A Most Shocking Revelation Page 9

  “The roads were slick. I’m sure he didn’t intend to hurt anyone.”

  Valerie’s defense of the kid surprised Gavin, although it probably shouldn’t have. She had a lot of sympathy when it came to “crimes of necessity,” something he’d learned last night. Something that had been bugging him, although he wasn’t sure why. “Intended or not, he did hurt someone and he’ll have to face the consequences.”

  She sighed. “I guess you’re right.”

  They fell into silence for a long moment and Gavin thought she might be sleeping, until she asked, “Do you always wear your jeans to bed?”

  He wore nothing to bed. Ever. “No.”

  “Then why do you have them on now?”

  “Because if I take them off, then that means both of us will be in bed in our underwear.”

  “So? You can handle it. You’re a tough guy.”

  “I’m still a guy.”

  “Okay. Suit yourself.”

  Val sat up and scooted toward the end of the bed, giving him another banner view of her butt. Before she crawled off the mattress, he reached up and clasped her arm. “Where are you going?”

  She sent him a sour look. “To my bed so we can both get some sleep, at least for an hour or so.”

  “Look, Val, I’ve been cold all night long, and you’re warm. I want you here.”

  She turned around, one leg dangling over the edge of the mattress. “Then I propose another option. You take off your jeans, climb under the covers and this time I’ll stay behind you for a change. You shouldn’t be uncomfortable because of me.”

  Hell, he’d still be uncomfortable without his pants. A nice kind of uncomfortable, if there was such a thing. Still, taking off his jeans wasn’t the best option, because he wanted her wrapped soundly in his arms, close to his body. But if agreeing to that kept her in his bed, he’d deal with it. “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Fine.” She worked her way back onto the bed and under the covers. “You can undress now.”

  Gavin slid off the bed onto his feet and turned his back on her as he skimmed off his jeans. He didn’t want her to see his current predicament, otherwise she’d definitely leave. Still facing the wall, he stretched out on the bed beneath the covers, then reached behind and pulled her arms around him. He could feel the warmth of her breath between his bare shoulders. Worse, he felt the softness of her breasts pressed against his back. No way would he be able to sleep with her so close to him.

  And to make matters worse, she patted his stomach right above his navel. “Are you okay now?” she asked.

  “Not if you keep doing that.” When she moved her hand to his chest, like some masochistic fool he slid it back down to his belly.

  “You’re too much,” she said.

  She was too much, Gavin decided, and she was also shaking—from laughter.

  “You think this is funny?” he muttered.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, followed by another giggle.

  In spite of the lack of wisdom, he rolled to face her. “I’m not sorry. I like to hear you laugh. You don’t do it often enough.”

  Her expression went somber. “You’re the first person in a long time who’s given me a reason to laugh.”

  In another lapse of sanity, he slipped his leg between her bare thighs, bringing them as close as they could be with them both still dressed in their underwear. “Just call me the Good Humor man.”

  She ran her toes up and down the inside of his calf. “You’re definitely a good man.”

  He pushed against her. “Want me to show you how good I can be?”

  She frowned. “Either roll over or let me go to my bed before we get into trouble.”

  He lowered his mouth to within an inch of hers. “Just one little kiss first.”

  She frowned. “You don’t know the meaning of a little kiss.”

  “Where you’re concerned, that’s definitely the truth.”

  Truth or not, Gavin kissed her anyway, deeply, urging a response from her. She also responded, when he slid his hand and palmed her breast beneath the shirt, with a soft sigh and a shift of her weight. Her response grew stronger when he slipped his hand down her belly, continuing beneath her panties to curl his hand between her thighs. Even if he couldn’t have any relief right now, he could give her some. And that’s exactly what he intended to do.

