Long, Lean and Lethal Read online

  “Then we better head out, unless there’s anything else you want to take.”

  “Food,” she said, deciding not to elaborate, and instead opened her refrigerator. He’d pretty much cleaned her out, not that there had been all that much food in there to start with. There was never time to grocery shop, and cooking wasn’t exactly her favorite pastime. Closing the refrigerator, she edged past Noah and headed to the bags by the door.

  She looked at everything piled by her front door. “Looks like you’ve got it all covered.”

  “I hope you didn’t mind. It will save us a trip to the store, at least for tonight. You didn’t have a lot of groceries.”

  “I’ve got enough for me, or I did until you packed me up.” Squatting in front of the bags, she sifted through the few canned goods and snack foods she kept on hand until she found an apple and a candy bar. It wasn’t exactly what she had in mind for supper, but it would do.

  Straightening, she was all too aware of how close Noah stood to her. An image of him wrapping his arms around her entered her mind, and her premonition proved correct.

  Noah wasn’t gentle. He didn’t wrap his arms around her and pull her against him passionately. Not that she wanted him to. He grabbed her arm and flipped her around and then gripped her jaw. Her insides swelled so quickly that a tightening in her womb made it damned hard to breathe, let alone think.

  Noah held her face and stared into her eyes with a look that went beyond dangerous. “In less than an hour, Rain, the world will see us as a married couple. We’re going to need to act the part.”

  “They won’t see us when we’re alone,” she whispered, hating how easily he made her react to his touch.

  “Are you saying you can turn emotions on and off?”

  “There’s no emotion. That would require liking you,” she hissed, searching for anger to help cool the heat that so quickly simmered and took over her insides. “This was supposed to be my case.”

  “You’re hot as hell for me right now,” he whispered.

  “And you’re a pompous ass.” She tried turning away. She needed to fight with him, get really angry. Otherwise she would melt against that steel chest of his and submit to demands she feared she wanted as much as he did.

  But Noah tightened his grip, his kiss punishing and demanding. He wanted her to submit, to admit that there was an attraction. And because he wanted that, more than anything she would not give it to him. She growled fiercely, striking out with her hands until he let go of her.

  The disappointment in his eyes mixed with an almost victorious, if not determined, look on his face. “At least I know now that you won’t kiss just any good-looking man.”

  “Go to hell,” she grumbled, yanking at her shirt to straighten it and then turning and heading toward her kitchen.

  Not that there was any reason to go there. Her pussy was soaked and her insides throbbed with frustrated tension and a craving she knew would get worse the longer they were together. If she made it through the night without fucking him it would be a goddamn miracle.

  Noah was hot as hell, which was obviously something he knew already. He was attracted to her. Again, no new news there. Rain licked her lips, still tasting him. As quick a kiss as it was, she still tingled from it. From the brief taste of him to the way he grabbed her, demanding control and command, just like he did in every walk of his life.

  Rain knew how to control, too. And she knew how to command a situation. But above and beyond all of that, she knew letting her guard down for one second, allowing Noah inside, even if just to appease the need he’d created inside her, would bring pain. It always did. As good as Noah might think he was, he wasn’t good enough to prevent the hurt and regret that would inevitably follow.

  Been there, done that, Rain thought to herself while placing her palm against her hard, cool counter. No more pain, only gain. She needed to focus 100 percent on this case, and the only way to do that was to keep Noah at arm’s length, publicly and privately. There were plenty of married couples who never touched each other. No one said she and Noah needed to go undercover as a happily married couple.

  She hated the emptiness that filled her, slowly replacing the throbbing aroused state she’d experienced moments before. Nonetheless, she embraced it. Then heading for her refrigerator to grab one of her water bottles and pocket a few cans of Diet Dr Pepper, she scowled when the light from her refrigerator glowed in the dark kitchen, and she stared at her cleaned-out fridge.

