It had been a dreary, rainy day, and Nina sighed as she unlocked the door and let herself into her house. It had been a long day for her. As usual. The shop didn’t open until ten each morning, but Nina always got up and got started at around seven. That was just the nature of owning your own business. But, of course, the after-hours activity didn’t help either. She hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before.
She smiled as she thought about her wild and crazy night with her mysterious knight in shining armor. Storm Kelly. What a name! It suited him though. He was dark and brooding and unexpected, just like the summer storm. And sexy as sin!
That man had set her night, and her body, on fire last night, and Nina was hoping beyond hope that he would call her. She had given him her number before he left her place that morning around eight. And after she had retrieved her cellphone from Tim once he got to the shop, she jumped each time it would ring. But so far, it hadn’t been Storm who was calling.
She had been all smiles at work today though, remembering the feel of his hands on her skin. And the way he had tied her hands and fucked her hard. God, she had loved it! No one had ever dominated her like that before. It was sexy as hell, and she had never had an orgasm like that before either. It had been powerful and long, seeming to go on forever. She would never forget it. And she would never forget him.
It wasn’t just the great sex though. It was him – all of him. There was just something about him, the heroic way he stepped in to save her without knowing anything at all about her or the situation, except that she was in trouble and she needed help. And he seemed so concerned about her safety when she told him about Bull and what had happened.
She sighed as she wandered through her house, kicking off her heels and putting her things down. She pulled out her cellphone and checked it for the hundredth time. And she groaned in frustration when there was still no call from Storm Kelly. She remembered falling asleep in his arms after their third go around. He had used one of her scarves and tied her hands to the headboard of the bed before banging the hell out of her. It was so freaking hot. And afterward, when he untied her hands, she had snuggled up in his arms and drifted right off.
She had to stop this. She had to just push the memories down and stop obsessing over it. If he called, he called. If he didn’t … well, then she would just have to deal with the fact that he wasn’t as interested in her as she was in him.
Sighing heavily once more, she set her phone down on the night stand, plugged it into its charger, and walked away from it, still trying desperately not to think about Storm anymore. Instead, she thought about how relieved Tim had been when she called him from the shop that morning. He brought her phone and her purse with him when he came in for work, and he told her that he had gone to her house to return them the night before when she never came back to the park after leaving with Bull. He said that he thought about calling the police when she wasn’t there, but decided to wait and see if she turned up in the morning.
The thought made her anxious. Just like last night when Storm pointed out that if he hadn’t come along when he did, Bull and his friends probably would have succeeded in raping her. She was so creeped out by the thought as she stood at her bedroom closet and began to undress. She pulled off the sleeveless black blouse and the black jeans she was wearing. And as she removed her bra, she suddenly got the weirdest feeling. Like she was being watched, and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she glanced around her room. Nina was not a shy or modest girl. In fact, the thought of being watched in a sexual situation sort of turned her on. But this was different. There was nothing titillating or sexy about the creepy vibe she was feeling right now, and she reached for the short silk robe that was hanging on the back of her closet door and quickly put it on. Then she walked toward the window and reached up to pull down the shade behind the sheer curtains.
She was being silly. She knew that she was simply creeped out because of the events of the last twenty-four hours. Not to mention Storm’s words about Bull basically kidnapping her from the park and holding her against her will.
“You have got to let all of this go, Nina,” she sighed, talking to herself as she ran both hands through her hair. And then she jumped about a foot, letting out a small yelp, when her cellphone rang. She ran to her bedside table to answer it, and felt her hopes come crashing down when it still wasn’t Storm.
Stop it, Nina! Don’t be that girl.
“Mom, hey! How are you?” she asked lightly. And as she listened to a report from home about her dad’s upcoming retirement, and her mom’s new jewelry making hobby, Nina wandered out of her bedroom and into the kitchen. She pulled out a bag of lettuce and dumped some into a bowl. Then she added a handful of little yellow pear tomatoes, and diced an avocado and sliced a couple of radishes. She added little bit of grilled chicken and a small drizzle of creamy cucumber dressing, and then she sat at her dining table and ate her dinner as she gave her mom an update on how the tattoo shop was going.
“And what about that nice Tim fellow who works for you,” her mom asked, and Nina rolled her eyes as she chewed a mouthful.
