Barbara jumped off his lap like he’d goosed her with a Taser and it took a few seconds for Lou to realize what the hell was going on. His vision was blurred, his cock close to exploding and her scent surrounded him, drowning him in Essence of Barbara.
One second he was lost with his fingers inside her heat - the next he was groping for nothing at all as she stared at him in open-mouthed shock. Shudders rocked her body and he wondered if she was gonna faint on him.
Her next words disproved that theory. “Goddamn fucking shit, Lou…what the hell are we doing?”
Since she was struggling with those frickin’ straps again, trying to cover the breasts that he’d so lovingly uncovered, that was a damn stupid question. He shook his head to clear it and reached for the phone, cursing technology, portable messaging devices and whoever was on the other end of the line with pretty much equal fervor.
“Franconi.” He bit out his name to the caller.
“Bad time?” Chuck’s voice echoed through the speaker.
“What?” Damned if he was going to answer that particular question either.
“Check for a white male, about twenty-two or so, short dark hair, may be wearing State U gear.”
Lou’s brain finally clicked back up from his crotch and into a rough sort of working order as he relayed the information to Barbara.
“Got a lead?”
“Possibly.” Chuck sounded enthusiastic. “We had our PR folks record everybody who asked for, or was issued, passes for this shindig. Turns out there’s a kid who worked for us over the summer, never missed a movie, knows ‘em all backwards and is technologically real bright.”
“And?” Lou watched as Barbara scanned the audience.
“And he called in for a favor - a free pass to this one. He’s back at school but got the announcements. They issued the pass - no reason not to - but he fits the profile and our lab knows for sure he’s got the smarts to pull something like this off.”
“There’s a couple of likelies…” Barbara leaned closer to the window.
“We’ll check it out, Chuck. Thanks.” Lou snapped the phone shut with a little more force than necessary as Barbara’s thonged ass flashed at him under her black skirt.
Shit. His timing had always sucked, but never as much as it did right now. He clenched his teeth with enough force to shatter his jaw and eased up out of the chair. Wincing as his cock reminded him of some unfinished business, he joined Barbara at the little window, snapping off the speaker and cutting the woman on the screen off in mid-orgasm. That was the last thing he needed to hear at this particular point in time.
“Where?”
“There, see? One of the ones we picked out earlier - halfway up, about three seats in.” She nodded towards the spot. “And there’s probably a couple in the center section too, but it’s hard to tell hair color from this distance - they’ve got baseball caps on or something…”
“Can’t believe he’d be stupid enough to wear a State T-shirt. That would really identify him.”
“Unless he’s no idea we’re looking for him…” Barbara sighed. “Problem with porn movies is that there’s not enough light cast back into the theater.”
Lou rasped out a chuckle. “I think that’s the point, babe.”
They both squinted through the flickering shadows, trying to pinpoint something - anything - that would indicate the perp they were looking for.
“Shit. I just can’t make out squat from here.” Barbara let out a hiss of frustration.
Lou nodded. “Me neither.” He thought for a minute. “How about we head back down to the foyer?” He glanced down at his watch, trying to make out the numbers in the darkness of their little lookout. “The show’s gonna finish up soon. We can take a better look as the audience moves out. All our possibles are on this side of the theater so they’re gonna have to exit through the doors on the left…”
“Better than sitting here staring at the backs of their heads.” Barbara gathered her purse and fidgeted once more. “Check these damn straps, will you? If I’m gonna have to chase some guy I’d prefer to do so with everything decently covered.”
Lou grimaced. “At this point, I’m thinking I didn’t do myself any favors by picking out this dress.”
“Huh?” She glanced over her shoulder at him.
“Sweetheart, you in black silk…hell, I’ve never not answered my phone on the first ring. Especially when I’m working. You’re a major distraction and I’m seriously kicking myself for a whole bunch of stuff, including some real poor timing.”
Barbara stilled as he secured the last errant strap. “Yeah. Well. So it goes.” She shrugged as she turned. “Doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter. It matters a whole lot. And you’re going to find out how much it matters just as soon as we’re done here.” Lou stared at her, not moving as she attempted to walk past. “I mean it, Barbara. We’re nowhere near finished with this. You understand me?”
