Aim to Kill (35 page)

No man had ever paid so much attention to just
kissing
her. But these were not simple kisses. Zack left no inch of skin untouched. He kissed, rubbed, licked, breathed on, every pore of her body. She couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, all her senses gone except for
touch.
She’d never had such a tactile experience, where the simplest whisper on her skin could make her hot and gasping for air.

Zack’s mouth found her ear again. “I want to make love to you.”

“Yes,” she breathed. “Are you—um, prepared?” She hated to ask, but she wasn’t on the pill anymore. She hadn’t been with anyone since her divorce.

“I am,” he whispered.

Olivia watched as Zack took off his boxers and slid a condom on his rigid penis. She’d never watched a man enter her and she licked her lips, feeling alternately embarrassed and intensely excited.

Zack stared at Olivia, her flushed skin, peaked nipples, swollen lips. He could watch her all night, hold her forever. She reached for him and he leaned down, kissed her softly, but her lips pressed harder, drew him in, urged him on. Her hands skimmed down his back, her light touch almost unbearable.

He needed to be inside her.

He gently spread her legs and touched her wet core. She gasped and squirmed against his finger. He replaced his finger with his cock and slowly began to enter her, one arm wrapped around her back, the other around her bottom.

Her body tightened and he stopped moving.

“Are you okay?” The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.

“It’s been a while,” she breathed into his ear.

“I won’t hurt you,
Liv
. I would never hurt you.”

“You’re not.” She kissed his neck, little gasps coming from her throat as he readjusted his body, pulling out of her enough to bring his arms to either side of her head.

He looked at Olivia’s beautiful face, kissed her red lips, and said, “Open your eyes, sweetheart.”

She did, slowly, as if in a deep, pleasurable dream.

“I want to watch you,” he said, and kissed her again.

This time, he pushed into her and didn’t pull back. Slow and steady. She was hot and tight, and the thought that he was the first man she’d trusted with her body in years moved and excited him.

He pushed himself fully inside her and she gasped again. He stopped to let her body grow accustomed to his. Her eyes searched his face. What was she looking for? What did she see in him?

Did she see that he cared for her in a way he hadn’t known he was capable of? Did she see a need he filled? He kissed her lips, wanted to tell her this wasn’t going to be the last time. But the kiss would have to show her, his touch would have to convince her.

Olivia held her breath as Zack filled her. She looked into his face and saw raw intensity, every thought and action focused on her. Every nerve ending under her skin wanted to mate with Zack. He brought sexual desire to a higher level.

She moved slightly, and he took it to mean she was ready. She didn’t know if she was ready. All she wanted was to feel him move inside her.

Slowly, he withdrew, then pushed back deep inside, the tip of his penis dancing against her cervix, creating a completely new sensation. She gasped. He did it again. Pulled slowly out, then eased back in, dancing until she drew in a long, unsteady breath.

She started moving along with him. Tentative, unsure of herself at first. She’d never been the instigator. She’d never wanted sex badly enough to push it. Now, she couldn’t get enough. She reached for his hands and squeezed as a wave of sensation flooded her. Sweat coated her body and his. She could no longer tell where he ended and she began. They clasped hands and he held them on either side of her head, holding her to the bed, all attention focused on his penis in her body, in and out, slowly, unhurried.

The quiet, deliberate lovemaking didn’t last. Zack moved faster on top of her, the groans deep in his chest making her even hotter. She matched his rhythm, a tornado whirling within her until her gasps came faster and her body spun out of control.

“Oh. My. God.” She was parched, sweating, drained.

“Olivia,” he breathed into her hair, thrusting deep inside her and holding it.

Together, they drew out the peak of their lovemaking until they were drenched, satiated. Zack rolled onto his side, taking Olivia with him, peppering her face with slow, languid kisses until he reached her mouth.

His mouth devoured hers, leaving her nearly as breathless as the orgasm.

She sighed and relaxed in his arms. At peace.

Zack hugged Olivia, holding her tight, close. He didn’t want to let her go.

Something more than sex had happened between them. How much did this woman mean to him? Much, much more than he’d thought before they fell into bed together.

Her breathing grew even, unlabored, and he realized she’d fallen asleep.

