How to Save A Life

Chapter 9

She stared at him blankly. "We are?"

He nodded. "I hate to involve you like that, but it's the only thing I can think of."

"Okay."

He gave her a look. "You aren't going to argue with me?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because every time I try to tell you what to do, you give me grief."

She laughed. "Yeah, well, you are bossy. But I was probably going to go there anyway."

His mouth twisted wryly. "I should've known that." He sighed. Damn it, he didn't want her back in that bar, but they had to do something.

"So why the change of heart on your part?" She stood and moved toward him. Oh, no. She needed to stay away from him. Far, far away where he couldn't get his hands on her sexy body. He pushed the chair back until it bumped the wall.

She stood before him, not close, but within touching distance if he reached out. That strip of smooth bare skin around her middle kept drawing his eyes. He forced himself to look up at her face.

Mistake. The heat in her eyes was undeniable. Hot desire jolted through him and he almost groaned aloud.

He sucked in a big breath and forced himself to focus. "He was there, Marli. Probably every night. He followed you home from there. Tried to break into your house. The next night, he followed you into the parking garage. He's been there watching you."

He watched her eyes move as she processed what he was saying.

"But I've been looking for him," she said. "Every night. I never saw him."

"Remember, he's changed his appearance by now. Somehow. I think he cut off his hair and dyed it. Darker. That's what the guy in the parking garage looked like."

She nodded thoughtfully. Her hands were trembling, almost imperceptibly.

Damn. He had to touch her. He reached out for her cold hands, holding them between both of his much bigger ones. He pulled her a little closer.

"He's been there the whole time," he repeated. "And so have you. So maybe he'll be there again. Only this time, I'll be there, too, watching for him." He got up and went over to his suitcase, and, from beneath a pile of clothes, he pulled out his Glock.

Marli let out a little gasp.

"Sorry, sweetheart," he said, "but I think we need this tonight."

She nodded again, her sparkly green and gold eyes huge in her face. He came back to her, leaving the gun on the dresser. He set his hands on her waist and looked directly into her eyes. "Can you handle this?"

She just stared back at him for a long moment, then gave a short, jerky nod. "I have to," she said firmly. "For Krista."

He nodded, too. Without conscious thought, he drew her closer to him, absorbing the heat of her. That spicy mixture of vanilla, cinnamon and musk from the shampoo and conditioner she'd used earlier surrounded him. His fingers slipped under the hem of her tank top to find warm, bare skin.

"You're so strong," he said softly, fingers moving over her skin. She shivered at his touch.

"No, I'm not. I'm terrified. But I'm even more terrified of not getting that bastard. He...raped and killed my friend, set her on...f-fire." Her voice choked with emotion. She met his eyes. "I'll do whatever I have to do."

"Why?" he murmured, fingers sliding higher, under her top. "Why are you so invested in this? Why can't you just let the police deal with it?"

"They're not dealing with it!" She swayed closer to him, her eyes glazing over with his caresses. "Look what's been happening. He's trying to kill me now."

Trey didn't want to agree with her, but damn it, he was afraid she was right. He stroked up her back, then down, in long, slow brushes of his fingertips. God, she was soft. And warm. "But before you met me, you were determined to do this, even though your plan was insanely dangerous and stupid."

"Oh, thank you very much."

Her breasts touched his chest. Her nipples were hard. He could feel them right through her lace bra and the thin top, and he nearly panted with need.

"It wasn't that dangerous. If I saw him in the bar, what would he do to me? I don't think he'd hurt me in front of hundreds of people."

"Maybe not. But he'd definitely get away before you could even call the police, let alone have them show up there."

"Yeah. Probably. Okay, so I wasn't thinking straight." She sighed and ducked her head. "If you read the report, then you know what happened that night."

"Why don't you tell me?" He bent his head, wanting to taste her. He touched his lips to the side of her neck, where her skin was thin, fragile, silky. He breathed in the scent of her and his body twitched hard.

Her head fell back and her eyes closed. "Trey."

"Right here."

"How can you expect me to talk when you're doing that to me?"

He kissed her neck again and sucked a little bit, tasting her. She was so sweet. Her hands came up to his shoulders and held on. He loved how she responded to his touch. She clearly wanted him as much as he wanted her. No reason to hesitate or wonder if she'd reject him. Even so, his heart pounded hard in his chest; his breath hitched.

