Chapter Seven
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Hunter rubbed the side of his face. That dream was the weirdest yet.
He glanced at the clock. It was four in the afternoon. Close enough. He rolled out of bed and walked into the bathroom. Turning on the shower, he stepped in and let the warm water calm his racing heart. He leaned his forehead against the shower wall.
She was making him feel good again. He didn’t want to feel good. He liked his anger. He deserved his pain. Why was she doing this?
An image of the shattered sliding glass door flashed across his mind. Fuck.
He’d been safe, the glass a barrier between watching and feeling. Then he had to go and break the glass. Now he knew what she tasted like, how she smelled, and the warmth of her body. He also had come to know her thoughts and her lust for life.
She was the bullseye and he was the bullet racing toward it, refusing to be redirected.
This sucked. Staying away from her wasn’t helping. Nothing helped. His control was slipping, over his need, his anger, his life. He had to take back control.
He moved his head beneath the spray and poured shampoo in his hand. As he washed what little hair he had, he threw out one plan after another to gain control.
As he lathered his body, it hit him. Maybe he needed to roll with it and through it, like taking a punch. Go with the momentum, let it take him into the motion and out. It might work. The only problem was, he wasn’t sure where exactly out would be.
He turned the water off and quickly dried himself. At least he could move forward on his private investigation. His friend had been delayed in getting to him because there were far too many things of greater importance, but once he’d focused on the source of the photo site, he’d been able to track it no problem, except it initiated from an office complex, and there were at least twenty business located there.
Hunter donned his black jeans and boots. He checked his face in the mirror. He needed a shave, but he wanted to take advantage of waking early and get to the main building before five.
Opening his closet, he pulled out a black, long-sleeve shirt and threw it on. He grabbed his hat and glanced at the slider on his way out to make sure the bar he cut to fit was still in place. Everything was secure. After locking both the door and the new deadbolt, he headed for the reception desk.
He tipped his hat to two couples walking toward the stables. They were probably going for the sunset trail ride. He still couldn’t see how riding a horse naked could be comfortable, even though Wade assured him they kept the horses to a walk. Frankly, he didn’t consider that “riding,” but for nude vacationers, it was probably a dream come true.
Walking into the building, his stride slowed. Lacey was not at the desk. Did she leave already? Damn, but it wasn’t five yet. He continued down the employee hallway to the back room. There he found her putting paper packets away in a cupboard.
His relief caught him by surprise. What was another day?
It was a delay his reawakened investigative abilities would not be happy with. He enjoyed this challenge. It reminded him of his days on the force and his first tour overseas. It gave him a sense of purpose, but more than that, he felt on top of his game. Energized. Happy.
No, not that, just productive.
“Lacey, I need your help.”
She started as he spoke. “Oh, Hunter.” Her hand covered her chest. “You scared me. What are you doing up so early? Nothing’s wrong, is it?”
“No.”
“That’s a good thing.” She closed the cabinet. “What can I help you with?”
He stepped back to the door and closed it then turned to face her. “What kind of information do you collect on guests when they make their reservations?”
She leaned back against the counter. “I get their name, address, phone number and credit card. Why?”
“I need all that information on every guest who has stayed here over the last month when the judge was here in order of most recent to oldest.”
Lacey’s eyes widened. “I don’t know if I can do that. That’s very sensitive information.”
“And I’m in charge of the security of this place. If I can’t keep it secret then we might as well close the place down.”
Lacey’s lips formed a self-deprecating smile. “Good point.” She clasped her hands in front of her. “But I should probably ask Kendra first.”
“No.” He needed to make Lacey an ally. “Do you think Adriana is innocent?”
“Of course.”
“Then you need to keep this between you and me.”
“But Kendra is just concerned about the resort. I’m sure she’d want to help. It’s not like she’s fired her.”
He looked away. He needed that information and if he had to break into Lacey’s computer, it might take days. Shit. “The reason Kendra hasn’t fired Adriana is because I told her if she did, I would walk.”
“What?” Lacey took a step forward to grasp the chair tucked against the table. “Why would you do that?”
Because Adriana was innocent. Because she didn’t deserve to be fired. Because he didn’t want her to leave. No, because it wasn’t right. “Justice. It’s about getting justice. Adriana doesn’t deserve to be fired without further investigation. If I uncover proof she set up the site and was paid for those photos, then fine. She should be fired.”
