Chapter 5
"In darkness one may be ashamed of what one does, without the shame of disgrace" ~ Sophocles
"Is it true, the Marshalls went to see Strauss today?" Elle asked, as she rose from the bed to help herself to a cigarette. Her smoking a cigarette after they had made love had become a habit, he had learned to adore, because he found the sight of lips when they closed around the filter almost as arousing as the way she used her mouth to do other things to him.
"Yes," Gideon answered. He lay in the middle of the bed and his eyes followed every movement she made while she lit the cigarette.
"They really think one of the workers there is the killer?" she asked, inhaling deeply.
Jason shrugged wearily. "They have at least to eliminate the possibility," he explained and stretched deliciously.
Elle smiled and blew a small ring of smoke in the air. "Why did you send Will with them? You should have paid the landlady a visit... it's been some time since you've talked to her."
Gideon grinned. Even though Elle would never admit it, she was the jealous type who used to hide her hate for Erin Strauss behind her teasing attitude. Again he was glad, she had no clue how close she was to the truth and that her jealousy was not only normal, but justified; though he knew better than anyone that Erin was a part of his past and not his future. The present on the other hand belonged to Elle. His eyes clung to her naked body as she stood at the window. It was open, but no breeze entered the room. It was one of the merciless nights in the valley. A night that didn't allow anyone to escape.
"There was no need to go to the ranch. There was nothing I could do there to help."
"I'm sure the lonely widow wouldn't mind some company."
Elle finished her cigarette, but didn't return to the bed. She just stood there near the curtains and looked at him. He couldn't see her eyes in the darkness, but he felt them, as they penetrated him and tried to read his mind, like he read his books.
"I'm sure Erin doesn't mind a bit of loneliness. As I said, there was no reason for me to go there."
Now he felt her grin, as it slowly crossed her face. "Until the day, she asks for you. That's what you're waiting for."
"And what if?" he asked, starting to enjoy the game, because he knew it fuelled their lust.
"I'll wait... scratch her eyes out, when she's going to drop you like a hot potato... and I'll let you beg me to take you back."
"On my knees?" he asked.
"On your knees, Sheriff. On your knees."
"Is it just me or is you leaving my property overdue?" Erin Strauss asked as she opened the front door. David and his rather inappropriate proposal of marriage had been too much. She had expected anything from him: A threat, his usual disgusting comments or even an invitation for a poker game, but him asking her to marry him in exchange for his generous protection was more than she wanted to handle.
"Oh come on, Erin," he said jovially. "Think about the endless opportunities a marriage could hold for the both of us!"
"A quick and painful death?" she snapped, as she threw his hat against his chest.
"Financial and... sexual security."
She gasped and turned on her heels. "I'm serious, Mrs. Strauss!" Dave explained now much more serious, as he played with the hat in his hands.
Though she knew perfectly well she should just enter her house and shut the door, her foot hung in the air. There was no way, she would listen to him... think about becoming Mrs. Rossi... share his bed on a regular basis...
"Together we can rule this valley and people like Doyle won't harm us..."
A dark silhouette appeared behind her and overshadowed her. She felt two strong hands grabbing her naked upper arms and massaging them. He pulled her against his chest and she felt his hot breath on her cheek.
"I know you're contemplating it... I can literally see your brain evaluating the advantages..."
"Why would I want you?" she asked, her body tense. Her heart was beating faster now and she could swear she could feel his heart bumping against her back. His grip was still firm and his hands warm, his touch sent shivers down her spine. Damn, he shouldn't intimidate her like this.
"Because you know me and I know you... I'm your mirror and I don't care for your moods or your stiff upper lip, because I know they're fake," he whispered against her ear. "Is that the same red dress you wore all those years ago? When we made love for the first time?"
"We never made love," she insisted huskily and added silently, "We just fucked. Over and over again." Determined to escape, she made a step forward. Once she could enter her home she was safe... once she had closed the door he couldn't have her...
