26. Vince
26
VINCE
We spent the day hiking up the second trail on the property. I took some drinks and snacks in my backpack so that we could sit along the overlook and enjoy the view. Cat was enthralled with the scenery when we got to the top, peering through the clearing of the trees to see the valley below. It was almost winter, so not much was green, but it was still stunning in its own way.
On the walk back, I told her we were going out to dinner in Himmelberg so I could finally give her the proper date I hadn’t gotten a chance to the other night.
“They really did a great job of making it feel like a Bavarian village,” I explained. “ The architecture of the buildings and the names of the shops all look like they pulled them straight from Germany .”
“Oh, that sounds so cute,” she replied. “ I can’t wait to see it.” She looked down at herself and then at me and laughed. “ We both look exactly like what we’ve been doing—hanging out in nature.”
It was true, I realized as I looked both of us over. Leaves and dirt and other forest debris were clinging to our clothes and bodies.
“When we get back to the A -frame, I’ll help you shower.” I gave her a sly smile.
“You’ll help me, eh?” she teased back.
“Yeah. You look like you could need help lathering that gorgeous body up, and me, being the chivalrous man I am, I’ll gladly sacrifice myself for this job.”
She laughed, then joked right back, “ Hmm , maybe I’d prefer to do it all by myself.”
I stopped us, then turned to face her, my hands going to her hips. “ You’re mine now. This means your days of taking care of yourself are over.”
Her eyes widened in shock, but I also saw the way they gleamed in excitement. I grabbed her hand and started pulling her along with me.
“Back to the house,” I directed.
We had just walked back into the cabin when I heard my phone ring. Seeing it was Archer , I told her to get in the shower, and I’d meet her there.
“Yo,” I said to him.
“Small situation with Jack yesterday,” Archer started. “ So I made a few calls and wanted to catch you up.”
He filled me in on all the details of what had happened the previous night at the loft building. I felt my anger tick up again, knowing that it could have been Cat who walked in to get the package while that prick was there. He also filled me in on the new theory Jack had come up with.
I was frustrated because that message inside the box could be anything. Yes , Jack was right, the threat now seemed to be less about Cat and Val and more about me, but from whom?
“I made some calls to both the officers who stopped by the other night and also the U.S . Marshals ,” he divulged. “ There’s no chatter from within the gang, and nothing else about their names is popping on any crime chatter.”
I gave Archer the details of the brief conversation we’d had with the cop this morning so he could add that to the mix. I called and left a message for Officer Parker to see if he could give me any extra insight into some leads or information.
“You think it could be related to the old creepy neighbor?” I asked. Something about that man just never sat well with me.
“I put Axel on that this morning, but he found nothing. The man seems content with his porn collection and flirting with the woman who runs the front desk—a woman he has no chance with. You got any enemies you think would come at you?”
“Not that I can think of, but I’ll call my old man,” I told him. “ I worked a couple high-profile cases with him before he officially retired, so I’ll see what he thinks.”
“Alright. If he thinks of something, let me know.”
We ended the call, and as much as I wanted to get in that shower with Cat , I also didn’t want her to add this to her list of things to be worried about, so it was better for me to call my dad now while she wasn’t in the room.
I filled him in on everything Archer had told me and gave him the rundown of what the cop had said this morning when he’d called. We discussed back and forth some potential angles, but most of the high-profile cases we had worked together were all in prison. Not that people didn’t assist prisoners from the outside, but you needed money and resources for that, which made it more difficult. He told me he’d look into it some more with people he still knew in the bounty-hunting business but otherwise told me to just watch my back and trust my gut.
My gut trusted Jack . I still wasn’t ready to remove the potential threat from Cat’s parents’ murders, but having served overseas with Jack for years, I trusted his gut when it came to this.
Unfortunately, as I wrapped up my call with my dad, Cat came out to the living room with wet hair and new clothes on. Damn . Missed opportunity.
“Everything okay?” she asked. “ Sorry … I waited as long as I could, but the water started to turn cold, and I looked like a prune.”
This cabin was great, but it had a tiny water heater. I’d fallen victim to that a few times growing up when my mother and sister would take forever in the shower.
“All good, babe,” I said as I walked toward her. “ I’ll give it a few minutes to warm up, and then I’ll take a quick shower, and we’ll head into town.”
