Chapter One
Anne adjusted the showerhead to a hard pulse and positioned it so the water massaged the bunched muscles of her shoulders and upper back. She applied a generous dollop of lilac scented body wash onto the bath sponge, closed her eyes and began to lather up. Imagining it was the hands of a certain sexy, dark, sinfully dangerous man stroking her body ratcheted up her day-long state of horny into a situation that demanded immediate attention. She brushed the soft mesh of the sudsy sponge over her already pebbled nipples with one hand, while sending the other down to her extremely needy pussy. Anne moaned in disappointment as much as relief when she came after only a few rubs along her clit.
“Professional hazard,” she mumbled before reaching for the shampoo. As she scrubbed her shoulder-length hair, Anne pondered how she wanted to incorporate today’s research into her current manuscript. Her hero had already used an impressive number of unique sexual toys to delight her heroine, but surely, he wasn’t finished yet.
A new scene began to take shape as she dried off and pulled on a pair of cotton lounge pants and a T-shirt. Despite already spending over seven hours on the computer, Anne felt a few more were about to occur, and she smiled at the rush of excitement. Her muse had been missing in action for more than two weeks, and Anne was thrilled that her days of writing and deleting pure drivel were in the past. She would ride this creative wave to the fullest. Her deadline was less than a month away.
Her tummy rumbled. “Crap, when did I eat last?” she wondered aloud on her way through the living room into the kitchen. “Oh, yeah, dinner last night,” she answered, pulling a container of leftover pasta with Alfredo sauce and a bottle of water out of the fridge. A knock on the front door caused her to jump and drop both onto the counter.
Anne couldn’t remember the last time she’d had surprise visitors, and she definitely wasn’t dressed to receive. She considered running to the bedroom to put on a bra at least, but two more knocks, louder than the first, had her heading quickly to look through the peephole. Her heart skipped a beat.
Two men stood on her front porch, each sporting a prominently displayed badge of the law. The guy on the left easily could have been on the cover of a magazine, but he wasn’t why Anne struggled to breathe normally. The guy on the right so exactly fit her vision of male yummy she actually experienced a brief moment of lightheadedness. He was over six feet tall, and his short, black hair was dramatically streaked silver-white at the temples. Instead of being pretty-boy handsome, his features were ruggedly masculine. He wore a dark blue, perfectly fitted dress shirt, which accentuated his broad shoulders and muscular upper arms. When she tried to adjust her angle to check him out south of his waist, she gave herself a mental shake. What the fuck? These are cops! On my porch!
Anne opened the big door but kept the glass storm door closed. “Can I help you?” she asked, focusing on the object of her lust.
“Anne Karmer?” His deep voice sent a shiver racing up her spine.
“Yes?”
“I’m Detective Garth Slaiter, and this is Detective Mark Collins. May we come in and talk with you?”
They both held out picture IDs, which appeared legit, but there were stories on the news regularly about criminals impersonating people in authority. Anne glanced at the plain black car in her driveway then back at the men. “Regarding what?”
“Charles Stephens.”
“I don’t know anyone by that name,” she responded.
“Chuck Phillips?”
Her jaw dropped. Only in my world , she marveled silently. “Oh my God, this is fucking priceless!” The irony was just too delicious. Anne burst out laughing. Seeing the expressions of utter confusion on the officers’ handsome faces did nothing to quell her fit of giggles, so she covered her eyes with her hands and