Author’s Chapter Notes:
This chapter is not very NC-17. But Chapter 2 definitely is. Enjoy.
John Black looked into his wife’s eyes and his heart ached at her disappointment. It was not only her birthday, but there was also a big hospital fundraiser party – disguised as a Halloween costume party — that he unfortunately ruined with three words: “The station called.”
“So you’re leaving,” she said softly.
“I have to, honey,” John replied. “Murdered woman found at Salem Univeristy.” He moved to take her into his arms – but not before he held his hands up like a thief caught in the night when Marlena recoiled from his touch. Her hazel eyes flashed green with anger.
“John, I am a successful doctor. You are a multi-millionaire who is CEO of one of the biggest fashion design firms in the country, yet you seem compelled to want to be a police officer on top of it. We certainly don’t need the money. I need help understanding this,” she accused. And then tears formed in her eyes. “And on top of it, it’s my birthday and we have a big party to go to. I am really tired of going stag, you know?”
“I will do my best to be there,” he said. “Abe and Roman are out at that conference in St. Louis and I’m the only senior detective around. I promised I’d help out if needed.”
“And I guess you’re needed. More than I need you.”
“I’m sorry sweetheart,” John told her. She stood in front of him with her arms crossed over her chest and he could see her biting her bottom lip. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
“I’m going to the party with or without you,” she said finally. “I suggest you find a way to be there.” And then she brushed past him and went upstairs to their bedroom.
And John shut his eyes as he heard the bedroom door slam shut.
***
John looked up into the trees along the finely manicured walkway next to Loomis Hall at Salem University. The body of a woman was hanging in a large tree from a rope, swaying in the night’s breeze as another scream could be heard through the night.
“College prank,” John muttered as he scribbled in his notepad. The blow-up doll with the hideous dress and poorly-applied makeup made her look like a two-bit hooker gone bad.
“Detective Black?” a uniformed officer asked him. “Can we cut her down now?”
“Go ahead, Ray,” John responded, shaking his head. He followed the sidewalk back to the front of the dormitory where two young – and very drunk – college students were seated on the steps and handcuffed behind their backs. John bit back an amused smile because if he could remember his life at that age, he would likely have done something similar. The one man was leaning against the steps while his buddy was draped beside him, likewise on the stairs, on his side, drooling onto the cement.
The first kicked the second in the shin. “Wake up, man, the cops are here.”
John couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Well, men, you’re facing charges of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, underage drinking and risking a catastrophe,” John began, but soon realized that neither student was even listening. He could hear clicking of high heels coming down the sidewalk behind him, and he noticed the more sober student’s gaze turned to behind John’s shoulder, and the second one’s mouth gaped open.
John turned around to have his own mouth fall open as well. Sauntering down the sidewalk was a tall, slender blonde wearing a strapless black leather bustier and a short, leather mini skirt that covered only a small portion of her fishnet-clad long legs that were walking in a pair of black high heels. Perched on top of her blonde head was a black headband sporting one very cute pair of black velvet cat ears.
“Marlena?” John asked as she approached him. And he noticed one major thing besides her appearance: she was madder than hell.
“Well, Hello Kitty,” the drunker student said as his eyes gazed up and down Marlena’s body, only to be kicked by his sober friend.
“Shut up, dickhead, before we get into more trouble.”
John turned and scowled. “Yeah, dickhead. That’s my wife you’re ogling.”
The drunk student smiled at him. “Lucky sonofabitch,” he muttered.
John watched in amusement as the two uniformed officers stopped Marlena. He could see her animated hands explaining who she was, and why she was there. He shook his head as he realized he would never live this down once the entire force found out about it.
Marlena walked toward the scene and stood beside John, placed her hands on her hips, and looked at both would-be criminals. “Today is my birthday and we missed a Halloween party because you two morons decided to play a prank and call my husband away from me to investigate a murder?” She looked at John, a hint of mischief in her hazel eyes. “Dispatch told me,” she whispered to John before looking back at the students to scowl at them again. “Throw the book at them.”
