Chapter 27

Twenty-Seven

D ane

The trip gave me a rush. I had no way to describe it except maybe the feeling of sitting in the way back of a station wagon facing backward when the driver floored the engine and the car lurched forward. I pictured it more, though, like being sucked through space, like the scene in Star Wars when they made the jump to light speed.

That thought made my heart hurt.

Walter's face had been so full of anguish, and I hated that I'd put it there. I didn't want that to be the last time I saw him, but I'd been clear with him. I needed to do this. I had to stop Hunter Holland from hurting people, and when we discovered his tie to Virgil Evans, I knew I couldn't rest until Evans himself was unable to kill anyone ever again.

This time the board had brought me to that dark tunnel built of cinder blocks and the lights were on, illuminating my path, but the end of the hallway was dark, just as I'd seen it in my visions before.

The sound of humming echoed down the hall, and then Evans was humming that creepy song.

"I'll see you again, whenever spring breaks again…" He sang with an eerie, rapid tremolo like the old-timey singers from the thirties and forties were known for. The words to the song were meant to be nostalgic and loving, but coming from Evans, they were twisted and sinister. He sang of regrets, destiny, and fate and love, but I knew the man had no idea what love was. He'd confused love with obsession and possession all those years ago, when he'd been Tess's stalker. He had no clue what it meant to put someone else's needs above his own. He was a narcissist, and I would stop him. Somehow.

Although, in my haste to leave Walter in hopes of protecting him, I hadn't quite thought far enough ahead.

How did I plan to stop this man? Would I kill him with my own hands? I had no weapon, I only had the board, and though Evans was an old man, I wasn't a killer.

And now it was too late.

At the end of the hall, I'd find the pile of bones and Virgil Evans. I'd walked right into his hands, just like Walter feared I would. I could use the board to escape, but that wouldn't put this nightmare to rest.

I only hoped the police were close by, that they'd actually found the right place.

"I'm so happy you're here."

The bald man stood in the doorway, but this time I saw his face.

The Virgil Evans I recalled from Tess's house had been a small, weaselly kind of man, but this man was frail. Old. One could easily underestimate him, but I wouldn't.

I knew better.

"Come in, come in. We have much to discuss."

"The only thing we have to discuss is that this is over. You're done hurting people." This was the first time I had spoken to him face-to-face since that show in Phoenix. Not even when the man had taken a knife to my skin, the memory of which was still fresh in my mind, had I possessed the ability to speak to him.

"Oh, but this is only the beginning. You've arrived, and with your arrival, I now have the tools to take me to the next level of my journey. Don't you want to know what's next?"

"What's next is that the police are coming to arrest you, and you'll go back to prison, this time for good."

"It's funny you think that walls can contain me. You of all people should know that my reach goes beyond boundaries… as does yours. I saw through Hunter's eyes what you can do. I'm impressed."

"Hunter is dead."

"Mmm. Sad. But you won't be surprised to discover that the men I tend to have access to are already a little unhinged. They don't make for the most reliable sentinels."

I stepped into the room and tried to ignore the smell of rot and mildew, and the fact that there was a waist-high pile of bones behind him. There was a dim light filtering in through a hole in the roof above us. I wondered how far underground we were, and what the original purpose of this place was. Off to the left and right, there were arches that led into additional tunnels with what looked like tracks leading into them, like maybe for carts. There was no telling how many tunnels there were in all, or how far they went. The construction seemed too new to be a mine, but perhaps only this part had been constructed and the rest was older mine shafts? That would make the ground unstable.

I was quickly adding ways I would hate to die to my list. Trapped underground was now at the top.

"What do you want from me? You already took forty years of my life—nearly took my life. You sent Hunter after me to torment me. What else?"

He smiled and clasped his hands in front of him. "What I desire is an ever-evolving outcome. I could spend eternity with you and not find enough ways to make you suffer, Donovan. But right now? You possess knowledge that I'm in desperate need of."

"What is it?"

"I want what you had—the carnival. You know the night I had my fun with you, I was interrupted. I'd wanted to watch the life fade from your eyes. That's always my favorite part, that and the terror. And the blood, of course. But I had to hide when that damned deputy showed up. Walter Muse, Senior. Your lover's father. He ruined everything , and I'm glad he suffered for all the pain he's caused me. Both of them, actually. See, while I was hiding from Muse Senior, a glowing light appeared, and I watched it descend from the sky. Suddenly there was a huge collection of tents that hadn't been there before. A man in overalls came out of the light and walked straight up to you. He picked you up, then turned to glare at me, shaking his head. Before I could do anything, he carried you into the circle of tents and out of sight."

