by Brandy Ayers
Unfortunately, when Justice finally arrived back at the station, dragging Eddie in kicking and screaming once again, Ana was already in another meeting. He deposited Eddie in a holding cell, got him a drink and some chips, then sat at his desk to fill out the paperwork involved in bringing in a possible witness. All the while, his eyes kept wandering to the door where Ana sat with the district attorney and McCracken.
The end of his shift came and went, but they stayed locked behind that damn door. Eventually, his stomach forced him to give up on his vigil, and he left before getting another glimpse of the striking Detective Formosa.
Fortunately, she had given out her business card to everyone at the morning briefing. After eating one of the meals he prepped over the weekend, he lay naked in his bed, the air-conditioning whirring in the background, working hard to cool down his stuffy apartment after being dormant during the unseasonably hot day. The business card in one hand and his phone in the other, Justice debated the wiseness of his need to call her.
Ana had been right when she said they both knew what they were getting into that night. Justice had no expectations of more when he took her home. But no matter how many times he reminded himself of that fact, he couldn’t get past the overwhelming desire to have her in his bed again.
Taking in a deep breath, he pressed the keypad icon on his phone and dialed her number, pressing Send before he could rethink the decision once again.
“Formosa.” Her clipped, professional tone did nothing to lessen the effect of her husky bedroom voice.
“It’s me.” Justice tried to quiet the pounding of his heart. Yes, Ana had been the hottest damn sex of his life. But that didn’t explain his body’s reaction to the mere sound of her voice.
The line crackled as Ana let out a long breath. “I’m honestly surprised it took you this long to call.”
Chapter Five
Ana
The simple whoosh of Justice’s breath on the other side of the phone line made her sex throb. Three weeks ago, that same breath had skated along her oversensitized skin as they lay tangled together post-earth-shattering sex.
“The way you were acting this morning, I thought you’d be on my ass the second you walked back into the station.”
Justice huffed a laugh. “Yeah, well, I managed to calm myself down. A couple hours in a squad car with Wright busting on you for going alpha male on the new detective has a way of giving a guy perspective.”
“You didn’t tell him about us, did you?” Panic raced through Ana’s body. The last thing she needed was another scandal about her sleeping with a coworker. Hell, a subordinate.
“No. Of course not. Wright is just . . . well, he’s a great cop, intuitive. But maturity-wise, he never progressed out of the sixth grade. The two combined can make him a bit much. He can find that one little thing that will needle you the most and just poke at it until you want to punch him.”
Through the phone, a creak and shuffle of cloth clued Ana in to the fact that Justice most likely lay in bed at that moment. Damn if she didn’t wish she was there as well.
“After my reaction this morning, he was one minute away from singing ‘Justice and Ana sitting in a tree.’”
The comment caught Ana by surprise, and a laugh sputtered out of her mouth before she could stop it. Justice chuckled as well, the sound sending another wave of arousal deep to her core. That bass voice of his had haunted her dreams. Her fantasies too. Sleeping with him, having all those filthy words groaned directly into her ear with his Barry White voice, had been the most erotic experience of her life. It had chased away the remnants of her ex, only to be replaced with new memories of Justice.
She shook her head, trying desperately to get back to a safe place where she didn’t constantly think about the way he had mastered her body in one night. “I heard he won’t be in for a few weeks since his wife went into labor today.”
“Yeah, should have seen the guy’s face when he got the call. I think it was five percent excitement, ninety-five percent terror.” A smile was evident is his voice. Despite what all the guys said about this Wright guy, they all obviously loved him. The way only a group of people depending on one another to stay safe can truly love one another.
“That was a good get you guys brought in today. The pieces on how the organization worked are really starting to come together.” Ana had been thrown for a loop after seeing Justice that morning. But digging into the meat of the case had helped her to get through the day. In a strange way, she loved going through his notes on the various components of the drug ring. It gave her insight into not only who he was as a cop but also as a man. Neat, organized, clear and concise, but thorough. Most of all, smart. He added little insights and theories to his notes that most officers of his experience wouldn’t even think about. Most filled out their paperwork with the bare facts, leaving the investigating and theorizing for the higher-ups. But Justice held nothing back. Ana was genuinely curious whether it was because of his love for the job or his need to advance quickly.
He had been the same way in bed. No movement was wasted. Every crook of his finger, flick of his tongue, pulse of his hips was expertly used to bring her to climax as quickly and powerfully as possible. But he also had restraint. Knew when to back off. When to switch tactics. The dual skills in the field and the bedroom turned her on more than she wanted to admit, even to herself.
“Thanks. But even with as forthcoming as Big Eddie was, I don’t think it is going to help us much in finding Artiga or his goons.” Justice sucked in a breath and blew it out.
Ana could practically feel the frustration coursing through his blood through the phone line.
“How is it possible this guy is smart enough to evade us for over a year?”
“I don’t know, but you have to keep an eye on the cracks.” Ana closed her eyes, sinking back onto the sagging couch that came with her apartment. “Criminal organizations are like concrete. They are hard to break through. But once the cracks start to show, we can get in, spread them wider. Break them apart.”