“Woah, lady . . . we’re really sorry,” the sober student offered. “It was just for fun. We had no idea some dumb freshman would get scared and call the cops. I mean, it’s Halloween for godsake.”
Marlena looked at the poor souls in front of her. John was enjoying how she managed to take over the crime scene without a badge. Well, with hardly anything at all as he glanced over her scantily-clad form.
“How much have you two had to drink?” she asked them. “I want the truth.”
The first guy held up four fingers. The second said “four” but held up 5 fingers and hiccupped.
“I assume you’re underage?”
Both sets of eyes became downcast. John had to turn around in an effort not to laugh. Leave it to Dr. Evans to show up and turn into mother-mode in the middle of a crime scene.
“What’s your major?” she asked.
“Mechanical engineering” the first one responded.
“Psychology,” the second one responded, his words still slurred.
Marlena snorted. “Psychology? You better get your act together, sweetheart.” She folded her arms over her bare midriff and shivered. Late October in Salem was cold, and she could feel the goosebumps over her bare shoulders and arms. “I’ll tell you what, if you promise that I will never see you two in any more trouble, and show me a minimum of a 3.0 at the end of this semester, I’ll see what I can do to get the good detective here to go easy on you.”
The first student’s eyes brightened. “Yes, ma’am!”
Marlena turned and walked past John, motioning him to follow. He followed her for about 10 feet, his eyes glued to her rear end. “Hey, eyes up here, sailor,” Marlena said to him, snapping her fingers. She heard the students chuckling.
“Sorry, baby. I was just looking to see if there was a tail with this getup.”
“How long will it take you to book these two idiots?”
John looked at his notepad. “With these charges? I’m looking at another two to three hours to get them downtown, deal with paperwork and get the magistrate to arraign them.”
“I’m not waiting three hours for this bullshit,” she told him, her eyes flashing green again. “They’re two stupid kids who meant no harm.” She reached into her purse and grabbed two of her business cards.
Marlena Evans-Black, M.D., PsyD.
Chief of Psychiatry
Salem University Hospital
She walked over to the two guys who were beginning to show signs of sobriety. She handed them her cards, and both pairs of eyes widened. “Here’s the deal, boys,” she said. “I expect a phone call in my office first thing Monday morning. Each of you must set up an appointment with me through my secretary, and I will in turn set you both up with alcohol counseling. I also want to see a 3.0 or better at the end of the semester. If you keep up your end of the deal, Det. Black over here will withdraw all charges. Do we have a deal?”
“Yes, ma’am,” both young men said, immediately standing up as John moved over to them to unlock their handcuffs. Marlena smiled at them both. “Now get outta here, and behave yourselves,” she said, a hint of a smile on her lips.
John let out a low whistle. “Dr. Evans? I think you missed your calling.”
She turned and looked at him. “How so?”
“Judge. Jury. Executioner.”
She tossed her head back and laughed. John reached over and pulled her close. “Why aren’t you at the Halloween party? It’s your favorite holiday, not to mention your birthday,” he said, tracing a cat ear with his fingertip. “These are cute, y’know.” And then his eyes traveled down her shoulders, past her cleavage to her bare midriff that showed off her flat stomach and cute bellybutton above the waistband of her skirt. “But I don’t know if I like my wife walking around half-naked in public.”
She giggled at him. “Eh. The party wasn’t much fun. So I left.” She licked her lips with the tip of her pink tongue before she turned her mouth into a pout. “The night is still young. Take me out for a drink?”
“In this getup? I’ll take you anywhere.” He threw the police cruiser keys to one of the uniforms as Marlena handed him the keys to her black Mercedes. They drove two miles down the road to one of John’s favorite bars – Frank’s Place.
Frank was about 80 years old with a lazy eye and a limp, but he still tended his own bar. It was no-frills – just good, cold beer and sourdough pretzels. John opened Marlena’s car door and watched her lift her hand up to remove the cat-ear headband holding her long blonde curls away from her face. “Nope. The cat ears stay,” he ordered. “They’re growing on me.” She smiled up at him and reached for his hand as he helped her from the car.
