by Tia Siren
I brought her into the restaurant, and we made our way to the rooftop terrace. I’d reserved it specifically for us and had them shut the lights off and put candles on all the tables. This way, we could see as many of the stars in the clear night sky while we dined and drank from a menu I tailored specifically for us.
“My god, this is beautiful, Leo,” she said.
“It pales in comparison to you.”
She blushed, and I couldn’t help but bring her in for a kiss. My arms wrapped around her and her arms linked around my neck, and we were danced underneath the stars. The waiter sneaked an iced bottle of wine to the table without disturbing us, and I knew he’d earned his generous tip just for that move.
I thought I’d created the perfect romantic bubble, but something was off. Claire had been so relaxed before, but tonight, her body tensed in my arms, and she wasn’t making eye contact.
“Listen, Leo. There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Uh oh. Sounds important,” I said. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I just, it’s about me.”
“All right.” I drew a deep breath, trying to ease my own tension that had grown to match hers. I almost didn’t want to know what she wanted to confess about herself.
“My name’s not Claire Joanna.”
My movements stopped, and my arms fell from her body. I took a step back, and I could see the fear in her eyes, and that’s when I really decided to study her. Her beautiful almond eyes and her prominent jaw. Her tapered shoulders and her dimpled chin. Her high cheekbones and the color of her eyes and lips.
“Oh, my God.” It struck me as she spoke her name.
“It’s Claire Joanna Danes,” she said.
“You’re Patrick’s living sister,” I said with a groan.
“Leo, I’m so sorry. I should’ve told you sooner, but the detective was so biased, and I got so angry at him, and I thought someone in your company murdered him—”
“—and you thought you could wiggle your way in and figure it out for yourself,” I said.
“The police officers who brought me to your office said how they’d found my brother, and it was clear your implant had nothing to do with it. I’d been around it for a month, and it never gave him any problems. It itched him a bit but nothing spectacular. I couldn’t even feel it when I touched his neck, which meant he couldn’t have dug it out himself. My brother bit his nails, for fuck’s sake.”
I wasn’t sure how to feel or what to say. She seemed to shrink into herself, her shoulders slumping and the moonlight making her tears shimmer and sparkle. I’d been a fool, but honestly, I should’ve seen it. The subtle look in her eyes whenever Patrick’s death came up. The way she just sort of wiggled her way in and talked about the possible murder without question.
But, I had been so taken by her power and confidence and beauty that I didn’t stop to think twice.
“I suppose I have to apologize, too,” I said. “I was so taken by you when you walked into my office that I probably would’ve let you blow the place up.”
“You wanted to sleep with me, and I used that to my advantage. I’m so sorry,” she said.
“Have you liked any of it? Was any of it real?” I asked.
“All of it,” she said with a whisper.
She walked back up to me, and it was as if I was seeing her for the first time. She looked so saddened and pale, and the protector in me reared his head. I wrapped my arms around her and drew her close, and she sobbed quietly against my chest.
“I’m shocked, a bit hurt, and I feel like the butt of some sick joke, but I get it. You have a right to know what happened to your brother, and there’s a good chance the detective has been catering to me because of who I am,” I said.
“God, he just won’t talk to me sometimes,” she said with a sniffle.
“I’ll change that immediately,” I said. “And, if you want, I’ll keep you in the loop. You deserve to know what’s happened to your brother, and we can look into it together, if you’d like.”
“Leo, I—”
“I’m not upset with you,” I said.
“No. I-I-I mean, thank you—but that’s not what I was going to say,” she said.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I wanted to tell you I’ve enjoyed all our time together. Just because I didn’t give you my real name doesn’t mean I’m a different person. That bike ride we took and what you told me.”
I looked deep into her eyes while a tear streaked her face. She was finally telling me the truth. It was as if this veil she kept over her face was finally lifted, and the color of her eyes seemed a bit brighter, if not a bit sadder as well.
“I believe you,” I said.
“Oh, thank God,” she said breathlessly.
“Now, I think there’s a bottle of wine on the table we could both use,” I said with a grin.
We ate dinner and talked like old friends, and it still felt comfortable with her. I told her everything I knew about the investigation thus far, and she told me about the conversation she had with the detective, and all at once I got upset with Obi.
“Wait, he cornered you like that?”
“Yeah,” she said.
“And you told the detective?” I asked.
“How could I not?” she asked.
“Because that makes him look like a suspect,” I said.
“In all honesty, the detective told me you two are still suspects anyway.”
“Shit,” I said.
“There’s another thing,” she said. “Obi knew who I was when I went to the office. Like, who I actually was.”
“Wait, what?”
“Yeah,” she said. “He knew what my last name was. I was actually scared he’d told you before I’d gotten a chance to.”
I knew Obi wasn’t capable of murder, and I knew I’d have to have a conversation with the detective, given what Claire had just told me, but why in the world did he not tell me he knew who she was? Obi and I have worked together for years. Why the fuck would he keep something like that from me?
Before I could bring the conversation back around to something a little lighter, a familiar car coasted by the restaurant.
