by Ann Raina
“Me being Mrs. Smith.”
“And me being the nice gentleman from the escort service.”
“Yes, but this time it’s not cheating.”
He lay down and looked around. “No, definitely not.” Michael put his arms over his head. “And how would my lady have me?”
Alyssa knelt between his legs and stretched to kiss him. “You’re marvelous. I’m jealous of every woman, who ever got into your pants.” She licked the corners of his mouth, then up to his nose. “You got stubble.” She giggled. “Do you never shave before you leave home?”
“I forgot. Guess why.”
“I thought about taking you to the movies tonight, but with a beard, I don’t know if I should dare leaving the house with you.”
“I can be a gentleman even with stubble.” He shrugged and gave a lopsided grin. “Like I said, I’m off duty.”
She sighed, rubbing her cheek on his. “Wished it would be like this every time.”
Michael tried to read her, but she kept her head turned away. She was in his embrace before he thought about doing it. She didn’t fight to be released. She lay down on his body, pressing her weight down on him, forgetting what had been on her mind.
“Why can’t I have it this way, Matt? Why do I live a roller coaster life?”
He took his right hand to push away a strand of hair from her face. His voice was soft, soothing. He thought of her being blackmailed to help George do his illegal business. She was a victim after all. “You can change that. There’re always possibilities to give your life another turn. If you want it.”
She pushed away suddenly, slapping his chest, and stood angry in front of the bed.
He held out his hands and she lifted her own in a gesture that he shouldn’t try touching her.
“Don’t get all pope on me! I’m not a little girl searching for the meaning of life! Once you make a decision, you gotta stand by it! That’s the adult way of handling problems! You can’t just turn and run like you broke some toy and mommy’s gonna fix it!” Her voice rose to shouting. “So don’t gimme that shit about changing my life, okay?”
Michael swallowed the first words coming to his mind. If you want out of an illegal business, talk to me. He didn’t say it. He turned his hands outward, puzzlement clear on his face. “Al, please, I didn’t mean to lecture you.”
“You did.” She folded her arms under her breasts. Her cheeks flushed to a freckled red and she set her feet apart as if readying for a fight.
He let go of his breath. “I’m sorry. I know, you handle your life as you see fit. But I know you’re not obliged to work at the same place for years or do anything else if you don’t want to.”
Alyssa stared at the carpet, willing to calm down. “Just don’t gimme crap about life turns, Christian virtues, the need to believe in a higher being or anything else stupid. I’m not a woman who cries on every man’s shoulder. Got that?”
“I got it.” He slipped from the bed. “You’re very sure of yourself. I noticed. I wouldn’t dare lecture you.” But you need a lecture. You behave like a stubborn teenager.
“Yes, you would. You already did.”
“No, I wouldn’t. I’d be too afraid to end up with my hands and feet tied.”
She pushed him back on the bed, hands stretched out in front of her so he couldn’t resist when she followed. The spark of amusement was lit again. “You’re right to be afraid. I got the rope here somewhere.”
“I’m already shivering with fright.” He smiled when she pulled a coil of rope from a drawer, happy to have bridged the awkward moment. “You bought a rope in the meantime?”
She smiled wickedly when she wound the black, velvety rope around his wrists. “You don’t know what else I bought.”
He was back on the bed, his hands tied to the post. His gaze never left her face. “You planned this for a long time. My severe punisher.”
“I never had an escort gentleman at my whim.” She kissed his nose. “I’ll be back in a sec.”
Michael rested his head against the post, exhaling. He couldn’t afford Alyssa to be angry with him, but he asked himself if he could give in even more.
* * * *
“We made every possible attempt at finding Habib Natassar, but came up with nil.” Bellard’s voice was matter-of-fact, tired of his fruitless search. Men and material were plenty, but to what use if you couldn’t find a single clue? “He possesses a green card, so wherever he applied for a job, he would’ve used it.”
