A Snow Covered Nightmare: Refuge Series Book Two by Debbie Zello (8)

Chapter Eight

Aiden felt her beginning to stir. She had fallen asleep against his chest with his arm around her. His eyes were still closed as he felt a timid small hand caressing his chest. He flexed his pectoral and she giggled.

Her hand continued its descent over his stomach, feeling the dips and shallows of his cut abs. He took in a sharp breath as her hand encountered his fifth and most prized appendage. “Careful…if you wake the beast it will require taming,” he whispered with one eye looking in her direction.

“I thought you said I was a good tamer,” she whispered back.

“No. I said fantastic, superb, fucking awesome and unforgettable,” he said rolling to his side to kiss her.

After the taming, they sat on Briah’s couch sipping coffee. Aiden’s fingers traveled up and down her arm feeling her skin. “Can I ask you something?” she pondered.

“Sure, anything.”

“I’m embarrassed to ask.”

“Why? I thought we got sort of close last night and again this morning.”

“That’s what I want to know. I’m not a complete prude. I’ve had some experience and I’m not above learning. But what you did last night and this morning was special. It was different and I loved it. So, what was that?” she asked completely seriously. He burst out laughing and had to put his cup down to keep from spilling it.

“Am I to take it that you had fun?”

“Holy crap…yeah!” He loved the look on her face. It said so much, silently.

“How do I explain men to a woman,” he mused, taking a moment to think. “A boy on his first date begins his play-book. It’s the sequencing of his moves, so to speak. He puts his arm around the girl and kisses her. She doesn’t slap him or run away, so he mentally writes that down.

“The second time, maybe he slips in some tongue. Bingo, she’s with him and that goes in next. Now he has three moves. Now the hand creeps down to feel a boob. If she doesn’t bite him or move the hand back to the safety zone, that goes into the book. By the time he hits paradise it goes something like this.

“1) Arm around her~kiss her.

2) Slip in the tongue.

3) Left boob.

4) Right boob.

5) Lick, suck, pinch.

6) Head slowly south to the warm climate.

7) Take off her clothes, your clothes, condom, promised land!

“This works for them and they never deviate from it. Sometimes for their entire sexual life. They rush through, believing the woman wants the end as much as he does. For them it’s the orgasm. What they fail to realize and what the woman rarely confesses is, it’s the beginning that gets them. The part they rush through. Edging her and keeping her there, now that’s what a woman wants.

“What I do differently than most boys do, is that I lost my play-book years ago. I might start by massaging your feet or shoulders. Maybe kiss your belly before moving up or down. I don’t begin the same way twice. If sex becomes boring, one of two things happens. One of you cheats, to find something different, or you stop the sex altogether. I don’t care for either of those options.

“I don’t rush through the good stuff, the arousal, the wanting, just to get quickly to the act itself. I savor every moment individually, as if you are going to stop me right there. Then I don’t race down the mountain only to find myself at the bottom.”

“I think I’m turned on again,” she murmured absentmindedly.

“Perpetually aroused? You might be a keeper,” he said as if he had any doubt already.

“All teasing aside. How many women have you done this with? Once this gets out, you’re going to need a lot more condoms.”

“A real man knows that it’s not his orgasm that he should count, but hers. It’s not how many women he has slept with; it’s how many times he can please the one woman he is with. That’s where the counting should be.

“You can sleep with hundreds and never satisfy any of them. What good does that do? What kind of lover does that make? Besides, I never kiss and tell,” he said smiling. Briah had that faraway look on her face, mostly because she was far away. She’d had orgasms with Connor. She’d felt a slight pulse now and then. What she had with Aiden was more like the Space Shuttle launching. She’d felt the earth tremble.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

“I think you should lecture or give classes or something.” He woke the neighbors with his howling laughter.

After their heart-to-heart, they went skiing. The snow was wet and sticky as spring was approaching. This would probably be their last run of the season. It was just as well for Briah, as skiing was relegated to second place, now that she had discovered making love with Aiden. It would still be her quiet, free place, but given the choice, there would be no question which she would pick.

Monday morning, Aiden got up early, to go back to his place to shower and get dressed for work. It was just as well as he had run out of condoms. He had left Briah sleeping, placing a note on his pillow before walking out. Even in sleep, she was so lovely.

As Aiden had suspected, David’s attorney pulled strings and got his arraignment booked on Saturday morning. A bail was set at five million with the stipulation he surrender his passport and driver’s license. That way he couldn’t take a domestic flight, either. It didn’t prevent him from being driven away, but it was something. It took the attorney less than two hours to assemble the cash and get him released. Because of the circumstances surrounding the heinous nature of the crime, the judge did allow the ankle bracelet. Lastly, he was given a restraining order to stay five-hundred feet away from his wife. He was heard muttering to his attorney as he was handed the restraining order, “Five-hundred feet won’t save her if I find her.” This was documented by the bailiff who heard it.

