Sex, Lies and Surveillance

by Stephanie Julian

If he wanted this to last longer than a few minutes, he had to slow down. Had to take the time to make her as crazy as he’d been the past few weeks, though her next words almost had him following through on his urges.

  “Mal, if you don’t touch me now, I’m going to scream. Please.”

  Slowly, he turned her, so that her back was against his chest. He raised his free hand to cup one full breast, loving the silken texture of her skin against his and the pebbling of her nipple as he caressed her with his fingertips. She groaned and leaned back against him until they touched from shoulders to thighs, her soft bottom rubbing against his stiff, aching cock.

  His fingers tightened in her hair, and he couldn’t wait any longer to kiss her again.

  Releasing her hair, he spun her around again and immediately laid claim to her lips, one hand on the back of her head, the other on her hips.

  Soft and hot, sweet and demanding, she kissed him back, battling his tongue to gain entrance to his mouth while he sought to plunder hers. Then she put her hands on the button of his pants.

  His body responded with a sharp dig of need and, by the time she’d released the button and slid down his zipper, he knew once wasn’t going to be enough. It would be over much too fast.

  Especially when she slipped both hands inside his waistband and pushed his jeans and boxers down his hips so he could kick them off. And most especially when she grasped his aching erection in her warm fingers.

  With soft caresses and burning hot kisses, she worked him into a frenzy. Sensation hammered at him from all angles. Her hands stroked, made him groan, made his body move as she demanded.

  She demanded so much and still it wasn’t enough.

  Tilting his head to deepen the kiss, he walked her backward to the bed and followed her down when her legs hit the mattress.

  Nudging her legs open, she readily followed his plan of action and pulled him tight against her. His erection nestled against her mound—hot and wet and damn enticing.

  With his cheek against hers, he felt her smile. Then she leaned to the side to pull open the drawer.

  And presented him with a clear path to her breasts.

  He wasn’t about to pass up the gift and lowered his mouth to capture one dark pink nipple. She froze, her breath catching, then starting up again, rapid and shallow.

  He nipped and sucked, one arm around her shoulders, a hand on her neglected breast to tease and play until his lips found their way there. He lingered over her breasts, drawing her into his mouth as if he would inhale her whole. Her entire body quivered and her fingers pushed through the length of his hair, twining it around her fingers so he couldn’t move away.

  “Mal,” she murmured. “Please.”

  “Please what, sweetheart?” He kissed a path to the nipple he’d ignored.

  “Please.”

  He drew her nipple between his teeth and clamped down lightly, causing her breath to catch and her back to arch even more. “Please what?”

  She tugged on his hair, hard enough to make him raise his head slightly. “Take me.”

  Her words left him breathless, as did the fierce expression on her face. She looked like sex incarnate.

  “Condom?”

  “Yeah.” She lifted it between them.

  “Good.”

  “Oh yeah.”

  Taking the packet from her lax fingers, he rose to his knees as he ripped it open and rolled it on. Then, without waiting a second more, he lifted her hips off the bed and thrust into her wet heat.

  She cried out and threw her arms around his shoulders, fingernails digging hard into his back. The flash of pleasurable pain helped him concentrate on slowing down, and he simply held her for a moment, letting his body absorb the feel of her surrounding him, feeling the tiny contractions of her sheath that let him know she wasn’t far from the edge.

  Then she moved, just a slight adjustment of her hips and legs as she sought to take more of him, bring him deeper. He filled his hands with her ass and raised her slightly, groaning at the friction, instantly and incredibly vivid. God, she felt so good.

  Her lips moved against his throat, alternately biting and kissing away the slight hurt, her hands locked in his hair.

  His hips began to swing faster as his desire rose. He tried to hold off the raging flood that wanted to drown him. But when she shuddered around him, clenching and moaning out his name, sweat beaded on his forehead as his body ached with the need for release.

  “Mal. Oh, God, don’t stop. Don’t stop.” It became a litany, imprinting itself on his brain. “Don’t stop.”

