31. Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-One
DYLAN
“Have you connected him to the car yet?” Aiden stepped into the small open space that housed our desks.
After dropping Hattie off, I called him and told him about the man at the gas station. He was just as ready as I was to be done with this case, so he offered to come in and comb through the blue lady orchid buyers.
I nodded at the printer that sat on a table against the far wall. “Yeah, just printed the registration.”
The first thing I’d done when I got back to the station tonight was look up the black Toyota Corolla that was sitting in the gas station lot. It came back as registered to Brian Taylor, who, I confirmed with the gas station manager, was the young guy behind the counter tonight.
Aiden grabbed the paper off the printer. “The tag doesn’t match the one you saw the night Hattie was followed, but that doesn’t mean anything.”
“Yeah, you know how that goes. He’s probably switching them out.”
“Okay. Let’s see if we can find a connection with the orchids.”
We spent the next two hours looking through the list of buyers from the blue lady supplier and sorting through the ridiculous number of Brian Taylors on the list. Several were in the US, but none had lived in North Carolina at the time they’d ordered the flowers or seeds.
I put my elbows up on my desk and pressed the heels of my hands against my tired eyes.
When Aiden’s chair scratched along the floor, I looked over at him.
He stood and stretched, arching his back. “We’ve been at this for two hours. We’re both exhausted, and my wife is pissed that I’ve been putting in so many hours this week.”
I knew where he was going, and he was right. Tomorrow was a new day, and we’d have Seabass to help us comb through and research each of the Brian Taylors with the hope that we could connect one to the man at the gas station. A quick look into his previous residences showed he only had two—one in South Carolina a year ago and now here—so it shouldn’t take too long to confirm or cross him off the list. After finding the spray paint stuff behind the gas station and determining that the first burner phone had been purchased there—not to mention the guy owned the same type of car that had followed Hattie—it was hard not to get my hopes up that we’d found our guy. Even so, I needed concrete evidence. There was no way I’d bring this guy in without hard proof to make it an open and shut case.
My phone vibrated on my desk, so I snagged it and unlocked the screen.
Hattie: On our way home. Should I wait up for you?
Me: Yes. Leaving the station now.
Hattie: Find anything?
Me: Nothing concrete yet.
Hattie: You guys will get him. I can feel it. This will be over soon.
I really fucking hoped that was the case.
With a heavy exhale, I stood and nodded at Aiden. “You’re right. It’s late. We can pick it back up tomorrow.”
I was utterly exhausted by the time I steered my car toward home, but that didn’t stop me from imagining what I’d do the moment I climbed into bed with Hattie.
Would she be waiting for me naked?
The moment I stepped into my bedroom and heard the shower running, excitement zipped up my spine.
Fuck yes. Hattie, wet and soapy and moaning as I plowed into her, would be even better than what I’d been envisioning.
I stepped into the open doorway of the master bathroom, disrupting the steam fogging the tiled space. Behind the foggy glass of the shower, she stood under the showerhead, the water cascading down her back, naked and looking fucking gorgeous.
I stripped down, and with one hand braced on the tile wall and the other one on the half pane of glass, I stood mesmerized by this beautiful woman. As I drank her in, noting her breasts, her trim waist, those hips, and her round, full ass, my dick jumped.
“Hattie,” I groaned.
She peered over her shoulder and gave me a once-over, her lip pulled between her teeth. “About time.”
“You were waiting for me?” I moved toward her, slowly backing her into the wall, like an animal hungry for its next meal. I molded my mouth to hers, our tongues tangling with desperation until we were both breathless.
“I need you.” Hands braced on the wall on either side of her head, I lowered my forehead to her. Jesus, I wanted to make this good for her. But a need like I’d never felt before consumed me. I wanted to feel her pulsing around me.
Moaning, she ran her hands up my stomach and over my chest. “Take me, Dylan.”
“I want to feel you.” I took her hands in mine and pinned them above her head. “With nothing between us.”
Her breaths came faster again, and she nodded. “I want that too. I’m on birth control…”
“Are you sure?” I searched her face for any indication that she wasn’t. “I’d never do anything to hurt you. I’ve been tested, and I’m good. But if you’re not sure, I’ll happily carry you to the bed and get a condom.”
