Taking matters into her own hands, she gripped his cock hearing him curse once more. "Don't, love." He said before gently taking her hand away from his erection. She figured it would only take seconds before he busts out a nut. She quickly took her hand away, not wanting to ruin this moment for the both of them. This was her first time, and she wanted it to be perfect. Not only for her but also for Joshua. This would be the first time they would make love, and she didn't want to ruin that at all.
He proceeded downwards until he finally reached the spot between her legs. She opened her thighs, making sure that it was wide enough for him to see what he wanted to see. Joshua muttered another curse before stroking himself. He only wore boxers, much to her amazement. She hadn't realized that they had shed each other from their clothing that fast. She wore her black, lace panties and he wore nothing but his underwear as well. His cock protruded against the fabric, catching her attention.
All thoughts remained silent when he bent down and began to kiss her there. She arched her back, a surprised moan slipping out that had her panting for more. Lauren couldn't hold back. The pleasure was too much that she found herself slipping her fingers through the thickness of his hair. She tugged, pulled at it until she was screaming his house down.
When her inner muscles began to contract, she wrapped her legs around his neck before she came with her head thrown back. He moved quickly over her before pulling out a condom from his pants and putting it on. Gathering her legs, he spread them apart before thrusting in gently. She gasped from the tight fit, feeling very snug as he began to move inside of her. It started out gently before going into a much rougher pace. She held on as the pleasure built in the pit of her belly, her teeth biting down hard on her bottom lip. She would feel bruised up tomorrow morning from the rough thrusts, she was sure of it. But it didn't matter now. It felt too good to care about the consequences.
Joshua placed both of his hands on either side of her head before pounding fully into her. She held onto the headboard now; her breasts thrust out as the pleasure built continuously. She was so hot, and the sound of their flesh hitting against each other made her howl even more. When she finally came, her shout rang throughout the room. Joshua followed her after, lying flat on top of her as their breathing ragged.
She could only wrap her arms around him tight as sleep began to tug at her. Lauren found herself yawning, fighting back the sleep that was taking over her whole body. Joshua pressed a kiss on her forehead as if reassuring her to sleep. She finally gave into the strong pull of slumber before everything turned dark.
•••
She woke up to the empty space beside her where Joshua had lain in last night. Looking around, she realized that she was still in the guest bedroom where they had made love. She felt slightly sore, and her muscles ached from the event that had happened last night. Joshua was nowhere to be seen. She also realized that the faint sound of water dribbling in the other room. While he took a shower, she hopped out of bed and put on the shirt that he lent her last night.
She padded out of the room and into the living room. Lauren sat down, curling her legs underneath her as she gazed outside. There were double doors that were slightly ajar, the breeze coming through the opened doors. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear Joshua approaching from behind her.
"Deep in thought, I see." He said from behind.
She whirled around, her heart pounding against her chest. She was so surprised that she almost hit him in the chest. The sight of water dripping down his body made her mouth go dry. He had taut skin but smooth as far as she could remember from last night. He was slightly toned, tanned and oozed off all male. His navel had a slight hint of abs that made her want to reach over and lick a path towards up.
"You gave me a fright," she said after admiring the view.
"I figured," he said before grinning.
He finished toweling his hair before flopping down beside her, turning her around so that they were face to face. "Did you have a good sleep?"
She nodded, blushing when she remembered what had happened last night. "Yeah, I did. Did you though? You seemed to have gotten up early."
"I did get up early so that we can start with our little investigation," he said before pushing locks of hair into her ear. "But I'm glad you had a good sleep. It's time for us to do some work."
Hearing him say that made her a little disappointed. She had been looking forward to spending a couple of more hours together before they had to start with whatever they needed to do. But she had totally forgotten that they weren't together. Just because she slept with him didn't mean that they were already a couple. She was in the midst of thinking when he kissed her straight on the mouth.
She looked up in surprise. "What was that for?" she asked.
"You were thinking too much," he answered.
"I kind of have to," she murmured.
He gathered her close and wrapped his arms around her lightly. "I do hope you didn't regret what happened last night. Because it will surely happen again."
She was taken aback by what he said that it took a moment for it to sink into her brain. What did he exactly mean? They were never a thing until they had decided to sleep together.
"What do you mean?" she asked, confused more than ever.
"What I'm saying is," he said as he took her hands instead. "You are mine, and I am yours. There would be no dating other men, and there would be no other women for me. Just you and me, all right?"
She was having trouble catching on with what he was saying that Joshua laughed out loud. Blood rising, she wondered if he had taken some sort of drugs this morning. Or he was hysteric after what had happened to them last night.
"I'm not sure I'm following what you're saying, Joshua." She said, bemused.
"The moment you stepped into my bed," he said. "You became mine. So you are not allowed to be anyone else's, all right? You and I together until the end."
