that was unique in her experience. And it scared the living crap out of her. This guy—this extraordinarily attractive guy—wantedher . But…and here was the sticking point…didhe reallywant her? Or did

hejust want what most of the other guys in her life had wanted—to screw the busty blonde’s brains out and notch another conquest onto his bedpost? Up until now, it hadn’t really mattered. The limited number of men Barbara had allowed into her bed had been pretty damn casual, all things considered. None of them had left her with anything other than a rueful sense of having probably disappointed them. She’d let them go with nary a sigh, knowing that for some it was because she was a cop. For others it was because she didn’t live up to her advance billing. She wasn’t a blonde bimbo with an insatiable appetite for sex, nor was she a woman who whipped out

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her handcuffs at the drop of a pair of boxers. She demanded things like conversation as well as a relatively appealing body and a likeable personality. Sadly, her dates thus far in her life hadn’t managed to offer more than two out of the three—and for Barbara two weren’t enough. She wanted the whole shebang, the whole nine yards. She wanted somebody who appealed to her physically, could talk more than two sentences without stuttering or ending up with baseball stats and somebody who could make her laugh. Somebody like LouFranconi. And yep, didn’t the train of thought always wind up at his station? Unsure of whether she wanted to buy a ticket on that particular track, Barbara curled herself up on her bed and tried not to think of the man down the hall. She needed a couple of hours sleep. Sternly she told herself to forget everything. To let it all go for now. He was there, in her house. She could deal with all the complex issues that situation presented when she woke up. He wasthere .Inher house . It was an oddly comforting thought and one that Barbara took with her as she dozed off. It was still lurking in the back of her subconscious when she awoke a few hours later. Glancing out the window at the darkening sky, she was amazed at how long and how well she’d slept.

Then she sniffed.Ahhhhh.The wonderful aroma of perking coffee seeped through the air. Lou. She was mussed, sleepy-eyed and delectable—Lou’s mouth watered as he watched Barbara pad into the kitchen on bare feet and it had nothing to do with the coffee. “Sleep well?” “Yeah.You?” Okay. Not the chattiest person in the world when she woke up. Point to remember.“Yeah. Thanks.” He poured a mug of coffee. “Here. Hope you don’t mind. I found your coffee stuff and I reckon we’regonna need it.” She yawned unselfconsciously, treating Lou to a flash of tongue and teeth. He turned away, torn between amusement at her informality and annoyance at himself for feeling a definite stir in his cock. She had a luscious mouth. It haunted him. “Okay.” Okay what? He was struggling to keep his wits out of his groin. This wouldso not work if they were going to accomplish tonight’s assignment. “What time is it?” She looked around for her clock, sparing Lou the trouble of trying to figure out where the hell the conversation was. “Little after seven.”

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She rubbed her hands over her face and took a sip of the coffee.“Sheesh. I slept a long time.” He smiled. “You must’ve needed it. And I did, too. But we’re on schedule. The premiere doesn’t start ‘til nine or so.” He waved at the papers on the table. “You know where the Venus Theater is?”

She nodded.“Yep. Pretty shitty part of town, but we can park in the lot nearby. Costs an arm and a leg, but the odds are pretty good mycar’ll still have all four tires when we come out.” “Sounds like a plan.” He picked up a couple of sheets of paper. “You have any idea where we’ll want to be sitting? What would work in that place for surveillance?” He could almost see the wheels start to turn as she sipped her coffee and mulled over his question in her mind. “Ideally a box would work great and I know there are still a few at the Venus. It’s an old theater—we’ve got a few of ‘emhere, the Wildwood for one, um…” She frowned. “There’sa couple of others, but I can’t think of their names offhand.” “Not many running adult films though.” “No. The Venus is the only one. There used to be more, but…” She shrugged. “You know how it is. Fire for the insurance, the area goesdownhill, nobody wants to invest in places that don’t bring in a good return. Before you know it there’s another area where drug deals go down, hookers line the streets and regular folks stay well away from.” Lou nodded.“Yeah.Sad really.Happens everywhere though, not just here.” “True. And we only have a small high-crime area, thank God. The Venus is on the fringes, sure, but we ought to be able to get through tonight without too many problems.” She darted a glance at him. “Just don’t try to bust any hookers, okay?” He grinned. “Not a one. We’ve got a target—aperp to find. I’ll leave the ladies of the evening alone.” She chuckled. “At least the ones on the street.”He raised one eyebrow at her in challenge. She ignored it. “Problem with a box is that it’ll put us smack into the public eye and I’m not sure if that will work. How the hell are wegonna spot somebody filming undercover if we’re on display?”

“Good point.” Lou finished his coffee. “I guess the best thing is to scope out the place once we get there and see what works for our needs? We can’t sweat this right now because we don’t know what it looks like from inside.” He paused. “Dowe?” She stared back at him. “No, wedon’t . I’ve never been there. You want details you should’ve asked any of the guys in the squad room. I’ll bet anything some of them have been there.” She wrinkled her nose. “Of course, I doubt they’d admit it.Certainly not to me.” “It must be difficult…”

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“What?” She lifted her chin. “Working with so many men.Having to prove yourself on a daily basis.” She snorted.“Not at all.” Lou wasn’t about to let her get away with that.“C’mon, Barbara. Get real. You’re a gorgeous blonde, one of the few female detectives in this division, working in an environment that reeks of testosterone. Don’t tell me you don’t make sure you ace out everybody else when it comes to stuff like firearms certification…” Her lips parted and he waited for the heated denial, but to his surprise she shut them again and thought for a few moments. Then she sighed. “It was difficult at the beginning.” “I’ll bet.” He kept his voice neutral. This wasn’t a time for sympathy, just an understanding ear. “I worked fucking hard at the academy and yes, the way I looked didn’t help. But I’ve always looked this way, always had to deal with it, so I sucked it up and stuck it out.” She raised her gaze and met his. “I’vealways wanted to do this, Lou. Be in law enforcement.For as long as I can remember. It was my dream and I wasn’t about to let a few jokes about my assets spoil it.” She rinsed her mug out under the faucet and turned it neatly upside down on the counter to drain while she considered her words. “I had a few…difficulties, shall we say,

whenI joined the force here, but God bless the chief—he stood up for me, let the others know I was an officer first and a woman second and gave me what support he could. Then I started working.Really working.”The shoulders squared as she turned and faced him. “And?” “I’m damn good at what I do. I’m proud of what I do. If I have to take a shot for a partner, I’ll do it and everybody knows it—they’d do the same. We’re a tight group now—we know each other. And I’mone of them, not the blonde bimbo anymore.” The passion in her voice was unmistakable and Lou smiled. “I doubt you ever were a blonde bimbo, Barbara.” He held out his hand. “And I’m real proud to be working this case with you.” Automatically she took it, but blinked as he turned it and raised it to his lips, dropping a horribly romantic kiss lightly on her knuckles. “I’mvery honored to be your partner for this evening, Detective Fremont.” “Uhhh…” He’d rattled her butgood .Time to move in for the kill. “I’d bevery honored to be your partner forany evening, come to think of it.” His tongue flicked out and quickly brushed her skin before she yanked her hand away and colored up to her eyebrows. “Yes, well—uh—thanks. I guess.” She turned away in a hurry. “We should change.”

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An immediate image of that tiny black dress popped into Lou’s head.“Right. Yeah. Let’s do that.” He all but pushed her out of the kitchen. “I’ll take a shower.” “What’s your hurry? All yougotta be is clean.” She sighed. “Guys really have it good, you know? No makeup, no hair to worry about. Shower, shave, swipe the deodorant and you’re done.” “Hmm. Thanks for reminding me. God forbid I should offend anyone.”

A gurgle of laughter spurted from her throat. “You’re ridiculous. Go shower.” She disappeared behind a door that shut firmly and Lou sighed. He would have loved to further the cause of a healthy environment and saved water by showering withher. But it wasn’tgonna happen. Notyet anyway. But it would—of that, Lou was positive. She was too enchanting, too delicious,too attractive and just too damn muchfun to ignore. As he slipped into his own tiny guest shower, his thoughts wandered around their conversation. She’d gotten a chip on her shoulder that she tried real hard to hide, that was certain. For Barbara, her beauty was more of an impediment than an asset and given her choice of careers he understood that very well. From Lou’s perspective, law enforcement was a tough and demanding life where there was no place for personal considerations. It wasn’t like a corporate boardroom where one’s appearance could well tip the scales to a promotion rather than a cubicle. Police work was gritty, seldom glamorous, tested one’s endurance and on the whole bullets didn’t give a shit about the appearance of the flesh they ripped into. Neither did the officers involved. To them, a reliable backup was ahelluva lot more valuable than a pair of 38DDs. Yeah, he could see how Barbara must have had to fight for every ounce of respect, every ounce of acknowledgement from her peers. The fact that she’d achieved it said a lot for her abilities. She was indeed one hell of a detective and one hell of a woman. And tonight, Lou fully intended to have both . Given his previous assessment of her strong and dynamic character, he was somewhat surprised to hear a muffled scream from her room. Zipping up his leather pants, he rushed to her door and knocked. “Barbara—you okay in there?” “Aaaargh.” “I’m coming in…” He pushed the door open not knowing quite what to expect and reaching for his gun. What he saw held him transfixed on the threshold.

Acres of sleek creamy skin faced him as Barbara’s back was damn near naked from neck to ass. Long legs, tops barely covered by the flimsy black silk, went on for miles and made Lou’s tongue dry up in his mouth.

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She was twisting and struggling with catches, clips and straps and muttering the most eclectic assortment of oaths he’d heard in a long time. One arm was trying to fasten things behind her back while the other held things up in front. As she fought for control of her dress Lou got a glimpse of the tiniest black thong. He choked and dragged his gaze from her shapely ass to her head.And her hair. Holyfucking…he’d heard horror stories about what women did to get those curls, butthis ? His hand slid away from the pistol tucked into the back of his pants. Sheesh…wrong weapon… Barbara seethed. The dress couldn’t have been more than two ounces of silk and yet it seemed to require an advanced class in engineering to get the damn thing into place. How the fuck many buttons and catches were there, anyway?? Just when she got one done up, another popped free and it was the third time she lost hold of one of the tiny straps that had made her shriek with fury. In her fit of temper, she’d forgotten she wasn’t alone. His knock on the door made her jump and she should have known he’d be inside before she could do more than mutter a few more curses at designers in general and her own ineptitude when it came to wearing their fancy pieces of nothing. She glanced over her shoulder to see his wide-eyed gaze staring at her head. Oh fuckingshit . She still had herhot rollers in. This just got worse and worse. “What the hell are you staring at? Haven’t you ever seen a woman in rollers before?” “Uhh…”

For once, Mr. Smoothie was lacking in the witty quip department. It was a small comfort to Barbara’s frazzled nerves. She frowned at him. “Well, don’t just stand there—helpme, you idiot.” He swallowed. She could hear the gulp from where she stood. A little tiny voice sounded inside her head.He’s a goner, Barbara . She tried to ignore the thrill that chased itself up and down her spine as she considered the implications of a drooling LouFranconi lusting for her naked back. Later, you stupid little voice.We’ve got a job to do.Go take a cold shower or something . As if listening to the same little voice, Lou let out a hefty sigh. “What do I do?” “How the hell should I know? Fasten tab A into slot B and knot loop C. If I knew what to do I’d have done it already.” Exasperated, Barbara shrugged the straps over her shoulders, holding her breasts with one arm and tugging behind her with the other. “You picked out this damn contraption. It’s only fair you get to figure it out.” She defiantly presented him with her back and the assorted bits and pieces of straps. Obediently he

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reached out and began untangling things. And touching her. Ohsheeeeit. His hands were warm as they brushed over her, softly caressing where they landed and stroked under the guise of fastening the dress. “You have the most incredible skin, Detective Fremont.” His voice was quiet. “Like the softest velvet. Like cream with a hint of strawberries.” He did things with his hands and Barbara felt the bodice of the dress go taut, supporting her breasts. She relaxed a little, wanting him to go on. “And I’m thinking with all that stuff on your head I might be able to tune in a cable channel or two if we get the wiring right…” She sucked in a breath.“Youbastard .” “Me?” He was all amused innocence as he moved to her side. “I fixed it, didn’t I? You’re all fastened now, sweetheart. Any service I can render to thecepartment is my

pleasure. Even doing up evening dresses.” He bowed. “And may I say…” His gaze swept over her, “…that thecepartmentis looking extraordinarily magnificent this evening.” She snorted. “Damn crazy dress.” Glancing in the mirror she shuddered. “Lemmeget the hair done and we’ll be ready.” “Take your time.” He sat down on her mussed bed and pushed a pair of pantyhose out of the way with more than casual interest. “Not wearing these?” He dangled them from one hand. “No. Put them down.” Barbara began tugging the offending rollers rapidly out of her hair. “Wise decision.I’ve never liked these things myself.” “Can’t find a pair that fit?” She grinned through coiled strands of hair, showing lots of teeth. “Hahhah .”He dropped them on the quilt. “I like the thong better.” Barbara, who had thrown her head forward andwas running her hands through her hair, froze. “What?” He chuckled, a rich sexy chuckle that gave her goose bumps. “Well, when I came in, your dress was… er…hanging a bit low at the back.” She straightened, tossing curls back loosely to fall over her shoulders. “You picked this thing out deliberately, didn’t you?” Angrily she spun around to face him and grabbed her high-heeled shoes, hopping on one foot as she slipped them on. His jaw dropped and flapped a couple of times but no sound came out.