And Mandy pulled into a parking space and sat.
“What the fuck?”
“Is everything all right, Leo?”
“You ready to get out of here?” I asked.
“More than ready,” she said with a smile.
I wanted to get out of this restaurant, but I wanted to do it the back way. Appearing at my house, I could brush off as coincidental, but appearing at the place I’d taken Claire was something completely different. I escorted her out the back and told her I simply wanted to keep out of people’s eye in case things were being leaked to the media, and I paid the valet to bring the car into the alleyway so we could get into it privately.
But, after all the truth that had been placed onto the table tonight, I felt bad lying to Claire.
“All right, I lied,” I said.
“Then that makes us even,” she said with a grin.
“No, you were just incredibly honest and open with me over dinner about everything, and I lied. I’m sorry.”
“About what?” she asked.
“I wasn’t pulling the car into the alleyway because of the media.”
“Okay?”
“My ex, Mandy. She wanted to be engaged. But, I just didn’t have those types of feelings for her. I told her I wasn’t ready to propose, and she got incredibly angry. She grew distant, and I tried to chase after her, but eventually I found out she was cheating on me after I told her I didn’t want to marry her just then.”
“Did she propose to you or something?” Claire asked.
“No, but she kept bringing up the topic every time we talked. I finally had to admit my feelings about it to her just to get her to shut up.”
“Well, why didn’t you want to marry her?” she asked.
“I just, I mean, I cared for her, but I didn’t l
ove her with the type of love you should love a future wife with. I guess I wanted someone in my life after realizing how alone I was without my family.”
“What happened to your family?”
“They died.”
“I don’t have my family either. Patrick was all I had until—”
She took a deep breath, and my heart ached for her. She knew how I felt. Shit, all this was going to spoil the evening. But, all she did was look over at me with tears in her eyes and say the words I’d been wanting someone to say for years.
“I understand, and it’s okay,” she said.
“Thanks,” I said.
She cleared her throat and swiped at the tears on her face. “Now, what does this have to do with dinner?”
“She pulled up and was sitting outside of the restaurant,” I said.
“Oh. That’s strange.”
“She’s not dangerous, just a bit crazy. She yelled at me in my coffee shop about a month ago, and I had to block her number so she’d stop calling. She just popped up out of the blue after not hearing from her for a couple of years.”
“That sounds serious, Leo. Are you sure you shouldn’t tell someone about it?” she asked.
“I’ve got it under control. I’m gonna call someone in the morning.”
“Well, what about tonight?”
“I’ve got other plans tonight,” I said with a grin.
She took my hand, and we rode back to my house. I was more than relieved that Claire seemed to understand. Well, maybe she didn’t understand, but she certainly wasn’t running, and I was thankful for that. We’d both had a run of it the past couple of weeks, and it would be nice to lose myself inside of her tonight. We both knew what was coming, and honestly, both of us needed it.
“Home sweet home,” I said. I parked the car and we both got out. Claire looked around for a second. I shouldn’t have spooked her.
“Claire. You know you’re safe with me, right?” I asked.
She walked quickly toward me and wrapped her arms around me. I held her in the driveway of my home. Now understanding who she was shed an entirely different light on her, and I thought on the past couple of weeks. How she had that showdown with the detective in my office when we first met. How she cried in the park when I had opened up to her. She was the most incredible and strong woman I had ever come across, and my heart pounded heavily in my chest as she fluttered her gaze up to mine.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time with you, Leo,” she said.
“I’ve enjoyed our time together, too.”
Then, as everything outside of us slowly faded, she raised up on her tiptoes and kissed me lightly on my lips.
16
Claire
He carried me up to his room and laid me onto his bed. His eyes were wanton, and his cock tented his pants. All I wanted tonight was him naked and on top of my body. He slowly slipped his tie from around his neck while I shimmied myself out of my dress, but then he did something I didn’t expect.
“Put your wrists behind your head,” he said.
I laid there in nothing more than a scrap of lace panties and a teensy bra for him, questioning what he’d just requested. He slowly unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his rock-hard chest beckoning for my touch, and if he was doing what I think he was about to do, he was going to rob my fingertips of his touch.
“Leo—”
“Now,” he said.
I scooted back onto the bed and put my wrists above my head. He dropped his shirt and bared his chest for me and then rounded the bed to sit beside me. He wrapped his tie around my wrists and bound me to the wrought iron posts of his headboard, and then the warm, sensuous touch of his lips danced along my neck.
“This is just for you,” he said.
“Leo, I-I-I—”
He crashed his lips onto mine and pressed into my body. His hands held my hips down, keeping me from moving against him, and my body began to heat up with passion and want.
“Please, Leo,” I begged. “Don’t keep yourself from me.”
“Oh, I won’t. I promise.”
He slipped his lips down my throat before he approached my breasts. Hot, wet kisses covered my body, and my nipples scraped the inside of my bra, begging for his touch. He slid his hands down to my waist while his tongue drew faceless pictures on my stomach, and I couldn’t help but thrust my hips into his body. Wet heat pooled in my panties as he teased me to the edge of my own destruction.
