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  pleasure. He stretched her, filling her with his hard flesh, making

  himself a part of her.

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  “You’re so fucking tight like this.” He ground the words out as

  she felt his hands split her ass cheeks. His fingers touched the plug, making her shiver. She sank her fingers into his shoulders as he gently eased the plug a little ways out. Nerves she’d never felt before sprang to vivid life.

  “Oh, Stef, that’s amazing.” She breathed out as he fucked the plug

  back in.

  His voice was low, guttural. “I can handle you, love. We don’t

  need a third. I can fuck you the way you need it.”

  He pulled on the plug as he thrust his dick up, proving his point.

  Jen was filled with him. She’d never been so full. She sank onto his

  cock and forced herself back up, riding him like the stud he was. She

  found a perfect rhythm that had the plug and his cock in exquisite

  parallel. When she lowered herself on his cock, he pulled the plug out to almost the rim of her anus, firing off every nerve in her rectum. He pushed it back in when she rose, the feeling of fullness unrelenting.

  Every movement brought her closer to that magic place only Stef

  had ever taken her to. She fucked him with abandon, seeking her

  pleasure with every bit as much passion as she’d given him his.

  “That’s right, love,” Stef said, his motions becoming wickedly

  wild. “Come for me. Come all over my cock. Make me feel it.”

  She felt the command in her clit. He pushed up with his pelvis,

  grinding against her, and she went flying. The orgasm rushed over her

  like a wildfire sweeping through her veins. She cried out as she fought for every second of pleasure she could get.

  Stef’s body stiffened under her hands. He shook as he came, his

  gorgeous face contorting with pleasure.

  Jen fell forward into the circle of his arms. Without hesitation, he

  held her close, their breaths, bodies, and heartbeats one.

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  Chapter Twelve

  Stef had to breathe deeply to get his heart rate down. His blood

  pounded languorously through his body, satisfaction invading his

  veins. Jen was wrapped around him, and the world, briefly, seemed

  utterly perfect to him. She’d submitted in the sweetest way possible.

  She’d accepted everything he’d given her with grace and a gorgeous

  sexuality that floored him. He was the one who screwed it up.

  Why had he thought he could walk away from her? He’d never

  been able to do it. Even when he got the slightest bit away from her,

  he’d come running back every time. The minute he’d seen her face

  fall, his heart had clenched. He’d made it to the door, but he’d shut it again, knowing he’d never be able to leave her alone and miserable.

  God, he loved her.

  His hands tightened. He let the truth wash over him. He loved

  Jennifer Waters with his whole heart, but he’d never be able to keep

  her. She was too talented, too young to commit herself for her whole

  life. She needed to see the world and everything it had to offer.

  Maybe in ten years or so she could make a decision, but until then he

  had to be unselfish.

  “Stop.” Her head had come up, and she stared down into his eyes.

  There was a plea there. “Can’t we have a few days? Just a couple of

  days where we don’t fight or think about the future?”

  She could read his fucking mind. This time around was so

  different. Since she’d come back to Bliss, she’d been focused on him,

  his moods, his thoughts. It made him feel like the center of the

  universe. God, he couldn’t deny her. Not when it was everything he

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  wanted. He would have to let her go soon enough. What was a few

  days of paradise?

  He smoothed back her hair and pulled her close, loving the way

  their bodies were stuck together, their juices mingling. She would

  walk around the rest of the day with his cum in her sweet cunt. He

  pulled her head down. “Of course, love. I want that, too.”

  He let his lips play against hers. He loved how soft she was. Her

  lips were pliant beneath his. He could play with her all day. A week,

  that was all he could give himself. Otherwise, he would take her.

  Already the impulse was there to brand her as his. He had a sudden

  vision of working with her curled at his feet. Her skin was so

  porcelain, so perfect, that she could be his palette. He could have her stretch out when he was ready and use her torso to mix his paints. He

  would bend down when he needed to dip his brush in, and as for

  inspiration—all he would need to do is look down.

  He shook his head. He was already going to that innately selfish

  place where all that mattered were his own needs. He would put it out

  of his mind for now. He had plans for Jennifer. When those came to

  fruition, he would have long years without her. He should enjoy

  himself while he could. He took a long, last drag from her lips. “What do you want to do today, love? Do you want to watch the

  snowboarding? Or we could join in the snowman competition.”

  A smile of pure pleasure crossed her lips. It did odd things to his

  heart. “We could kick everyone’s ass, Stef.”

  He laughed a bit. “I don’t know. Henry and Nell have been

  practicing.”

  Her pretty mouth went down in a frowning pout. “Well, of course

  they’ve been practicing. What else do they have to do? How do they

  live? I mean it, Stef. They don’t have jobs. I seriously doubt that

  protesting pays. So how do they maintain that cabin of theirs?”