“Nice place,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as they grabbed two bar stools and sat in them. There was only one other person there, and he was drinking alone in the corner. Marlena pulled a bowl of pretzels nearer and bit into a piece.
“What do you want to drink?” John asked her as Frank made his way over.
“Surprise me.”
“Even’in, detective,” Frank greeted, his watery blue eyes gazing at Marlena. “What can I get you and . . . Catwoman, here?”
“Two Scotch, neat,” John said, a smile playing at his lips as he looked at Marlena’s stunned reaction to the Catwoman comment. And he promptly laid a $20 on the bar.
Marlena raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow at him. “Scotch? Trying to get me drunk?”
John snickered as Frank placed two drinks in front of them. John took his and handed the other to Marlena. “Happy Birthday,” he whispered as he raised his glass to her. He watched her take a sip of the brown liquid, her eyes watering as it burned its way down her throat.
“Wow,” she said, and then took another sip.
“I could say the same thing, honey,” he said, taking another look at his wife. Her fishnet-clad legs were crossed at the knees as she sat on the barstool next to him. “What in the world possessed you to dress up like this?” She gave him a blank look and he cleared his throat. “Not that I mind . . . but I dunno, you might be sending a few messages . . .”
“Oh really? Like what? It was a Halloween party. And since my Romeo was at a crime scene, I could hardly dress up as Juliet as we planned. Sooooo,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Belle helped me get this together at the last minute.” She leaned over and whispered in his ear. “The skirt and top are your daughter’s. Remind me to burn them after tonight.” John almost choked as Marlena laughed softly. “I believe Belle’s last words to me were, “Mom, you look hot. Daddy’s gonna flip when he sees you.”
John coughed again after he swallowed the last of his glass and signaled Frank for another. “Um, yeah, I flipped all right,” he said. “Like I said before, I don’t know if I like my wife walking around half-naked in public. I don’t care if it is Halloween.” And then he raised his eyebrow at her. “You’re my wife. You’re sending mixed messages.”
“What kind of messages?” she asked, her voice now raised an octave as she tried to play dumb.
“That you’re . . . available. And interested.” John licked his lips. “I don’t like that.”
“Well you’re right. I’m not available,” she agreed. “But tell me, let’s say I was. What signs would I look for to know that someone was interested in me?”
John gulped. Okay. He could play her game.
“Well, let’s say you’re in a bar like this. Alone,” he said, taking another sip of his second Scotch. “And a guy like me sits next to you and likes what he sees. Maybe he’ll buy you a drink.”
Marlena looked at him over the rim of her glass. “You’re so cynical. Maybe he’s just being nice.”
“Guys in that situation are never being nice, Marlena,” John said slowly, drawing out the syllables of her name for effect. “They clearly want something.”
Marlena swirled the amber liquid in her glass and then traced the rim with her finger. She took another sip and felt the alcohol absorb right into her body as it went down her throat, warming her stomach. She looked at John slyly.
“Okay, so this not-so-nice guy who doesn’t have good intentions buys me a drink. What else do I look for? How else do I know that he’s interested?” She took another sip of her drink. “Better yet, how do I know what he wants?”
John looks around to see if anyone is watching. Frank is busy cleaning glasses. The guy in the corner is crying in his beer. John shifts closer, his knees now touching hers. She can feel his warm breath between them. “He might try to get closer to you.”
“Like this?” she asked breathily, leaning her head in closer to him, their foreheads almost touching. John realizes now that the Scotch is seeping into her bloodstream.
“Yeah,” John responds, and then lightly places his right hand on her knee. “He may even try to touch you.” He slowly and lightly grazes his fingertips upward from her knee, feeling her silky, bare skin through the fishnet holes.
“What if . . . ,” Marlena begins before she drains her glass and licks her lips with the tip of her tongue. “What if . . . I want it?” she whispers into his ear.
Jesus Christ, she could be such a fucking tease, John thought.
