Dead Heat Stormbringer Ch 01

BEFORE PRESENT TIME

The Chief shook the rattle, standing behind the Medicine Man as Mitena, known as New Moon, gritted her teeth and pressed down. Sweat oozed from her dark skin, her voluminous hair plastered to her forehead as she panted, working to bring the child forth. Her uncle stood at the head of the bed, massaging her shoulders and whispering words of encouragement.

The Elder Women huddled together around the fire, looking up as if they could see the approaching storm through the roof of the hut. Veins of lightening split the midnight velvet of sky, the dry air swirling through the open door. Mitena groaned in pain.

"It hurts, Father."

The Chief moved over her head, the rattle still sounding in his hand as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "It will be over soon. Be strong."

Thunder rumbled overhead, echoing in Mitena's tiny womb and the Cherokee woman screeched loudly, trying to suppress the pain. She took several shallow breaths, then screamed again as a loud thundercloud burst overhead, the bountiful rain pelting the hut's roof and streaming into the parched earth.

"She is born!"

The tiny baby's cry mingled with the chants of the Elder Women and the Chief wrapped her in a cloth of her people and handed her to a weary Mitena. "Have you chosen a name, my daughter?"

"Yes. She will be Taima." Mitena smiled, hearing the wail of the storm outside but safe and snug in her home. "Crash of thunder."

* * * * *

PRESENT TIME

"Come on, Alicia. Everybody's gone."

The blonde-haired young woman lay on the bed, her hard-nippled breasts tenting the soft cotton of her shirt, just inches from Taima's fingers. It had taken Taima two months to get Alicia Brewster to this point and she didn't want to stop now. Today could actually be the day that she gave in.

"I don't know, Tam." Alicia fidgeted under Taima's heated gaze. "I – I ... "

"You won't have to do anything. Just lie back and let me touch you."

Alicia stared into Taima's dark eyes and let her gaze travel over the young woman. She'd known Taima for years. They'd been best friends in high school and had drifted apart a bit in college. Now Taima was a police officer and Alicia was teaching English and Social Studies on the reservation. She had always loved Taima and had always known that Taima had a crush on her, but she'd never considered sex with her. "I want to, Tam, but ... "

"But what?" Taima ran her fingers over Alicia's temple, where the silky hair met her silky flesh. From this angle, she could see light down sprinkled across her cheek, ending at the pink rim of her lips. She ached to press a kiss there, right at the corner of her mouth. "You know me, Alicia. You know I wouldn't hurt you."

"That's not what I'm worried about." Alicia let her eyes trace the muscle of Taima's shoulders and down to her forearms. Without looking, she knew that the rest of her body would be the same: well-toned muscle under smooth, tawny skin. Wide hips, a well-formed ass and long legs to die for. All of this topped with dark, glossy hair and eyes the color of black pearls.

"Then tell me, sweet." Taima ran her fingers down her Alicia's forearms, smiling as a shudder ran through her friend. "Because you're driving me crazy."

"What about our friendship?"

Taima rose up, gazing into her friend's eyes. "Are you really worried about that?"

Alicia nodded. "Your friendship is very important to me, Tam. I wouldn't want to lose it."

"Oh, honey, you'll never lose it."

"Even if I ... I couldn't reciprocate?"

Taima smiled. Now she knew what was bothering Alicia. "I told you that you didn't have to, honey."

"But what about you?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll get off, believe me." Taima tenderly stroked the line of her jaw. "Please." Her breath was warm on Alicia's cheek. "Let me make love to you."

"Oh, Tam." Alicia's breathy response was Taima's answer. She tenderly pressed her mouth against Alicia's soft lips, her heart pounding in her chest. She couldn't believe that she was finally kissing this mouth. Her hands moved along Alicia's body, smoothing the blue fabric of her shirt until her fingertips encountered the round globe of her breast. Alicia moaned into her mouth, her tongue playing a tune against Taima's.

Taima broke the kiss, pausing a moment to enjoy the sweet look of passion in Alicia's sky blue eyes, then applied her warm mouth to the soft underside of her jaw, feeling the bump of Alicia's pulse under her tongue. Alicia sighed deeply. Taima kissed her way down Alicia's warm throat, crossed her collarbones and buried her nose in the scented valley of her breasts, her hands on either side of those luscious globes.