  “He’s good,” she whispered. Then closing her refrigerator and making quick work of opening and closing cabinets, she made note of everything he took. Her mental inventory calculated the value of the missing goods at somewhere around one hundred dollars. “The FBI can pick up my grocery bill,” she muttered to herself, although she felt no satisfaction in tabulating the debt now owed her.

  Noah came toward her up the walk with the car running in the driveway. “Lock your house up,” he instructed, his serious expression showing he’d also put himself back into a mind-set of being all business. The seductive glaze in his eyes was gone. “Was there anything else you wanted to take?”

  “No. You appear to be very thorough.” Her suitcases and bags of groceries were packed in the car.

  “I always am,” he informed her, and then headed to the rental car before she could think of a snide remark.

  THREE

  “Talk about half the pieces of a fucking puzzle missing,” Noah grumbled, and pushed his chair away from the kitchen table.

  Standing and stretching, he scratched his bare chest and glanced at the clock on the microwave. Rain had left over thirty minutes ago to buy more groceries. He didn’t argue that more food in their new home would be nice, and even added a few items to her list. Noah guessed Rain already felt the same frustration that ate at him, part of it being from this case that had absolutely no fucking leads and the other part being a bit more personal.

  Rain might have told him to fuck off. And Noah sure as hell wouldn’t rape her. But it didn’t take an experienced detective to sense the tension sizzling between them. If he were smart he’d call it a night and crash before she got home just to avoid the discussion of sleeping arrangements. And so he could get the bed.

  Walking barefoot to the refrigerator, Noah pulled out a bottled water and wished it were a beer. He stared at the charts that he’d printed and the stack of reports and list of addresses of friends and locations of businesses each of the deceased had frequented. Then moving so he stood over the table, he looked at the information they had so far on the murder that had occurred earlier this evening.

  He looked up when he heard the garage door open and headed over to the door off the kitchen that led to the garage. Rain parked the rental and cut the engine. The trunk popped open at the same time that the garage door automatically closed. Noah flipped on the interior garage light, not liking that it didn’t come on automatically. Maybe doing some minor home repairs would help all of the information in his head fall into place, because at the moment they didn’t have one single fucking lead.

  Noah frowned when Rain grinned broadly at him as she climbed out of the car. “I’m not unloading groceries. I’ve already done my half of the chore. I’m so good I can bring home the bacon and get our first big break at the same time.”

  “Oh yeah?” He headed toward the trunk and then pulled out several bags, glancing at their contents before adjusting them in his arms. “I have no doubts you’re very good. But what is this first big break?”

  Something had her wound tight. Her pretty blue eyes glowed and her expression was free of the hard angles he’d seen earlier when she was pissed. He liked her smile, and how her dark hair made her skin look creamy. At the moment, though, as she shifted from one foot to the other, hardly able to contain the vibrant energy twisting around inside her, Noah wondered if she might start jumping, or flapping her hands with excitement.

  Instead she followed him into the kitchen, holding true to her promise not to help ha
ul in groceries. “I went to the grocery store that is less than a mile from here. I could show you on a map how it’s also within a mile of where three of our deceased lived. While I was discussing grades of meat with the incredibly talkative butcher, a small line formed behind me. Most of your eight-to-fivers do their shopping at this time.”

  Rain was bursting at the seams to tell him something. Noah put the sacks of groceries on the counter and turned to the garage to grab the remaining bags.

  “So you found the gossip center for married women?” He pinched her cheek as he walked by, which confirmed her level of excitement when she didn’t slap his hand away. “Married life obviously suits you well.”

  “It suits me very well when one of the women standing next to me, and the butcher, get into a conversation about Sheila Lapthorne, the widow of one of our victims.” Rain followed him and stood in the doorway to the garage while he lifted the two remaining bags out of the trunk and then closed it. “They were commenting on how it doesn’t surprise either one of them that she’s still part of the club even after her husband’s death. You could tell they were speaking in a kind of code, trying to be discreet. But apparently the woman buying meat and the butcher are also both members of this club.”

