There was panting, shouting, and dick everywhere.
They were all about the sex.
In fact, Elizabeth was thinking about the sex, and so was Chris. Only, he wasn’t picturing the two people on the video doing it. He was picturing them doing it.
There.
On the couch.
All. Night. Long.
Yeah, this was a problem.
A huge one.
Tomorrow, he was going to find himself a date just like Tony Magnus had. He couldn’t hold off forever.
Chris was only human.
And Elizabeth was becoming a temptation too big to resist.
* * * E l i z a b e t h L a R u e * * *
Thursday Morning
When he woke, he was still in his clothes, but he was horizontal on Elizabeth’s couch. They must have fallen asleep watching the hours and hours of hooker fun.
Well, at least he slept.
When he went to roll, he was pinned to the couch and couldn’t move—not that he was complaining. Elizabeth was practically on top of him. Her head was on his shoulder, her leg was wedged between his, and her hand was beneath his shirt on his abs.
This was nice.
Who was he kidding?
Actually, it was hell!
Granted, they did this kind of thing all the time, but now the timing was just bad. Chris was weak, and the wall was crumbling. Soon, he’d do something stupid.
He knew it was coming.
Then again, was he willing to give this up?
When she’d been hurt by Gabe and Livy, they’d spent three days in bed watching videos, eating pizza, and sleeping just like this.
Only then, he didn’t want to jump her. He’d been in comfort mode. Now Chris was in sex mode, and this was a whole new game.
She was the sweet gazelle, and he was the wild lion, chasing her down.
This was bad.
If Chris believed in a higher power, he would have begun praying. Apparently, the saying about men and women being friends and not having sex wasn’t possible. Here was his proof. A man, HIM, couldn’t keep it in his pants when his best friend, HER, was a beautiful woman. It was bound to happen if he could get out of the friend zone.
God!
He wanted out of the friend zone in the worst way.
When he moved his hand, his watch caught in her hair and gave it a tug. It woke her up.
“Ouch.”
“Sorry, honey. We fell asleep.”
Elizabeth stretched. Her leg slid down the length of Chris’s body from his thigh until their toes touched. She nuzzled his chest with her cheek like a big sleepy cat.
“Yeah, it was some time after one when Naima decided to bring vibrators to the party. Be glad you missed it. My ass hurt watching it. That girl had no boundaries. She earned her money the hard way.”
He snorted.
That was just like her. She was a funny person.
Elizabeth pushed off his chest and stared down at him. “Want me to make breakfast?” she asked. “We have time. I’ll skip running this morning unless you want to join me.”
“I only run if someone is chasing me.”
He wished she’d chase him. Then he’d know he was still asleep, and it was a dream.
“You should run in case someone does chase you, Christopher. That’s kind of the point.”
“Pass.”
He’d be distracted.
Bouncing breasts.
Tight, young ass in shorts.
Yeah, no. That was a really horrible idea.
“Let’s just do breakfast. I had a long autopsy day yesterday. I need an easy one.”
“Breakfast it is,” she said, giving him a soft kiss on the lips. She could feel his whole body react, and she needed to cut him a break.
“That sounds perfect. Can I use your shower?” he asked, seeing an icy one in his future.
“Sure, Christopher. You can use anything here.”
That took every ounce of his strength not to ask if she was included in that. How he did it, he’d never know.
Instead, he sat up, setting her free.
Elizabeth was staring at him. There were scrunched up lines between her eyes.
“A penny for your thoughts?” he offered, digging a quarter from his pocket.
She stared down at it.
“That’s not a penny. You may need more sleep or stronger glasses.”
Chris touched her cheek. “I’m aware. Your thoughts are more valuable than a penny.”
Her heart skipped.
Things like that always caught her off guard. No one ever treated her with gentleness like that. Well, no men ever did. It made her all mushy and weepy.
“You’re a sweet man, Mr. Leonard. Thank you for being my best friend. That’s what I was thinking about. I’m a lucky girl to have you in my life.”
He kissed her softly on the lips, letting his mouth linger. Chris was testing the water. He was so damn confused over the status of their relationship.
Instead of saying anything, he opted to be polite. That’s what his mother always taught him.
Don’t assume.
Be polite.
Never force a woman.
“Thank you for being mine.” He wanted to say so much more at the moment, but he knew he couldn’t.
He shouldn’t.
“Breakfast?”
“Yes, please.”
When she got off the couch, she held out her hand. “The usual?” she asked.
“Yeah, eggs and bacon make the world go round, unless you want to just eat left over pizza.”
“We can have both. There are no rules at Casa LaRue. That’s the beauty of staying here.” She pulled him from the couch until they were standing by each other.
“I’m not good at breaking rules.”
She was aware.
“I’ll be back.”
Chris escaped.
She watched him head toward the stairs. Something was off about him. She could tell.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Elizabeth asked, forcing him to stop and face her.
