The alcohol was beginning to take its effect, warming him up and producing a relaxed sensation. He almost didn’t hear the knocking at his front door but finally roused himself enough to stagger towards the sound. He opened the door and came face-to-face with the woman he’d been chasing all day. Violet Cambridge was in her traditional black but this time it was an off-the-shoulders number that hugged her chest in the most appealing of ways. Her long legs were encased in fishnet stockings and she’d exchanged her usual heels for flats, making her just a few inches shorter than him. The heavy rain that was coming down left little droplets in her hair and on her shoulders. He felt an almost overpowering urge to lean forward and lick one of the drops off her bare arms.
“Where the hell have you been?” he asked, trying to sound angry. It was hard to do that when she was looking so good.
“Are you drunk?” she asked, wrinkling her nose in disapproval. She’d had drinks with McKenzie before but had never seen him display any level of impairment.
“A little.” He stepped aside, allowing her to come into the warmth of his dry home. She gave her body a little shake, like a cat, and shivered. “You should dress for the weather,” he murmured.
“I like how I dress.”
“So do I.” The words were out of his mouth before he even knew it and he colored slightly when Violet looked at him with an arched eyebrow. “You want a towel? Or a drink?”
“A towel would be nice.”
When Will returned with one, Violet was seated on his couch, her head tilted back and her eyes closed. The length of her neck looked very enticing and his eyes traveled down it until it reached the swell of her breasts. “Here you go,” he said, his voice husky with desire.
“Thanks.” Violet sat up and smiled, using the towel to dab herself dry.
“Where have you been? I went everywhere looking for you.”
“Not everywhere. I was at the library.”
“What for?”
“Avoiding all the people who were looking for me, silly.”
Will sat down near her on the couch. “When are you going to love somebody again?”
The sudden shift in questioning gave Violet pause. She eyed him steadily. “You are drunk.”
“Answer me.”
“I think people only get one real shot at love. I had mine. And now he’s dead.”
“So you’re never going to marry again?”
Violet’s lips twitched. “Is this a proposal coming on?”
“I’m serious.”
With a sigh, Violet gave a little shrug. “Somebody, maybe. But not you, Will. I’d never marry you.”
“Why not?”
“Because you want a girl to rescue. You want to be the heroic knight who rides in to free the damsel in distress from the horrible fate the world’s planned for her. And I’m not that kind of girl. I can take care of myself.”
Will reached out and touched her arm. “You can’t deny that we make magic together.”
“In bed? Sure we do. But that’s not enough for marriage. Hell, that’s barely enough for a good weekend. The sex can’t go on all the time.”
Violet allowed Will to lean into her, his lips brushing hers. She could smell the whiskey on his breath and felt the heat of his rising lust. “I think we could make it work,” he whispered and despite herself, Violet gave another shiver, this time not from the cold.
“I came over here because I need your help,” she said.
“I thought you could handle yourself.”
“I can… but you could make things easier for me. That’s called friendship. I’m not looking for you to do it all for me, just help me do it myself.”
Will’s hand drifted from her arm to her breast, softly kneading it through her dress. He felt her nipple stiffen against the palm of his hand and he eagerly pulled the dress down a bit, exposing her breast to his feasting eyes. He leaned over and ran his tongue against the crinkled bud, sucking it into his mouth a second later.
Violet gasped and involuntarily placed a hand on the back of his head. She felt his hand going lower now, against her knee and up her thigh. She was growing very damp between her legs and when he raised his lips to hers, she kissed him hard enough to take his breath away.
Her hands fumbled with his zipper, finally releasing his hardness. She tugged on him as they kissed. Within moments they were both naked on the couch, his body covering hers. He rained down kisses on her neck as he drove in and out of her, carrying them both to higher planes of pleasure.
Outside, the rain continued to fall.
AFTERWARDS, VIOLET LAY with her head on Will’s chest. Her fingers were lightly playing with his slick cock, enjoying its spongy hardness. “So are you ready to hear me out now?” she asked.
“About your plan?”
“Yes. I need to get onto Wolf Island. The mental institution there has something I need.”
“If you need an asylum, what’s wrong with Central State Hospital in Milledgeville? Biggest damned nuthouse in the world.”
“I don’t just any asylum… I need the Main Institute in particular. I can destroy The Damned Thing there.”
“That place has tight security and there’s only one ferry that goes and comes from there… once a week, I think.”
“I’ve got all that figured out. Clint Jacobs is going to help. But having you along would give it all an air of authority that can’t be faked.”
“I’ll help… but when all this is over, I want you and I to give this a chance. A real chance.”
Violet sat up and stared at him. “For the last time, Will… I’m not like other girls. I’m too single-minded. When I decided I wanted Walter, I was going to get him, come hell or high water. And now I’m out to avenge Walter and Miles… and I’ll do anything to accomplish that. I’d break your heart in a second if I had to, Will… and I wouldn’t regret it.”
“And what about after you’ve gotten your revenge? What are you going to set your sights on then?”
“I don’t know.”
Will brushed a lock of dark hair out of her eyes. “I don’t believe you. About not caring if you broke my heart. I think you have this tough-girl act of yours down pat but you’re a woman. And a woman needs love like a fish needs water.”
Violet’s eyes became sad. “You’ll help me if I promise to give you a chance, Will?”
“Yes.”
“Then I will.”
He kissed her then and when their lips came apart, she placed her head back on his chest and silently shed a tear. She had no intention of ever taking Will McKenzie to her bed again…. But there was no reason for him to know that. Not until she’d gotten her way.
JOHANN BURKARD FOUND himself amused by the way Daniel Armitage kept shifting uncomfortably in his seat. The crime boss had reported back to Burkard with his tail between his legs, shamefully admitting that he’d been cold-cocked by Violet Cambridge. His car stolen and his pride ruined, Armitage now had a perpetual whipped-dog look to his face.
Lazlo Bane sat at his employer’s side, his hat held tightly in his gloved hands. The prissy little man looked almost as ill at ease as Armitage.
The three men were gathered in Crowley’s lair, seated around a round table. On the table’s surface lay a nude thirteen-year-old girl, her strawberry blonde hair cascading around her shoulders. She was bound at her ankles and wrists by heavy ropes, which disappeared under the table. She had long since stopped her thrashing, now choosing to lay there panting and crying.