  “What is the club?” He stepped into the kitchen and Rain closed the garage door behind him.

  “I’m not sure if it has a name. And yes, I did ask.” She reached into the sack next to him and started pulling out several wrapped packages of meat, then walked around him to the refrigerator. “I said that we were new in town and if there was some type of club for married couples I’d love to hear about it.”

  Noah glanced over at her while she arranged meat in the freezer. Investigation work got her off. She didn’t blink an eye at him when she accepted more meat that he handed to her, and he decided he wouldn’t comment that she had bought enough from the butcher to feed a small army.

  “When I said that, the lady next to me got quiet. But the butcher—you’d think I just asked him out for a drink. His reaction wasn’t what I expected.”

  “Is the butcher flirting with my wife?”

  Rain rolled her eyes at him. “Whatever,” she said, although the temper she had displayed earlier was gone. Adrenaline pumped through her and she blew off his comment with a wave of her hand. “It wasn’t so much what he said but how he looked at me.”

  “What did he say?” Noah already knew how the butcher would have looked at “his wife.” Rain glowed at the moment, and if she looked anything at the store like the way she did now, Noah wouldn’t be surprised if she had bought all this meat at an incredible discount.

  “He said it would depend on what type of married couple we were.” She bunched up one of the empty bags and searched for a trash can. Then, not seeing one, she shoved it in the corner of the counter and went at the next bag, this time pulling out a bag of apples and a couple loaves of bread. “So I asked him what kind of married couples participated in their club. The woman next to me cleared her throat and when I looked at her she was noticeably blushing. But the butcher changed the subject, and although I was next in line, he asked what she needed. So I waited until he got her meat wrapped for her, and then asked again about the club.”

  Noah found the six-pack of beer he had asked her to buy and pulled two bottles out. After putting the remaining bottles in the refrigerator, he opened them both and handed one to Rain.

  “Let me guess, it’s a swingers’ club.”

  Rain took the bottle and feigned her surprise. “How did you know?”

  “I’m an investigator. You just gave me all of the clues. A club that doesn’t have a name, and when people discuss it they use a code of sorts. Then you said that when you asked about it the woman next to you blushed.” He tipped the bottle to his lips and savored how cold the beer was as it went down smoothly. “What did your butcher say?”

  Rain took a quick gulp of her beer and then put the bottle on the counter. “He told me that there are some married folk here in Lincoln who get together at each other’s homes. He said it was an alternative-lifestyle type of club and that it wasn’t for everyone.”

  “And you said?”

  Rain grinned at him and burped. “I asked if it was wife swapping.”

  Noah fought the urge not to grin at her triumphant look. He doubted she knew how fucking sexy she looked right now, burp and all. She looked sincerely happy. More than likely when the adrenaline quit pumping through her veins she would remember how much she resented him being here and pushing in on her scene and “her case.”

  “I think ‘wife swapping’ is an antiquated term these days,” he said, and turned to survey the grocery situation. They now had trash bags but no trash can, so he opened the box of bags and pulled one free of the roll. Once he opened the bag, Rain helped gather the empty grocery sacks until the kitchen was in order again.

  “Actually, I think the terms used to describe polyamorous lifestyles vary from region to region,” she offered quietly while stuffing the last of the grocery bags into the trash bag. “But I acted like it was something I was into, and the butcher was very anxious to share information on his club.”

  “I’m sure.” Noah doubted any man would turn down the opportunity to make the move on Rain. Hell, he’d already tried several times, and had yet to get a rise out of her like what he saw in her now. Taking another swallow of his beer, he remembered the same glow on Laurel’s face when she tried convincing him she didn’t love him any less even though she wanted to have sex with the friend Noah had chosen to be his best man. The beer didn’t go down as smoothly this time, but Rain didn’t seem to notice when Noah put the bottle down on the counter a little harder than needed.

