Deception Cove

Chapter 28

DRAKE STOOD AT THE WINDOW OF THE LANTERN-LIT room, watching the shadows of the paranormal fog roll through the main street of Shadow Bay.

Alice was still in the bathroom. He could hear water running in the sink. It seemed to him that she had been in there for an inordinate length of time. Something told him that their second night together at the Marina Inn was going to be a lot more complicated than the first.

Last night had been simple because they had both been exhausted. The sex had come out of nowhere, blindsiding them. Like the torrid kiss in the parking garage, the fiery passion last night had hit hard and fast. It was not the kind of sex that implied a commitment to another such encounter tonight.

He was sure that when they climbed the stairs to their room a short time ago they had both been thinking about the bed that awaited them. He certainly had been thinking about it. But he could not get a read on Alice. He should not push her, he thought. She’d had a rough day. Finding a dead body was a traumatic experience made even worse in this case because she had known the victim. He should give Alice some space tonight.

Too bad Houdini had taken off a short time ago. The dust bunny served as a sort of chaperone.

The bathroom door opened. Drake turned around and watched Alice emerge in the robe and nightgown that she had borrowed from Rachel. Her hair was tumbled down around her shoulders. In the glow of the lantern she looked freshly scrubbed and sweetly vulnerable.

His wife. For now, at least.

His blood heated. He fought the nearly overpowering impulse to take her down onto the bed and lose himself in her arms. She was a dazzling drug to his senses, and he was completely and utterly addicted.

He really should give her some space tonight.

She stopped and looked at him. “Anything going on outside?”

“No,” he said. Intensely aware of his fierce erection, he started toward the bathroom. “Be out in a minute.”

Give her some space, he thought.

When he emerged a short time later, he discovered that Alice was in bed. She had turned the lantern down very low. To his eyes, the room was still fully illuminated, but he knew the shadows that she perceived gave her a sense of privacy. At least she could not see how aroused he was.

He went around to the far side of the bed and stripped off his trousers and shirt. He climbed under the covers wearing only his briefs, folded his arms behind his head, and concentrated on the ceiling.

There was a short silence.

“You can turn off the lantern,” Alice said.

“It’s all right. I don’t mind sleeping in my glasses.”

“That’s not necessary, really.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

He hesitated and then reached out and de-rezzed the lantern, plunging the room into what he knew was utter darkness for Alice. He took off his glasses and put them close at hand on the bedside table.

There was another short silence. Alice stirred.

“You can still see me, can’t you?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“As if I’m lying here in broad daylight?”

He turned onto his side and looked at her. “No, not unless I jack up my talent a little. But I’m not doing that now. I’m just looking at you with what passes for normal vision for me.”

“What do you see?”

He looked at her with a sense of wonder and tried to find the words. “It’s as if you were lit by moonlight and shadow, but the hues and shades are all from the far end of the spectrum. You look . . . beautiful. Magical.”

She twisted onto her side, facing him. Her eyes were open but he knew from her unfocused gaze that she could not make him out in the darkness.

He sensed energy shifting in the atmosphere and realized that she had rezzed her talent. She looked straight at him with luminous eyes.

“You can see me,” he said.

“A little. You’re drenched in deep shadows.”

“Just a big shadow, huh? Doesn’t sound too interesting.”

She put out a hand and touched his bare shoulder. “You’re wrong. You look incredibly interesting.”

Her fingers burned on his skin, thrilling his senses.

“Is that a polite way of saying I look better in the dark?” he asked.

“No,” she said, very serious now. “You are the most interesting man I have ever seen in the dark or in daylight. “You are . . . amazing, Drake. Last night was amazing. I will never forget it or you. I just wanted you to know that.”

He stopped breathing for a beat. His pulse thudded in his veins. His whole body felt tight and hard and heavy with desire. He reached under the covers and put a hand on her thigh.

“Alice?” he said.

His voice sounded thick and harsh to his ears.

But she levered herself up on her elbow, leaned forward, and kissed him. His talent spiked and the night was ablaze in dark light.

The kiss ignited his senses, but he made himself hold back. Last night had been fast and hot. His intuition told him that tonight she wanted to explore him, learn him, discover more about what was happening between them.

She moved her lips to his throat, his shoulder, and then his chest. Her soft, warm hand glided over him as if she were trying to memorize him with her sense of touch.

He wanted to give her time and for a while he succeeded in his goal. He gripped her carefully, as if she were made of delicate porcelain. He flattened his palms on the contours of her sleek, elegant back. She was warm to the touch. Then he went lower, seeking the cleft between her legs.

He found her melting and hot. He caught the scent of her arousal and it took him over the edge. He eased her onto her back and came down on top of her, making a place for himself between her legs. She welcomed him, lifting her hips to meet him.

He entered her slowly, deliberately, intensely aware of the tight little muscles that guarded her core. She gasped, cried out softly, and sank her nails into his shoulders.

“Drake. Drake.”

He went deep and the night blazed around them.