He had to be talking about Pokey. I remembered the strange man telling me everything would be all right as he lay me down on what would be my bed for the next several weeks—well, forty years, actually.

"I tried to follow but no matter how long I walked, I never reached the tents. It was like an optical illusion. It seemed like it was just over the next hump, and then I'd get there and it'd be like I hadn't moved. I followed you until the sun came up, and then I had to go back to where I'd hidden my work truck or I might've been found out."

"What do you want me to say? Too bad you weren't able to finish what you started?"

He laughed. "No. What I want you to do… is take me there."

I balked. "To the carnival? No way. Even if I knew where to find it, there's no way I'd take you there, and if I did, Mr. Ame wouldn't let you in. He don't let bad people in."

"I know. That's why I sent Hunter to find you. He was curious, but he hadn't intentionally spilled blood yet, despite his bullshit prison sentence. I spent years — decades —looking for any information I could find. I had to settle for vague stories about that carnival. There was no trace of it in any records anywhere. I found a few articles in the looney papers about people running off to join a carnival and then coming back years later as if no time had passed. One man said he'd had a limp when he went in and when he left, he could walk fine. Another said there was a calliope there that sounded so perfect, it could cure whatever ailed you."

He knew about Kal? Were there others who had left and talked? I'd told only Walter, and Denny and Gene knew some parts of the story. If enough people talked about their experiences, it would put the carnival at risk.

"I knew it had to be the same carnival that took you," he continued. I tried to look around for a weapon, any way to stop him, but he seemed content to keep his distance from me. While he spoke, he walked around the backside of the pile of bones, as if to keep his deeds between us, keep my focus on them rather than whatever he might be planning to do.

"I tried so hard to find it, but I knew that someone like me with a… colorful past… well, I wouldn't be allowed in. So, I used my unique talents to suss out which of my prison pals, and then my cohabitants at the halfway house, had a fairly clean slate. Do you know that Hunter had never done any intentional physical harm to another human being? He'd been in the military, and after he was discharged for psychiatric concerns, he wound up in a bar fight, but he never even threw a punch. Happened to be with the wrong people in the wrong place. He did his stint and then they sent him to our little happy home to help him re-engage with society. I think that was how they put it. Instead, he became my roommate, and boy, did I ever have fun with him. I played around in his dreams for months before I knew just what I needed to do to make him pliable. I simply needed to lead him to you . I told him you had a story to tell through your talking board… oh yes, I knew all about that. Plucked it right out of Tess's head one night after she'd passed out. She really let herself go after you disappeared."

Hearing him say awful things about Tess made me burn, but I couldn't react. That was what he wanted to happen.

"I told him if he found you, you'd show him how he could use his special gifts. All he had to do was touch the board with you. You led him right to his dream come true. All he needed was to see the possibilities."

"And now he's dead, and so are more innocent people."

Virgil shrugged. "And you came here to stop me."

"The police know where you are. They're on their way."

He looked up at the ceiling and his eyes trailed over the support beams. "They may be, but they can't stop me."

"What do you want?" I had to stall him somehow. I didn't know how long it would take the police to find us down here. I didn't know if they were on the grounds. I really should have planned things out better, but after seeing what Hunter had done to Cooper, I couldn't take anymore chances. Time was running out.

"I want you to take me to the carnival, Dane. It's a simple request."

"But you can't go in," I said. "What good will it do you?"

He smiled and laughed with his lips closed. "You let me worry about that. I saw what you can do now with your board, you're very strong. You get me there, and I promise anything that Mr. Ame throws up to keep me out will be useless."

This power I'd been given, whether it was solely from the board or if, like I'd thought before, Kal and I came away from the carnival with something extra, I couldn't allow Evans to manipulate me for his purposes.

But what if it only appeared that I was being manipulated?

Make of your question all that you desire.

What if I only appeared to take him to the carnival?

Be ever thoughtful and in control of your ire.

What if I acted as if I were under duress…

Picture your intent as taut as a wire.

But in my mind, I held the truth?

Remain steadfast or the end will be dire.

