However, she’d found him so attractive disheveled in this fashion. It reminded her of a little kid trying to make mommy proud. She had jumped into his arms and from there things had only gotten better. As they made out, he’d playfully streaked her face with chocolate frosting only to lick it off until she moaned and melted against him.
Clothes had come flying off and she had willingly spread her legs for him down on the kitchen floor. She hadn’t thought about the rough floor, the discomfort, or the filth of the aging linoleum. No, all she’d thought about was the pleasure of having him ravage her so fast and hard.
Thinking about how things stood now made everything else a distant memory. Jessica was certain it was the three Bloody Marys making her feel this way but she didn’t care. The fact of the matter was she did feel excited.
She did feel… horny!
She turned around and spotted Greg by the door. It was as if he was gearing up for a hasty retreat. He wouldn’t have to, she wouldn’t let him. Not today. She rushed forward.
“Jessica…”
She didn’t let him finish and kissed him again, this time dictating the feverish pace. He recovered from his surprise and kissed her back with ardor, his arms wrapping around her small body and pulling tightly.
She forgot everything about her life. Her problems vanished, her stress completely dissolved. She inhaled him, tasted him, absorbed him. His mouth ventured away from hers and kissed her cheeks, alternating from one to the other. He kissed his way down her neck and sucked on her throat until she was purring.
“Oh God…”
She looked into his eyes and he paused as if asking permission. He hadn’t done that since the early days of their time together and her mind was made up.
“Kiss me again.”
He obeyed without being asked twice. His hands traveled down to her chest and he pawed her brazenly. At the same time, he twisted her body so she was pressed into the wall. He kneaded her breasts until it hurt, until pangs of desire traveled to the dampening triangle between her legs.
She widened her elbows and he took the opportunity to lift both her shirt and bra over her head. As his hands returned to her chest, she tugged on his tee until he gave in and pulled it off. She drank in his muscular chest, the result of years of competitive swimming and morning workouts. She let her fingers graze the smooth flesh.
“Damn you’re beautiful,” he said in a husky voice.
He probed her mouth with his tongue and gently squeezed her stiffening nipples which made her grind against him. It didn’t take long to confirm his excitement as his hardness dug into her.
She couldn’t take it anymore, she needed to address her needs. She yearned for him!
Her hands shot down to his waistband and she promptly undid his pants. Unable to help himself, he did the same with hers. He pushed her khakis past her hips and then she sighed as his hands caressed her butt in the process.
“Hurry, Greg.”
In record time, he produced his wallet and pulled a foil packet from it before tossing the billfold away. Then, his hands joined hers as the both of them pushed down on his shorts and boxers.
While they resumed kissing, she took the condom away from him and opened it blindly. She put it on him and rolled it down, remembering how much more he enjoyed it when she was the one who performed this. She squeezed his member and stroked it, feeling the pulses of his heartbeat. It throbbed in her hand, twitching with need.
With her pants and underwear around her ankles, she couldn’t spread her thighs as much as she wanted but Greg didn’t seem to mind. He flexed his legs so they would line up and sought out her opening.
“Oh…” she breathed as he made contact with her lips.
Her mouth half-open, she gazed into his eyes while he wiggled between her dripping folds. She grabbed his neck with both hands, holding him as much as coaxing him. He thrust forward and at once buried himself completely.
“Yes!”
She hugged him firmly as he propelled himself into her loins, over and over again. She found that she was humping back against him, eager to reach the point of no return, something which she knew wouldn’t take long.
His hands were still on her breasts and the faster he pumped the stronger he wrung them. There was a fine line between pain and pleasure and Jessica was precariously perched on it.
“Oh God, don’t stop… So close…”
He banged her into the wall, her head slamming into the hard surface. She didn’t care about possible bruises, only her impending release mattered. Heat escaped her apex and slowly invaded her tummy. Her breathing became erratic at the first signs of the effervescent climax.
She thought about sharing this with him but she didn’t need to. He was expanding inside of her, growing tauter by the second. He was just as close as she was. Her muffled cries came at a rapid-fire rate, betraying the urgency of her mounting lust.
Then, he rammed himself all the way in while pinning her against the wall. She felt him swell within her and it was the final push she needed.
“Aaaahh!”
He satisfied her as he satisfied himself. Pleasure coursed through her veins while he emptied his seed within her. She held onto him as their animalistic coupling came to its inevitable conclusion. Her burning hunger was taken care of for now.
“Oh Jess…”
He panted heavily as he rested his forehead against hers. Her senses were slowly coming back and while she couldn’t deny the physical reward it had provided her, she knew at once that it had been a mistake. She felt ashamed at having obeyed her baser instincts, something she’d been doing increasingly of late.
“I shouldn’t have done that,” she mumbled.
“What? What are you going on about?”
“That’s not me, Greg. I’m not the girl who does booty calls, especially with ex-boyfriends.”
“I hate to burst your bubble but that’s exactly what you did. I traveled from West Virginia to the damn Caribbean to be with you just with a phone call.”