Alicia moaned when Taima's mouth curved over her nipple and gasped when she felt her tongue lashing the tender flesh. Her skin tingled and she pulled Taima's head harder onto her breast, panting as liquid heat seeped into her pussy. Her breast was slick with Taima's saliva when she moved to the other, nipping the hard nub and sucking it between her lips. "Oh, Tam!"

Taima smiled and continued her exploration of Alicia's body, spreading open-mouthed kisses across her ribs and stomach. Just below her belly button was an obstruction: a pair of white, lace panties. Their eyes met and Taima was sure that her friend was thinking about the length of their friendship. She bent forward a bit and grasped the top edge of the panties with her teeth. Alicia gasped as she pulled them down, exposing a dusky brown triangle and the scent of a woman.

Alicia raised her hips, her eyes intent on Taima's as the panties drifted down from her hips, over her thighs and across her ankles. A shiver ran down her spine and she felt hypnotized by the dark depth of Taima's eyes. Her fingers stroked the insides of Alicia's thighs, the movement causing them to open and uncover the soft, wet bloom of her pussy. Alicia knew that she was wet but she couldn't help it. She loved Taima and she knew that her friend loved her back. It was almost a dream come true to know that Taima would be the first woman to make her cum.

The perfume of Alicia's juicy cunt filled Taima's nostrils and she inhaled deeply, taking the heady smell deep within her lungs. She wanted to bury her face in her wet snatch but she held herself back, using pure willpower to prolong the session. She moved to the edge of the bed and took Alicia's small feet in her hands, bending to lick the insteps with short, fat-tongued swipes. The blonde moaned, her fingers gripping the sheets tightly. "Oh, God!"

Taima rubbed her nose under the crest of Alicia's toes and thrust her tongue between them, smiling when the girl gasped in delight. She sank the largest toe into her mouth, sucking it like a small penis and driving her friend crazy with lust. The fragrance of Alicia's sopping cunt lulled Taima up the long legs and directly to her crotch. Sweat sheened the delicate flesh, allowing Taima's tongue an easy entry to Alicia's slit.

"Oh, shit!" Alicia gasped. She had never felt anything like a tongue in her pussy. Taima's firm tongue grazed over her hidden nub and a series of electric shocks radiated through her body, making her pussy clench. Taima's tongue traveled down the slit, finding the deep well of cream and lingering to sweep inside. A tingle spread across her skin and she groaned again. Her body seemed to have a mind of its own, responding to Taima's touch as if it had never been touched before. "Oh, God, Taima. You're going to make me cum."

"That's what I want, baby." Taima pulled the thick, sticky lips apart and thrust her tongue into Alicia's hot hole, pressing her nose against her swollen clit and applying a little suction lower. "Cum for me." She whispered. "Cum on my tongue."

Alicia couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. Her body was one big, throbbing nerve, numb everywhere except for her pulsing pussy. She could feel Taima's tongue sliding in and out of her hole, each lick making her body jackknife with pleasure. Her friend was holding her hips tightly, making sure that she couldn't escape her grasp. "Oh, oh, Tam! Yes!"

Taima felt the muscle contractions and redoubled her efforts, lapping the fresh cream that flowed from Alicia's pink pussy. Alicia screamed at the top of her lungs as an intense orgasm racked her body, making her body jerk and her cunt weep with sweet honey. Taima moved up and held Alicia as the tremors moved through her body, rendering her breathless and limp.

"Alicia?" Taima kissed her way back up to Alicia's face, smoothing her soft hair down. "Are you okay?"

Alicia giggled. "Oh, yes. That was wonderful, Tam. I never came like that before."

Taima gazed into her eyes. "I'd make you cum like that every night, if you'd let me."

Alicia looked away, tugging her skirt down and rolling away. "I wish you hadn't ruined the moment."

Taima wiped her face. "How'd I ruin the moment?"

Her walkie-talkie squawked into life at that moment. "Taima, Taima, are you there?"

She leapt to her feet and answered the call from her colleague, Mahalo Jenkins. "Yeah, Malo, I'm here."

"Meet me at the corner of Weston and Joachim."

"Lights and sirens?"

"No. He's already dead. Just get your ass here."

"All right." Taima thumbed the radio back into silence and turned to Alicia. "Can I come back by tonight?"

Alicia nodded. "I've got tons of papers to grade." She met Taima's eyes, then looked away quickly. "Better make it another time."