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“Well?” She squared her shoulders and stared at him, giving him the full benefit of her magnificent cleavage, which was currently emphasized by the knowing hand of a very skilled couturier. “I hope it was worth all this effort,Inspector .”

A glance in her mirror told her what Lou apparently couldn’t.Yeah. It was worth it. From the front, a low dip in the fabric revealed much of the curves of her breasts, the simple black silk shining against the creamy whiteness of her skin. Two tiny straps snaked over her shoulders to meet two others that crept from beneath her arms. They were joined by two more from the low-cut back of the dress to form a sort of spider’s web effect, secured by some magical device that apparently only State Investigators could figure out. “Damn.” Barbara lost herself for a moment. “This is onehellaciously fine dress, knockoff or not.” She turned this way and that, for once yielding to the seductive appeal of the finest fabric and the sexiest styling. “It even feels secure.Amazing.” Shit. If I’d known I could look like this… She adjusted her breasts slightly to maximize the shadowed valley between them. A tiny moan from the bed reminded her once more that she wasn’t alone. Lou was still staring, although he’d managed to shut his mouth. His hot blue eyes were everywhere, taking in the shortshort skirt, the black spiked heels—the cleavage—the hair— “Hey.” She snapped her fingers under his nose. “Hey.Drool boy . We’ve got an assignment, remember?”

Chapter Six Lou walked beside Barbara to the entrance of the Venus Theater torn between painfully savage lust for the woman next to him and the urge to grab the nearest blanket or overcoat and wrap it around her. He’d damn near heard his synapses frying in his brain as he’d looked at her, all cream and black silk and curves. She was every man’s dream, every man’s fantasy—in fact she could quite accurately be described as a golden goddess in that dress. All his literature courses snapped into place as he’d stared…if she’d appeared on the battlements of some ancient city looking like this, he’d have dashed out and launched a thousand ships too. Rusty tales of heroes doing improbable deeds all for the sake of a woman suddenly made a wholeshitload more sense. He wanted everybody to see who he was with, but perversely he didn’t want anybody—especially other men—lookingat her. He sighed. “You okay?” She glanced up at him. “Yes.” Voice rough and throat dry, Lou clenched his teeth and mustered the remains of his wits. “There

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should be tickets waiting for us at the box office.” He looked at the run-down foyer.“Such as it is.” The “theater” smell of stale popcorn and too many bodies assaulted his nostrils, replacing Barbara’s light and floral scent. They moved to the small cubicle where a tired-looking man gave them nothing more than a quick nod. Lou leaned over.“Bambi and Lou…Smith.Guests of BJ Studios.” With a cursory “enjoy the show”, tickets were shoved across the grubby counter and they were inside.

The crowd was muttering, chatting, doing all the things that people do when enclosed in a darkened cavern and forced to listen to elevator-type music. Lou let his eyes get used to the murk and felt Barbara’s hand tighten on his arm. “Where?You see a good vantage point?” She was echoing his thoughts. Well—some of ‘emat any rate. Hopefully she had no idea of the rest of them and how she figured in them. “Excuse me…” A redhead appeared at Lou’s elbow, clad in a very small T-shirt bearing the logo of BJ Studios. It stopped several inches before her breasts did, and her tiny shorts were cut low enough to prove that not only did she have a piercing in her navel, but that she’d had a wax job that went further than her bikini line. “Are you Lou…and Bambi?” Lou nodded.“Yeah.” Aware that some sharp fingernails were getting even sharper as they clutched his forearm, Lou kept his answer brief. “I’m representing BJ Studios. Would you follow me, please?” She flashed an acre of teeth at Lou. “I’m Tammy.” “How nice.”Barbara’s answer was chill enough to make icicles appear on Tammy’s belly ring. Lou grinned.Don’t fight, girls.Unless I can watch. Wisely keeping that particular sentiment tohimself , Lou led Barbara along the passageway behind Tammy’s swaying ass. They left the main part of the theater and mounted a short stairway to a door where Tammy paused. “This is the backup projection booth. Chuck felt you’d prefer the privacy.” She giggled. “There’s a comfy chair in there.” “Thank Chuck for me, will you?” Lou smiled. “You two have fun now. Enjoy the show.” Tammy wiggled back down the stairs leaving Lou and Barbara in front of the door. “Well, nothing ventured…” Lou pushed it open and led Barbara inside.

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Luxurious, it wasn’t. Dingy and a bit smelly, Lou found himself inside a nightmarish cubby of sorts, equipment covered with plastic on one side and shelving on the other. Two of the three projection openings had been blocked, leaving the center one to illuminate the room and poorly at that. Barbara immediately moved to check it out.“Hmm.” She leaned down for a better look. Lou damn near swallowed his tongue as the tops of her thighs gleamed dully at him, searing his eyeballs. Sheeit.He’d had tough assignments before, but this one would rank as the most challenging of his entire life. “All the comforts of home, I see.” He touched the large recliner that some helpful person had positioned in front of the opening. “Idunno what your place is like, but this isn’t my idea of comfort—let alonehome .” Barbara’s sharp retort jerked his mind back to business.Almost. “How’s the view?”It’s pretty damn good from where I’m standing… “Not bad. There’s no balcony anymore and it looks like the boxes have been taken down. The whole place is set up for movies now. We can see just about every row. And there’s a wholelotta folks here tonight, too. Looks like the promo stuff Chuck talked about did the job.” Lou joined Barbara at the window to get his own perspective.“Yeah.” They could see the entire theater below them in spite of the taller wall separating the last row from the access aisle. There was a center section bracketed by two smaller side sections, each six seats across. “Not a full house, but quite a few fans came out for this one, didn’t they?” Barbara moved over a little, giving Lou room to dohis own surveillance. The house lights dimmed and the large curtains swept aside to announce the beginning of the evening’s program. “See anybody we need to watch?” She continued to scan the audience.

Lou took a hard look at the crowd. “We can probably skip the couples who are already getting into the spirit of things…” He nodded at several people glued to each other’s faces. “They’regonna be too busy groping each other to film anything. So I’m guessing a solo would be our best bet.” “Yeah.”Barbara moved again, brushing her shoulder against Lou’s shirt. Her body heat seared him and once again he found his mind wandering into places it shouldn’t. Not right now, anyway. “Look, why don’t one of us sit and the other watch? We can take turns that way…” Lou waved at the chair. “Otherwise we’re bothgonna have stiff necks after an hour or so.” “‘Kay. You sit.” Barbara remained firmly where she was. “I want to get a good feel for who’s sitting where and who we need to keep an eye on.” I’d like to get a good feel too. Lou realized that sitting behind Barbara in her present position probably wasn’t the smartest idea he’d had all night. Once again he got an intimate view of the backs of her thighs and only by sheer force did he stop himself from bending over to look up her skirt—what there was of it.

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His leather pants bit into private places that were bulging more than they should be, he had already started to sweat and wondered if he’d ever survive this whole crazy night. It was about as bad as it could possibly get. Then the movie started. And it gotworse . ***** Barbara pushed herself to focus on the audience and ignore Lou. It wasfucking hard to do since his soft shirt clung to every inch of that fabulous chest and the pants—wellhell . What woman wouldn’t love to take a bite out of a firm male ass wrapped snugly in black leather? He even smelled good, which was a blessing since this tiny cubby sure didn’t. She glanced over the audience once more, noting the many single attendees and the few still

wearinghats. It was a mixed batch of people—many young guys, probably college kids, a smattering of couples out for a hot date, the expected shufflingpervs in overcoats and one or two respectable-looking people in halfway decent clothing.Probably from the studio. Several single women were trolling the aisles in a less-than-subtle fashion, but Barbara ignored them. They were looking for work, not filming the movie illegally. Her attention homed in on a couple of loners in the side section, but before she could point them out to Lou the screen lit up and she was confronted with a nicely lit and very detailed female breast. A male mouth was inches from it, tongue extending towards the hardened nipple. She blinked. Seenthissize andthis close, it was quite a shot. The title credits rolled across the image— Strange Lust. Barbara remembered reading a book of the same name and enjoying it immensely. She wondered if it was the same story.And if it was, how the hell they were going to deal with the midgets. Then Lou’s hand brushed her hip and her mind veered off track with enough force to leave skid marks inside her skull. “What?” “Move, honey.I can’t see.” “You’re not supposed to be watching the movie. It’s the audience we’re here to see not…” She glanced again at the screen. Oh fucking shit. Obviously believing that the audience needed to get right into the good stuff, the screen showed a splendidly naked woman reclining on a couch with her legs spread wide, getting a healthy dose of oral sex from a nicely bronzed male partner. The soundtrack, if there was one, didn’t include dialogue apparently, since this had all happened within about twenty seconds of the opening credits. “Aha.” Lou leaned over and found a button on the wall which, when pushed, activated the speakers in

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the room.

Moans, whimpers and gasping little cries assaulted Barbara’s ears. She cleared her throat. “Do we need to hear this?” A soft chuckle answered her. “Look, honey, whoever’s filming, if in fact they’re here at all, isgonna have to stay through the whole thing. We might as well enjoy ourselves. Otherwise it’s going to be ahelluva long night.” “I’m not here to review the damn film.” “Neitheram I. Relax for God’s sake. You’re not going to spot him within the first five minutes.” He was right, damn him. Barbara took a breath and straightened her spine. “Okay. Butthere’s a couple of guys I’ve got my eye on.” Lou leaned forward, which brought his face too close to her hips for comfort.“Where?” “Left side section, one about three rows from the back, the other maybe a dozen rows from the front.” He was silent for a few moments.“Got ‘em. And you’re right. That one further down is sitting awful still for somebody watching a movie like this…” Barbara thought about that. “Good point.” “Wannaswitch places for a minute?” “Sure.” “Wait. I’ve got a better idea.” Firm hands grasped her hips and she found herself pulled backwards onto a pair of hard leather thighs with another hard lump between them. “Uhhh…” “Sshh.This way you can see one side, I can see the other, and we can both see the film.” Barbara engaged in a lightning-fast mental argument with herself. This wasn’t professional by anybody’s stretch of the imagination.