He feels himself getting hard and shifts uncomfortably on the barstool as she leaned her head in closer to his . . .
“Last call, detective,” Frank interrupts. John lets out a breath of frustration.
“We’re finished,” John said, realizing they were the only two left in the bar. The depressed drunk must have left. He left Frank a nice tip and took Marlena’s hand, leading her out of the bar. He walked her to the passenger side and turned her around to face him, leaning her body against the car door.
She looked up at him, the cat ears still peeking out from the top of her head, and her eyes were bright from the verbal foreplay and the alcohol swimming through her brain. “So, I guess now I’ve been officially picked up from a bar?” she teased, and then closed her eyes as John leaned down to meet her for a kiss. He thrust his tongue inside of her mouth and felt her gasp for air as he pushed her against the car, sealing the deal. He finally came up for air and pulled her close. “Yeah, you’ve been picked up. Let’s go home,” he said, his voice husky with desire.
Marlena watched the corded muscles in John’s neck twitch as his hands gripped the steering wheel. She squeezed his thigh with her left hand, followed by pricking his leg through his denim jeans with her nails as they drove toward the Penthouse.
The bulge of his erection was obvious, and it made her mouth break into a devilish smile while at the same an ache began between her thighs. Suddenly, John flicked on the turn signal and steered the car to the left, where he began to travel down Salem Lake Drive.
Before she could ask, he looked at her sideways with a grin. “The lake house is closer.”
John had purchased their cottage on Sunflower Lane Extension by Salem Lake several years ago. They used it for quick getaways in the summer and on winter weekends. Boating and fishing on the lake in the summer with the children and family friends followed by late night campfires, and warm fires in the cottage hearth on cold winter nights.
Within minutes of parking the car in the driveway, Marlena found herself pressed against the cottage’s front door in the moonlit darkness with the sweet slide of John’s tongue in her mouth, his hips pressing against her. Her right leg was hitched around his thigh, with John’s hand behind her knee, stroking the soft flesh there. His other hand was insistent, yet gentle, as he ran it down her side to the front of her top, massaging her breast before finding a hardened nipple and stroking it through the fabric. Her breathing became labored as he continued to stroke her, moving his mouth from her lips to her ear lobe, then slowly down her neck to the top of her breasts that were now spilling out over her top. His hand dipped lower, reaching under her skirt to knead the soft flesh of her ass before moving to the humid place between her thighs.
“John . . . John . . . we can’t do this out here,” she whispered after a moan escaped her lips. She shivered from the cold as well as from the love bites he was leaving on her neck.
He stepped back, breathing heavy, and began to fish into his front pocket for his keys. “Fuck,” he said under his breath, and Marlena tried unsuccessfully to stifle a giggle.
“Problems?” she finally asked, a mischievous grin taking over her face that she tried to hide behind her hand.
“Yes, there is one big problem,” John said, frustrated. “You have me so worked up, I can’t get into my goddamn pants,” John said. Marlena tittered and moved around him, pushing him against the space by the door that she had been occupying.
“Here, let me try, my hands are smaller,” she said. Marlena leaned up for another drugging kiss as she slid a long, slim finger into the front pocket of John’s jeans. John moaned into the kiss as he felt her finger travel like an inchworm down the length of his erection through his jeans, trying to get the keys that were being held hostage at the very bottom of his pocket.
“Jesus, Doc,” he moaned, pulling her closer as his hips began to thrust gently against her. “Forget the fucking keys,” he said as he pulled away, his eyes darting around for an alternative, and she saw his gaze travel to the lounge chairs on the deck.
“Huh-uh. No way, it’s too cold,” she said as she tried without success to dig deeper into his pocket.
“I’ll keep you warm?” John tried to persuade her, and then he felt his cock jump as she began stroking him through his jeans. He was ready to explode.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” she murmured against his neck with a low, sexy voice, and her nimble fingers easily unbuttoned his jeans and unzipped his fly. His eager cock practically jumped into her hand. “Oh, hello there,” she said, practically greeting his penis in a handshake before she began to stroke it gently but firmly from root to tip with her left hand while she successfully fished the keys from his pocket with her right hand.