“Fuck. Ana, you can’t say shit like ‘spread them wider’ to me. My brain automatically goes back to having you bent over my kitchen island, legs spread as I feasted on you.” His voice dropped an octave, into that dangerous territory where dirty thoughts and deeds lived. “Just the thought has me so hard I could drill through the wall.”
Ana’s core clenched, heat spreading through her limbs and pooling in her belly. “Justice, we can’t talk like that anymore. We work together.”
“Do you honestly think I care, Ana?”
The barely restrained growl echoed directly into her ear had her involuntarily undulating her hips, her pussy seeking any form of friction, even if it only came from the seam of her pants.
“Since that night, no other woman has been able to make my dick so much as twitch. But the second you walked out of McCracken’s office, I was rock hard and ready to shove your legs over my shoulders and tear through all your clothes to what I’ve craved for three weeks.”
“Justice . . .” She wasn’t sure if his name slipping through her lips was a warning or a plea, but either way, he didn’t seem to care.
“Do you know I’ve looked up every Ana in our database? I actually hoped you had a record so I could find a mug shot. So that I could find you and drag you back to my bed.”
His confession shocked her but not as much as he probably thought. Because in truth, Ana had sat in front of her own computer, debating whether to look up the name Justice in the system. His name would have been much easier to find since not many would share it with him. But each time, she had pushed away the urge and gotten back to work. One man had already made her weak and possibly ruined her career. That would never happen again.
“This can’t happen, Justice. We work together. I have no room in my life for a messy fling with a fellow cop.” The words burned like acid coming out of her mouth, but she was glad she had said them. She would not allow herself to give in to the soft si
de of her that desperately wanted to be in Justice’s bed at that moment. She had one reason for being in Middleburg, and following her heart wasn’t it.
“That’s good. Because I’ve decided this isn’t a fling. I know you’ve been thinking about me for weeks.”
Damn, she hated the cocky confidence in his voice. As if it were impossible for her to have simply forgotten him after sneaking out of his house that morning. Even more, she hated that he was right.
“Just like I know that your panties are soaked right now, just from the sound of my voice. I haven’t forgotten how much you loved me whispering all those dirty words into your ear. How you begged me to talk you step-by-step through everything I did to your body. How you whimpered when I talked about how tight and warm your pussy was around my cock.”
“Justice . . .” She’d meant for it to be a warning, to tell him to stop with this shit, but failed. Instead, the single muttered name was filled with lust and need. Because she’d been thinking about him nonstop since that night too. About how one night with him had blown every preconceived notion of what sex and desire and orgasms were supposed to be.
“You know what I’d do to that body right now if I was in the same room?” Justice paused, obviously wanting an answer.
Ana hesitated. She shouldn’t play into this game he was playing. But, fuck, she needed to know. “What?”
“I’d cuff you to the bed, then I’d lick, bite, and suck every inch of you. Every inch except any part that would make you come. I’d avoid your pussy and tits until you vibrated with the need for my cock to fill you.” Justice paused, groaning long and deep.
That groan had been permanently imprinted into her memory. It was the same sound that told her he not only was turned on but was close to exploding.
“Justice, what are you doing?” She hated how breathless she sounded. How needy. But no matter how many times she told herself to be strong, to hang up, to forget that night, it just wasn’t possible.
“You know what I’m doing. I’m so fucking hard it aches. This is what just the thought of you does to me. I know you never thought you’d see me again, Ana. But I knew I’d find you. The universe just made it easier for me. Now that you’re here, you are never escaping my grasp again.”
“You sound like an asshole right now.” The lie sat heavy on her tongue, even as she slid one hand down into her panties, parting her slick folds and getting to work on her own orgasm.
“Apparently, asshole works for you, because I know from that little hitch in your breath that you’re stroking that throbbing little clit.”
A quiet slap, slap, slap under Justice’s voice drove Ana’s need even higher. She could picture Justice lying in his bed, fingers wrapped around his thick cock, long hard strokes driving him closer and closer to the edge. She didn’t want to admit that she had given in to her baser instincts and was furiously rubbing at her pussy, barreling toward her own climax. Instead of answering, she let her breaths and moans speak for her.
“That’s it. You don’t need words. I can tell from the sounds you make exactly how close you are. I bet you aren’t even naked.” There was humor in his voice, laced with animalistic lust. “You’re probably still in those sexy-as-hell trousers that clung to your skin all the way from your thighs to your ankles. The white button-down shirt with every button but the top done up. Did you ditch the suit jacket, or are you still wearing it? Is my professional woman all dressed up and petting herself like a dirty girl?”
“Fuck you, Justice.” Why did he have to be right? She hated it. Despite promising to keep it professional and uncomplicated, she so easily let him get her to this point. Her hand shoved down her pants as she writhed on the couch.
“Don’t worry. There will be lots of fucking in our future. I didn’t even get through half the things I want to do with your body. I’ve been planning for this day since I saw your little note. It really is cute that you thought I wouldn’t come looking for you. But the joke was on both of us. The universe had plans all along to bring us back together.”
“You’re insane.” Ana panted, not even trying to hide her quick descent into ecstasy. “And this won't happen again. We just need to get the edge off.”