But Lou sure felt good beneath her legs. He smelled good, she knew he looked good and his reactions to her in this dress were a pretty good indication that there was some seriously strange private lust going on between the two of them. He seemed to sense her inner quandary. “Relax.” “You’re repeating yourself.” “And I’ll keep doing it until you mellow out. You’re wound tighter than a guitar string at the moment.”

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She snorted. “What do you expect? I’m strapped into the couture equivalent of a torture device, stuck in a smelly closet, trying to do surveillance in a darkened theater while God knows what is going on up in front of the audienceand sitting on your lap to boot.” “And people say police work is no fun.” His hands slid around her waist and rested hotly against her stomach. “Give it a little while, Barbara. We’ve got plenty of time to enjoy the show.” He seemed content to stay as they were and gradually Barbara found herself following his instructions. She relaxed, letting her back fall against him, liking the warmth of his body against her naked back. And, in spite of her earlier misgivings, getting lured into the film itself.Lust was shown, in all its intimate, wet and slithery incarnations, yet a thread of a storyline wrapped itself around Barbara’s mind and kept her watching—even during the incredibly hot scenes of couples and triples fucking like rabbits. Verywell-hung rabbits. She almost jumped at the unmistakable feel of Lou’s cock shifting beneath the soft leather. On the screen a buxom blonde was going down on a guy while two other women caressed each other with soft and lascivious passion. It was beautifully filmed, quietly orchestrated and just about the most erotic thing she’d seen since she’d backed up a DVD movie to catch a glimpse of GeorgeClooney’s naked butt.

Lou’s hands moved upwards, gently cupping her breasts.“Amazing.” His voice was a whisper against the music and she found herself wanting to moan along with the actors as his palms lifted her slightly, burning her through the insubstantial silk. “Er…Lou?” “Mmm?”He moved a little more, holding her now so that his fingertips brushed her nipples. Those annoyingly betraying nubs that had hardened to peaks the minute she’d set eyes on him earlier this evening. “What are you doing?” “Just touching you.Just doing what I’vebeen wanting to do for what seems like forever…” “Oh.” The answer took the wind out of her sails. Essentially an honest person, Barbara couldn’t argue with his response. She’d wanted the same damn thing. “Alone—with you—hot sex up there on the screen…it’s my lucky night.” A tongue darted out and licked her shoulder blade. “Yeah.”She sighed and let her head loll back against him.“Oh yeah.” The tongue was followed by light kisses, dotted here and there on her bare skin. Barbara shivered. “ Looouuuu…” “I know.Shhh. I’m just playing…” Which apparently involved his teeth as well as his lips and tongue.A quick nip simultaneously

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accompanied the tightening of his fingers on her nipples and Barbara gasped at the thunderbolt shooting from his mouth directly to her pussy. She squirmed on his lap, her whimpers a staccato echo of those coming from the speakers. She wanted…what? More.You want more, girl. Be honest. Helpless to fight both himand her own inclinations, Barbara surrendered. She slithered around on his lap, lifting one arm to his shoulders and bringing their faces close together in the shadows. One word was all it took. “More.”

His lips came down on hers with unerring accuracy. Pulling her close, he crushed her in a fierce grip, devouring her mouth and thrusting his tongue deeply within as she welcomed his invasion. It was aggressive, hungry and everything that Barbara wanted right at that moment. Fires started low in her belly, flooding her body with intense flames of lust that could have rivaled anything on the screen beyond. She wanted Lou with a desperation that stunned her and he could have fucked her right then and there if he was so inclined. Apparently, foreplay was on his agenda for the time being. His hands delved beneath the flimsy silk, searching and finding her breasts, teasing them into sensitive and shaking masses of screaming nerve endings. His lips followed—an easy sequence since the dress wasn’t built to stay up under an assault from a determined officer of the law. When he suckled her nipple, she cried out—a short sharp sound of pleasure that was followed by a moan of need. Nothing he did was enough and yet if he stopped to find another exquisite spot, she felt deserted and lost for the few seconds his lips weren’t on her body anywhere. She clutched his head to her breast, hands riffling the silky soft strands of his hair, breath coming rapidly to lungs that were choking with her sexual arousal. Her thong was soaked, cutting into pussy lips that felt hotter than lava against the leather of his thighs. She ringed his ear with a finger, laughing silently as his indrawn breath told her what she was doing to him. She did it again, only to feel his hand thrust urgently between her thighs and under the practically useless thong. “God, Barbara,God…” He delved between her pussy lips, probing, teasing, searching—she was so wet two fingers slid inside her with no problem at all, sending shudders of sensation rippling

overher. His thumb found her clit and brushed against it, heightening her madness, pushing her body into overload and taking her to the brink in seconds. It was—incredible—unbelievable—

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“Barbara.Open your eyes. I want to see your eyes when I make you come…” His hand worked her, fingers inside her cunt, thumb in exactly the right spot. She opened her eyes—and looked at Lou. Face sculpted by the dim light, his cheekbones were harsh, his lips parted and shiny from their kisses. Color diffused his skin and his eyes were heavy-lidded, burning into hers with a jolt of his own desire. “I want to fuck you, Barbara. I want to fuck you all night long in every way there is.” His fingers played inside her, catching a spot that made her thighs clamp together around his wrist. “I want to bury my face in your cunt as you come and lick you ‘til you’re blind with it.” His words fueled the fires, making Barbara whimper. “Yes…” “I want my cock in your mouth and your pussy on my face. I want to be inside you until my balls touch you and then I want to go deeper. I want to come and come on you, cover you with my come and have you cover me with your honey. I want to eat you, drink you, inhale you…” Barbara held her breath, little tickles of electricity sparking at the base of her spine. Ohfuck . She was gonna come—right here, right now, from his touch and his words and the expression on his face as he spoke— And his cell phone rang.

Chapter Seven Barbara jumped off his lap like he’d goosed her with ataser and it took a few seconds for Lou to realize what the hell was going on. His vision wasblurred, his cock close to exploding and her scent surrounded him, drowning him inEssence of Barbara . One second he was lost with his fingers inside her heat—the next he was groping for nothing at all as she stared at him in open-mouthed shock. Shudders rocked her body and he wondered if she wasgonna faint on him. Her next words disprovedthat theory. “Goddamn fucking shit, Lou…what thehell are wedoing ?” Since she was struggling with thosefrickin ’ straps again, trying to cover the breasts that he’d so lovingly uncovered, that was a damn stupid question. He shook his head to clear it and reached for the phone, cursing technology, portable messaging devices and whoever was on the other end of the line with pretty much equal fervor. “Franconi.”He bit out his name to the caller. “Bad time?”Chuck’s voice echoed through the speaker. “What?” Damned if he was going to answerthat particular question either. “Check for a white male, about twenty-two or so, short dark hair, may be wearing State U gear.”

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Lou’s brain finally clicked back up from his crotch and into a rough sort of working order as he relayed the information to Barbara. “Got a lead?” “Possibly.”Chuck sounded enthusiastic. “We had our PR folks record everybody who asked for, or was issued, passes for this shindig. Turns out there’s a kid who

workedfor us over the summer, never missed a movie, knows ‘emall backwards and is technologically real bright.” “And?”Lou watched as Barbara scanned the audience. “And he called in for a favor—a free pass to this one. He’s back at school but got the announcements. They issued the pass—no reason not to—but he fits the profile and our lab knows for sure he’s got the smarts to pull something like this off.” “There’s a couple oflikelies …” Barbara leaned closer to the window. “We’ll check it out, Chuck. Thanks.” Lou snapped the phone shut with a little more force than necessary as Barbara’sthonged ass flashed at him under her black skirt. Shit. His timing had always sucked, but never as much as it did right now. He clenched his teeth with enough force to shatter his jaw and eased up out of the chair. Wincing as his cock reminded him of some unfinished business, he joined Barbara at the little window, snapping off the speaker and cutting the woman on the screen off in mid-orgasm. That was the last thing he needed to hear at this particular point in time. “Where?” “There, see? One of the ones we picked out earlier—halfway up, about three seats in.” She nodded towards the spot. “And there’s probably a couple in the center section too, but it’s hard to tell hair color from this distance—they’ve got baseball caps on or something…” “Can’t believe he’d be stupid enough to wear a State T-shirt.That would really identify him.” “Unless he’s no idea we’re looking for him…” Barbara sighed. “Problem with porn movies is that there’s not enough light cast back into the theater.” Lou rasped out a chuckle. “I think that’s the point, babe.” They both squinted through the flickering shadows, trying to pinpoint something—anything—that would indicate theperp they were looking for. “Shit. I just can’t make outsquat from here.” Barbara let out a hiss of frustration.

Lou nodded. “Me neither.” He thought for a minute. “How about we head back down to the foyer?” He

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glanced down at his watch, trying to make out the numbers in the darkness of their little lookout. “The show’sgonna finish up soon. We can take a better look as the audience moves out. All ourpossibles are on this side of the theater so they’regonnahave to exit through the doors on the left…” “Better than sitting here staring at the backs of their heads.”Barbara gathered her purse and fidgeted once more. “Check these damn straps, will you? If I’mgonna have to chase some guy I’d prefer to do so with everything decently covered.” Lou grimaced. “At this point, I’m thinking I didn’t do myself any favors by picking out this dress.” “Huh?” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Sweetheart, you in black silk…hell, I’venever notanswered my phone on the first ring.Especially when I’m working. You’re a major distraction and I’m seriously kicking myself for a whole bunch of stuff, including some real poor timing.” Barbara stilled as he secured the last errant strap.“Yeah. Well. So it goes.” She shrugged as she turned. “Doesn’t matter.” “It does matter. It matters a whole lot. And you’re going to find out howmuch it matters just as soon as we’re done here.” Lou stared at her, not moving as she attempted to walk past. “I mean it, Barbara. We’re nowhere near finished with this. You understand me?” She paused, her shoulder against his arm, freezing in that spot as their body heat mingled and blended once more.“Yeah. I got the message.Loud and clear.” “Good.” He followed her out of the room. ***** They mingled easily with the patrons as the movie ended and the theater emptied. Familiar with the layout now, Barbara made sure she and Lou could see the door that allowed exit from the left side of the theater.

This was the one their suspect would use. Or their possible suspect. Or some guy who might fit the bill of somebody who could possibly be a suspect.Goddammit.She hated this. Give her a nice clean stakeout any day.Something where they knew theperp , or at least had a solid description to go on. For a few moments she forgot about her character, simply focusing on the door and the people leaving the theater. “Hey, beautiful.How about you an’me getting a drink someplace?” A man was apparently asking her cleavage if it was thirsty. Barbara raised an eyebrow, ready to shoot him down with a few well-chosen words. Then she remembered who she was supposed to be. She forced a giggle past her lips. “Aren’t you sweet? But I can’t, sorry. I’m with somebody.” The guy leered. “I’m a better bet. Name your price.” He looked at her breasts once more.“The whole

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night.Just you and me.And them.” He moved even closer, crowding Barbara back against the wall of the foyer. “I can afford it.Whatever you charge.” He licked his lips. “I don’t think so.” Barbara shook her head and ignored her twitchy fingers. They wanted nothing more than to find her weapon, tuck it between this asshole’s legs and blow his balls to smithereens. Not only was he attempting to proposition her, but he was blocking her view of the patrons coming out that door. While she could forgive the first, since she was supposed to look like a call girl, the second was unpardonable. He was interfering with a police investigation, although he didn’t know it. She could bust him, but then again drawing that sort of attention was something she’d rather avoid if at all possible. Mr.Studly Wannabe was nothing if not persistent, however. “Come on,chickie . You know youwanna make some cash—I want some fun—don’t see why we can’t come to an agreement here.”