His head fell back against the building with a thump as her expert hands stroked him. “Oh God, Doc, you’re killing me,” John said, briefly closing his eyes He opened his eyes again and suddenly, she wasn’t there in front of him any longer. But then his breath escaped his mouth in an involuntary hiss as he looked down just in time to see her crouched down in her heels, one hand gripping his thigh to steady herself as she used the other to guide his rigid cock into her warm, hungry mouth.
“Aaaaahhhhhh,” he groaned as her expert tongue stroked the underside, starting from the base before she took the engorged head between her pretty lips, sucking and licking him like a lollipop. She began to take him in deeper until she felt the tip of him at the back of her throat. His legs trembled with need. He laced his fingers through her flaxen hair that was illuminated by the moonlight at her back, stroking the silky strands as she worked him over with lips and tongue. His breathing became even more ragged, a sign that he was damn close to the edge. He watched as the black cat ears bobbed along with her head in the darkness.
Pleasure suddenly rushed over him like a tidal wave, dripping through his insides.
“Gah!! Stop . . . stop,” he choked out, forcefully pulling himself from her mouth.
“Are you sure?” she asked, with a smile that looked as innocent as a virgin in church, licking her lips with her tongue as she smiled sweetly up at him from her perch below.
“Keys, baby. We need the fucking keys,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Oh, I just had them here somewhere,” she said with a giggle as she bent over and felt around the deck floor in the dark. “A-ha, here they are,” she said, standing up on shaky legs and dangling them from her fingers.
John pulled her to him and devoured her mouth with his before he broke free, turned her around and thrust her in front of him. She leaned her rear end back against his erection as she put the key into the lock. He thanked his heavenly stars when she opened the door, and he pushed her toward the living room. Next thing he knew, she pushed him down onto the sofa and crawled onto his lap, straddling his legs before pulling his jacket and shirt off of him.
John pulled her against him, nibbling her neck and her collarbone as he tried to unfasten what seemed to him to be 1,000 tiny hooks at the back of the bustier. “You are perverse,” he murmured against her flesh as he tried to manipulate the delicate, tiny hooks with his clumsy fingers. “Fuck it,” he said in frustration, and he pulled both sides apart, ripping the clasps from the hooks and tossing it aside, rendering Marlena naked from the waist up.
“Now you’ll have to buy Belle a new one,” Marlena murmured with a sexy chuckle, followed by a gasp of pleasure as John’s mouth fastened itself onto her nipple, licking and sucking it into a hardened peak.
“Like hell,” he murmured. “No way is my 16-year-old daughter wearing that.” And then he looked at her with a smile. “Although I have to ask, is it disturbing that I find it sexy that my wife is able to wear our 16-year-old daughter’s clothes?
“No, it’s just that I fill it out better in my old age,” she murmured as he buried his face in the spot between her neck and collarbone that drove her crazy.
“Oh, John,” she gasped, pressing his head closer to her breasts as he suckled her harder — first one, and then the other.
He felt her struggling with need, her middle now starting to slide over his engorged shaft. John felt the combination of lace and satin stroking against his naked cock as she ground her hips over him, spreading her legs wider for more access, and he knew that he needed to get rid of the barrier, and soon.
But her skirt, panties and fishnets were still in the way. John ran his hand up her legs and groaned when he realized that the fishnet stockings only reached her thighs. No need to remove them, he thought to himself with a grin, and then his hands moved further under her skirt — which was now conveniently bunched around her waist. He moved her panties aside and began to stroke her swollen center. But their position didn’t leave much room for the ultimate goal, and judging from her slippery wetness now coating his fingers, he knew he needed to get rid of the silky garment. Now.
He gathered as much of her panties as he could in his hand and whispered into her ear. “I’ll buy you new ones,” he said as he ripped them and freed her from them, tossing them over his shoulder.