She paused, her shoulder against his arm, freezing in that spot as their body heat mingled and blended once more. “Yeah. I got the message. Loud and clear.”
“Good.” He followed her out of the room.
*~~*~~*
They mingled easily with the patrons as the movie ended and the theater emptied. Familiar with the layout now, Barbara made sure she and Lou could see the door that allowed exit from the left side of the theater.
This was the one their suspect would use. Or their possible suspect. Or some guy who might fit the bill of somebody who could possibly be a suspect. Goddammit. She hated this. Give her a nice clean stakeout any day. Something where they knew the perp, or at least had a solid description to go on.
For a few moments she forgot about her character, simply focusing on the door and the people leaving the theater.
“Hey, beautiful. How about you an’ me getting a drink someplace?”
A man was apparently asking her cleavage if it was thirsty. Barbara raised an eyebrow, ready to shoot him down with a few well-chosen words. Then she remembered who she was supposed to be.
She forced a giggle past her lips. “Aren’t you sweet? But I can’t, sorry. I’m with somebody.”
The guy leered. “I’m a better bet. Name your price.” He looked at her breasts once more. “The whole night. Just you and me. And them.” He moved even closer, crowding Barbara back against the wall of the foyer. “I can afford it. Whatever you charge.” He licked his lips.
“I don’t think so.” Barbara shook her head and ignored her twitchy fingers. They wanted nothing more than to find her weapon, tuck it between this asshole’s legs and blow his balls to smithereens. Not only was he attempting to proposition her, but he was blocking her view of the patrons coming out that door.
While she could forgive the first, since she was supposed to look like a call girl, the second was unpardonable. He was interfering with a police investigation, although he didn’t know it.
She could bust him, but then again drawing that sort of attention was something she’d rather avoid if at all possible.
Mr. Studly Wannabe was nothing if not persistent, however. “Come on, chickie. You know you wanna make some cash - I want some fun - don’t see why we can’t come to an agreement here.”
“Because I’m with somebody. I told you…” Barbara managed a whiney tone as she pouted at him.
“So dump him.” The guy shrugged. “I got the cash. Up front. See?” He opened his jacket and allowed Barbara a glimpse of a fat wallet inside. “I’m good for it.” His hand lifted to stroke her breast. “And I can be good for you too.”
“It will be good for everybody if you remove your hand from the lady’s body, friend.”
The words were ever so soft, but Barbara caught her breath at the venom that lurked just beneath the surface. Lou’s eyes were liquid fire as his fingers clamped down on the unfortunate guy’s wrist, tightening until the man’s jaw dropped and he whimpered.
Lou ignored the little sound. “I understand the appeal, buddy, believe me I do. But like the lady said…she’s with somebody. That means, in case you have a problem with the English language, she’s with somebody. Not available. Not interested in having you paw her assets. You with me here?”
The man nodded, eyes wide and fixed on Lou’s face. “Yeah. Sure.”
“It was a simple mistake, so I’m gonna let it go, okay? But you need to leave now. Go home to your wife. Stop trying to pick up strange women for sex. One of these days it’s gonna get you into trouble with people who aren’t as patient as I am. Got that?”
“You her pimp? We could negotiate…”
Good fucking Christ. The man never gave up even though Lou was holding his wrist tight enough to cut off the circulation.
“I don’t negotiate with assholes.” Lou gave the arm a savage twist and bared his teeth. “I let my associates do that.” He lifted one side of his jacket. “You may know their names…Smith and Wesson?”
The man glanced down at the serviceable weapon tucked alongside the leather pants. He shriveled. “Sure, dude. Whatever.”
Lou released his wrist and the man rubbed it. “Look, no offense, okay?”
Barbara sighed. “None taken. Just go away, all right?” Her eyes roamed the crowd as Lou stepped to her side.
The man paused. “Shit. I get it. You’re fuckin’ cops.” He curled his lip on the last word which was spoken none too quietly. “Goddamned fuckin’ cops. Can’t stay out of people’s lives and let ‘em have a good time.” He glared at Barbara as he turned away. “Bet you’re a lousy fuck anyway.”
