When Shadows Fall (25 page)

Olivia sighed, her hands running through his hair, holding his head to her breasts as his tongue swirled around her nipples.

His jeans were unbelievably tight now, the fabric already stiff from the seawater. He reluctantly raised his head and stepped back so he could unsnap his jeans and pull them off.

While he was doing that, Olivia stepped out of her jeans and a slinky red thong and then gave him a beautiful view of her lovely ass as she ran into the bathroom.

The heated water was just beginning to steam up the glass door when he jumped into the shower with her. She had her arms crossed self-consciously in front of her breasts, but there was no hiding in the small space. He pulled her arms away, his hands sliding down to grab her fingers. And for a long moment he just held on to her and let his gaze travel down her body.

She'd looked good in her clothes, but naked… His blood boiled as his erection stood up in appreciation. She was flipping awesome. And he wanted to take his time to explore every glorious inch of her. But he was by nature impatient, and tonight was no different. He wanted the ride to be long, but he knew once he touched her, kissed her, things were going to go fast.

So he resisted for one long minute.

"Colton," she said, her voice a husky plea of need and desire. "What are you waiting for?"

"You," he said simply. And in that moment, he realized he'd been waiting for her all his life. He just hadn't known it until this second.

He pulled her up against him, then let go of her hands to slide his arms around her back. As the hot spray of water streamed over their heads, he kissed her, and she kissed him back.

Throwing her arms around his neck, she moved closer to him so that the water was running down her back. Then she parted her lips, her tongue teasing his, inviting him inside.

The hesitancy she'd shown earlier completely disappeared as the passion that had been simmering between them burst into flames. Heat shimmered over him in waves from every kiss, every touch. The mix of water and steam surrounded them, creating an island of need. The rest of the world faded away. All he could see, taste, touch was Olivia.

His hands roamed her body, her breasts, her stomach, and the curve of her hips. He played with the heated core between her legs, his fingers dipping inside, every move making her moan with pleasure.

He liked those little moans, the way she squirmed against him. She was so sensitive, so responsive, so gloriously uninhibited now that she'd let down her guard.

And when her hands cupped him, when she whispered into his ear,
I need you
, he had to fight back the urge to push her up against the shower wall and take her right there.

"Bed," he muttered, his brain having trouble working with his blood racing south. He kissed her again and then pulled her out of the shower, grabbing a big white terry cloth towel to wrap around her body.

They dried off quickly, then moved into the bedroom.

While Olivia cleared off the bed, he picked up his jeans and pulled a condom out of his pocket.

"You were prepared for this," Olivia said as he gently pushed her down on the bed. "Or maybe you are always—"

"Hush," he said, putting his fingers across her mouth. "I was just being optimistic." He replaced his fingers with his lips as she fell back against the pillows.

It felt so good to have her under him, to feel all those deliciously soft curves surrounding him. He tried to breathe through the desperate need to immediately slide into her, wanting to make it as good for her as he possibly could.

But Olivia was impatiently urging him on, sliding her legs apart, gripping his ass with her hands as she murmured the four best words in the entire English language—
I want you, Colton
.

"You have me," he said, sliding into her heat with a feeling of complete and utter joy.

They moved together perfectly, as if they'd made love a thousand times before. And as they came together, he looked into her eyes and saw the happy, smoky passion of release and wanted to do it all over again, just so he could see that expression, just so he could feel so completely right with the world.

Olivia pulled him down on top of her, and he let her hold his weight for a moment, delighting in the scent of her wet hair against his face.

Finally, he rolled onto his side and then pulled her into his arms so they were facing each other.

She gave him a hazy smile. "That was good."

He smiled back at her. "Better than good."

She sleepily closed her eyes as she murmured, "Maybe we could stay here forever."

Watching her fall into a sweet sleep of pleasurable exhaustion, he whispered, "Maybe we can."

It was the first time in his life he'd ever considered
forever
.

* * *

Olivia stretched, feeling the sweet ache of sensual satisfaction. As she opened her eyes, she realized how dark the room was. She lifted her head off of Colton's chest where she'd been happily pillowed for the last few hours. Glancing at the clock, she realized it was almost eleven o'clock at night.

They'd been in bed since sometime after six and they'd made love twice. As much as she wanted to stay right where she was, her stomach was rumbling.

Her gaze turned to the man beside her. She smiled as she watched Colton sleep, enjoying having a few moments to really look at him. He had a strong jaw and a sexy stubble spreading across his cheeks. A strand of brown hair fell towards one eye, and she couldn't resist sliding it back off of his forehead.

The gentle movement was enough to make his eyes flutter open. His arm tightened around her waist as he blinked a few times. Then his deep blue gaze met hers. He really had great eyes, she thought. Sometimes they were a light blue like the morning sky, and other times they were the same color as the deepest part of the ocean. Now, with the moonlight streaming through the windows, they looked almost gray.

"Hi," he said softly, his fingers stroking her back. "You're awake."

"Yes, and I know this probably isn't very sexy to say, but I'm hungry."

His lips parted in the smile she liked so much. "Me, too."

"Shall we raid the fridge? Some of the feast you picked up for lunch is still there."

"That would be perfect, but—" His arm tightened around her. "That means one of us is going to have to get out of bed."

"Is that going to be me?"

"Well, I would like to watch you walk around the room naked."

"I wouldn't mind that show from you," she teased. "And it would be the gentlemanly thing to do."

"You're going to play that card, are you? I thought you believed in equal treatment for men and women, but apparently only when it's convenient to you."

"Guilty. However…" She scooted up his body, letting her breasts graze his chest as she kissed his mouth. "I could make it worth your while."

"You don't really think I'm getting out of this bed now, do you?" He shifted beneath her as he pulled her on top of his body, making it very clear that he was far more interested in sex than food.