“Everything okay with Archer ?”
I hated keeping things from her, but I didn’t want to worry her, so I stuck with the basics. “ Yeah , Jack had a bit of a situation yesterday. No big deal, but Archer was just calling me to fill me in.”
“Okay.” She leaned up and kissed me softly. I wished I had more time to do other things, but I figured we’d head down into town and walk around for a bit before dinner then come back here with plenty of time to rectify what I had planned to do to her in the shower. We were going to head back later tomorrow, so I wanted to take advantage of the private time we had left.
* * *
“Oh my goodness…this town is so cute!” Cat exclaimed joyfully as we walked down the large sidewalks in town. “ Everything looks like a quaint European village all decorated for the holidays. I love it!”
We had gone into several shops and stores, including the Alpine Candy Shoppe , to get some items for her sister and a caramel apple for Cat , which I learned was her guilty pleasure. She picked a caramel one with chocolate stripes, and all I could think of was licking that shit off her body.
I enjoyed watching her face light up, and I knew I wanted to put that look on her face more often. She hadn’t traveled or explored places for much of the last seven years out of safety concerns, and I wanted to be the one to give her those experiences.
After walking around for awhile, we made our way to Wolfgang’s Bierhalle , where we ate dinner. It was a traditional meal of sausages, potatoes, cheeses, and more sausages, but it was good. The inside was decorated for the holidays, and Cat kept pointing out all the things she loved. I loved the way her face came alive.
As much as I enjoyed sitting with her, I had other plans back at the A -frame and I didn’t want to rush, so I asked for the check, and we made our way back.
The first thing I did was lock the place up tight and told Cat to secure Harry . I wasn’t taking any chances that the passion-assassin would ruin my night. I walked into the bedroom to see Cat leaned over the crate where Harry would spend the next few hours.
“Don’t move.” My words were gravelly, slow, and hinted at mischief.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, turning her head, but her body remained still.
“Nothing’s wrong. Just enjoying the view of my woman’s fine ass in front of me.”
Her exasperated sigh filled the room as she scooped up Harry . She stood back up and walked past me with Harry in tow. “ Keep it in your pants for a few more minutes. I’m going to release him into the living room so he’s not cooped up all night but also not in the bedroom.”
She walked by me, swaying her hips the whole way, which I knew to be on purpose since she turned her head back and winked as she left the room.
Yes. This woman was definitely going to be the death of me.
She didn’t take long to return. She walked into the bedroom, closed the door behind her, and just stood there and stared at me.
“Come here,” I told her, curling my finger at her.
“Maybe try asking nicely, mister bossy-pants.” She put her hands to her hips, full of attitude that turned me way the hell on.
I stalked her, and she backed up against the door. Then I lifted her up and carried her the ten feet to the bed and dropped her onto it. Before she could open that sassy mouth to say anything else, I covered it with my own mouth. My hands gripped her shirt and pulled it up and over her head. I brought my mouth back down to her neck and kissed my way down her body. I put my mouth over the thin lace covering her nipple and sucked hard.
“God, your body is beautiful, Cat . I could spend hours just worshipping your breasts.”
Every time I touched her, she mewled. She was so sensitive to my touch and responded right away. I moved to unbutton her pants and slid my hand inside her panties to find she was soaked. Normally , I would have spent my time playing with her, building her up before taking her, but I couldn’t wait. I sensed we both needed this.
I removed my clothes quickly, but took my time as I removed hers, enjoying every moment. As I looked down at her naked frame in front of me, I realized how damn lucky I was to have her.
I reached over to the nightstand, snatched the condom up, and put it on in record time.
I slid inside her slowly, taking in how amazing she felt wrapped around me. When I kissed her, it was more like I ravaged her mouth as I plunged deep inside her, only to pull back out and thrust in even deeper.
“V…” Her breath hitched as she murmured the letter.
I felt her orgasm was close, so I kissed her deep, absorbing her moans in my mouth as she came, convulsing around me, harder and tighter than she ever had before. Shortly after, my own release rolled through me.
I kept her close, stroking her face and hair, not wanting to remove myself from her.
After we were done and all cleaned up, I watched her walk back into the bathroom with a glow that I put on her face. I knew at that moment, I wanted to put that look on her face every day for the rest of my life. She was it for me.