Page 52 of Beach Bodies


Font Size:  

Dan pointed to his erection. “As you can see, I have a different response to you. You’re fantastic. You’re just what I like.” She figured that was probably a compliment he paid every naked woman in his bed, but it was okay.

The smoking hot night left her satisfied and excited to embark on an adventure with him, sexually and otherwise.

“What are you going to do tomorrow?” Dan asked.

“I’m getting up and going for a run on the beach. This is an amazing location. It’s everything I have ever wanted, to be right on the beach.”

“I’m glad. I work out, but I hate to run,” he said.

“I run, but I hate to work out. Maybe we can encourage each other.”

“I’ll run with you, but I can tell you right now, I’ll slow you down.”

They fell asleep in each other’s arms. After midnight, Shelly slipped out of bed and quickly dressed, kissing Dan.

“Do you want to see me today?” she whispered when he pulled her into his arms again.

“Yes. Why are you leaving already?”

“I need to go to Alan’s and pack my things, but I’ll be back in time for breakfast. Can I move in with you?”

He looked at her sidelong. “I’ve done this before, jumping in right away, and it hasn’t been successful, as you can tell, since I’m still single.”

“I’m willing to give it a try. Even if it’s just to get me out of Alan’s house until I can get my own place.”

“Yes, move in with me. I really like you, Shelly.”

“I like you, too, Dan.”

“Hurry back.”

When Shelly left Dan’s house, she could see the black ocean rolling onto the beach from his porch. A few houses had lighted windows, but most were dark, the occupants long asleep. She had always wanted to live at the beach. Pillow talk had uncovered a lot about Dan that night. Lily Porter had broken up with Dan over a moral disagreement, not the other way around. Laughing at how ludicrous it was, she hadn’t told him Lily’s morals didn’t prevent her from having sex with engaged men. She’d keep that tidbit to herself.

She arrived back at Alan’s place and wasn’t surprised to see that he’d left. It wasn’t to see Lily, however, that much she knew. Maybe he was legitimately working this time, trying to solve Lily’s murder.

Quickly packing up her clothes, she got her suitcases in the trunk of her car, laughing at what it must look like to their neighbors. The trinkets and items she’d found thrift shopping would have to stay at Alan’s house until she got her own place.

Then she remembered was the gun. She took the case and her rubber gloves, and left for the last time.

She went back to Dan’s neighborhood and parked down the street from his house. All the houses were dark. Pulling a black hoodie on, she covered her hair and added sunglasses. The rubber gloves came next, and she got the gun out of the safe. The house across the street from Dan’s had a huge dumpster in its driveway, so she chose that as the place to leave the gun. The gate was unlocked, and she carefully slid the weapon under a pile of insulation to await discovery.

Chapter 8

With the holidays looming, Laura’s private investigations slowed down considerably. She’d solved several of the cases, and the few that were still active simmered away as she collected evidence.

Next on her agenda, she’d planned on approaching Lily Porter’s mother and father to see if they had any interest in using her services to follow up on their daughter’s murder investigation that had come to a dead end under the watch of Detective Alan Stone.

Will had already left for the hospital, and she lay in bed, her arm over her eyes, dreading having to get up. The pain in her lower back and cramping in her belly meant only one thing: she was getting her period. Anger at the universe took the focus off self-blame.

Will had tried to placate her. “It hasn’t been a year yet,” he said gently. “Let’s give it a little longer. If you want, I’ll get my part over with now. For all we know, my boys don’t swim.”

That had made her laugh. “I doubt it’s you,” she’d said, thinking of the sex partners she’d had, the way she’d made her living when she was in college. It had to have had a deleterious effect on her fertility, didn’t it? The thought brought tears to her eyes.

Finally forcing herself to get up out of bed, Laura went into the bathroom and found the proof. She broke down in tears, the disappointment overwhelming. But she knew her feelings were partly connected to the levels of hormones in her blood and that in a few days, things wouldn’t seem so bleak.

She wanted a baby. So what? She’d survive. She’d stopped telling Will when she got her period. It wasn’t important because they were trying not to try.Just let it happen.He watched the calendar for her fertile days, and that was the only thing they did.

She took a shower and dressed in layers. Her cotton underpants and undershirt like a child’s made her laugh and comforted her at the same time. Hearing the wind whistling outside, she slipped on sweatpants and a hoodie for extra protection from the elements.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
Articles you may like