  He tried his damnedest, but he couldn’t hold on any longer. He fell over her, still lodged within her, her limbs twined around him.

  With her teeth clamped on his earlobe, she lifted into his next thrust. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he lifted her even more. On his next thrust, her fingers bit into his shoulder and her climax hit hard, urging his. He felt his own build until he couldn’t stop it.

  Then he just let go. Poured himself into her and followed her into bliss.

  Chapter Thirteen

  When she woke, Janey found Mal propped on his elbow beside her, watching her in the pale light from the bathroom. He was fully dressed.

  “Hey.” Her voice felt rough with sleep. “What time is it?”

  “Around one. I didn’t want to wake you, but I should get going.”

  Her heart stumbled over a beat. Okay, this was where he’d say this was a mistake and it never should have happened. And she was going to have to agree with him even though she’d just had the best sex of her life. So many complications…

  He must have been able to read some of her emotions on her face because he shook his head. “Honestly, I don’t want to leave, but knowing your family, they’d just happen to stop by in the morning and I don’t want to cause any problems.”

  Her lips curved at his wry tone. She’d half expected him not to be here when she woke, but she should’ve known better. Mal wouldn’t run. But he was probably right. Her family had an uncanny knack of showing up when she least expected or wanted them.

  “Seems you’ve gotten to know them pretty well in the past month.”

  Nodding, never taking his gaze from hers, he lifted his hand and brushed her hair away from her bare shoulder. “I like them. I just don’t know that I’m ready to have them string me up by my toes for defiling their baby girl.”

  The look on his face was priceless and she laughed until her eyes watered. “Yeah, well, what you don’t know is they’re constantly telling me I should find a nice guy.”

  She didn’t add the rest of that statement, which was “and settle down.” She didn’t want to freak him out completely. And he did seem just a little freaked. She guessed that was to be expected.

  “Yeah, well. I’m not really a nice guy.”

  Before she could respond, he leaned over and kissed her.

  “I’ll see you at work, Janey.”

  And he walked away, leaving her breathless. And with even more questions.

  ***

  Son, I think you’ve crossed the line to certifiable.

  Mal certainly couldn’t argue with a dead man but he did have a point.

  Deciding to walk the mile or so back to his apartment from Janey’s Bainbridge Street home, he cursed himself up one side and down the other. He’d let his libido off its short leash last night and—though he wouldn’t trade the memories for anything in the world—it might have caused a serious breach in his investigation.

  Because now that he’d had her, he wouldn’t be able to keep his emotions out of this.

  He was already halfway in love with her. All right, maybe more than halfway.

  But there were too many angles to consider pulling out now. Hell, the DeMarcos actually needed his help. He didn’t want to leave in the middle of Bennett’s case, didn’t want to leave the DeMarcos in the lurch. Didn’t want to leave while Janey was in danger.

  Son, that’s just an excuse.

  Yeah, we
ll, it’s a damn good one.

  Besides, he had to find out exactly how Janey tied into the Carabini case. He wouldn’t be satisfied until he knew. He owed Dev at least that much.

  ***

  “Someone’s been getting a little too curious, Mal.”

  It was Wednesday morning at ten, and Mal figured there must have been a serious security breach for Gallagher to call him at the office. He glanced at his closed office door for the hundredth time.

  “How far in did they get?”

  “Well, she was able to access the first level of your classified files. You any closer to tying her to the Carabini case?”

  Shit, Gallagher was going to pull him out. Mal could hear it in his voice.

  “I’ve got an angle I’m working.”

  “Want to clue me in, since you haven’t made a report since last week?” Mal heard the order in Gallagher’s voice even if he didn’t word it that way.

  But the knock on his office door saved him. He snapped the cell shut and slipped it in his pocket. “Come in.”

  He wasn’t expecting Grace. His expression must have said as much because she smiled.

  “Good morning, Mal.”