  He worked her panties down, allowing him plenty of room to touch her, which he did without mercy, drawing a small sound from her mouth that was still firmly joined with his. He touched her lightly at first, then more insistently, until he had her exactly where he wanted her, opening up to him, lifting her hips toward him. Accepting him. Needing him. He broke their kiss to watch her face as he slid a finger inside her just in time to catch the pulse of her climax. Her eyes drifted close, her breasts rose and fell rapidly, her bottom lip trembled, and he wanted her with a fierceness he could barely contain.

  Even though he took his hand away, he couldn’t seem to completely break away from her. In fact, he moved partially over her, then completely on top of her because he didn’t have the will to do anything else. He kissed her again as he fitted himself between her legs, moving his hips in a sorry imitation of the real thing. He wanted the real thing so badly that he physically ached. Valerie complicated matters when she raked her nails down his back and kept going beneath his briefs to massage his bare butt.

  He broke the kiss to whisper, “I need to be inside you.”

  She moved her hands up to his back again. “You know we can’t.”

  Never before had Gavin wanted to throw away all responsibility with a woman, but he’d never reacted so powerfully to anyone before Val, either. He lifted his head and looked into her hazy blue eyes. “Is this a bad time? I mean, could you get pregnant?”

  “The worst time.”

  Clinging to the last of his faltering strength, he rolled onto his back, folded his arms behind his neck and stared at the ceiling.

  “I was afraid of that.”

  She shifted against his side again and laid her palm on his stomach. “I want to touch you,” she said as she trailed a fingertip down the stream of hair below his navel, heading for hazardous territory.

  He caught her hand and brought it to his lips, then turned his gaze to her. “I want to wait until we can do it right.”

  She looked offended. “What makes you think I can’t do it right?”

  “You know what I mean. When we can get there together.”

  “Okay.” She rested both her head and her hand on his chest and sighed. “Tonight then.”

  He lifted her chin and brushed a kiss across her lips. “All night.”

  “For as long as it lasts.”

  As far as Gavin was concerned, that served as confirmation Val didn’t plan to stay any longer than necessary. And that bothered him a lot. He was getting way too attached to her. Not a good thing, because she would eventually leave him, that much he knew. Unless he worked hard to convince her to stick around, maybe even continue to see him after she found her own place again, provided she didn’t leave town. A tough job, but he was definitely up for the challenge.

  “I’m going to take a shower now,” he said as he got out of the bed before he changed his mind. Before he lost his mind.

  “A long shower, I presume.”

  He turned at the door and caught her smiling, looking sleepy and sexy at the same time. “Nope. Just enough to cool me down a little.”

  “That’s probably a good idea. Think I’ll do the same.”

  When she stood, Gavin held up his hand. “If you join me, it’s going to be all over but the moaning.”

  She folded her arms across her middle. “I meant take a shower in my bathroom.”

  “Oh.” He shook his head and grinned. “Guess I just thought you couldn’t stand to be without me for a minute.”

  She faked another frown. “Egomaniac.”

  “Now, darlin’, you and I both know we can’t stay away from each other for any length of time.” />
  She took a step toward him. “So you say, lover boy.”

  He backed into the bathroom and closed the door partway, leaving the upper half of his body in the bedroom. “Come any closer, Val, and I’m not going to be responsible for anything I do to your person from this point forward.”

  She moved right in front of him, challenge in her eyes. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  He reached out and pulled her mouth to his for another down-and-dirty kiss. “Maybe I’ll see if I can clear my schedule and take a long lunch.” Hell, all his friends were having nooners, why shouldn’t he?

  Val backed away and smiled. “I’ll be here,” she said, then turned and sent him a sassy look over her shoulder. “And don’t forget the condoms.”

  That would definitely be the first order of business for the day, just as soon as he got out of the shower. In about an hour or so.

  She was getting far too relaxed around him and making promises she shouldn’t consider keeping. But Valerie couldn’t seem to stop the strong feelings of anticipation, knowing that she would take Gavin as her lover tonight. She had set a course that she couldn’t seem to stop. A course she didn’t want to stop, regardless of the possible consequences.

