He moved to her other breast, giving it attention until she moaned his name. Still kissing her soft skin, he made his way to the apex of her thighs and teased them open. He knew her body so well, her scent, the feel of her, what made her come. With that knowledge, he feathered his tongue over her moist clit, garnering more moans as the tension built in her.
“Inside me,” she murmured. “I want to feel you, all of you.”
He did as commanded and entered her heat. Resting on his elbows, he moved inside her, pushing her to climax. When her muscles tightened around him and she sobbed his name, he kissed her, pouring his love for her into every movement of his body, every pleasure he could bring her until his own orgasm ripped through him.
He rested his head against her shoulder to catch his breath. Then, rolling onto his back, he pulled her close to him and stroked her back until her body softened with sleep. He didn’t know how long she’d rest, but he’d be there for her when she woke.
14
Carolyn picked her way around the wreckage in All That Sparkles the morning following the fire. Ceiling tiles lay on the floor along with the remains of display cases. All the money she’d spent on the remodel had literally gone up in smoke.
“Any idea about the cause?” she asked the fire inspector after he’d spent two hours poking through the rubble.
“It’ll be in my report, Ms. Evert.”
“Give me a hint, please.” She’d watched the man record notes and photograph the store. He must have an idea of what happened. “My sister said she heard a crash and an explosion. That doesn’t seem accidental to me.”
The inspector pointed to the right front window. “Something came through that window, hit the floor here,” he said, indicating an area near his boots, “and sprayed an accelerant, which I’m currently trying to identify. This was no accident.”
She’d known in her heart the fire had been intentional, but hearing it confirmed in such crisp, no-nonsense language sent the message home. This was meant to damage the business beyond repair—and might have taken a life if anyone had been in the showroom. She’d talked to Charlotte earlier. Her usually pragmatic sister still felt shaky and had no desire to enter the store. Carolyn couldn’t blame her.
“What happens next, then?”
“I turn over my findings to the fire chief and copy the police and prosecutor’s office on all of it. An investigation will be opened, as it becomes a criminal case. Arson is a felony offense, punishable by several years in prison.”
“What’s the conviction rate?” Charging her saboteur with arson was one way of getting him.
The inspector clicked his pen and put it in his shirt pocket before answering. “About one percent.”
“One percent?” She was shocked. “So most arsonists get away with it?”
“Afraid so. You have cameras in here.” He gestured to one. “We’ll pull the footage from them, and it might help.”
She shook her head. “I spoke with my security company already. There’s nothing.”
“I’d still like to see the film,” the inspector insisted.
“No,” she said, her sense of exasperation growing, “I mean the cameras weren’t operating at the time.”
“Is that normal?” The inspector gave her a perplexed look. “The store had just closed, correct?”
“It is not normal,” she confirmed. “The cameras are supposed to film twenty-four hours a day.” Her IT company and security company worked together on that system. Someone had dropped the ball, or it was another strike against the IT company. Had the cameras been intentionally disabled at just the right time? Her computer forensics expert might be able to answer that question, given time.
“I’ll notify the police department of my findings today so they can begin their investigation. They will canvass the street to see if anyone saw something, but the chances are slim. My official report will be ready in a few days. You’ll need it for your insurance company.” He handed her a business card. “Call me if you have questions.”
“Thank you.” She watched him walk out, ducking under the yellow caution tape as he went.
Carolyn kept busy throughout the day checking on her employees, answering questions for a police investigator, and sifting through the rubble until her hands were covered in ash. Frustration set in at the hopelessness of it all. She was getting nowhere, and whoever was targeting her had scored a hit—a bull’s-eye.
She had to put a stop to this, take action in some way, despite her promise to Zach the night before. How could she stay out of it when she was ankle deep in the remains of her family’s business? She considered her options, the information she possessed. Something in her still felt her mother’s former business partner was involved. The woman was dead, but a plot to take revenge on All That Sparkles might have been put in place long ago.
Zach would think her reasoning faulty. And he might be right, but she had one lead she could follow: Marta Huntly’s last known address. She’d found it before she found the obituary, and she’d plugged it into Google Maps. It was in a run-down neighborhood on the other side of the city, a matter of a few miles. She could just take a swing by for the sake of curiosity and see if the woman’s son still lived there—if the house was still standing. Some of those areas were being bulldozed to get rid of urban blight. But if he was there and she could speak with him, maybe she could put her suspicions to rest and see for herself that the Huntly family had nothing to do with her troubles.
She left the store and walked down the block to where she’d parked her car. She worried about leaving the structure unprotected, but what could she do? Plywood had been put up in the morning to cover the gaping holes where windows and the door had been, but the store was far from secure.
Once in her car and headed across town, she had second thoughts about going against Zach’s wishes. He’d asked for time to get a team together. To assuage her guilt, she picked up her phone. She’d call him and ask him to meet her at the address. But her call was forwarded to his employer’s home office, where an efficient-sounding woman informed her that, unless this was an emergency, Zach Vale was unavailable due to his current assignment. It wasn’t an emergency, and she wouldn’t make that claim, so she hung up without leaving a message.
Her rational brain reminded her that Zach’s employer could expect his dedication. It was his job. But a nagging voice in her head whispered that history was repeating himself. Zach would be perpetually unreachable—off on a mission, likely dangerous—and she’d be left waiting for him and worrying about what might happen. She, and now Austin, would always be left behind, abandoned as she had been by her father and Zach when he left on his final SEAL mission.
She continued negotiating the maze of streets taking her to the grittier side of the city. Her thoughts were deteriorating as rapidly as the buildings out her windshield. What if Zach was only with her because of the danger? He might view protecting her and Austin as an assignment. Once they were safe, what was his motivation for sticking around? He’d become tired of the routine of family life and seek the next adventure. That’s why he’d stayed in the SEALs past the time when most of his buddies were getting out. God, she couldn’t go through losing him again, and she wouldn’t put Austin through it either.