***
As Cole walked through the doors of the station, Ben came rushing over, his mouth set in a tight line as he fell into step beside him. “Mac, are you here to talk with the Captain?” he asked, following right behind him as Cole stomped down the hall like a force of nature, his steps determined.
“Yeah,” Cole replied, not even breaking stride. He needed to find out just what in the hell was going on and handle it. He rapped sharply on the Captains door and walked in.
Mike looked up as Cole entered, holding a file in his hands. “Have a seat, guys,” he said, his expression troubled. Cole glanced at his partner, who quickly grabbed a seat and gave him a guilty shrug.
“Just what in the hell is going on?” he asked, directing his question to his Captain as his gaze went back and forth between the two men, but it was Ben who spoke up.
“Look, Mac,” he said, his eyes darting around the room in embarrassment. “Once I heard who she was, I did some digging around. Something about the resemblance between her and that strangulation victim of Smith and Cortez’s really bothered me. I mean…I would have sworn it was her.” He took a deep breath, shaking his head slightly. “It gnawed at my insides and I just couldn’t let it go. I’m sorry; I know you hate it when I go behind your back…but,” he hesitated, not sure if he was going to have to face his partner’s wrath. “I saw the way that you looked at her when I stopped by the house…and I wanted to make sure that she wasn’t just some nutcase that you were getting involved with. I had to make sure that you were thinking with your head and not your dick.”
Cole’s jaw clenched as his body became rigid. He was pissed as hell that Ben had taken it upon himself to check out Katherine, not to mention that he wanted to deck the bastard when he had called her some nutcase, but a part of him was also thankful that he had found a possible connection. Christ, he was so wrapped up in her that his head had been completely up his own ass!
He glanced at his partner and gave him a look that made it clear that he was letting it go, but was not completely happy about it. “She is not a nutcase, asshole,” he ground out. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to punch something.
Ben cleared his throat nervously and shot him an uncomfortable smile. “Yeah, I get that. But I was just watching your back, buddy. I really just wanted to make sure that you weren’t thinking with the wrong head, and when the Captain told me that you had taken a leave…well, I just felt the need to check things out.”
“All right, let’s stop with the pissing contest, you two,” Mike said, tossing the file that he held in his hand across the desk in Cole’s direction. Cole scooped it up and opened it, his blood turning to ice as he realized that it was filled with the photos of at least six dead women. Fuck!
Cole studied the pictures carefully, immediately seeing the resemblance to Katherine in each one’s features. Some had similar bone structure…lips…noses. Shit! The only difference was the hair color…and the eyes. No one had eyes like Katherine.
“Once I knew who she was, it wasn’t hard to track where she’s been,” Ben explained hastily. “She’s used a variation of her name with each move, but she kept it pretty traceable. I mean, we just need to confirm what her hair color was in each place to confirm my suspicions. But in every city that she’s lived in, there has been at least one unsolved murder. Raped and strangled. No one’s ever tied them together because the profile didn’t fit; different hair color, different areas, absolutely nothing to connect them.”
“Shit,” Cole breathed, the force of it all hitting him like a sledgehammer to the chest, knocking the wind right out of him. Christ, this son of a bitch was not only stalking Katherine, he was killing her…time and time again. These women were just replacements for the real thing. Surrogates for what he wanted most in this world… Katherine.
“It seems that we have a fucking serial on our hands,” Mike said quietly, his body as tense as Cole’s.
Cole snapped the file shut, unable to look at the faces of the dead girls a moment longer…so much like Katherine’s. He would not let that happen to her! “Who’s working it?” he asked, knowing damn well that it was going to be him from here on out; one way or the other.
“We all are,” Mike said softly. “Christ, Cole, it’s a fucking serial. It has to be. And we need all the damn eyes that we can get on this. I’m even thinking about inviting in the FBI once we know more.”
Cole nodded and stood, his body rigid. He needed to get back to Katherine, needed to know that she was safe. “Have copies of everything you have so far sent to my house,” he said, and the Captain nodded.
“We’ll need to talk with her again, Mac,” Mike instructed softly, his eyes locking with Cole’s. “There might be something she knows that can help us.”
Cole was the best detective that he had, and even though he knew that he was personally involved in this one, he was damn well not pulling him from it. No matter what protocol dictated. Screw that noise. They were just too small of a department to lose one of their best at a time like this. Besides, it wasn’t as if she was a suspect. The poor woman was a victim…had been for almost ten years of her life. And the monster that had been following her was killing as well.
Cole gave his Captain a quick nod and looked to Ben. “Thanks,” he muttered, a half smile curving his mouth, but it didn’t even come close to reaching his eyes. His expression was troubled. “Thanks for having my back, Ben. And…for connecting the fucking dots.”
“Of course,” Ben laughed softly, finally relaxing a bit, although his expression was as troubled as theirs. “Besides, I learned from the best. And I’ve got to say, I knew that look, man.” He chuffed with a slight shrug of his shoulders and saw Cole bristle slightly. Damn, Ben thought. The man is in love and doesn’t even know it. “No, worries, Partner. We’ll get this asshole.”
