Secret Identity (What's Her Secret?)
Page 4
Their first kiss. Incredible but true. She had never really considered herself a fan of making out—could take it or leave it—but with Greg she found herself melting against him and meeting the onslaught of his tongue with her own.
His skin was so warm against hers and she opened her legs a bit. He shifted his stance almost instantly, appearing to read her mind as he inserted a thigh between hers and gave her the pressure she was seeking. As she rocked against him, their kisses grew deep and probing, mimicking what she was dying for. He ran a hand up to cup her breast and tease his thumb across her nipple, and the sensation arrowed straight down to her clit. She ground against him. God, he made her hot. Everything about him tripped every trigger she had.
When he pulled away, she moaned in protest then squeaked as he grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her onto the edge of the desk. Then he dropped to his knees in front of her and used his shoulders to spread her wide before his gaze.
“Turnabout is fair play, and I’m always fair.” He ran his hands along the sensitive skin of her inner thighs and used the flat of his tongue to separate her folds.
She braced herself back on her hands and willingly submitted to his ministrations. When he suckled her clit, she snapped her head up so fast she almost hurt herself. “Fuck, oh my fucking God. Greg…”
Between sucks and flicks of his tongue, he had her coming unglued and she went with it, crashing over into a hard and breath-stealing orgasm, arching against his mouth.
“Ahh.” Sienna reached down, desperate to get a grip on his hair, but it was too short to really grasp. He got the hint, though, and eased away from her, kissing his way up her belly to her breast. She ran her hand from the back of his head under his chin and forced him up from his attentions to her clit.
“Condom,” she reminded him, needing that girth stretching her walls like she needed her next breath. She licked her dry lips and he watched with heavy-lidded eyes that widened when she reached down to grasp his cock, using the head to run over her sensitized clit.
That prompt got him going in the right direction and he hurriedly ripped the packet open. Once sheathed, he resumed using his dick to toy with her clit, rubbing it in short strokes over and back then dipping down to her slick entrance.
“Oh yeah. That’s hot,” he admired, alternating between watching the action and looking at her face.
“Yes.” She couldn’t hold her head up anymore and arched her chest as she let her eyes close. The additional moisture he gathered gave the friction more of a glide, and that quickly ramped her up again.
“In me,” she demanded, opening her eyes again. Sienna could tell he was fast reaching the end of his admirable patience. A flush had moved up his chest to his neck and cheeks, and he was breathing heavily.
He took a deep breath and held it as he prodded at her entrance then sank inside, grasping her hips. The feel of him pushing inside her—finally—almost had her coming again on the spot. She held her breath along with him until he was all the way inside her, then released it in a huge, ragged exhale that ended on a moan.
“God, you’re perfect.”
Though it was far from true, it was nice to hear. Still, she shook her head. “I think you take that title. Now quit being the perfect gentleman and fuck me already.”
His gaze darkened with heat. “Yes, ma’am.” He gave her hips a sharp tug so she was almost off the desk then bent over, pinning her down on her back with his weight on her chest. Setting a relentless pace with his hips, he finally lost his restraint and fucked her hard, just like she’d wanted.
It was far and away the most intense sex she’d ever had and she met him thrust for thrust, working toward her own completion as he took his pleasure. He mouthed all along her shoulders, chest and neck before clamping down on the exact same bruise he’d sucked up the first time they’d met. Somehow his angle changed and it was enough to tweak her clit—then she was coming again, gripping his shoulders hard and crying out.
A dozen or so thrusts later he gasped and held against her as his warm cum flooded the condom inside her. She opened her eyes—when had she closed them?—and watched as he opened his at close range, zeroing right in on her. A smile curved her lips and grew as an answering grin spread his mouth.
His gaze dropped to her neck. “Oops.”
“Ha! Oops, my ass. You have a thing about marking me up like a horny teenager.” It wasn’t a complaint. She couldn’t summon any heat into her tone. Her voice sounded about as replete and fucked-out as she felt.
“You don’t exactly look like you mind wearing marks.” He ran his gaze over her various tattoos and piercings then he tweaked her nipple, sending a zing through her. “These are pierced too?” he asked.
“Mm-hmm. Just don’t wear them all the time.” She had to move, so she gave him a slight nudge and he backed up enough to allow her to sit up. He held the condom and carefully pulled out of her as she did so. “Only when I know they’ll be getting some use.”
“Need to take care of this—I’ll be right back.” He dropped a kiss on her lips before he walked over to open the office door then headed down the hall to the bathroom.
Sienna had never felt less inclined to hurry, but she knew it would be all kinds of better to get dressed before he came back. She quickly hopped up, snagged her panties and pulled them on then crossed bare-breasted to her bag.
She’d managed to get her pants on and fastened before Greg came back in. He looked her up and down, smiling. “You forgot something.”
Feigning a puzzled look, she patted herself up and down before making an exaggerated face of dismay and covering her breasts like a shy maiden. That lasted for all of two seconds before she cracked up and dropped the act—and her hands. Maybe she had a bit of an exhibitionist inside her because she enjoyed Greg’s eyes on her.