“Because I’m with somebody.Itoldyou…” Barbara managed a whiney tone as she pouted at him. “So dump him.” The guy shrugged. “I got the cash.Up front. See?” He opened his jacket and allowed Barbara a glimpse of a fat wallet inside. “I’m good for it.” His hand lifted to stroke her breast. “And I can be good for you too.” “It will be good for everybody if you remove your hand from the lady’s body,friend .” The words were ever so soft, but Barbara caught her breath at the venom that lurked just beneath the surface. Lou’s eyes were liquid fire as his fingers clamped down on the unfortunate guy’s wrist, tightening until the man’s jaw dropped and he whimpered. Lou ignored the little sound. “I understand the appeal, buddy, believe me I do. But like the lady said…she’s with somebody. That means, in case you have a problem with the English language, she’s with somebody.Not available .Not interested in having you paw her assets.You with me here?” The mannodded, eyes wide and fixed on Lou’s face.“Yeah. Sure.” “It was a simple mistake, so I’mgonna let it go, okay? But you need to leave now. Go home to your wife. Stop trying to pick up strange women for sex. One of these days it’sgonna get you into trouble with people who aren’t as patient as I am. Got that?” “You her pimp?We could negotiate…” Goodfucking Christ. The man never gave up even though Lou was holding his wrist tight enough to cut off the circulation. “I don’t negotiate with assholes.” Lou gave the arm a savage twist and bared his teeth. “I let my associates do that.” He lifted one side of his jacket. “You may know their names…Smith and Wesson?” The man glanced down at the serviceable weapon tucked alongside the leather pants. He shriveled. “Sure, dude. Whatever.”

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Lou released his wrist and the man rubbed it. “Look, no offense, okay?” Barbara sighed.“None taken. Just go away, all right?” Her eyes roamed the crowd as Lou stepped to her side. The man paused. “Shit. I get it. You’refuckin ’cops.” He curled his lip on the last word which was spoken none too quietly. “Goddamnedfuckin ’ cops. Can’t stay out of people’s lives and let ‘emhavea good time.” He glared at Barbara as he turned away. “Bet you’re a lousy fuck anyway.” Lou’s arm went rigid as his muscles tensed and it was all Barbara could do to hold him back. “Not now. Forget him. We’ve got somebody else to find.” She flashed him an insincere smile for the benefit of the curious eyes that were watching them.“Baby.” But the damage was done. No sooner had the whisper of police presence begun to make its surreptitious way around the foyer then people found a variety of good reasons to be elsewhere.In a hurry. The crowd thinned at an amazing rate and Barbara ground her teeth at the impossibility of trying to find one guy in a throng of people all trying to get the hell out of Dodge and not be recognized while doing it. She glimpsed a baseball cap in the right colors. “Lou—over there—” “I see him.” They hurried across the foyer and wormed their way onto the front steps, all the while trying to keep their only suspect in sight. He was short and it wasn’t easy, but eventually they spotted him waiting at the very edge of the sidewalk and scanning the street as if looking for a ride. “Gotcha.”Barbaratippy -toed carefully down the steps in her high heels as Lou moved quietly in front of her, only to crash into his back as he froze at the bottom. “What?” Their “suspect” was pulling the cap from her head and releasing about a mile of long straight blonde hair. Within seconds, a small motorbike had pulled up to the curb

andshe was tucking it all back up into a silvery helmet before hopping on the back behind her boyfriend. “Wellfuck.” Lou’s disgust was evident. “We lost him.” “Double fuck.” Barbara sighed.“Didn’t even get a working description either.” She turned towards the parking lot. “This whole night was a goddamned bust, if you ask me.” Lou followed her silently as she chewed on a lump of anger and irritation. She disliked failure, even when the deck was stacked against her. She should have come away with something—anything—they could have used to further their inquiries. Reaching the car Lou waited while she opened the locks. He was as quiet as Barbara, probably pretty pissed off as well.Neither spoke on the drive back, and it wasn’t until they were walking to her apartment

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that Lou finally broke the silence. “Putting you undercover as a hooker is a mistake.” “What?” She paused as she dug for her key. “What the hell do you mean by that?” “I mean…” Lou’s hand held the door as they walked inside. “I mean that you’re too much of a damn distraction. If you’regonna go undercover you need to blend in, not stick out like…like…” Barbara’s brows snapped together. “Like what,Inspector ?” “Like a hooker. Like an exotic call girl out ofEscorts Weekly —like somebody everybody’sgonna have their eyes on and want a piece of.Okay ?” He slammed the door with a little extra force. “No, it’snot okay. That was my assignment tonight. To look like a hooker who wouldn’t be out of place at a porn movie premiere. And don’t slam my door.” “Sorry.” Lou looked abashed. “I’m just pissed.” “Yeah, well me too. I hate it when a stakeout doesn’t give us much of anything at all. It’s a lot of work for nothing and it frustrates me.” She tossed her bag onto the hall table and kicked off her heels.

“You want to talk aboutfrustration?” The words were growled out behind her and in spite of herself, she turned in surprise. His face was shadowed. “Frustration is where not only does an assignment lead nowhere, but you get the hottest woman you’ve ever met to sit on your cock andmoan while you find her cunt with your fingers and play inside her. And then she gets up and leaves you.” Lou walked stiff-legged to Barbara. “She leaves you with a hard-on that won’t quit, the smell of her pussy all over your hands and a need to fuck her until neither of you can lift a finger.Until you don’t know whose body stops where and whose starts anyplace else.” He licked his lips. “She leaves you hungry, Barbara.A hunger that’s been gnawing at my balls. A hunger I don’t think I can control much longer.” Barbara’s whole body twitched with a sudden jolt of lust as Lou’s words poured over her in a shower of sensual passion. “So I’m giving you a choice here, while I still can. If you don’t want me…tell me to leave.Now. Because otherwise I’mgonna touch you and once I do I won’t be able to stop.” Barbara sucked in air and stared at him, seeing the glitter of desire in his blue eyes. She could see the rise and fall of his chest as his breath quickened and she could also see the shadow of his cock as it bulged beneath the soft leather of his pants. He wanted her. There was no question in her mind. And after tonight she knew something else with concrete certainty. She wanted him. She parted her lips. “Don’t go.”

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Chapter Eight There was a roaring in Lou’s ears as he struggled with the demon of lust clawing at his guts. Stoked by a fury that they’d missed out on theirperp —something Lou found extremely aggravating—he was still thrumming with unresolved sexual heat that wanted to erupt. And preferably erupt into Barbara’s willing body. Two words fell from her lips and as they did, Lou reached for her. They could have been “drop dead”, “fuck you”, “fuck me” or any combination thereof. Lou didn’t care. He’d given her the option, but he had no intention of leaving her even if she tried to boot him out the door on his ass. She came willingly, so a part of his mind registered that she hadn’t turned him down. It was enough for him. His mouth came down on hers with a savage need to devour her, tongue thrusting past her lips to invade and conquer the sweet hot territory within. She groaned as she sucked him inside, giving as good as she got, dueling with him as he learned her mouth. They stumbled, clinging to each other, ending up against the wall. Something fell to the floor with a clatter, but Barbara held him tight, hands fisted in his hair, refusing to acknowledge anything but his kiss. Frantic to touch her, Lou fought the dress, finally tearing it away from her body and pushing it down past her breasts. Lips still locked to his, Barbara struggled in turn, ripping at his shirt, popping buttons, desperate to get to his bare skin. When chest finally met breast, both Lou and Barbara moaned in pleasure. Hard nipples pushed greedily into his muscles and she rubbed herself over the solid planes of his body, sobbing harsh breaths into his mouth. Her hands tore the shirt away from his back, eagerly sliding up and down the spine they’d uncovered.

Slick with heat and sweat, Barbara’s flesh was everything Lou could have imagined in his most lust-filled fantasy—and more. She squirmed against him, seeking his touch, his nipples, his navel—her hands were everywhere. In his turn, Lou forced her dress past her hips and felt it drop to the floor. There was nothing now to stop his exploration, nothing but a tiny black silk thong. His hands gravitated to her ass and he filled his palms with the softly muscled buttocks that flexed as she wriggled against him. Her breasts were squashed flat and Lord knew how she’d gotten her hands on his fly, but she had. His zipper was being lowered and eager fingers were delving past the leather and the briefs to find his cock. She pushed his clothing down in her turn, just enough to free him and let him fall heavily into her waiting grasp. Lou jerked back with a grunt.“Shit, babe.” He was teetering on the edge as it was. Barbara’s gently needy stroking wasgonna push him way past the point of control.

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She lifted herself onto tiptoes and rubbed the head of his cock over her silk-covered pussy, dampening the fabric with a blend of her juices and his pre-come. “Ineedyou.” Lou gulped. “Wait. Wait up here. I need you too but we both need protection.” He fumbled for his pants pocket and sighed with relief as he found the little foil packet. “Hurry.Please hurry…” Barbara released his cock and let her hands glide up her torso to cup her breasts. “You drive me crazy.” Her fingers teased her nipples as she watched him sheathe himself. “Oh yeah?”He lowered his head and covered the top of one breast with his mouth, fingers and all. His tongue played over her hand and her nipple and finally suckled the whole lot—hard. “Jesus, Lou…” Hobbled by his pants, Lou couldn’t move them to anyplace else. It was going to be here and now whether Barbara liked it or not.

“Yeah.Jesus, Barbara.” He reached between her legs, loving the way she parted her thighs even wider to permit him access to her most private places. His fingers slipped inside the thong to the soaking hot wetness that coated him as he delved deeply. Her scent surrounded him, much as it had in the theater, but stronger now as her arousal took full possession of her body. She whimpered as he found her clit and stroked it gently, teasing her, urging her into a state of trembling readiness. Her fingers bit into his shoulders and she pushed her pussy towards him fiercely. “Fuck me, Lou, for God’s sake. Fuck menow…” Lou grabbed her thong and pulled it free of her body, wondering why the hell it didn’t rip into shreds. But it held, so he ignored it and pushed his cock past the tiny strip of silk into Barbara’s cunt. Her thigh lifted high against his and she met his thrust with one of her own, a move that joined them as deeply as possible, cock to pussy, body to body. Barbara was the first to shudder and moan. “Oh God, oh God…” Lou was speechless with pleasure. The hot feel of her cunt as it gloved him, laving him with her boiling juices, welcoming him into her fire—it was mind-blowing and he wished he could stop time for a bit just to explore the sensation. But she was shaking, muscles knotted and tense as she held herself embedded on his cock. He could feel her pulse throbbing through her flesh and the nipples pressing into him. And so he moved.Backing a little away from her, pulling his cock down and almost out, only to plunge back in again on a grunt of need. She sobbed.“Yeah, oh Godyeah .” Her hips mimicked his thrusts, fucking him every bit as much as he

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fucked her. It slipped past gentle moves and into hard and fast fucking—a hammering of body against body that echoed throughout the dark and silent apartment. Mewling cries were

pushedfrom Barbara’s lungs—a syncopated soundtrack to their passionate frenzy. As the tension crested, Lou’s groans joined hers, his cock thudding hard into her cunt, slicking wetly in and out and sending him rapidly down a one-way street to orgasm. He gasped out something incoherent as his balls contracted and his release clobbered him upside the head, the gut and most everything in between. He was blind, deaf, lost in a world where the only thing that existed was Barbara. She was panting little tiny breaths as he came inside her, eventually giving even those miniscule movements up and simply freezing to the spot as the ripples began in her cunt. Lou opened his eyes, seeking hers—aching to watch her as she climaxed around his cock. She was flushed, the color seeping from her cheeks over her neck to turn her breasts to rosy mounds that shuddered as her orgasm began. Her lips parted but no sound came from her throat, just a harsh rasp of air from lungs that heaved in time with the spasms gripping him so hard. She was as lost as Lou, her body finding a new home in the moments that swept her away from reality and along with him into a place where nothing mattered but the two of them and their mating. “Barbara…” Lou breathed her name in awe as she fell apart around him, a vision of passion and intensely exquisite ecstasy. He could never tire of watching her like this, of seeing her eyes turn vague as her body eased, relaxing into limp tissue as the savage grip on his cock lessened and she returned to earth. They staggered, both fighting for balance and losing the battle, finally sliding down the wall to reach the floor in a tangle of sticky flesh and exhausted limbs. Her voice was hoarse. “Oh fuckingsheeeittt…” Lou couldn’t have said it better.