“Damn straight,” Cole agreed and walked to the door. He turned back and gave his Captain a tired smile. “Consider me back on the clock, Mike.” He disappeared through the door before anything else could be said. He would bring Katherine in…soon.
Ben turned back to Mike and gave his Captain a sad shake of his head, whistling through his teeth. “Jesus, let’s just hope no one gets hurt in the process. I’ve never seen him like this before. He’s got it bad for this woman. It hit him hard and fast.” Mike Newman nodded his agreement, looking exceedingly grim. Jesus H! A fucking serial! He thought with a clenching to his gut. And, one of his best falling head over heels in love with the woman smack dab in the middle of it all. Holy shit!
***
Cole nodded to Matt as he pulled into the drive, letting him know that he was free to head back to the station. He had been gone longer than he had expected and was desperate to see Katherine. It was an ache deep in the recesses of his soul that only she could satisfy. Christ. Just what in the hell was wrong with him? He had never felt like this before. He had never wanted to spend every waking moment with a woman. He was a screw them and move on kind of guy. But, with this woman…everything was so freaking different. He felt lost when she wasn’t near him. As if a piece of him were missing. How messed up was that? Who the fuck felt that way? You asshole! You need her.
He pulled into the garage and turned off the car, sitting there silently a moment, his mind a tattered mess. How in the hell was he going to tell her? It was bad enough that she carried the guilt of her mother’s death, but now…This was damn well going to tear her apart. He hated that he had to be the one to do it. The last thing he ever wanted to do was to cause her any kind of pain. She had been through enough already. She didn’t deserve this, damn it. And it pissed the ever loving hell out of him.
He rubbed a hand across his eyes and got out of the car, needing more than anything to feel her in his arms. He needed to taste that sweet mouth of hers; a mouth that tasted so much like salvation to him. He swore that he would keep her safe. He would not screw up again…not with her.
***
Cole found Katherine mulling around i
n the kitchen as he walked through the house, and the scent of sauce hit his nose immediately, causing his stomach to growl. Christ, they hadn’t eaten, he realized with a start as he felt the familiar hunger pains hit him. Shit! He really needed to take better care of her he silently reprimanded himself. But when he saw her standing there, he realized that he was hungry for much more than just food. In fact, he was a starving man.
She turned and caught his gaze and every thought of eating completely flew out of the damned window in a millisecond. He stormed over to where she stood and roughly pulled her into his arms, his mouth slamming down on hers with nothing less than raw desperation.
He kissed her hard, hungrily, his body pressing itself up against hers as his erection pressed painfully against the front of his jeans. Just seeing her standing there had him as hard as granite, and now that she was in his arms it was to the point of physical pain. His hand clutched at her backside, pulling her against him and grinding, his need for her overwhelming him.
This woman was so far under his skin that he didn’t think that he’d ever be the same, and a small part of him wondered if that was such a bad thing. Until she had walked into his life he hadn’t been living. Not really. He had just been going through the motions.
“Cole,” she murmured against his lips, but he only shook his head slightly and deepened their kiss, his tongue thrusting against hers and staking claim. And she was unable to fight it. The heat that this man brought with him coursed through her veins like hot, molten lava bubbling and rippling through her body, and she had no choice but to respond to him with a low, throaty moan as she wrapped herself around him.
That sound coming from her throat was all the encouragement that Cole needed. He hooked his thumbs into the waistband of her shorts and pushed them down, running his hands across her silken flesh as he did, searing her skin with his very touch…branding it as his. And she couldn’t have been more willing.
Cole turned their bodies as she stepped out of her shorts on shaky legs, and backed her up across the kitchen, so very thankful that she hadn’t worn anything underneath. He needed to feel her wonderful skin at that moment.
He lifted her up and set her on the counter, his hands sliding up her thighs as he parted them and stepped between…hastily opening his fly with hands that shook violently. Good God, but he needed her. So much so, that his body physically ached. It was raw, deep...and completely consuming.
There was going to be no time for tenderness. Not now; later… he promised himself. Later he would hold her, touch her…kiss every damn inch of her glorious body. But right now, he needed to feel her heat surrounding him; he needed to hear her cry out his name. Only his! He needed to hear that husky sound right then…more than he had ever needed anything before.
He just couldn’t get the images of the dead girls out of his freaking head; and he silently promised himself that it wouldn’t be Katherine. Not her! Not ever! He would die first! He would fucking die!
His hand skimmed across her thigh, traveling to that place that he needed to be buried deep inside of. His fingers slipped between her silky folds, eliciting a soft gasp from her that reverberated through his entire body, right down into the very depths of his soul, marking him forever. He groaned deep in his chest when he found her wet and ready for him. And when he opened his eyes and caught her gaze, he lost himself to those damned emerald depths. His heart pounded in his chest when he saw the same need there…hot and ready. Christ, this woman could bring him to his knees with just one look.
“Baby,” he panted against her lips, his chest heaving as his breath mingled with hers and his erection pressed intimately against her. “I can’t…Shit! I can’t be gentle,” he husked, his voice nothing more than a tortured groan bursting from his lungs. “I need you too damned bad.”
