RetroCog

Chapter Four

Noah wanted nothing more than to leave this entire case behind and return to Bend. The monotonous routine of repetitions and sets, weights, crunches, and push-ups didn’t tax him, leaving his mind free to float with the historic simplicity of the area. No emotional entanglements, no need for social niceties…no dates over a dead body.

It’s not a date. Christ, this is an investigation.

So why did being with Lara feel so good? Spending time with her appealed to him, a loner who had little use for people in general, though he admitted he needed some socializing, which the PowerUp! gym provided. People kept him grounded in the present. But Lara awoke a part of him he hadn’t realized had been asleep.

And should be sleeping now, he thought as he illuminated the time on his watch. Twelve thirty in the morning. Shit. Would he ever stop working nights?

“What now?” Lara whispered as they stood inside the doctor’s office. She held a flashlight aimed at the floor.

“It’s back there.” He grabbed her hand, ignoring the spark of heat that jolted his cock whenever he touched her, and pulled her with him out of the office and down the hall. He’d already scouted the place earlier, using his retrocognition to view where they’d taken the body.

When they arrived at another room, he unlocked the door using a key he’d filched off the front desk. They entered quietly. Doc Jeffries had a makeshift morgue. Two refrigerated drawers and a medical table for operating on the dead. Noah pulled out a drawer and unzipped the bag.

Lara caught her breath when he parted the plastic.

“Oh wow. She really does look like me. And she’s so beat up. The poor girl.”

Noah studied the dead woman’s coiled hair, sprayed stiff with some sort of hairspray. The rouge on her lips and blush on her cheeks looked obscene against the pallor of her skin. So pale and lifeless, painted to be someone else.

“I see it, Noah. The hair, the makeup. Even the small earrings are identical to the picture you showed me.” Lara swallowed, the sound easily heard in the stillness of the room. She leaned closer, pointing the flashlight at the woman’s ears. “The silver rosebuds are sprinkled with a glittery coating. Not all that common.”

“No, it’s not.” What the hell did this mean? Someone had killed a likeness of Cecilia Fine. Not Lara. The killer hadn’t staged this woman to look like Lara, but like Cecilia. But Lara resembled Cecilia. Doing the math didn’t make him happy. He focused, and to his surprise, he caught a faint whiff of the same energy he’d felt in Superior. The same person had killed twice now. But worse, the energy was somehow tied to Lara. He could see it lingering over her, as if waiting for something. Then he blinked and severed the connection.

She shivered and nodded at the body. “Could you zip her up and put her back, please?”

He did, wishing he hadn’t brought Lara, but he’d needed to be sure. Now that he was, he didn’t know what to do. “Shit.”

“What?”

Noah stared at the bag concealing the body. “Nothing. Sorry.”

They made their escape as easily as they’d entered. Brownville didn’t rely too heavily on state-of-the-art locks. A good thing, or Noah would have had more difficulty breaking in.

“Now what?” he asked as they sat in his rental car.

“Now we go back to the inn, and you try to explain what I’m not involved in.” Lara didn’t sound afraid. She sounded angry and a touch mean.

Noah grew hard, as if he hadn’t just spent the night looking at a dead girl. God, I must be sick. Because Lara’s really turning me on. There’s nothing I want more than to show this strong, capable woman where she really belongs. Under him, serving him in any and every way he deemed fit. Not good. Put those feelings away, asshole. They’re not right. Not normal.

“Noah?”

He cleared his throat, glad for the darkness that obscured his arousal. “Let’s get back.” He didn’t say more. They drove in silence the few minutes it took them to get to the inn. He parked out back, then they exited the car and entered the inn through the back door using her key. His opened only the front door.

Once inside, she motioned him to follow her through the private corridor on the first floor, away from the common area. She unlocked a thick door and pushed it open. After he entered, she joined him and shut and locked it behind them. The click sounded loud in the overwhelming silence.

She lived in a large suite with a bedroom on one side and a small living area on the other, done up in antique cherrywood and soothing blue walls. Homey yet attractive, and very much like Lara.

“This is what I call home, for the moment.” Lara sighed and slipped off her shoes.

He chafed at the intimacy of the motion, not needing to see more of her when it was all he could do to stop remembering how her hand had looked around Finnegan Fury’s cock. Not her hands. Cecilia’s. Fuck. Cut it out.

She sat on her bed, not paying attention to him, for which he was grateful.

