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I could argue with him until I was blue in the face, and Finnegan Lane would still out-talk me, especially in this case, when we both knew he was right. So I decided to switch tactics.
"Forget about killing Salina for a second. I need you to look into something else for me," I said. "Cooper said that someone had stolen several fountains off his property. Fountains that had been commissioned a few months ago by a guy named Henley. "
Finn's eyes narrowed. "One of Salina's husbands was named Henley. Her last husband, as a matter of fact. The one she killed a few months ago. "
I nodded. "So I'm guessing she got him to order the fountains so Cooper wouldn't realize they were really for her. He wouldn't have made them otherwise. Then, instead of paying for them, she got her giant bodyguards to steal them, possibly out of spite and so she could thumb her nose at Cooper. But that's still a lot of trouble to go to. I think there's something else going on. I want to know what's so important about those fountains. "
"I'm on it," Finn said, pulling his cell phone out of the pocket of his suit jacket and hitting some numbers.
While he reached out to his contacts, I gathered up the remains of our breakfast. I scraped a few leftovers into Rosco's bowl, then put the dirty dishes into the sink. Jo-Jo brought her plate over to the counter, and she got out some towels to dry the dishes as I washed them.
"I know you're worried about Salina," Jo-Jo said. "And Owen too. "
I shrugged. "I only see this ending one way - with me killing Salina, or Salina killing me. She's not going to get treatment, or whatever Owen thinks. Roslyn told me that Salina was cruel even before her father died, and I think she full-on snapped the night Mab murdered him. "
I told Jo-Jo about Fletcher's files and how they had triggered my dreams, my memories, of that night.
When I finished, she nodded and stared at me with her clear, almost colorless eyes. "That would be more than enough to scar anyone for life. Deep down, I think Owen realizes that Salina, or at least the girl he remembers her being, is gone. But he cared for her once, and he doesn't want to see her dead, even if he knows she's brought it on herself. "
"I know, and it's one of the things I love about him . . . even though I have a feeling it's going to tear us apart in the end. Kincaid asked me to kill Salina, and Eva begged me to. I promised her, so that she wouldn't go after Salina herself. Now I don't know what to do. "
"It'll be all right, darling," Jo-Jo murmured, reaching over to pat my hand. "You'll see. Everything will work out the way it's supposed to. "
Faint, milky white clouds wisped through the dwarf's eyes, and I got the sense that she wasn't seeing me anymore. Jo-Jo had a bit of precognition. Most Air elementals did, since the wind whispered to them of all the things that might be, all the actions people might take, those events that might come to pass whether folks wanted them to or not. I wondered what Jo-Jo saw when she looked into Owen's future, but I didn't dare ask. I didn't want her to tell me I wasn't a part of it.
We split up. Eva left to go to her classes, Finn went out and about to see what his contacts had to say, and Jo-Jo geared up for a busy day at the salon.
Owen drove me over to his house. He insisted on tucking me into his bed, despite the fact it was after eleven and the day was already turning warm. He sat down next to me.
"I would offer to fix you breakfast in bed, but you took care of that already this morning," he joked.
I laughed. "It's okay. You know how much I enjoy cooking. It's therapy for me, as much as anything else. "
"I know. " Owen's face turned serious. "I'm sorry for what Salina did to you, Gin. Sorrier than you will ever know. But I'm glad you're going to let me talk to her, to give her one more chance. "
I didn't say anything. I didn't trust myself to speak where Salina was concerned. Not right now, not to Owen. The last thing I wanted to do was push him away, but I knew that was what would happen if I told him Salina had run out of chances.
"Thank you for that, Gin. "
Owen leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. He started to pull back, but I deepened the kiss, drawing him closer to me. He hesitated, but his hands began to slide over my body in that strong, confident, familiar way that always made me shiver with anticipation.
"You should rest," he said.
"I feel fine now," I whispered against his mouth. "In fact, I want to show you exactly how fine. "
I wrapped my arms around Owen and pulled him down on top of me. We took things slow and easy. We lay there on the bed for a long time, just kissing, our mouths pressed together, our tongues flicking back and forth, our hands gliding, gliding everywhere, just letting the need, the desire, build one soft kiss, one gentle caress, at a time.
But what started as a slow, simmering burn of want quickly escalated into hot, liquid, aching need. We undressed each other, and Owen grabbed a condom out of the nightstand drawer. I took my little white pills, but we always used extra protection.
We lay back down on the bed together and continued with our explorations. No matter how much I touched him, I always wanted more. I marveled at the feel of Owen's firm body under my hands, at the strength in his muscles, and the ever-quickening thump-thump-thump of his heart as he responded to my caresses. Owen lay back and let me take the lead. I pressed my fingers into his skin, kneading his warm muscles and trying to ease the tension in him - the tension we both felt.
When he was relaxed, I made my touch softer and lighter, more playful and teasing. A kiss here, a lick of my tongue there, a gentle nip or two with my teeth as I worked my way down his body.
I took him in my mouth, making my caresses hard, then soft, then harder still, until his eyes burned violet, and he trembled beneath me. But every time Owen was ready to let go, I brought him back down, just a little bit, before amping up his need once more.
Again and again, I did this. Hard, then soft. Quick, then slow. Playful, then seductive. I used every trick I knew to bring my lover as much pleasure as possible. Maybe it was selfish, but I wanted him to remember this. I wanted him to remember the way I made him feel and how good we were together. I wanted to do everything in my power to erase the memory of Salina from his body, his mind, and most especially his heart.
I needed to do it in a way I never had before.