Could I fool him?

As pure as ice and hot as fire,

Love is the power behind all you aspire.

I pictured Walter in my mind. I had to stop Evans or we'd never have that life we imagined together, and that was unacceptable.

You can do this. You can stop him and save yourself.

"If you choose not to take me there, well… I'm in need of some new sentinels. How brilliant would it be to recruit from the Kern County Sheriff's Department?

Trust in the truth and never the liar,

My truth. I would stop him. I would trust in Walter or his friends finding me. I couldn't believe in his lies.

and you will avoid the funeral pyre.

I would not burn. This man, this horribly violent, sick man would no longer hurt another soul.

I sat down on the dirt floor, never taking my eyes off him. "Then let's go."

His eyes flared with excitement, but I could tell he didn't totally buy my cooperation.

He came around the bone pile, slowly, and as I watched him, I caught sight of Tess's bracelets.

My breath caught but I couldn't react, couldn't show my pain. This predator would pick up on it.

"So glad you see things my way. It would be awful to have to harm an innocent officer of the law. Ha!" He laughed out loud. "I'm sure there are many people who don't believe cops are innocent. I've certainly run across my share that could be encouraged to look the other way." He winked as he lowered himself awkwardly, stiffly to the floor. He grunted with pain and it showed on his face.

"Sorry," I said. "I bet you'd prefer a chair and a table."

He glared at me, seemingly unhappy that I saw his weakness. This close, I could really see that age hadn't been kind to him. I was a small man, but he seemed downright frail. He was in his seventies now. Who knew how many ailments he had?

I set the board on the ground between us and placed my hands on the planchette.

I am in control of what is seen.

I will hone my intent and prevent harm.

I will stop him from hurting another soul.

I will save me.

"Let's see the carnival," he said with a smirk.

He reached out with shaky, gnarled hands and placed them on the planchette.

I nodded. "Here we go."

I could immediately tell the difference. The pull wasn't quite as strong, but he wouldn't know that. The sky was dark around us, but the night was clear. Stars in the sky were so bright, likely because there was no light pollution out here, wherever here was.

I walked toward the dim light in front of us, which grew brighter as we approached.

"It's just how I remember it," Evans said. "It's so quaint, so enticing!"

We moved closer and the carnival didn't move away, as he'd said it had before. I concentrated all my focus on every detail a person would see on their walk up to the place. I may not have gotten around much when I was there, but I remembered what the front gates looked like.

A man appeared at the gate wearing a top hat and a red coat. Rafe. He removed his hat and bowed toward me.

"You've returned to us," he said, because I wanted him to say it. "Who's your companion?"

"Rafe, this is Virgil Evans. He's interested in joining the carnival."

Rafe raised his eyebrow, just as I'd seen him do the few times I'd interacted with him and acted a fool.

"Is that so? Well, Mr. Evans. What would you bring to the carnival?"

Virgil opened his mouth to speak, but he was in awe. He had a childlike look of wonder on his wrinkly, gaunt face. He smoothed back his hair and tried to smile.

"Well, sir, I'm a maintenance man. I can fix many things."

I felt hands on my back and lips close to my ear. "Don't let go of him." I recognized Gene's voice, and I nearly breathed a sigh of relief. "We're checking the room for explosives. We just need a minute."

"That's wonderful." I recalled Rafe saying that to me when I told him I could write poems. "We just might have a space for you."

"Thank you so much, I appreciate?—"

Evans reached a hand toward Rafe and let go of the planchette.

The carnival was gone—and we were back in Evans's den of sin.

"Don't move! Put your hands on your head."

I looked to my left, and there was Dax with his gun trained on Evans.

Evans grinned menacingly and slowly fastened his hands behind his head.

"You're a fool if you think you can stop me." He turned his beady eyes on me, and his sick smile made my skin stretch tight over my bones. Every scar I had burned, as if hot pokers branded me.

I collapsed to the side and tried to curl into a ball, anything to make the pain stop.

"Dee Dee," Gene yelled, but then I saw Dax drop his hands and start moving toward the wall. His gait was stumbly, his gun was down at his side. He stared at something with his head cocked to the side.

Gene shouted, "Dax! No!"

Dax reached up and pulled a lever.

Evans cackled and let his head fall backward, dropping his hands. Then he smiled at me once more. "Boom."