“Mom, how many times do I have to tell you that Tim is not my type,” she answered.
“Well, sometimes types can change,” her mom replied.
“Mom, Tim has a girlfriend, okay. And she’s a very sweet girl, and she just happens to be one of my best friends. So let it go.”
“Oh, Nina. You need to remember to have some fun yourself. Your dad and I are so proud of all you’ve accomplished, honey, but we worry about you too. You can’t work twenty-four hours a day. It wouldn’t hurt you to meet a nice man to go out and have some fun with, you know?”
“I have met a nice man,” she blurted out. And then she immediately regretted it the moment the words were out of her mouth. Why had she said that?
“You have?” There was no mistaking the delighted surprise in her mother’s voice, and Nina rolled her eyes once more.
She hesitated. “Yeah,” she answered, wondering how to appease her mother without making her apparent one night stand with the hottest guy she’d ever met sound like more than it was. “Well, we’ve uh … we’ve only been out on one date so far.” If you could call him screwing her brains out last night a “date,” she thought. “But he’s nice. I like him.”
“Oh, well what’s his name?” he mother asked pleasantly.
“Storm. His name is Storm Kelly,” she answered.
“Kelly? Sounds Irish,” her mom gushed in obvious approval.
“Okay, I guess so,” Nina replied.
“Storm is a little strange though, isn’t it?” she added.
Nina’s eyes reached for the ceiling one more time. “It’s no more strange than Nina Fitz, Mom.”
“Hmm,” was her mother’s only response to that comment. She knew that her daughter had always hated her given name. “Well, I can’t wait to hear more about this man. When will you see him again?”
“Well I’m not exactly sure,” she answered awkwardly. “He works a lot.”
“Oh, what does he do?”
Damn it! Why had she said that? She had no clue what Storm did for a living because she hadn’t bothered to ask him last night. And after seeing the large gun he carried on him, Nina hadn’t really been too eager to find out. Sure, she had been curious. But she didn’t want to learn that he was some type of drug dealer or nefarious criminal or something, so she had kept quiet. But what was she going to tell her mother?
“Well, he … um. Oh! You know what, Mom? There’s someone at my door right now,” she lied. “Can I call you back?”
“Oh, sure, honey. But I’m serious. I want to hear all about this Storm Kelly, okay?” she said.
“Yeah, of course,” Nina replied. “I’ll call you later.”
“all right, honey. I love you!”
“Love you too, Mom.”
She sighed and then slapped a palm to her forehead as she hung up the phone. Why had she told her mother about him? Why had she mentioned him at all? And the biggest question of the night so far … why, for the love of God, couldn’t she get that man out of her thoughts and off of her mind? It was crazy. She had never fallen for a guy this quickly before! And Nina knew without a doubt in her mind that she had fallen. He was all she could think about. He was in her every thought, and had been from the moment she woke up in his arms that morning.
They hadn’t said too much to each other in the daylight, and Nina knew that she had been feeling a little bit shy. And at the time, she figured Storm was feeling the same way. Now though, after she’d had several hours to think about it rationally, she wondered if maybe there was more to his silence. Like maybe he was so quiet this morning because he was just trying to get the hell out of there before Nina could go all “girlie” on him and get clingy. She had made pancakes, and they sat at her dining table and ate in relative silence. He thanked her for breakfast, she gave him her number, he kissed her lips, and then he was gone.
She took a deep breath and let it out with a loud sigh. Then she got up and put her bowl and fork into the dishwasher. She went about cleaning up after herself a little, wiping down the counter and taking the full garbage bag out to the large trash can on the back patio. Then she went into the bathroom and turned on the hot water for her shower.
As she waited for it to heat up, she pulled off the silk robe and hung it on the hook on the back of the bathroom door. Then she stepped over to the mirror and ran a hand through her hair. Picking up a brush from the vanity she stood in front of the mirror brushing her long copper locks for a moment. Then she put the brush away, pulled off her panties, and stepped into the shower.
The hot water felt so good on her skin, and Nina took her time lathering up and washing her hair. She was halfway through rinsing out her conditioner when she heard what sounded like a loud thud, and she froze. Did she imagine that? She was beneath running water at the time so, perhaps it was her imagination.