Lou’s arm went rigid as his muscles tensed and it was all Barbara could do to hold him back. “Not now. Forget him. We’ve got somebody else to find.” She flashed him an insincere smile for the benefit of the curious eyes that were watching them. “Baby.”
But the damage was done. No sooner had the whisper of police presence begun to make its surreptitious way around the foyer then people found a variety of good reasons to be elsewhere. In a hurry.
The crowd thinned at an amazing rate and Barbara ground her teeth at the impossibility of trying to find one guy in a throng of people all trying to get the hell out of Dodge and not be recognized while doing it.
She glimpsed a baseball cap in the right colors. “Lou - over there - ”
“I see him.”
They hurried across the foyer and wormed their way onto the front steps, all the while trying to keep their only suspect in sight. He was short and it wasn’t easy, but eventually they spotted him waiting at the very edge of the sidewalk and scanning the street as if looking for a ride.
“Gotcha.” Barbara tippy-toed carefully down the steps in her high heels as Lou moved quietly in front of her, only to crash into his back as he froze at the bottom. “What?”
Their “suspect” was pulling the cap from her head and releasing about a mile of long straight blonde hair. Within seconds, a small motorbike had pulled up to the curb and she was tucking it all back up into a silvery helmet before hopping on the back behind her boyfriend.
“Well fuck.” Lou’s disgust was evident. “We lost him.”
“Double fuck.” Barbara sighed. “Didn’t even get a working description either.” She turned towards the parking lot. “This whole night was a goddamned bust, if you ask me.”
Lou followed her silently as she chewed on a lump of anger and irritation. She disliked failure, even when the deck was stacked against her. She should have come away with something - anything - they could have used to further their inquiries.
Reaching the car Lou waited while she opened the locks. He was as quiet as Barbara, probably pretty pissed off as well. Neither spoke on the drive back, and it wasn’t until they were walking to her apartment that Lou finally broke the silence.
“Putting you undercover as a hooker is a mistake.”
“What?” She paused as she dug for her key. “What the hell do you mean by that?”
“I mean…” Lou’s hand held the door as they walked inside. “I mean that you’re too much of a damn distraction. If you’re gonna go undercover you need to blend in, not stick out like…like…”
Barbara’s brows snapped together. “Like what, Inspector?”
“Like a hooker. Like an exotic call girl out of Escorts Weekly - like somebody everybody’s gonna have their eyes on and want a piece of. Okay?” He slammed the door with a little extra force.
“No, it’s not okay. That was my assignment tonight. To look like a hooker who wouldn’t be out of place at a porn movie premiere. And don’t slam my door.”
“Sorry.” Lou looked abashed. “I’m just pissed.”
“Yeah, well me too. I hate it when a stakeout doesn’t give us much of anything at all. It’s a lot of work for nothing and it frustrates me.” She tossed her bag onto the hall table and kicked off her heels.
“You want to talk about frustration?” The words were growled out behind her and in spite of herself, she turned in surprise.
His face was shadowed. “Frustration is where not only does an assignment lead nowhere, but you get the hottest woman you’ve ever met to sit on your cock and moan while you find her clit with your fingers and play inside her. And then she gets up and leaves you.”
Lou walked stiff-legged to Barbara. “She leaves you with a hard-on that won’t quit, the smell of her pussy all over your hands and a need to fuck her until neither of you can lift a finger. Until you don’t know whose body stops where and whose starts anyplace else.” He licked his lips. “She leaves you hungry, Barbara. A hunger that’s been gnawing at my balls. A hunger I don’t think I can control much longer.”
Barbara’s whole body twitched with a sudden jolt of lust as Lou’s words poured over her in a shower of sensual passion.
“So I’m giving you a choice here, while I still can. If you don’t want me…tell me to leave. Now. Because otherwise I’m gonna touch you and once I do I won’t be able to stop.”
Barbara sucked in air and stared at him, seeing the glitter of desire in his blue eyes. She could see the rise and fall of his chest as his breath quickened and she could also see the shadow of his cock as it bulged beneath the soft leather of his pants.
He wanted her. There was no question in her mind.
And after tonight she knew something else with concrete certainty. She wanted him.
She parted her lips. “Don’t go.”