“You don’t think she did it either, do you?” Lacey’s gaze was intense.
“No, I don’t. It’s not how she operates.”
“Exactly! And Kendra knows that too. So why does she want to get rid of her?”
That was easy. “This is Kendra’s dream. If she gets rid of Adriana then she no longer has a problem and Poker Flat stands a chance of surviving. Kendra is thinking of all of us who would lose our jobs and not be able to find employment anywhere else.” Including him.
Lacey’s shoulders fell. “That’s true, but Adriana has done so much for Poker Flat. It’s not right.”
“No, it isn’t, so will you help me?”
She glanced at the clock. “I should be able to pull that up and get it printing, but I have to leave because Cole and I are going out. You’ll have to wait for the print to finish and shut down my computer for me.”
“I can do that.” He stepped back from the opening that led to the front desk area.
Lacey nodded and walked through.
This was just the first step, but if he could find someone who worked at a company in that office complex, he might just find the true culprit. Then all he needed was the person’s relationship to Adriana and their motivation.
He followed Lacey into the front, his blood pumping with renewed purpose.
It took her no time to pull up the report. Once it started printing, she gave him a stern look with a quick lecture about turning off her computer so no one could get into it. He swallowed his smile and nodded.
Apparently that did it, and she was headed out the front door.
He didn’t need anything else from her computer. The only thing of interest to him would be Adriana’s background, but everyone who worked on the resort already knew that. She was more than happy to share.
And that’s why he was so certain she hadn’t set up the site to sell photos. He and Kendra had gone through every photo on Adriana’s cell phone but they didn’t find a single picture of a guest. Kendra wasn’t surprised and neither was he. He had the feeling Kendra wished they had. It would make it a lot easier if she’d been betrayed by her staff like she had once before.
But he’d found it very telling that none of the guests were in Adriana’s photos. The only pictures were her with other staff, some x-rated selfies in a three-way mirror, and the rest were pictures of her former dog and her car. There were no pictures of the girls she worked with at the bordello or of her old boss.
It said a lot about her. As open as she was, she never let anyone get close. A phrase from a poem he’d read in high school that had been resonating with him lately came to mind. “No man is an island.” Adriana appeared to be an island.
It made his existence to date appear full and yet she seemed to be the one full of life and himself half dead. But he had loved…and lost. The pain in his heart would always be there, but at least he had known what it was like to give his heart and hold someone else’s.
Guilt niggled at his brain. His parents loved him as well. So did his siblings and he’d shut them out, his pain too much to bear, barely contacting them over the last year. He dug his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through a couple dozen photos.
If he died tomorrow, these people would mourn him despite the fact he hadn’t talked to any of them in over a month. He hadn’t told them where he worked or lived to keep them from visiting. He should call them soon.
If Adriana died tomorrow, who would mourn her? Lacey, Selma, Andrew, Jorge, Wade and even Kendra. Probably the old man who used to work here too, Billy. That was it.
And himself.
Yes, he would, but she wasn’t about to die. She was about to be fired if he didn’t figure out who wanted her to lose her position. Would they continue to make her life miserable if she was let go? How would they know?
The printer stopped printing, so he picked up the sheets and looked around for a stapler. He didn’t want to lose any of these leads. The desk was as clean as Adriana’s car was messy. Yet he’d heard these two were good friends.
Shaking his head, he opened the top right hand drawer and pulled out the stapler, not in the least surprised it was there. He used it and returned it to where it belonged. Then he turned back to Lacey’s computer and closed down the program she’d used. On her dashboard screen were icons for three nudist forums.
He stilled. That had to be it! That’s how a person would know whether Adriana still worked at Poker Flat or not. If their main goal was to have her fired, they could nonchalantly ask if she was still there. He clicked one of the forums. A page of topics came up.
He opened one that looked promising. Shit, there had to be two hundred responses. The eight pages in his hand looked to be a whole lot quicker than the forums, plus on forums people could have user names that had nothing to do with who they really were.
Closing out the forum, he shut down the computer and glanced at the clock. He still had a good thirty minutes before his shift started. He rolled the papers up and strode out of the room. He’d start tonight and then finish after work, hopefully.