So far, David had no idea there was an eyewitness. The longer it stayed that way, the better. Unfortunately for Briah, the DA had to turn over the nature of the evidence against him in discovery. The bastard had the right, under due process, to know the evidence collected against him as well as where it came from. That meant the testimony of the eyewitness. Not her actual name, thank God. But any private eye worth anything would put two and two together and look for Dan’s secretary.

That’s why a few days after he interviewed her, he drove to Aspen. Aiden’s brother managed a ski lodge there. He had Briah registered there for the week. Her bill reflected meals, lift tickets, drinks and she even bought new clothes. She had quite a week’s vacation.

Memories fade, especially about dates. If any of her neighbors were asked if she were away, none of them would be able to pinpoint a week of someone else’s life that accurately, from months ago. He was very sure this alibi was sound.

Aiden was very good at anticipating a direction that might be taken long before the voyage had even begun. He gave her what she needed to stay alive long before she needed it.

Aiden looked up from his computer to see Pete walking in with two coffees. He placed one of them near Aiden’s hand. “You’re a good man, Charlie Brown.” Aiden joked.

“I’m bribing you so I can get all of the dirty details. Who is she and how was she?”

“So, all this time when you’ve been pissing on my leg and telling me we’re like brothers, you haven’t learned anything about me? She is none of your business and neither is what we did or didn’t do. I had a very nice weekend. How was yours?”

“I don’t remember much of Saturday. I was trying to keep my eyes closed all day. Sunday, I nursed myself back to the living. Today I’m having new carpeting installed in my mouth.”

“Sounds about right. Did you hear about our VIP?”

“Yeah, I called in yesterday to get the deets. I hear he’s sporting some very attractive jewelry on his ankle. I hope they put it on extra tight. I hear he likes his shirts that way.”

“He does. Blain is going to the judge today to ask for expediency. He’s asking for two months but thinks he’ll be lucky to get three. So that puts us in July. The trial should run two weeks without any delays once the jury is seated. So, I’m hoping for an August sentencing.”

“My summer is over, thanks to you. I love how you just tick the weeks away. I really hate that about you!” he said taking his seat. “Now what is next, Sherlock?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe we should work on one of the other fifty open cases we have,” Aiden said looking at his files.

Briah was walking on the clouds. Even the news that Kyle had either spent or smoked all of the money he had taken from those poor people, didn’t crush her high. The e-mail from the DA informing her that David had in fact made bail slowed her momentarily. In spite of everything, her multi-orgasmic high sustained her. How Aiden hadn’t been scoffed up and tied permanently to a bed by now, was beyond her reasoning.

She had about two weeks left of her three-month stint in the fraud division. She had continued looking for a job but nothing had panned out so far. The job market was still depressed in much of the country. Fast food places were hiring at minimum wage and part-time. She could collect more on unemployment, which technically, was what she was. Her phone rang. “Hello, Briah Spencer, fraud division.”

“Briah this is Chief Wesson. Do you have a minute to stop by my office today?”

“Yes, sir, I can come down right now.”

“Good, I’ll see you in a minute, then,” he said hanging up. Briah stood and fixed her skirt, smoothing out the wrinkles from sitting. She walked to Ernie’s door and said, “Chief Wesson just called. He wants to see me. I’ll be right back unless I’m being arrested.”

“You’ll be right back,” Ernie said. Briah walked out and took the stairs to the first floor. She strolled into the outer office as Jean said, “Go ahead in, Briah. He’s waiting for you.”

“Thanks.” She walked in. “Hi Chief.”

“Briah, please sit down.” She sat opposite him.

“What’s up, Chief?”

“I’m told you have about two weeks left with us.”

“That’s right. Then you’ll be well rid of me.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk about. I’ve heard nothing but good things about you. Your attitude and competency, everything is top shelf. So I have a proposition for you.”

“Go on, I’m listening.”

“We always have someone out around here. Vacations, sick time, weddings, funerals, and even jury duty. I want to hire you as our permanent substitute.”

“Really!”

“Not so fast. You’ll be all over the building like dog shit on a shoe. You’ll be learning every secretary’s and assistant’s job in every department. You’ll have to jump in at a moment’s notice. You’ll be working every day but you may not know where, until you come in. I think you’re crazy if you take this, but if you want it, it’s yours.”

“I want it!” she said and then she did the professional thing. She got up and kissed him on the cheek.

When she got back to her office, she went immediately in to see Ernie. “Did you know about this?”

“I did. All of the department heads know. We had a meeting with the chief a few days ago. He checked the budget and told us this morning.”

“Thank you. I know it’s because of you.”

“You’re wrong, sweetheart. It’s because of you!”