Hell, Shaine didn’t seem bothered by anything.
“Why aren’t you affected by the drug like I am?” she asked. “It’s not fair that you seem unaffected and I’m losing my mind.”
“What makes you think I’m unaffected?” he asked. “I just handle it differently. I will say this, this drug has a kick.”
“So did you kiss me because of the drug? Or were you playing to your cover?”
His hesitation sent her mind spinning. Did she really think the answer to that question was going to make her feel better either way?
“Never mind, forget I asked.”
But he wasn’t going to let it go. “It’s the drug,” he finally answered. “Lines blur when you’re undercover. Sometimes you have to go with the flow, do as the Romans do. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to take something to keep up appearances.”
“So it’s just the drug that made you want to kiss me?”
“My inclination is to say yes because before that moment I didn’t feel like kissing you. But right now I’ve decided it’s best not to jump to any conclusions about anything.”
Smart. “I guess you’re right,” she allowed, trying to hide her disappointment. What had she expected? For him to admit that he hadn’t gotten over her and that she’d always have a special place in his heart?
Did she even want that?
No, she told herself firmly. She couldn’t—and wouldn’t—be with someone who couldn’t respect her as an equal.
Another wave of euphoria hit her out of nowhere and she had to grit her teeth from moaning as her insides tingled with awareness. How was it possible that she could feel everything in her body?
“I can feel the rush of blood through my veins,” she murmured in amazement. “I think I can see color and taste sound.”
“There must be a time release to sustain the high,” Shaine guessed, pressing his foot down harder on the gas pedal. “We need to get off the streets and into our apartments before something terrible happens.”
“Such as?” she asked in a breathy whisper as she closed her eyes, trying to keep herself from rubbing up against Shaine like a cat in heat.
“Such as me pulling over this car and taking you on the hood.”
It’s just the drug talking, she thought feverishly, trying desperately to keep her hands to herself. The second wave was worse than the first.
How was she going to resist?
And what if her insides were melting and she was actually dying?
Honestly, if it felt this good...she wouldn’t care.
CHAPTER 10
Good God, this was a special kind of hell.
If hell was sprinkled with aphrodisiacs and clouds that rained glitter.
How much longer could he hold out with Poppy moaning and twisting in her seat as if she couldn’t stop herself from rubbing sensitive places?
Sweat popped along his hairline, and he tried not to wreck as his every muscle tensed with the urge to slam the brakes and bury himself inside that tight body.
Poppy wanted to know how he wasn’t affected? Was she blind? He’d practically stuck his tongue down her throat and he was ready to do it again.
“Stop moaning, will you?” he practically begged.
“I can’t,” Poppy cried, her gaze heated as she turned to him, hungry and doped at the same time. “I can’t stop myself. Pull over. Now. I’m going insane.”
“If I pull over, you know what’s going to happen,” he told her, determined to drive faster, and yet his foot was letting off the pedal. “Hold on, Poppy. We’re almost there.”
“Let’s screw like rabbits,” Poppy said, laughing like a drunk. “Remember? Like we used to do. Do you remember, Shaine?”
“Yes, I remember,” he rasped, rubbing his eyes. “Let’s talk about something else.”
“Remember that time we went camping up at Hillard Lake?” she purred, knowing full well he remembered.
The heat of the summer had nothing on how hot Poppy had been.
Poppy leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Nothing but wilderness all around us. We made love beneath the stars...in the water...on the beach...everywhere...”
He closed his eyes briefly, trying to shut out the images that’d begun to bombard him. But it was no use. He had a pornographic movie playing in his head featuring the highlight reel of their healthy sex life.
Wrenching the wheel, he chewed up the shoulder, spewing gravel as the car came to an abrupt stop. He reached over and pulled Poppy roughly to him, kissing her hard.
“I told you to stop,” he said against her lips with a silky growl. “But then you never did listen to good advice.”
Darkness blanketed them, the only light coming from the glowing dashboard as he pulled Poppy on top of him.
Straddling Shaine, her core fit snugly against his aching length and he nearly lost control at the feminine heat cradling his groin.
Too many memories of doing exactly this together was a sensory overload. Too much, not enough, all sorts of wrong—the messages crashing into his brain were short-circuiting his ability to think straight.
In his fevered state he didn’t even notice that somehow Poppy’s shirt was off and his hands were filled with her breasts. All he cared about was the taste of her perfection in his mouth.
Words may have been exchanged—hard to tell—but soon enough all either cared about was being skin on skin.
And it happened quickly.
Shaine leaned back in the seat, giving Poppy better access, and she wasted no time in sinking down on his erection.
There was no sense of time or place, just pleasure.
Shaine loved sex, but he had to admit, sex on Bliss was something on another planet.
He had just enough sense to realize that getting this drug off the streets was paramount because nothing this good came without a cost.
Right now, he was all about the hot, dirty car sex with a former lover. But eventually, the drug would wear off and he would be left with the consequences.
Poppy groaned and shuddered, finding her release quickly as she fell forward, breathing hard.