"So you're saying that we're together now?" she said, feeling her hopes rise up. She didn't want to play mind games with him. She had to get it out in the open whether he expected her to be his while not having a label on whatever relationship they had.
"Yes, I am saying that we are together." He said, confirming her theory.
She didn't know whether she wanted to jump for joy or to cry out in happiness. Either way, she was still in shocked and didn't know what to say.
"Wow," she whispered in awe. "I don't know what to say, to be honest."
"Good," he said before hugging her again. "I don't want you to say anything other than 'I'm glad, Joshua that I am yours forever' because that's all I want to hear right now."
She laughed, closing her arms around his waist. "Are we actually together for real now? No playing mind games or anything?"
"No mind games because you and I are going to be together for as long as we want to. And that would be forever," he answered. "Now, we have work to do. We can always just go back here for another round of lovemaking, but Edward is expecting our asses to be at his office in half an hour. You think you can get ready then?"
She nodded. "Of course."
•••
"I spoke to some of the police," Edward declared as soon as they got to his office. "They don't exactly want us poking our noses where it doesn't below. They believe that evidence isn't enough to show that it was Elisa's cousin who killed Elijah's family."
"We've already started and come this far," Joshua argued. "We can't back out now. There's no point in not finishing."
"We're touching dangerous grounds here," their boss said as he looked at the both of them.
"We're way past that, Edward." Lauren chimed in as she stared Joshua with determination. "We're going to disappoint Elijah if we don't continue. His family deserves justice for the murder that took place. They were innocent, Edward."
"Damn it," Edward cursed as he ran his fingers through his hair.
Chapter 8
"Our first suspect here is Elisa's cou
sin, right?" Joshua said as he wrote it down in his notebook.
"Yes," Lauren nodded as she pulled her notes together. "As far as I know, Ben had a few criminal records himself."
"Criminal records?" he repeated before glancing in her direction. "Where did you get that information from?"
"While I was running errands a few weeks ago, I decided to go to the local police station. They were able to give me a criminal record of Ben Lincoln's, and I saw that he had broken into numerous houses in the past and even a possible crime as well. Mostly had been about him stealing stuff."
"That right there is enough of a lead to follow up for a warrant of arrest," Joshua said as he threw his notebook on his desk table.
"We can't be so sure that it's really him," she said calmly. "We don't have enough evidence for him to be captured. The police would look upon that weirdly. Besides, we could lose our jobs if we make the wrong move."
Joshua was pacing around the room with his hands around his waist. "I really don't see the point of holding back, Lauren. We ought to run this through with Edward and ask for his input."
"We can do that," she said, still in that sensible, calm tone that he was starting to get an irritated hearing. "But like what I said, Joshua. We don't have enough evidence that it's really him. We have to visit this guy and get his perspective. His say might just piece things together perfectly."
He sighed before sitting back down. She could tell that he was stressed and in the brink of losing it. Lauren was starting to think that it was a bad idea to have said yes to this case. But if they managed to pin the right killer here, their story would reach page one immediately. That was beside the point though. She didn't really care about whether this story would make the first page or not. The main important thing was that they give justice to Elijah's family. What they were doing was dangerous and being extra careful would have to go a long way.
"We need a witness or at least someone who was there prior to the crime scene," Joshua said as he began to gather their notes.
"But where are you going to find one?" she asked.
He grinned at her, winking. "Someone I know who will almost give me everything that I want to hear and need."
They set outside and hopped into the car without her knowing a single thing. She trusted him and his resources. Joshua Baker was well known for his good cases. He never let a single information get in the way of anything. His stories were pure and complete without a single error that any other reader or writer would find. Hence why his projects had always been on the first page of Herald paper.
The car stopped moving until she realized that they had stopped in front of the police station she hadn't been in. This wasn't the one where she had been to when she looked at Ben Lincoln's criminal records. She should have thought about this one though. But with her mind elsewhere, Lauren found herself making a mental note on asking more about murder scenery. She felt that Elijah hadn't told her the full story. There was something missing about it and everyone, even the neighborhood was considered a suspect.
They hopped out of the car and headed to the entrance. All Joshua had to do was lower down his shades, show off his eyes before we were allowed to go in. She didn't understand that tactic. It was like watching a movie play out before her. Heading to the reception area, Joshua held her back before whispering into her ear. "Wait here," he said before leaving her standing in the middle of the room.
She could make out a woman as he stopped before her. Joshua murmured something she didn't hear, so she leaned closer. The woman was obviously flirting with her boyfriend, and Lauren didn't like it one bit. She was annoyed at him too for being too familiar with the other girl when he had been the one to tell her that they were together. Nothing was to be changed between them, but it seemed that Joshua wasn't true to his words.