The explosion deafened me, and I was pelted with stones and rocks. The ceiling began to crumble and drop to the floor as I was yanked to my feet.

Gene screamed in my face. "Run!"

He pushed me down the hallway, and I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, but I had no idea where I was going.

I turned to look back and the lights were flickering, but I made out Gene dragging a limp Dax beside him. The walls of the hallway were beginning to crack. They were never going to make it.

I darted back toward them and ignored Gene's orders as I wrapped Dax's other arm over my shoulder. The hallway wasn't quite wide enough for us to all fit three wide, so I took the lead.

"Up ahead, turn left at the end!"

I turned left and nearly ran into the metal rungs that led up and out.

"Go, Dane, I've got him." Gene bent and threw Dax over his shoulder. I climbed as fast as I could, but the metal rungs were starting to come loose from the cracking concrete. Once I got to the top, I was coughing from the dust, but I turned and reached down for Dax.

"Here, let me grab him," I said. I got a hold of his jacket and yanked with all of my strength, pulling him on top of me and out of the hole so Gene could get out.

"Dane!"

Walter was there, lifting me from the ground as I continued to cough. Two other cops in what looked like military uniforms lifted Gene and Dax and carried them away from the hole we'd climbed out of as the tunnel collapsed. The ground rumbled as we sped away, and as I looked over Walter's shoulder, I watched as the ground imploded as far as I could see.

Walter set me down and pulled me against him.

"Thank God," he whispered against my hair. "Thank God, honey. I thought?—"

"I'm sorry," I said. "I?—"

"Not now," he said. "Just let me hold you."

"Is Dax okay?"

We both turned to see paramedics working on him. He was moving, coughing, and gesturing wildly with his hands. The paramedics forced him onto a gurney and threatened to strap him down if he kept fighting them. Gene took his hand and spoke quietly to him, which calmed him down.

The men who carried Gene and Dax out of the way of danger stood with us, staring in shock at the ground, which now consisted of ravines and caverns.

"He had some fucking powerful charges down there."

"Yeah, but with this old mine, it could have gone at any time."

"There goes our crime scene."

"Did you get him?" I asked. "Evans?"

The men looked at each other and back at me. "Only you three made it out. There's a chance he made it into one of the other tunnels, but there's no way to tell. We've got to get a crew out here to make sure this place is safe before we can search."

I sighed, exhaustion and despair running through me. "What if I didn't stop him?"

"I highly doubt he made it out of there, old man like that. We're going to go report back to our lieutenant. You need anything, we'll be at the mobile command center."

"Thanks," Walter said to them as they walked away.

Gene stepped back from the gurney as the men loaded Dax into the back of an ambulance. He shook his head when they offered to look at him and walked over to us, then put his arm around Walter.

"You okay?" he asked me.

"Yeah. You?"

He nodded and swore. "What the fuck was he doing, wandering around like that? It was like he was in some kind of daze."

"I think Evans was controlling him, like he had the others," I said quietly, so only Walter and Gene could hear. "He warned me he would use cops as sentinels if I didn't help him."

"You know, I got a bad headache when I went in that room. I wonder if he was trying to use it on me?" Gene rubbed at the side of his head.

Walter squeezed his shoulder and sighed. "Guess you were too thickheaded."

Gene swore, and we all laughed, a good hearty one to shake off some of the dread that had been weighing us down.

"Where's Denny?" Gene asked.

Walter frowned. "He went with Cooper to the hospital."

Gene's eyes widened. "Cooper? Oh shit. Did he get hurt? He asked me for details about the Buttonwillow crime scene, said he wanted to get shots for his report. I told him not to go out there until we caught this guy."

Walter kept his arm around me but he put a hand on Gene's shoulder again. "I'm sorry, Gene. Hunter got to him."

Gene let out a heavy breath and stepped away. He bent forward and put his hands on his knees. Walter left my side to go to him.

"I'm so sorry, Gene," I said. "I didn't get there in time."

Gene held up a hand to me and shook his head.

"He was hurt bad, but he was alive when they flew him to the hospital."

Gene stood and ran a hand over his face.

"Denny went with him," Walter said. "He… how well do those two know each other?" His voice went up in question at the end.

Gene frowned at him. "What do you mean? They might have met at one of Sam's fundraisers. Why?"

