make her giddy, hopeful, excited… except she’d let all those wonderful feelings in once and look how that turned out. Damn you, Rich. Damn him for stripping away her hopes and dreams with a single pull of a trigger. Damn him for letting the scum he lived with while he was undercover change him from the man she married to a cold-blooded killer.
A shiver skimmed over her. Had he changed or had the real Rich emerged? He’d been reprimanded before for his overzealous handing of suspects and… She brushed a tear away. He’d hit her. She’d never reported it because he was so damn sorry. Any report of domestic abuse would have finished his career. He knew it, and so did she. He swore he’d never do it again and that he hadn’t meant to hit her. She’d been so desperate to believe him. So. Damn. Desperate.
She’d been faithful to him while he was undercover. Cheating never entered her mind. The trial had proven he’d cheated, with the woman he killed and others. He’d lived with the woman for ten months. According to one of the men who testified, they were one of three couples who swapped partners routinely. He was impressed by Rich’s ability to make his woman scream. She threw the pillow she was holding across the room.
Frustrated, she drew a deep, cleansing breath and released it slowly. No good could come of dragging up the trash of her past.
She was starting a new chapter in her life. A new location, a new job and a new, albeit temporary, partner who she liked. Liked? She snorted and rolled onto her back. No, not liked. Wanted. She could imagine that big body over hers. The muscles that flexed under his shirt bared to her hands. Would he have hair on his chest? The five o’clock shadow that had started about noon yesterday suggested he might.
She trailed her nails over her breast and teased her nipple. In her imagination, he’d be an aggressive lover, but one who made sure she was satisfied. She pinched her nipple and rolled it between her fingers. He’d make sure he teased her and excited her. Her other hand crept lower and stroked the side of her clit, enough pressure to make her arch into the touch. Brock would make her crazy with desire. She could almost feel his lips and that scratchy scruff against her heated skin. Her fingers stroked faster and applied more pressure. She moved from one breast to the other and rolled the nipple. The muscles in her legs tightened, and she longed for his body to fill the space between them.
Her fingers shuffled faster as need tightened inside her. She gasped, reaching for release. Her hand flew against her skin until she peaked, orgasming against her own touch. She undulated through the release, but the end result was, as always, a desolate consolation. The silence of the room was punctuated by one set of lungs. There were no soft touches. No warmth of a body holding her, or a tender kiss with whispered words of love. The aftermath of solitary pleasure was so damn lonely.
Brock slowly registered the vibration of Fester’s purr on his chest. He opened one eye and pushed his head into the pillow as his eye focused on the tip of the cat’s nose about two inches from his face. “Fuck, man, don’t you have boundaries?”
Fester stretched his paws forward and patted his cheek as his purr ratcheted up to motorboat level. He carefully grabbed the paws and held them so he could turn his sleepy gaze to the clock on his nightstand. Well, son of a bitch. He’d slept six hours. That was a record. He eyed the cat. “It’s not you. Great food and near exhaustion put me in a coma. It has nothing to do with you in my bed.”
The cat meowed and moved his front paws from Brock’s light grasp. The mangy animal stood and strutted regally to the other pillow where he promptly lay down and recommenced the kneading. Brock blinked and yawned. Damn, he needed the rest, but with all the shit rolling through his brain, he was amazed the damn thing turned off long enough for him to latch onto some REM cycles. He grabbed his phone and checked his emails. Miriam Treyson’s attorney sent one last night that he’d read just before he closed his eyes. The board of directors were convening an emergency meeting this morning, at nine.