Jessica’s eyes hardened and he immediately picked up on it.
“Sorry,” he continued. “That didn’t come out right. What I mean is, there’s nothing wrong with what we just did. Is it against the law for two people who like each other to have some fun?”
“But…”
“But what? You had fun, right?”
“That has nothing to do with anything. Greg, I’m grateful you came here but I need some time to think. Okay?”
He nodded and backed away. They quietly sorted themselves out and when he was dressed again he left the room sheepishly saying, “I’ll call you later.”
She headed to the bathroom, doing her best not to think about this situation any further, when her phone rang. There was no way for her to know that this phone call was about to change her world forever.
Chapter 19
Exasperated by the phone constantly buzzing and determined to tell Ryker to give her some space, Jessica finally answered.
“Hello?”
“Jessica Densley?”
“Yes?” she asked cautiously when the voice proved to not be Ryker’s.
She immediately grew nervous. Who would be calling her right now? It was hard to tell whether the man had an accent or not. Was he local? Had someone found Daphne’s body?
“I’m Alan Cloonan from the Earthquake Hazards Program in Golden, Colorado. We spoke on the phone before?”
“Yes, yes, I remember.”
She started pacing through her room from anxiety. She was the first one to admit it was silly to stand there wearing only her T-shirt and panties and having a conversation with her boss.
“Listen, I’m calling because something has come up.”
“What do you mean? I’m excited to come work with you in a few weeks.”
“Yeah, that’s why I’m calling. We think that for the time being it would be better for you to find employment elsewhere.”
Her heart stopped. “What?”
�
��We’re going through some administrative shuffling right now and our finances won’t allow us to take on new personnel.”
“That can’t be, Mr. Cloonan. We have a contract, I signed a contract with the USGS.”
“I understand that and I believe you’re entitled to a financial compensation but that’s something you’ll have to review with another department.”
“So you had the budget a month ago and now you don’t? I signed a lease for an apartment already!”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Densley. There are multiple factors at play here.”
That made her stop in her tracks. “What do you mean? A minute ago you were telling me this was about your budget and now you say there are multiple factors involved? Which is it?”
She heard him exhale loudly. “Ms. Densley…”
“No, tell me.”
“I think you already know what it’s about, Ms. Densley. Your advanced physics term paper sophomore year, we both know it was plagiarized.”
“It was what? That’s impossible!?”
“Look, we can’t have someone with low integrity working for us. Do you understand? We are a scientific organization and in this political climate we can’t afford to have untrustworthy employees jeopardizing our research.”
Jessica ran a hand through her hair in desperation. “That’s a lie, I never cheated on a test once in my life!”
“I’m sure there’s a perfectly good explanation but you do have to understand where I’m coming from.”
Suddenly, the situation became clear for her. This was a shady tactic from someone who had a personal beef against her.
“This doesn’t come from you, does it, Mr. Cloonan?”
“No, I got a call from headquarters in Virginia. They uncovered this fraud and told me to let you know right away.”
“It’s from Samantha Tollefsrud, isn’t it? She’s the one who told your boss to call me, isn’t she?”
“I honestly don’t know, Ms. Densley. I’m sorry it had to come to this.”
“Right.”
“Maybe you could find a teaching position in a community college somewhere. There are fine institutions in the Midwest and–”
She didn’t let him finish and hit the disconnect button. She was seething and felt like hitting someone, anyone. That CIA bitch wanted to put pressure on her, to show her who had real power. She wanted to show Jessica that hollow threats would be answered by real ones.
She couldn’t compete with that.
She disappeared into the bathroom and turned on the shower. When she stepped under the water her tears flowed freely.
* * *
Ryker had established his warehouse on this particular plot of land because it was one of the optimal places on the island where the water was deep enough to accommodate cargo ships. Granted, it wasn’t as deep as the Port of Willemstad which accommodated shipping lines and cruise ships, but it was perfect for his purposes.
The warehouse was linked to the ocean by a wide peer to which boats could be moored. Right now a coaster was being unloaded from its stock of cheaply priced flat-screen TVs. It would go back out with black market rum destined for Sint Maarten.
The Dutchman was on the wharf inspecting his workers. He jotted down notes on his clipboard. He didn’t really have to be here but when the cargo wasn’t entirely on the up and up, he felt better standing watch.
“Boss…”
His head instantly swiveled toward Hubrecht who was never far away. He pointed toward the warehouse as a woman was coming their way. He gestured for his bodyguard to stand at ease when he noticed the woman was in fact Sam Tollefsrud.
The CIA officer almost strutted toward him. Her head was held high, her steps calculated, it was as if she was on a runway. He found it difficult to look away from her. She had tied her black hair in a high ponytail and looked stunning.
“I do not remember sending you an invitation, Samantha.”
“Yeah, I’m good at crashing parties. But then again, so are you.”
“I suppose you will tell me what you mean by this.”