As he headed for the fork in the dirt road, he noticed a blonde guest turning down the path to the staff casitas. That wasn’t good. He picked up the pace to catch up to her.
*
Adriana sat on a chair with a gin and tonic in hand as she watched Patti, Steve and their friends have sex. The afternoon had been fun, drinking a little, flirting a lot, and joking. These were her kind of people, open about sex and how much they liked it.
They even exchanged sex stories, but she hadn’t been turned on by them, so she jumped on Patti’s friend’s suggestion she watch “the experts.” They were definitely obliging and she could tell they loved being exhibitionists.
Patti, who was on all fours with her friend’s husband pumping into her from behind, wasn’t too busy giving her own husband a blowjob to glance her way. Steve was on his back, eating out the other man’s wife, while the wife played with her breasts, showing them off to her own husband who kept glancing at Adriana as well.
She made the appropriate faces, hoping her unease didn’t show. Something was seriously wrong with her. She wasn’t even wet yet. Hell, a porn movie made her wetter than she was now.
This job thing was really cramping her life. That had to be it. It was either that or the knowledge that Hunter didn’t work during the day and therefore wouldn’t be watching from outside. It didn’t matter because she didn’t plan to hang around after dark.
Though the two couples were nice, they were pushy and made clear exactly what they expected next. She needed to beat a hasty retreat, but she had to have a good excuse. They all knew she wasn’t working so that wouldn’t fly. Would having a date work? No, they’d tell her to have him join them.
The two women started to moan in earnest, their eyes closing as the men brought them to their orgasm. She watched, waiting for the man behind Patti to close his eyes.
As soon as he did, she quietly stood and slipped around the corner into the living room. Grabbing her keys, which she’d left on the coffee table, she palmed them to keep them quiet. The slider was open, so she raced out and ran up the path toward the main building. Yeah, it was pathetic, but she had more important matters to worry about.
She just needed to crest the ledge and slip around the main building. Finally, she was safe.
“Excuse me. There’s nothing for guests that way.”
She stopped and a slow smile curved her lips. She had no idea why Hunter was already on the job, but it would be great to see exactly how good a cop he was. Slowly, she turned around, careful not to move naturally.
He strode toward her. When he reached her, he hooked her arm in his, turned her back the way she’d been walking and continued that way. “Adriana, what are you doing out in the guest area?”
She pouted. “How’d you know it was me?”
When he didn’t answer she looked at him. “Well?”
He shook his head at her. “Because I know you that’s how.”
She gave him a sexy smile. “But you don’t ‘know’ me in the Biblical sense…yet.”
His mouth actually quirked upward just a smidge. Score one for her.
“You didn’t answer my question. What were you doing among the guests?” He propelled her toward her casita and since that was where she was headed anyway, she happily complied. “I was visiting. I guess you forgot to give me the message from the foursome the last couple nights, but Andy drove his golf cart right out here to let me know they were upset because I hadn’t visited them.”
“That wasn’t a very good idea. What if Kendra or the couple who caused your forced vacation to start with had seen you?”
“Aren’t they gone yet?”
“No. They leave tomorrow.” They had reached her door and he released her arm.
“That’s why I was disguised. Don’t you think I did a good job?” She opened her arms to make sure he saw her nipple hoops.
He actually looked this time, letting his gaze roam over her body. “You shaved.”
Holy crap, she was getting wet. “I did. Do you like it?”
His gaze returned to her face. “Do you?”
“Yes. It’s been a long time since I shaved everything. Do you want to feel?”
He stepped up to her and cupped her between her thighs, his fingers pressing against the tiny hoop clipped to her clit.
Her heart shifted into overdrive and her stomach tensed with anticipation.
He rubbed his thumb over her mons. “Silky.”
She swallowed. “Inside is too.” She expected him to pull back, but instead one of his fingers burrowed between her labia and slid into her opening.
“Oh.”
“You’re wet. Guess your afternoon was pleasurable.” The hard edge in his voice made her uncomfortable.
“Actually, I only watched. Just another live porn movie.”
His finger remained buried deep, but it was the only place they connected. Even her breasts weren’t touching his shirt. She wanted them to. She touched his top button to play with it, hoping to open it, but he dropped the papers he’d been holding and grabbed her hand.