His arms circled around her middle, before she could force herself to move and he turned her around as if she were a doll and not a grown woman. She had always felt tiny in his arms and again she cursed herself for her small size.
"You won't run now, Erin," he said and pushed her backwards until her back connected with a pillar.
"Who do you think you are?" she asked, as his hands groped her upper body. "You appear on my doorstep after all those years and think you can get anything you want?"
"That's the plan," Dave admitted and leaned fully against her. "You know I need to thank Doyle, because he was the one who gave me the idea. The guy's probably smarter than I thought."
Erin swallowed as Dave's hand caressed her collarbone and tenderly closed around her neck.
"He told you to marry me?"
"He told me either to shoot or to fuck you," Dave grinned. "I came to the conclusion that fucking you would be more satisfying on the long run. The wedding will just be the cherry on top of the cake."
Erin bit her lips as Dave's hand ran down her body and came to rest underneath her breast. Arching against him, she wished she were stronger than this, but his touch awoke buried memories and a well hidden lust within her. A lust she had been controlling for as long as she had known him.
Sharing his bed would be one thing. Something she could probably live with, as long as she could still fight him at day. Marrying him meant she had to share everything with him and what she wanted was taking from him.
Erin leaned back against the pillar, as Dave's mouth brushed her neck. The tip of his tongue ran seductively over her pulse, counted it. Her breathing became unsteady and as his hands came to rest on her hip, it was reduced to weak panting. He didn't talk, as he made love to her skin and leaned into her.
"There's no way, I'll marry you," she mumbled, when her hands clung to the wooden pillar behind her. He made her dizzy and she feared she would faint, if he didn't stop.
"Wait and see," he returned and brushed her mouth with his lips. "We just got started. Before this week is over, you'll beg me to make you mine."
Slowly Dave lured her into a fierce kiss that fueled her desire. His tongue demanded entrance and involved her into a hot, wet game of control. She recognized him with all her senses, but his taste was probably the most powerful memory aside from his touch. His kiss carried the expensive whiskey and the cigars he loved so much and reminded her about the nights they had spent in her bed on the first floor in her old saloon. The creaking of her old bed and the incredible sound when it finally crashed down and they didn't care.
He groaned against the shape of her neck and she felt his teeth marking her skin. The pain was bitter sweet and very much welcomed, though it didn't help her to find her way back to reality. The rustling of the fabric of her dress alarmed her, because it meant his plan to take possession of her was slowly fulfilling itself and when she felt his hands on the bare skin of her thighs, she tore at his jacket and the skin on the back of his neck, but her nails were short, too short to stop him or to make any impression on him.
"Hold still," he ordered huskily into her ear. "Enjoy the show."
Never before had Morgan enjoyed a ride like this. The blond bomb who rode him like a stallion robbed him off his senses and to him it felt as if his world was spinning around his bed. There had been no questions left when she had knocked at his door to demand entrance. There was nothing to be asked and nothing to be told. She knew he wanted her and there she was. He basked in her lusty appearance and couldn't get enough of her. His hands were all over her and explored every fiber of her body, though she already seemed to know everything about him. Her screams of pleasure while she milked him faster and faster drove him insane while he did his best to control himself to give her what she deserved. He never left a woman unsatisfied. He didn't want to come too soon, but every time their eyes met, her sneaky smile made him understand that she was there to kill him.
"Let it go," she panted while she bent over him and fondled her proud nipples with her fingers.
"I'm coming with you!" he returned and moved his hands from her glorious hips up to her breasts.
"Sure?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye. "Then touch me, tiger!" She leaned back, offering him a exquisite glance on her swollen button. Morgan did as she told him and enjoyed how she lost control over herself as he circled her clit with growing pace.
