Following her up the stairs, bags of groceries in hand, I watch the hem of her skirt dancing along the backs of her thighs, the sway of her ass beneath the fabric. I’m enough below her that I can almost see the place her legs come together, and the heat in my blood rises.

  She unlocks the door, and I’m right behind her, pushing into the room and catching her around the waist. The door slams shut, and she turns in my arms, dropping the groceries on the floor and reaching for my face as our mouths crash together.

  A little moan comes from her throat to my mouth as I lift her onto the counter in the middle of her kitchen. Her sweater is off, and she’s peeling the dress off her shoulders while I unbutton the top three buttons of my uniform shirt and pull it over my head.

  “Oh, God,” she gasps, pulling my undershirt higher and pressing her lips to the top of my pecs. “So gorgeous.”

  My dick is an iron rod, and I need it inside her now. Condom. I dig in my front pocket for the extra rubber I shoved in there this morning. I figured it was good to be prepared for what I’d been dreaming about all night.

  The top of her dress is at her waist, and I reach around to unfasten her bra. It falls to the floor, and I finally get my first look at her body in the light of day.

  “You’re so beautiful.” I cup her small breasts in my hand, sliding my thumbs over her hardened nipples before leaning down to pull one between my lips, teasing it with my teeth.

  “Oh!” She exhales a little noise, and her thighs tighten on my hips.

  She tugs on my undershirt, and I pause to whip it over my head.

  “To the bed,” she gasps, and I eagerly comply, lifting her off the counter and carrying her with her legs around my waist to her queen-sized bed in the corner.

  I drop her onto her back and quickly unfasten my pants. My blood is so hot, my fingers fumble with the zipper.

  She sits up, covering my hands with hers to help, and with a swift yank, my pants are around my hips. Before I can think, she licks her hand and grips my shaft, squeezing and sliding up and down.

  “Fuck…” It feels so good, too good, until she guides the tip into her hot little mouth. “Britt…”

  It’s a hoarse groan, and my fingers are in her hair as she licks and slides her lips down the side of my cock. Fuck me. I lean back to watch, but I’m too close. I’m going to come all over her pretty face if I don’t get that fucking condom on.

  “Lean back.” I rip the foil, quickly holding the end and rolling it down.

  She leans back, and I place my fingers on her clit, massaging while I lean on my elbow, tracing my tongue around her nipple. Her back arches, and she places her hands on my shoulders, rolling us so I’m on my back with her straddling my waist.

  Reaching between us, she grasps my cock, and in one swift movement, she glides me fully into her before grinding fast and hard.

  “Britt,” I groan.

  She’s a fucking goddess, holding my neck and rocking her hips as her inner core pulls my dick faster and tighter. Her breasts bounce, and long waves dance over her shoulders. I’m so close to coming. I squeeze my eyes shut and grip her plump ass, grinding her harder against my waist, doing my best to get her off.

  “Oh, fuck,” she gasps. “Fuck me harder.”

  Jesus, I’m going blind. I’ve never been so desperate and wild. She scrambles off me and onto all fours, and I’m on my knees. I ram my dick inside her again and reach around to massage her clit as I fuck her mercilessly from behind.

  She moans loudly, and her pussy tightens around my cock. I can’t take anymore, and my orgasm breaks free, pulsing and filling the condom.

  My stomach squeezes, and I grit out, “Fuck, your juicy little cunt…”

  Her body jerks, and she breaks and shudders, spasming around my dick as I finish coming, as I hold her to me.

  We collapse forward on the bed, gasping and sweaty. I’m on my side, and I hold her back to my chest, sliding my hands from her waist to her soft breasts, massaging them gently as I slowly return to Earth.

  Her hands cover mine on her tits, and she arches her back, sliding higher to kiss my mouth. My tongue meets hers briefly before I have to take a break to dispose of the condom.

  “Hang on.” I hop off the bed and step into her small bathroom to toss it in the trash and clean up quickly.

  When I return to the room, she’s lying on her stomach with her chin in her hand, smiling as her eyes drift from my face down my chest to my dick.