Barbara’s head spun as she felt the floor rise up to meet her ass. Lou was all over her, around her, still inside her and taking the brunt of the fall as they toppled uselessly against each other. Finally he fell free of her body, wetly plopping loose and subsiding into what was left of his clothing even as she sprawled over the remains of her dress. “Jesus, Barbara.” He swallowed. “Jesus.” “Yeah.”She cleared her throat. “That did come close to a religious experience, didn’t it?” He chuckled. “You can say that again. And up against the damn wall too.” He rubbed a hand over his

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face. “Igotta tell you that I usually have a bit more style than that.Especially for a first time.” She smiled tiredly. “You hear me complaining?” “Just promise me one thing.” He struggled to slide his pants back up past his ass. She sighed and dug her thong out of her thigh. “What?” “Next time we do this in bed so we don’t have to move afterwards.” “Deal.” “I think I need your bathroom.” He stumbled awkwardly to his feet. “Go ahead. Use the one in your room. I need mine.” “I’ll meet you in bed.Your room. Last one there gets to sleep in the wet spot.” Barbara grinned as she held the remnants of black silk against her body in a useless attempt at modesty. “What wet spot? We haven’t done anything there.” Lou smiled back over his shoulder. “Yet…” She gulped. “Er…” “Go.Hurry. We have a date to get naked this time.” Barbara needed no further encouragement. Staggering to the hallway she made it to her bedroom and hit the bathroom, stripping out of her useless underwear and gladly tossing the crumpled dress into one corner.

She ran a brush through her hair, sluiced off the makeup and jumped as she heard the door rattle.“Hey, slowpoke. Yougonna take all night?” She sighed. “Hold your horses, cowboy.” “I’d rather hold yours.” She smiled and dried the last of the moisture off her face. She was happier as herself and wanted to make sure that Lou had no secret Bambi fantasies going on when he took her to bed. She’d been down that road before and didn’t like it. There was an evil imp lurking in her brain that whispered horrid things about black silk dresses and big breasts and men. It was the insecurity demon that had plagued Barbara for most of her life and she hated the little fucker. It didn’t seem possible that Lou was one of “those” guys—the ones who needed to score with a busty blonde—but wanting to believe in something didn’t always make it so. “Okay.Done.” Barbara eased the bathroom door open and peeped around it. Her room was shadowed,

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lit only by the candle Lou had found on the bedside table. He was already in her bed, quite comfortably sprawled over most of it and—from what she could see—naked. He lifted the covers next to him and smiled.“C’mere, you.” No way could she resist an invitation like that. Barbara grinned and snapped off the bathroom light, making her way to the bed and the man waiting for her. At the edge, she paused. “I’m here.Now what?” Deliberately, she stood just beyond arm’s length, knowing that if Lou touched her she’d be all over him like a cheap suit. It seemed that once just wasn’t enough. A fleeting question ran through her mind…could sheeverget enough of this man? It scared her that there was no immediate answer to her inner dialogue. But then Lou moved, rolling to the edge of the bed and licking around her navel.“Mmm.”

She looked down at his mussed hair as his head nudged her tender flesh. Something stirred inside her, a desire to just cradle his scalp in her palms, to drop little kisses on it as she held him close. A need to fall asleep in his arms with his body spooned against hers, keeping her safe, protected, enveloped by his strength. She swallowed, unsure of herself with Lou, surprised at the feelings he invoked within her. They were new to Barbara, unsettling, almost discomforting. For a moment or two she considered withdrawing, running from the room and never going back. But then he glanced up at her, eyes glowing in the reflected candlelight. “Barbara…” That was all it took to send her plummeting to the mattress, tumbling around and over and under Lou’s body, twining her legs within his, her arms around whatever part of him she could find, and her lips—well, they were everywhere at once. She kissed as much of him as she could reach, finally ending up meeting Lou’s mouth readily with her own. Their limbs locked, their curves melded comfortably together and they kissed—deeply, reverently, enjoying the simple pleasure of learning each other this way, knowing it was a prelude to more intimacies. Naked skin rubbed against naked skin, the lack of a barrier between them heightening the pleasure of their embrace. Barbara felt the abrasion of the hair on Lou’s body as he crushed her to him, and she parted her thighs without consideration, anxious to get his cock aligned with her pussy. Although they’d taken each other less than an hour before, sex between them seemed to be like Chinese food—they were still hungry, still wanting, still needing… And Barbara still shuddered as Lou thrust his sheathed cock deep into her cunt shortly thereafter. Hard as nails, he touched her, played her with all the skill of a virtuoso on the female erogenous system. She was wet and aching by the time he slid home, her clit throbbing, her breasts swollen and incredibly sensitive to his everynip, lick and suckle. His fingers had even played daringly around her ass, surprising her with the level of response he’d aroused from his gentle touch. She was on fire once more, a burning

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infernoof desire for one man—a heat that only he could fuel and stoke to heights that made her dizzy and sent her world into a tailspin. Sliding into her second orgasm of the night, Barbara held her breath, astounded at herself. Once was never guaranteed—twice was unheard of. Her legs wrapped tight around Lou’s hips, holding him deeply within her pulsing cunt. He shivered and pushed hard against her, his eyes watching her as she rolled through the savage spasms. Then his gaze turned vague, his lips parted on a groan and he came too, the pulsing of his cock a counterpoint to the ripples she could still feel coursing through her abdomen. It was a longer, gentler orgasm than their first, but equally as involving, equally as intense, stunning Barbara as waves of emotion followed the physical release. Her eyes prickled with tears and she bit back a sob—not knowing why it choked her or why the urge to weep like a stupid idiot swamped her. As if he sensed her need, Lou eased himself down beside her and pulled her into his arms, the pounding of his heart a steady drumbeat beneath her ear. Silently he held her, settling her comfortably against him, brushing her head with his chin and gently rubbing one hand across her cooling skin. It was soft and romantic and Barbara relished every single moment of it. Right up until she fell asleep. They turned to each other twice during the night, once to touch and marvel at the experience of being together—the other to find new paths to pleasure, new places to tease and tantalize. When Barbara drowsed once more the thought crossed her mind that she’d never felt so relaxed, so sated—or sosafe.An odd notion for a police officer. Sleep claimed her as she tried to examine the idea.

Waking to sunshine bright against her eyelids the next morning, she smiled. The air was redolent with the scent of Lou and sex and warmth, making Barbarayearn once more. She reached out a lazy hand—to find an empty pillow. Lou was gone.

Chapter Nine Okay. Logically there is absolutely no need to panic. Barbara repeated the words for the fifth time as she struggled into her robe and headed for the kitchen. They were turning into a mantra this morning—a soothing balm to the icy little slash of pain that had shot to her gut when she’d felt that empty pillow. A note propped up against the still-warm coffeepot caught her eye and for the first time since she’d woken up, she breathed normally.

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See?You idiot. He left a note. Barbara—got a call from Chuck.Gonna meet him at the station. Come in when you wake up. I’ll pass along the info from last night. Well, some of it.It was signed with a crooked smiley face. She chuckled and poured coffee. He must’ve gotten a call on his cell phone since she knew she’d have heard her phone ring. Glancing at the clock she figured it would probably take about twenty minutes or so to get ready and another fifteen to reach the station which would still put her there way ahead of the Sunday day shift. She had a little breathing space, which was good since Lou had a tendency to take away her ability to breathe. She didn’t quite know how he didthat, or why sex with him should be sofrickin ’ spectacular. But—all things considered—Barbara was not about to complain. She grabbed her coffee and hummed something tuneful as she strolled back towards her room. Lou’s door wasopen, his clothes tumbled carelessly on the bed as if he’d dressed in a hurry. Barbara grinned.Typical man. She went in, intending to quickly fold his clothes at least, tidy away the mess and leave it halfway presentable. She picked up a shirt and breathed in—it smelled of him, all male and tangy with a slight hint of his soap or

deodorant…whatever it was it was clean andLou. It made Barbara’s gut clench as the scent coiled into her brain and reminded her of how it felt to be skin-to-skin with that fragrance. She sighed and folded the finely tailored shirt, putting it next to the leather pants she’d admired last night. The label inside the waistband caught her eye and she blinked, leaning closer. They were custom-made pants, Lou’s name carefully embroidered on the tag. Well, hell. I guess guys are allowed to splurge too, now and again.Barbara had never met a man who had his pants custom-tailored, but what the heck. She touched the soft leather admiringly,then moved to the closet to find a hanger for them. Inside was Lou’s bag, and she fought a brief but intense battle with her conscience. Who’d know? She’d be careful. She just wanted to…to what? Fondle his shorts? Get kinky with his underwear? Barbara shook her head at herself. She was worse than some teen-queen with her first lover. But a need to find out all she could about this man drove her to pry, to invade his privacy, to touch that which was his—and as she did so, to touch him once more. So she delved into the bag, stopping short as she found a watch tucked inside a small inner pocket. It was heavy and she delicately pulled it free. “Holy fucking shit.” The gleaming piece of jewelry in her hand was nothing like the ordinary watch she was used to seeing on her colleagues. This was an exquisite, top-of-the-line timepiece. She squinted at the simple dial, trying to make sense of the letters as they danced in front of her eyes. “It is.” She breathed the words aloud. “It’s africkin ’Rolex .” The brand was clear, black letters beneath the tiny crown, the art and workmanship a clear indicator that

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this was indeed the real McCoy, not some knockoff he’d bought online to impress people. She blinked at it, knowing she was holding more than seven or eight thousand dollars’ worth of watch in her hand. Where the hell did a cop get a piece like this?

Carefully she returned it to Lou’s travel bag, and sat back on her heels. There could be plenty of explanations, of course. A gift, an heirloom—although it looked too new to be a legacy piece—perhaps even something he’d saved up for over the years.Could be anything. Her curiosity roused, Barbara cautiously tugged Lou’s bag out into the light, noting the two sweaters rolled up on top. She didn’t need to even touch those to guess they were cashmere, but a brush of her fingers confirmed it. It would seem that InspectorFranconi liked the finer things in life. In a small leather pouch, she found two elegant pens, both of which looked very much like gold. She didn’t recognize the brand names, but they reeked of expensive chic. There were a couple more silk shirts, some rather mundane cotton briefs, and at the very bottom a business card case, heavily engraved and probably also gold. Although white gold. She turned it over, noting the appropriate eighteen-carat markings on the back. Yep.White gold. Since when did cops need business cards? Barbara shook her head. This stuff really wasn’t in keeping with the LouFranconi she knew. He was far more adown-to-earth-gimme-coffee-and-a-donuttype of man. This pricey stuff didn’t seem to fit in with what she’d seen. Idly she snapped open the business card case—and paused. There were no cards inside, just a small CD, cleverly designed to fit neatly within a card case. She’d seen them before…some had a single song track or a trailer for a movie. They hadn’t really caught on though, making Barbara wonder what this one was. Resting back on her knees, she considered the matter intensely. If she did what she wanted, which was to find out what was on this CD, she was going way past the “I slept with this man and just want to touch his stuff” type activity. This would be prying, violating his privacy and galloping past any boundaries of civilized behavior,

notto mention dancing over illegal search and seizure and completely ignoring civil rights. However, sex notwithstanding, Barbara was first and foremost a cop.A cop who’d been really well fucked last night, but a cop all the same. Her gut told her that Lou was a straight-up guy. Possibly a very richstraight-up guy, but a straight-up guy all the same. But the evidence—the stuff she’d been trained to follow for years now—thatwas painting a slightly different picture and the colors didn’t match. The argument between her gut and her professional instincts was short-lived.

