Fatal Series 01 - Fatal Affair

struggle out of his embrace. “I can’t,” she whispered. “I can’t have this. I can’t have you.”
    “Yes, you can.”
    Her face still pressed to his chest, Sam gave herself another second to wallow in the scent that she’d never forgotten. “Not here. Not now.”
    He released a deep, ragged breath. “I missed you, Sam. I thought about you, about that night, so often.”
    “I did, too,” she said, her eyes closed tight against the onslaught of emotions she’d only felt this acutely once before.
    “I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you. If you’re in the room, I want you.”
    “I seem to have the same problem.”
    “We’ve got a few hours until daybreak. Would it be okay if I just held you until then?”
    “I’d love nothing more, but it’s too tempting. You’re too tempting.”
    Sighing again, he released her and sat up. He leaned down to press a soft kiss to her lips. “See you in the morning.”
    Sam watched him go, knowing she’d never get back to sleep with every cell in her body on fire for him.

Chapter 15
    Sam corralled her hair into a ponytail, strapped on her shoulder holster, clipped the badge to her belt, and adjusted her suit jacket over the same scoop-necked top she’d worn yesterday. When she was ready, she took a long look around to make sure she wasn’t leaving behind any sign that she had spent the night for the team she planned to send in there later that day. Satisfied by the quick sweep of the room, she emerged to find Nick waiting for her in the living room. Somehow he managed to appear pressed and polished in yesterday’s clothes. His face was smooth and his hair still damp from the shower.
    “Ready?” he asked.
    She nodded.
    Wrapping her coat and his arms around her, he hugged her from behind and pressed kisses to her neck and cheek before he finally let go.
    The spontaneous demonstration of affection caught her off guard. Unless it was leading to sex, Peter had never bothered with the random acts of affection that Nick doled out so effortlessly. Nick seemed to need to touch her if she was near him. That she liked it so much was just another reason to keep her distance.
    The O’Connors’s home was located two miles up the main road from John’s cabin. Once again, Carrie met them at the door and was surprised to see them out so early.
    “Are they up?” Nick asked.
    “They’re having breakfast. Come on in.” She led them into the cozy country kitchen where Graham and Laine sat at the table lost in their own thoughts. Neither of them seemed to be eating much of anything.
    Both had dark circles under their eyes. Weariness and grief clung to them.
    “Nick?” Graham said. “You’re out early. Sergeant.”
    Carrie handed mugs of coffee to Sam and Nick.
    “Thank you,” Nick said.
    “I’m sorry to barge in on you so early.” Sam stirred cream into her coffee and wished it was a diet cola. “But I have something I need to ask you.”
    “Of course,” Laine said. “Whatever we can do to help.”
    Sam retrieved the photo from her bag. “Who is this?” She placed the photo on the table between them.
    They looked at the photo and then at each other.
    “Where’d you get this?” Graham asked.
    “At the cabin,” Nick said. “The photo was tucked into the essay book you had made for him.”
    “It’s John’s cousin, Thomas,” Laine said, glancing up at Sam with cool patrician eyes. “His father is Graham’s brother Robert.”
    “I don’t remember John mentioning a cousin that young,” Nick said.
    Laine shrugged. “There were almost twenty years between them. They were hardly close.”
    “He looks an awful lot like your son,” Sam said, testing for reactions.
    “Yes, he does,” Graham said, his expression neutral. “Is there anything else?”
    “Do you know where I can find Terry?” Sam said.
    The question seemed to startle both O’Connors.
    “I believe he’s working in the city this morning,” Graham said.
    “The address?”
    He rattled off the name and K Street address of a prominent lobbying firm, which Sam wrote down in the small notebook she pulled from her back pocket. “If you have no objection, I’d like to send a team into the cabin today to make sure we’re not missing something that could help with the case.”
    “Strange people in John’s home?” Laine asked, visibly disturbed by the notion.
    “Police,” Sam clarified. “They’ll be as respectful as possible.”
    “That’s fine,” Graham said with a