“Oh you know,” she said with a smirk. “You sent your little girl to my office today. Is she your new flame?”
“I hereby invite you to leave. I have work to do.”
“Tsk tsk, where are your manners, Ryker? You used to be a lot more hospitable.”
She walked a circle around him while putting a hand on his broad chest. The ocean breeze gave him a whiff of her aroma, a mixture of expensive perfume and fragrant shampoo that made his head swim. At the same time, she was deliberately giving him a view of her sizable cleavage, made even more impressive by her snug halter top.
“You think flirting will get you somewhere, Sam?”
“It has before. You remember, don’t you?”
Once she was in front of him again, she removed her sunglasses and put them on her head.
“I would prefer you left my property.”
“And I would prefer you stopped playing your fucking little games. We have an arrangement, don’t we? And you’re going out of your way to renege on your obligations. What’s worse is that you think you can intimidate me by sending that Girl Scout to my office. Really, Ryker? You thought that would intimidate me?”
“I need time. I said I would smuggle your diamonds and I will do it, but I have had a tiny setback.”
“A tiny setback is when you blow a tire on your way to a doctor’s appointment. What’s going on here isn’t a setback, it’s a step back.”
He stared into her eyes and wondered how such a beautiful creature could be so vile. He supposed it was one of nature’s mysteries, like those dream-like species in the ocean, so beautiful and yet extremely deadly.
“As you know, I am currently having a vexation with an adversary of mine.”
“Yes, Bernardo Baiz, is it?”
“He is currently holding, it is my belief, a friend of a friend of mine. I want you to help me get her back.”
“God, when did you become so chivalrous? Has little Jessy gotten so deep under your skin? I don’t remember you ever doing favors left and right.”
“The name is Daphne Stebleton, she has been missing for over two days.”
“I fail to see how I’m supposed to be interested. You and I, we have a deal. You smuggle my diamonds and I pretend I don’t know about you. I make sure everyone I know pretends they don’t know about you. This isn’t too unreasonable, is it?”
Ryker sighed audibly. “Why do you even need someone like me? Curaçao is right next to Venezuela. We have the Isla Refinery which is operated by the state oil company of Venezuela. There are much simpler ways for you to funnel these diamonds into the country and to your rebels.”
“Who gives a shit about simple? You think I came to you because I wanted things simple? You serve a purpose, Ryker. People need to know that these diamonds came in illegally.”
He frowned as he understood her plan. “You are not getting these diamonds to factions loyal to American interests! You are looking to discredit dissidents.”
“Bingo. I could have FedExed the diamonds if I’d wanted simple. But it’s thinking about these little things that pays me my $49,000 a year, plus dental. So you see, I need a chain of custody to out these bastards.”
“Then I am adding a new condition to our contract.”
Tollefsrud came closer, essentially pressing herself into him. She put both hands on his chest, her long fingers fanned out possessively.
“Did you have something like this in mind?”
Being so tall, she didn’t have to crane her neck too much and put her mouth on his. He was at once shocked and excited at her smooth lips moving over his own. He instinctively took hold of her waist and pulled her closer, into him. He inhaled her and lost himself in the kiss.
Then he thought of Jessica.
His eyes snapped open and he shoved the CIA operative away. She grinned at his reaction.
“You didn’t used to push me away so fast, Ryker.”
“Times have changed.”
“Have they? Little Jessy has really done a number on you, uh? I didn’t think you’d ever let a girl lead you around like this.”
He stared at her, his face hardening with anger, and it only made her smile more.
“Baiz has stolen the diamonds from me at the same time as he abducted the girl. You want me to help you, you provide me with more diamonds and send a team to get Daphne Stebleton back.”
“There were over $10 million worth of diamonds and I’m liable for them over at Langley. So about your question as to whether or not you can have some more, the answer is: fuck no.”
“And the girl?” Ryker asked, knowing fully well she wouldn’t have given him additional diamonds.
“There has been chatter about that. You’re right, Baiz is holding her. Actually, I should say was holding her. From what I hear, the girl is already dead.”
Chapter 20
Once the water had turned cold and Jessica had run out of tears, she picked herself up and started thinking proactively. She fingered her necklace and thought about her father. He had given up drinking when she was in her teens and she remembered him droning on about the lessons he’d learned in AA meetings. Some wisdom from the twelve steps always stuck with her, namely the Serenity Prayer:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
So she had to focus on what she could do and not dwell on what had been done to her. As much as she wanted to mope about Daphne’s disappearance and the CIA’s dirty tricks, she had to fight back.
She dried up and got dressed. Greg had given her his room number before and she called him. He answered on the third ring.
“Hello?”
“Greg, come back to my room right now. I have to talk to you.”
“Well well,” he began smugly. She could almost see his smile over the phone. “Couldn’t keep away from this particular stud muffin, could you?”
“This is serious, we need to talk. Get back here.”
The Alpha's Touch Boxed Set (14 Book Bundle) Page 112