Shaine anchored her hips with his hands and pumped hard and fast into her sheath, nearly blacking out when he came.
It took a long moment before either could speak, but slowly, Poppy lifted herself off him and returned to her seat to curl up with a drowsy “That was incredible,” before passing out.
Shaine shook off the building lethargy and quickly drove back to the apartment. He helped Poppy out of the car and into his place, planning to use the adjoining door to get her into her own bed.
But sometimes plans just don’t work out.
Instead, he detoured to his own bedroom and deposited Poppy there. He didn’t waste time grabbing a blanket to hit the couch; he climbed in beside her. The damage was already done. What difference would it make if they were sleeping beside each other?
And besides...he was exhausted and ready to pass out himself.
* * *
Poppy awoke to a pounding headache and a mouth full of sand. Even though she felt more like herself, the memory of last night was still a little foggy. More dreamlike than anything else.
For a second she actually had to think through the events to determine if they were real or not.
However, the moment she realized there was someone else in bed with her, she knew everything had been real and she wanted to vomit.
She shifted in the bed. Her cheeks burned as she recognized the scent of sex, sweat and bad choices.
The smell of each other still clung to their bodies.
A wave of inappropriate longing caused her to nudge Shaine a little more forcefully than she needed to.
“Wake up,” Poppy said, becoming rapidly pissed that she was in his bed and not her own.
Wasn’t it bad enough that they’d had sex? Why hadn’t he taken the couch? “Wake up, Shaine. We have to talk.”
Shaine slowly awoke and rolled to his back, throwing an arm across his eye
s. “It’s nice to see some things haven’t changed. You’re still not a morning person.”
“We are not playing that game,” she muttered, kicking the covers free as she climbed from the bed. She yanked on the covers when it seemed Shaine was more interested in going back to sleep than talking things out. “I mean it, get up.”
“Or what?”
“Or I’m going to dump an entire glass of ice water on your head.”
That seemed to get his attention.
“Fine,” he grumbled, throwing the blankets free, revealing his naked body. She quickly averted her eyes, but it was like closing the barn gate after the horses had fled.
“What we did...” she started, searching for the right words. Guilt and anger were present but so was amazement. It was hard to shake the memory of how incredible it’d been, which was in direct opposition to what she knew was right. “I mean, I realize it was the drug, but this is going to create a ripple effect that we’re going to have to deal with.”
“Calm down,” Shaine responded, sliding his jeans on while Poppy glared. “What?”
“Never tell a woman to calm down when she is clearly upset about something,” she warned as she began to pace. “Here’s the situation as I see it. We have to figure out what our stories are going to be when we debrief. When they find out we have history and we withheld that information, that’s grounds to have us removed.”
“You worry too much,” Shaine said, cracking a yawn as he went to the bathroom. The sound of him urinating made her want to shout at him to at least close the damn door.
“And you don’t worry enough,” she shouted back. “We screwed up. It’s bad enough that we didn’t remember that we were wired. If they find out that we slept together last night... I don’t even want to know how quickly our careers will go down the drain. We have to keep this little mishap to ourselves if we want to remain on this case.”
The sound of the toilet flushing followed and Shaine reappeared.
“Relax. No one is going to find out. You think I want everyone knowing that I slept with a partner? I have my reputation to protect.”
She sent him a withering stare. “Nice to know you’re more concerned about your rep than the case.”
“Stop. It’s too early to deal with your freak-out. Has anyone ever told you you have a tendency to overreact?”
Poppy stiffened. “Only you.”
“Yeah, well, I would know best.”
Low blow. And it actually stung. “Can we stick on topic, please?”
Shaine seemed to realize he was veering and nodded. “All right, let’s go over the important details.”
“Details?” she repeated, a little stricken. “What kind of details?”
“Not those details. I remember what happened quite clearly. And judging by the way your cheeks flared up, you do, too.”
Poppy rubbed her cheeks but didn’t deny it. However, she did have questions. “I don’t understand how this happened. You seemed in more control than me. Why didn’t you just resist?”
At that he became irritated. “I’m not going to sit here and debate with you over who was more messed up. Let’s just deal with facts. Are you on birth control?”
She balked. “That’s a little personal, don’t you think?”
“We had unprotected sex last night. I need to know if that’s going to be a problem.”
Poppy was immediately grateful that she hadn’t stopped her birth control even though she’d had no action. The hormones kept her skin clear and that was enough of a reason to keep popping those little pills. “You can stop stressing that you’re going to be a dad. I’m protected.”
His relief was evident. “At least that’s one thing we don’t have to worry about.”
Now it was her turn. “And what about you? Do I have to worry about an STD of some sort?”
“I was checked out a month ago. All clean.”
“Well, now that we’ve covered those bases, what’s next? Aside from the awkward silences and potential disaster to our careers hanging over our heads?”
“What’s next is coffee. I’ve reached the end of my ability to function without it. Either follow me or don’t, doesn’t matter to me either way.”