Taima felt her heart drop into the pit of her churning stomach. She gave Alicia a curt nod. "Gotta go."

As Taima wrenched her car door open, she felt like she was sleepwalking. Every nerve ending was numb. How could that have happened? All the time she spent with Alicia, their friendship ... lovemaking should have been a foregone conclusion. Instead, it was a disaster. How would she be able to look Alicia in the face again? More importantly, how would she be able to be near her without thinking of the luscious pussy that she'd just had her face in?

She wheeled onto Weston Road, pulling onto the shoulder when she reached the other three sets of emergency vehicles. In the center of the intersection lay a young man, American Indian by his features and coloring. He was nude except for a red Converse tennis shoe on his left foot. Her colleague, Ray Elliott, held the sheet up for her.

"Any signs that he was dumped?"

"Nope. No tire marks, either. We think he died here."

"Naked like that?"

"Hey, maybe the natives are restless, you know?"

Taima ignored his remark. Elliott was one of those cops that hated her fellow tribesmen. He'd always joke about the drunk tank being a new reservation because it was always filled with her Indian brothers. "What's this?" She took her pointer and indicated a thin, stitched line along the side of the victim's body.

"Don't know. Hey, Mahalo!"

Mahalo Jenkins, another American Indian and police officer, came striding over, muscles rippling with every step. "What's up?"

"Check this out." Elliott showed Jenkins the line, snubbing Taima's involvement. Mahalo knelt beside her.

"It looks like an incision, Malo. Freshly made and stitched closed."

"Weird." Jenkins arose and gave her a hand. "Ray, you'd better follow up on this. Make sure the ME checks that out."

Taima huffed but remained silent, angrily watching Elliott move away. "That was

my

find, Malo."

"I know, Tam, but this way, it'll keep him out of your hair." Jenkins lifted the yellow tape for her. "His name is Benny Rhodes. His father owns that big store up on the Pike."

"The new one?"

"Yeah."

"Ugh, this is going to be a rough one."

"Precisely why I wanted Ray to handle the body." Jenkins gave her a knowing smile. "I need you to go to the Rhodes house and break the news to his family. Get any information that you can but remember that they'll be grieving and we don't want to be obtrusive."

"Okay. I'll catch you back at the station."

* * * * *

The Rhodes house was a mansion compared to the other homes in the area. Most of the homes were concrete block or trailers on wheels with aluminum car ports while the Rhodes home was all dark brick with a graceful driveway and a two car garage. Flowering bushes adorned the front entranceway and huge decorative urns held colorful impatiens and petunias.

Taima parked next to a sparkling white Mercedes-Benz and slowly got out, checking the other vehicles. A dark green Ford Expedition and a burgundy Cutlass Supreme also sat in the driveway, the Cutlass being the odd man out with rusty spots and three bullet holes in the trunk.

"One of these things is not like the other ... " She sung softly as she crept along the side of the car, peering into the warped, melted plastic sun shading. The back seat was littered with fast food wrappers and dirty clothes. The front seat was a little better. A dark blue work shirt with the name BEN was neatly folded on the passenger's seat and the cigarette tray was stuffed with crumpled butts.

Benny's car?

"May I help you?"

Taima whirled so quickly that the man took a step back, eyeing her hand where it rested on her piece. "Who are you?"

"Albert Whitley. I'm the Rhodes' gardener."

"Oh, okay. Sorry. I'm Officer Greenleaf." She flashed her badge and credentials for the old man and re-pocketed them. "Does this car belong to Ben Rhodes?"

"Yes."

"How long has it been here?"

"Since he died."

Taima turned to the man. "You already know?"

"Of course. He's been dead a week now."

Taima's confused mind worked to digest the information. "I see. Is Mr. or Mrs. Rhodes home?"

"Yes. They're on the back patio. I can take you to them."

"That would be great. Thanks."

Whitley led her around the side of the house, opening a large wooden side gate and ushering her inside. Mr. Rhodes was seated on the patio floor, his feet dangling in the clear, blue pool while his wife sat at the table, both nursing morning mimosas. He noted her approach and slowly stood, moving to his wife's side.

"Mr. Rhodes, this is Officer Greenleaf. She was looking at Benny's car."