She quickly finished rinsing her hair and turned off the water, standing stock still for a moment so that she could listen. She heard nothing. She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her hair. Then she stayed in the bathroom drying herself off thoroughly and still listening for any signs of mischief. Still, she heard noting, and she knew that her mind was most likely playing tricks on her.
She left the bathroom and went back to her bedroom, pulling on a cute pair of stripped pajama shorts and a matching tank top. Then she grabbed a folder from her bag, pulled out her laptop and climbed onto her bed. She had a little bit of work that she had brought home with her that needed her attention.
Her shop, Express Yourself, wasn’t just a tattoo parlor, although that was its main focus, and where her bread and butter came from. But in addition to the tattooing and the piercing, she also sold her artwork there. And her clothing. It wasn’t a large clothing operation though, just a small line of women’s t-shirts that she had designed with cool quotes and her unique tattoo designs on them. They were fun and flirty and feminine, and she loved them. And the shop was finally beginning to see some real profit from them, which was awesome. The paintings, not so much yet, but she was hopeful.
She was up to her elbows in spreadsheets when she suddenly heard a loud noise coming from the direction of her kitchen. It sounded like something had fallen, and she knew immediately that someone was in her house!
Her heart started beating rapidly. This wasn’t really happening, was it? First feeling like someone was watching her, then the noise while she was in the bathroom. Now this. Oh, God. That first noise had been real, hadn’t it? Someone was really in her home. Her mind immediately flew to Bull, but she didn’t think he even knew where she lived. When they’d had their date, she met him at the shop, not at her house. The fear washed over her in waves as she closed her laptop and grabbed her cellphone. Then she stood up and silently closed her bedroom door and dialed 911.
*
It had been a pretty slow, rainy night full of routine traffic stops and family trouble calls, and Storm had spent most of it thinking about Nina. He couldn’t get her off of his mind, and he figured that it was simply because she had an interesting bit of drama going on with this Bull character. When he got to work that evening he’d had two things on his agenda. One, running Nina Fitz to see if she was clean. And two, finding out more about Bull.
The first task had been easy enough. After roll call when he slid into his cruiser and got onto the road, he typed her name and address into the computer in his car. He discovered that Nina Fitz had six points against her license from a two year old DUI that happened in mid-December, and he deduced that she’d had a couple drinks at a Christmas party and then got behind the wheel when she shouldn’t have. That was no big deal – it happened to the best of us. Other than that, she had no criminal history at all, and that made Storm very happy. It meant that he didn’t need to have any qualms about dating this girl. And he definitely wanted to date this girl!
She was the hottest thing he had seen in a long, long time, and the sex last night had been nothing short of incredible. Her willingness to be dominated had turned him on like nothing else. He remembered the trace of fear he had heard in her voice when he first tied her wrists together, and he wondered if she had ever been tied up before. He didn’t think so. And he wondered how she would respond to being restrained with handcuffs, or to a real spanking. She didn’t seem to mind the couple of playful little swats he had given her bottom last night, so he was hopeful.
The second task was a little more involved, especially since he didn’t really have anything to go on besides the goofy nickname. Assuming of course that it was a nickname. And since Benton was inside Eastwood County, Storm had done the only thing that made sense to him, and called his cousin Payne.
Payne Kelly was one of his Uncle Mitch’s five sons, and he was an Eastwood County Sheriff’s Deputy. He had been with the Sheriff’s department for close to ten years now, and Storm knew that if anyone would be able to help him out with some information, it would be Payne. He called and left him a message explaining what he needed. And at about two hours into his 7 pm to 3 am shift, Storm got a text from his cousin asking him to meet him in the parking lot of the strip mall on Mahafee Street in Eastwood. That side of town wasn’t really Storm’s beat, but for this he took a few minutes and slipped away.
When he pulled into the parking lot on Mahafee he spotted his cousin’s cruiser right away, and he slowly pulled around to meet it, lining his driver’s side door up with the driver’s side door of the Sheriff’s car. Thankfully the rain had stopped for a while.
“Hey, Cuz.”
“What’s up, Storm?” Payne said in greeting as he reached out and shook his hand.
“Thanks for meeting me, man. I’m assuming you have something for me?” Storm asked.
“I do,” he nodded. “But first, can I ask why you’re asking?”
Storm hesitated for a beat. “Let’s just say I had a little run in with him while I was off duty.”
“You want to be more specific?” Payne frowned.