Kate Joyner hid behind the curtain of the window in Erin Strauss's den and watched her boss and her worst enemy, as they danced their own private dance on the volcano. She was an unintended watcher, but the scene, as egregious as it was, fascinated and aroused her. The truth of what was happening outside was well hidden under the skirt of Strauss's dress, but it filled Kate's fantasy with the most arousing ideas. Kate could see from the greedy movement of Erin's hips against what had to be Rossi's hand how desperately her boss craved for release from the last person on earth who should offer it. Through the closed window she also heard the choked screams, as Rossi lifted her up and forced her thighs around his hip. The man was obviously losing his well kept control, as he tore the top of her dress down and exposed first her lacy corsage and then her naked breasts. A cloud moved aside and allowed the light of the moon to illuminate the well formed breasts that were fondled, licked and worshipped by Rossi's greedy and effective tongue.
Kate felt how her own juices ran down her thighs. Her swollen folds started to hurt and the urgent need to touch herself until she felt at least a trickle of the sensations that Erin Strauss must feel, now that her body shook unchecked against Rossi's. The face of a man that wasn't yet familiar appeared on her inner mind. Marshall Hotchners' hands could be touching her right now.
She imagined how his hands and his cock would be pressed against her or grew hard within her closed fist.
She opened her pants and reached for her swollen button. She was used to her own touch and knew how to handle herself. Working skillfully in her own sensitive flesh, she watched the involuntary lovers outside as they slowly parted. Rossi released Erin's legs, but kept on cupping her breasts, as he spoke to her in a voice that had to be dark with desire and malicious joy. She could only imagine Erin's sharp answer that in turn made Rossi leaning into her again. This time his thumbs forcefully massaged her sensitive nipples.
Kate bit her lips, as her own fingers fastened the pace of her massage. She was almost there. Her eyes were fixed on the scene on the porch and a gasp escaped her throat, as she watched Erin Strauss sinking on her knees with her dress still out of place. Rossi grabbed the pillar with both his hands and Kate heard him groan as Erin tore his pants down. His hard cock vanished in her mouth and was sucked in a forceful rhythm. She heard him sighing or maybe she just imagined the husky sound. Maybe she was the one who sighed, begging for release and a cock to fill her. Unable to take it anymore, Kate sank on her knees, her fingers out of control and she tasted her own blood, as her teeth marked her lower lip. She had reached the floor, as her climax overwhelmed her.
Aaron Hotchner awoke as the sun conquered the sky and mercilessly burned his skin. He lay on his stomach and dust filled his mouth as he groaned. He felt sick and he was in pain. The worst was his head. He had never felt like this before. His head was exploding and the pain threatened to drive him insane. The last thing he remembered was the darkness of the small alley, as he tried to find out who had screamed so badly and why. He had sensed death in the alley. The Lord had been there right next to him and maybe he had caught him. A sun like this could only been produced by hell itself.
He lifted his head. There was the desert. The endless dust, the sand. He slowly, very slowly sat up and his eyes detected something at the horizon. A ridge... stone... he remembered the place. The mine. He had been here before. The scene of the crime.
Only now he noticed he wore no shirt. His was dressed in his jeans and his hands were tight on his back. Blood, but apparently not his own had been spread all over his chest. He was too experienced to panic, but the situation made him uneasy. He was alone in the desert and Morgan had no idea where to search for him.
It took him some effort to get up and since he wasn't familiar with the area, it was hard to estimate his exact location. He had no watch and the sun had already reached a high point at the sky.
Strauss's ranch was closer than the town, that he remembered without a doubt. Maybe he could find the way and reach the estate in a few hours. He headed westwards.
Hotch narrowed his eyes as he noticed something at the horizon. He had to blink, because the sun was blinding him and drops of sweat ran into his eyes, but he decided to walk.
For a second he thought he was having hallucinations, but after a few moments of focusing on the moving spots in the distance, he realized what he saw was no product of his fantasy. There were crows flying in wide, circles and the noises they made became louder. They're dancing, he thought. They're dancing their own dance of death.
Now he ran. The victim's head rested on a stick, like the others had had beforehand. The crows' screams grew louder and Hotch used his legs and his circling upper body to dispel them, though the birds were hardly impressed by his noble effort to save what was left of the dark-haired beauty whose former beautiful face had been reduced to a scary grimace.
**tbc**