With those words, Whitley left. Taima turned to the couple, extending her hand to Mr. Rhodes. "I'm Taima Greenleaf, sir. I've come about Ben."

Rhodes shook her hand. "I'm Nathan Rhodes. This is my wife, Harmony."

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am. May I sit?" Taima sat in the chair he indicated and made mental notes about the couple. He was very much the patriarch and his carriage reminded her of Ricardo Montalban, very proud and very masculine. Harmony Rhodes was a mouse, a pretty mouse, but definitely a mouse. Both were of American Indian descent but she looked like she was mixed with Caucasian by the look of her features. She did not make any effort to welcome the officer and did not make eye contact with her, either.

"Why were you looking at my son's car?"

"Just looking for clues, sir. Maybe I'd better give you my news first. Two hours ago, we found your son's body at the intersection of Weston and Joachim."

"

What?

That's impossible!"

"Why is that impossible, sir?"

"Because he's dead and buried!" Harmony broke into muffled sobs and Nathan Rhodes shot an angry look at Taima. "His funeral was last Saturday."

"Well, sir, I don't know what to say. This person was found with identification and matches the photo on the ID." She paused. "It would be very helpful to us if you'd come down to the morgue and take a look at the body."

"Excuse me." Harmony's words were strangled by a fresh bout of sobbing and she walked quickly into the house, her heels clicking on the patio. Nathan watched her leave, his shoulders slumping slightly.

"I'm sorry about that, Officer Greenleaf. I'm sure you can understand how upsetting this is."

"I completely understand, sir, but we really need you to come to the morgue. Mrs. Rhodes doesn't need to attend. Just you would be fine. I understand that you're a very busy man. I could arrange it so that you could be in and out in a few minutes."

Nathan Rhodes finished his drink and reached for his wife's. "Officer, I watched six of my finest employees lower a coffin with my oldest boy into the ground and cover him with cold earth. I don't see how the man you found could be Benny."

"I don't know how, either, sir, but I need you to take a look at this person just to make sure. If it's not Ben, then we'll apologize and you can be on your way. But if it is ... "

"I don't even want to think about that."

Taima sat quietly, nodding in understanding as she stood. "I know how hard this is, sir, but here's my card. I'd appreciate it if you would give me a call some time tomorrow and let me know what time would be convenient for you."

Nathan Rhodes took the card and after reading it, shoved it into his jacket pocket. Taima turned to leave, wondering how a dead man could suddenly walk.

* * * * *

"Taima!"

Three hours at the precinct filling out paperwork had eroded the tiny bit of energy Taima had to a splinter. Alicia's soft voice didn't help. The police officer continued to her car, hoping that it was just a figment of her imagination, but it wasn't.

"Taima, are you mad at me?"

"No, Alicia. I'm just very tired."

"I can help you with that." Alicia stepped closer to Taima, placing her hands on her shoulders and massaging her muscles.

Taima groaned softly, feeling the tension draining from her body and enjoying Alicia's small hands on her body. "That feels nice."

"I can run you a hot bath if you come home with me."

"I don't want to play games, Alicia."

"I don't, either." Her hands continued their work, her voice warm in Taima's ear. "After you left this morning, I was so mad at myself. I didn't want you to leave. I just didn't know how to tell you."

"Alicia, you've known me for almost all our lives. Why can't you just talk to me?"

"Because I've been in love with you for a long time."

Taima grabbed one of her hands, pulling her around to the front. "I told you that I didn't want to play games."

"I'm not playing games!" Alicia yanked her hand away and for the first time, Taima noticed that her eyes were red around the edges. "I can't help that I don't know what I feel." She looked away, rubbing her cramped fingers. "I want you and I want to have sex with you but ... I don't want to be a lesbian."

"Then you don't want me, Alicia, because I

am

a lesbian." She tossed her hat into the car and followed, sliding in the front seat. "And that's not likely to change any time soon."

"What about my job? What do I tell them?"

"You don't tell them anything! It's

your

business!"

"But someone will find out!"

Taima stuck the key into the ignition and looked up at her. "Is that what you were thinking when I was sucking your pussy? Were you worrying about what someone would think? Or were you concerned with getting your nut?"

Tears streaked Alicia's pale face. "That's not fair."

"Life's not fair and you know it." She heaved a tired sigh. "Call me when you've figured things out."

Alicia watched Taima pull away, tears in her eyes and confusion in her heart.