“So he’s the body found behind the Chinese restaurant,” Linda Bernstein summed up. She wasn’t surprised. She was angry and it showed. “If Tessler had delivered something worth a DNA test we’d have means to nail this dead man to Summerston, but he didn’t even try! By now they’ll have cleaned up all of the evidence! So the murderer’s still on the loose and we don’t know about their plans!”
“We traced five employees of the Summerstons to their new employers. They work hard and efficient and haven’t committed any illegal act. The employers were astonished at our questions after all.”
Linda imagined Bellard to sit back and drain his coffee mug. Probably the tenth of the day. He was a caffeine junkie all right.
“What about the employers?”
“Two senators, one millionaire of the old East Coast money families and two industrial owners with more land than it’s good for them. There’s no connection between them if you don’t count that they’re all wealthy.”
“And influential.”
“Yes, that, too.”
Linda sighed. “Sir, I’ll try my best to shed light on this case. Something Tessler should’ve done for long.”
“Very well.”
Linda gnashed her teeth hearing the smile in his voice. “Goodbye, sir.”
“Goodbye.”
* * * *
Michael smelled the nauseating sweetness of honey on his chest. His nostrils widened as he tried to escape the overkill. Of course, it was too late to reprove Alyssa. She licked the sweet stuff off his nipples with soft hums and moans as if she had never tasted anything better. He breathed through his mouth, still watching her face. She was absorbed in that little game of hers, unaware of his uneasiness. She licked and sucked all the way down his sternum to his crotch and pubic hair. When she came up for a smile, her lips were smeared with honey.
“You taste so sweet.”
It was a shallow whisper before she was on him again, satisfied like a cat with cream. Pardon, honey. He stood the smell because of the incredible things she did with her tongue. If anyone had told him that a tongue was good for so much more than pushing food around in your mouth, he’d have laughed.
Alyssa’s tongue drove him crazy, sped up his heartbeat and made him clench his fists for he couldn’t reach her and caress her the way she did with him. She didn’t stop with taking his length in her mouth, but went for his balls the same way, rolling them in her mouth until he heard his own breathing so loud he thought he’d hyperventilate. The pleading voice was his, too. He wriggled on the sheets, not doing it by will but with the sheer need to lose some of the energy building in his loins. Her tongue tickled the small spot behind his balls and he almost screamed. He pressed his heals in the covers and withstood the urge to shove his legs forward, to urge Alyssa with more than words to bring him over the top.
No, he saw it in her eyes. The hunger, the lust and beneath it the thrill she got from him being helpless. Michael remembered Eric’s words. Now Michael was the helpless callboy in the clutches of a slender woman, unable to release himself. He had to stand what she dished out and that way gave her the thrill she needed. It was so fascinating it was frightening.
He watched her lips curl to a wicked smile. Can it be that she will use me, play with me and leave me like that? The knots in the rope were tight. He wouldn’t leave without her permission. The thought dampened his arousal for a few, flitting seconds. Then she was on his member again, working tongue, lips and teeth to drive him, no, rocket him close
to the brink of satisfaction.
Only to linger there while his flesh yearned for the last touch. He squirmed on the sheets now, calling her name over and over. Her tongue flicked his exposed glans, tasting the cum. She had him. She had him at her whim in a most primal way.
“Alyssa, please, this is torture!”
“No, Matt, I promised you heaven.”
Michael didn’t believe the voice. He wanted her mouth back on his length, back to thrilling him on the ride. Thoughts were reduced to zero, longing was all. She could have of him what she wanted.
Alyssa bent over his crotch, licking the rest of the honey from his scrotum, deliberately ignoring his pleas until he stopped and only watched. She kept eye contact while she swallowed him, played with him and aroused him to the peak he couldn’t turn back. Without him knowing, she withdrew and he pumped into her hand instead.
His breathing was the first sound he realized in the room. Next came Alyssa’s giggling. She wiped her hand on a Kleenex. He felt like a fool and couldn’t explain why. His mouth was too dry for words so he motioned his head toward the rope holding him.