  “You look at me like that, and I want to fuck you again.”

  Her nose wrinkles, and she exhales a laugh. “I like your dirty mouth.”

  “I like your mouth.” Leaning forward, I brace my hands on the bed before kissing her slowly, pulling her lips with mine and running my tongue across the length of hers. “I’ve got to get back to work.”

  “Boo.” She pokes her lips out in an adorable pout.

  “I swear, girl, the things I would do to you.”

  Her eyes light, and she sits up on her feet. “Tell me.”

  “Jesus.” I’m stepping into my pants, gazing at her naked in that bed, and I’m about ready to say fuck it.

  The town will survive an afternoon without me.

  I pick up my undershirt, but she’s off the bed, running to where I stand and taking it from my hands, quickly dropping it over her head. “I’m keeping this.”

  It falls past her waist, but her taut nipples are visible through the thin fabric. It makes me wonder if everything she does is unbelievably sexy or if I’m completely whipped.

  “If I didn’t have to check in with Doug…” I catch her around the waist, pulling her body to mine. “I wouldn’t.”

  I lean down as she rises onto her tiptoes, holding my shoulders. Our mouths meet halfway, and when our lips part, when our tongues collide, an explosion of heat filters through my chest. My arms tighten around her, and I inhale the scent at the side of her hair, fresh flowers and ocean air.

  “Mm,” she hums. “What are you doing with Doug?”

  Stepping back, I pull my uniform shirt over my head, buttoning the three buttons and shoving the tail into my pants. “Holly’s dad gave us a pretty good lead on a doctor in Kiawah. Doug’s trying to see if he can connect any of his patients with our suspect.”

  Britt’s back straightens, and she blinks towards her door. “Kiawah?”

  “Yeah.” I step into my boots and follow as she walks to the door to collect the discarded groceries. “I’ll let you know if it pans out.”

  She puts the bags on the counter and her expression is focused as she takes out the produce and bread, soft drinks and other items we picked up on our short trip.

  “Nothing’s ruined, is it?” I look in the bag in front of me. “None of this is perishable.”

  Shaking her head, she gives me a tentative smile. “It’s all good.”

  “Owen and I can help you with your truck tomorrow. Sound good?”

  She nods, and I catch her around the waist before going to the door. “Sleeping together is still a bad idea.” Leaning down, I kiss her mouth, pulling her lips with mine. “But I’m liking it more and more.”

  Her green eyes soften, and she stretches higher to kiss me back, tracing her fingers through the scruff on my cheeks. “Me too.”

  CHAPTER 14

  BRITT

  “Are you sitting down?” I enter the Star Parlor after taking a minute to clean up after my afternoon delight with Aiden.

  “You’re beaming.” Mom levels her eyes on me. “You had sex.”

  “I did not!” I’m a trash liar. My cheeks go hot as a firecracker, and my eyes blink too fast, not to mention my fidgety fingers.

  “You’re almost thirty, Birgitte. You don’t have to lie to me.” She lifts her chin. “At least it looks like it was good sex. Who with?”

  “That’s not your business.” I can’t believe she knows this.

  She steps closer, and my back is to the door. “You’re sleeping with Aiden Stone.”

  My eyes widen, and even if I don’t believe it, the woman’s psychic interrogation skills are intense. It’s how she makes her money, after all.

  Sliding my hand around my back, I’m about to open the door when she places her palm flat against the wooden frame, holding it shut. Her face is close to mine, hazel eyes boring into my soul.

  “I’m not talking to you about my sex life!” I shut my eyes, doing my best to push against her invasion.

  “Fine.” Her tone is miffed, and she steps away, lowering her hand. “You don’t have to share your life with your mother. I’m only the one person in the world you can always trust.”

  Anger flashes in my chest, replacing my embarrassment. “Is that some kind of joke? When have you ever shared anything with me? I chased you all over the spiritual world trying to be close to you until I finally gave up, and now you want me to trust you?”

  “I have always been right here for you. You’re the one who left the fold, went to that college and learned to be a detective.”