"You must be hungry."

"I am—for you." He stroked the side of her face with his hand. "You're amazing, Olivia."

"A girl always likes to hear that after…"

He smiled, his thumb running across her lips. "Before, after, during, a month from now…I don't think my opinion has changed since I first met you, and I don't think it will change any time soon. In fact, the more I get to know you, the more I like you."

"You've grown on me, too." As she said the words, she felt a little sad, because she knew that this relationship—or whatever it was—couldn't go anywhere. Her life was on the other side of the country and his was here in San Francisco. But she didn't want to think about that now. Colton had shown her the beauty in living in the moment, and that's what she was going to do.

She cupped his face with her hands and gave him a long look, then slowly and deliberately lowered her head and covered his mouth with hers. A moment later, he flipped her on her back and threaded his fingers through her hair and continued the assault on her mouth as their bodies moved together once more.

* * *

Colton woke up to the sun in his eyes and the sound of the shower running. He sat up in bed and glanced at the clock. It was half past eight. The night was officially over.

What a night it had been. He couldn't remember a better one. After making love for the third time, they'd snacked on leftovers from the deli and then turned on the television and watched the film
Blade Runner
on the movie channel.

He'd always loved science fiction, the possibility of other life forms in the universe, and it turned out that Olivia's dad had also been a big fan and had introduced her to some of the classic sci-fi movies at a young age including
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
and
Tron.

Colton had never met a woman who liked science fiction. Although he'd seen a strange look in Olivia's eyes when she'd realized he had yet another thing in common with her dad.

Would she ever be able to risk caring about someone whose job could be dangerous?

But he was getting way ahead of himself. He'd told Olivia to stop worrying so much about the future, and he needed to take his own advice.

As the shower turned off, he realized he'd missed another opportunity to get close to Olivia, but the ringing of his cell phone was another reminder that today was a new day. He got out of bed, pulled on his still sandy briefs and jeans and then grabbed his phone off the table.

"Emma," he answered, seeing his sister's number on the screen. "Do you have something for me?"

"Yes. I found the file on Stan Harper."

"Great. What did you learn?"

"Well, the fire occurred on September 17, 1973. There was one fatality—Stanley Harper. Origin of the fire was the kitchen."

"Rare for a man to die in a kitchen fire," he commented, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"I agree, but that's what the report says."

"What about his family? Where were they at the time of the fire?"

"According to the investigative report, they weren't at home. In fact, Molly and her kids were at Grandma's house when the fire happened. Grandma lived around the corner from the Harpers."

His stomach tightened at the connection between the fire and his grandmother. "You're kidding."

"Do I sound like I'm kidding? As I read through the report, I actually got chills, Colton, because the connection between the fire and our grandparents doesn't end there. Molly said in her statement that she sent Patrick down to get Stan, because he wasn't answering the phone, and she and Eleanor were busy making cookies for a bake sale. Stan was supposed to pick up the kids, but he hadn't shown up. When Grandpa got to the Harpers' house, it was on fire."

Now Colton had chills running down his spine. "So Grandpa was the first on the scene?"

"Yes, but he wasn't working that night. He was in his street clothes and he had no equipment. He called 911 and attempted to enter the structure by breaking a window in the back of the house, however, he was unable to get into the kitchen. The fire was too intense. Apparently, cleaning chemicals kept under the sink contributed to the rapid escalation of the fire. Grandpa did everything he could to save Stan but was unsuccessful. In fact, he suffered burns on both of his hands and arms from the attempt."

"I've seen those scars. Grandpa would never tell me where he got them."

"Now we know."

"I have to admit you've surprised me, Emma."

"Me, too. I didn't expect the connection to Grandma and Grandpa when you asked me to look into the fire."

"Was there an autopsy?"

"I haven't found one. It's possible it was misplaced, but Harper's body was badly burned, and we didn't have the same forensic technology then that we do now. I asked Max to see if he can find any files on Stanley's death in the police department records. Since Stan was a police officer, I assume the police would have done a full investigation."

"Good move," he said, still trying to assimilate what Emma had told him.

He looked up as Olivia walked into the room. She was dressed in a pair of white jeans with a long-sleeve peach-colored sweater, and her long hair fell in soft curls around her shoulders. She was so pretty, he thought, momentarily distracted from his call. Then his sister's sharp voice rang in his ear.

"Colton!" Emma said loudly.

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Where did you go?"

"Nowhere. Thanks for your help. Let me know what else you find out."

"Will do, but first I'd like to know what this is all about."

"I will fill you in—I promise," he added. "Just not right this second."

"You're so annoying, Colton. Why the mystery?"

"I need to put things together before I jump to any conclusions. Call me when you know anything more."

As he stood up, Olivia gave him a curious look. "Who was that?"

"Emma." He told Olivia what Emma had just told him.

Olivia's eyes widened with each word. "Well, we're back to your grandparents."

He nodded, his jaw tightening. He'd really thought they were moving away from Eleanor and focusing on Molly, but the lives of the two women seemed to be intertwined at every curve.

"Do you think Patrick knew that Stan was beating up on Molly? It wouldn't seem like he would try so hard to save Stan if he did."

"What kind of man Stan Harper was wouldn't have mattered to my grandfather. He's a firefighter. He's trained to save lives. He doesn't judge whether or not they're worth saving."

"So you would risk your life to save a serial killer?"

"I would," he said, not the slightest bit of doubt in his voice. "I might want to kill him afterwards, but I'd do my job, because that's what I do. And that's what my grandfather would do."

She stared back at him with her thoughtful green eyes and nodded. "I don't know if I could do that. I guess I'm lucky that in my job I'll never have to make that decision." She paused. "We should talk to your grandmother again."