He took her mouth then, one hand sliding into her hair--that hair!--wrapping the long curls around his fingers and tugging her head to the right place. He tilted his head and kissed her.

It was like an explosion went off deep inside him, and he dimly thought she felt the same thing as she gasped into his mouth. He opened his mouth over hers, touched her lips with his tongue, tasting her, teasing her. Then he plunged his tongue in a deep, devouring kiss, his hand tightening in her hair, the other arm sweeping her up against him hard.

He pressed her to him, breasts flattened against his chest as he ate at her mouth hungrily. And she kissed him back, just as eager, her small tongue licking his. Her hands clutched his shoulders as she struggled to get closer, practically climbing onto him with her excitement.

He was so rock-hard he hurt. A red-hot rush of desire surged through him, setting him on fire for her. He took her mouth again and again, crushing her soft mouth in deep, demanding kisses that still weren't enough. Her mouth was sweet, warm and delicious.

He picked her up by her ass, pulling her against his raging hard-on, and she was soft and oh, so hot there. She wrapped those long legs around him, and now he did groan, a rough sound that came from deep within him.

They fell together onto the bed, rolling, legs twined around each other, his erection bumping her softness, and she pressed her mound back against him eagerly, desperately, grinding. Their mouths connected again, feverish, seeking, devouring. Then, panting and wide-eyed, she drew back to look at him. A scorching haze enveloped them, and he took a huge, shuddering breath.

"Marli." He pulled her head back down to him to take her mouth again. He rolled her over so he pinned her to the mattress, thrusting his hands into her hair to hold her head there for his kisses. She sucked his lip into her mouth, then bit him hard enough to make him gasp, and wicked sensations sizzled down his spine. Her tongue stroked his lip, pushed into his mouth and he sucked on her, almost frantic with a desperate, urgent need to take. Take everything.

He rolled back, taking her with him so now she was on top and she straddled him. He reached for the hem of her tank top and shoved it up. The low-cut lacy cups of her bra revealed the curves of her breasts sweetly spilling out. There was that mole. He pressed his mouth to it, traced his tongue over it, then turned his face into the curve of one breast and inhaled, her scent intoxicating him, making his head whirl.

He grabbed the tank top and yanked it over her head, tossed it aside, while she reached behind her back and undid the bra. It, too, disappeared, and then she was sitting astride him, her soft, hot pussy pressed to his cock, naked from the hips up. God, she was beautiful.

With dazed wonder, he moved his hands over her flat belly, up to feel the weight of her full breasts. Desire surged through him and his hips lifted, thrusting his hard-on into her softness. Her eyes closed, her face tight with raw need, and she quivered beneath his touch.

She opened her eyes, appearing bemused herself, and reached for the buttons of his shirt. She undid the top one, then the next, then impatiently slid her hands inside to feel his chest. He gasped at the touch of her fingers on his chest, his nipples.

He pulled her down and rolled again, twining his legs with hers, trapping her against him, heat to heat, kissing her again, wrapping his arms around her in a crushing embrace.

"Trey," she gasped, wrenching her mouth away from his, "stop. Please."

He could barely hear her over the roaring in his ears. Somehow, he managed to regain a fragment of control and gulped in a breath. "What?" he gasped. "What's wrong?"

She rolled away from him and lay on the edge of the bed, her back to him. As he tried to focus his blurry vision, he pressed a hand to his fly, his cock throbbing painfully behind it.

She was so slender he could see every vertebra curving from her smooth neck down to the swell of her bottom in those soft yoga pants. He watched her ribs rise and fall quickly with her agitated breathing.

"What is it, Marli?" he asked, straining to keep his voice gentle. But Christ, he was so turned on he could barely see straight.

"I can't do this."

He was silent. She'd been doing just fine a minute ago. More than fine. Ho, boy. He took a deep breath and blew it out.

"I'm sorry," she muttered into the pillow. "I just can't."

Communicating with women wasn't one of his strengths...witness his train wreck of a marriage. Marli wasn't his wife...hell, she wasn't anything to him, except...important. So important. He wanted to do this right.

He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling, trying in vain to control the blood rushing to his dick and the furious pounding of his heart.

"Please, tell me why," he whispered. "Talk to me, sweetheart."