Walter shook his head. "There is definitely more to the story than that. Denny was… he was distraught. He… I've never seen him so upset."

"Shit. Let me call Sam. She'll want to go. Cooper's one of her best friends. She'll want to be there."

"All right." Walter said. "What do you need from me?"

Gene looked between the two of us and smiled. "I think the two of you could use some real rest. Here," he said, removing a set of keys from his ring. He handed them to Walter. "Go stay at our place in Manhattan Beach. I'll check on your mom, too, but you two need to rest."

"Thanks, man," Walter said. "You need his statement?"

"I'll get it. Get out of here."

The two hugged tightly and held each other for several beats. I was so glad Walter had such good friends, and I considered his friends lucky to have him .

I only hoped I would be lucky enough to keep him.

Gene surprised me and grabbed me for a hug too, pounding on my back hard enough to make me stumble. "Take care of this guy, okay? He's important."

I grinned at Walter. "I will if he lets me."

Walter's expression was unreadable, but he put his arm around me and walked me over to his truck. He opened the door for me, but he didn't speak as I climbed in, nor when he closed it behind me.

My stomach fluttered as I watched him walk around the truck, but then it clenched.

Would he forgive me for leaving him? Would he understand?

He climbed into the driver's side and closed the door, taking a deep breath before he put the key in the ignition.

"Walter?"

He didn't look at me but he took his hand off the wheel.

"I'm sorry," I finally said, when he didn't speak.

He nodded and put the truck in reverse. He looked over his shoulder as he backed up, and then he put the truck in drive. Finally, he turned my way.

"Give me the drive. Then I'll be over it."

What else could I do?

I gave him a quick smile and then turned to look at the window. I didn't want to cry in front of him, and I feared if I looked at him again, I would.

I woke as he put the truck in park. It was full dark and we were stopped in the driveway of a three-story town house with modern-style architecture. I had no idea how long we'd been driving. I had no idea what day it was, what time, where we were…

All I knew was that everything I wanted was sitting beside me, and I had no clue whether he?—

"I love you, Dane. It nearly killed me when you disappeared, but I understand why you did it. Just… please. Don't do that again."

I dared to breathe.

"I won't. I'm so sorry."

He still wouldn't look at me. He nodded and opened his door.

"Wait for me," he said, when I reached for the handle.

That walk around the front of the truck took forever, and in that time, I recalled something my mother told me once.

"Remember, when you take someone special out on a date, it's important that you walk around the front of the car to open their door for them. If you walk around the back… well, it indicates that you don't think highly of them."

I had no idea where she got such an idea, but as Walter opened the door for me and stood watching me, I knew. I knew he thought very highly of me, that he'd been there for me through a horrible ordeal, and I hoped he'd continue to be there.

I turned my body to step out of the truck, and he didn't back up. When I slid down from the cab, our bodies came in contact. He stared at me with mixed emotions, and for a moment I worried?—

He moved so fast, pulling me into a bone-crushing embrace, and he held me so tightly I couldn't breathe. With his face buried in my hair, he spoke close to my ear.

"Let me take care of you? Let me love you?"

His voice sounded unsure, for possibly the first time since I'd met him.

I didn't hesitate.

"Only if you let me take care of you. I love you, Walter. Please… please say you can forgive me."

He pulled back and held my face in his hands. "Already did."

He led me inside the sparsely decorated home, which looked like it was made up for a magazine spread. We climbed two sets of stairs and straight into a bedroom on the top floor with a spacious bathroom.

"Tell me if at any point you need me to stop."

"Don't stop," I whispered.

He took my clothes off me, took off all of his, and dropped everything on the floor. We went into the large shower and stood holding each other for several minutes under the hot spray. When I swayed on my feet, he smiled. "Let me wash you."

He gently scrubbed every inch of my body, and he kissed every one of my scars. He washed my hair, used conditioner, and then rinsed me off. He sat me on the bench before taking a quick shower himself, and when he was finished, all I could do was stare at this beautiful man and wonder how I'd been so lucky that he was the one to find me.

If Hunter had never come to the carnival, would I have ever left? If I hadn't gone after him, would Walter have ever seen me? If Ryan hadn't called the tip line, would we ever have met?

"Come here," he said, and I did. I would follow him anywhere. He pulled out two giant, fluffy white towels and wrapped me in one as he'd done the morning I'd jumped in the pool, when I'd been naked before him. At that moment, he'd looked on me with admiration and not disgust at my scars. Now, he took care with me as if I were a beloved treasure.