“What?”
“Aren’t you going to ask me to join you?”
He stared at her.
“You always try to get me to shower with you.”
Chris started laughing and simply headed out of the room. Anything he said at that point would be way out of line.
Yes, she could join him.
He’d never stop her.
Then maybe he wasn’t going to have to jerk off, AGAIN, but this time in her shower.
Seriously.
He needed someone to help him forget.
And soon.
* * * E l i z a b e t h L a R u e * * *
Forty Minutes
Later
In the kitchen, they sat at her island. Chris had eaten there so many times, but he always remembered the first time. He’d been hung over, in his boxers, and scared out of his mind.
She’d calmed him.
She’d also fed him the exact same food, but this time with pizza on the side. When she sat beside him, he was calm. It had everything to do with the shower and the marathon masturbation session. Chris wasn’t going to do it until he was inundated with her scent, and the fact that she’d placed her clothes for the day on the counter to get dressed.
Should he have touched the thong and bra?
Absolutely not.
Was he curious what was under her clothes?
Hell yes.
The second he’d found out, he’d been forced to make himself forget, and that meant getting off.
Now he was relaxed.
“You look peaceful.”
He sipped his coffee as she sat beside him. “I am. I’m being fed, I slept with a gorgeous woman, and I have to go deal with dead bodies. That’s a good day for me.”
She laughed. “Well, two out of three isn’t bad, you sicko.”
Oh, if she only knew what was bouncing around in his head. She’d knock him on his ass.
He clinked his coffee mug off hers. “What are you doing today? Will you be stopping into the morgue?”
“Well, since we didn’t get another dead hooker as a gift this morning, I’m going to head to Metro. I have a few friends there.”
“Friends?”
“Okay, I have a few cops I dated there, and they work in vice. I need the skinny on Clayton Frost.”
“Who’s that?” he asked, trying not to focus on the cop part. Yes, he was territorial. Chris didn’t like the idea that there were friends before him, and he hated the idea she’d dated them. That was the one thing he wanted more than anything, next to keeping Elizabeth for himself. She was like that little gem he found in life.
He was possessive.
Sue him.
She told him everything she’d learned about the man hunting up potential hookers, and it wasn’t much.
“An alias, huh? That’s not shocking.”
“No, it’s not.”
She got quiet.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked, sliding another quarter her way.
She palmed it and thought about it.
“I’m going to ask them to let me go undercover for a night to talk to some of the women. If I do it as a Fed, they’ll never talk.”
He stared at her, his coffee halfway to his mouth. “You’re going to play hooker? Alone? In the field?”
She patted his thigh. “Well, I’m sure vice has a sting. I might be able to go under with them, and then I can ask all those fun questions without them shying away from the shiny gold shield I like to shove in people’s faces.”
He still stared at her.
“What?”
“Honey, that sounds dangerous. Gabe is going to shit a ton of bricks all over you the second you even propose that little plan of yours. I don’t blame him either. I want to freak out too.”
If she were his, it wouldn’t be happening.
Since that wasn’t his reality, he hoped he could calmly talk her out of it.
She snorted. “I can handle Gabe. I’m good at getting him to chill out. I’ll talk to Metro first, and see if I can arrange it. Then when I hit him with it, he won’t say no.”
Chris’s gut was screaming. This was bad.
“I’ll be okay.”
He wanted to say so much.
“Promise me that you’ll tell me what you’re doing and stay in contact with me the whole night?”
“Mom, I think I can manage not to get in trouble while playing with my hooker friends.”
He wasn’t amused.
His face said it all.
“Hey! Are you okay?”
Chris wasn’t. Instead of saying something, he leaned in, his mouth found hers, and he kissed her.
It wasn’t the normal kiss he gave her.
No, it absofreakingloutely wasn’t.
Elizabeth eyes went wide, and then she closed them and focused on the kiss.
It was hot.
Filled with passion.
And borderline out of control.
She felt her pulse kick in her throat. This was new. Where the hell did this come from?
When he pulled away, he was staring into her eyes. “I have to get to work. Stop in and see me later. We’ll talk then.”
As quickly as it started, it was over. Chris grabbed his gear and headed for the door with no mention of what had just happened.
“Christopher!”
He didn’t look back.
When he slammed the door, she was left standing there with a shitload of questions.
That wasn’t a BFF kiss.
Hell no.
That was something so much more, and she was confused. That was the kind of kiss shared between a couple.
Did Christopher Leonard want…?
Her eyes went wide.
Well, shit!
This was an unexpected turn of events.
* * * E l i z a b e t h L a R u e * * *
Metro Police
Vice Division
When she got there, she knew her way around the place like the back of her hand. She didn’t even have to check in with the local PD. You didn’t work out of the Hoover building and not be familiar with the local police in DC.
They worked together a lot.
