She nodded. “I’ll be there in a sec.” When he disappeared into her room, she pressed a hand to her stomach and pushed down the fear and old memories that threatened to surface.
When she and Adam had first met, he hadn’t even known who she was. And when he found out who her father was, he hadn’t been impressed.
Surprised, yes, but not impressed. In her experience, that was unusual.
She wanted so much to believe his words that he wanted her to move back to Savannah, but couldn’t help but wonder if there was an ulterior motive. Her gut told her she could trust him. He was definitely attracted to her. She didn’t have much experience with men, but unless he was an accomplished actor, that much was very real. And while she might not have experience, she knew how to read people.
The sound of running water pulled her back to reality. She shook her head and stood up. It was time to start trusting people. And she might as well start with the sexy man waiting for her. She took off her shirt and panties and tossed them in the laundry on her way to join Adam.
“That water better be hot,” she said as she pulled back the shower curtain.
“Took you long enough.” He tugged her by the hips so that she stood under the cascading water with him.
In response she lifted her head to meet his hungry lips. Her entire body shivered with excitement as their bodies meshed together. A growing ache between her legs spread like liquid fire straight to all her nerve endings. Sometimes she wanted to pinch herself to make sure this was all real.
He shifted so that her back was against the wall and lifted her up. In a few movements, her ankles were locked behind his back and he was sliding into her. Before meeting Adam, sex had always been on a bed, usually with the lights off and never very exciting.
She moaned aloud as she took the full length of him. Grinning at her, he leaned down and nipped her neck and shoulder as he began to move inside her. The light scrape of his teeth over her sensitive skin was intensified tenfold.
Clutching his shoulders, she held on for life as he increased his speed. The cool tiles of the shower against her back did nothing to ease the heat racing through her. With each movement, she pushed closer to the edge of release.
He lifted his head and gripped her hips tighter.
His neck and shoulder muscles corded tightly as he rocked into her and she realized how much strength it must be taking him to hold on to her.
She was so close, it bordered on painful. Her inner walls tightened around him, and without warning, she surged into orgasm.
“Adam.” His name was a whisper on her lips.
She couldn’t manage anything else. Her entire insides turned to jelly as she came down from her high.
With him, it seemed her mind was already primed for that normally elusive climax. In the past she’d always needed a lot of extra physical stimulation before she could even think about coming.
“Izzy.” The dark, primal way her name ripped from his chest sounded like a warning. A very good one.
With an inaudible moan, he buried himself inside her and held himself there. She could feel his release pulsing inside her and without warning, a few stray tears escaped. Until Adam she’d never let a man get so close to her. Never let a man get to know her. Maybe that’s why it had always been such a long process to wring an orgasm from her. She’d started to let him see the side of her she kept reserved for friends and family and instead of being turned off, he asked her to move home with him.
A satisfied expression played across his features when he looked at her, but almost immediately his smile fell.
“You okay?” he asked, still breathing heavily.
She nodded and unhooked her legs. “I’m more than okay.” Standing under the powerful jets, she closed her eyes and let the water course over her.
She was falling for Adam. No doubt about it.
Unfortunately she had no clue how to handle it.
Jack scrubbed a hand over his face. After three hours at the hospital, his eyelids felt as if they had sandbags weighing on them. At least Andrew was going to be okay. He’d lost a lot of blood but the wound hadn’t been critical.
He opened the evidence bag containing a biology textbook they’d found at the scene and placed it on the table in their conference room.
With gloved hands, he pulled it out. They’d already dusted for prints but he still wanted to be careful.
Flipping through the book, he realized it wasn’t just a college textbook, but a teacher’s edition. A few pages were heavily underlined and highlighted. It was the botany section. His heart leapt into his throat. Maybe his partner had been on to something.
As he set it down, Megan stepped in. “Hey.”
He frowned when he saw her. She wore jeans and a T-shirt and with her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and no makeup, she looked like she’d just rolled out of bed. “What are you doing here so early?” The sun wouldn’t be up for a few hours yet.