As he stood before me, drying the ends of my hair, I reached up and gently touched his cheek.

"Does it hurt?"

He shook his head. "Nah."

I chuckled softly. "You match me now."

He glanced in the mirror and shrugged. "Scars add character, that's what my father used to say."

He finished drying me off and walked me into the bedroom.

"Do you need?—"

"You," I said, grabbing his hand, not letting him finish asking me if I wanted space. "I need you."

I'd been alone in my space for too long. I wanted him.

I lifted the covers and lay on my back, spread my legs, and held my arms out to him.

He hesitated only a moment before he covered me with his strong body. I wrapped my arms and legs around him and held on tight. I could almost breathe a sigh of relief, but there was still a nagging fear.

What if Evans managed to get away?

And my board. I'd left it behind. There was no way for me to look for him.

"Hey," Walter said, interrupting my thoughts before they spiraled into a tunnel of doom. He brushed my hair back from my face and kissed my forehead. "It's going to be okay. They're going to search the area in the coming weeks and the detectives will track down everyone who's been associated with Evans. We won't stop until we've put an end to this. In the meantime, I'll make sure you, your mom and Barbara, Ryan and Kal, are all protected until we have definitive proof that Evans is dead or we catch him."

I nodded, tracing his lips with my finger. "And where will you be in all this?"

He cocked his head to the side and kissed my fingertip. "With you. As much as I can be."

"Your job?"

He nodded. "For now. I want to see this case through, and then… we can decide."

"We?" I said, a smile forming, when I'd been worried that I might not have much to smile about again.

Walter smiled, too. "Yeah, we. If we're going to be together, you have a say in what I do. Whether I retire now or in two years, and what I do with the rest of my life. I want you to have a say. Of course, that means meeting my kids and my ex, and my mom. We'd have to decide between Bakersfield and LA for a home base…"

"Is that really a decision? I mean, I know I've been gone for forty years?—"

Walter laughed and pressed his forehead to mine. "I'll go anywhere with you."

"Good. Because I want you. Please," I pleaded, my voice shaky. "Make me yours, Walter. I want it."

He sucked in a breath, and then moaned as he kissed me deeply. He pulled at my shoulders and rutted against me, his hard cock leaking as he moved.

"Honey, are you sure? We haven't… I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't. Please, Walter. Take me out of my head. I just want to feel you, feel us ."

He was panting now, and he stopped moving for a minute. "Hang on."

He climbed from the bed, and I watched him walk into the bathroom.

"What is this place?" I asked, my nerves making me a little restless.

He came out with a small zipper bag. "Sam and Gene used to live here, when they worked in LA. When they moved to Bakersfield, they decided to keep it and use it as a vacation home. The beach is only a block away. They rent it out sometimes to help cover the costs, but after I saved Gene from the business end of a carving knife, his wife said it's mine whenever I want it. She kind of loves me." He set the bag down on the nightstand and stood motionless for a moment. I took the opportunity to run my fingers over his cock.

It jumped at my touch, and he moaned, his hips flexing.

"We don't have to…"

"I know what to expect. I may not have done it, but I know what happens." I loved that he was concerned, but I knew what I was getting myself into, and I was ready to get into it with him.

"I'll be careful," he said as he slid back into bed with me. He reached for the bag and took out a bottle of what I assumed was lubricant. "Roll onto your stomach," he said quietly.

I did as he asked, and I turned my head to watch him. His normally so-alert eyes, wide and piercing, were heavy-lidded, his lips pursed out and swollen from our kisses. He poured some lube in his hand, and then he leaned over me. He licked and sucked at my shoulder, my earlobes, my neck as he spread the cool liquid in my crease, gently rubbing circles with his finger over my sensitive hole. He'd touched me like this before, and he'd touched inside me, but now he added another finger, stretching me as he kissed along my shoulder blades and licked up my spine, causing me to arch into the bed.

My erection throbbed and the friction against the soft sheets felt so good, I couldn't help but buck my hips—back to meet his hand, forward into the mattress.

My body was alight with sensations. I couldn't decide what felt best as it was all so, so good. When he nuzzled the globes of my ass and licked around where his fingers were working me open, I was so distracted I barely felt him add a third finger. I felt so full, so hot, and I loved it all.

