“I’m so sorry about how my time here at the Department started. You are right. It was totally inappropriate and showed my inexperience. But Sam, he knew better. And, sir, he came after me, not the other way around.”
“That may have been true before.”
“It’s the same now. He shows up everywhere Mia and I are.”
“He’s your backup. These are dangerous guys you’re dealing with. He’s doing his job. You’re taking this all too personally. I told you to bury the hatchet. I don’t want to have to tell you again, Gina.”
Gina couldn’t believe how Sam had worked his magic on the sergeant. He was much better at the office politics than she was. She would have to be very careful.
“So you won’t consider pulling him off the case?”
“Not in a million. But I could pull you.”
So that was it. Her job was at risk, not Sam’s. Good to know. This changed how she was going to go about things.
“Sir. Just listen to this CD, and then you tell me who you believe. I’ve got evidence here you can use. Not hearsay from a bookkeeper. Real evidence of crimes being admitted to.”
“Fair enough.” He took the CD from Gina’s fingers. “I’ll listen to it tonight on the ride back home.”
“I’d keep it in a safe place, and I wouldn’t tell Sam about it, either. Sir, I could be wrong, but I don’t trust him.”
“Your objection is noted. I think you’re wrong, of course, but it’s noted. I’ll get back to you tomorrow. That agreeable? We’ll work on it first thing next week. You go have a good weekend. Then we’ll talk.”
“Fine.”
Two hours later, Armando called Gina. They agreed to meet at her place.
She’d bought some fresh whole wheat bread, smoked chicken, and cherry tomatoes at the Farmer’s Market on her way home. She hoped he liked her idea of a healthy, no-frills lunch. She was so distracted with the anticipation of seeing him again she was having trouble concentrating.
In spite of the bright late-morning sun, she lit several candles in her apartment, chilled a bottle of Chablis and jumped into the shower again. She’d just dried her hair and put on lipstick when she heard her doorbell ring. A quick check to the security peephole confirmed it was Armando.
The sight of him standing in front of her with a small bouquet of flowers took her breath away. He seemed anxious to get them out of his hands. She ignored the flowers and pulled him inside by the top of his tee.
“I missed you,” she whispered as she began peeling off his shirt.
“Likewise,” he said. “Don’t you want these in water?” He held the bouquet out between them, where it was in danger of being smashed by their urgency.
“Why, Mr. big tough SEAL. Are you afraid of me?”
“Not a chance.” He tossed the flowers on the couch and began pulling at her jeans. Within seconds they were completely naked, heading for the bedroom.
She pushed Armando on the bed, then kneeled in front of the hunky SEAL and held him, rubbing up and down his shaft. She licked the tip and then slowly took the entire length of him in her mouth while she moved her fingers up and down in a ring.
After several minutes, she could feel him trying to slow her down. “My turn,” he whispered as he guided her up onto the bed and lay next to her. He nibbled his way down from her breasts to her sex, and then licked her nub until it began to vibrate and swell. His artful tongue made its way into her opening, skirting the outside first and then plunging in deep. He added fingers and pressed her clitoris with his thumb.
She began to feel a slow-rolling orgasm building as he tasted her.
“You have something?” he asked. The words came out of the erotic fog she’d lost herself in. Of course they had to use protection. What was she thinking?
“Yes,” she said as she turned over on her stomach and reached for the bedside table. Inside she’d stashed some purple foil packets with ribbed condoms.
“Nice,” he said as she placed one on his tip and spread it down the length of him. “I like your forward planning, Gina.”
“I like to be prepared, sir.”
“I can see.”
In one slow thrust he was inside her to the hilt. She wrapped her legs around his waist and moved up and down as he angled in and out, picking up speed as he did so. Her body opened to him, needing him to fill all the places in her soul that hurt, pushing off all the cares of the day.