  “Most swingers are very comfortable with their lifestyle and although they’ll remain discreet about it, if asked and the surroundings are conducive to sharing information they will willingly discuss something that they believe is a wonderful pastime,” she added, opening the cabinet under the kitchen sink and stuffing the trash bag half-full of trash under it, then closing the cabinet. “Most aren’t ashamed of it, but don’t talk about it openly because others judge them down.”

  “You sound like you approve of it.” He swore she gave him the same look Laurel did when he accused her of wanting his permission to be unfaithful. Like he was the insane one.

  “All I care about is we just got a big break into a case where an hour ago there were no leads whatsoever,” she informed him, her glow quickly fading. “I suppose you’re all for swinging?”

  His personal life didn’t have shit to do with this case. Especially a personal life that was very much over. “I don’t disapprove of what these people are doing,” he said, meaning it. It wasn’t for him and never would be. Vows were taken for a reason. If a couple wanted to rewrite those vows, like Laurel even suggested doing, then they might as well label it something other than marriage. None of that had anything to do with solving this case, though. He wasn’t here to preach to a damn soul; he was here to nail a murderer. “If all parties are consenting, and no one is getting murdered,” he added, unable to keep the growl out of his voice.

  Rain picked up her bottle of beer and then opened a cabinet and pulled out a box of crackers that she’d just put away. “The butcher told me they are a very laid-back group, with no preconceived notions about anyone. He said if we would like to learn more I should bring you into the store tomorrow so that you could discuss it with him. All he asked was that we not talk to him about it while customers were around.”

  “Of course.” Noah looked at the box of crackers in her hand. “You buy all that meat and plan on eating crackers for supper?”

  “If you think I’m fixing you supper after busting my ass buying all of those groceries,” she snipped, once again showing him the feisty, hotheaded Amazon princess he’d spent the day with. “Not to mention, I just got our first lead,” she added triumphantly, her long dark hair flowing like silk over her shoulder and parting around her full, round bre
ast.

  “You forget, princess, I’ve been in your kitchen already. There was dust on your stove. I’m not going to chance that meat you bought being ruined during preparation when for all I know you might not even know how to boil water.” He moved around her, swiping her hair behind her shoulder, where it was confined at her nape by a pretty hair clasp. He loved the feel of it in his hand before letting it go, and watching it flow down her back. “Just don’t want you ruining your appetite while waiting for your dinner,” he whispered over her shoulder, and noticed her visibly shiver. “I wonder if there’s a grill here,” he added, feeling blood drain to his cock, leaving him somewhat light-headed as he grew hard. The cool air helped a bit when he opened the freezer and surveyed all the neat white packages.

  “I told you not to call me princess.” Rain turned her back to him and looked at the work spread out on the table that he’d done while she was gone.

  Other than placing their suitcases in the one bedroom of the two in the house that was furnished, he didn’t take time to inspect the place other than for security purposes earlier. Satisfied all windows and doors were locked securely, he got busy lining out what they knew so far on the case. Leaving Rain to browse over his charts, he searched the garage for a grill and then headed out the back door to find a deck that desperately needed weeds cut back from it.

  There wasn’t any desire to comment on her not liking his nickname for her. There were worse names he could call her, and she did have that tall, willowy, regal look about her he doubted she could change if she tried. Besides, she wasn’t the only one who was excited about moving forward with this case. Noah didn’t want to argue with her. He wasn’t in the mood. When she wasn’t biting his head off and was willing to talk shop, Rain wasn’t so bad to be around. And she sure as hell wasn’t bad to look at.

  “Score!” he mumbled when he pulled the cover off of a propane grill. After inspecting the tank and making sure all the valves were working properly and set right, he started the thing up and then grinned. “We feast tonight.” Memories came to mind of grilling for Laurel while she sat outside with him, doing her nails or simply complaining about her job with the navy as a civilian doing IT work.