Candy Cane
Chapter 8When they arrived in Phoenix she accompanied her captain to the station and checked in with a few officers and caught up with some of the office events. She got the expected ribbing about her red hair and assured her co-workers it wasn't permanent.
Once home she walked around the house just to check on things, it felt so empty and her foot steps seemed to echo through the rooms. She sat down on the edge of her bed and stared at the picture of her and Steve that was sitting on the night stand. Had it really been three years since he went away? She shivered as the all too familiar scene played out behind her closed eyes and she was left cradling the picture like she had cradled him in her arms when he took his last breath.
She stood up and chided herself for the self pity, and told herself to get moving. She quickly threw some clothes in a bag for herself and went into Shannon's room to pack her some clothes. She then left a message with Captain Dobey that it was two o'clock and she was hitting the road back to Bay City. It was close to eight o'clock when she pulled off the interstate at the exit he told her to take. She found a gas station and called Starsky's home number. They had been waiting on her call and went to get Kristi versus making her navigate the streets to his apartment.
When they got to the service station, her car's hood was up and Kristi and two men were bent over her engine. Starsky's car immediately drew their attention and they straightened up and started admiring the Torino. Kristi met his gaze and flashed him a big smile as she walked over to greet him, Hutch, and Shannon.
"Car troubles?" he asked as he looked over at her car. He couldn't believe his eyes; she had a Mustang Cobra, white with red stripes.
"Nah, just a mutual admiration society for muscle cars. They wanted to see the engine in my car. Then you pull up and your Torino steals all the attention!"
He walked over and looked at her car and the engine, "Nice car! That's not a stock engine, if you'd modified the engine yourself; I think I'm going to fall in love."
"No, my big brother does my car work." Kristi turned to Starsky and with a gleam in her eyes asked, "So what do ya think of MY car schweetheart?"
Starsky laughed, "I love it, of course!"
"Want to drive it back to your place?" she asked as she tossed him the car keys.
"You serious?" He looked over at Hutch, "You want to stop and pick up the pizzas?"
"Pizza! Great I'm starving! I didn't want to take the time to stop and eat and was hoping you'd have some food for me!"
Since Hutch and Shannon were picking up a couple of pizzas, Starsky took advantage and took an extended route to his place, opening up the car where possible. They pulled up to his apartment just as their partners arrived with the food. Starsky looked at the two cars sitting side by side and commented, "They look good together, sorta like a his and hers set."
Kristi and Shannon looked at each other and laughed, "Ya, sorta."
Shannon leaned into Kristi, "I'm telling you, it's an omen."
"Shhhh." Kristi shot Shannon a look that said 'knock it off'.
Hutch had overheard Shannon's 'omen' comment and asked, "What do you mean Shannon, 'it's an omen'?"
"Her car was part of a matching set; Steve's Mustang was like your partner's red with white stripes!" Shannon answered.
"Ya, it was sorta goofy, but they were Christmas gifts to each other." Kristi laughed, "That's where my nickname 'Candy Cane' came from really, and then he played on that for his…ah…practical joke." She then nodded over at her partner, "And my car is still part of a matching set. We had Steve's car repainted to match mine, only with blue stripes, and that's what Shannon drives."
Starsky looked over at Hutch, "Wow, you both drive Mustangs? That match? Hmmpt… hear that? Hutch refuses to get a decent car."
"Hey, don't get any ideas, my car works fine, and comes in handy when we need to be inconspicuous with an older model."
"Oh ya, we have my old car for those types of stake outs also, it blends in and doesn't bring attention to itself." Shannon offered. She didn't want to insult Hutch's car, after all she'd still be driving her old beaten up car if it weren't for Kristi's generosity. "But I gotta tell you I really like driving the Mustang a lot more!" She walked over to Kristi's car and pulled out a picture from the visor and handed it to Starsky. It was Steve and Kristi with their cars parked nose to nose, each sitting on their car hoods.
"Hmmm, you're a blonde?" he said handing the picture to Hutch. "I think I would have liked this Steve of yours, great taste in cars…" he looked over at Kristi meeting her gaze, "and in women." He broke the eye contact by grabbing the pizzas, "Come on, I'm starvin', last one in has to set the table!"
They positioned themselves around the coffee table which held the pizzas and drinks and discussed the case and what their roles would be since their covers were blown. They would be providing backup and surveillance, boring stuff, but it allowed them to still be involved when the bust went down. The FBI's informant had indicated the shipment was due to arrive any day now.
While Shannon was talking about Phoenix, Hutch caught Starsky's attention and raised a finger to his mouth in a 'be quiet' gesture and nodded toward Kristi who had fallen asleep on the floor by him. Hutch and Shannon left soon after that and Starsky took an afghan from the closet and gently laid it over Kristi. He cleaned up the dirty glasses and put the left over pizza in the fridge then went back to the bathroom to get ready for bed.
When he came back to the living room, he crouched down by Kristi and was about to wake her up when she opened her eyes. She smiled and stretched then looked around for her partner.
"They went back to Hutch's for the night; I brought your duffle bag in from your car." he said, answering her unspoken question. Starsky then stretched out on the floor by her and used her line from a couple nights ago, "We're both adults here, think we can control ourselves?"