In police stations, she felt comfortable. It was like her home away from home. Normally what she enjoyed was pissing them off. It was a game to her. She’d stroll in, toss around the badge, and wait for the local cops to dig a hole.
Well, today, that wasn’t happening. Today, she was going to be at their mercy. Granted, she wouldn’t have to try very hard. The men she was looking for were what she’d call friends.
At least they were the last time they’d rolled around in the sack. As she approached, she saw them across the room.
It made her smile.
Yes, she’d dated both of them, not knowing they knew each other. Both hook ups went nowhere fast, but they’d remained friends. They were one of the big reasons she didn’t date other cops. To be in law enforcement, you had to have certain characteristics.
You had to be tough.
Pigheaded.
Independent.
And stubborn.
With two people like that in a relationship, you were destined to fail. That’s why she liked being around Chris. He was calm, laid back, and really only took one thing seriously.
The dead.
He was easy to hang out with, and that was a relief.
What wasn’t a relief?
How she couldn’t stop thinking about him. There he was, running around her brain in his geeky glasses and all smiles. It made her want to grin too.
It was time to focus. For now, it would be on the two cops at their desks. One was dark, and one was light. They were opposites, but both good eggs.
Rule one was networking. It was vital to any job.
On occasion, they’d call her and ask for help, and she’d do the same thing. In law enforcement, part of it was who you knew and the rest was all about your skill. Connections gave you the edge.
It was one more reason she wouldn’t be saddling up with a cop cowboy. Banging your co-workers got you in a shit mess, and she knew it.
“Yo, Ebony and Ivory, what’s a girl got to do to get a seat around here?” she asked.
Both men looked up at her teasing. They started laughing the second they recognized her.
Rule two was never burn your bridge, even if you shacked up with the builder himself.
Detective Glen Sheehan was the first one up from his desk. “LaRue, are you slumming?” he asked, giving her a hug and kiss. “It’s not like you to come down here and see us. Has the FBI fired your ass? Are you looking for a job?” he teased.
Elizabeth genuinely liked this guy. He was down to earth, handsome, and reminded her of some California playboy. He wasn’t her type, but he still rocked her world a time or two.
“She’s here to see me,” the other detective said.
Elizabeth hugged the other man.
“I know she’s come to ask me out again,” Detective Kaleb Williams stated. “One time is never enough with me. Once you go black…”
She snorted.
The man was way off on this one.
“You’re not actually black, my friend, but nice try there.” She patted him on the back.
“You love me, LaRue. I can see it in your eyes.”
“Wrong,” she answered. “I’m here because I have been tossed that serial hooker killer that I’m sure you both were aware was being dumped on me.”
They laughed.
Better her than them.
Yeah, she thought so. Vice had passed it to Homicide, and they bumped it to her. These two dicks hadn’t even give her a heads up.
“Thanks for the warning, assholes,” she teased. “You could call a girl and tell her the shit is coming.”
They pulled over a chair.
The precinct was still quiet, and they had privacy.
“How were we sup
posed to know you were going to catch this clusterfuck?” Glen asked.
Granted, one could only hope, but still…
“What’s shakin’, Elizabeth? What do you need?” Kaleb asked. “We both know you didn’t come down here to tell us thank you for this case. You need something.”
Oh, she did.
Elizabeth was glad he was smart. Kaleb was always a decent cop, trying to make the world a better place.
She genuinely liked the man, and contrary to what he believed, it had nothing to do with his looks. Yes, he was attractive. He was tall, dark, and handsome. He was mixed race, and he made the ladies swoon. They’d rolled around in bed, but it didn’t pan out. The man was metrosexual, and he liked looking in the mirror a little too much for her liking.
“I need to ask about a pimp.”
“Well, that’s our specialty,” stated Glen. “Who are we talking about?” he asked.
And this was why she came to them.
“What can you tell me about Clayton Frost?” she asked. “I can’t dig up much on him. He’s not in the FBI database.”
Kaleb fielded this one. “He’s a dick. He has a whole bunch of bunnies on leashes,” he stated, using the lingo. “He’s relatively new to the game. He just showed up one day, and he had a bunch of babes to sell.”
“Has he been arrested?”
“Nope. He’s slick as the John’s dick when he pulls out. The drug taskforce thinks he’s running pot during the day, girls at night, but that’s all they have on him. We can’t get him to roll or any of his girls. He’s a midline dealer in sex and drugs, so he’s not a priority. We have a few others that really need to come off the streets.”
She pulled out the file.
“Are any of these girls his?” she asked, handing them the pictures.
“Yeah, all three.”
“How does he treat his bunnies?”
“Oh, they’re afraid of him, but they’re loyal. He gets his cut, and he doesn’t put marks on them, but he knows how to control them.”
“Drugs?” she asked.
“No clue. We can’t get close enough.”
“I need to get to those women.”
Stalked by the Past: An FBI Flashback Novel. (An FBI Romance Thriller Book 17) Page 12