“I was out riding yesterday evening, and I stopped in Duffy’s to have a quick beer before heading back home,” Storm explained.
“And Bull’s gang gave you a hard time?” Payne asked.
“No. Actually it seemed pretty tame in there to me,” Storm answered. “But just as I’m about to leave, I hear screams. Only no one seems concerned. So, I go nosing around and I find Bull and a couple of other idiots about to rape this chick.”
“Really?” Payne asked.
“Yeah.”
“And?”
“Well, you know me. I wasn’t about to just leave her there, so we did a little dancing,” Storm said.
“You were alone?”
“I was. Didn’t do them any good though,” he answered, and Payne smiled, not at all surprised that his cousin had come out of an uneven fight unscathed.
“And the girl?”
“She’s fine. I got her home. But she told me that Bull has basically been stalking her a few weeks now. He practically kidnapped her to get her to that bar last night. Coaxed her onto the back of his bike under the pretext of a fun ride around the block, and then took her all the way to Benton against her will.”
Payne took a deep breath. “Okay, here’s what I know. Bull’s real name is Ricky Bulton, and he is your basic garden variety dirtbag low life. Started his career at a young age with petty theft and peeping, then graduated to breaking and entering, grand larceny and rape. He’s done time for all of it, been in and out since he was a teenager. Lately we’ve been watching him and the gang of bikers he hangs out with at Duffy’s because they’ve recently dipped their toes into the drug pool, if you know what I mean. But Bull actually made a deal about two years ago to keep himself out of prison. He’s been a CI of mine ever since,” he said, indicating that Bull was one of his confidential informants.
“You’re shitting me. He snitches for you?”
“Occasionally,” Payne answered.
“So he’s protected?”
“Hell no,” Payne frowned. “Far from it. He screws up big enough, his ass is back in the clink faster than he can say the word 'prison.'”
“Good to know,” Storm smirked. So Bull really was a rapist. He’d done time for it even. Something about that knowledge suddenly made Storm feel more than uneasy where Nina was concerned.
“The girl, did she file a report on the incident last night?” Payne asked.
“No. But I’m going to try to urge her to,” he answered.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Payne said.
“all right, man. I’ve got to get back to my beat. Thanks for your help,” Storm said.
“Any time, Cuz,” he smiled. “Hey! Is she pretty?”
“What?” Storm smiled.
“Come on, man. I know you! Don’t even try it,” Payne laughed. “There’s a reason you’re this invested, and I know it’s gotta be the girl.”
Storm laughed at him, but he couldn’t deny it. “No. She’s not merely pretty, okay? She is freaking gorgeous.”
“I knew it!”
Storm laughed as he put his cruiser into gear. “Be safe, man.”
“Yeah, you too,” Payne responded as they each drove off.
Storm got back on the road still mulling over everything he had learned about Ricky “Bull” Bulton, and wondering if it was too late to give Nina a call. He had no idea what time she usually left her shop or what time she normally went to bed. Although they certainly hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before.
He had just gotten back to his own beat when his radio suddenly sprang to life.
“Car 431, proceed to 107 Hawthorn. Caller reports possible intruder in the home.”
“431 acknowledged,” he responded. And he frowned as the address of the call rattled around in his head for a second. Where had he heard that address before? 107 Hawthorn. 107 Hawthorn? He suddenly felt his gut knot up as he realized why the address sounded so familiar to him. That was Nina’s place! He flipped on his lights and sirens as he sped off in the direction of her house.
Outside the house, Nina sat on the damp steps of her porch with her cellphone up to her ear and a small unkempt, long-haired, gray and white cat on her lap. He was wrapped in a towel and purring away.
“Ma’am, we have a car en route, he should only be a few seconds away. You should hear him approaching momentarily.”
“Yes,” she replied, talking to the dispatcher. The woman had insisted on staying on the line until one of their officers arrived. “I see the flashing lights turning onto my street now. Thank you so much!”
“You’re welcome.”
She hung up the phone just as the officer pulled up and got out of the car. And as Nina got to her feet, she was stunned when the officer approached her.
“Nina! Are you all right? You called about an intruder?” Storm said as he rushed to her front porch.
“You? You’re … you’re a cop?” she asked. And she knew that her voice sounded truly shocked, but she couldn’t help it. Of all the possibilities running around in her head since spying the gun last night, this one never crossed her mind.