“Don’t get me wrong. I love the Lady Fine Inn. It would be a terrific place to call my own. Rich in history, aesthetic, and charm. But it doesn’t feel like forever. An investment, sure. And a profitable one, if I have anything to say about it.”

He had no idea what she was talking about, but he nodded to keep her speaking. Anything to occupy his thoughts that continued to drift to her bed and the spindles of the head- and footboard. Where a man might tie up a sexy woman and do whatever he pleased with her…

“Noah.” She snapped her fingers. “You’re zoning out on me. You okay?” Lara’s eyes widened. “Are you seeing things in here? You know, history replaying itself?” She lowered her voice. “Are people having sex in here?”

He allowed himself a peek at the past and saw the same bed decorated with a cornflower blue quilt and pillows. A dresser, washstand, and vanity littered with bottles of perfume, tins of cosmetics, a brush, and a comb occupied the space. There, in the armoire, the hint of a scarlet dress amidst other silken confections poked through an open door.

Then Cecilia Fine entered the scene with a wicked smile on her face, and he immediately shut down his retro-sense. “This was Cecilia’s bedroom.”

“Oh.”

“I get the feeling she wasn’t just the boss but a prostitute as well.”

“I read that she liked men, but once she met Finn, she was his and his alone.”

The way Lara’s gaze locked on his warmed him from the inside out. It was as if she wanted him to make the first move. Did she?

“What about you?”

She blinked. “Me?”

“You involved with anyone right now?” He knew it wasn’t smart, but he ached. Noah needed nothing more than to close the distance between them and do what he’d wanted to since he’d first seen that damn picture. But he didn’t desire the woman in the painting. He wanted the flesh-and-blood female in front of him.

She laughed, but he saw the hint of nerves she tried to hide.

“I’m too busy with my career.” She paused. “What about you?”

“Me too. Career, I mean.” He walked the few steps to the bed and looked down at her, consumed by a growing lust. The effort to keep his dominance under wraps chafed, but he tried. “You like sex, Lara?”

“S-sex? Sure.”

She licked her lips, and he held back a groan. Barely. He didn’t know where the words came from, but he couldn’t stop himself. “Like to be held down? Told what to do? Like to please your lover?” He watched her swallow, saw the rapid pounding of the pulse at her neck, how her pupils dilated with lust.

“I don’t know. I’ve never been that adventurous.”

She tilted her head back to maintain eye contact. A challenge, and one that made him itch to dominate.

Yeah, cowboy. Take me. Make me yours. Brand me with that big cock, if you dare. Lara didn’t react, so he didn’t know if she’d heard. But the titter of laughter accompanying the ghostly female whisper prodded his ego, pushing him to demand what he knew to be his.

“Never met a man who could handle me,” Lara prodded.

“Is that right?”

She stared at him for a good long moment, then shook her head. She took a deep breath and let it out. “I think we should call it a night.”

“Why?”

She blinked. “Well, ah, you’re a little, um, close.”

But I want it. I want you. Show me what I’ve been missing my whole life. Please.

He didn’t know who was talking anymore. Cecilia? Lara? His own subconscious, telling him he’d finally found a woman who could handle his wants and needs? Fuck it. He was going for it. All or nothing. “You’re wet right now, aren’t you? You like the thought of me taking charge.”

She scurried back on the bed and rushed to her feet. “Noah. Really.”

“You’re suck a freak. What’s wrong with you? Pervert.” Deirdre’s words faded into memory, locked behind a heavy door with no key in sight. She no longer existed. Just Lara and Noah, right here, right now.

She wanted him. He could feel it. But did she want him enough? Could she give him what he needed? Only one way to find out.

He let her cross to the door.

“I guess I’ll say good night.” As she reached to unlock it, he made his move.

Noah pinned her to the door, his front flush against her back. “Don’t move.” He took her hand from the doorknob and put it above her head against the door. He did the same with her other hand, then held both her wrists with one fist. “I think it’s time we had some honesty between us, don’t you?”

He waited for her to protest, part of him hoping she’d deny him and put an end to his hopes for something more. That way he wouldn’t need to face his dark side, could bury it once again. But she didn’t cry out, didn’t demand to be let go or reject him outright. Instead, Lara quivered under him.

“Noah, please. I want…more.”

Her response aroused him to no end, and he had to work to remind himself to take his time. Noah ground his cock against her backside, giving her no question about what he wanted.