He stared at her in the faint light. In sleep, she looked vulnerable—not a word he normally associated with Olivia.

His heart fluttered just a bit, but enough that he questioned his own feelings.

Love. It was not a word he normally associated with women.

But he definitely associated it with this woman.

CHAPTER

28

The sky turned an incredible shade of dark blue moments before a hint of light outlined the mountains behind the North Fork Lodge.

Chris Driscoll took a minute to watch the sunrise from his hiding place in the trees on the northwest side of the property. A year after Bruce killed their mother, before Chris had learned he’d stabbed her to death, they’d moved to a trailer on the outskirts of Grand Junction,
Colorado
. The trailer was filthy and had a distinct moldy smell, but the mountains outside framed their hovel, the air so crisp and clean and cold that Chris and Angel had spent as much time outside as Bruce allowed.

Often, while Bruce slept off a drinking binge, Chris would take Angel to the far end of the trailer park and they’d watch the sunrise.

A sunrise much like this one.

Angel, I’m so sorry. I loved you more than anything, more than myself.

A brief flicker of light turned Chris’s attention from the sunrise to the porch of the lodge. The two deputies had met up and were sharing a smoke.

He glanced at his watch. They appeared to be doing thirty-minute rotations. He waited as they smoked. Five minutes later one deputy went south, to check out the road and the far meadow. The other went around back to check the rear perimeter and outbuildings.

Good. They were on schedule. He’d wait for one more rotation, verify their route, and then get into position.

Olivia rolled over and into something very warm and hard.

Zack Travis.

She smiled. Last night had been incredible. That was an understatement. She’d never had an orgasm like that, had never been so wanton or turned on in her life.

Sex had never been important to her. Now it was at the top of her list.
If
it was always like last night.

She watched Zack sleep, his day’s growth of beard making him look more like a pirate than a cop. He slept with only the sheet, though the room was chilled. He had his own internal thermostat. She felt the heat coming off his body.

A smile touched her lips. She was
happy
. The thought startled her.

Silently, she slid out of bed and found her nightgown on the floor. She slipped it over her head and barefoot, left the room in search of the Krause sisters so she could retrieve her clothes.

Dawn had already crested the mountain. A glance at her watch told her it was after seven. The search for Driscoll had already started. The sheriff would be arriving at seven thirty to pick up her and Zack.

The scent of rich coffee drew her into the kitchen, located in the rear of the lodge. The North Fork Lodge was more like an oversized house than a commercial hotel. She liked it and wondered if, when this was all over, she and Zack could come back for a long, leisurely weekend.

The idea warmed her.

One of the Krause sisters was busy at the counter when Olivia walked in. The helicopter pilot—Josh?—sat at the large round oak table with a cup of coffee and a huge blueberry muffin.

“Sit down,” Ms. Krause said, waving her toward the table.

“Um, I was wondering if my clothes were done? The sheriff will be here soon and I want to be ready.”

“Oh, of course. Follow me. They’re in the laundry room. There’s a bathroom you can change in as well.”

Olivia followed Ms. Krause down a short hall. Her clothes were neatly folded on a table across from an industrial-sized washer-and-dryer unit, her shoes, scrubbed clean, on top.

“The pants were torn, and my sewing skills are lacking, but the seam should hold until you get to a tailor in town.”

“Thank you so much for going to the trouble.”

“It was no trouble at all. Really. I just thank God that poor little girl is all right.” She glanced out the window and frowned. “That poor deputy.”

Olivia followed Ms. Krause’s gaze out the window. She’d met Deputy Will Jeffries last night when he’d arrived to guard the Lodge. Olivia didn’t think Driscoll was stupid enough to show up where there were people, but Quinn and Zack had insisted.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. Jeffries was on the far side of the property, near the barn. He appeared to be just fine and walking the perimeter, as instructed.

“He’s been patrolling the grounds all night. I’ll fix him a thermos of coffee and take it out to him.”

“Um, excuse me, Ms. Krause?”

A tall, elderly man stood a the threshold of the laundry room.

Ms. Krause slapped the side of her head with her hand. “Oh, Mr. Crenshaw, I’m so sorry I forgot you and Mrs. Crenshaw had an early flight. With everything going on . . .” she waved her hand. “I’ll get your breakfast as soon as I take care of the deputy out there.”