Poppy wanted to put an end to this conversation, but questions remained that she couldn’t quite let go of, so she followed him to the kitchen.
“I don’t understand why you didn’t walk a couple extra steps to put me in my own bed. It seems unnecessary that you put me in your bed.”
Shaine didn’t even bother to hide his annoyance. “I know you think I have superhuman strength and I can overcome the effects of an illicit drug if I just put my mind to it, but the fact was I was dealing with my own shit and barely holding on. I put you in the bed, I got in and went to sleep. The damage was already done. Sleeping beside each other wasn’t the problem and even messed up on Bliss I could rationalize that out. What’s so difficult for you to comprehend?”
Once again, he was right. She was out of sorts. Sitting abruptly in the chair at the kitchen table, she cradled her head in her arms. “I can’t believe this happened. I’m so embarrassed. This is incredibly unprofessional. And of course it would be with you. So how do we handle this?”
“These things happen. You roll with it. If Angelo, Brandi or Capri ask, be honest with them. We had sex. Play it off. That’s what they’re looking for. We’re just playing into the undercover story. Our superiors don’t care how the job gets done, just that the job gets done. You feel me?”
“Somehow I doubt that being with each other was what they had in mind.”
“They just want results. If we bring in El Escorpion, all will be forgiven. Trust me. I’ve seen this movie and I know how it ends.”
Why did it drive her nuts every time he brought up his past experience? Was she so insecure that she couldn’t handle Shaine’s obvious expertise in the field?
Get a grip! Stop being so damn sensitive.
She drew a deep breath. “You’re right. I’m sorry. But just to be clear, we know that’s not happening again, right?”
“Of course not.”
“Good. I just want to make sure that’s very clear.”
“Yeah, I get it. You don’t have to pound it into the ground.”
“Hey, don’t snap at me just for wanting clarification on a difficult situation. I’m just trying to avoid complications later.”
He grunted some kind of agreement but didn’t comment further.
“So what’s our story? We did the dirty, and moving on?”
Shaine nodded. “Sounds good to me. And plausible. None of these kids are looking to hook up for meaningful relationships. Most of their encounters are one and done. Especially sex on Bliss.”
“Okay about that. What are we supposed to put in our report about our experience? We have to share that we know what it’s like but how can we do that without admitting that we had sex with each other?”
“We don’t have to share who we had sex with. They don’t care about that.”
“I disagree. Whoever we come into contact with has to be noted. We never know who might be integral to the case.”
Shaine sighed as if he knew she was right but didn’t want to admit it. “We’ll have to fill out a shit ton of paperwork. I hate paperwork.”
“Yeah, well, it’s part of the job. I don’t know how you’ve gotten away this long without the obligatory report filing like most of us.”
Shaine briefly flashed one of his infamous grins that made women melt—including Poppy back in the day—and said, “That’s what friends are for.”
Yeah, friends with benefits, she wanted to grumble, but held back.
They were saved from any more awkward conversations by simultaneous text messages.
Another body found. Report to HQ ASAP.
And just like that, it was time to drop everything and move.
CHAPTER 11
“Do you recognize her?”
Victoria and Marcus were both looking
at Shaine and Poppy as they awaited an answer.
Poppy stared, nodding slowly, her voice choked as she answered, “I knew her as Capri. I was with her last night.”
The coroner pulled the preliminary toxicology report. “She tested positive for a full host of street drugs, including one that the computer didn’t recognize. I’ll have more information when the full tox screen comes back.”
But Shaine already knew what that mystery drug was.
Bliss.
How many times had Capri done the drug before it’d done her in?
“Do you have an ID on her?”
“Yeah, she was actually in the system.” The coroner rolled away on his small stool to a computer covered with a plastic protector and pulled up the ID.
“According to her record, her name was MaryBeth Johnson, aged sixteen, from Orlando, Florida. Listed as a runaway from foster care a year ago. She fell off the grid and no one cared to look for her.”
“I knew she looked too young,” Poppy murmured with distress. “I should’ve done something.”
“You can’t save them all,” Victoria said, trying to soften the blow, but Poppy didn’t seem to appreciate the sentiment.
“This one was different. She was a kid who didn’t understand what she was getting into.”
“They never do,” Shaine said quietly, knowing Poppy was taking this one hard. For whatever reason, Poppy had been attached to Capri, even though she might’ve been a suspect. It happened sometimes, even as much as they tried to prevent it. He looked to the coroner. “Any family listed?”
“A mother, but it’s doubtful she cares. She hasn’t looked for her daughter since she ran away from foster care.”
Poppy excused herself and Shaine let Marcus go after her, even though he wanted to.
“Official cause of death?” he asked.
The coroner looked at Shaine and shook his head. “In all my years of doing this job...I don’t think I’ve ever seen something like this. When I opened her up, her heart was a pulpy mess. It was as if a bomb went off inside.”
“That’s disgusting,” Victoria murmured, looking a little green. “I think I might need some air, too.”
Deep Cover Page 8