“I’m sure.” She shook her head, water dripping from her lashes. “Please, Dylan. I need you.”
I released her hands, and the disappointment that painted her face in response almost made me chuckle.
“You already wet for me?” I trailed my hand down over her breast, pausing to tweak her nipple. When I reached her pussy, I dragged my fingers through her wetness. “Were you thinking about all the things I would do when I got home?”
“Yes.”
She arched into me with a moan as I pushed two fingers inside her, seeking out that spot that always sent her flying.
I dragged my fingers back out slowly before plunging them back in. When I was confident she was getting close, I removed my hand and stepped off to the side.
“Come here.” I sat on the built-in bench that lined the far wall of the shower.
Immediately her feet moved toward me. God, how I loved that she did exactly what I asked without hesitation. The knowledge that she trusted me with her heart and her body and wasn’t holding back hit me square in the chest.
“Turn around,” I commanded when she stood in front of me.
She raised an eyebrow slightly but obeyed without argument.
I guided her back to straddle my lap and lined myself up to her entrance. “Sit down, baby.”
Inch by torturous inch, she lowered herself. All the while, I dug my fingers into her hips and nipped at the spot between her neck and shoulder.
“Fuck, baby.” I trailed my hands up over her stomach and cupped her breasts. “You feel so good like this. So tight.”
I tweaked her nipples, and she arched her back in response, a moan echoing off the tile. Then I gripped her hips and moved her up and down on my hard cock.
“Right there,” she panted. “Do that again.”
Tipped back with my back against the cool tile, I tightened my hold on her hips and worked her over me. She was so fucking wet and warm. I wanted this to last all night. But the sensations and the view of her ass were sending me straight to the edge.
I slowed my movements and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her against me and giving myself time to enjoy this intimate moment with her. I skimmed my hands up her sides to cup her gorgeous tits, each one a perfect handful.
“Baby.” I grazed her ear with my teeth, those three little words dancing on the tip of my tongue as she turned her head. I swallowed thickly as I stared deep into her eyes. Worried she might not be there yet, I held the words in. The last thing I wanted to do was ruin this moment. “Need to make you come. You feel too good like this.”
She ghosted her lips over mine. “Just let me make you feel good, then.”
I opened my mouth to tell her I wasn’t coming without her. “I?—”
“Please, let me.” Need and another even more intense emotion shone in her eyes.
There was no way in hell I’d come without her, but I nodded and leaned back against the wall, praying I wouldn’t die before that happened.
She braced her hands on my knees and spread her legs wider. My eyes wandered, lowering to her ass. I bit back a groan. Surely this would be the death of me. But what a way to go.
Slowly, she shifted forward and slid back down my shaft. Her hair fell in dark waves down her back, slipping over her wet skin with every move. I tangled one hand in the long strands and tugged gently, eliciting a moan.
Her movements started out slow, but before long, she was bouncing on my dick, and I was struggling to keep it together.
“Hattie.” I dug the fingers of one hand into her side and tightened my hold on her hair. “Touch yourself.”
Moaning, she shook her head. “I?—”
“Baby, please.” The pressure that had been building came to a peak as intense pleasure shot through me. “Come with me.”
“I’m close.” She removed one hand from my knee and slid it between her legs. “Dylan,” she moaned.
“Fuck, baby.” I zeroed in on where we were joined, watching as my cock disappeared between the globes of her ass. That’s all it took. Fuck. With a guttural sound, I exploded, filling her up as she screamed my name over and over. The sound was like music to my ears.
I pulled her back against my chest and held her like that as we came down from the high.
“That was…”
When her words died off, I grinned. Yeah, it was indescribable. “I know.”
She laid her head back against my shoulder, and I pressed my lips against her temple.
“Amazing doesn’t seem like a strong enough word.”
“Definitely not.”
Finally, reluctantly, I encouraged her to stand and guided her into the stream of water. I lathered her loofah up and ran it along her breasts, then down over her stomach before sliding it over her pussy. She melted back into me again as I finished.
Once we were both sufficiently clean, I turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing a towel. As I dried her body and wrapped the towel around her, a feeling of utter happiness washed over me.
Quickly, though, it was tempered by the nagging sensation that I was missing something.