“You’re playing with fire.”
She lowered her head and looked up at him from the side. “I am fire.”
His gray eyes turned dark, like storm clouds. “Then we may as well burn together.” With his finger still inside her and her hand in his, he pushed her backward until the outside wall of her casita kept her from going any farther.
As the rough surface connected with her bare back, her pussy flooded with anticipation.
Hunter’s lips turned upward into a grin that promised she would be taken right now. He lifted her hand in his over her head, but still didn’t touch her anywhere else. “I hope you like it fast and furious.”
Her breath caught in her throat. Holy crap, he wasn’t teasing! Every nerve ending in her body came alive. She barely got her breath through her throat. “Yes.”
“Good.” His mouth came down on hers and his tongue foraged through her mouth like a man on a mission to claim her.
She wanted to touch him, but forced her free arm to remain at her side, her instinct telling her he had to be in control of this if she wanted him to finish and not leave her hanging. He had that ability, that control. The thought of him leaving her halfway through kept her in check, allowing him to take what he wanted from her.
Her tongue tangled with his, tasting the mint of toothpaste as she inhaled the musky scent that was all him. But she didn’t make any aggressive moves, not even to sweep inside his mouth like she wanted to. Knowing she would enjoy this without giving anything had her libido revving. She moaned in surrender.
The soft vocal sound did it.
He pressed his body against her naked one, the bulge in his jeans pushing against her shaved mons above his hand. His finger inside her didn’t move. It was as if he held her against the wall with it and that was its only purpose.
He continued his onslaught on her mouth as he pressed his chest against her breasts. Her nipples, already hard, ached as the cotton shirt rubbed them, the hoops adding extra stimulus.
Usually she would demand, direct, even take matters into her own hands, but she didn’t, letting him have full rein. It was incredibly stimulating and her sheath instinctually tightened around his finger.
His hand holding her there clamped harder in response as he broke the kiss. He didn’t say anything, just looked at her lips.
She couldn’t resist. She licked them.
The slightest tic in his cheek was his only reaction before he backed up a step and lowered his head to her nipple.
Oh yes. With her hand stretched above her, she tilted her head back against the warm, rough surface and let him have his way.
His teeth latched on the hoop held there by a clip and yanked it off. Her knees wobbled and she pushed her butt against the wall harder to keep herself standing. His hand around her wrist above her head tightened, but he didn’t lift his head away.
Instead, he nibbled lightly at her sensitized tip before swirling his tongue around it. Her nipple ached with need. He pulled it between his teeth, which had her moaning again as the heady feelings zapped down to her core.
He sucked her nipple into his mouth completely and pulled hard, causing her to arch as her sheath contracted around his finger. She wanted to scream that she needed his cock inside her now, that she’d waited long enough, but she clamped her jaw tight. She didn’t want to risk him stopping.
His finger inside her moved then. Not in and out but side to side, as if testing her ability to take him. She purposefully relaxed her sheath, though it was the hardest thing to do while he sucked her nipple.
His head came up and he looked at her. “I’m going to take you now.”
Before she could register his words, his finger left her and she heard the sound of his jeans zipper.
Hell, he was going to screw her out here, in the sunset, against the wall of her casita. It started a fire inside her so fast, she thought she’d come right then.
But the idea was no match for the reality. He still held one of her hands above her head, as if he’d forgotten he did so. Or maybe it was his symbol of control. It didn’t matter to her as he used his other hand to press his cock head against her pussy.
His knee pushed one of her legs aside, opening her up to him. He teased her for a moment as he rubbed his cock from her opening up to her clit, brushing the hoop and moving back. His hand on her wrist tightened again just before he pushed his cock into her, bringing his body flat against her, causing her breath to catch as need swept through her.
She stared at his neck, watching his pulse beat hard as the blood flowed down to fill his cock inside her.
She wanted to sigh with relief, but there was no relief. It was only more teasing. Pinned between him and the rough wall with his cock mostly inside her, she wanted to scream with her need.
Her stomach was tight with pleasure and she squeezed him in her sheath.
He leaned back and stared into her eyes again. Lowering her hand, he wrapped it around his neck at the same time he clasped her other one and wrapped it around as well.