She was silent, but he waited, calling on every ounce of patience he possessed. Her heard her sniffle, then felt her roll, too. He turned his head and saw she lay beside him, her head on the pillow next to him. He reached up a hand and took her chin, tugging toward him so she faced him. He touched her mouth with his fingertips, then removed his hand. They weren't touching, just lying side by side, looking at each other. Even with eyes shadowed with pain, her mouth pinched, she was so beautiful.

"It's just wrong...to be...enjoying myself like this. At a time like this. Krista's dead," she said baldly. "I should not be doing this."

"Oh, Marli." He'd talked to victims' families so many times and he knew what she was talking about. "It's okay, honey. Life goes on." He reached out and touched her cheek with gentle fingertips.

Slowly, she lifted her hand and grabbed hold of his, pressing it to her face. "But it feels so wrong," she cried softly. "To go on with my life, when hers is over."

"I know."

She gazed back at him. Then she closed her eyes. "You were asking me earlier why I was so determined to find her killer."

"Yeah." He waited.

Eyes still closed, still gripping his hand and holding it to her cheek, she started to talk. "The night Krista was murdered, she and I had a big argument." She stopped and squeezed her eyes closed tighter.

Trey waited.

"She met...Rob...Sheldon...whoever. He was a smooth talker, and she really liked him. Then I sat down, and he started flirting with me a bit." She took a breath and opened her eyes. "I wasn't flirting with him," she said earnestly, eyes pleading with him to believe her. "I just...talk...and stuff comes out. I would never try to take a guy away from Krista. But she was mad. We'd both had a lot to drink. My fault again," she said a little bitterly. "I didn't want to be at a stupid country bar, so I was ordering tequila shots for everyone. Then Krista was telling me that I'm always attracting guys' attention, always flirting with them. She told me to back off. I was so pissed off." She paused, gripped his hand even tighter. "I don't do that."

"I know, sweetheart." He did. He'd seen it happen. She just said things, but she was so sexy and appealing it came across as not so innocent. He'd seen her suddenly become aware of how her words sounded and close up because of it.

"Thank you," she whispered. "But Krista thought I did. I couldn't believe it. We were best friends since high school. Like sisters. We're both different--she was much quieter and more reserved than I am--but I loved her. I wouldn't do anything to hurt her. I never realized all those years that she was thinking stuff like that about me. It hurt me."

"Yeah."

"And the worst thing is, when she went to leave with Sheldon, I was hurt and mad, and I practically dared her to do it. Rachel started to try to tell her she shouldn't be leaving with a stranger, and I just...let her." Her eyes closed again and a tear squeezed out and rolled down her smooth cheek.

"It's all my fault she's dead," she whispered. "And I can't bear it. I can't bear the thought that she's gone, and that she died hating me. And now she's gone, and I can never tell her how sorry I am."

Trey reached for her instinctively, pulling her into his arms. She buried her face into his neck, shaking, and one of her hands fisted in his shirt. Ah, shit. Yeah, he'd read the report, but none of Marli's tortured feelings had come out of that. Christ. He ran his hand down her back, and even though she was half-naked in his arms, he just wanted to hold her and comfort her.

"Hey," he said, after a while, "you can't torture yourself like this." Although he knew only too well the feeling.

She sniffled. "Easy to say," she said. "I asked you this once before...do you follow your own advice?"

He smiled against her hair. "You know I don't. But don't do as I do. Do as I say."

"I don't take orders from you, Special Agent Nicholson."

He kissed her hair. "You told me once that you were jealous of Krista's hair."

"Yeah." She pulled back and looked up at him, confused. "So?"

"Does that mean you didn't love her?"

"Of course not. I did love her."

"So Krista could be jealous of your...outgoing personality, but that doesn't mean she didn't love you, Marli."

She stared at him, and another fat tear rolled from her eye. "You're right," she whispered, looking at him in wonder. "God, you're right, Trey."

He hugged her closer. "I know that doesn't help with all the big questions, like why it happened. I know you feel guilty about not stopping her. Because you're a good person. But what happened to her is not your fault, Marli. No way, no how."

She curled into him, hanging onto him.

He'd never felt closer to anyone than he did to her at that moment. Not just physically, although she was as close as they could get without him being inside her. But emotionally, he connected with her, knew what she was feeling, understood where it was coming from. God, he'd never even felt like this with Lisa, sad to say.

His hands moved over her back soothingly, stroking her soft skin with the intent to comfort, not arouse. They lay like that, curled together, for long, quiet moments, tenderness and some indefinable emotion making something in his chest expand and soften.