Hard Line - Pamela Clare Page 0,86

had the words “You Are Here” written on a little tag in Patty’s handwriting. She held it up, swallowed hard. “This was on Patty’s wall when we were in grad school together. She brought it with her last winter, too, and now it will stay here.”

Samantha set it in the back of the shrine, then reached inside the box for Patty’s coffee mug. She held it up for everyone to see, her throat too tight to speak.

Ryan took over. “It says ‘Astronomers Do It in the Dark.’”

“It was her favorite mug.” Samantha set that inside, too.

“I’ve got something.” Lance threaded his way over to her, a bottle of wine in his hand. The charges against him had been dropped, and Samantha had forgiven him. “It’s a bottle of wine that she bought for me. I can’t drink it without her.”

Lance set it into the shrine, too.

“I’ve got something to add.” That was Jason.

“This ought to be interesting,” someone muttered.

Jason nudged his way through the tightly packed bodies and held up what looked like a plastic snake. “I printed this with my three-D printer and painted it. If you can’t tell, it’s a cobra. I thought it belonged here because it was the Cobra team who found Patty’s killer. They should be a part of this, too.”

“Hell, yeah!” someone called out.

Ryan nodded. “Thanks, Jason.”

Jason handed the plastic snake to Thor. “Maybe you should do the honors.”

“Thank you.” Thor set the plastic cobra next to the mug.

Tears streamed down Samantha’s face, though no one could see them because of her mask. “Thanks, Jason.”

“Rest in peace, friend. We all miss you. A moment of silence?” Ryan bowed his head. When the moment had passed, he made an announcement. “Tomorrow night, we’re having a special dinner in honor of the Cobra team. They’ll be flying out the next morning if the weather holds.”

Not for the first time, Samantha hoped the weather didn’t hold.

Thor knelt next to the bed and sucked Samantha’s clit into his mouth, stroking her with his lips and tongue the way she liked it. He did his best to memorize her taste, her scent, the sound of her sighs. Her body was as precious to him now as his own—the mole next to her navel, her sweet breasts, her beautiful eyes.

Don’t think about leaving tomorrow. Be in the moment.

He pushed aside thoughts of his departure, focused on giving her pleasure, sliding his fingers inside her, stroking her, focusing on that sensitive spot right there.

Her hands fisted in his hair, her breathing ragged, her thighs quivering. “Thor!”

She arched off the bed as she came, her muscles clenching around his fingers.

He kept it up, gave her everything she could take until her body slowly melted, the tension draining away, the rush of orgasm slowing into ripples.

She exhaled, a long, drawn-out sigh. “How do you want me?”

Thor stood, grabbed a condom, slid it over his erection. “Face to face.”

He needed her tonight, needed to fill himself with her.

She scooted up the bed, a smile on her lips, her gaze locked with his, her blond hair tangled around her shoulders.

Without breaking eye contact, he climbed in at her feet, crawled up to her, settled his hips between her thighs.

She reached down, took hold of his cock, and guided him inside her, the two of them moaning in unison as he buried himself in her slick heat.

But this wasn’t about fucking or getting off—not for Thor, not this time.

This was different.

He moved slowly at first, doing his best to draw this out, to make it last, unable to take his gaze off her face. She felt so good—the way her body gripped his, the silky feel of her skin, her softness. “Samantha.”

She wrapped her legs around his waist, her eyes drifting shut.

“Look at me.”

She opened her eyes again, her gaze locked with his.

It was the most intimate thing he’d ever experienced, seeing the effect he had on her, letting her see inside him. It felt more like sharing souls than sex, their bodies joined, their hearts pounding together, their breath mingling.

But soon their bodies took over, his hips thrusting into her hard and fast, her eyes going wide as she came again, her cry sweet. A few more thrusts and he was flying with her, bliss washing through him, hitting him straight in the heart, as pure as sunlight.

He tossed the condom in the trash and drew her with him, the two of them lying in a tangle of limbs as heartbeats slowed and sex cooled