“Now see, this is a problem.” He nuzzled her ear and bit gently down on the lobe. “You’re not being honest with me, or with yourself. Uh-uh. Keep your hands where they are.”

“Noah.”

She gasped as he circled a hand around her ribs. He pushed under her shirt, gliding up her smooth, toned stomach. So fucking sexy, so warm. He found one breast and cupped it, then toyed with her nipple through what felt like lace.

“You see, Lara, I want to give you what you need. What I need. But I can’t take it. I need you to surrender to me. Do you think you can do that?” he whispered as he teased her other breast, gratified when she pushed back against him, rubbing her ass against his cock.

The urge to come rode him hard. Foreign, thrilling, and dangerous. But he couldn’t stop himself. He felt like something had taken him over, forcing him to face his needs and deal with them. With Lara.

“That’s it, baby. Rub me with that tight little ass. Get yourself nice and excited. Let me feel your cream on my fingers.”

Her breath came in fast pants, the whispery mewls of arousal going straight to his head. He detoured from her breasts to her jeans. After unsnapping them, he pulled down her zipper, enough so that he could shove his hand beneath her panties and down to the heat of her.

“So wet.” He groaned and played with her sex, taken with the denuded lips. He could only imagine what they looked like, so slick and plump, her clit rosy and beaded with moisture. All because she wanted him.

She tried to turn around, but he tightened his grip on her wrists and forced her to continue to face the door. “No. You keep still. I’m touching you.” He slid a blunt finger inside her, swearing at her heat. “Fuck, baby. You’re dripping for me, aren’t you?”

He kissed her neck, nuzzling her ear as he played with her pussy.

“Please, Noah. Oh God. That’s so good.” She sounded surprised.

“Feel that?” He shoved against her jeans-covered ass. “You’ve got me hard enough to blow. So sexy, so slick. You gonna come for me?” he growled, needing to feel her around the head of his cock. He wanted so much to fuck her, but he needed a condom. And he didn’t want to let go of her yet to put it on.

“Oh yes,” she moaned as she rocked back against him, letting his finger command her responses.

“Keep your hands there. Don’t fucking move.” He let her wrists go and continued to finger-fuck her with one hand, while he played with her breasts with the other. He pushed the lace down and tortured her nipples. With every push of his finger inside her, he widened her channel. Then he added another finger, stretching her while he flicked his thumb against her ripe clit.

“I’m going to come,” she said on a breath, no longer still but pushing with every pull of his hands. “Noah, yes. Yes.” She cried out as she drenched his fingers, shuddering all the while.

He couldn’t wait any longer and withdrew his fingers. “Turn around. On your knees.”

She obeyed without question, her gaze clouded with lust.

He hurried to open his jeans and pulled out his cock. “Suck it.”

She put her lips over him, and he nearly came.

“Fuck. Slowly, Lara. Shit. That’s it. Oh God.”

As she took him inside her hot mouth, he grabbed a condom from his back pocket that he’d stowed just in case. With unsteady hands, he ripped open the packet.

“Now put it on me.”

He handed it to her and watched her roll it over him with tortured slowness.

The moment she finished, he yanked her to her feet, turned her to the door, and bent her over. Then, after shoving her pants and underwear down, he widened her stance as best he could, angled himself, and shoved hard up inside her.

She gasped as he slid through her pussy, and then he was thrusting, pumping with a need bordering on obsession. He didn’t want the condom. Didn’t want to feel anything but her cunt gloving him. But he’d said he’d protect her, and he would.

It didn’t take him more than a few thrusts before he came, groaning her name, his release one that soothed not only his body but strengthened an emotional bond that had grown for the courageous woman in his arms.

As he held her hips and finished his climax, he felt her stroking his hand with her own. He clenched her fingers with his, intertwining them so that they held hands. When he withdrew and hugged her to him, he was awash in a peace that stunned him.

“Fuck, Lara. That was so good.” He moaned and inhaled the sweet scent of woman—his woman. The insane, territorial notion refused to go away.

She clutched his arms gathered around her waist, not saying anything as she held him tight.

Eventually the moment ended, and Noah left for her adjoining bathroom to take care of the condom and clean up. He returned to see she’d cleaned up as well.

He wanted to know how she felt but was almost afraid to ask. For the life of him, he didn’t know what had possessed him to be so freaky with her. That domination bullshit had turned off more women than he wanted to think about. She’d seemed into it, but he’d lost his head. Christ, if he’d hurt her… He still couldn’t read her expression. “You okay?”