  “I’m not a detective.” Pausing, I take a breath, exhale… “I didn’t come here to argue with you, Mom. I need you to talk to me about what’s going on in town.”

  Her brow furrows, and she walks over to her small tarot-reading table. “What else is going on in town besides you having an affair with your boss?”

  “Gran is actually more of my boss than Aiden, and it’s not an affair. He’s single, I’m single. We’re just…” I’m not going there with her. “We got a lead on the man I was telling you about. The one with the prosthetic leg? It seems he might be living somewhere in or around Kiawah.”

  “Is that so?” Her voice rises, and she scoops the gold cards off the table and begins to shuffle.

  It’s the first time I realize where I get my fidgeting hands. She hides it by shuffling the deck. I hide it by twisting my fingers together. Strangely, seeing her thrown off balance softens my feelings towards her.

  “I came down here looking for you the other day, and Cass said you were running an errand near Kiawah.” Her shoulders stiffen, and I continue. “When I was here the last time, you wanted to consult the cards about the case. Did you learn anything?”

  It’s a tentative question. I don’t really think the cards tell her anything. I think they’re a front she hides behind. At the same time, I have no idea what her connection might be to our suspect or his behaviors. Mom adores Terra’s pickles, and I happen to know she’s afraid of chickens.

  “Are you really coming in here, trying to pretend like you’re on my side after you’ve forsaken the supernatural and started sleeping with the enemy? Do you even remember how hard his father fought to keep your grandmother from becoming mayor?”

  “That was years ago. Andrew Stone is dead, and Aiden seems to have made peace with Gran.”

  “A leopard doesn’t change his spots. The Stones are not your friends.”

  She sounds just like Bull Jones, and an angry comeback is right on my lips.

  Instead, I take a breath and bring down the heat. “We’re all on the same side, Mom. We all want to keep Eureka safe. It’s the reason you said Gran wanted me to come back, to help Aiden solve this case.”

  I want to tell her Aiden’s not her enemy, but she’s right. Our families have fought for years, and I’m pretty sure Aiden doesn’t trust her any more than she trusts him. Which doesn’t bode well for our budding… relationship?

  My chest tightens, and it’s probably best not to name it. Not yet. Not when it’s still so new and fragile.

  “Your grandmother would do anything to get you back to Eureka for good.” She places the cards on the table. “She’d probably even look the other way if she knew what you were doing with him.”

  She’s trying to distract me, but I won’t let her. “You’d tell me if you knew something, wouldn’t you? You care as much about Eureka as we all do, right?”

  “I care about my family more than anything.”

  Reaching out, I take her hand in mine. “Why did you go to Kiawah?”

  Sliding her hand out of mine, she takes a seat at the card table, placing three cards face down in front of her. I know this spread well, but I don’t know which direction she’s going with it.

  “I went to Kiawah to visit an old friend.” She turns up the first card. “The Tower.”

  My throat tightens when I see it. It’s the card meaning danger, disruption, or chaos. “This reading is not for me.”

  “No, I’m looking at the situation, the action, and the outcome. The Tower tells us the situation is dangerous and chaotic, which can have many reasons.” Her brow relaxes, and I know she’s leaning into the intention of what’s to come.

  I’ve read the cards hundreds of times when I worked with her. I'm skilled at guiding their meanings to suit whatever the seeker desires, but my mom is too good. Even when I try to resist it, something in me wants to believe her interpretations. I’ve seen them come true, and as much as I don’t want to be here listening, it’s the only way I’ll get her to talk to me.

  She turns over the second card, and her brow arches. “The Ten of Swords.”

  I say the meaning with her, “Betrayal.”

  My mother doesn’t move as she turns the last card. “The Knight of Swords.”

  It’s the second time I’ve seen this card on her table since I’ve been home, and my scalp prickles. When I saw it in the upright position, it meant a change was coming, but like this, inverted…

  My voice is quiet. “Death?”

  She immediately scoops the cards together and puts them back in the deck and starts to shuffle. Her fingers tremble, and my heart beats faster. Chaos, betrayal, and death? The mantra on repeat in my mind is I don’t believe… I don’t believe… But the truth is maybe I do just a little.