“You’re a savage,” she teased, and then she whimpered with pleasure as his fingers began to stroke the moist heat between her legs.
Kitty was a nice pussy indeed.
She gasped as his fingers continued to pet her intimately. “Oh . . . oh . . . John,” she whimpered against his neck. He slipped a long finger inside her and her body practically drew it in of its own accord. She was hot, slippery and tight — his three favorite things. He added one more finger to his internal stroking and used his thumb to begin rubbing her off, and within seconds, her thighs began to tremble as she panted against his shoulder, leaving a wet “O” from her mouth on his naked skin. “Easy, honey, easy,” he told her, taking his strokes down a notch. She whimpered in frustration.
“I want you in me,” she practically begged. “Please . . .”
He held his cock steady with one hand as he guided her hips even closer with the other so they could finally join together. This is where it might get interesting, he realized. “Slow and easy, baby,” he coached her quietly as he tried to show some self-control. He watched her face as she closed her eyes in concentration, instinctively widening her knees to give her pelvis more room to accept him. She hissed as she slowly inched her body downward. John stroked her back as he watched her face contort with both pleasure and pain. “Go as slow as you want, sweetheart,” told her.
This was one position that was difficult for her, and they both knew it. She may have given birth to four babies, but she was unbelievably tight in this particular instance and John was not a small man. This position made it difficult for her to accept his cock as fully as they both would like. He felt her muscles stretching in all directions to accommodate him, and his heart stopped briefly when she laid her forehead against his as a sound of pain escaped from her mouth. He stopped moving immediately. “Let’s go to the bedroom,” he suggested, now in favor of the good, old-fashioned missionary position that was easier for both of them, and admittedly, his favorite.
“No . . . no, I’m okay,” she assured him with a quiet, concentrated voice. She wrapped her arms around his broad back. “Just . . . just give me a minute.” He rested his hands on her upper thighs near her hips, steadying her, petting her, as she breathed deep every time she moved further down his shaft, her muscles no longer fighting the invasion. Finally, she exhaled, relaxing her muscles completely to accept him fully into her body. She had never been able to take his entire length in this position — until now. She smiled at him with satisfaction. Mission accomplished.
“Oh my God, Marlena,” John said. He was cock deep inside her, and he could feel the tip of his penis resting against her cervix. “You are amazing.”
She slowly began to rock her hips, rolling back and forth gently, and he swallowed hard. The tiny, rocking movements were almost enough to make him come right then and there. “Oh yeah, baby, just like that,” he encouraged. His hands traveled from her breasts to her ass and back to her breasts. Her hip movements began to quicken, and he took the opportunity to thrust his hips in her rhythm. She began to rise and fall on his shaft harder and faster, using her leg muscles to rise up and then fall back down on him.
John felt his balls begin to tighten and new knew his orgasm wasn’t far away. Jesus, was she even close?
“Can you come this way?” he asked her gently as he stroked her naked hip. She nodded, taking his hand and guiding him back between her legs. She was always able to tell him what she needed without verbally saying a word. He used his middle finger to find her swollen nerve bundle, and he began to flick it with the soft pad of his finger.
“Oh, yes,” she moaned against his mouth, and he steadily increased the speed and pressure of his finger against her clit. He could feel her body trembling, her muscles now as tight as a bow string, seeking the gift of release that only he could give her. His own body was screaming to let go as well, and he was barely hanging on.
“Come for me,” he whispered into her ear. “Give it up, baby,” he groaned, realizing that it was now or never. Her entire body convulsed around him, and she screamed into his shoulder as she quaked around him.
“Do it,” she commanded, and that was all he needed before he gave her one final thrust that was so hard that she yelped, this time in slight pain as he realized he likely jarred an ovary in the process. He froze his hips as his cock swelled and jerked inside her, spilling his hot seed over and over again until she drained him. Everything belonged to her now.
It took them a while to recover. He petted and soothed her until she could talk again. “I love you, baby,” he told her.