She shrugged. “I heard about Andrew and when you weren’t at the hospital I knew you’d be here.”
Everyone was either at the hospital or out patrolling looking for the asshole who’d shot his partner. With a department their size they only had two detectives and with Andrew bedridden, it was up to him to figure out what this guy would do next. “Thanks for coming by but you really didn’t have to.”
Megan’s lips pulled into a thin line. “I put on a fresh pot of coffee. Should be ready soon. What can I do to help?”
Jack glanced at the book, then at her. It might be a long shot but he had nothing to lose. “I need you to get me the fax number, phone number and email address for the University of North Florida’s dean.”
She nodded. “No problem. What do you need it for?”
“I’m following up on a hunch.” He didn’t tell her any more. Not yet. He wanted to be sure first.
The university was far enough away that they might not have seen newscasts releasing the photo of the serial rapist. There might not be a connection but he wanted to see if there had been any sexual assaults on campus or if anyone in administration recognized this sketch.
While he waited for Megan he pulled out the file they’d been composing on the three—four victims.
They’d all attended the same university but at different times. They didn’t have any overlapping classes, no teachers were the same, they were all working toward different majors, only two were in a sorority and those were different. Maria, the third victim, had only been there for two semesters before her attack. The other three were about to graduate. Nothing in their schedules or lifestyles except the college linked them together.
They were young and pretty of course, but that was where their similarities ended. “Why are you picking them? ” he muttered.
The sound of Megan clearing her throat caused his head to snap up. “I got what you needed.”
“Good. Thank you.” The sooner he got this information out, the better. As he took the slip of paper from Megan, he flipped his file open to the first victim. Something had to have set this guy off and if the first attack was personal and he could figure out why, he could bring this guy down.
Chapter Ten
Jack looked up as Megan set another fresh cup of coffee in front of him. “You’re an angel,” he murmured.
The station was filling up but she’d stayed on with him the past few hours, poring over the files in case he and Andrew had missed something.
Definitely above and beyond her job requirements as a receptionist.
Her lips curved up slightly. “Then you’re really gonna love me now. I’ve got Dean Keyes on line two.”
Immediately he reached for the phone.
“Detective Dennis here.”
“Hi Detective, this is Dean Keyes. You can call me Matthew.”
“Thanks for calling me back.”
“I got your fax and email and wanted to talk to you personally.” His voice was concerned.
“Good. We’re working an investigation right now and I need to know if there were any unusual sexual assaults in the past year or even recently.”
“There were a few assaults on campus but all the cases have been closed. That’s not why I called you back. I recognize the person in the picture you sent me.”
Jack’s heart rate tripled. That was more than he’d hoped for. “Is it a student?”
“No. The sketch is of a professor who used to be employed here.”
“Used to?”
“He was let go a couple months ago due to inappropriate behavior toward one of our female students. He didn’t actually assault her but he was trying to use his position to influence her for…sexual favors. It wasn’t the first time he’d received a complaint but it was the first time we had proof. We’ve had a hell of a time filling his position but—”
“What did he teach?” He had a feeling he already knew the answer.
“Biology.”
“I need his name and the name of the student.”
Jack wasn’t asking.
The dean cleared his throat nervously. “Ah, I don’t know if—”
“Someone is stalking and raping women. Don’t give me some bullshit about—”
“You’re right. His name is Phillip Gray and the student is Sasha Sorrentino.”
A low buzzing started in Jack’s ears. Sasha was the first victim and he didn’t believe in coincidence. “Can you send me everything you’ve got on Gray?”
“Fax or email?”
“Email. Is there any possibility he’d have access to student records, addresses, stuff like that?” Jack tapped his pen against the table. That had to be the link. With the exception of Sasha he might not have taught the other women or even known them personally, but he might have been able to find out their addresses and ethnicity.
“He’d have no business going into their records but…anything is possible.”
After they hung up, Jack felt as if he could breathe again for the first time in months. This was the best lead they’d gotten. Once he got the information he needed on Gray, it would only be a matter of time before he found him.