“You want free? Oh, come on, aren’t you enjoying your helplessness if you’re served this way?” She used another Kleenex for her lips and cast both in a trash bin close to the nightstand. Lowering her head, she moved up his sweaty body. “You’re one hell of a stud, Matt. Wow!”
The kiss on his dry lips brought back his ability to speak. “Yeah, wow.” Coherent thoughts were next on the list. “Al, please, cut me loose. I can’t feel my hands anymore.”
“You weren’t complaining a minute before.”
“No.” He grinned, disguising his uneasiness perfectly. With her moves and especially with her lips the taste of honey was back in his nostrils. He tasted bile in the back of his throat. If he didn’t shower immediately, he’d puke on the carpet. “Please, Al, untie me.”
“Hell, if that’s what you want.” Pouting, she opened the knots.
He rubbed his wrists and was off the bed in a flash. “I need to see the bathroom.” He needed to go, to shower and to wipe this damn smell off him.
“My, you’re eager to get clean! It was honey, honey, not mud.” She laughed alone about her little joke and slipped off the bed. “I could join you.”
“If you wish.” He was on the way.
“That doesn’t sound like an invitation.”
If you knew. “You can come if you want.”
She didn’t. She waited for him in the kitchen and prepared a snack made of fresh bread, tuna pieces and green salad. He didn’t know how hungry he was until he entered the kitchen. Back in his clothes, he sat down opposite to her at the high kitchenette.
“There’s no honey on the bread.” Alyssa smiled, knowingly.
“Thanks. Guess, I had my share today.”
“Well, no, I had the share.” She poured him a glass of mineral water since orange juice wouldn’t go with the tuna. “You didn’t like the honey idea, right?”
Michael bit the sandwich and chewed, hoping to avoid an answer. He felt pressed too tight to breathe. Considering how she had reacted to his little lecture, he wasn’t sure if she’d get mad at him if he confessed his dislike of honey.
“You can say it, Matt, it was written clearly over your face.” She eyed him, curious about his reaction. “Hell, you said, you were off duty, then why didn’t you just call it quits the moment I poured the first spoonful?”
Michael swallowed the bite. “Delicious. From your health food store?”
She put all weight in her glare. “Matt, I’d call it quits anytime I think a man does me wrong, okay? You can do the same.”
“I wanted you happy. And the honey was a part of it.”
“You almost threw up.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“You were green around the nose when you left.”
“I wasn’t. I won’t throw up just because of honey. Ask me after two Guinness or a bottle of whiskey. Then you might get me there.” He bit into the sandwich again.
Alyssa nibbled on hers, not having spent so many calories in the last thirty minutes. “So there’s no heavy drinking tonight, I see. Would you like to go to the movies and have a bite afterward? Or the other way round? There’s a nice theater close by, showing more than the usual blockbusters.”
“Fine with me. If you allow my stubble.”
“And everything else, yes.”
Chapter 14
The noise from the street was deafening. Honking, screeching brakes, wild shouts when a Grand Cherokee almost hit the open door of a sedan. Though it was after ten in the evening the rush hour was still on, and the screaming motor-horn of two trucks passing by made any conversation impossible. Alyssa grimaced at Michael’s smiling face as they turned into the alley where she had parked her car. “The movie was great, don’t you think?” She pressed his hand and looked up to make sure he had heard her.
Michael nodded. “If you like dancing penguins.”
“Don’t be so negative about it! It’s a really nice story.”
“Of an outsider becoming hero. Well, hadn’t we seen it all with Rudy the Red-nosed Reindeer?”
“Why not use a good story a second time? By the way, I wonder that you know Rudy. You seem so terribly grownup.”
“Why do you like animated films so much?”
“How do you know?”
He shrugged. “Your shelf in the living room. From The Rescuers to Iceage. I think you got them all.”
“Almost. I still miss Snow White. Otherwise, yes, I think I got all I wanted.” She leaned into him, happy. “If I had a sad day, a movie cheers me up.”
“Has it always been like that?”
