Carnal Innocence

prompted Burns to procure an electric fan from Larssons’s. Since he’d been fortunate enough to be given one of the two rooms with an adjoining bath, he concluded that he had everything necessary for his stay.
    He hadn’t expected the bonus.
    Stretched beneath him on the iron bed was Josie Longstreet. Burns was still shuddering from their second bout. For the life of him, he wasn’t sure how they’d gone from sharing a lemonade at the diner to bouncing on the squeaky mattress. But he wasn’t complaining.
    He hadn’t had that kind of wild, ripping sex since … Actually, he supposed he’d never had that kind of sex. The women he dated were cool and composed in bed and out. Five seconds after Josie had dashed up theback stairs ahead of him, she’d been pawing at his clothes.
    Over his head, Josie held up her newly painted nails. Scarlet Sin this time. She found it wonderfully appropriate. Experimentally, she raked her nails down his back, watching the red enamel flow over his white skin like blood.
    “Honey,” she said, “you just about wore me out. I knew there was a tiger inside that suit.”
    “You were fabulous.” Burns knew women expected compliments at such times, but words nearly failed him. “Incredible.”
    “I’ve had my eye on you, Special Agent. Something about a man with a badge turns me on fierce.” She thought of Burke and frowned at the ceiling. “You think I’m sexy?”
    “I think—” He lifted his head. “You’re the sexiest woman alive.”
    That made her smile and grant him a nibbling kiss. “And pretty, too?”
    “No, not pretty,” he said, too busy playing with her hair to see the flash in her eyes. “Gorgeous, like some wild Gypsy.”
    The flash died into pleasure. “You’re just saying that because I’m stark naked and your pecker’s twitching.”
    Normally, his sensibilities would have been offended, but she was quite right about the state of his tool of Satan. “I’m saying it because it’s true. You’re dazzling, Josie.”
    “I sure like the way you talk.” She sighed as he began to nuzzle her breasts. Sweat and sex made her skin sticky, though the fan was aimed directly at the bed. Still, Josie had always figured the best way to beat the heat was to lie down naked. And if you were going to lie down naked, you might as well do something about it.
    “Not all men know how to say what women like to hear. You take my first husband, Franklin? After we’d been married a month or two and the bloom had worn off, so to speak, he’d finish up, grunt, then start snoring.Lots of men are like that. They just take what they want, then pass on.”
    His response was muffled against her breast. She let him enjoy himself. “A woman’s entitled to pretty words. Course, all women don’t care about that. Some’re just after the same thing some men are after. Appreciating pretty words is the difference between a tramp and a lady, I think.”
    “You’re an incredible lady.”
    Her smile glowed. “And you’re a real gentleman. Smart, too. I love hearing you talk about your cases.” Lazily, she stroked his flanks. “But I guess you’ll be going back north soon.” She snuggled down to find his lips with hers. “It’s an awful shame that you and I got together right before you have to leave.”
    “Actually, things do seem to be winding up.”
    “I knew it. The first time I saw you I knew you’d solve everything. I could just see how smart you were. I said to myself, now that he’s here, we women’ll be safe again.” She danced her tongue over his. “You’re a hero, Matthew.”
    “I’m just doing my job.” He preened as she rolled over on top of him. “It’s all been very standard, really.”
    “Catching a murderer?” She skimmed her lips over his chest. Though he was white as a fish, she thought he had a nice build. “Why, nobody had figured out anything before you came along.”
    “It’s simply a matter of having the experience, the proper equipment.”
    “I just love your equipment,” she purred, wrapping her fingers around him. “Tell me how you did it, Matthew. It just makes me shiver.”
    His breath started to catch as she guided those clever fingers over him. “First you have to understand the psychology of a serial killer. Their patterns, the stages. Statistics. Most murders are committed on impulse, and for a few standard reasons.”
    “Tell me.” She pressed her lips to his belly. “It makes me so hot.”
    “Passion,” he