He had to make an effort at professionalism, even if his heart wasn’t in it. Even if he knew he was going to eventually succumb to the temptation presenting itself right in front of him.
He set his glass down. “I better get going. Thanks for the nightcap.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“Where?”
“Next door.”
“Next door?”
“Yes. Follow me.”
When he made no movement, she edged closer to him.
“You want to say something?” she asked.
“You’re a very attractive woman.”
“That’s very sweet of you to notice.”
“So where does that leave us?” asked Robie.
She looked at him hungrily. “Let’s go, Agent Robie. I know what I want and so do you.”
They exited the station through a rear door and walked over to the B&B. She used a key to open the front door and they went inside.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Malloy turned to him and kissed him, her tongue flicking inside his mouth.
She tugged on his arm, pulling him down the hall and toward the stairs.
“You always this forward?” he said, stumbling after her.
“I’m from New York, so that would be a yes.”
They walked down the hall and underfoot Robie heard the crunch of the glass shattered during the gunfight with the skinheads. The windows had been boarded up with plywood, but Robie could see the bullet holes in the front door and walls.
They reached the upstairs and she led him into a room and shut the door.
She had put the gin, tonic, and glasses in a bag. She took them out and mixed fresh drinks. She handed him his and took a sip of hers. “Bombay Sapphire, only way to go with gin.”
Robie’s brain was seriously starting to wobble. He sipped his and said, “Nice.”
“Oh, it’s about to get much nicer,” she said slyly.
She put her glass down and, steadying herself by gripping his shoulder, reached down and slipped off her heels. “I don’t see how girls walk in these all day,” she said, rubbing her foot and then dropping the shoes on the floor.
She unzipped her dress and stepped out of it.
No bra and a light blue thong.
Her breasts were full, her hips soft, and her backside — revealed as she did a slow pirouette for him — round and firm, the skin pale and smooth.
She took his glass away from him and set it down next to hers before turning back around and pushing up against him.
“You’re a lot taller without my heels on,” she said, grinning, her eyes half-lidded. She closed and opened them slowly. The look was making Robie even more light-headed.
“I g-guess so,” said Robie, his voice cracking.
Malloy put her arms around his neck. “Not the official uniform, but I hope you like it anyway.”
“I like it,” said Robie quietly. “A lot.”
She kissed him again, their tongues meeting. “I like you. A lot.”
“You sure you’re in complete possession of your faculties, Valerie? I don’t want to take advantage.”
“I know exactly what I’m doing, Agent Robie. There will be no regrets in the morning. At least on my end. I hope the same for you.”
“You can call me Will.”
“I will, Will.”
She kissed him more deeply and ran her fingers through his hair, tugging gently on some strands. That simple maneuver sent shockwaves through Robie’s body. He inhaled her scent, coconut shampoo from her hair, a delicate aroma of vanilla from her skin, the hard bite of gin from her lips.
Her fingers undid his shirt buttons, while his clenched her butt and pulled anxiously at the thong.
She kissed his chest and worked her way down. Her hand slipped lower and she gripped him. Next, she moved up to his belt and methodically worked it loose while his mouth dipped to her chest. He pulled her closer. She undid his zipper and the pants came down. He stepped out of his shoes and used one hand to wrench his trousers off.
Robie lifted her up and carried her over to the bed. He shed the rest of his clothes and then Malloy lifted her legs up, so he could relieve her of the thong.
Fully naked now, she lay back, reached up, and pulled him down on top of her.
The bed started to creak violently as the night carried on.
CHAPTER
38
Three a.m.
Robie awoke and looked around.
The room was unfamiliar. The sounds the same.
The heat of the body next to him caused him to reach out and touch her.
Malloy mumbled something, moaned slightly, then turned on her side and fell back asleep.
Robie lifted the covers and looked down.
They were both still naked.
He lowered the covers and stared across at the window. He was cold sober now and was having a difficult time processing what he had done this night.
Robie rubbed his pounding temples.
Shit.
He looked over at Malloy. Her coil of hair was draped over one bare shoulder.
Images flashed through Robie’s mind of two people smashing against each other under the sheets in what he could only describe as a fit of unrestrained libido.
Sometimes it really was just about the sex.
He rose, dressed, and softly closed the door behind him.
Malloy didn’t make a sound as he did so.
As he walked down the stairs it occurred to him, and not for the first time tonight, that he was in the same place where he had first met Holly.
Dead Holly.
She was meeting up with her boyfriend and then on her way to a new life.
Only there would be no new life in California. Dolph had seen to that.
And the lady he’d slept with tonight didn’t know about any of it.
I screwed Holly’s sister and she has no idea that Holly is dead and that I know the truth. What does that make me?
Robie sat down on the bottom riser and put his head between his knees. It wasn’t that he felt physically sick.
I just feel… empty.
This was not who he was. He didn’t agree to keep secrets like that from someone. And he didn’t sleep with people he didn’t really know. Only that wasn’t true. He had done that once over a year ago, and it had ended in disaster. He apparently had not learned his lesson. Still, he didn’t recognize the person that he had been tonight.
Cool, under-control Will Robie. He had not been that way in coastal Mississippi, and it didn’t appear that he was doing any better in rural Colorado.
By sleeping with Malloy he felt like he had cheated on Reel, but that was impossible because there was nothing between them. Well, again, that wasn’t entirely true. There was nothing on her end.
But there is on mine.
And I just slept with another woman. And I enjoyed it. A lot.
He detected the scent of Malloy all over him. He took a deep breath and it was all he could do to stop himself from sprinting back up the steps, waking the woman, and doing it all over again.
He slowly rose and staggered to the door. A minute later he was back at the hotel.
As he passed Reel’s room down the hall from his, he noted that there was no light coming from under the door. At three a.m. she was, like most people, asleep in her own bed.
Like I should have been for the last four hours.
He showered and lay down in the bed with just a pair of boxers on. He stared at the ceiling, hoping perhaps to find some answers to bewildering questions on the drywall up there.
It didn’t work. There were no answers there or in his head.
He finally fell asleep and then rose when his phone alarm sounded. He dressed and went downstairs for breakfast.
He saw Reel had beaten him down. She was just finishing her meal at a corner table. She saw him and motioned him over. Robie squared his shoulders and marched toward her. He had more apprehension doing that than he’d had going into that home in London to battle seventeen armed terrorists.