  “Good morning, Mrs. DeMarco. How’s Jimmy?”

  She looked relieved as she slid into the only uncluttered chair in the room. “That boy has a hard head. Thank God. Though he’s still not sure what happened. I trust he’ll figure it out. And your aunt? How is she?”

  “Better, thank you. She’s going to spend some time in a rehab before going home but she’s doing fine, thanks.”

  “Good, I’m glad to hear it. I was wondering if you’d made any progress on Bennett’s case.”

  He shook his head, frustration evident in the sharp movement. “No, ma’am. I haven’t turned up anything yet.”

  “Bennett called this morning. Told me he’d had an impromptu meeting with you Saturday.”

  Hell, he’d nearly forgotten about that. “Yes, ma’am. I was tailing him, seeing if there was anyone else doing the same. We, ah, had a few words.”

  “So I understand. Would you like to tell me what about?”

  Good question. But Mal had a pretty good idea that whatever Bennett had told Grace hadn’t involved Janey at all. And Mal was afraid that if he said anything about Janey, Grace would be able to tell he had the serious hots for her daughter. Which she probably already knew anyway.

  Every time he talked about Janey or, hell, even thought about her, heat poured through him like he was a teenager. Merri had picked up on it right away. He didn’t stand a chance against Grace. “He was miffed at me for interrupting his date. But I believed I had credible information—”

  “And he was hitting on Janey.”

  He could have kicked himself for not realizing Grace would know exactly what had gone down.

  “Don’t look so surprised.” Grace patted his hand. “I know where Bennett took his so-called date. Janey and Annie go to that restaurant nearly every weekend. That man is one canny SOB. He’s been hitting on Janey since she started working for us but he’s smart enough never to do it while her family’s around. And he knows how to play Janey. He knows she won’t tell us what’s going on with him. She thinks she can handle him. And she can. We raised her to be strong—able to take care of herself.”

  “And from what I’ve seen, she’s all that.” And more.

  Shit. He hoped like hell he hadn’t said that last bit out loud. Or that Grace could read his mind. He wouldn’t put it past her.

  “Yes, she is. She’s also my baby, which means I get to worry about her, even when she doesn’t think I need to. There’s just something about these letters that’s different from the others. Whoever’s writing them knows things they shouldn’t be able to know. Bennett’s continued pursuit of Janey just paints a target on her back. And if the bastard so much as touches her, Frank’s going to have another heart attack and her brothers are going to beat the bastard bloody.”

  Would they do the same to Mal if they knew he’d slept with her last night? Hell, maybe Grace already knew.

  No, she couldn’t or they wouldn’t be sitting here having a sane conversation. If Grace knew what had happened between him and Janey, Frank would bury him where no one would ever find him.

  Get your head out of your ass, son, or she will know.

  Okay, then.

  For a half hour, he and Grace talked through various scenarios. Grace had a sharp mind and an even sharper tongue. She spared no one, least of all herself, and Mal respected that.

  She was going to flay him alive when she found out what he was really doing here.

  “I think you’re on the right track, Mal, but we need to close this case soon. Do whatever you think is necessary to bring this to an end. I don’t want Bennett around my daughter any longer than necessary.”

  Grace rose and headed toward the door. “When she was younger, Janey was often the target of threats against our family. Being the youngest, she was the obvious weak link. When she was five, she was kidnapped for two days.”

  Grace paused as Mal’s jaw dropped open. That hadn’t been in any of the DeMarcos’ records.

  “It was the longest two days of my life.” Her eyes closed for a few seconds, and he was sure Grace was holding off tears, though none fell. “Obviously, we got her back. But afterwards, we were a little more protective of Janey than we probably should have been. As she grew older, it became harder for us to find ways to keep her in the safe little box we wanted. College was a real challenge.

  “I’d prefer she didn’t have anything to do with this case, Mal. I know that puts you in a tenuous position, but…just because they become adults doesn’t mean you stop thinking about them like they’re children. Actually, I think you can worry about them more because you can’t protect them as you once did.”