Storm frowned slightly at her. “Yeah, I’m a cop,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.
“But why didn’t you just tell me that?” she asked.
“I don’t know. You never asked,” he countered. “But hey! Here’s a question for you. I heard that you called 911 about an intruder?”
She rolled her eyes at his sarcasm as she stood petting the cat in her arms. “Yes, I did. But, now I don’t know,” she answered, feeling foolish. “I told the dispatcher that I thought I’d made a mistake, but …”
“Wait a minute, what do you mean you don’t know?” Storm said, growing agitated.
“Well, after I had the dispatcher on the line, I walked out to my kitchen to investigate,” she answered, sounding sheepish.
“And didn’t the dispatcher tell you to stay in one room and lock the door until the cops showed up?” he chastised her.
“Yes, she did. But by that time I was already in my kitchen,” she countered. “And that’s where I met this guy.”
Storm looked to the cat in her arms and frowned. “I don’t remember seeing a cat last night.”
“That’s because he wasn’t here last night. I don’t have a cat,” she confirmed. “But my back door sometimes sticks, and I think I’ve closed it all the way but I really haven’t. Anyway, I think the noise I heard was the wind blowing the back door open because when I entered the kitchen, the door was wide open and this little guy was drenched and snooping around my table.”
“So you just figured mystery solved?” he asked, smirking at her.
“Well, yeah,” she shrugged.
Storm shook his head at her. “Well, since I’m here, and I am a trained law enforcement professional, why don’t I just have a look around anyway. Just for shits and giggles, hmm?” he asked with a sarcastic smile. He turned and entered her house as Nina followed him in, closing the door behind them. “You wait here,” he told her.
Nina watched him walk away with his hand on his gun as it rested in the holster at his side. And she couldn’t help thinking how good he looked in that uniform. He was a cop! She shook her head as the thought rattled around in her head. Why had she been so quick to think the worst? Drug dealer. Mafia hit man. The things going through her mind had been so horrible. Never once did police officer come to mind, but now of course, it all made perfect sense. His willingness to come to her rescue when no one else did. His genuine concern for her safety when he talked about picking a new hiding place for her key on the porch, or about accepting rides from strangers. That decent streak she had sensed in him was real and genuine. And blue apparently.
Storm went all through Nina’s small house, even checking the closets and other obvious hiding places. If there had been someone in the house tonight, they weren’t there anymore. He finished his search in the kitchen, making sure to have a good look at her back door. There were no pry marks that he could find, but he did easily see that her door was in fact in need of some maintenance attention. Then, just for his own peace of mind, he stepped outside and went all around the back, and sides of her house with his flashlight, checking the windows as well as the ground around her house.
When he finished, he stepped back inside. “Okay, come here,” he said, motioning her into the kitchen. “I need to show you something.”
Nina had followed his earlier instructions to stay put in the living room. But when he beckoned to her, she followed. She gently placed the drenched cat, and the towel that she had wrapped him in, into a large wicker basket that sat on the floor. Then she followed Storm into the kitchen.
“Do you have a boyfriend, Nina?” he asked, aware that the question was an awkward one given the night they’d spent together. “Or someone who is here often? Maybe someone who does work on your house? A gardener or something?”
She was taken aback by the question. Why was he asking this? “What? I don’t understand.”
He walked out of the kitchen door once more, and Nina followed after him around to the side of the house. “Do you see this?” he asked, shining his flashlight on the ground between the shrubs.
“What is that?” Nina asked, examining the mud.
“It’s a perfect, muddy footprint,” Storm said. “Which means it’s fairly fresh. My guess is it’s a man’s size twelve. And it’s facing the window. What is this, the bedroom?”
“Yes,” Nina whispered. “Oh, my God. Earlier tonight, I felt like someone was watching me as I got undressed. It really creeped me out and I pulled down the shades.”
“Well I think your gut was probably right,” Storm said. “Someone was watching you. And I’d be willing to bet it was our friend, Bull.”
“Why do you say that?” she asked.
“Because he’s done it before. I did some checking and found out he’s into peeping. And he’s done time for rape, among other things,” Storm said.
“Oh, my God,” Nina repeated.
