Step Into My Parlor by Jan Hudson Page B

with him. What a mess!
    He strode into the shop with Anne hot on his heels, glad to see Willie Triner.
    "Hey, Willie, how's it going, buddy?" He grabbed the weasel-faced man's hand and pumped it up and down as if they hadn't seen each other for years. The truth was they got together for a beer a couple of times a month. "What can I do for you?"
    Looking at Spider as if he'd lost his mind, Willie frowned over the top of his wire-rimmed glasses. "I got the stuff you ordered. You said it was a rush job." His eyes darted to Anne, then back to Spider.
    "She's okay, Willie. This is my cousin Jennifer Anne Webb."
    The man gave a curt nod, pulled a brown envelope from his battered briefcase, and handed it to Spider. "One birth certificate, aged; one social security card; two credit cards." His prominent Adam's apple jiggled up and down as he chuckled. "I used Spider's number on the plastic, ma'am, so they'll pass if anybody checks, but don't run up his account too much."
    Anne lifted her chin and said, "I wouldn't do that."
    Spider threw his arm around her shoulders and hugged her to him. "He was just kiddin', sugar."
    She gave an embarrassed little "Oh," and Spider couldn't help but squeeze her again.
    "Well, I’ll be getting along. The missus and the kids are waiting in the car."
    "Thanks, Willie," Spider said. "I owe you one."
    "Nah, I haven't caught up with the ones I owe you yet." He gave Anne a nod and left.
    When the door closed behind him. Anne said, "He's an interesting little man. I've never met a professional forger before."
    Spider grinned down at the bundle of sweet innocence still tucked under his arm. He ought to let her go, but she felt so damned good close to him that he pushed his luck and kept her there. "He's not a professional forger. He owns the biggest string of print shops in town. Hell, he's a deacon in the church."
    "Then why? ..." She seemed bewildered.
    "Willie and I go way back. I used to work for him when I was a kid, running errands, sweeping up. Back then, he only owned a one-man shop on the east side. He might have pulled a shady deal or two to keep bread on the table, but he's a good man."
    She put her hand on his chest and looked up at him with eyes big enough to swim in. "You have a lot of friends, don't you. Spider?"
    When she touched him, he thought his heart was going to rip itself out it was pounding so hard. The flowery smell of her, the soft feel of her had worked itself into his pores. At that moment, he'd have given everything he owned to kiss her.
    He tried to tell himself to pull away, but he felt as if the whole Pittsburgh line had piled on top of him. He couldn't move. He ached to taste her, just once.
    Anne stood spellbound, fascinated with the contour of his lips, with the line that creased the lower one and divided it into two curves, sensuous and full. How soft, how warm his lips would feel.
    His mouth parted slowly, and hers responded in kind. A yearning, deep and unbidden, unfurled within her and beckoned him with ethereal fingers. It swelled and swayed, like the eerie enticement of water plants rippling in gentle currents along the ocean's floor.
    His face moved toward hers in maddening gradual descent, as if pulled by the force of longing inside her. His eyes glittered like blue crystals, and as he drew closer, his distinctive scent filled her nostrils. She breathed in, savoring the delicious sensation. Her lids fluttered shut, and her hand pressed and moved across the solid expanse of his chest.
    "Oh, Lord, darlin'," he groaned, and his mouth captured hers with a consuming power that stole the strength from her bones.
    He kissed her with a devouring hunger. Overwhelmed by the intensity of his kiss, she clutched the front of his shirt for support. Growls from his throat reverberated in her mouth as he moved and tasted and laved with his tongue.
    Her fingers left the hold on his shirt and threaded through the thick hair curling over the nape of his neck. His other arm snaked