  That void opened in his chest again. “I understand, ma’am.”

  Grace nodded. “Thank you, Mal. I appreciate it.”

  She closed the door behind her.

  His chest began to ache and that ache became a pain.

  Now, son, you’ve got a job to do.

  He shook his head, trying to shut down the voice of his father—who’d gotten himself killed trying to save a young recruit who’d botched his parachute jump. The recruit had lived. Mal’s dad hadn’t been as lucky. And Dev had died because he’d wanted Mal to be able to spend a few last minutes with his dad.

  The voice of Mal’s conscience had always been his father’s and that hadn’t changed with his death.

  God, he missed his dad’s take-no-prisoners approach to life. He could have used a good, swift, literal kick in the ass.

  Dropping his arms, then this head, on his desk with a thump, Mal groaned silently. He was involved too deeply here and someone was going to get hurt.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Mal suppressed the urge to hit something as Bennett walked into yet another bar.

  Didn’t the guy ever work?

  He’d been following Bennett for hours and the only thing he’d discovered was the asshole’s predilection for young blondes and expensive whiskey.

  God, the guy was a creep.

  Mal had been careful to stay out of sight as he followed Bennett down South Street’s boisterous sidewalks with its trendy bars and eclectic shops. The street hummed with activity, even though it was only seven o’clock.

  He’d grabbed a cheesesteak from the window at Pat’s around six, when Bennett stopped for appetizers and drinks at a bar just down the street with a girl who looked young enough to be his daughter. Now, sitting at the third bar, Mal still hadn’t identified anyone who seemed remotely interested in the guy.

  Maybe you’re losing your touch, son.

  “Wouldn’t be the first time.” His mutter drew a curious stare from the woman seated next to him at the bar.

  Great, now he was the freak.

  This stakeout had given him way too much time to think about Janey, to replay every moment of last night. Like a coward, he�
��d avoided her most of the day, even if he’d had legitimate excuses like interviewing Bennett’s local friends and business partners.

  Still, he felt like a jerk for not even having the time to say hello this morning, at the very least.

  With a sigh, he watched Bennett stand and pat his newest blonde on the head—like a dog, for chrissake—then make his way out to the street, where he caught a taxi.

  Mal did the same.

  “I need you to follow that cab.”

  The young man behind the wheel looked at him with huge dark eyes and an even darker face. His braided hair jangled with beads when he turned and his teeth gleamed, though he was missing one in the front.

  “Get out, man. You really just say that?”

  Mal grinned at the excitement in the man’s voice. “Yeah. I need you to follow that cab.” He pointed to the one Bennett had gotten into and the driver shot off.

  “All right. You a cop or something?”

  “Or something.”

  “Cool. This guy a murderer, a rapist, what?”

  Mal swallowed a laugh. “Sorry, nothing like that. I’m security. I’m shadowing him. Stay a couple of cars behind.”

  “No problem, man. Have any idea where he’s going?”

  “Not a clue.”

  “No problem, man. Wait’ll I tell the guys what I did tonight.”

  For the ten minutes it took Bennett to reach his destination, Shawn Freeman—according to his license—had given Mal his rap sheet as if interviewing for a job. And Mal had to admit it was impressive. Juvie time for boosting cars, a stint at Graterford at twenty for passing counterfeit, and a few other side ventures for which he hadn’t been caught.

  Mal wondered what the guy’s face would look like if he told Shawn he was a federal agent, but he was enjoying the ride too much to worry about it.

  You’re starting to slack off, son. What the hell’s gotten into you?

  Damn good question.

  He was almost sorry when Bennett’s taxi stopped beside a nondescript brownstone in a deserted block on George Street.

  “Keep going and pull over a block up,” Mal told Shawn.

  From there, Mal watched Bennett walk into the building. His cab stayed at the curb, and so did his bodyguard. Man, what a fricking idiot.