Layers Crossed by Lacey Silks Page B

lost myself in
my work.
    If Eric was
able to fry my mind with a kiss, what would happen if… No, I
couldn’t think about being in his bed, his naked body above me, him
slamming into my wet core, burying himself deeper and deeper with
each thrust, driving me mad with the way his hands would roam my
body, as he caressed my curves with his divine mouth. Oh, God, what
was his mouth capable of, exactly? I shook my head. My lecherous
thoughts had me soaking between my legs.
    How would I be
able to resist him? Thank God I was staying at a nearby motel. That
way I could keep my distance and focus on the job.
    Once we
landed, I gave Eric the directions to the motel I’d booked, and
watched the farm fields roll by the side. The little time I’d had
to research Eric’s town, which was only a few miles away, hadn’t
turned up anything out of the ordinary. The information about John
Huntz was another story. This man wanted to stay hidden. Not only
that, but it appeared he had made his way back to Ogden every six
months or so without anyone knowing. How he’d stayed concealed in a
town that small, without anyone seeing him or hearing from him,
surprised me. I had a feeling his daughter, the only relative he
apparently had, would know more – who else would he have been
contacting? I didn’t want to share that information with Eric yet.
He’d freak out that the man who had kidnapped him and his sister
had made his way back to the little town. My gut told me there was
something in Ogden he wanted, and what that was would remain a
mystery for a while longer.
    As we pulled
up to a house, my attention came back to where we were.
    “This isn’t
the motel,” I said.
    “Welcome to my
ranch, Emma,” he replied, opening the car door for me.
    I stepped out,
and with my hands dropped to my sides, I took in the picturesque
log home and its surroundings. To the right, an enclosed area
stretched as far as I could see. Far in the distance a group of
horses grazed the fields. I felt as if I’d just stepped onto a
movie set for Legends of the Fall .
    Turning
around, I noticed the pathway we’d taken to drive up to this
beautiful ranch. Tall willow trees lined its sides, with white
fencing running all the way through, beyond which I assumed Eric’s
horses frolicked. How did I miss this? I’d been so busy thinking
about the case that I hadn’t seen any of Eric’s home.
    “This is
yours?” I asked in awe, suddenly aware that this stopover wasn’t
where we were originally heading.
    “Yes.”
    “It’s
beautiful. And so peaceful.”
    “Thank you. It
definitely is different than New York.”
    Wow! I wasn’t
sure I could find words eloquent enough to describe this property
and do it justice. And in my mind, more questions began to spill
over. How could someone as young as Eric afford this? From the
background check I’d done on him, I knew he was only two years
older than me. Looking at the land stretching out in front of me, I
couldn’t believe how quiet and peaceful it was, and I immediately
felt my shoulders sink lower as I wondered what it would be like to
live like this, so far away from people. I couldn’t imagine not
having a friend like Grace living just a few floors below me, or a
family within an hour’s drive. Although Eric’s parents didn’t live
that far away, it still seemed like they could have been on the
other side of the country. Standing here, for that brief moment, I
wished I could stay at this ranch instead of the motel.
    “Wait, you are
going to take me to the motel, aren’t you? You know I can call a
cab if it’s an issue.”
    Eric simply
laughed, shaking his head and murmuring under his breath, “A
cab.”
    “What?” I
asked.
    “You’d have to
wait quite a while for a cab around here. Mr. Carlton’s old Buick
doesn’t go faster than thirty miles per hour, and that’s when he’s
sober enough to drive.”
    “There’s only
one cab?”
    “If you call
it a cab. He just drives people to places when