The 9th Judgment by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro Page A

cloud of silk chiffon in the rear foot well of Rich Conklin’s car. Her skirt was rolled up to her waist,
     and her panty hose dangled from one foot. She was damned uncomfortable, but she wouldn’t change a thing.
    She rested her hand on Rich’s chest, damp from the romp, and felt his heart thudding. He pulled her in tight and kissed her.
    “What a concert,” he said.
    “Tremendous rhythm section,” she said, both of them cracking up.
    They were parked in an alley near the Embarcadero, where Rich had pulled the car into the shadows because Cindy’s hand on
     his leg had made it impossible to wait.
    He said now, “I can almost hear the cop knocking on the window with his flashlight, saying, ‘Hey, what’s going on in there?’”
    “And you putting your shield to the glass, saying, ‘Officer down.’”
    Conklin started laughing. “I don’t have any idea where my shield is. You are so witchy, Cin, and I mean that in the nicest
     possible way.”
    She gave him a sly smile and ran her hand over his naked chest and slid it down, then kissed him, starting up his breathing,
     and there he was, hard again, kissing her, pulling her on top of him.
    “Keep your head down,” he panted. “Headlights.”
    Cindy leaned over and fastened her mouth to his, broke away, raised and lowered her hips, and worked him with her eyes open,
     watching his face change, letting him see her, really see her. She slid up and away from him, and he put his hands around
     her waist and pulled her down on him, hard.
    “You drive me crazy, Cin.”
    She put her cheek down on his collarbone, letting him drive the action, feeling secure and at risk the whole time, a powerfully
     explosive combination. And then she was calling his name, and he released himself into her.
    “Oh my God,” she said, panting, then fading, wanting to fall asleep in Rich’s arms. But there was something bothering her,
     something she’d never felt it was okay to ask him until now.
    “Rich?”
    “Want to go for three?” he asked her.
    “Dare you,” she said, and they both laughed, and then she just blurted it out. “Rich, have you ever—”
    “Maybe, once or twice before.”
    “No, listen. Did you ever do it with Lindsay?”
    “No. No. C’mon, Cindy. She’s my
partner.
”
    “So that’s what—illegal?”
    “I think my arm’s dead,” he said to her.
    Cindy shifted her weight, and then there was a whole lot of looking for articles of clothing and deciding where to spend the
     night.
    She’d spoiled the mood, Cindy thought, buttoning her blouse. And she wasn’t even sure he’d told her the truth.

Chapter 25
    PETE GORDON WAS standing in the kitchen, whipping up some instant mashed potatoes on the stove while watching the baseball
     game on the undercabinet TV, when his wife came through the door.
    “Whatcha burning?” she asked.
    “Listen, princess, I don’t need your frickin’ cooking tips, and now you made me miss that pitch.”
    “So why don’t you rewind it, sweetie?”
    “Do you see a DVR in here? Do you?”
    “Sorry, Mr. Cranky. I’m just saying you could save that if you put a little milk in it and turned down the flame.”
    “For Christ’s sake,” Pete said, switching off the gas, scraping the potatoes into a bowl. “You just can’t let me have a single
     simple pleasure, can you?”
    “Well, I have a surprise.”
    “Let’s hear it.” He dialed up the volume and ate the potatoes standing in front of the set. He spit into the sink as the food
     burned his mouth, glancing up in time to see the opposing team crossing the plate. “NO!” he screamed. “Goddamn Giants. How
     could they lose this game?”
    “My aunt said she’d like to take all of us out to dinner tomorrow. Special treat—on her.”
    “Yippee. Sounds like fun. Your fat-assed aunt and all of us around a table at the Olive Garden.”
    “Pete.”
    No answer.
    “Pete,” she said, reaching up and turning off the television. He swung his head around and glared