  Stef grinned. He couldn’t help it. He knew something no one else

  knew, and he wasn’t going to tell. If Nell and Henry wanted to write

  crazy erotic romance that mirrored some of the things that happened

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  in town, more power to them. The only reason he knew was he’d been

  the one to find them a lawyer to set up their LLC. Bliss was lawyer

  free. It was written into the town’s charter. Stef had very quietly

  helped the pair out, and now he would be silent as the grave. “I guess they’re just lucky. Maybe Henry had some family money.”

  What they had was a pseudonym and an e-publisher. They had

  made more money off their crazy polyamorous romances than Stef

  would have believed possible. He knew that because he’d also let

  them use his accountant. Henry and Nell had asked him to show some

  discretion, and after reading their latest, he’d decided it was best for the peace of the town if he honored their request. It would make Max

  and Rye crazy that their adventures had been fictionalized. But it was hard, because he so wanted everyone to know just how filthy Nell’s

  mind was. Nate had once described her as a Disney princess and

  Henry as an asexual college professor.

  Jen shook her head. She settled against him again. “Maybe.”

  He let his hands wander on her deliciously curved backside, and

  his brain moved on to more amorous thoughts than the snowman-

  building contest. He squeezed her ass. God, he couldn’t wait to fuck

  her there.

  There was a loud knock on the door. Stef spun his head around.

  Couldn?
??t he get a fucking moment’s privacy in this town?

  “Stef? Seriously, take a goddamn break! We gotta move,” Max

  yelled from the other side of the door. Stef knew it was Max. Only

  Max could make Stef want to punch him with the sheer sound of his

  voice.

  “Go away!” Stef yelled back.

  “Can’t, Stef.” Now Callie’s voice split through his skull.

  “We should start charging,” Jen said.

  “I might start killing.” Stef’s little family was making him crazy.

  He squeezed her ass one last time and kissed her lips sweetly before

  she slid off him. He was reaching for his jeans as he looked at the

  door. “This better be good.”

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  “It’s bad,” Callie said.

  “We’re supposed to take you to the clinic,” Max chimed in.

  Stef did up the fly of his jeans and felt his curiosity rise. “Why?”

  “Because the Doc is doing an autopsy, and Nate thought you

  should see it,” Max shouted through the door.

  “Get dressed,” Stef barked at Jen. His every nerve was awake,

  alive, and afraid.

  * * * *

  Twenty minutes later, Stef stared down at the body of one Cindy

  Pope, aged twenty-one. There was no way he could mistake the

  resemblance between the dead girl and his Jennifer. They were both

  brunettes, roughly the same age and build. If a person just glanced at the two, they might think they were the same woman.

  “I wondered why there was a backpack in our trash bin.” Marie

  shook her very sensible head. “Teeny had gone out to take the paid

  bags out, and she found a very nice pack. And still full of her things.

  Such a shame.”

  “Well, it wasn’t aliens.” A no-nonsense voice spoke up. Stef

  turned to see a slender, petite female of maybe sixty years pursing her lips. She wore comfortable working clothes, and her long, steel-colored hair was in a braid that went halfway down her back. She

  stood beside Mel, her arms crossed over her chest. “They use lasers.”

  “Yep.” Mel simply nodded his agreement and stared down at the

  woman like she was a font of knowledge.

  Dear god, Mel was in love. Heaven help everyone.

  “So, no laser, Doc?” Stef would leave the actual professional

  opinion to the man in the green scrubs. As far as he could tell, Caleb Burke might be just as certifiable as Mel, but at least he’d gone to

  medical school.

  “Nah,” Caleb replied. “It was a knife.”

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  No shit. Stef felt his stomach turn. The girl was just a kid. She was lying on a slab in a clinic in a town she hadn’t been born in. A sick

  feeling came over him, panic threatening. He’d known this wasn’t

  over. How the hell had they caught up with her? “Same as Renard?”

  Caleb’s face was a grim mask as he looked back at Stef. “I believe

  so, though I didn’t see that body personally. From the way it was

  described to me, I have to think it’s a possibility. There’s no

  hesitation here. It’s clean. Mel and his friend, Cassidy Meyer, found her in the river out by 285.”

  Mel let his hand drift to the small woman’s shoulder. “We were

  out on the alien highway. Our group was securing the recon platform.

  Cassidy here was making sure the telescope was working. That’s

  when she saw the poor girl. We knew it wasn’t an alien thing right

  away. They would never kill a fertile, young female. They would

  probe her.”

  The woman named Cassidy, who Stef deeply feared Mel had

  probably met on the Internet, nodded her agreement. “She’s a prime

  specimen for their fertility experimentations.”

  Nice. He’d found someone as crazy as he was.

  Dr. Burke turned on the couple, his hand out as though seeking to

  ward off further paranoia. “Rachel is fine. I promise.”

