by Terra Little
“What’s happening?”
“Something’s come up. We have to go,” he said, turning just in time to catch Elise rolling out of bed and stretching like a cat. His knees went weak. “Give me an hour, then send the chopper. I’ll meet you there,” he said into the phone. “In the meantime, call me back if anything changes.” He ended the call and tossed the phone on the bed, catching Elise’s eyes. “The agents that I sent to Albuquerque this morning found a woman there who recognized Brandy’s picture and claims she knew her. I need to go there now and speak with her personally.”
Elise looked stunned for a moment, then she reached for the bedsheet and tugged it free from the mattress. “Of course. I won’t be long in the shower,” she said, holding the sheet in place with one white-knuckled fist and scratching a nervous hand through her wild hair. She took in his naked body from head to toe, pausing a second or two to eye his cock curiously, and blushed to the roots of her hair. He grinned when her eyes started dancing around the room. “I’ll...uh... I’ll save you some hot water.”
Now that she was fully awake and aware, the Elise that Broderick was frequently tempted to shake until her teeth chattered was back. Shoulders tense, mouth tight and holding on to the sheet for dear life, she slowly sidestepped her way around the bed behind her and headed for the bathroom, snatching a robe from the closet as she went. Was it wrong to find her obvious discomfort sexy? He watched her damn near skip the rest of the way to the bathroom, unaware that his feet had started moving in her direction until he heard himself say “No need” and saw her eyes widen with the realization that he was coming for her. Again. “Why don’t I join you?” She hesitated for a moment, then dropped the sheet and disappeared into the bathroom.
He paused long enough to discard the battle-weary condom still clinging to his swollen cock and grab a new one from the grooming case that he’d left on the bathroom vanity. Then he stepped into the walk-in shower behind Elise and got right to work helping her soap herself from head to toe. Setting the condom on a built-in shelf, he filled his hands with shower gel from the pump underneath the shower head and took them straight to her breasts, massaging them gently as he tongued the side of her neck. He nipped at the balls of her shoulders lightly, wondering if this was what the beginnings of drug addiction felt like.
“You have beautiful breasts,” he panted in her ear, meaning every word. Her nipples peaked under his flickering fingertips and her head lolled to one side, baring even more skin to his seeking mouth. He licked and sucked at it greedily as he ground his straining erection into the valley between her round butt cheeks and teased her nipples until they sat atop her breasts like cherries. The breathless sighs, pants and moans that she gifted him with raised goose bumps on his skin and quickened his breath.
Broderick waited until she had pushed her ass back against him for the umpteenth time, silently inviting him to paradise, before giving his hand permission to abandon her jiggling breasts for the slick divide between her thighs. One, two, three strokes against her swollen clitoris and her entire body spasmed with an orgasm that seized up her muscles and stole her breath. Chuckling under his breath, he reached for the condom, tore open the gold packet and quickly sheathed himself. Filling his hands with more shower gel, he bent Elise over at the waist, gently soaped her back as she flattened her hands against the shower wall and braced himself as he slowly slid inside her from behind.
Her walls began pulsing around him immediately, bending his self-control into something that he no longer recognized. He watched himself sliding in and out of Elise’s gushing tunnel and gave in to the savage growl rumbling in his chest. It bounced off the walls in surround sound as, over and over again, he surged into her so deeply that the force of his strokes lifted her heels from the shower floor.
Somewhere, beneath the sound of his own heartbeat roaring in his ears, beneath the sensation of a violent orgasm licking at the base of his spine, he heard Elise’s high-pitched squeals, the sound of their wet flesh slapping against each other and her breathless promise of arrival, and let it push him over the edge into paradise.
The water was ice-cold when they finally got out of the shower.
* * *
“So...should we talk about it?”
The question, carefully posed in Broderick’s deep, thoughtful-sounding voice, cracked the tension inside the Hummer like a whip, startling Elise out of a scandalous private reverie that warmed her skin with guilty embarrassment. She closed her eyes, cleared her mind of her prurient thoughts, and opened them again on the neat little farmhouses, weathered barns and grazing cows flying past her window. When had they gotten off the interstate?
Suddenly overheated, she cracked her window and inhaled the frigid air streaming inside the cabin gratefully, willing herself to get it together. She’d been reliving the experience of making love with Broderick over and over in her mind, recalling the grip of his strong hands on her butt cheeks and the ecstasy of bouncing back and forth on his long, thick shaft until her throat was raw from screaming her pleasure. As a result, right this very second, her nipples were puckered and tight, and the friction between the sensitive tips and her bra’s lace cups was maddening. She could barely think straight, let alone string together a coherent sentence, so talking about it was out of the question.
“If by it you mean what just happened between us back at the hotel, then no, I don’t think we should.”
“Elise, you haven’t said a word since we checked out of the hotel an hour ago, and we both know that isn’t like you, so I think maybe we should. Obviously, you’re upset—”
If only it was that simple, she thought and stifled a tortured groan. “I’m not upset.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I don’t care,” she volleyed back, her voice saccharine. “Could we please just drop it?”
