Mink Too, All the Riches in the World Can't Buy Love Page 5

  He liked that the sergeant challenged his little girl. Suzie Q needed that. Things had been far too easy for Suzie. He’d spoiled her rotten after his wife died. He sighed. He felt guilty that he was out of town on business when his wife died giving birth to his daughter. Anything Suzie Q wanted, from the smallest request when she was a child, such as “Daddy, I want a pony” to adult ones, like “Daddy, I want this guy fired,” he’d done for her.

  The last time Susan demanded he fire three cops for insulting her, he checked them out with Sheriff Reeves. He discovered they were incompetent knuckleheads. One of them made sexually explicit remarks to Susan recorded by a police video camera unit installed in every patrol car. Reeves fired the idiot who made the suggestive remarks within weeks after Suzie made her complaint. He put the two cops on report for not telling him and reassigned them to desk duty until he thought they learned how to treat the public.

  Reeves claimed that he’d been looking for a reason to dump the cop with the dirty mouth without risking a lawsuit, since there were reports that he’d done this before. The women he’d harassed were afraid to come forward because he’d implied he’d seek revenge on them and their families. In a way, Susan did Reeves a favor by making her complaint. It was a favor that Owen wouldn’t allow Reeves to forget either.

  “All right, I’ll tell you.” Susan sipped her iced coffee and glanced at her father. “The sergeant is teaching me to swim at two o’clock this afternoon,” she said triumphantly, studying his face. She was surprised to read disappointment in his eyes. She wondered if he wanted the sergeant to weasel out of the deal or something else.

  Owen studied his daughter, noting her sly grin. “Oh, I see.” That wasn’t how it happened, based on what his source at the club said. There was commotion when the officer entered the private club and met with Susan’s friends. His source also said she heard voices in the bathroom. After what sounded like an argument, the sergeant stormed out the bathroom like the devil himself was chasing her. The sergeant looked like she wanted to kill someone. His source laughed as she reminded Owen how maddening his daughter was. She said Suzie probably provoked the cop until she wanted to run away from her, screaming like a banshee.

  He grinned as he pulled the paper up to his face and tried to hide his smile. Susan had done the same thing to him on plenty of occasions. At the time, he’d found himself wishing he believed in corporal punishment. A good whack on the butt worked amazingly well on some children, but he didn’t have the heart to hit her. Growing up motherless was hard enough on her without him adding to her pain. He was hoping the sergeant might be the one to deliver a much-needed dose of reality to his daughter. From what Reeves told him, Sergeant Gilmore was a serious, no-nonsense woman. She was just the sort to take Suzie Q down a peg or two. He wondered what Susan had done or threatened to do to Gilmore last night. His source at the club couldn’t get close enough to hear the conversation without being obvious. He had to fill in the blanks about his daughter’s actions.

  Owen glanced down at his watch and stood up. “I gotta go, Suzie Q. With the groundbreaking postponed until yesterday, we’re a little behind. I might have to stay late at the office for the next couple of days to make up for it.” He kissed his daughter’s forehead and then grabbed his suit jacket from the back of the chair. He hustled to the front door to signal his driver and then hurried back to pick up a forgotten briefcase.

  “Be nice to the sergeant, Suzie Q. Knowing an officer of the law might come in handy one of these days. You never know.”

  Susan frowned. “Humph! That would be like being nice to a caged grizzly bear after you’ve been poking it with a stick all day.” Well, she’d just tamed this wild beast with the threat of losing her job. If the woman tried anything, she’d just have to remind her who held the whip, she thought as she flounced upstairs to dress and call Johnny.

  “You did that to the cop, Suzie?” Johnny asked with disbelief filling his voice. Susan told him about the episode in the club’s bathroom last night in graphic detail. “Why not just fire her? It’d be less trouble than taking swimming lessons from someone who’s ready to drown you every two seconds!”

  “She humiliated me, Johnny. I wanted to teach her a lesson. Nobody does that to me! I was so angry, I couldn’t think of anything better than swimming lessons.” Susan sighed. “Besides, I might learn to swim.”

  Johnny puffed on a fat cigar. He blew smoke rings and watched as they disappeared into the air in front of his ultra-modern desk. “Yeah, right, Suzie. This is me, Johnny, your first in a long line of swimming teachers. There’s no way you’re gonna learn to swim if you can’t even stick your head under water and keep it there.”

