Chapter Nine
“I Just Wanted to Do It”
“Gnomes are diminutive creatures,” Theon was saying, “small enough to get around without being noticed. Forget whatever you think you know about them. They don’t all look like your average garden ornament with pointy hats and long beards.
But they’re really small. And they can be nasty little bastards. ”
Perched in the driver’s seat with one leg pulled up to her chest, Janice frowned across the front seat at him. She had figured the culprit looked just like a regular garden gnome, but of course she’d been wrong. The real thing couldn’t possibly be nearly as cute.
“They’re also really good at burrowing,” he went on.
“That would explain the holes at the crime scenes,” Janice replied. It wasn’t his first time explaining what gnomes really were, but it had taken her longer than a couple of times since yesterday evening to fully understand what he was talking about.
They both sat in her car, two coffees sitting in the cupholders between them.
Outside, the sun was already setting. Janice glanced out the window.
Just across the road was Benny’s Best, some of it visible from their vantage point.
So far, they hadn’t spotted anything out of the ordinary, but it was only a matter of time.
It had been her idea to check out the ranches again.
In the past day, they’d visited all five crime scenes, checking for any clues they might’ve missed.
The details all checked out—the holes, the destruction...
everything. Janice had looked a little more closely this time, and sure enough, she’d found a set of tiny footprints at the scene.
Her guess had been spot on: they were dealing with a gnome.
And the reason they were currently camping out in front of Old Man Benny’s ranch was because she’d gotten another hunch. No, not just a hunch. Somehow, she knew the gnome would return. People tended to revisit the scenes of their own crimes. Why should gnomes be much different?
But they’d been waiting for over an hour now, and so far, nothing had happened.
There hadn’t been any out-of-the-blue activity at the other ranches, either.
She’d avoided waiting on the property for fear that the culprit might spot them and refuse to show himself.
As far as she knew, this was their best vantage point.
Only a matter of time, she reassured herself.
She took her gaze off the ranch, letting it drift until it landed on Theon.
He was staring ahead, his gaze somewhat unreadable.
Honestly, she was still shocked he’d agreed to help her again with the case.
Yesterday, she’d figured he would need a lot more convincing than the last time, but he’d agreed before she even got a chance to try appealing to him.
What was it he’d been about to tell her yesterday?
He’d looked like he had something important to say to her.
More than that, despite the surprise on his face when he saw her parked right in front of his house, she could’ve sworn he’d looked happy to see her.
That had stunned her for a moment, but it had also left her feeling giddy inside, at least until she remembered that they weren’t a couple anymore—and for good reason.
In light of that, maybe she shouldn’t have suggested they share the front seat of her car for this.
Hadn’t it been just a couple of days ago that they’d almost ripped each other’s clothes off inside that barn?
The odds of something like that happening again were still pretty high.
Janice pushed the concern to the side. They both had a case to worry about.
A thought occurred to her then. “Why do you think a gnome would attack all these ranches?”
Theon gave a shrug without looking at her. “Could be anything. Like I said, they’re nasty creatures sometimes. Could’ve attacked the ranches just because. Or maybe it’s some kind of warning to the farmers. Or...” He paused then, his brows drawing closer together.
“Or what?” she pressed.
“It could be working with someone. But I doubt that’s the case.”
With a shake of his head, he waved his hand as if to dismiss the last possibility. The pair of them sat in silence for the next few moments before either of them said a word.
“Thank you,” she said.
This time, he did turn to look at her. She saw his eyebrows knit together. “For what?”
“For being here. For agreeing to help me again. It really means a lot to me.”
His lips parted, and she held her breath, wondering just what he would say in response. Was that a flicker of emotion in his eyes, or had she imagined that?
“Janice, I...” He pressed his lips together. “I mean, it’s okay. It’s nothing.”
More silence. She reached for her coffee, taking a long, awkward sip before returning it to the cupholder, practically empty.
She glanced again toward the ranch. No sign of movement, human or otherwise.
By now, Benny and his workers must be having dinner.
How much longer were they going to have to wait?
Maybe it was just her, but it was starting to get a little warm in here.
“I really, really just want to solve this case,” she said, staring out the windshield.
The rest of the street seemed to be empty except for a couple of other vehicles parked on the curb.
“A week ago, I wanted a new case so badly, something to focus on. Now I just want to solve this one so I don’t have to deal with anything like it again.
I can’t think of the last time a case gave me so much hell.
And how many days has it been since I started working on it?
Five?” She shook her head in disbelief. “Feels like I’ve been going at it for a month or more. ”
“I think you will. Solve the case, I mean.” As Theon spoke, he reached out and touched her arm reassuringly. “You’ve always been a great detective, and...”
He went on, but Janice wasn’t really listening anymore. She stared down at the hand on her arm, her pulse racing faster than ever. Electric currents traveled up her arm, and all the breath in her lungs seemed to be getting sucked into a vacuum.
If Theon was aware that he was still touching her, he didn’t show it. His grey eyes bored into hers as he spoke, those lips of his curving into a grin.
The temperature in the car was rising, alright. She bit her lip, staring across the front seat at him. Before she could stop herself, she grabbed his arm, pulling him toward her.
“Janice, what are—?”
She touched her lips to his, cutting him off mid-speech.
Oh, God, I’m kissing Theon—again.