  “Before your father died, he was plagued by dreams.” Her eyes are on the gold cards moving quickly through her ringed fingers. “He was never a spiritualist, but he had premonitions. He even canceled one of his shows following a very bad dream. The second time, it was too late, too many tickets had been sold, so he talked himself out of the warning his unconscious mind was trying to send him.”

  A desert is in my mouth, but I manage to ask. “What did he dream?”

  “It was always the same.” She lifts her eyes to mine. “He dreamed of drowning.”

  My breath stills, and I take a step away. “That reading wasn’t for me.”

  “I told you it wasn’t.” She looks down, and I exhale. “You want to turn your back on magic, but it’s in you, Birgitte. You know this reading means something terrible is coming… for someone.”

  I cross my arms over my stomach, turning away from her table and her superstitions. Her mind games and manifestations. It only works if you accept it, if you believe it, if you allow it to happen. I don’t believe.

  Focusing my mind on the facts, I clench my jaw. “There is no magic. It’s all tricks and sleight of hand and reading facial expressions and body language. Penn and Teller make good money explaining how it all works. They even make it funny.”

  “What happened to your father wasn’t a trick, and it definitely wasn’t funny. He was murdered.”

  “Who’s in Kiawah?” I cross back to her, placing my hand on her table.

  “A bunch of rich assholes.”

  I exhale a soft growl. “Who’s near Kiawah?”

  “I’m handling it.” She stands, fixing her eyes on mine. “Don’t speak of this to Aiden.”

  “I’m definitely speaking of this to Aiden. I have to do my job.”

  “You can do your job, but give me time first. I’m closer than I’ve ever been to finding your father’s killer.”

  “Mom…” I groan, dropping my chin.

  A cramp twists my stomach, and I want to tell her it’s time to move on, to let Dad go. But as much as I want to, I’m not sure I can say the words out loud myself. I’m not sure if I can let Dad go, even if I know we have to. I still have nightmares.

  Grasping my hands in hers, my mother’s expression turns desperate. “Don’t choose Aiden over your father. I’ll give you what you want. I promise. But I have one more chance to prove what happened. The spirits are finally moving. Give me a little more time—for him.”

  All the conversations I’ve had with Aiden flood my mind. I’m not like my family. I don’t believe in magic or spiritual revelations. I believe in the law and the truth we can see and touch with our hands.

  This feels like a betrayal. “How long?”

  “A week?”

  Inhaling slowly, I don’t like this at all. “One week, then I’m going to Aiden—and Gran.”

  She pulls me into a hug, and I’m surrounded by the scent of ginger and patchouli. “Thank you, Birgitte. You’re making the right decision.”

  I’m not so sure about that.

  Pulling away, I need to get out of here. I need to breathe fresh air and clear my head of her incense and obsessions and superstitions.

  “I’ve got to pick up my truck from Bud’s. Would it be okay if I park it at your house for the time being? There’s not really a good place for it here.”

  “Of course.” She smiles as she slides my long bangs behind my ears. “Maybe one day you’ll stay for supper?”

  “Maybe.”

  Her smiles, and her affectionate caresses trigger all the distrust in me. I love my mother, but I’ve never known her to act with entirely altruistic motives. Now she’s asking me to trust her, and after a lifetime of knowing her, I’m not sure I can.

  CHAPTER 15

  AIDEN

  “Welp, I didn’t find anything wrong with the brake line.” Bud holds an old-school clipboard as he goes down the list of what he did to Britt’s truck. “Your friend Cassidy said replacing that bumper with scrap wasn’t a problem?”

  “Whatever Cass said is fine with me.” Britt’s arms are crossed, and her brow is furrowed.

  I can’t tell if she’s giving Bud the stern treatment so he won’t talk down to her or if she’s really upset about something. We didn’t see each other much today. I was out of the office meeting with state troopers about security at the upcoming Founder’s Day event, and when I got back in time to drive her here, she seemed a little less sunny.