I pushed against his hand, feeling those fingers deeper and deeper inside of me, loving the burn and the pressure, but I wanted more.

"Fuck me, Walter. Please!"

"God, you say that and this is going to be over too quickly."

"Fuck me? Walter? Please? Which one?"

He covered his erection with a condom and smeared more lube on himself.

"All of it. Fuck, Dane. I can't take it. Roll over."

I did as he asked, surprised that he didn't want me from behind. He pushed my legs up and draped them over his shoulders.

"This okay? You'll tell me if?—"

"Walter, pleaaaase ." I chuckled. Here I was, begging for him.

He smiled and ran his hands up the backs of my thighs and under my ass. "You're so beautiful, Dane." He pressed his cock against me and eased in so slowly, barely moving. I sucked in a breath, expecting it to hurt, but he'd done such a good job preparing me, I merely felt full. So full. So full I thought I might split in two, but it was so good .

He'd push forward the slightest bit, then rest, then moan as he pushed in more. His eyes were squeezed shut and he was panting hard, his muscles straining because he was being so careful.

"It's good, it's good, Walter, it's good. Please— ahhhh. " He bent me in half and slid the rest of the way in, his pelvis slapping against my ass at his thrust. Every bit of it was incredible. I expected him to begin moving faster, but he merely slid most of the way out and then shoved back in slow at first, then with a snap of his hips, thrusting against me, hitting so deep inside it brushed against that spot that turned me inside out.

I groaned and linked my fingers behind his neck, pulling him in to kiss me. I held on as his thrusts became so strong, he pushed me up the bed until my head hit the headboard. He was lost in his passion, but he managed to lift up my head, pull his knees up next to my hips, and then he was pounding into me with small strokes that took my breath completely away.

I shuddered as I held on and welcomed the liquid heat that traveled down my spine, into my groin, and then erupted from my cock without even a stroke.

"Walter, I'm coming, I'm… coming !"

He growled and pumped hard a few more times until he froze and pulled me down hard on his cock. He gripped me tight, pressed to his chest, as his heart thundered, his skin drenched in sweat. He panted for a long time before he loosened his hold. He pulled out and grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and took off the condom.

"Be right back," he said as he went into the bathroom, still breathing hard.

I let my legs down finally and stretched my arms over my head, feeling blissfully worked out. I let my eyes drift closed and thought, Yes, this is Heaven. Right here .

Walter came back in carrying his phone, frowning as he typed.

"Is everything okay?" No, please not more bad news…

"Your mom and Barbara are back home and there's a patrol car out front. My mom is going to stay with her sister in Santa Barbara for a while. Cooper is in stable condition and is resting comfortably in the hospital, with Denny refusing to leave his side. Sam says she can't wait to meet you. Ryan and Kal decided to go spend some time at their place up north to shake off the stress of this week. My kids are mad I'm at the beach without them and want to know when they get to meet my new boyfriend."

He set his phone down on the table next to the bed and gave me a shy grin.

"Do any of those require us to take action at this very moment?" I asked him, patting the bed beside me.

He grinned and stretched out next to me, resting his head in his hand. "Not a one."

I sighed. "Good, because that was incredible and as soon as you're ready, I want to do it again."

Walter barked out a laugh and flopped onto his back. "Wow, I can see I'm going to have to up my fitness regimen if I'm going to keep up with you."

"I'm the old man, remember?" I teased.

He turned and used his finger to lift my chin so he could kiss me in that sweet way of his, with those plump red lips and the gentle scratch of his mustache.

"No. You're a young man with a lot of time to make up for. I promise I'll take care of you. Always."

"I'm going to hold you to that," I said as I rolled on top of him and kissed him as if I really had gone forty years without kissing to make up for. There were so many things I wanted to do with Walter, and I was grateful for this opportunity to try them all.

Before we went to sleep, Walter opened the drapes on the large windows that surrounded the room on three sides. The moon was full and we had a clear panoramic view of the sky.

"You'll appreciate it in the morning," he said, kissing me once more before turning out the lights. "Let's get some rest. Then we can figure out our next move."

"I don't care what we do, as long as I get to wake up beside you tomorrow and the day after and the day after."

He pulled me against his chest, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. He kissed my forehead and then sighed as he lay his head on the pillows.

"And all the days after."