Thank God he wasn’t in the department. Her boss would never stand for fraternization, even though it wasn’t technically against the rules except with your partner or superior. And why the hell was Sienna even thinking that? She had no idea if he even lived here in town or if he was just in for this case.
Plus, he didn’t know she was on the case as well.
What a fucking mess.
He glanced at the clock on the wall, gave a loud exhale and his smile faded a bit. “I hate to bring up business, Cici, but it would probably be better if we could get your statement this afternoon.”
She mentally sighed and tried to look understanding. Just fucking figured that she’d finally found a guy who she admired, who turned her on like nobody’s business, and who she had fun with—and they were caught up in this weird situation where she had to be someone else.
And will he still want me once he knows I’m not Cici the barista, but Sienna the detective? Who’s been lying to him since we met?
“Sure. Might as well get this done.” She turned her tanks right side out and put them on one at a time as Greg quickly dressed himself. Remembering Jay and the real possibility that he might beat her to work, she took a critical look around to see if anything screamed ‘sex was had in here yesterday’. But it all looked the same. She’d just check the bathroom trash and take the sack out if the condom was visibly in there.
“I have a few things I have to do before I lock up for the day. Can you give me the address? I’ll meet you there.”
Greg hesitated a moment then nodded. “Sure.” He pulled his wallet from his pocket and extracted a business card, then found a pen on the desk and wrote a couple of things on the back of it. “Here. When you get there, ask for Special Agent Blevins. She’ll be the one doing the actual interview.”
Sienna wanted to ask if she’d see him, but kept her lips buttoned and just nodded as she took the card. They walked to the front together and Sienna let him out. Greg turned back to her, his blond hair shining in the afternoon sun, and gave her a smile. “Thank you.”
She knew he was talking about more than just her getting the door for him. “Thank you.”
After
she’d closed and locked the door behind him, she moved the blind and watched him walk away and turn the corner before letting it fall back into place and heading quickly back to the office.
She needed to talk to Tyson before her interview—maybe he knew what the fuck was going on.
Chapter Six
“Cici!”
The call was repeated twice before Sienna remembered that that was her and she turned around to see Greg striding toward her. Torn between excitement at seeing him and frustration that she needed to be ‘on’ within her role, she composed her features while waiting for him to join her.
The past twenty-four hours had been an exercise in frustration and she was more than ready to go ‘home’—aka Harlan’s house—and eat a pint of ice cream or something. Jay had sensed her mood and had offered to wrap up closing and let her take off.
Likely, he was tired of her sour attitude and would rather do the work alone than have her help.
She’d had a one-on-one with Tyson and shared what she knew about Greg and he’d been as stunned as she was to learn there was another agency involved. She’d immediately wanted to talk to Boyd and the others, then call up her boss and give her a piece of her mind, but Tyson had talked her out of it. Rocking the boat, he’d reminded her, just muddied the water. Better to lie low and see what swam by. The troubling question was why hadn’t they been told? And it seemed as though the DEA had no idea that the local jurisdiction had this operation in place. Was it a simple case of the right hand not talking to the left? A miscommunication? Or something more unsavory like a corrupt cop covering their tracks? It wouldn’t be the first time that had happened—problem was, if that were the case, who could they trust?
She’d grudgingly agreed to wait it out for a while longer, but had cautioned her partner that she wasn’t about to hang herself in the upcoming interview with the Feds. Maintaining cover was the most she would do unless she had to make an on-the-spot decision about revealing her real identity and role.
The interview with DEA Agent Blevins had been a delicate dance of misinformation and plausible denials while trying not to actually lie to the agent. At the same time, she was hoping for some hint of how the DEA came to be involved and why her team wasn’t privy to the information. Could be some ‘need to know’ bullshit, but fuck. The interagency rivalry crap was just hurting everyone if that was the case.
She’d walked out feeling like she knew less than when she’d gone in. What she did know was that she hadn’t ruled out deliberate sabotage to their respective investigations. Right now, the only person she could really trust was Tyson.
The worst part was that now, instead of knowing for sure that Greg was a ‘good guy’ like she’d convinced herself yesterday, she was forced to consider that even as an agent, he could be involved in the drug ring. She didn’t want to think that, but she had to be realistic and not let her libido rule her head.
Speaking of libido…
Greg had reached her and she realized she had been staring blankly at his approach while she’d been lost in her thoughts. He was dressed casually in a Henley and worn jeans and looked fucking edible.
Damn it.
“Hi, Greg,” she greeted, trying to inject a bit of life in her tone of voice.
“Hi.” He studied her carefully. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.” She hated that her voice sounded so distant and clipped, but she really didn’t want to do this right now. “I was on my way home,” she hinted.
“Okay, that’s a good idea. Let’s go.” He turned in the direction she’d been heading. “Did you drive?”
She’d taken a couple of steps but came to an abrupt halt. “Wait…what?” Her eyebrows went up. “Did you just totally invite yourself over?”
“Yes.” He gave her a charming grin and she bit her lips to keep from smiling back at him. His smile dropped a bit and he narrowed his eyes. “I’d really like to talk to you alone.”
Okay, that was weird. “Um, we’re kind of alone right here.”