“Whatever you say.”
“Thank you.” She flopped back in her seat and took a slow, deep breath. Her jeans were tight. Too tight, especially in the crotch.
They rounded a curve in the two-lane road they were following and nearly rear-ended an ancient-looking tractor that was suddenly directly in front of them. Cursing under his breath, Broderick slammed on the brakes and then swerved over into the oncoming traffic lane to avoid a collision. Luckily, there was no other traffic on the road. Once he’d sped past the charming old relic and the elderly farmer who was perched atop it in the driver’s seat, bundled up against the elements, he noticed the chastising look on Elise’s face and her death grip on her arm rests. He cocked a brow. “What?”
“Nothing. It’s just...” Elise pursed her lips and studied her manicure. “Someone sure is in a bad mood today.”
“Well, if by someone you mean me, then you just might be right.” He consulted the directions to the landing strip one last time, then closed his laptop and slid it into a recessed compartment in the console. “I’ve been sitting over here for sixty very long minutes, with a beast of an erection resting in my lap and visions of your bouncing breasts dancing before my eyes. That goddamn cologne of yours, which, I’m sorry, might as well be a schedule-one narcotic, is seriously starting to mess with my head and to make matters worse, I can’t seem to recall a time in my life when my cock has ever been as hard as it is right this minute. So, yeah, I guess I am in a bad mood this morning. But you said you didn’t want to talk about that, so...” He trailed off, shrugging helplessly.
“I don’t suppose it has occurred to you that I might be having a bad morning, too?”
“Why would it? I seem to recall suggesting that you might be upset just few minutes ago, and you said you weren’t.”
“That’s because I’m not. I’m just...processing everything.”
“You’ve never had a fling before.” It wasn’t a question.
“How could you tell?”
“For starters, you blush like a virgin every
time I look at you,” he said, flicking a glance in her direction just in time to see her do just that. “And then there’s the fact that you were tight enough to cross my eyes.”
Determined not to let him see how much he was arousing her, Elise looked away.
“Would you want to have a fling, Elise?”
Elise’s head whipped around and her eyes widened. “I’ve n-never really given it much thought.”
“Oh. Okay. Well, perhaps while I’m away, you will.”
“Perhaps,” she agreed quietly.
“Good,” he said, just as something beyond the windshield caught his attention. He directed her attention toward it with a nod. “The landing strip that we’re looking for belongs to a local dairy farm that’s been closed for years. It’s just over this next hill.” They summited the hill in question and he pointed through the windshield at a dark spot hovering in the sky a few miles off in the distance. “There’s my ride. Do we need to go over the plan again?”
Impressed with the sheer size of the helicopter circling in the air up ahead, Elise sat up in her seat and eyed the machine through the windshield the same way that she would’ve eyed a gorgeous pair of Louboutin’s. “No, but I would like to review the terms of our bet again. Is it too late to choose a different gadget as my prize?”
“Yes, and, if it makes you feel any better, my chopper would never have been on the table in the first place. As it is, the Hummer will only be in your possession for a few short hours, so don’t bother going to the trouble of adjusting any of the settings or getting too comfortable in the driver’s seat.” He noticed her lingering gaze through the windshield and shook his head, chuckling. “Trust me, she’ll never love you the way she loves me, so stop drooling and pay attention, please. The plan. Are we clear on it?”
Elise reluctantly took her eyes off the shiny black machine slowly descending to the ground up ahead. “Yes, but I don’t know if I like the idea of crashing through the front door and dragging Meagan out by the collar.” Because of his abrupt departure, they weren’t going after Meagan until later that night, when, according to Broderick’s intel, she’d be with Peter Danforth at an off-campus frat party. Until then, Elise was going to stay behind in Columbia, babysit the Bat Mobile and continue electronically monitoring their activities until he returned.
“Why not? It could be fun.”
“That’s true but it could also be dangerous, Broderick. This is the Midwest and Columbia, Missouri, isn’t exactly known for its racial harmony. I say we get in and out as discreetly as possible.”
“All right. How do you suggest we do that?”
“I’m not sure yet, but I’ll think of something before you get back. Worst-case scenario, I’ll just kick in a window and dive through it.” She noticed the look on his face and did a double take. “What?”
“I’m trying to imagine you diving through a window in a miniskirt and stilettos.”
“Trust me, it can be done.”
“I believe you, but do me a favor and hold off on breaking and entering until after I get back. I don’t want to have to come back here and bail you out of jail. By now one of my men has already been in contact with Danforth, so he knows we’re coming for Meagan and he knows what I expect him to do when we get there.” He pointed to the compartment in the dash where the laptop was stored. “I’m still tracking his cell and monitoring his communications, so if he’s stupid enough to make a suspicious call or send a text that’s in any way suspect, the system should alert you immediately. If or when something happens, we’ll figure out our next move then. What about the computer software? Any questions?”
