Lorie O - Strong, Sleek and Sinful

“I thought you would understand,” Dani said, stubborn and stupid enough to press the subject.

“When I was fourteen my seventeen-year-old sister stormed out of the house after fighting with my parents. She was running to her boyfriend’s house and I knew it,” Kylie began, relaxing her head against his arm. Her soft hair tortured his already-overstimulated nervous system. She didn’t seem to notice how close they were. “Karen never made it to her boyfriend’s house. She was raped and murdered. We didn’t find her until three days later. There wasn’t Internet back then, or cell phones, or media that is all over everyone’s business like they are today. We didn’t know there was a rapist in the community who’d already attacked twice. He killed one other girl after my sister and was never caught, at least not that we know. My sister’s death destroyed my parents. They never recovered from it. For three years afterward, they forgot my birthday every year. It took me years past that to forgive them for ignoring me after they lost Karen.”

“I understand, I think,” Dani said, still sniffling.

Perry slowed when they reached Megan’s house and realized as he parked that he hadn’t called his sister. “First thing out of your mouth better be an apology,” he told Dani, opening his door as he spoke.

Dani didn’t answer but opened her passenger door and slid out of the truck. Kylie hurried after her, but Perry grabbed her arm and pulled her back against him. “Tell me what she told you on the phone,” he said, wrapping his arm around Kylie’s waist.

Something soothed the tortured frenzy he’d experienced burning him alive since they left Megan’s when Kylie didn’t fight him to be free. She leaned against him, tilting her head against his shoulder so that her soft blonde hair tickled his flesh.

“She went and met Petrie. She didn’t say what happened.” Kylie looked up at him, her blue eyes clouded with her concern and her tone serious, and once again soft and sultry sounding. “I’m going to find out, and I’ll do better if you don’t go in there fully cocked and ready to tear into her. But my guess is that she had a run-in with Peter and for whatever reasons got away. If she hadn’t called me from that pay phone it sounds as though he would have snagged her.”

“And then the motherfucker got away.” He got away with a bullet nick on the side of his Suburban, something that would make it easier to identify. “I’m going to have to call this in.”

“Same here,” Kylie added, and then adjusted herself just enough to look him squarely in the eyes. “Sounds as if you and I are going to be in as much trouble as Dani.”

He doubted anyone inside was looking out the front window right about now, but he didn’t give a damn if they were. Cupping Kylie’s chin, he forced her head back just a bit more and tasted her.

Kylie was warm, moist, and breathless as she greeted him with soft, full lips. For the first time since they’d left to search for Dani he smelled his sex on Kylie. They hadn’t taken time to shower but had raced out of his house and over here without putting themselves back in order. Under different circumstances, at least one of the attentive women in that house would have noticed.

“If we hadn’t been together tonight, we wouldn’t be as close to nailing our perp,” he told Kylie, moving his mouth over hers.

“Good story, but the truth is if your niece weren’t such a willful teenager we wouldn’t be closer to knowing who our guy is.”

“Speaking of which.” Perry let go of her long enough to lock his truck. “Let’s go hear what she has to say. We can call in after we leave.”

She didn’t try getting away when he draped his arm over her shoulder and led her to the front door. Kylie put her hand on the door handle before he could, though, and turned, looking up at him. “Promise me now you won’t go off on her.”

“I’ll tell you the same thing I tell Megan. I don’t believe in babying any of them just because they’re girls.”

Kylie shook her head and it looked like she almost rolled her eyes. If she did, the action was quick enough in the dark that he wasn’t sure.

“Their gender has nothing to do with it. Yell at anyone and you get less out of them than if you are levelheaded and feel the situation out before interrogating.”

“Telling me how to do my job, Special Agent?” He was poking fun at her, intrigued by her concern that they enter his sister’s house as though it were a crime scene. In actuality he’d already viewed the situation as needing just that kind of approach. Perry was quickly learning Kylie wouldn’t automatically follow his lead. She would jump in fully prepared to command the situation unless he instructed her otherwise.

“I’m just saying…,” she said, licking her lips and shifting her dark blue eyes while searching his face.

Perry put his arms on her shoulders, turning her around, then reached under her arm and pushed open the door. “We’ll work the scene, partner, but you’ll keep in mind this is my family and you won’t undermine anything I tell my nieces.”

“I wouldn’t dream-” Kylie stopped talking when Denise jumped up from where she was watching TV, her eyes wide, but then grinned broadly and ran to Perry.

Kylie stepped away so Denise could climb him, the last of the four still able to do that. “Dani came home, Uncle Perry. She and Mom are upstairs fighting.”

“You’re smart to stay down here and watch TV,” he told her, pecking her forehead with a kiss before peeling her off him and placing her on her feet.

“Will you watch TV with me?” Denise looked ready to fall asleep, her eyes puffy and her light brown hair tousled, probably from her being half-crashed on the couch.

“I’m going to go upstairs and check on things then I’ll be back down.” Knowing it would be harder to get away from Denise without her latching her small body to his leg, he escorted her back to the couch. “But I’ll fluff the pillows just like I would for me if I were getting ready to stretch out at my house and watch TV.”

“You’re the best pillow fluffer.” Denise crossed her arms, watching him seriously, but shot Kylie more than one curious glance. “Can I have a blanket, too?”

“ May I have a blanket,” Kylie said behind him, and walked to his side with the folded afghan from behind the large corner chair in her hands.

“May I have a blanket?” Denise asked, sounding sleepier when she crawled onto the couch and straightened so Perry could unfold the blanket and cover her with it. “Everyone says Kylie is your new girlfriend,” she asked, whispering although Kylie stood next to him. “Are we going to have to start calling her Aunt Kylie?”

“No,” he told Denise, not hesitating. That was one response he could give without getting a headache thinking of how to answer. “Now get comfortable and I’ll be back down in a few.”

“Okay, Uncle Perry. Mom said Kylie would see right through you and she would lock horns with Dani and all of that would be bad. So I’m glad she isn’t going to be my aunt.” Denise didn’t look at Kylie but snuggled under her blanket and turned to face the back of the couch.

Perry didn’t even want to think about what his sister meant by Kylie seeing right through him. He didn’t have anything to hide. One look at Kylie’s face and he knew she found his niece’s comment rather amusing. She was a smart woman, though, and hid the smile he saw glowing in her bright blue eyes. Instead, she turned toward the stairs and led the way up to the bedrooms. At least he had a hell of a view while climbing the stairs.

Megan approached the top of the stairs at the same time they did. Exhaustion lined her face and she was several shades paler than usual. God, he hated how hard she worked. And the added stress of the evening was the last thing she needed.