  All morning she’d been cleaning the house like a crazed housekeeper on a tight schedule to alleviate her boredom and the ever-present guilt, even though Gavin had told her he had a woman who came and cleaned house once a month. She’d also needed to get her mind on something else other than the sheriff and what he’d done to her that morning. The activity hadn’t helped a bit. He was never far away from her thoughts, and those thoughts continued to do things to her body that involved a lot of damp heat and deep longing. And to think they’d gotten so close this morning, well, that was just another example of her lack of control around him. Her lack of good judgment, too. But she wanted to be with him. Needed to be with him.

  When she heard the phone ring, Valerie shut off the vacuum cleaner and rushed into the kitchen. Snatching up the receiver, she sucked in a breath before answering with a winded, “Hello,” hoping upon hope to hear Gavin telling her he’d be home for lunch.

  “Hey, Valerie, it’s Manny.”

  Darn it. “Hi, Manny. What’s up?”

  “I know I said I’d give you a couple of days off, but I’m in a bind. Sheila’s not feeling well today and Estelle has the flu. I need you to come in and help out with the Sunday lunch crowd.”

  Double darn. “You can’t find anyone else?”

  “Nope, and it’s busier than a bull during mating season around here.”

  Valerie didn’t appreciate hearing the word mating any more than she appreciated the abrupt end to her mini vacation. “Okay. I’ll get dressed and get down there.” Then she remembered her ailing car and the lack of keys to Gavin’s vehicle. She’d handed them over last night and she hadn’t seen them since. “You’re going to have to send someone to get me. My car’s still in the shop.”

  “I’ll have Hal pick you up,” he said, referring to the ancient part-time cook who came in to the diner when needed.

  The man probably wasn’t a day under eighty, and Val worried he handled his truck about as well as he handled the orders. “If that’s the only option, guess I’ll deal with it.”

  “Thanks, Valerie. I owe you for this.”

  “Yes, you do.” She’d said it in a teasing tone, when in reality she was sorely disappointed. “See you later. Tell Hal I’ll be waiting.”

  Exactly what she’d told Gavin that morning should he decide to come home at noon, before her boss’s untimely request. Yet Manny had been nothing but kind to her, hiring her on the spot, never asking too many questions. He deserved her help when he needed it, and right now he did. Unfortunately she needed to be with Gavin in the worst way. At least they would have tonight.

  Six

  “Got your message, so here I am.”

  When Gavin glanced up to see Connor Thorne walk through his office door, he gestured toward the chair in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”

  After he settled in, Connor asked, “What’s up?”

  Nothing good, Gavin decided. “I got a call from Mrs. Bradford, the widow who lives closest to Jonathan Devlin’s house. She told me that she saw someone snooping around yesterday afternoon and she noticed some of the crime-scene tape was down this morning on her way to church.”

  “Did she recognize him?”

  “Not him. Her. But that’s all she could tell because she didn’t have on her glasses. She went to get them, and the woman was gone when she returned.”

  “She didn’t see a vehicle?”

  “No, but I imagine she pulled around back.”

  “It’s Gretchen.”

  Exactly what Gavin had decided when he’d received the report. “Yeah, and I’m wondering what she’s looking for.”

  “Probably to see if she left anything that might implicate her in Devlin’s murder,” Connor said. “We found the syringes but the potassium was never recovered. Maybe it’s in the house.”

  “But we’ve gone through the house thoroughly several times. If anything’s there, we would have recovered it by now.”

  “Unless she’s hidden it somewhere,” Connor added. “The place is big and it’s old with a lot of hiding places. We could have missed something.”

  Gavin leaned back and let go a rough sigh. “Could be, but I have a hard time believing it.”

  “Do you want me to take another look?”

  “No, but I do have a favor to ask.”

  “Sure.”