He held her wrists together above her head with one huge hand. His fingers massaged her palms. She threaded her fingers through his. His thrusting got more and more urgent until they both started to lose control. She could feel him jerking inside her and that put her over the edge. She arched up and felt her muscles tense around him, squeezing and begging for more.
Afterwards, he collapsed on her chest. His dark, curly hair was wet around his ears and at the back of his neck. She fingered through the silky strands as she felt the glory of his breath on her upper chest.
She faded in and out of a dream state where somewhere in the background she heard the sounds of an ordinary life that was forming in a future very different than the trajectory she’d had just two weeks before. She could see herself in this man’s bed, in his arms, at his side, no matter what.
She’d begun to feel as if she’d been created just to love him.
Chapter 18
Mia had heard some of Gina’s conversation with Sam, and she was annoyed the two of them had something going on behind her back. And the reference to the threesome? She’d never asked that. But she knew Sam still had a major flame for Gina. In fact, he’d even called her Gina last night during one of the multiple sexual encounters.
The guy was exciting, like all men were at first. He was the oldest man she’d ever dated, if that’s what this could be called. Somehow she didn’t see any future in it, but then there wasn’t usually a future with any of the guys she’d dated lately. His body was muscular, not as lean as some of her recent boyfriends, but she kinda liked his size. Size did matter in lots of ways.
But she knew he had secrets, and she suspected they were dark. He’d asked her what she liked and she was forced to tell him about the rape she’d suffered at the hands of the priest. And then he asked the guy’s name for some reason, and said he’d met the shrink.
How did that happen? How did he know about their little circle of sickness?
He was clearly on her side, and asked if she ever wanted to exact revenge for the crimes perpetrated against her. That odd question really set her off. Her life wasn’t about getting even, but getting away from her past.
Sam also had a thing for her brother. When she complained Armando wouldn’t leave her alone, he asked her if she wanted protection.
Protection from Armando? One of the Navy’s finest? She’d been angry with him plenty, but to fear her brother? That didn’t fit.
She had to clarify that one. She loved her brother, she told him. He was doing what he thought was the right thing, because he didn’t have a life of his own outside the Teams.
“So why don’t you get yourself one of the Team guys, then? You could all be one happy family.” A sneer had crossed his face, as if the idea should be disgusting to her. But when she shook her head and tried to shrug it off, he added the one thing that made her blood run cold.
“I could have him arrested and ruin his career. Say the word and he’ll not bother you anymore.”
Ricardo was eating baby cereal in his high chair when Sam sauntered into the room barefoot after a long shower she’d begged out of. He smelled of lemons and was bare chested, packed in jeans that hung lower than he had a right to wear, even as a man ten years older than she was used to. She couldn’t help but stare. He smiled and walked around to pour himself a cup of brewed coffee. She’d not noticed the obvious scars from two bullet holes above his right hip.
“You have plans for today?” he asked as he looked out the kitchen window. The way his muscles rippled underneath smooth tanned skin was designed to give her
just the reaction she was having. So why did she have this terrible feeling she was being played?
“I’m just going to stay home with Ricardo.”
“Your boyfriend ever see the kid?” he asked as he turned around to face her.
“No. And I’m going to keep it that way.”
“He has a right, you know. When he gets out, he’ll come looking for you and your boy there.” He glanced down at Ricardo, but his blue eyes were cold and unfeeling. “You have someone who could watch him for you today?”
Mia thought about that. The obvious answer was yes, her mother could do so. But she wasn’t sure she wanted to be alone with Sam today. Something was bothering her.
“Can I ask you a question?” she asked.
“Shoot.” He took another sip of coffee and leaned against the sink.
“What were you and Gina talking about this morning?”
He frowned and looked down, like he was considering whether or not he was going to answer her. “Suppose you tell me what you heard.”
“Is that a way of saying you only want to tell me what you think you have to?”
His eyes sparkled with some kind of dark admiration. She’d hit the mark with that comment. “I’m a pretty much an open book. But I admit I’m an acquired taste, Mia. Not everyone can handle what I’m interested in.”