“I’d be happy to take Deputy Jeffries the thermos, Ms. Krause,” Olivia said. “I’ll just get dressed and meet you in the kitchen.”

“You’re a sweetheart, dear. Thank you.”

Ms. Krause ushered her guest down the hall. Olivia used the bathroom to change, then folded the borrowed nightgown and left it on the table in the laundry room. She finger-combed her hair as she walked back to the kitchen.

With a broad smile, Ms. Krause handed her a thermos and said, “I’ll have breakfast for you and your people in just a few minutes, dear.”

“That’s not necessary,” Olivia said, though the smells of sizzling bacon and oranges made her stomach growl. Food had been her lowest priority since she’d arrived in Seattle.

“Nonsense. It’ll be ready. Beth already went upstairs to inform your partner and that nice-looking married couple. Oh, and I saw the deputy go into the barn a minute ago.”

“Thank you, Ms. Krause.” Olivia wasn’t about to argue with food. She needed it. She took the thermos and stepped out onto the porch.

Zack rolled over to pull Olivia to him, but his arm felt only a warm spot on the sheets. He opened his eyes and frowned. “
Liv
?”

He got up and pulled on his boxers, then his jeans. Olivia wasn’t in the room, but he figured she’d gone down to get her clothes or meet with her friend Miranda.

He heard knocking across the hall. He opened the door and saw Quinn outside his room. Quinn looked at him for a moment, his face unreadable.

“What’s going on?” Zack asked, shutting Olivia’s door behind him and crossing the hall to his room.

Quinn followed him inside. “I just spoke with the sheriff.”

“Is he here?”

“He’s fifteen minutes out. The search team found Driscoll’s trail and they think he’s on his way here.”

“To the lodge?”

“Yes. He alerted his deputies who are outside, and another team is on its way up to secure the house. I wanted to brief you, then head down and talk to the
Krauses
and guests.”

“Why would he come here?” Zack went into the bathroom, where he’d rinsed out his T-shirt the night before. It hung stiffly over the shower bar, but he pulled it on, rolling his shoulders to stretch it.

“If I were him? To steal a vehicle. He might assume the police will be tracking him, not securing property in the area. This is the closest occupied residence to where he crashed the truck.”

“Which means he’s been here.”

“Reconnaissance,” Quinn said. “He would have surveyed the area before he brought any of the girls up here. My guess? He killed Jennifer and Michelle around here as well. Possibly in the same place he took Nina.”

“I’ll send Doug Cohn and his crew back up there when the lodge is secure. Let’s go.”

“Where’s Olivia?”

“I think she went downstairs.”

“Hmm.”

“You don’t have a problem with me and
Liv
, do you?”

“No problem.”

Zack couldn’t read the Fed, so he gave up. They went downstairs and walked into the kitchen, joining Miranda and Beth Krause on the way. Doug Cohn, his assistant, and Josh Fields sat around the table. In the adjoining dining room, an elderly couple and a young couple with a child sat at the table.

“Where’s Olivia?” Zack asked.

Kristy Krause smiled brightly as she poured fresh-squeezed orange juice into glasses. “She went to take Deputy Jeffries some coffee.”

Zack tensed. “When? Where?”

“About five minutes ago, in the barn.”

Zack and Quinn glanced at each other. “Doug, Josh, secure the house,” Zack said. “No one leaves until we get back.”

The barn door was ajar. Olivia walked in, the smell of hay and ripe manure predominant. “Deputy Jeffries?” she called. “It’s Olivia St. Martin.” She didn’t want him to think she was an intruder.

Where was he? Had she missed him leaving the barn? Had Ms. Krause been mistaken?

On the far side of the barn was another door, and it was also open. A horse nickered softly to her right. She turned, smiling at the animal, reached out and stroked its nose. “Hey, boy, how are you doing this morning? I wish I had something for you, but I think caffeine is off your diet.”

The horse whinnied in response to her voice. There were six horses in the stalls, all clean and well kept. She definitely wanted to return to the lodge with Zack. She hadn’t been horseback riding in years, but she used to enjoy it.

She hurried through the barn toward the far door, wishing she hadn’t offered to deliver the coffee. It was chilly, and she had no jacket on.

She smelled death before she saw it.