“Please.” He half laughed, half growled. “Nothing will take the edge off. I will always want to be buried balls deep in your pussy. Your hot core fluttering and strangling my cock as you scream my name and scratch my back. Are your fingers inside your pussy now, Ana? How many does it take to feel even half as full as I made you feel? Three?”
“Fuck you.” She couldn’t think of anything better to say. This was the weirdest hate-phone sex in the history of the world. Ana wanted nothing more than to tell off the jackass of a man. But she knew she was kidding herself. Justice wasn’t a jackass. No, her supposed one-night stand was the perfect mixture of sweet and rough that she never knew she wanted.
He laughed again, and like flint hitting steel, the sound created a spark and burned fire in her belly, spreading and consuming her as the orgasm welled higher and higher. “That’s it . . . fuck yourself with those slim fingers. Make believe that’s my cock. But you know it isn’t. We both know nothing is going to ever compare to me slamming into you and biting your nipples. When you find the person who lights your body, hell, your whole world, on fire, you know deep in your bones nothing will ever compare again. You can fight it, Ana, but it doesn’t make it any less true.”
Ana gave in, stopped fighting and let everything go. Her limbs shook, the phone clattered to the floor, and she lost all control. The pleasure burst inside her, heated bliss licking at every cell of her body. But despite the intensity of her self-induced climax, she knew if Justice had been there, it would have been ten times as powerful. Last ten times as long. He would have milked her until she had nothing left to give and curled up beside him like a perfectly behaved kitten.
Once she came back to her senses, Ana picked up the phone from between her feet, ready to tell Justice it could never happen again. But she never got the chance.
“Thank you. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”
The line went silent, leaving Ana with nothing but her own swirling thoughts and doubts.
Chapter Six
Justice
Ana’s breathy moans played on a loop in Justice’s head all night and into the next morning. No doubt winning her over would be a challenge. But once he set his mind to something, Justice never gave up, and this would be no different.
Thankfully, the station was quiet as he walked in through the gated parking lot at the back of the building. He headed straight for Ana’s desk, where she sat ramrod straight in one of the crappy old chairs the borough was too cheap to replace.
Justice plunked the cup of coffee down right next to her hand cradling the mouse. “You ran out so fast after our night together, I never found out how you take your coffee, so I guessed.”
She glanced up at him, then at the empty desks around them. “You can’t do shit like this, Reilly. I will not have people gossiping about us. Especially since there is . . . no . . . us.”
Leaning over her chair so that she had to tilt her head back even farther to maintain her tough-as-nails glare, Justice just laughed. “Ana, they’re already gossiping about us. This place is worse than my mom’s damn hair salon back in the neighborhood.”
“Fuck.”
“Don’t worry. We aren’t the only topics of conversation.” He tucked one of her crazy corkscrew ringlets that had fallen from her bun behind her ear. “The Chief and Ms. Artiga are the main topic of conversation. Then Wright’s new baby. Then us. Then Luke and Sophie and whether they will make it down the aisle before her bun pops out of the oven. By the way, you either call me Justice or ‘Oh God Yes.’ Not Reilly.”
“Anyone ever call you a cocky, pushy bastard before?” Ana raised one eyebrow, giving him that trademark smart mouth that he loved.
“No one. You know why?”
She shook her head, never taking her eyes off his.
/> “Because until now there was nothing in my life that required me to be a cocky, pushy bastard. But I can see that you are going to take some convincing to give in to our chemistry.” He leaned closer, so close he could smell the minty aroma of her toothpaste. “So, I plan on making it as hard as possible for you to say no, until all you are saying is yes, yes, yes.”
Ana’s chest rose and fell with her quiet little pants. He could tell she was trying to suppress her reaction to his close proximity and the truth of his words, but it was useless. Justice could read her body as if it were his own.
The door from the lobby swung open, then slammed shut with an echo through the room, breaking the intense staring contest Ana and Justice had found themselves in. Justice straightened up, taking his own coffee over to his desk to get started on his work for the day.
“Morning, Chief.” Justice gave Luke a swift nod as they passed.
“Fuck, do not start calling me Chief, Reilly.” Luke grumbled and glared at Justice. “What are you doing here so early anyway? Day shift doesn’t start for another two hours.”
“Figured I’d get a jump on things. Go through my write-up on Big Eddie yesterday.”
“Well, good. You’re actually saving me a call. Bryan is on his way in now, and the four of us are going to sit down and brainstorm how to advance our investigation. Ana is up to speed, and Wright has all of his paperwork in for us to look at. I do not want to have another phone call with the Chief saying we are stalled.” The stress of letting down the man they all looked up to was evident in Luke’s entire demeanor. He held his shoulders high and stiff, his fists clenched at his side, and his eyes clouded with doubt.
Justice had never before seen his commanding officer in this state. “Got it, Chief.”
“Fuck, Reilly, so help me God. Just because Wright is out on paternity leave does not mean you get to take up his place as resident jackass. Stop calling me Chief, or I will put you on crossing guard duty for the rest of the year.” Luke spun on his heels and marched away.