  Cassidy waved her hand. “I know that, Doc. I don’t worry about

  it. I gave birth to two alien babies, and they’re just fine. Sweetest boys you ever saw. They both went into the Navy. Did their country and

  their mama proud. One of them has some weird ideas, but he’s a good

  man. They like beets, though. Couldn’t get enough of them when they

  were boys. We should tell Rachel to stock up.”

  “Cassidy raised some fine kids. You wouldn’t ever know they’re

  half alien,” Mel said with a proud smile.

  “I think that’s all we need, Mel,” Nate said, walking into the small

  room that currently served as the Bliss County Morgue. He was a

  familiar, welcome figure of authority. “And you, too, Marie. I

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  appreciate everything. Logan can take the rest of your statements.

  Y’all go on. Enjoy the festival.”

  In a few seconds the room cleared, and Stef was left with Caleb

  and Nate.

  “Is this what I think it is?” Stef couldn’t help the tight, almost

  violent way the question came out of his mouth.

  Nate sighed. “I don’t know. I have to think we should consider the

  fact that what happened to Jennifer in Dallas is connected to this. We haven’t had a murder in Bliss County since…well, we’ve had several,

  but they were mostly self-defense. This is very different.”

  Caleb pointed to the body, his finger gesturing to the line of her

  throat. It was split neatly, the skin blue from the cold of the river and the fact that she’d left life behind hours before. “It’s a professional job. Neat, surgical. He didn’t do more than he had to do here, but look at her stomach.”

  Burke pulled back the drab blue sheet that covered the girl. Her

  body was a map of blue and purple bruises.

  “He beat her.” Stef couldn’t imagine it.

  “He tortured her,” Caleb corrected. “There’s a systematic pattern

  to the bruising that tells me he was very controlled when he did this.

  There’s nothing that hints at someone who was out of control. He

  didn’t touch her face. He went for soft parts of the body. He knew

  what he was doing.”

  Nate was staring down at her wrists. “She was tied up.”

  Stef flinched at the chaffing on her wrists. She’d been tied too

  tightly. Caleb turned the wrist over. The underside was perfectly

  smooth.

  “I would assume she was tied to a chair,” Caleb said clinically.

  “Look, I’ve never worked forensics. I was a surgeon, but I know the

  human body, and I know a little about interrogation techniques. If you asked me, right now, I would tell you that this young woman was

  tortured. Given the relative restraint of the violence, I would suspect that the man torturing her was a professional in search of something,

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  information most likely. When he couldn’t get it out of her, he sliced her throat in a manner that would result in a very quick death. He then tossed her body in the river, which is sitting at roughly fifty degrees.

  That kind of cold masks time of death, and due to the depth and speed

  of the water flow, we can’t know where the crime took place. If

  Teeny hadn’t found the pack, we wouldn’t know if she’d been here or

  somewhere upriver.”

  “Logan and I have a grid to search all along the valley. Zane’s

  down there now with Rye Harper. If we find anything that could tell
>
  us where the dump took place, it could help.” Nate’s eyes had taken

  on that steely look he got when he was doing serious police work. It

  wasn’t hard to remember Nate Wright had once been a top DEA

  agent. Zane had been the same. Bliss might be a small town, but it had its share of veteran law enforcement.

  The door to the clinic’s waiting room opened, and one of those

  former law enforcement employees walked in. Laura Niles looked

  slightly flustered, an adjective Stef almost never used for the cool

  blonde. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes narrowed as they

  honed in on Nate.

  “I have been looking all over the town for you, Sheriff.”

  Nate’s eyebrows climbed his forehead under the brim of his

  Stetson. “It’s been a long morning, Laura. Actually, I’m glad you’re

  here. I wanted to ask you a couple of questions. You used to profile

  for the FBI, right?”

  Laura had been one of their top profilers until an incident that

  caused her to walk out on a high-paying job. She’d found her way to

  Bliss, and now the Harvard-educated psychologist rang up tourists

  buying gas at the Stop’n’ Shop. She ran her perfectly manicured

  hands through her blonde hair, and if she had any problem standing in

  a room with a corpse, she didn’t show it. She’d barely looked down at

  the body, but now she let her eyes roam over it, a cool

  professionalism falling over her like a cloak.

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  “You want my opinion about this?” She stared at the body as

  though it was a thing rather than former housing for a soul. Stef

  couldn’t quite wrap his brain around it, but then he hadn’t worked for years in a job where death was all around him. Laura, he’d

  discovered, had made a name for herself by hunting serial killers. It

  wasn’t surprising that she’d learned to distance herself.

  Nate nodded, and the doctor stepped aside, allowing Laura access

  to the corpse.

  She was quiet for a moment, and when she spoke, her tone was

  academic, far from the bright, friendly tones he associated with Laura.

  Even her husky Southern accent seemed to fade in favor of a flat,