Breakfast had come and passed in the early morning hours. The inmates had begun to mill around the floor below, groups being led to the gym or sick call with the prison nurse.
Gabriel stayed in his cell alone, stretched out in his bunk. His cellmate Brian Ames, an amiable good old boy from Baton Rouge, had already left to work in laundry. Tomorrow, Gabriel would join the work crew on the dig site. Nothing much ever happened in the morning. Nothing that he needed to be concerned about anyway. Later, he’d get the lay of the land and listen to the whispers to help him figure out what exactly was happening inside this cellblock.
For now, he needed to feed.
He held a picture in his mind of the attractive officer—Gillian Priest. Her face shimmered, firmed, and then he was standing beside a window, watching the way a slice of bright sunlight bisected the woman’s face as she lay naked across soft, rust-colored sheets.
At rest, her features had lost the tight edginess that made her seem a little bri
ttle. Fragile, even. Something he knew she’d hate if a man mentioned it. Probably no one else would ever notice.
Her body was lithe, long, and muscled. Her hair, free of the tight bun she’d worn at the prison, was deep, rich brown. Sunlight glinted in honey-colored streaks. The thatch of dark hair cloaking her mound was several shades darker. Her breasts were small, firm mounds, the nipples delightfully puffy and pink. His body hardened as he came around the foot of her bed and stared at her sex. Smooth, hairless lips beneath the thatch framed delicate pink inner labia that protruded, furling like a rose around the entrance that soon he’d penetrate.
She was perfect for his needs, and she’d benefit from the gift he’d bring her. When he was through with her, she’d awaken refreshed with only vague memories of what passed between them, which might leave her a little uneasy in his presence, but she’d put it down to first day nerves and shrug it off.
He might want to hint to Hedron that he should take an interest as well to occupy her waking thoughts. Smooth those rough edges. Make kitty purr.
In the meantime, he didn’t know how long he’d have before he was rousted from his cell, so he settled on the bed beside her, eased slowly over her body, and then sank inside.
Chapter 3
Gillian blinked when he first appeared. She’d been sitting on the porch of her family’s cabin at Canyon Lake, Texas on a hot summer’s day. Nothing to think about except how much she missed this place.
Only she’d been alone. Her sister didn’t play on the edge of the water. Her brother wasn’t casting a line into the water, hoping to catch supper. Her mother and father weren’t in the hammocks strung beneath the live oaks, laughing softly to themselves.
And yet, she’d felt peaceful.
What the hell was Vlahos doing in her dream? He stood at the bottom of the steps. His smile was slow.
“It’s not fair you look so damn good,” she groused. God, had she just said that out loud?
“It’s a dream,” he said, climbing the porch steps. “No place for secrets here.” He turned toward the lake, his gaze scanning his surroundings. “It’s nice.”
He didn’t belong here. Not in her special place. “I don’t want you here. You’re strictly off limits.”
He unbuttoned his coverall and pushed it down his legs. The boxers beneath quickly followed.
Gillian’s chest lifted around a swift gasp. His body was perfectly formed—broad shoulders, lean abdomen, chiseled cuts bisecting the muscle layered down his belly in perfect rows. His cock was gorgeous as well. Long and straight with a pretty tapered crown. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Getting comfortable. Preparing to give you what we both need.”
“I don’t need to see you naked,” she said huffily.
“Then close your eyes.”
“As if. You’re a murderer.”
His lips curled in that feline smile of his. “Things aren’t always what they seem. And this is only a dream.”
“I suppose you’re innocent,” she said, her voice catching.
His head canted, and he sat on the wooden step beside her. “That didn’t sound like sarcasm. That was pain.”
She shook her head. “It’s none of your goddamn business.”
“And I don’t really have the time. But hold that thought. Pain works for me, too.”
“What are you talking about?” she said, growing alarmed at his mention of pain.