She stared at him. “I don’t know.”

His heat raced. “I’m sorry, I just… I wanted you. So much.” God, please don’t let her cry.

“I know.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’ve never been like that before. So, um—”

“Submissive?” he said quietly.

She nodded, her cheeks pink. “It felt right. I don’t know why I let you do those things to me. I never have before with anyone else. But I knew you’d never hurt me.” She gave him a baffled look. “It felt so right, Noah. But it also felt…familiar.”

He was so relieved she hadn’t been hurt, he felt light-headed. “I can’t say why I was like that with you either. I, uh, I like being in charge. But I never meant to force you or anything. Lara, I lost my head with you. It was like I knew you’d be okay with it. That you wanted me…that way. What we did requires trust.” He paused. “I trust you, Lara. Don’t ask me why. I just do.”

They didn’t speak for several moments, just stared at each other.

Then Lara slowly smiled. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”

He grinned back at her, his heart full of feelings he couldn’t—and didn’t want to—identify. “Well, whatever was in me, you brought it out. Shit, Lara. You’re fucking amazing.”

Her cheeks turned pink, but she didn’t look away. “So are you.”

“So we going to go two out of three? That might have been a fluke.”

“You want to do it again?”

He grunted. “That’s a stupid question.”

“But, well, can you?”

“Lara, trust me. That was just the beginning.”

She bit her lower lip, and the endearing gesture socked him hard in the gut. What the hell?

“Well, if you’re sure.”

“Let me get a change of clothes, and I’ll be right back. I’ll show you sure.” He needed more condoms. A lot more.

Lara watched him leave and closed the door behind him. She took a few steps to her bed and flopped down onto it. Holy crap, but she’d never felt that before. Sure, she’d had her share of orgasms, mostly by her own hand. A few of her ex-boyfriends had tried to please her, but the lackluster climaxes had convinced her she’d always done something wrong. Now she wondered if it had been them and not her.

Letting Noah take charge had been a little scary, but she’d been so hungry for him, she would have accepted just about anything he wanted to do. But that… He’d been so demanding, so forceful. She should have been frightened, at the least pleaded with him to slow down. But she’d known, deep down, they belonged together. She froze. Belonged together? How could she think that? She’d just met Noah, knew little about him, and hadn’t been with anyone else in years. Yet she’d allowed him to order her around. She’d put her mouth around his penis—hello, unprotected sex—and still didn’t care. How stupid could she be? Yet she instinctively knew he’d take care of her.

He always has and always will, sugar.

Oh hell, not the voice again. But for once, Lara didn’t mind the words. She wanted to believe them.

She tingled all over just thinking about what she and Noah had done. And he was coming back.

For two years, she’d gone without. She knew she had nothing to worry about sexually. No diseases and a habit of taking the pill she’d never given up, hopeful she might need the protection again. But she didn’t know enough about Noah to go skin to skin, as much as she wanted to. In hindsight, sucking him off hadn’t been too smart, but God, he was so sexy.

He returned sooner than she’d expected. Or maybe she’d been so lost in fantasies of him that she’d lost track of time. Ghosts, stolen paintings, and dead bodies paled next to Noah First in the flesh. His eyes flashed, more green than brown, and she could do nothing more than lean up on her elbows and watch him, knowing him for the large predator he truly was.

After once more locking the door behind him, he tossed a small bag on the floor. “I’ve been thinking about it. You’re not safe alone.”

Disappointment speared her. Was that why he intended to spend the night? Though he’d said he’d be roaring to go again, in her experience, once the guy got his, he normally petered off to sleep.

“I’ll watch over you, Lara. Close. Real close.” He shrugged out of his shirt, shoes, socks, and pants and stood in nothing more than white boxer briefs that left little to the imagination. Noah had muscles on top of muscles, and the long, thick shaft that had felt so big in her mouth looked huge and hard between his legs, encased by white cotton.

“Now strip down, and then you and I have a few things to talk about.”

“Like?” She couldn’t stop staring at him. A hunk, truly. All hers, and he wanted to talk?

“Like the fact that I’m clean. I haven’t been with a woman in nearly six months. I only have one more condom, and no way in hell is it going to be enough. So unless we do some sucking or ass fucking, we’re going to need to get creative.”