  Gavin decided Connor might not be so enthusiastic after he heard him out. “I plan to stake out the place this evening for a while, maybe look around the outside and see if I can find something. If we’re lucky, I might even catch Gretchen in the act. If we can hold her on breaking and entering, then we can gather enough evidence to charge her with Durmorr’s murder. And we might have enough to compel her to give a DNA sample.”

  “Then you want me to go with you?” Connor asked.

  “No, but I would like for you to take a second shift, maybe ten until midnight.”

  Connor forked a hand through his hair. “Nita’s probably not going to like it.”

  Gavin didn’t doubt that a bit. Connor’s new wife had initially involved the Cattleman’s Club when the first odd occurrences had started happening on Windcroft land. Even though they now suspected Durmorr had been digging up the property in search of the gold, they hadn’t caught him at that time, but Nita Windcroft had definitely caught Connor. Not that Gavin believed for a minute Connor had played too hard to get. “Look, I’m running thin on deputies right now because this flu bug is rampant. I’d ask Logan, but he’s got wedding plans to deal with, and Mark’s bogged down with self-defense classes. Jake’s playing mayor, and Tom and Rose aren’t back from their honeymoon yet.”

  “So that basically leaves you and me to handle this,” he said.

  “Just for tonight. Two of my men should be back tomorrow, and that will help if I put a permanent patrol on the house.”

  Connor sighed. “I’ll explain to Nita that the sooner we catch Durmorr’s killer, the sooner this whole mess will be over and maybe we can put the Devlin-Windcroft feud to rest once and for all.”

  That damn feud had gone on too long, as far as Gavin was concerned. “I thought maybe that was calming down since Tom married Rose.”

  “It has, but it’s been brewing for over a hundred years, so it’s not logical to think it will go away in a few days.”

  Gavin wished the whole mess would go away, but that wouldn’t happen until he put the killer away. And that would mean proving Gretchen Halifax was behind the whole thing. “I appreciate any help you can give me. I’d stay until midnight, but I have something pressing I need to do.” Like finally making love with Valerie. And maybe that should make him feel guilty, but it didn’t. If that didn’t happen soon, he would continue to be distracted and do a half-assed job on the investigation.

  “Did I say so
mething funny?” he asked when Connor’s grin widened.

  “Just wondering if that pressing business has anything to do with a waitress residing in your house.”

  Figured. “You’ve been talking to Logan and Jake.”

  “The whole town’s talking about it. You should know by now that nothing’s sacred in Royal, especially when it comes to speculating on what happens between a man and a woman when the sun goes down.”

  If Gavin hurried, he wouldn’t have to wait for sundown. “Well, they can talk all they want. I’m not saying anything other than she’s a friend.”

  “A real good friend, I’m betting. In fact, we’re all betting that—”

  “I know about the bet, but I’m not giving any of you any satisfaction by revealing if or when anything happens between me and Val.”

  Connor looked more than a little doubtful. “I’ll be damned. It’s already happened, hasn’t it?”

  “No, it hasn’t.” That was the truth, for now but hopefully not for long. Gavin stood and offered his hand, feeling a strong urge to halt his friend’s questions and get home for that long lunch.

  “Again, I appreciate this, Connor. Let’s hope we can put this to rest by Christmas.”

  Connor pushed out of the chair and shook Gavin’s hand. “Yeah, otherwise we may have a few wives and girlfriends ready to hang us all up to dry.”

  After Thorne left, Gavin picked up the phone to call Valerie and tell her he’d be home for a couple of hours—or three—just as soon as he stopped by the drugstore and bought a box of condoms. A big box.

  The phone rang several times, and he assumed she was tied up or didn’t feel comfortable answering. He could understand that.

  Not a problem. He’d just surprise her. And he suspected she just might surprise him, too.

  “I should’ve known I’d find you here.”

  Valerie nearly dropped the plate of country-fried steak in Lula Langford’s lap before she slid it in front of the poor woman.