She snuggled closer and he put his right arm around her shoulder. “If the world’s a dark place, you need some sunshine.”
Her glum tone made him look at her. “Then you don’t need to watch them anymore.”
“So?”
“You got me now. I’ll cheer you up when you need it.” He stooped to kiss her brow affectionately. She was so pretty with her flushed cheeks, sparkling eyes and smiling lips. Michael wanted to promise her love till the end.
“You’d do that?”
“Yes, I would.”
“And not only because I allowed you to do me between the rows?”
“How’d I come to think of this?”
His pretended irritation caused her to laugh. “Because you were pretty eager to get between my legs, you rogue.”
“For a girl wearing no panties, you’re quite self-righteous.”
She laughed even more. “God, you’re good.”
“I know.”
They reached her car and she started searching for the key in her purse. “I know, I put it here somewhere…”
Michael’s gaze dropped. “You got a flat tire.”
“What? How’s that?”
Michael never got to answer. From the shadows of yet another alley two men emerged. They were tall and broad-shouldered, wore long coats and brimmed hats, which shaded their faces completely from the dim streetlights. One sported a short-cut beard, the other had no facial hair. Their demeanor was the same. They stood abreast, 9mm Smith & Wesson in their hands, pointing at Michael and Alyssa.
Michael pulled his girlfriend close to him, trying to shield her with his body. With his peripheral vision, he tried to make out if there were more attackers hiding. His heart hammered. “What do you want?”
“It’s not your concern.”
“If it’s for money…” He fumbled for his wallet, but stopped when the gun of the bearded man twitched. “I can give you money. Credit cards or—”
“We want her,” said the other goon. His voice was low, but carried over the traffic sounds. “Just her. So step out of the way.”
For a flitting moment, Michael thought about the happy hours he had spent with Alyssa. Would it all be over now? Forever? Killed by the guns of some hoodlums we didn’t know? He felt her trembling body close to his back. H
e wished for nothing more than to save her. “Her? Why?”
“If I were you, asshole, I’d better save my life and run.” Bearded man waved the gun the direction of the main street. His voice dropped to a low growl. “My patience’s not endless. Fuck off!”
“You won’t shoot me?”
Alyssa’s hands clutched his right arm. “Matt, please…”
“Don’t bet…but I might be generous.”
Michael tried to think while his heart beat in his throat. He saw a hood and handcuffs in the left hand of the bearded man. He swallowed hard, mind racing what he could do. “You’d let me go? What about her?”
“Doesn’t concern you, fucker!” The clean-shaven man, taller than his companion, stepped closer, almost pressing the muzzle against Michael’s chest. He could grab and turn the weapon, but what about the other? The goon stood ready to fire, no aiming necessary at a distance of four feet. Michael would be dead as a doornail before he ended the move. He cursed silently and lifted his hands. “Okay, okay, don’t shoot me for asking.”
Alyssa grabbed his arm, frantic. “Matt, they’re goin’ to kill us both, no dice!”
He kept the two men in his stare. “Maybe not.” With an effort, he pried open her fingers from his arm. “I’d better go.”
“Matthew, no!”
The horror in her voice made him flinch. He couldn’t look at her. The goons smiled wickedly. “I have to. I’m sorry, but I have to.”
“Matt, you’re not going away, are you?”
He moved away from her and the car, leaving her broken and in tears.
She screamed. “How can you do that? How can you fuckin’ do that to me? Asshole!”
He was hardly five feet away when the bearded hoodlum smashed her against the side of her car and pulled the hood over her head. She cried out.
“Matthew!”
“Your lover’s a fucking sissy!”
“Yeah, but one that’s alive!” They both laughed to that.
The man with the clean-shaven face pointed his weapon at Michael. He thought to get shot on the run. He ran faster. To his right, he had seen a broken door, boarded over. He dashed for the opening the moment a bullet whistled past him. Landing on hands and knees took him a split second, then he was up again. He looked round. Outside, Alyssa screamed for help on top of her lungs. Handcuffs clattered.