“431, I’m on scene at 107 Hawthorn. Can I get an evidence tech out here please?” he said, addressing dispatch as he spoke into the radio clipped to his shoulder.
“Acknowledged, 431.”
“I’m going to need to get a full statement from you, Nina,” he said. “Let’s go back inside.”
She turned and walked back to the door, feeling dazed and more than a little frightened.
“Also, you really need to have someone look at this door,” Storm said, following her back into the kitchen. “And you need a deadbolt on here, not just a knob lock. Anybody can jimmy a knob lock with a credit card! Don’t you know that?”
He looked at her with a stern expression, and he could see that she was suddenly feeling overwhelmed and scared. He sighed as he looked at her.
“Okay, listen … I will come and fix this door for you tomorrow. And I’ll install a deadbolt on here.”
Nina smiled shyly at him. “What are you, some kind of knight in shining armor or something?”
Storm smiled at her, and he looked her over slowly, admiring the way her tank top hugged her braless tits. “Well, I do carry a shield, and ride a fiery steed,” he said, referring to his badge and his Harley. “But I don’t think I’m all that noble.”
“Well, I beg to differ, Storm Kelly,” she replied with a coy smile. “Like it or not, you are definitely one of the good guys.”
He chuckled at her response. “What time do you have to be at the shop?” he asked her, trying to determine what time to come fix her door.
“The shop opens at ten, but I’m usually in there between eight and eight thirty,” she answered. “But you can stop by later tonight after you get off work if you want to.”
He smirked at her. “Sweetheart, I don’t get off until 3 am, so … I doubt that you want me stopping by and interrupting your beauty sleep at that hour.”
“Three in the morning?” she asked in disbelief.
“Afraid so.”
“Wow,” she whispered. “What time do you go in?”
“Seven at night,” he answered.
“Every day? I mean, that’s your normal shift?” she asked.
“It is for now,” he answered. He didn't tell her that it might be changing soon, if he got the detective position he had recently put in for. The career move he and his dad had argued about the day before.
Nina sighed and rolled her eyes. No wonder she hadn’t heard from him all day. He probably left her house that morning and went home to get some sleep before going in for his shift. “Well, that is going to be a challenge,” she said, looking him in the eye. And Storm smiled at her again. “But I’ve always enjoyed a challenge.”
“Oh, yeah?” he asked.
“Mmm hmm,” she murmured.
“Does that mean you wouldn’t mind the occasional three o’clock wakeup call?” he asked.
She smiled at him. “Do you like breakfast when you get off at three in the morning, Stormy?” she asked.
“Not usually. No,” he smiled.
“In that case, I’ll be expecting you at three,” she said.
He stepped toward her and looked down into her eyes as his arm snaked around her waist and pulled her closer. “Well, when I come back, you can expect a proper spanking,” he said, and his voice was low and sexy.
She felt her breath hitch as excitement and fear tangled in her chest, and she looked up at him with wide eyes. A proper spanking? What exactly did that mean? “What for?” she asked almost breathlessly.
“Really?” he asked with a sardonic smile, giving her a look that told her she was about to be scolded. “Let me think. Oh, yeah. Not following the dispatcher’s instructions, which could have saved your life had there been an actual intruder in your home. Not calling the police when Bull first started his little reign of terror so that there would be a proper record of all his crap. And not getting that back door fixed a long time ago! I’m seeing an escalating pattern of you not giving a shit about your personal safety, Nina.”
She stared at him completely dumbfounded for a moment. Was he for real? “I do care about my safety. I just … don’t happen to think like a cop,” she countered.
He smiled at her. “Well, lucky for you that I do.”
She couldn’t help but return his smile. He was so freaking cute! “You are joking about the spanking, right?”
Still holding her close, Storm suddenly lost the smile and stared into her eyes with an unreadable expression. “No,” he answered. Then he leaned down and kissed her lips. “I spanked you last night. You didn’t seem to mind,” he whispered.
“That was different,” she said softly, looking up at him almost timidly.
“No, it wasn’t,” he answered.
“But you were just being playful,” she countered. “I don’t think I want to be spanked for real.”
“I would never hurt you,” he assured her softly, running his thumb over her chin. “I promise, you will love being punished by me.”
His words caused a shiver that started in her spine and reverberated throughout her body as he lightly kissed her lips once more. Then he stepped away when they heard his evidence technician arrive.