Her breathing came out in little pants as her anticipation built. Usually with a man, she’d make a sexy comment to make him move, but she kept quiet.
“On two, hook your legs around my waist. Ready?”
She nodded as a thrill raced straight to her pussy.
“One. T—” He’d leaned them away from the wall, grasped her ass, and bending his knees, slammed his cock to the hilt.
The zing that rocketed through her took her breath before she was lifted up. She forced her legs to wrap around his waist. They fell back against the wall and he moved even deeper as he pressed her against it.
Oh freakin-a, she was going to come any second now. How was that possible?
“Adriana, look at me.” His voice was not only its usual low tone, but husky with need.
Her gaze met his and the lust in his eyes almost sent her over the edge.
“Now.” It wasn’t a question.
It was a warning and one she was relieved to hear. “Yes.”
His eyes closed as his hips moved back and his cock slid out only to bury itself deep inside her. As it hit her cervix, her world erupted. She screamed as every pleasurable sensation collided inside only to sweep out of her as if it burst beyond her body and into the cooling air.
He continued to pump into her, rocking her against the abrasive wall, keeping her semi-aware state going. Each pump prolonged her ecstasy as her orgasm began to subside then strengthened again with each thrust.
A groan, from deep in Hunter’s throat, traveled up his chest and escaped as if he’d tried to hold it back. “Argh.”
He came, his semen heating her up from the inside, adding one final spark on the fire.
Beyond grateful for the first real orgasm she’d had in a long time, she grasped him hard, around the neck and between her thighs, contracting her sheath to make it great for him as his hips slowed, until a final push into her.
She held tight as her breathing slowed. Opening her eyes, she gazed at the sky filled with bright oranges and pinks and grinned. She felt as if those colors were the same inside her satisfied body. Still orange from the heat, but turning pink, flush with relief.
Note to self: have sex at sunset, outside, more often.
Hunter leaned against her as his breathing slowed, but he didn’t lift his head.
“I don’t think I could walk.” She sighed. “My knees are beyond weak.”
He didn’t move or respond.
She ran her hand over the back of his neck, the buzzed hair at his nape shorter than the scruff on his chin. It was soft but prickly. Kind of exciting. “I guess you’ll just have to walk your beat with me attached to you all night.”
That did get a response, though not what she’d expected. The man snorted.
Finally, he leaned away and looked at her. “Mac might raise her eyebrow, but I doubt any of the guests would be surprised.”
She laughed, too satisfied to contain it. “I guess you’re late for work now, huh?”
He glanced at the sky and shrugged.
“Yeah, I don’t want to move either, but I should let you go. I know keeping the resort safe is important.”
He didn’t respond. Instead, he stared at her as if he were trying to figure something out. His gaze wasn’t intense, but it did make her uncomfortable, so she let one foot slide down to touch the ground.
Hunter’s eyes closed as her movement changed the configuration of her sheath.
Reluctantly, she let her other foot touch the ground. Better to get it over with quickly. Taking a breath, she slid her ass down the wall. Her knees really did give way then and she held on to his neck and chuckled. “Told you.”
He finally reacted, a self-satisfied grin of pride lifting his lips. “Lean against the wall.”
She smiled seductively. “Thought I already had.”
He shook his head as she released his neck and let her back take a lot of her balance.
He bent over and lifted her keys from the ground where she must have dropped them. Crap, she didn’t even remember letting them go.
Hunter opened her door and dropped her keys inside. He came back out and lifted her in his arms.
“Oh, my. Now this is new. I like this.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, ignoring his surprised look at her statement.
He walked into her casita and deposited her on her love seat. Then he strode into her kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from her fridge. He handed it to her. “Drink.”
Okay, she could do that. She took the bottle and opened it, enjoying the view of his still semi-hard cock sticking out of his jeans.
He tipped the bottle toward her mouth.
“Okay, okay.” Once she’d taken a swallow, he walked into her bathroom.
When he came out, he was all zipped up.
Bummer.
He stopped in front of her. “Finish that whole bottle. We were outside and your body is going to need the hydration.” Then he cupped her face, leaned over and kissed her, no tongue.
When he’d finished shocking her, he left, locking the door behind him.
Adriana stared at the door. She wanted him to come back.
What was with that?