She had sulked for a minute or two before he went back to her side. Joshua could already feel anger and annoyance seeping out of his partner already. He could tell that she had seen how the woman, Veronica, whom he had known for years was flirting with him. It wasn't his fault that Veronica had been making moves since the first day they met. He didn't even have the energy to flirt back when he had a beautiful, compliant woman waiting for him. He obviously needed to make up for his mistakes.
"Come on," he said before taking her arm gently.
"Come where?" she snapped, glaring at him with those eyes that if looks could really kill, he would be dead by now.
"With Veronica so she could show us the file reports," he said before stirring her.
"Oh, you know her name too?" she said, voice oozing out sarcasm.
He grinned. She was jealous and trying her best not to show it. "Jealous, honey?"
"Don't honey me and why would I be jealous?" she said, her body movement rough and angry as she practically pulled the door out of its tools.
"You don't have to be jealous," he reminded her gently. "You have my heart, darling. Besides, Veronica is a good friend of mine. If I wanted her as my girlfriend, she would have been by now. But I've found someone else. Someone who happens to be so cute when she gets super angry."
Her anger melted away as soon as he said that. She wasn't impressed, but at least, her annoyance had drifted away. As much as she was flattered by his compliment, Lauren wasn't one to act like a fool.
"Come on now," he said as he tugged at her arm. "Let's get this ball rolling."
They walked into the room where Veronica was waiting. She held in her arms the folders that contained some of the important files she had to see. If she hadn't let herself get involved in this, Lauren wouldn't have cared whether the other woman flirted with Joshua. They would never have been a thing if it weren't for this case that Edward placed them in.
"These are some of the criminal records that Ben Lincoln has," Veronica said as she spread them out on the table. "Feel free to look at them. I'll be outside if you need anything, Joshua." The last part had been directed at her boyfriend, and it made her blood boil harder. She couldn't help but dart a dangerous look towards the other woman as she walked away.
Calm down, Lauren. She told herself. You have to calm down so that you can get this over and done with.
They sat down on the chairs and began to look through the papers. As she had predicted, Ben was alleged of thieving and had been put behind bars many times. He had been accused of being a part of a murder that had happened years ago. Almost the same time as the Crimson family's murder.
"He was involved in a murder that had happened years ago," Joshua said as he began to put things together. "This right here is enough of evidence. We just need a statement from him to make it stronger, and get him behind bars."
"That's true," she said before pinpointing a particular part that had bothered her the most. "It says here that he was accused of being in a murder, but it hasn't been proven. What makes it impossible to think he's the murderer is the lack of weapon found at the crime scene."
"We need to have a talk with Elijah again," Joshua said as he closed the folders.
"Is there any need really? We're making him relive a painful past that no one wants to ever think about again," she said. Lauren sympathized the older man more than she should. He must be in his late forties but still. No one deserved something like that. No matter how awful that person might be.
"You know," Joshua began. "You're growing too attached to that old man. Are you attracted to him in some way?"
His voice was hard and had a slight tone of anger into it. "Don't be ridiculous," she said before getting up and walking away with the files they were brought to.
"You can't just walk away without telling me," he said as he followed her outside.
"Let it go, Joshua." She said before handing back the files and returning back to the car.
She could feel frustration and anger rolling off of him as they drove out of the parking lot. He was seething, and she knew it. It might not have been a smart move to bring up Elijah, but what did he exactly want from her? She was merely
defending him against the heartache that might cause again if they came over to his house. They hadn't done their job thoroughly. More evidence was needed to show that Ben was the murderer.
All of a sudden, the car stopped, and he pulled over into a deserted area where not much cars drive past too. It was slightly dark outside which made her think that it was almost evening already. When in truth, the tall trees made it dim and gave them the privacy that Joshua needed.
He was so angry and full of jealousy with the way she spoke about Elijah. She didn't obviously know the man. He could barely count on his fingers the times that she had met him during the last few weeks.
"Tell me, Lauren." He started as he tried to bring back his self-control. "Do you have some fantasy about getting this case sorted so that Elijah will be impressed?"
He was talking bullshit, and the both of them knew it. She didn't understand why Joshua was acting like this so suddenly. It wasn't her fault that the older man had grown attached to her. But not in a loving way that Joshua thought. But in a father figure way that reminded her of her dad.
"Stop acting like a child, Joshua and get it moving. We have so much to do right now and having this conversation won't solve anything." She was starting to get pissed herself, but Lauren had to remember that nothing would come off good if they argued any longer. They were wasting time, and it was only a short amount of time before the murderer gets away. It was important that they lay out their cards right.
He reached out for her and crushed his mouth on hers. She came alive in his arms, her gasp swallowed by his tongue as it penetrated deeper. Tasting her and the depths of her mouth that wiped away any thoughts from her mind.
The Lost Seal: A Seal Romance Page 47