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She took the case and the CD and hurried to her laptop. Before she’d really spent more than a few moments considering the ramifications, she’d booted up her system and slipped the little disk into the drive. Surprisingly it wasn’t password-protected, either, and Barbara found herself staring at an assortment of typical folders…ones that could be found on any hard drive on any system in the entire world. Except that these folders had names that weren’t quite so normal. She squinted at the first four—all named “Profit estimates” and having versions one through four after their titles. They were spreadsheet files. She opened one and blinked. There were profit estimates for half a dozen different porn movies, based on a variety of different scenarios. Length of release, popularity of actors, subject matter—anything that could affect the money a movie made was listed. And the movies themselves were the ones that had been bootlegged. Barbara recognized the titles immediately, the list of illegal DVDs having been perused at length in the squad room, along with appropriately adolescent comments. Uncomfortable now, she opened the other files. As she did, an overall picture emerged—a pretty complete scenario of the whole bootlegging ring. The money

involvedwas staggering—ahelluva lot more than could be accounted for by their small investigation. Nope, to Barbara’s eyes this was a sizeable operation, something that was certainlynotrun by some college kid with a state-of-the-art computer. But something thatcould be masterminded by one brilliant investigator in the right position to protect it. Very cautiously, Barbara closed the files and ejected the CD. She wiped it clean of her prints and returned it to the case, which also got a cleaning. Absently, she went back to Lou’s room and returned everything to the way it had been before she entered—or as close as she could remember. She did not want him to suspect she’d been prying into his stuff. She certainly did not want him knowing she’d found and read that CD. And above all, she did not want him getting the slightest hint that she might be thinking ofhim as the mind behind the crime. Which, unfortunately, she was. ***** Lou did his very best to concentrate on the case as he listened to the new information and shuffled the

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files in front of him. Chuck had located a photo of their suspect, which showed a nondescript guy in a baseball cap. Not a huge amount to go on. Nor enough for Lou to say he’d seen him last night at the theater, either. Perhaps Barbara might recognize him. Lou realized he was waiting for her with a great deal of enthusiasm. Their night together had been one of miracles and magnificence, a stupendous session of fucking that had—to coin a phrase—blown his socks off. It was so much more than physical, too. Oh sure the hair and the breasts were a definite turn-on, but Barbara herself was a woman with responses that were off the scale.A sexy, sensual lover with a heart as generous as her measurements. He wanted

moreof her, more time lost in her body, endless hours free to investigate her hot spots and find new erogenous zones. He ignored the fact that buried beneath his lust was a serious case of anxiety. Something unique was happening here, certainly to Lou and—he hoped—to Barbara. He’d never felt quite like this before and if he let it, it would scare the crap out of him. Forcing his attention back to the case, Lou determined he wasnotgoing to let it.No way, no how. Then Barbara walked in and his heart thudded awkwardly, sending a flood of adrenaline through him and overriding his determination with no problem at all. He faced a horridly vivid truth. He was a hairsbreadth away from falling for Detective Barbara Fremont.And fallinghard . He watched her stride across the room, her movements sure and womanly. She was the most unselfconsciously gorgeously attractive female he could remember meeting—ever. And now he’d had a sampling of her in bed, he knew he wanted more.Much more. Her gaze clashed with his and took his breath away. There was heat, desire, passion and he thought he caught a dash of anger—or perhapsfear . Whatever it was, he felt it too—in spades. Determined to keep his cool and not embarrass both of them, however, Lou simply nodded at her and then turned back to Chuck. “So this is the dude, huh?” Barbara neared the table and Lou included her in his next question. “Does he seem familiar to anybody? Got a rap sheet?Prints, anything like that?” “We did a skimpy background check when he applied for a job. Basically we have to eliminate any sexual misdemeanors or offenders from our employees.Bad for business.” Chuck wrinkled his nose. “If they’ve got a sheet we check the nature of the offenses. We’re not terribly particular but there are things even we can’t deal with.”

“Makes sense.”Barbara was tugging at her lower lip. “I can’t say for sure, Chuck, but there’s a strong

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possibility hewasthere last night. There were a couple of guys who fit this description and both of ‘em could have shot a copy of the movie.” She turned to Lou. “What do you think?” He nodded.“Same as you. Hecould have been there, but damned if I could testify to it.” Chuck sighed. “So we don’t have anything definitive.Damn it.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I hate to wait until the bootleg copies of this one hit the street.” His cell phone rang and he turned away to answer the call. “Good morning.” Lou smiled at Barbara. “Sleep well?” She failed to meet his eyes.“Yep. Thanks.” Lou hid a grin. He figured he was having pretty much the same reaction as she was—if they’d said much more than the commonplace courtesies, they’d give themselves away. The drooling and the climbing all over each other would have been a real strong hint about the state of things between them. “Hey. We’ve got a break here.” Chuck interrupted Lou’s train of thought.Thank God. “Studio just got word that kid’s coming by today for something or other. He’s on the gate list so he’ll be allowed inside. Youwanna talk to him? We can stophim, detain him if you want…” Lou eased off the desk. “Barbara and I will be there. No need to make a big deal out of it—we’ll just pull him aside for a few questions.How about that?” “Works for me.”Chuck nodded his approval. “Barbara?” Lou turned to her. She was looking down at the photos on the desk once more.“Yep.Time to get some more information. If he’s not the main man, perhaps he can give us a lead on who is…” Lou tilted his head to one side. “What do you mean?”

She finally met his gaze, her own expressionless. “I’m just thinking that this is a pretty sophisticated operation for one college kid. And I’m wondering if it’s bigger than just our town and perhaps a few outlets elsewhere.” Lou stared steadily back at her. “Good point. That’s a very strong possibility. Perhaps this kid will point us in the right direction, if there is one…” She turned away.“Yeah.Perhaps.” Puzzled now at Barbara’s lack of emotions, Lou followed her from the room.Must be one of those women-things.Morning-after embarrassment or something.For which the prescription would have to be a lot more nights like last night. Note to self…get more condoms. *****

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Somehow or other, Barbara held her tongue as they drove to BJ Studios. Lou was quiet as well, something for which she was very thankful. Questions trembled on her tongue, suspicions nagged at her thoughts and she tried to put it all in perspective—to balance everything clearly rather than let it become colored with her emotions. If Lou was involved in this bootlegging ring, then she was in ashitload of trouble. Because she’d gone and fallen for the guy, slept with him, and generally behaved in a totally unprofessional manner. If hewasn’t involved and there was some other explanation for the CD and the swanky stuff, then she was just as guilty of unprofessional behavior, since she’d rummaged through his belongings without his permission. Plus he could well be seriously pissed that, along with all her other sins, she hadn’t trusted him. She sighed silently. This was one majorfuckup , no mistake about it. She was almost glad to see the gate to BJ Studios. They were passed through with no problem and directed to the parking lot behind the austere building which housed the actual sound stages and offices.

Within moments, Chuck was leading them to a small office. “He’s in here. Came in and we asked him to wait a few moments while we cleared his badge. Okay?” Lou nodded. “Sure.” He glanced at Barbara. “You ready?” “Absolutely.”And that was the truth. She was going to be watchingLouevery bit as closely as she watched the kid. They entered the little room to find a nervous-looking young man staring at them. “Hey.” He nodded. “Uh…you clearingmy badge, or what?” “Not exactly.”Lou nodded to the chair. “Why don’t you sit down, buddy? Sean, isn’t it?” “Yeah.”The kid sat down as Barbara took up a position near the window where she could see both Lou and the suspect. “I’m Sean Donaldson.” “Well, Sean, it’s like this…” In simple terms, Lou explained the bootlegging deal. “So we know that somebody’s filming the movie. Somebody no one would suspect.Somebody rather like you, Sean.” “Uh…me?”Sean’s throat wobbled and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed.“Why me? Plenty of guys like porn.” “Yeah, they do.” Lou nodded. “But you’re the only one who’s worked at the studios here. Who knows the schedule of releases, who knows each film very well indeed, and who has the technical smarts to pull itoff. ” “I…wha…you think that I…” Stuttering and blushing, Sean looked everywhere but at Lou. “Sean.” Barbara spoke quietly from the side of the room. “Help us. Help us now and things will be a lot easier for you later on down the road.”

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“I…really I don’t know…” He shook his head in a move of denial that his voice failed to reinforce. “Sean, dude. Give it up. We’ve got enough on you for a warrant to search your rooms.Wanna bet we’d find a state-of-the-art digital movie camera?” Lou glanced at

theyoung man’s cap. “And probably a cap or two with just the right-sized hole cut out of it?” Sean jumped at that. “But…I…” He stared around, fingers twitching on the desk, vainly looking for a bolt-hole or a place to hide. Lou sighed. “I think we’re going to have to arrest him since he’s got nothing useful to say. Perhaps he’ll be more communicative at the station. DetectiveFremont, would you care to read him his rights?” “Sure.” Barbara eased off the window and moved to stand behind Sean’s chair. “Wait.” Sean held up a hand. “Arrest me?For what?” “Let’s see.” Barbara leaned over.“Suspicion of involvement in black market sales. Suspicion of illegally videotaping and distributing copyrighted materials.” She tapped his nose with one finger. “You, of all people, should know that copyright violations are serious trouble, dude. Ever try to download free music? Did you hear what happened to the kids who did?” Sean nodded.“Yeah. I heard. Some of them got prosecuted, didn’t they?” “Yep.”Barbara nodded back. “You don’twanna go that route, okay? So give us the skinny, Sean. Just tell us how the scheme worked and maybe the prosecutor will be feeling generous when we talk to him.” There was silence in the room for a few moments. “I don’t know anything much, honest.” Sean finally lifted his head and stared at Lou. “I swear. I don’t know anything useful.” Lou shrugged. “Well, okay then. I guess I believe you.” Barbara, however, didn’t. “Uhh…” “Look, Detective. If Sean here says he doesn’t know anything, then perhaps he’s right. Detaining him further would probably waste his timeandours.” Lou stared out the window.

Barbara blinked. Not only didn’t she believe Sean, she also didn’t believe what she was hearing from Lou. Here they were with the best suspect they’d had yet, he had all but admitted to being involved, and Lou was about to let him walk out the fuckingdoor? Immediately her brain connected the dots. Sean might possibly be able to incriminate Lou if he was actually behind or part of this scheme. No wonder Lou was ready to let him loose.

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Barbara seethed. “I’m not sure, InspectorFranconi . It seems that our investigations might be helped by any little bit of information friend Sean here could offer.” She glared at Lou across the expanse of table, surprised to find her stare returned by a solidly unblinking one from Lou’s dark blue eyes. “Ma’am…Detective…please…I don’t know anything, okay?” Sean’s shaky voice quivered into the silence that had fallen between Lou and Barbara, making her jump. She’d nearly forgotten his presence. Wrenching her gaze away from Lou, Barbara noticed sweat breaking out on Sean’s face. He was gnawing at his lip and there was a definite tremble to his hand as he lifted it to wipe his forehead. Ifever she’d seen someone with “guilty” written clearly across his expression, it was this kid. And Lou wanted to let him walk? There was something very wrong with this picture, but at this point Barbara was angry enough to go along with it. If she gave Lou enough rope, sure as shit he’d hang himself with it. And she’d be there to hold the other end of the noose. Hell, she’d kick the chair over for him. Didn’t matter that she was in love with him.Well, okay, yeah it did. It made the whole fucking thingworse .

