Dead Case in Deadwood Read Online Free

much rock star partying every
night."
    His gaze inched toward my bellybutton, leaving a scorched
trail all the way down. "I want to touch you, Boots."
    What a coincidence. "I want you to touch me, Doc."
    He rubbed his palms together slowly. "If I start, I
don’t think I’ll be able to stop."
    I gulped, my body trembling now for a whole different reason.
"If you start, I’ll definitely want you to finish."
    My need for Doc overshadowed all logical reasons why we
should not be having sex at eight a.m. on a Friday morning in downtown
Deadwood. My worries about getting caught by Natalie faded. My up-in-the-night
anxiety about this wildfire of a crush I had for Doc suddenly seemed trivial. I
stood there, waiting, wanting, willing him to touch me.
    My cell phone rang.
    Of course it did.
    "That’s Mona," I said, able to tell by the Bach
ringtone I’d programmed in for her.
    "You should probably get that," he said.
    "Yeah."
    He groaned and handed me my phone.
    "Hello?"
    "Vi," Mona said. "Where are you?"
    "Next door at Doc’s, why?"
    "Natalie is here looking for you. Want me to send her
over?"
    "No!" That came out too sharp. I mellowed my tone.
"Um, just tell her to stay put. I’m on my way back over."
    "’Kay. Say ‘hello’ to Doc for me."
    I’d rather have wild and freaky sex with him on his desk. "Will
do," I said and hit the end button.
    Doc was staring at my dress as if it were see-through.
    "I have to go, Doc."
    "I know."
    "I have a problem."
    "I do, too, thanks to that dress. It’s going to ache
like hell when you leave."
    I clasped my hands together to keep from touching him, just
in case Natalie decided to step outside and peek in at us. "Natalie has
appointed herself my guardian angel."
    His gaze met mine. "What does that mean?"
    "She’s staying over at Aunt Zoe’s with me 24/7."
    "Which means you haven’t told her about us?"
    I avoided the accusation in his eyes. "Pretty much,
yeah."
    "Which also means I can only touch you behind closed
doors and drawn shades."
    "Exactly. Whenever I can shake her from my tail, that
is." Which hadn’t been easy over the last few days.
    "What about after she goes to sleep?"
    "She’s occupying the other half of my bed."
    "Damn it, Violet."
    "I know."
    "Would you just tell her the truth already?"
    "I’m working up to it."
    He pushed off the desk and strode over to the door,
unlocking and holding it open. "You’d better get over there."
    Shoving my sunglasses onto my face, I grabbed my drink and
made my exit. "I’ll call you later."
    He caught my arm as I passed in front of him, halting me. "Violet."
    I lifted my brows.
    "Tell her."
    "I will. I promise." As soon as the time was
right.
    His grip on my arm turned into a caress before he released
it. "And keep your little nose out of trouble."
    "Always."
    His "Right" followed me out into the sunshine.
    Inside Calamity Jane Realty, Natalie sat in the chair
opposite my desk with her long tanned legs stretched out in front of her. The
cast encasing her lower right leg was covered with graffiti drawn by my
children—hearts, ice cream cones, and stick chickens from Addy; a diagrammed
horse’s skull thanks to Layne. Mona was nowhere to be seen, her usual jasmine
calling card overrun by the scent of Natalie’s coconut suntan lotion.
    "How’s Doc looking this morning?" Natalie asked as
I set my latte down next to my keyboard.
    The question sounded casual enough, but my cheeks heated,
anyway, being that I’d been next door attempting to seduce the man of her
dreams. "Same as usual."
    "Hot and drool-inducing then," she said, making a
gurgling, purr-like noise in her throat.
    "Is that supposed to sound sexy?" I forced a
crooked grin, trying to joke my way off the subject of Doc. "You sound
like you’re choking a cat."
    She grinned back. "Better a cat than ‘the chicken.’"
    "Oh, tacky. Kiss your momma with that mouth?"
    "Said the kettle. You taught me everything I know."
    "Where’s Mona?" I asked.
    "Gone. She said to tell you she