“Not really,” came the cryptic reply in a low tone. He barely moved his lips, and she finally got that he was clueing her in to the fact they were either being watched or listened to or both. “I mean, alone alone.” This was at regular volume.
The knowledge that they were being observed hit her stomach and twisted inside her. She made a point of speaking in a flirtatious tone of voice. “Is talking all you want to do?”
“Not exactly,” he replied in kind and began to steer her down the sidewalk with an arm around her shoulders. She pointed out her car and they were soon safely inside.
Once she’d pulled out into traffic, she exhaled heavily, all senses on high alert. “Greg, what’s going on?” She remained poised and ready to react to any threat. Her brain was warring with her gut. On one hand, Greg could be a dirty cop, but for some reason she just felt safe with him. The yo-yoing back and forth was churning her stomach.
“Do me a favor. Let’s wait to talk until we get to my place. Head toward the East side.”
Sienna frowned, then tried to logically assess the situation. Maybe if they were being listened to or followed, the same people might know where Harlan’s house was. Might have even bugged it. They’d swept it the night they’d taken Harlan in, but that wasn’t to say someone couldn’t have been in since.
Probably the less said the better until they were somewhere safe.
My place.
She had to go with her instincts—they’d never steered her wrong before. It might be the worst decision she’d ever make, but Greg was either on the up-and-up or he was the best damn actor she’d ever met.
Instead of turning to cross the river as he’d asked, she flipped around and headed toward the Interstate access ramp. He opened his mouth to protest and she held up a hand to silence him. Surprisingly, he remained quiet and let her drive without question.
She got off two exits early and made her way to a shopping center. She found a parking place near the back of the lot, stopped the car and got out. He followed suit, looking around then at her, puzzled. She held a finger to her lips and he nodded in understanding.
Sienna had thought about the possibility of being bugged or tracked. If he thought that Harlan’s house was likely to have been bugged, she took that a step further and knew her car was an open target while she was working. So until she had a chance to get it checked, she was going to leave it here.
She mentally ran through everything on her person, trying to think of anything that had been out of her possession. Nothing came to mind, so she grabbed her bag, locked the car and had taken a few steps before she stopped short.
Looking down at her hand, she rolled her eyes then unlocked the car again.
“What?” Greg mouthed at her.
She dangled the keys in the air—hers plus the ones she’d gotten from Harlan—and watched a dawning comprehension spread across Greg’s face.
She removed the café key and her personal set then tossed the rest of Harlan’s key ring on the floor of the car. In addition to the big leather tab embossed with an H, there was some kind of nubby dog toy shaped like a cat, and a stress ball. It was bulky as crap, she’d hated carrying it around…and there probably wasn’t any better place to plant a tracking or listening device.
After locking the car again, she started walking toward the bus stop. “I picked this parking lot because the bus line here runs straight to my place, though it isn’t close by,” she explained. It felt a bit weird to be talking in a normal tone of voice after being silent for so long.
Greg nodded thoughtfully but didn’t respond. When they got to the bus stop, there was nobody there, so they were able to sit on the bench to wait. Inside the weather shelter, it was surprisingly intimate considering the traffic flowing by on the busy city thoroughfare. They were about as private as they could get.
“So…either you watch a lot of detective shows on television, or we have a lot to talk about.”
Sienna couldn’t quite get a read on
his mood. She took a deep breath, exhaled then confessed, “The latter.”
Greg leaned back and laced his hands behind his neck, stretching his long legs out in front of him. “I guess it would be pretty hypocritical of me to be upset that you misrepresented yourself to me.” He didn’t wait for an answer to the obviously rhetorical observation. “Local?”
“Portland Police Bureau. Detective in Drugs and Vice.”
“I had a feeling, especially after you said my name the other night…before we were introduced.”
Sienna gasped. “What? Oh fuck.” Chills went through her at the thought of how that mistake could have cost her if he hadn’t been on her side.
“Hey.” He gripped her shoulder. “It’s okay.” He seemed to realize what was going through her head. After a minute of quiet support, he squeezed one more time then let go. “Your name isn’t really Cici Coffman, is it?” he asked wryly.
She felt about fifty pounds lighter seeing his smile after being found out when by all rights he could have been pissed off. “Sienna Reynolds.” She held her hand out. “Good to meet you.”
“Greg Mazzeo, but you knew that.” He softened the jibe with a wink, shook with her then refused to let go. She didn’t fight too hard. It had been an exhausting couple of days and the hairy situation kept getting more complicated by the minute. But here with Greg she knew she had someone on her side and at her back.
While they waited for the bus, she sent a mental apology to her partner for breaking silence without consulting him first, then gave Greg a brief rundown of their investigation. She included the fact that they’d had no idea about the DEA involvement, and their concerns about having someone in law enforcement deliberately obstructing the case, perhaps to cover their own tracks. Meanwhile, Greg shared that the DEA was coming in with him and Agent Blevins being temporarily assigned to a local task force—one that sounded for all the world like her team, and yet they didn’t know anything about it. He even knew about Harlan’s extraction, though he’d played as though he hadn’t when he’d still thought she was Cici.