  “If a certain person didn’t throw me into the deep end when I was five, I wouldn’t be so terrified of the water.”

  “Christ! I said I was sorry about a million times!” Johnny grumbled, then sighed heavily. “Suzie, are you ever gonna let me forget? That happened twenty-five years ago. Anyway, Babe… oops…I’m sorry about the name. Have a nice day.” He paused and then added a few remarks as an afterthought. “Do me a favor, Suzie. Try not to provoke the cop enough to shoot you today, okay?”

  Susan groaned. “God, Johnny, you sound just like my father! He said the same thing not more than two hours ago. I’m just going swimming, not head-hunting!” She hung up quickly.

  Hmm, ninety minutes until doomsday, Susan thought as she glanced at a watch studded with diamonds. She got up, stretched, and then decided to do some limbering-up exercises. She was into her fifth segment of yoga movements on the pool deck when she heard a car door slam. She checked her watch again. It was only one thirty. That can’t be the cop, can it? she thought as she stretched her legs. When she looked up again, the tall officer was striding toward her in a uniform that fit in all the right places. She watched as the sergeant removed her hat and wiped the inner hatband with a hanky. She stuck her sunglasses in a front pocket, buttoned it, and then patted it as if she knew prying hands couldn’t get them today.

  “I’m reporting for swimming duty, Ma’am.” Liz saluted Susan and then stood at attention, waiting for Susan to instruct her.

  Susan stared into annoyed dark eyes. “Easy, Sergeant, it’s not that kind of lesson.”

  “Where can I change, Ma’am?” Liz ignored her attempt at friendliness and made sure the conversation remained formal.

  Susan noticed the duffel bag Liz carried. She didn’t have a weapon in her holster either. The sergeant must be afraid I’d shoot her or she’d shoot me. “You can use the same room as yesterday, Sergeant.” She studied her nemesis intently, trying to read her mood. “Why are you early? I thought we agreed on two o’clock.”

  “Sheriff Reeves let me off early. He said that he didn’t want me to be late for this.” Cool dark eyes appraised Susan’s sweat-stained exercise clothing and overheated body. She frowned. “Before we start, you might wanna change that outfit, Ma’am. I’ll be out in a jiffy.”

  Susan glared at Liz, taking in the frown on her face and her cool, formal manner. “It doesn’t take much time to strip, does it, Sergeant Gilmore?” she asked as she thought back to her remark last night about swimming in the nude to retrieve the sunglasses currently resting in the sergeant’s locked pocket.

  “No, Ma’am, it doesn’t. Perhaps you’d like a demonstration,” Liz remarked with barely controlled contempt as she emphasized the term “Ma’am.” She glared at Susan with cold dark eyes and started to unsnap the front of her uniform’s blouse.

  Shocked into sudden silence, Susan’s eyes grew wide as she watched Liz’s large hands pull the uniform shirt out of her pants and then unfasten every button. She leaned down to unlace her boots and then stood up to kick them onto the pool deck. Large hands reached down to unzip the fly of her pants.

  Susan cleared her throat, then turned away from the potentially erotic scene to head inside. “I’m going inside to change, Sergeant Gilmore. I’ll see you at two,” she called over her shoulder. “Damn her! Sh
e has balls of steel and is as bold as brass,” she muttered angrily, stomping up the stairs and then heading for her bedroom. “Well, two can play this game, Sarge!” she remarked as she searched her closets looking for the perfect suit.

  She needed the most revealing suit that she owned. She found another thong suit made of black spandex. It was a good thing that she’d waxed because the bottom barely covered her pubic triangle. The top of the suit was almost nonexistent with two tiny pieces of cloth that barely covered her aureoles. The top attached to a narrow piece of leather string that tied across her back.

  Helen Nelson was the only person who’d seen her in the outfit and she had gone crazy. She couldn’t keep her hands away, trying to remove the top all night at a private party last summer. She evaded Helen’s hands most of the night. When she finally allowed Helen to remove the top, her nipples were rock-hard and begging for Helen’s lips to taste them. It was the best sex they’d had during the entire relationship. Too bad a week later they decided to call it quits. That was just the way it went with some women. She stepped into the private bathroom behind her bedroom for a quick shower. Once she dried off and oiled her skin, it was time to slip into the swimsuit. She grinned as she admired her reflection in the mirror. “Oh yes, this is the right suit!” she muttered as she checked the clock on her dresser. It was a minute before two.