Chapter Ten Lou would have smiled as he took Barbara’s arm to lead her from the building, but he could sense the anger roiling inside her. They’d let Sean go, watched as he’d all but bolted from the room and now it was time to deal with his erstwhile partner, lover and possibly murderer. At least that was the look she had in her eyes, anyway. He swore he heard her teeth clench as they reached the quiet parking lot. Then she spun around and let loose. “What thefuck do you think you’re doing? Are you out of that peanut-sized mind of yours? That kidknew something—andwhatever he knew would have been a help. He was ready to talk too—what thehell is going on with you?” She wrenched her arm free, planted her boots down firmly and crossed her arms as she glared at him in fury. Lou counted himself lucky. At least she hadn’t reached for her weapon.Yet. He took a breath. It was time to clear up some details about this case. “Look, honey, I’m sorry.” Her chin snapped up a notch or two.Okay.Wrong approach. “InspectorFranconi.We are presently working a case. I’m trying to be professional andnot knock your nuts up around your tonsils with my knee. It’s an ongoing battle since you’ve demonstrated some kind of major mental incompetence. Calling meanything butDetective Fremont isn’t going to help your cause.” She gulped back a growl of anger. “You either tell me what’s going on right here and now or I’mgone . You can find somebody else to work with.”

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Lou ran his hand through his hair. “Okay. I’m sorry. You’re right. It’s time I leveled with you.” “I’m listening.”

“There’s more to this case than just bootlegged DVDs.” “Go on.” Her stance hadn’t changed. If they’d been at the OK Corral instead of a porn studio parking lot she’d definitely have shot him by now. Lou stretched his shoulders. “There’s a chain of command here. The DVDs are bringing in some cash, butthere’s also drugs, prostitution and quite a nice little market in stolen goods as well.” Barbara’s head tilted sideways a little as she considered his words. “You mean this is part of some crime syndicate?” He nodded.“Yep. Small, right now, nothing that could compare to the big boys in the big city, but it’s growing. It’s well organized, technologically advanced, and showing the potential for turning more and more profit as time goes on.Unless we nip it in the bud now. The last thing us State boys want is another budding syndicate sending out tentacles into every illegal pie there is.” “And you think the DVD angle will…what? Get you anin?A name?” “Possibly.It’s only one of the avenues we’re pursuing. I let Sean off the hook in the hopes that he’d walk out of here and place a call. As soon as we got his name I pulled a cell-phone monitor warrant so we can track him. I’m gambling that he’ll call whoever he reports to—” “Thus giving you another link in the chain.”Barbara finished his thought for him. “Exactly.”Lou nodded. “So now you understand why I let him go.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Sure. That I understand.Now. Why the hell you couldn’t have told me this before, I don’t know.” Unwisely, Lou answered from his heart not his brain.“Because I wanted you.” “What?” Barbara all but shrieked at him. Lou tried to recoup. “Look, I didn’t intend to get a bad case for you, Barbara. But I did. Soon as I saw you, soon as you went down on your knees, I was lost and I knew it.”

“So fucking what?” The hands were on the hips once more and that “look” was back in Barbara’s eyes. “You get a hard-on and all of a sudden you decide that means don’t tell me the full details of the case we’re supposed to be working together?” Lou paused. “There’s a chance your department has a leak.”

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The silence following that statement was overwhelming. Then the natural progression of Barbara’s brain took her to a place Lou was dreading. “And you…thought…it…might…be…me?” The outrage in the hushed words of fury boiled into Lou’s ears. “You fucked meanyway , even though you thought I might be theleak ?” “No, Barbara—listen, honest…” She wasso not listening. “You haven’t told me the truth from the start, you jerk.” “Look, I never meant…” “No you didn’t, did you?You bastard. I should shoot you where you stand.” Lou sighed. If she’d just calm down they could discuss this like two adults instead of shouting at each other like kids on a playground. Making things worse was a woman who walked uncertainly towards them. Barbara was in full spate. “You damn near ruined everything, you incompetent asshole.” Lou’s lips twisted. “Are you mad because of just now…or because of last night?” He reached out and just brushed a fingertip over her cheek. As the stranger approached, Barbara lost the last vestiges of her control. Lou saw it coming, but figured she needed to blow off some steam. The sound of her hand slapping his face rang around the almost empty parking lot. She spun on her heel and stalked away, boots sounding loud on the pavement. “So does this mean tomorrow night’s off?” He couldn’t resist calling the jibe after Barbara. She never even turned around, just flipped him the finger over her shoulder.

He turned to the woman, a flash of recognition hitting him—a great deal more gently than Barbara’s hand. It was the girl from the video store—the one who’d disappeared with Big John Johnson. He rubbed his cheek and grinned.“Gottalove a woman who knows the value of physical action.” “Um…gosh…I’m sorry. I wasn’t…I mean…um…” She sounded embarrassed and uncertain. “Don’t sweat it, babe.Just a lover’s tiff. She can’t get enough of me.” Lou chuckled to himself.And don’t I hope that’s the truth. “Actually, I’m trying to find the front door to…” She nodded at the building behind her, the color creeping into her cheeks as she admitted to wanting to enter a porn studio. “Looking for Big John’s place?”

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She nodded. “Right around the corner, honey.Entrance is tucked away in back…” “Thanks. I hope everything works out for you.” She nodded at the car roaring away with a scream of tires. Lou smiled. “It will.” He tucked his hands in his pockets and strolled off, trying to ignore the fact that Barbara had just left him stranded. The grin stayed on his face. She was one hell of a woman and the more time he spent with her, the more he was growing to need her. He needed her fire, her passion, her sexy body and her challenging mind. He even needed her temper—the incontrovertible sign of a spirit that matched his own. His cheek throbbed at the memory of her blow and he figured he probably had a nice red handprint there as a souvenir. But he wouldn’t have changed a thing. Lou had

foundBarbara when he wasn’t expecting to ever have a relationship this intense, or in fact toneedone. But within a very short period of time he’d come to the realization that she was exactly what was missing in his life. Now all he had to do was convinceher of that fact and not get himself shot in the process. ***** Barbara had gone less than a mile from the studios when she realized she’d stranded Lou without a car. Well, fuck him. Let him find his own way back to the station. Her temper still boiled high as she came to terms with the fact that he’d withheld information from her, included her on the list of possible leaks and then, to add insult to injury—sleptwith her. It was the last item that rankled, along with the solid knowledge that she was completely wrapped up in him, had enjoyed the best sex of her life and would probably wither away into miserable and lonely spinsterhood without him. Unusual tears pricked the backs of her eyes and she steered the car to the side of the road, slapping it into “Park” and digging in her bag for a tissue. “Stupid idiot woman.”She stared at herself in the rearview mirror. “He’s not worth it.” Oh yes he is. “He lied to me.” No he didn’t. He just didn’t tell you everything.

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“He should have trusted me.” Why? He’s working a case. He’s only known you for a few days and you leaped into bed with him. What’s to trust? You probably looked prettyslutty to him. “Oh fuck.” The tears fell at last, dripping over Barbara’s cheeks as she stared blindly through the windshield. “I’m scared.”

Of what? “I’m in love with him.” Her inner voice had no answer for that comment. Barbara hadn’t really expected any. It seemed that when love finally arrived it didn’t bloom like the proverbial rose, but smacked her upside the head—painfully and savagely. It hurt, with a wonderfully terrible ache that wouldn’t respond to an aspirin or a shot of whiskey. This was a pain that went deep—a mingling of fear, self-doubt and heated desire for Lou’s touch.And his smile. And his fuckingtrust . It was this last that hurt the most. The knowledge that he could fuck her to the edge of insanity yet not trust her.Especially when she was ready to trust him. Or was she? Blowing her nose, Barbara sighed. Trust was a two-way street. She’d rummaged in his bags and found things that she hadn’t expected. She’d been quite ready to suspect him of being aslimeball crook. Was she any better than Lou? Oh fucking shit.This was why love, sex and male-female interactions were a real bad idea all around. They were complicated, fraught with traps and pitfalls that were only too ready to swallow up the unwary and Barbara wanted to groan at the unfairness of it all. Where was the roadmap through this stuff? Where was the “Guide to Loving” type thing that would have helped her negotiate a truce with her fate? And where, come to think of it, was the man himself? She’d left him high and dry—not exactly guaranteed to endear herself to him. And this was after landing a punch that could well have loosened a couple of molars. Barbara sighed once more and shifted into “Drive”. Time to go collect Lou, see if any permanent damage had been done to his teeth and perhaps try and fix any of the other damage she’d done to their relationship.

That was, if they stillhadone.

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I amsooooo not good at this stuff. See? This is why you need to get out more. Barbara took a quick look at her reflection in the mirror and told herself to shut the fuck up. ***** While Barbara was indulging in a fit of serious self-recrimination, Lou was walking back towards the station. He knew he could hail a cab if need be, but he appreciated the opportunity to be alone and do some serious thinking. About Barbara. She’d crept into his heart through his fly and turned from the hottest bedmate into a woman he didn’t want to live without. It was a done deal. No appeals, no requests for leniency—he was sentenced to life with her.If she’d have him. There were things they had to talk about—things he had to tell her, to ask her and then listen to see if she was anywhere near the page he was on. If she wasn’t, he’d just take her back to bed and make love to her until she was. He blinked at himself as his thoughts made the stupidest kind of sense. I am scaring myself. His cell phone rang.“Franconi.” He listened to the information being relayed to him. The surveillance on Sean’s phone had paid off. A call had been intercepted and Sean had set up a meet with a name that set off alarm bells in Lou’s head. This was not a guy some college kid with a bad case of greed should be dealing with. Looking around, Lou searched for a cab, only to see a familiar car heading for where he was standing. Thank you God.Barbara had come back for him.

She stopped next to him and he bent down to open the passenger door. “Barbara…honey…” “Lou, I…” They spoke over each other, stumbling to get the words out, frustrating Lou to no end. “Shit. Babe, this’ll have to wait. Sean’s on his way to a meet.” He slid into the car and slammed the door shut.“Oak Streetand Third.Can you get us there quickly?” “Yes.” She snapped into action, pulling away into the traffic with scarcely a horn blaring to mark her passage. “Fasten your seat belt.” Lou grinned as the car swayed and did a couple of maneuvers that might have gotten another driver a

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ticket or two. “Already did.” “Who’s he meeting with?” Eyes firmly on the road ahead, Barbara tossed out the question as casually as if she was asking what was on sale at the supermarket that week. “BernieRostovich .” Her eyebrows flew up and she glanced at him for a microsecond before gunning the engine even harder. “Shit, Lou. I’ve heard that name.” “Yeah.Me too.”His tone was grim. Mr.Rostovich was well-known to “authorities” as the newspapers liked to say. The head of a Russian crime ring, he was slick, had a lawyer who had thus far kept him out of jail and was growing ever richer off the backs of those who worked for him. He’d kept out of the official “eye” for some years, but eventually his organization had increased in size to where it attracted attention—aided by a couple of deaths that had recently been linked to his employees. “Hookers.Dead hookers.”Barbara was thinking and driving at the same time. “Something about a couple of Russian women lured into prostitution and ending up dead?”