“Leo—”
“Patience, beautiful,” he said. “Patience.”
He kissed and licked every single crevice of my body he could put his lips on, and by the time he finally stripped my panties down my legs, I was dripping down my own ass crack. My panties were soaked, and he hummed in absolute pleasure, licking his lips as if he were staring at his last meal.
He pressed a small kiss to my glistening folds, and I trembled at the touch. I thought I’d lose my mind before his tongue finally dove into my depths. He licked up my slit and gathered me in his mouth, and I couldn’t help but look down and watch him work. His cheeks were covered in my essence, his hands massaging my legs, and all I could do was move my hips.
His tongue torturously licked all around my clit, missing it by mere millimeters every single time, and I just couldn’t take it anymore.
“Damn it, Leo. Come on!” I begged.
“There it is,” he said with a growl.
Like a gateway opened, he attacked my swollen bud. He sucked it between his lips and flicked it with the tip of his tongue, and before he could pick up his pace, I was already climbing my peak. My arms were strained and my chest covered in a light sheen of sweat. My legs were wrapped around his head while he dove into my depths. Stars burst behind my eyes as Leo pushed me over the top, but when I fell over the edge, he didn’t stop.
Lick after lick, he dug himself into me, and soon my second orgasm crashed over my body. I couldn't catch my breath, and I tried to move away from him, but all he did was wrap his arms underneath my legs and pull me back. Over and over again, his tongue flattened against my clit, and my whimpers and moans became silent cries as his tongue built me up to my third orgasm.
“No, oh God. I can’t. I can’t, Leo. I . . . I-I-I . . . Oh, God, yes. Yes. Yes. No, please. Yes. No. More. Fuck!”
My body couldn’t make up its mind. My skin wanted more, and my clit was screaming for mercy. I panted for breath I couldn’t catch, but my mind grasped at every sensation it could get. Leo’s fingers teased my entrance before slowly easing in, and when he drew my clit back between his lips, my back arched with my third orgasm while my heels dug into his back.
“Yes! Leo! Oh . . . God. Yes!”
I collapsed to his bed, gasping for the oxygen that was currently swirling my brain. He kissed the insides of my thighs, leaving wet trails of my juices along my body, and then I heard him unzip his pants and push them to the floor. I was absolutely spent, with sweat dripping down my neck. I closed my eyes and let my euphoria wash over me, and when I opened them, Leo was smiling down at me.
“Hey there, Claire,” he said with a smirk.
“Jesus,” I said breathlessly.
His cock slid along my pussy, and I had no idea if I could go any longer. My dripping entrance beckoned him into my warmth, but my walls were completely closed off to him. He entered me, inch by inch, and with every push he made, we both groaned into each other’s necks.
“Holy fuck,” he murmured.
“That’s what you do to me,” I said. “All of this, its—”
Before I could finish, he crashed his lips onto mine. His hips started to thrust into me and immediately my legs began to jump, but all he did was pick up his pace. I struggled against the restraints, wanting desperately to touch him, but the more I struggled, the more frustrated I became.
“Oh god, Claire. You feel incredible.”
He sped up his pace and my legs locked behind his back. If I couldn’t touch him with my hands, then I could lock him close with my legs. Hi
s muscles cascaded over my curves and his skin scooped up the sweat on mine, and before I knew it, my breasts had bounced out of my bra because of how hard he was pounding into me. He planted his hands beside my head and our foreheads were connected together, and when I felt his dick twitch inside of me, I knew he was done for.
“Does that feel good, baby?” I asked.
“Incredible,” he said with a grunt.
“You like how tight I am for you?”
“Yes,” he said with a whisper.
“Then show me how much you like it,” I commanded.
He bit down into my neck before he slammed his hips into me one last time. He pumped his cum deep inside of my body, and I could feel his entire musculature contract and expand against my skin. He collapsed on top of me, heaving for air in the crook of my neck, and I turned to kiss the side of his head over and over again while he caught his breath.
After he rode out the aftershock of his orgasm on top of me, he reached up and freed my wrists. I tried to bring my arms down, but I struggled a bit to do it, so Leo shifted and took my arms into his lap. He massaged from my shoulder to my wrist, slowly working the blood back into my appendages, and when he was done, he slid down beside me in bed and kissed my lips.
“Where the hell did that come from?” I asked.
“I told you I couldn’t get you out of my mind,” he said, grinning.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything,” he said.
“You seemed concerned at dinner when I told you about the conversation I had with the detective.”
“The one about Obi,” he said.
“Yeah. Could I ask why?”
“I know he seems intimidating, and I’m definitely talking with him about how he approached you in my office, because that was not all right. But he’s ex-military. He was trained to be intimidating for the line of work he did.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that,” I said.
“It’s sort of like a switch he can’t turn off. He can when he gets comfortable with you, but he’s naturally intimidating to people he doesn’t know. I’ve had to coach him a lot on how to approach the detective. He’s been placing himself as a barrier between me and people who are trying to rile me up during all this.”