***
Katherine sucked his bottom lip between her teeth and bit down, feeling his body shudder with a jolt of pure adrenaline as she did, his hips jerking against her. “Did I ever ask you to be gentle?” she whispered huskily, knowing that something had him strung tight; and if he needed this to be hard and fast, well then, so be it. She was more than happy to comply. She craved this man just as badly as he seemed to need her. He had only been gone for a few short hours, yet it had felt like an eternity.
Cole’s mouth traveled down to her neck, sucking gently at the pulse there that was fluttering wildly, and he took himself in hand a moment before he thrust himself inside her welcoming channel. A shiver ran through him as her hot, silky warmth surrounded him, their bodies fitting together perfectly, as if one had been made for the other. Finally…
Katherine wrapped her legs around his hips, digging her heels into his thighs and pulling him closer as her hands slid up beneath his shirt and her nails scored the hard plains of his back, and Cole swore that he would explode right then and there. Her delicate hands on his body shot a stream of pure desire straight to his groin, making his hardened length twitch inside her, bringing another moan to her lips. She tugged his shirt off and kissed his shoulder, her lips marking his skin in a sudden blaze of heat. God, her mouth was so warm and sweet.
He started to move his hips; slowly at first, but with increasing speed as she responded to his touch. He ground himself into her, their hips moving together, and the sound of slapping flesh echoed through the kitchen as muted words of encouragement pushed past her lips in a breathy rush; only igniting his need for her to dangerous proportions.
He slipped his hands underneath her backside, lifting her up in order to delve deeper as he began to thrust harder. She threw her head back, gasping for air as her orgasm coiled and rocked her before it finally slammed through her, causing her to clench up with a cry of pure bliss as her body shuddered around him violently, stealing the very breath from his body in one mighty whoosh.
Cole tightened his jaw and buried his face against her neck as he pumped faster, on the brink of insanity. He let out a long, shuddering growl as he met his own release, his body stiffening against hers. He pulled her as close to him as was humanly possible, whispering her name over and over again against the shell of her ear, his hands gripping the cheeks of her backside tightly.
Katherine found herself thinking that the sound of his release was one of the most beautiful sounds that she had ever heard. It was raw, primal, and it made her body sing like nothing ever had before in her entire, miserable life. This man made her feel alive. He made her feel desired. He just simply made her feel.
***
Cole was hard pressed to keep standing as he rode out the waves of yet another earth-shattering release with this woman. Good God, would he ever have his fill of her? Each time he took her just cemented him to her all the more. It left him craving her again and again instead of quenching his thirst. He wanted more…so much more.
Jesus! Could he be as obsessed with her as her stalker was? The thought slithered through his brain, causing a shudder to run across his spine. He just couldn’t seem to get enough of her. Just her touch could bring him to his knees. Could this be obsession? Could he be as twisted as the man who had made her life a living hell?
Cole pressed his lips against her neck and heard her soft sigh of content, and knew in that next instant that it wasn’t obsession that made him feel this way…it was something so much more. Something deep down in his soul that he had never experienced before. It was strange, and foreign to him, yet it was something that hit him with all the force of a Mack Truck. And he just couldn’t fight it. Shit! He didn’t even want to try.
He leaned back slightly so that he could take her lips again, gently…tenderly this time, trying to convey everything that he was feeling; even if he didn’t quite understand what it was himself. He just knew that this woman had changed him in so many ways. And…damned if it wasn’t for the better.
“Christ, Sweetheart, did I hurt you?” he husked in apology, his heart clenching in reproach that he had lost control like that with her. He hated himself quite a bit at the moment. He had been t
oo rough with her, and he suddenly felt like the biggest asshole on the planet. His eyes skimmed over her body, looking for any marks that he may have made in his need to take her, and he sighed a breath of relief when he saw that there were none. What in the fuck was wrong with him?
Katherine shook her head, gracing him with one of the sexiest smiles that he had ever seen. “Cole, stop. You didn’t hurt me,” she whispered against his mouth, her arms sliding around his neck and pulling him closer, and he relaxed.
“Why don’t I have any control around you?” he whispered, although the question was rhetorical. He damn well knew why. She ran through his veins like a freaking opiate. He was addicted.
His mouth descended on hers once again, warm…seeking. Just needing the contact. And he found himself thinking that he could kiss her forever. That he would be perfectly content with that.
***
Katherine finally found her resolve and broke their kiss, looking into his eyes and seeing the anger and the fear in them. There was also something more that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. She hated seeing him this way. He looked tortured. “Cole,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “Please, tell me what’s happened?”
***
Cole hugged her to him then, not wanting to leave the warmth of her body, to end this perfect moment. He was still buried deep inside her but knew that he needed to break away, no matter how much his body and soul protested. They needed to talk, and he couldn’t put it off any longer. But damned if he didn’t want to! He just wanted to shelter her from any more pain. That look of fear in her eyes was like a knife straight through his chest.
He reluctantly let her go and took a step back, feeling the loss of her warmth instantly. He took a breath as he tried to ignore the fact that even after having just had a, bring you to your knees release, he was still half-erect and wanting her again! Good God! What in the hell was wrong with him? He was swiftly losing control.