She’d acted without really thinking, letting the sudden urge consume her.
And Theon didn’t seem to mind in the least. He kissed her back immediately, as though he’d been consumed by the same urge the whole time.
His hand came up to her face, cupping her cheek.
His lips were deliciously warm, and as he claimed her mouth with his, sucking on her lower lip, she felt a sigh rise in her throat.
Theon broke the kiss for a second, his grey eyes searching her face in wonder. “Why’d you do that? Why’d you kiss me?”
“I don’t know.” It was as close to an honest answer as she could get. “I just wanted to do it.”
His lips broke into a grin that made her heart do a backflip. “Well, don’t stop now.”
He took her mouth again, kissing her harder this time, his thumb brushing her cheek, and she was instantly lost in the sensation of his lips and his touch.
Janice was dimly aware that they were still in her car, parked outside Benny’s Best, and the odds of someone walking by and spotting the pair of them necking like teenagers were growing by the minute.
She tossed the concern to the back of her mind, feeling her surroundings already dissolving as Theon’s lips caressed hers. It was just like the last time they’d kissed. All concern flew out the window, and all that mattered was him, the way he made her feel, the way his body felt against hers.
Desire gnawed at her insides, and she reached for him, setting her hand on his thigh and making her way up. She reached his groin and was both surprised and pleased to find him already hard. Heat flushed through her gut, spreading southward, and she felt the wetness gathering between her thighs.
“God, Theon,” she murmured against his lips. “What are you doing to me?”
As if in response, he lowered his hand to her shoulder, caressing his way down to her breasts. He took them one by one, kneading them and rolling her hardened nipples between his fingers. She moaned, almost breaking the kiss as waves of pleasure spread through her.
When he stopped kneading them, she felt a twinge of disappointment, but Theon simply wrapped his arms around her waist and, without breaking the kiss, pulled her into the passenger seat, right onto his lap so she was straddling him.
Janice gasped into the kiss. In this new position, she could feel his erection prodding her butt, throbbing wildly with his desire.
Her nipples grazed his chest, and she barely suppressed a moan at the sensation. Theon’s tongue stole into her mouth, one hand falling to her butt, and in retaliation, she rocked against him, grinding her butt on his erection until he groaned into her mouth.
“You’re going to make me lose control if you keep that up,” he growled, nibbling on her lower lip. He gave her butt a squeeze. “You’re going to make me rip your clothes off.”
She said nothing, but that was exactly what a part of her wanted. She wanted him to strip her until she had not a stitch on, to fill her up until she was panting and begging for release. God, it felt like an eternity since she’d felt like that.
But making love in the front seat of her car was out of the question. As overcome with lust as she was, she had enough presence of mind to know that. It was too cramped in here to do more than make out.
As if Theon could read her mind, he broke the kiss and said, “Not here. Too...too small.”
He kissed her again on the lips and gave her butt another squeeze before lifting her off his lap. The next thing Janice knew, he’d turned, gently shoving her into the backseat of the car. A second later, he joined her, stretching his body over hers.
“This is better, I think.”
It was getting darker outside, but the gleam in his eyes was unmistakable.
Her chest heaved with anticipation. Theon lowered his lips to hers, kissing her long and hard until she thought she would lose her mind with need.
Then he moved his mouth lower, kissing her along her jawline, then down her neck.
His fingers worked impossibly quickly, unbuttoning her shirt and tugging her bra lower down her torso to free her breasts, and she felt the cool air on her nipples for only a second before he descended on them with his hands and mouth, kneading her mounds and tracing circles around the swollen nubs with his tongue.
Her body almost rose off the seat. “Theon,” she panted. “Oh, God, Theon.”
She caressed his cheek for a moment, then ran her fingers through his hair, clutching him to her chest. He sucked hard on her nipple, dragging a moan from her mouth.
At the same time, she felt one of his hands at her waist, unbuttoning her pants.
He took his mouth off her breast long enough to divest her completely of all her clothing, then resumed sucking.
She shut her eyes, lost in the sensations that he so readily gave her.
“Yes,” she breathed. “Just like that.”
It wasn’t long before he kissed the valley between her breasts and began making his way further south, his lips skimming her belly until he reached her groin. She opened her eyes just in time to see him touch his tongue to her clit.
Another moan rose from her lips. Theon wasted no time but continued pleasing her, flicking his tongue against her clit.
Her eyes rolled back into her head, and this time her body did bow off her seat.
Pleasure rolled through her body in waves until she thought she might scream. God, she’d missed this.
She’d missed him.
When Theon brought his finger between her legs and began aiding his tongue, stroking her gently, she nearly lost it.
A quiver raced down her legs to her toes and back up, and she gripped his hair to hold him in place.
He pumped one finger inside her, followed almost instantly by another, working up a steady rhythm that was bound to drive her to the edge of her sanity if he kept it up.
And he did keep it up. Within moments, she felt her pleasure build up, a shudder racing through her body until she couldn’t hold it in any longer. With a sharp cry, she came, her hips jerking against his face. Theon continued to pump his fingers into her, tasting her as she orgasmed.
By the time he stopped pleasuring her, she was panting hard. It took her longer than a few seconds to come back to her senses. Theon lifted his head, grinning up at her, and she felt another wave of desire unfurl in her chest.
“My turn,” she said.