  “I’m ready for my first lesson, Sergeant Gilmore. Where do you want me?” Susan asked innocently.

  Liz looked up from the deep end of the pool and caught a nearly naked woman studying her. She willed herself not to show excitement when she looked at the honey-colored legs that went on forever and flowed from a narrow waist into firm, full hips. The top Susan Drummond wore showed everything, including hard nipples pushing at the small black florets barely covering them. Liz’s gaze lingered on the tiny black flowers. The bottom of the suit, what there was of it, showed off the junction between her legs like a flashing red light. When Susan turned around to place her towel on a nearby chair, Liz wanted to stroke the silky smooth naked globes below her waist. Oh Lord, she thought the Drummond woman looked incredible.

  She felt her stomach clench, then her pussy jerked as she continued to stare at Susan Drummond. She groaned softly. The woman was a twenty on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the highest rating that a sexy woman could hope to attain in Liz’s mind. The swimming lessons were going to be difficult. She closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing, but her voice still sounded hoarse. “Meet me down at the shallow end.”

  She swam down to the shallow end, stood up, then strolled over to the ladder. She watched Susan Drummond nervously climb down the three treads leading into the swimming pool.

  Susan held on to the ladder’s railing so tight her knuckles paled against the coppery brown skin of her thighs. She chewed on her inner lip, drawing a tiny bit of blood as she stared at the blue water. When she reached the bottom rung, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut, then began to walk into the warm water.

  “Miss Drummond, you’ll have to open your eyes to follow me. Come on; it’s not that bad. You made it this far, didn’t you?” Liz Gilmore encouraged in a soft voice from somewhere in front of her.

  Susan nodded stiffly and opened her eyes. Her body shuddered and her eyes widened with fright. “I don’t think I can do this, Sergeant. I’m too cold.”

  The terror Liz read in Susan’s eyes surprised her. She moved through the shallow water quickly to stand near Susan. “Okay. It’s okay. Just take a step at a time. Come on, Miss Drummond, I’ll help you get back on deck.”

  Together, they walked the few steps to the ladder.

  Liz nudged the frightened woman back up the three steps to the pool’s deck. She grabbed a towel and led her over to one of the deck chairs. “Sit down here. I’ll get something to cover you until you warm up. Here, put this on.” She handed Susan the beige blouse from her uniform and helped her button it. “You’ll be okay, all warm in a minute.”

  Susan shivered as she watched Liz stride into the bedroom off the pool. Liz returned, bringing two thermal blankets that she spread over the trembling woman and tucked in around her. “Son of bitch, Drummond!” she cursed softly as she stood over the trembling woman. “Why didn’t you tell me about your fear of the water? I thought this was just going be a swimming lesson, not a goddamned counseling session!” she added, staring at the shivering woman huddled in the lounge chair.

  Susan frowned. “I’ll thank you not to refer to me as ‘Drummond.’ It reminds me of my graduate school days. That’s a time in my life I’d like to forget, if you don’t mind.” She inhaled deeply once she started feeling the warmth from the added blankets. “Another thing, Sergeant Gilmore, stop calling me ‘Ma’am.’ It’s a term reserved for older women of at least over fifty. As you can see, I’m not one of those.”

  “I see plenty of things about you, Miss Drummond. Things I don’t like much,” Liz remarked, studying Susan as she sat on the lounge chair. Susan wore three layers of blanket, but she was still shivering. “Look, Miss Drummond, why don’t we call it a draw? I won’t bother you unless I catch you speeding.” She smiled at her own joke. “You know I’ll take your pretty little car if I do. You go your way. I’ll go mine. Is that a deal, Miss Drummond? Come on; let’s shake on it, okay?” she urged as she sat down on the edge of a chair next to her. She grinned broadly as she held out a hand to Susan.

  Something about the sergeant’s overconfident manner irked Susan. Without thinking, she lunged forward and bit into Liz’s hand. Her teeth didn’t break the skin on Liz’s palm, but the pressure was hard enough to put tears in Liz’s eyes.