“Did you remember to jot down the log-in information like I asked you to?”
He nodded. “Yes, I left a note on your iPad.”
“Then, no, no questions.”
“What are you going to do with yourself while I’m gone?”
“First, I plan to find the most expensive restaurant in town and sit down to a nice breakfast. Then, I don’t know, maybe I’ll go to confession. I’ve been a very bad girl.” She meant it as a joke but there wasn’t a trace of humor in his eyes when they met hers across the center console.
“Oh, yeah? Are you Catholic?”
Elise grinned. “No.”
“Then you might as well take this to confession with you,” he said, reaching out and hauling her across the console to meet his tongue halfway.
* * *
“Are you out of your mind?”
Elise took her cell phone away from her ear long enough to shrug into a plush white robe. She folded the soft material closed around her naked body and knotted the belt around her waist. “Considering everything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours, I think that’s pretty much a foregone conclusion,” she said, putting the phone back to her ear and stepping into the matching slippers that had been set out for her. She accepted a champagne flute filled with cranberry mimosa—her second one—and smiled her thanks to the hovering attendant. Incredibly relaxed after an hour-long Swedish massage, she sipped at the sweet, frothy liquid delicately as she followed the attendant out of a candlelit massage room and down a long corridor. “I slept with a man that I barely know and I enjoyed every minute of it. What does that tell you?” she murmured into her cell as she walked.
“It tells me that I had it wrong all along. You’re not a robot.” Olivia’s throaty chuckle drifted through the phone. “Didn’t I tell you it would be good, that he would be good? I have a sixth sense for these kinds of things, which reminds me. While you’re there, do yourself a favor and get a Brazilian wax. He looks like the type who’ll appreciate the gesture appropriately.”
“I’m sorry, but that’s the last thing I plan on getting while I’m here.”
“Why?”
“Because it hurts like hell and I’m already sore in places that I completely forgot about. I’m not brave enough to take on any more pain right now.”
Armed with the keys to Broderick’s Batmobile, Carrington Consulting’s Black Card and a host of sore muscles that were screaming for some tender, loving care, Elise had driven the Hummer the five-mile distance from the landing strip to the city limits of Columbia, Missouri, and checked into a suite at the Hilton. After unpacking, sending her clothes out for dry cleaning and eating a light room-service breakfast, she’d been planning to shower and then crawl into the king-size bed for a much-needed nap.
But then the concierge arrived with the extra towels that she’d requested at check-in and a complimentary gift basket from a local day spa, and she’d been struck with sudden inspiration. After what she’d been through during the past twenty-four hours, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to take some time out for a little pampering. She justified her indulgence by bringing along her iPad and working on the closing notes for her last case in between, and, when possible, while she was being serviced. It was a win-win situation, but a mani-pedi and a Swedish massage was about as adventurous as she planned to get.
A Brazilian wax? Uh, no.
Her next stop was a stark white, private bath room that was flooded with natural light and tastefully decorated with a variety of lush, exotic-looking potted plants. There, she turned over her robe once again to the attendant, put away her iPad and activated the speakerphone function on her cell. Setting it and her glass on a nearby ledge, she slipped into a tub of warm, bubbling Italian mud up to her neck, gazed up at the sky through the huge skylight centered over the tub and sighed with contentment.
“What’s a little pain in exchange for all of the pleasure you’ll receive?”
“Whatever. If I recall correctly, the last time I got a Brazilian wax, I was tempted to call the police afterward and report that my poor flower had been assaulted by a bearded John Wayne Gacy look-alike.” Olivia howled with laughter. “Not to mention the fact that the guy that I was seeing at the time definitely d
id not know how to appreciate the gesture appropriately.” She paused to think for a second. “Quincy! That was his name. Do you remember him?” Another whoop of laughter burst through the phone, making Elise giggle, too. “He was like a Hoover vacuum down there. I couldn’t cross my legs for a week after him.” She sipped her mimosa and waited patiently for Olivia to finish laughing and catch her breath. Several seconds passed before she did.
“All the more reason you should take full advantage of your current situation. I mean, think about it, Elise. How often does a woman find herself alone, on a road trip with a gorgeous stranger who’s good in bed and not a complete lunatic?”
Elise couldn’t help laughing at the idiotic question.
“You see?” Olivia queried, laughing, too. “It doesn’t happen very often, and, honestly, it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person.”
Elise’s smile vanished. “Just what is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you’re over thirty and you’ve barely scratched the surface of the Kama Sutra. It means that there are more than two sexual positions in the known universe.”
Elise frowned at the phone. “I know that.”
“Good, now go forth and try out some of them. Broderick Cannon is the perfect excuse to let yourself go, for once in your life. I say, pick up an economy pack of condoms, take the long way home and explore your inner freak along the way. I want all the juicy details when you get home.”