She blew out a long breath, hoping she didn’t look too excited at his words. They’d only just met, after all, and she didn’t want to come across as a total slut. No, just a freak who has secret fantasies of being ordered around. Ghostly laughter filled her mind. “Um, I don’t know about the ass thing.”

His sly smile had her heart racing. “Oh, Lara, I can guaran-damn-tee we’ll see to that. But I only have one more condom. Now, let’s talk about you. You’re tight. I’m betting it’s been awhile for you.”

She flushed. Had she been so obvious? “Yeah.”

“So you probably aren’t on any birth control.” He sighed.

She’d never had such an upfront conversation about sex before, but Noah didn’t seem to see it as anything but a formality before they did it again. That he wanted her, had decided they would be together again, soothed her worries that he was a one-shot wonder.

“Actually, I am on birth control. And I’m clean.”

He froze and just looked at her. “So you’re telling me I could come inside you, and we’d be safe?” At her nod, he took a step closer to her. “You okay with that? Because you need to be up front about it. Once I get inside you, you’re mine, Lara.”

“Arrogant much?” They’d spend some fun time together before he left for Oregon in a few days. Thoughts of his leaving depressed her, though she couldn’t understand why. She didn’t really know him, and it wasn’t as if there was a shortage of men around here. Bill, Mike—if she grew too desperate—and a few others had expressed interest. But none of them held a candle to Noah.

He grinned, and the joyful expression floored her. In the short time since she’d known him, Noah had seemed anything but happy. Now he glowed with satisfaction.

“Oh baby. You have no idea what I plan to do with you. So what’s it going to be? You in, or am I sleeping on the couch?”

She glanced at the settee against the far wall. “You’re a bit big for my little sofa.” He took a step closer. All that huge, imposing muscle intimidated and aroused in the extreme. But what made her say yes was the look in his eyes. Possessive, hungry, yet somehow tender as well. He confused her, and she wanted to know the real Noah. “I’m in.”

“Be sure. I’ll be in control. Of all of it. No safe words, no playing around. You’ll be mine. All of you, Lara. Can you handle that?”

The implications of what he said took her aback…and made her wet. She bit her lip, nervous, but couldn’t stop herself from rising to her feet to meet him halfway when his gaze locked in on her mouth.

“I’d have to trust you not to hurt me.” She considered him, her instincts, and the strange, ghostly voice that moaned with approval at the idea. She’d be a fool to accept the word of a man she’d just met. And to give him control of everything? But these circumstances—and she herself—were anything but normal.

“You have to trust me, or none of this is worth anything.” Noah waited. Not demanding, not coercing her, but leaving the decision in her hands.

“I do. Trust you, that is.” To her surprise, she did.

“I’ll never hurt you,” Noah promised. “I’m going to make you come so hard and so much, you’ll be begging me to never leave.”

That was what she was afraid of.

He didn’t like the fact that Noah First’s room remained empty. Or that he and Lara had played detective at the morgue. The idiots in law enforcement around here had no idea who their murderer was, nor would they unless he announced it. Dropping the girl where she could be found had been a calculated risk. The tradeoff would result in an investigation turning the town into a mass of chaos and confusion—confusion that would do him a world of good.

While everyone turned their attention to the deceased, he’d continue on the next stage in his plan. His first girlfriend had been a true disappointment. But this new one, the nurse, might fare better if she learned how to use her mouth. Parts of him rose in anticipation of teaching her, and then of finally getting Cecilia, his prize, and he had to force himself to adhere to his carefully woven strategy. Smaller steps would take him closer to his goal. To move too fast might lose him any opportunity to achieve fulfillment, and that he couldn’t stomach.

She belonged to him and him alone; he’d bide his time.

He’d never been closer to the end-state than he was recently. After too many years to count, he could see the finish line so close. He could almost reach out and touch it.

And touch her, finally. His Cecilia. His Lara. One and the same.

He erased the foolish grin curling his mouth and finished what he’d come for. The search turned up nothing more interesting than the man’s shoe size. A big man with a steely gaze and a firm grip on what it took to hunt. He’d seen it when he’d looked into Noah First’s eyes. A minor obstacle, nonetheless.

Figuring and readjusting his plan, he decided to get rid of the man sooner than he’d intended. If Lara was lucky, she’d have a new best friend to comfort her through her loss. Time enough for his future bride to learn what he liked and didn’t like, and to ready herself for their honeymoon.

Pleased with his reasoning, he drew out a small box and opened the lid.