“Yep.”Lou nodded. “Don’t like the sound of this guy.Or his associates. I doubt he’d be there in person to meet with Sean, but whoever comes, the kid doesn’t stand a chance.” Barbara skillfully wove her way through traffic and made a couple of turns that left rubber on the asphalt. “Only a couple minutes more and we’ll be there.” “Good. And after this is all over, babe, we’regonna take a couple hours forusand talk, okay?” “You got it.” Barbara nodded as the car slid to a halt. “We’re here.” Lou was out of the door before she’d turned the engine off, looking around him for a glimpse of Sean. It wasn’t the best place in the world, that was for sure and Barbara was glad they were there in daylight. If it had been after dark, she’d have drawn her service weapon by now. Boarded-up windows faced the street, a few bits of paper skittered along the gutters and there was an overpowering stench of garbage in the air. As it was, she touched the gun nestled into the curve of her spine, making sure it was clear and accessible should she need it. Then she left the car and joined Lou. “I don’t see him, do you?” Lou frowned. “No. He should be here by now.” He looked up the street. There were few people around, and those who happened to be walking past kept their eyes down. Barbara’s skin prickled. “You sure this was the spot?” “Yeah.Wait up—here he is.” Lou moved forward. “Cover me, okay?” Barbara opened her mouth but he was gone already, hand poised near his hip, striding towards a rather

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surprised-looking Sean Donaldson who had just rounded a corner and was walking their way. Barbara remained next to thecar, senses attuned to her surroundings, looking for anything out of the ordinary—anyoneout of the ordinary. Given where they were, that

wasn’tan impossible chore, but there didn’t seem to be cause for alarm in the hastily shut doors or the blinds that were pulled down over a window or two. Apparently one didn’t need a squad car with lights blaring to be identified as a cop in this part of town. And apparently nobody wanted to establish cordial relations with their official police representatives. The street cleared in rapid time. Lou had reached Sean and there was some kind of impassioned dialogue going on. Barbara watched them with half her attention, keeping the other half on the street either side of them. Sean was shaking his head—Lou was gesturing with his hands. It was an oddly animated conversation for two men to be having, but then again—Lou probably had that Italian thing going for him. Barbara spared a moment to wonder where the others were—the person or persons that Sean was supposed to meet.Associates of Mr. BernieRostovich , perhaps. No-shows?Scared off by the sight of their car, or Lou talking to Sean? Barbara didn’t know. There were too many things she didn’t know right now, so she stopped trying to evaluate the situation on that level and simply did her job—providing backup for Lou. The thought crossed her mind that perhaps she should call in for more backup, but since this was shaping up to be just two guys having a conversation, it probably wasn’t necessary. And anyway, Lou might have already done it. She didn’t know. A small nagging irritant tickled at her brain. Shedidn’t knowtoo damn much. Lou had better do some straightforward and simple talking when they got this business out of the way and sat down together. The professional side of Barbara needed to get in line with the personal side of Barbara. If she was gonna get seriously involved with this guy there had to be a clean slate between them.

No more secrets, no more evasions—no more missing bits of the puzzle. She chuckled to herself. She was going to have to make sure they didn’t end up in bed before she’d gotten things straightened out. Otherwise, they’d never find time to talk about anything. Not for a few days anyway. Just the thought of a few days in bed with Lou was distracting, making Barbaraexert a physical effort to keep her mind on her job. The street was pretty empty, nobody had showed up to jeopardize Sean and it looked like this was yet another dead end.

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It seemed Lou’s conversation with Sean was ending, as they both turned back towards her. Then…in one of those odd occurrences that seem unreal and dreamlike when remembered later…things slipped out of focus and into slow motion. Lou opened his mouth and yelled something at the same moment Sean tripped and stumbled to one knee colliding with him from behind. Barbara didn’t catch what Lou shouted, but started forward, watching Lou draw his weapon. And aiming his gun ather. And catching her breath as hefired . Ears ringing, Barbara stopped dead, shock cementing her feet to the ground. Thenan odd warmth blossomed around her ribs and she looked downwards. To her surprise a brilliant scarlet stain was seeping through her jacket. The truth seeped equally slowly into her numbed brain. I’ve been shot. She crumpled, the pain beginning—a fire that grew in intensity until she could scarcely breathe. Another shot rang out, but she barely registered it. Her last thought as she sank to the pavement was that Lou had gone andshot her.With hisgun . I really picked the wrong one this time.

Chapter Eleven “Ioughta take you outside and pound you into a pulp.” The chief’s softly irate voice percolated through the fog surrounding Barbara. “You don’t need to. I’ve done it to myself a dozen times already.” Lou’s answer was little more than a rough groan. “I’ve seen it in my head endlessly. I can’t close my eyes without seeing it.” A hand brushed Barbara’s cheek. It felt good. She was tired—too tired to say anything. But that touch warmed and comforted her. She vaguely caught the chief’s next words. “It’ll fade. Let it go. She’ll be fine.” “God…” Lou sounded so sad. She wanted to reach out to him and hug him, but there was no strength in her arms and something tight was binding her chest making it difficult to draw a breath. It could wait. She sighed and nestled back into the fog.

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Lou watched her eyelids flicker and held his breath, but then she slid back down into sleep. The doctors called it a “healing” sleep and said it was the best thing for her, but it was probably the worst thing for the man beside her bed. For the last twenty-four hours he’d held a vigil, leaving her hospital room only to file reports and fill in the chief. Even that had been perfunctory, bringing the chief himself to Barbara’s side to tidy up the details. “Well, at least you got him.” The chief sounded pleased. “Yeah I got him. And shot Barbara in the process.”

“Oh for God’s sake,Franconi , snap out of it. It was a through-and-through. A flesh wound. She’sgonna be absolutely fine, although probably so damn pissed at you you’ll end up in that bed as its next patient.” That made Lou chuckle in spite of his depression. “You’re right about that.” He sighed. “How’s Rostovich ?” “Shaken.” “Hetalk ?” Lou really didn’t care, but he knew the chief would expect him to ask. “Nope.Not a word. But the guy driving the car got a real scare with the glass shard threatening his vision. I guess hesawthe light. He’s the one singing like a Russian bird. Given us quite a bit to go on, most of which has gone over to your group at State.” Lou nodded. He could still see the ugly black length of gun barrel protruding from the car window as it eased silently behind Barbara. He’d shouted, tried to warn her then shot—not realizing Sean could see what he saw and was desperately trying to dive for safety. The consequent comedy of errors had resulted in his first shot blowing out the passenger window after passing cleanly through Barbara’s flesh. He’d followed it with a shot to the tire, effectively disabling the vehicle and keeping its scratched and bleeding occupants from going anywhere. He knew he’d dialed for help. He knew he’d kept everything under control. He just couldn’t remember doing it. All he could recall—with horribly detailed clarity—was Barbara’s white face on the pavement and the blood pooling beneath her armpit. There was just so damnmuch of it— His fingers gripped her hand more tightly as the memories crowded in on him, sending a shiver of horror down his spine once again. It had been too damn close for comfort. “Looks like we’ve seen the end ofRostovich’s organization, even if the lad himself makes bail.Don’t care how good a lawyer he’s got, this one isgonna be hard to avoid.”

The chief turned to the door. “You didgood , Lou. Barbara didgood too. It’s a case of all’s well that

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ends well. Don’t go beating yourself up over this. You were in the right place at the right time to nab the big boys and you did it, just like you’re supposed to.” The chief rested his good hand on Lou’s shoulder for a brief moment. “She’s a strong woman and she deserves a good man. You may be it, I don’t know. That’s up to the two of you. But put this little accident behind you. You’ve got a lot of years ahead.” He chuckled. “Of course, I don’t thinkshe’sgonna forget it quite so easily. If you guys get together, she’sgonna bring this up every time she gets pissed.” With another low laugh, the chief left the room. “He’s right, you know.” Lou jumped as Barbara’s hoarse voice came from the bed.“Hey babe.How you feeling?” He stroked her hair away from her forehead with a tender touch. “Sore, fuzzy and quite possibly pissed at you. Youshot me.” She yawned. “Care to explain that?” “Yes. I can explain it. And I will—when you’re up and about. Right now, all I want you to know is that my life stopped when I lost my aim and hit you. I swear to God. My life stopped, my heart stopped…the world stopped.” She smiled lopsidedly at him, her hand in his.“Awww.” “Needless to say I didn’t mean to shoot you, honey. It was the guy in the car behind you.” She blinked.“Car? There was a car?” Lou nodded.“Yeah.Rostovich was behind the wheel himself that day. He had another guy riding shotgun for him.” He swallowed. “We got him. I winged you in the process, but we got him.” “Good.” She sighed. “Lou?” “What, sweetheart?” “Are you rich?”

“Huh?” Lou blinked. “You’ve got a Rolex watch.” Her worried hazel eyes drifted a little as the medications ranged through her body. He grinned.“Yep. And it would seem somebody’s been through my stuff.” “Sorry.” She blushed. “Don’t be. It’s okay. I got to keep it when I got divorced. Sometimes the husband comes out of these things with a good deal. My ex wasn’t hurting for cash, babe. She just couldn’t deal with the whole cop thing, you know?”

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“Yes. I know.” The look of relief on Barbara’s face was almost comic. “So you thought I was making big bucks from…what…taking kickbacks?” “No, I thought you might be running the bootleg ring yourself.” Lou laughed aloud. “You’dneverhave told me that if you weren’t seriously drugged, you know.” “Probably.”She yawned. “I’m still trying to deal with you shooting me.” He sighed. “You’regonna be fine, babe. My shot went right through, barely grazed a rib and won’t even leave a scar.Or not much of one anyway.” “Lucky, huh?Doubt I could get a date if I was badly scarred.” Lou’s hand tightened on hers. “There will be no more dates for you. Not allowed. You’remine now.” “Oh really?”Weak and groggy as she was, she struggled to pull herself up. “That’s a bit overbearing of you, don’t you think? Do I have any say in the matter?” “No. Lie down.” Lou firmly pressed her back on the pillows. “You can argue this with me when you’re stronger. And we can both end up in bed together. Right now, you’re healing. I’m healing too. Theshock of seeing you lying there—well, fuck it. I may never recover.” She chuckled.“Liar.”

He grinned back. “Well, not without a lot of reassurance on your part that you forgive me.” “I forgive you.” “That wasn’t what I had in mind.” “Oh really?”Barbara tugged on his hand. “Just what did you have in mind?” InspectorFranconi leaned over and placed his lips very close to Detective Fremont’s ear. And told her exactlywhat he had in mind. ***** Two months later “Hey, listen to this…” Barbara stretched lazily in bed next to the reclining length of LouFranconi as he caught up with the local news. “What?” “It’s from Friday’sTown Crier .” Lou folded the page and proceeded to read the article aloud. “And speaking of public-minded citizens, we move on to a brief comment made recently by our

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Chief of Police. He informs our crime reporter that an investigation into the black-marketing of pirated videos has been successfully concluded by State authorities. He cited the brave resolve of local officers, and the cordial relations that were established with the Federal agencies also working on the case. Kudos to all involved. “Another example of mutual cooperation and hard work bringing a satisfactory conclusion.” He looked at Barbara. “I’d say that was pretty accurate, wouldn’t you?” She looked back at him, taking in the picture of all that luscious male flesh, laughing blue eyes and a heart that she knew was hers alone. “Oh yes.Particularly the bit about cordial relations.”

Wickedly, she lifted the covers and slithered down next to Lou, reaching for the solid length of his erection. It grew even more solid as she ran her palm over it. “I do like maintaining cordial relations.” Lou groaned and the paper fell to the floor beside the bed. “No arguments from here. I rather like… ahhh…the mutual cooperation bit myself…” He moved, turning himself and her so that he could find the soft and moist skin between Barbara’s thighs. “Mmmm…” Barbara purred around his cock as she licked and teased the purpling head. “Mmmm…” Lou growled into her pussy, smearing her honeyed juices over the sensitive lips in the way she loved. Thus passionately and intimately tangled together, Inspector LouFranconi and his soon-to-be permanent partner, Detective Barbara Fremont, demonstrated the accuracy of the newspaper article and simultaneously arrived at a satisfactory conclusion. Amostsatisfactory conclusion. 121 About the Author Sahara Kelly was transplanted from oldEnglandtoNew Englandwhere she now lives with her husband and teenage son. Making the transition from her historical regency novels toRomantica ™ has been surprisingly easy, and nowSaharacan’t imagine writing anything else. She is dedicated to the premise that everybody should have fantasies. Sahara Kelly welcomes mail from readers. You can write to her c/oEllora’s Cave Publishing at1056 Home Avenue,Akron,OH44310-3502. Also bySaharaKelly A KinkIn Her Tails Beating Level Nine Detour (with S.L. Carpenter)

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