“As in sharing my bed with you and my best friend?”
He nodded very slowly. “I think you’d kinda like it.”
Ricardo had started to complain because Mia had been ignoring his efforts to eat. She focused her energy on filling him up and then wiping down his chubby cheeks, his hands, and later his high-chair tray. She set him in a walker in the living room and stood in the doorway watching him. Her back was to Sam.
Sam came up behind her and began nuzzling her neck, sliding his hands under her shirt and snaking them down the backside of her pants.
“Why did you tell her I wanted to do it?” Mia could not figure that one out.
“Because, baby.” He bit her earlobe and reached around to put his fingers down her front until he came to the space between her legs. His knees forced the backs of her thighs apart. He moaned as he inserted his fingers into her quivering sex. “I think you’d dig it. I can show you things about yourself you never knew existed.”
“But what about what I need, Sam?” She pulled his hand out of her pants and turned to face him. “Where is my will in this whole little plan of yours?”
“If you just let me show you, I’ll expose your inner demon.” He pulled her head to his, devouring her mouth, sucking and pulling her tongue onto his. He placed one hand under her chin and turned her face away so her left ear was exposed to his lips and whispered, “Here, kitty-kitty-kitty.”
Chapter 19
The little slut wouldn’t put out for him this morning, saying her motherly duties came first in the mornings. What a bundle of joy this one would be. He’d be tired of her in no time. Not like Gina. Gina was the one he wanted. He’d chase her till the oceans dried up, track her down and have her on his terms once and for all.
He remembered Gina’s little surprised expressions when he’d handcuffed her to the bed, when he brought out the riding crop and slapped her perfect pink little derriere. He’d massaged oil into her welts and loved fondling them as he pumped her from behind. She was the perfect shape and size for him, and her channel tightened so deliciously around him. He had to work hard not to spill all over her just looking at her sex before he could get inside. Just thinking about her now made his package uncomfortable.
It was okay with him that she was being a little hard to get. He didn’t mind working hard. It was part of the game, after all. Made her submission to his maleness all the sweeter when she finally did realize there was no way out. That’s when the magic happened.
That’s probably what the SEAL was doing to Gina. He was a well-trained machine. A sex machine on steroids, to be sure. But he couldn’t do the things to her Sam had done. He doubted the guy would ever make videos and watch them at home in private as he lay naked on the bed. Jerking off at the sight of her objections, the fear in her eyes, the red marks caused by his mouth, his fingertips and the riding crop. He could be gentle, tickling her with the tip of it. And just when she thought perhaps they’d have slow, beautiful sex, he’d shove his cock up her so fast she’d scream. He loved that on camera.
Yea, she loved it. Every bit of it. She was enjoying the caramel swirl and vanilla ice cream of the Puerto Rican SEAL, but she’d be back for the rich chocolate his twisted dark side could provide. Because he owned her. She just didn’t know it yet.
Kozinski was just leaving the office as Sam arrived. The squad room was nearly deserted.
“Didn’t expect to see you leaving early, sir.”
Kozinski’s face looked vacant. The pressures of the job were getting to the man, Sam thought. “Wife’s got plans to go shopping for the kids’ new home. Only way for me to keep a lid on the spending is to tag along, much as I hate it.” He held a briefcase in one hand and his jacket over the other arm. “You should have called, Sam.”
“Yes. Sorry. I need to talk to you about Gina.”
“Wow, got a lovelorn practice, and here I thought I was a cop.”
Sam frowned. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“You and Gina. Doing a real dance there. Why don’t you just sit down and iron out all your differences?”
“We don’t have any differences, sir. Other than the terms of our involvement. I choose not to let it interfere with the work.”
“Can you tell me why she says she doesn’t trust you?”
“I have no idea.”
“She thinks you erased her recorder.”