Marlena leaned back, still straddled over him, the cat ears adorably askew, and then leaned toward him to meet him for a gentle kiss. “I love you too,” she whispered.
John steadied her as she slowly lifted herself up and off of him, and she grimaced at the loss of him from within her. “You ok?” he asked as she stood in front of him. She rewarded him with a killer smile.
“I am wonderful,” she said, hoisting one leg onto the coffee table to roll down a stocking, grimacing as she did so. “Although I will probably feel it tomorrow morning.”
John frowned, turning her around to roll down the other stocking and then help her slip out of the skirt that had been bunched around her waist. He grabbed the shirt he had been wearing and pulled it over her head. He stood and fixed his jeans, and then grabbed her hand and led her back to the master bedroom.
“We’re not going home?” she asked.
“Nope,” he said. “I am exhausted,” he said, placing a quick kiss on the end of her nose. “And so are you.” He pulled down the covers and pulled her into his arms. “You’re sure you’re okay?” he asked, rubbing small circles on her back that matched the ones she was circling on his chest.
She leaned up on one elbow to look down at him. “I am fine, I promise.” Her hazel eyes darkened a shade before she leaned down and gave him another kiss. “This was wonderful. Now go to sleep.”
John pulled her against him, enjoying the feel of her resting against him. And then a thought entered his sleep-deprived head. He shook her shoulder gently. “Honey?”
“Hmmmm?” Marlena responded, already on her way to a REM cycle.
“Can you do me a favor?” he asked hopefully.
She opened her eyes and craned her neck to look at him. “It’s not that I don’t love you, but I need a couple of recovery hours . . .”
John chuckled. “No, not that.” She looked back up at him from where her head lay against his shoulder.
“What is the favor you are requesting?”
“Every Halloween, I want you to wear the cat costume for me,” he said. Hazel eyes stared back at him.
“You liked it that much?” she asked, her eyebrows narrowing a bit.
“That’s a fact. You’re my very own kitten,” he replied, a mischievous grin overtaking his face. “My own sex kitten.”
She slapped him playfully and joined his laughter. And then she leaned up on an elbow and bent her lips toward his and gave him a kiss that promised more after they both recovered. “Meow.”
***
John walked in to the police station on Monday just in time for the weekly briefing. Roman and Abe were back and John was happy to hand over the reins to them. He sat down in the briefing room with a cup of coffee in hand. It didn’t take him long to hear the whispering behind him.
Roman walked in with Abe trailing behind him. Roman sat down beside John and crossed him arms, a sly smile breaking out over his craggy face. “So, John, how were things while Abe and I were in St. Louis.”
John looked at him with skepticism. Roman was up to something; he was sure of it. “Everything was fine. No problems.”
Abe cleared his throat. “Uh, John, I heard there was a murder at Salem U on Friday night?” John could hear some beat cops behind him coughing to hide laughter. As anticipated, John knew he now had a target on his back.
“Just a run of the mill prank, Abraham,” John said, trying to sound nonchalant. “No murder.”
Roman cleared his throat, but was not able to stop his shoulders from shaking from the laughter he was trying so very hard to suppress at John’s expense. “Uh, John? I heard . . . I heard Catwoman showed up to assist you,” Roman began, and the officers in the room began to laugh. Soft echoes of “meow” and “here kitty, kitty” and other cat-calls (pardon the pun) began to echo.
John flushed red. Marlena would pay for this dearly, he thought, and his blood immediately began to race with the thoughts of what his list of sexual favors would entail. And should his list be numbered or alphabetical?
“Okay, men, you’ve had your fun,” John said, looking around, trying to be a good sport. “When it’s your wife’s birthday and a hospital fundraiser at stake, maybe you’ll understand. Let’s move on, shall we?”
Roman looked sideways at him and smiled a knowing smile. He leaned over to John and spoke to him, his voice low. “I heard Doc put on quite a show, you lucky sonofabitch,” he said knowingly.
John continued to face forward, but his eyes rolled to the left just for a second. “That’s a fact. I’m very lucky indeed.”
The Jarlena Journal 