"And…?" he prompted, his fingers working their magic down the muscles bisecting her spine, his firm touch spreading goose bumps along her flesh.
She closed her eyes, shivering as his palms slid over her hips and his big hands curved over her buttocks, squeezing and kneading her bottom. "Roxanne's been with The Ultimate Fantasy for about four months now, so she knows a bit about the fantasy parties."
"Does she go to them?" He easily nudged her feet farther apart and slipped his fingers along the crevice between her legs, grazing the swollen lips of her sex before retreating again.
She swallowed a moan at that teasing caress and managed a shake of her head. "No. Roxanne's not interested in being one of the 'party girls,' as they're called. She did remember Valerie when I mentioned her name, but admitted that she never hung out with her because she wasn't really her type," she said, trying desperately to keep her mind on the conversation she'd had with Roxanne and ignoring Steve's shameless attempts to distract her. "She gave me the name of another operator who Valerie was apparently friends with. Trixie Lane, but Roxanne didn't think that was her real name."
"Probably not." He readjusted the shower head so the water poured along her back in a fall of sensual heat, and he chased the soapy suds down her spine with his palms, leaving her skin satiny-soft and clean from head to toe. "Sounds like she's the next person we need to get into contact with."
She gasped as his parted lips skimmed the side of her throat and his tongue licked the moisture beading on her skin. His breath was hot, and her nipples puckered, tingled, aching to be caressed by his hands, his mouth. Again.
And still, she found the words to speak. Just barely. "Unfortunately, Trixie is now strictly one of the party girls and doesn't do the phone sex bit anymore, because of the money she's making on the parties. So, the only way we're going to be able to find her is to get invited to one of the parties and go from there."
"Then tomorrow night we turn up the heat on our phone calls," he said, nuzzling just below her ear, then nibbling on her lobe.
She automatically tilted her head to the side, giving him better access to her neck as the spray of water continued to drizzle over them. "Any more heat and I'm going to go up in flames."
He chuckled at her double meaning and stepped closer, aligning her back to his chest. A muscled arm slid around her waist, and he pulled her bottom to his groin so that his erection nestled cozily between her thighs. His free hand played with her breasts and lightly pinched her nipples, causing her to suck in a sharp breath and wriggle against him. His fingers strummed over her stomach, slid through her slick folds, opening her so that rivulets of water teased her clitoris, and his shaft glided along her tender, swollen flesh from behind.
Her entire body pulsed, and another orgasm beckoned. She wasn't at all opposed to letting him take her this way, but she grabbed his hand to stop his alluring assault. "I want to come with you inside me this time," she whispered. "And we don't have a condom here in the shower." Despite her curiosity about his being so adamant about using his own protection, she respected his request to use a condom at all times.
He eased his hold on her but didn't let her go. "Damn, you sidetracked me," he muttered against her neck.
She laughed, accepting his excuse, but knew they needed to finish their conversation about The Ultimate Fantasy before they moved on to more pleasant diversions. "You were talking about turning up the heat on our phone calls."
He exhaled, seemingly regathering his thoughts. "As I was saying, we need to take our conversations to the next level," he said, scattering soft kisses along her shoulder as if he couldn't help himself. "We're both going to express interest in wanting to meet one another in person, and let's hope that Antonio jumps on that and decides you're worthy of being a party girl, and I'm worthy of being invited to a party."
His plan was the next logical step in finding her cousin. "It's been almost a week since Valerie's been gone." The statement slipped past her lips, more somber than she'd intended.
He gently turned her around to face him, and the water cascaded over her shoulders and down her curves. She experienced a moment of vulnerability that had nothing to do with her naked body. Physically, she was all his in every way, but it was the raw emotions working their way up to the surface that made her feel so exposed to him. And as a man so in tune to her, he seemed to sense that change within her.
"Are you okay?" he asked, and gently brushed a wet strand of hair off her cheek with his fingers.
The warmth and compassion in his touch lingered, wrapping intimately around her heart, urging her to divulge her personal thoughts. "I'm just feeling frustrated and worried about Valerie." And more and more resentful that her cousin had put her in such a predicament. And then there was her own damnable guilt and sense of obligation that was nagging at her conscience and pushing her to such extremes.
The genuine caring reflecting in his striking blue eyes was nearly her undoing. "We'll find her."
She needed to believe him, and the evidence he'd uncovered and followed up on so far backed up his reassuring claim. "It's as simple as a phone call from Valerie if she's off somewhere having a good time with his Rob person, but Val isn't known for being courteous. The part of me that's frustrated just wants to say to hell with all this crap, but then I think of my aunt and uncle, and I just have to know that she's okay. They're the only family I have."
"I know," he said simply and with understanding. "As soon as we get Rob's last name, I can put a trace on him, and I'm sure, wherever he is, we'll find Valerie with him."
"I hope so." Her voice trembled, another show of emotion that slipped past her barriers.
He stared at her for a long moment, then cradled the back of her head in his hand and brought her mouth to his for a slow, soft kiss, as if that physical contact was the best way he knew how to comfort her.
His method worked like a charm, because he made her forget everything but the glorious, desirable way he made her feel. She opened to him, clung to him, and when his warm, damp tongue slid into her mouth, she greedily accepted it.
Her heart beat so erratically beneath her breast, she was certain he'd be able to feel the wild tempo against his chest. Thick, hot steam built around them, and the moisture from the shower made their skin slippery, erotically so. His breathing roughened, and the kisses deepened, grew more urgent and evocative. He backed her up against the warm tiled wall, ruthlessly pinning her there with his hard, muscled body. His palms slid down her sides, and he grasped her bottom in his hands and ground his hips against hers, his solid, unmistakable erection causing a wet, silken friction along the lips of her sex.
She shuddered and held on to his shoulders, her need for him becoming a tangible thing, strong and powerful and nearly overwhelming in its intensity. She wrenched her mouth from his, panting. "Steve… I need you inside me."
"I need to be there, too," he uttered in a low, gruff timbre, and his words thrilled her.
Shutting off the water, he grabbed her hand, pushed opened the stall door, and pulled her out with him. Water dripped from their bodies onto the floor mat, and he reached for the towel hanging over the brass rack. But instead of drying them off as she expected him to do, he laid the fluffy towel on the vanity and hefted her onto it, cushioning her bottom from the cold, hard surface.
He pushed her knees wide apart and moved in between, the hands splayed on her thighs branding her. His eyes were dark and hot as they took in her wanton position and her dewy, quivering breasts. He lowered his head, his lips parting for a nipple, and he sucked her deep inside, his mouth hungry, his teeth nipping, his tongue soothing.
She threaded her fingers through the soft, damp strands of his hair and groaned as his lips burned a path across her jaw, along her throat. "Steve, no more teasing."