  “Goddamn it, that hurt!” Liz jumped back. She shook her hand, then rubbed the sore spot with a thumb. “What did you do that for, Drummond? I oughta bust you for assault!” she yelled, glaring at Susan Drummond. She felt the urge to shoot her or at least do something to wipe the arrogant smirk from her face.

  “But you won’t, Lizzie, will you?” Susan snapped, daring Liz to contradict her words.

  “No, but I will do this.” Liz yanked Susan to her feet, then pulled the surprised woman into her arms and kissed her lips hard as the blankets tumbled to the ground around their bare feet. She felt Susan’s pinpoint nipples pressing against her chest just before Susan opened her mouth. Susan accepted her roving tongue, then rubbed against her as if she was a bitch dog in heat.

  Liz kneaded lush, firm hips. Ooh, Susan Drummond felt so good. She stroked and then caressed nice, firm hips and soft, smooth skin. She could imagine them in bed together. It’d be good…better than good. It’d be magic. Holy shit! What am I doing? This is the same witch that’s trying to fire me! She shook her head to gain control of her senses. She pushed Susan Drummond away, then bent down to gather her clothes. She hurriedly stuffed them into the large duffel bag she’d left on the pool’s deck, then pushed her feet into her boots. “I think we can call it a day, Miss Drummond, don’t you? I’ve more than paid my debt to you and all your rich friends. The swimming lessons are over. Don’t you agree?”

  Susan wiped off Liz’s kiss with the back of her hand. Cool hazel eyes studied the tall cop from her booted feet to the simple one-piece suit that emphasized her sturdy, healthy body to her damp dreadlocks. “Yes, let’s call it a draw, Sergeant Gilmore. I’ll go my way and try real hard to stay out of yours. We don’t travel in the same circles, so it shouldn’t be too hard for either of us to avoid the other. After all, as you so graphically pointed out last night, I am a rich bitch!”

  “Good day to you, Ma’am.” Liz gave her a little bow and a salute, then straightened her shoulders and strode out to her car.

  Susan frowned at the officer’s hasty retreat. “I can’t believe I did that. I kissed her. It felt good ... maybe a little too good,” she muttered, running a finger lightly over her lips and then smiling. She rubbed her arms, trying to bring some warmth back into them as she thought about what just happened. The sergeant was a good kisser. She knew those hands of hers would
feel good rubbing up and down her body. She clenched her thighs together when she thought about the feel of Liz’s strong hands helping her up the ladder and tucking the blankets around her when she was cold, then caressing her hips. She wondered how they’d feel in all her secret places that nobody had found yet. Her indecent thoughts were making her feel warmer.

  Ha! That wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, if ever! She’d just declared the sergeant was beneath her in the social order of things. To prove it, she treated the sergeant as hired help, even though she’d been curious about a woman who had the balls to stand up to the Drummond family and Sheriff Reeves as well. She’d heard all about the loud argument the sheriff had with her yesterday after the drug search. If she believed Becky’s version of the events, most of the town’s wealthier families heard one version or the other of the entire incident from the drug search to the swimming lessons to their explosive meeting at the club. Becky was right about the gossip. The last time Reeves’ cops stopped her for speeding, most of the townspeople knew about it by nightfall.

  She sighed as she gathered the towels from the chair, wrapping one around her waist, then slipping into her sandals. She’d better call her father. She wanted to give him her version before somebody else gave him another one.

  On the road to the stationhouse, Liz thought about the stolen kiss. She remembered how Susan Drummond returned it with passionate vigor. God, she could still taste Susan on her lips and feel the silky smooth skin of her ass under her fingertips. She shook her head in disbelief. What was wrong with her? She frowned at her own question. The Drummond woman was crazy enough to bite her for no reason. Except that she’d deliberately provoked her with the “things she didn’t like remark” and the “impounding the car” routine because she wanted to see how far she could push the rich bitch before she exploded. She knew Susan Drummond would either smack her or punch her, but she didn’t figure her as a biter. Once again, she wanted to even the score. Susan Drummond deserved what she got after making those snide remarks about being a dirt-poor public servant and swimming naked like she was some kind of crude animal.