Sam plastered on a fake smile. “You really think there was something on it in the first place? She heard I had some evidence, and all of a sudden she has this secret recording.”
“Um.” Kozinski was studying him carefully. Something made the hairs on the back of Sam’s neck stand out. The sergeant continued, “Well, I’ll let you know Monday. Have a good rest of the weekend.”
“Anything going on I should know about?” Sam asked. He detected a secret he wasn’t being made privy to.
“Go home. Stop being so paranoid. That’s the same thing I told her.”
Sam’s stomach fell to his knees. Damn. She’d been smart. Something she’d said had resonated with the sergeant.
“She came in today?” he asked.
“Yes she did. Sam, I’m going to ask you the same question you asked me. Anything going on I should know about?”
“No, we’re cool. I think she’s the one that’s paranoid. And she’s competitive as hell. Seems to want to go out of her way to show everyone she’s better than everyone else, and in particular, me. And you said it so yourself she’s way over her head.”
“Well, we do have rules and procedures. As long as everyone sticks to them, we’ll all be okay. But if I get wind you guys can’t work together anymore, I’m more than likely to have you step down than her. Just keep that in mind, Sam. In a way, you have more to lose. You are the more experienced of the two of you. Use it, okay?”
Sam nodded, seething inside.
“Let her cut her teeth on the unglamorous side of police work. Know what I mean?”
“Yessir, I do.”
“So run it tight to the vest. Don’t inflame the situation, and I’m sure we’ll all get along.”
Sam gripped a wooden ruler with one hand, folded it over and shattered it, but Kozinski didn’t hear. He watched the sergeant walk into the elevator and disappear.
Shit. He’d been asked to keep his emotions between the lines, run it “tight.” That’s what you told a rookie female cop. Not a guy with his seniority. He wondered what Gina had done. Whatever it was, Kozinski was watching dots on that uncanny radar of his. And Sam’s dot was bigger. Something had made him visible. He’d been painted and there was only one person who could have done it.
; Sam decided to pay Gina a visit. She’d been a busy girl. He needed to know what else she was up to.
Another car was in Gina’s parking spot, and so he figured she wasn’t home yet He thought it might be fun to scare her when she arrived, just so she understood he was the one calling the shots, and that he wasn’t afraid of any admonitions from upstairs.
After slipping past the security gate when another guest left the complex, Sam donned his Padres cap and maneuvered down the exterior hallway of her complex. He stopped when he came to the first window, hearing sounds of an unmistakable sexual encounter. He inched forward toward the window’s edge, but stopped when someone walked past him and turned around afterwards, giving him a glare. He couldn’t risk detection.
Sam made it back to his truck and sat with the window open. One hour became two, and it annoyed the piss out of him. The fuckin SEAL was still in there, and Sam knew exactly what the asshole was doing. Gina was turning out to be a real slut. He took out his cell phone and shot a couple of pictures of the Hummer parked beside Gina’s apartment.
Maybe she’d flashed her little booty in front of the sergeant, too, because it wasn’t right at all she should be in there fucking her brains out when she was supposed to be helping them go after the Scorpions. But that was the flaw with women. They didn’t know how to sacrifice like men did. Life was too easy for women. That’s why it was a really bad idea to have them work in high-risk drug cases undercover, or on the front lines. They needed to stay home, getting themselves hot and sexy for their man. And they better damned well do what the man said, too.
He tried to get the picture out of his head, but he couldn’t. He knew what she looked like all flustered and pinked up. He didn’t like that it wasn’t him on the other end of that rapture. Her lust belonged to him. The SEAL had no right to any part of her.
He almost drove away, thinking they might make it a whole afternoon and evening combined, like a couple of rabbits. It was just wrong that he’d have to stay and keep guard on their little love nest. Gina had no fuckin’ idea what kind of fire she was playing with.
SEAL Under Covers (SEAL Brotherhood #3) Page 15