"Hmmm, and I've just had a nap, so I do have some energy." she smiled as she lifted the afghan inviting him to move closer. He snuggled into her, his weight pushing her back as she wrapped the afghan around him. His body felt nice against hers and she pushed herself into him. They deepened their kisses and she started tugging his shirt up to get it off him.
Starsky took the hint and stopped kissing her long enough to sit up and remove his shirt, then settled himself back down by her. Kristi pushed him onto his back, sat on him and started running her fingers over his chest, closing her eyes and enjoying the thick curls. She leaned down and left a trail of kisses from his chin down to his belt buckle and back up again, stopping to nuzzle in his chest hair. "Just in case it isn't obvious, I love your hairy chest."
Starsky chuckled and pulled her t-shirt up and over her head with one quick movement, "Really? Personally I like yours a lot better." He pulled her down to him and started running his fingertips up and down her spine, stopping to undo one hook of her bra, then continuing the slow tease up and down her spine again.
He sat up with her sitting in his lap and undid one more hook, leaving one lone hook still attached. He kissed along her jaw line down to her shoulders and started to slide her straps down little by little, first one side then the other. Kristi moved to reach behind her to unhook the remaining hook but was stopped. As she sat there facing him she realized that he was teasing himself as well as her with his slow deliberate movements. She shuddered as emotions surged through her.
"Cold?"
"Just the opposite."
Starsky kept his eyes locked with hers as he reached behind her and undid the last hook, allowing her bra to fall away. She tossed it aside and pushed him back down, he was driving her to the edge of her control and she decided to kick up her efforts and return the favor.
She started with a very deep kiss and then went to his right ear, licking down his neck along his collar bone, stopping momentarily to suck on his adam's apple, then up to his left ear. She moved back down his collar bone to the middle of his chest and then down to his navel. She moved back up a few inches and back down a few times, then she passed his navel following the patch of dark hair down to his jeans. Kristi smiled up at him and noticed his breathing had definitely quickened.
Kristi's brain was yelling at her, it was taking all her will power to go slow. It had been a long time since she actually ached for a man's touch, and she didn't want it to end too fast.
He let out a moan when she finally tugged his jeans down and released him from the tight material that was restricting him. She shifted backward and removed his shoes and then his jeans, always working slowly. She almost laughed when she saw his black underwear, but not knowing how he would react; decided this might not be a good time to laugh.
"Breathing pretty heavy there aren't ya, Sergeant Starsky?"
Starsky chuckled and took a deep breath and tried to regain his control. His brain was also yelling at him to flip her over and tear her jeans off. When she moved back up to kiss him, he rolled her over so he was on top of her and then stood up extending his hands out to her, "Come here you. I have a nice soft bed a few feet away."
He pulled her up and pointed her to his bedroom where she laid down in the middle of the bed. "Ok, it's my turn to make your pulse race a little bit."
Kristi threw her head back and laughed, "Already there!" Then she saw the mirrors above her and froze. Her eyes became large as she looked back and forth between Starsky and the overhead mirrors, "Oh I've… I've never had mirrors before."
"I think you'll like them. Lay back, relax, and enjoy the ride, schweetheart." He gently pushed her down, "First these jeans have got to go", he said as he opened the snap and pulled them and her underwear down in one tug. He removed his own briefs then moved up on the bed by her and began kissing her and running his fingertips over her, lavishing most of his attention on her breasts. His fingertips where teasing her, gently stroking up and down her front as he had done to her spine.
Starsky started kissing her deeply again then laughed, "Now who's the one breathing heavy Sergeant Schmidt?"
She smiled and looked deeply into his eyes, "I want you."
She reached up and put her hands on each side of his face and again said, "I want you." She looked into his eyes and added between breaths, "I need you… throw your control out the window…"
Starsky didn't need to hear her twice; that was enough to tell him they were at the same place mentally and physically. He closed his eyes and let his control go and relished the feel of this wonderful woman. He collapsed onto her and held her as they both regained their breaths.
When he felt he could actually move, he rolled to the side and stretched out beside her. She had a contented smile on her face; he reached up and moved some strands of hair off her forehead. Her eyes opened and she looked back at him, finally taking a deep breath she whispered, "Thank you."
He leaned toward her and gave her a soft kiss, "No, thank you." He always tried to be gentle, but this woman understood that sometimes you need more, and had even requested it. "Want to take a quick shower? I know I could use one."
"Ya, except I have a problem."
"What's that?"
"Can't move," she softly laughed.
He smiled; he didn't want to move either. "Not even if I run my fingers down along your ribs?"
She twitched as she tried to control her reactions to his touches. "Nope."
"I see," he sat up in bed and moved down toward her feet, "what about if I run my fingers over your feet?"
She playfully screamed and immediately rolled away from him, but she miscalculated where she was in the bed and rolled off the edge onto the floor. Starsky leaned over the edge of the bed and looked down at her, "You ok?" He didn't anticipate her reaching up and grabbing him, and he toppled off the bed landing on top of her. "Thought you couldn't move?"
"I lied," she laughed. "lead onto the shower, we both need it!"
