Riley's night had been long and tense, and the condition of the victim had imprinted itself on his mind. How, he wondered, could one human being be so brutal with another? Leslie Finnegan had suffered both a broken arm and cracked ribs, a concussion and severe bruising and tearing in the vaginal area. He was sickened by the medical report and more determined than ever to find this piece of scum who had invaded the peaceful environment of his town. The worst part of it was they had no leads whatsoever. Today, after he managed to catch an hour or two of sleep, he and his partner would start the door-to-door canvas in the neighborhood to find out if, hopefully, someone had seen something out of place."He may not live in the neighborhood," their lieutenant had cautioned them. "Or even in Calderwood."That was true. But Riley and his partner had been cops long enough to know predators like this often went hunting in their own backyards. They were egotistically confident no one would susp

"This is either really bad," Mike said in a tone only half-joking, "or very good. Come on, Riley. Don't keep us in suspense.""Okay, here's the bare bones of it. And the reasons why I think you should talk to her."He told them about his lunch with Lia and the afternoon they'd spent together. Told them her reasons for wanting to meet Jamie and ask about the book. He gave them his assessment of her as a person and why he did not think she was a danger to them. As delicately as possible, he hinted at the connection they'd instantly made, hoping his friends wouldn't either laugh him out of the house or be pissed off that he was pursuing a relationship - and what a mild word that was for what he felt - with someone they found suspicious.When he told them he'd brought her home to stay, they didn't seem to be nearly as shocked or angry as he'd expected."Why aren't you shouting at me?" he asked. "Or telling me I'm out of my mind?""Finish your story," Mike said, "and then I'll answer y

"No," Mike said at last. "Not yet, anyway. Are you sure there's nothing else you want to tell us?" Those golden eyes seemed to bore right into her."Yes. No." She wet her lips. "I mean, I'm not sure."Beside her Riley stirred and reached a hand out to stroke her cheek."Maybe it's my turn to interject something." He cleared his throat. "It seems to me the two of you are dancing around two critical items. He held up a finger. "One. Are you related? Two." He held up another finger. "Does the book apply to both of you? There has to be a common link, so if there is, just put it out there.""But - " Mike interjected."Uh uh uh. Cop talking here. If it turns out you guys are enemies centuries back, I'll keep things under control." He leaned forward and raised a third finger. "Three. What if you are connected in some way? I know there are a lot of Romanians in this country, but how many are actually looking for this book?""Let me put this out there," Jamie said. "I've learned so much s

Unable to wait any longer, Riley dropped to his knees in front of Lia and began trailing kisses over her from her navel to her thighs. She trembled at his touch, gripping his shoulders hard to steady herself as he slid his mouth over her petal-soft, sweet-tasting skin. He paused a moment to swirl his tongue around the indentation of her navel before drawing a line with the tip down to her pubic curls and the curve of her mound.Drawing in a deep breath, he inhaled her scent, an intoxicating combination of the flowery soap she used, her musk, and the faint traces of wolf. His cock, which was already harder than concrete, seemed to swell even more, to an almost painful state. With his thumbs, he opened the outer lips of her pussy and took a moment to stare at the erotic sight. The petal-pink flesh had darkened to a lush rose and glistened with her juices already lubricating her.Spreading the lips open a little wider, he flicked the tip of his tongue over the hardened nub of her clit,

Lia was stirring a pot on the stove when she heard the sound of the garage door going up then the slam of Riley's car door and the opening and closing of the door into the garage."Lucy, I'm home." he called, in the age-old imitation of the familiar phrase from the Lucille Ball show."In the kitchen," she called back.Her stomach jittered with nerves, and her hand on the mixing spoon was not quite steady. All day, she'd been going over this situation with Riley, trying to figure out what was going to happen next. And all day she'd avoided the answers, not sure she wanted to hear them. She was both anxious for him to come home and dreading it.She knew he'd head for the bedroom where he'd lock up his gun and shield. Then she heard his footsteps in the kitchen."Something smells really good in here." He came up behind her, swept her hair to one side, and placed a string of soft kisses on her neck.Lia shivered as delicious heat swept over her. Her nipples beaded, her pussy ached, a