Those ball-buster shoes.
She went up on tiptoe again to push his shirt off his shoulders. He hadn’t taken the time to find his suit jacket. He’d interrogated her in rolled-up shirt sleeves. It wasn’t all that professional, but it speeded up the getting naked part.
Her hands stroked his bare chest, and he felt them quiver. ‘You’re not bad yourself,’ she said, her voice smoky.
She brushed her lips against his pecs. When her lashes fluttered up again, desire was clear in her eyes.
Josh pulled down the strap of her bra and kissed her shoulder. Her hands wrapped around his belt. She undid it and began to pull it out of the belt loops of his pants, but stopped abruptly.
She lifted her hands away, causing his brain to short out fantastically.
‘What? What’s wrong?’
She bit her lip, but then gave him a soft smile.
A smile.
He’d never seen her do that before. She didn’t want to deal with his pants? No problem. His cock would find a way out on its own.
‘Can you handle that for me?’ she asked, pointing a pink-tipped finger.
He looked at his side. His gun.
He grinned back at her. ‘Yes, ma’am.’
The Marshall and Ms Kitty, indeed.
He removed his weapon, checked that the safety was still set, and looked for a place to put it. There was room on the nightstand, right next to yet another blue glass creature.
He stopped and stared. It was the butterfly he’d given her – the one that she’d never acknowledged and that had disappeared.
He brushed his finger over it. ‘I didn’t think you liked it.’
He did a quick check of the bedroom. It was the only one of her collection in here.
He turned back towards her.
‘I love it.’ She lifted her hand to touch her earring. ‘It’s … my favourite.’
That was it. He was done for.
He caught her about the waist again, and they tumbled onto the bed. Josh sealed his mouth against hers, sending his tongue deep as he spread his body atop hers.
Oh, yeah, he was going to be here a while.
Chapter Six
Nina wrapped both arms around Josh, and her fingernails bit into his back. He was heavy, muscled and warm. She squeezed her eyes shut as his mouth worked at her neck.
He felt so good.
She wove her fingers into his hair and held him right where he was. She’d been so on edge at the station, her stomach had been knotted twice over. When she hadn’t seen him, she’d been scared that he’d been taken off more than the case. Then when he’d come in to interrogate her himself … She hadn’t known if she wanted to kiss him or kick him underneath the table.
He hadn’t taken it easy on her. He’d come at her full-bore, and she’d worried she’d slip and say something that would threaten her entire empire. He’d gotten close a few times. It had been a risk, but she hadn’t been able to stomach the thought of his career going down because of her.
She never would have forgiven herself if she’d let that happen.
He rolled to the side and she clutched at him, but he was just working his hand underneath her to get to her bra clasp. It loosened, and he came back down upon her, his mouth on her bare breast.
Her back arched as pleasure speared through her. He didn’t do anything halfway. His teeth rasped against her nipple and then he was sucking at her hard.
She squirmed on the bed, and her fingers tightened in his hair. ‘Ooooh, Josh.’
He turned her loose with a long lick. ‘There you go.’
His eyes had gone so dark, she could barely detect his pupils any more. ‘No “detective” when we’re in bed.’
She’d call him whatever he wanted her to call him if he’d just ease the ache between her legs. If he knew how long her panties had been wet, that whole interrogation scene wouldn’t have taken nearly as long.
Fear had never turned her on before, and it still didn’t.
He did.
He reared up over her and fisted his hand in her bra. He gave a tug, but the remaining strap caught on her arm. She worked her way out of it, and her bra went flying across the room.
The sun was still bright outside, but the rays were muted as they came through the sheer curtains that covered her bedroom windows. It gave everything a hazy, sexy glow.
‘Perfect,’ he whispered as his hand plumped up her other breast. He bent down to swirl his tongue around her nipple as his other hand slid down her belly and into her panties.
‘Ah,’ Nina gasped. His fingers were as strong as the rest of him, but they knew how to be gentle, too. Her hips rocked up as one found her opening and penetrated her deeply.
‘You don’t prefer double D redheads?’ she asked, unable to help herself.
His head came up slowly, leaving her nipple wet.
‘I know you saw Genieve in that video.’
‘I did, but she didn’t leave me with this.’
He caught her hand and dragged it down to the front of his pants. His erection met Nina’s palm eagerly, and she closed her fingers around him. He was hard and hot. He let out a groan when she slid her hand down further, and she sighed in pleasure.
His eyes were as dark and fierce as she’d ever seen them when he leaned over her. ‘I’ve got everything I want right here.’
That rumbly, sexy voice went right down into her panties where his hand was still playing intimately. His thumb found her clit, and she arched off the bed. He angled his mouth across hers and pressed her back down into the pillow. Nina kissed him and stroked his cock hard, pumping her hand up and down fast.
Oh, God. Only a man who liked to kiss would be so good at it.
She finally found his zipper and undid his pants. When she slipped her hand inside, things got serious fast.
For as big as he was, the man could move. He pulled away, but before she could catch her breath, her panties were down around her ankles. They snagged on her shoes, and her thighs quivered when he let out a helpless curse.
He cupped the clunky stiletto in his big hand. Her ankle looked dainty next to it. He shook his head. ‘They’ve got to stay on.’
He carefully untangled her panties and tossed them over his shoulder. Working around her hand, he shoved down his pants and briefs.
Nina’s eyelids got heavy as she looked at his erection and how it responded to her touch. He was a big man. Everywhere.
She drew up her knee, and her heel dug deep into the bedspread. She’d never been so turned on in her life. ‘I want you inside me,’ she whispered.
She twirled her thumb over the head of his straining cock and felt dampness. He caught her wrist, his fingers clamping tight.
‘I can make that happen.’
He climbed off the bed and stood up. Nina came up onto her knees. Her dream flashed into her mind, the one where he always left. Or, to be truthful, the one where she always made him … She let out a shaky breath when, instead of putting his pants back on, he dug into a pocket and came up with a condom.
It was going to happen this time. They were going to follow through all the way to the end.
Her body began to tremble. Her dreams had left her sweating, but they hadn’t been nearly as nerve-shattering as this. As intensely sexual … or as unbearably intimate …
He ripped open the package and unfurled the rubber over himself. She watched, her blood pumping hard. When his head lifted and his gaze locked with hers, she scrambled to pull back the covers.
He caught her by the ankle and tugged, sending her flat on her back as he crawled up over her. She let out a moan when that same hand smoothed up the inside of her thigh, pushing outwards to make room for himself between her legs.
‘Enough foreplay,’ he growled as he positioned himself at her opening.
Yes, enough. They’d been at it for months.
His hips rolled, and Nina cried out as he pushed up into her. The pressure, his size, the heat … He stopped, his biceps bunchi
ng, as he hovered over her.
‘Nina?’
She opened her eyes. The hazy sunshine lit the dust particles in the air all around them. His hair was mussed, his chest was working hard and her lipstick smudged his neck.
Concern lined his forehead, and he started to pull out.
Panic flared up inside her chest. No. No! She caught his muscled shoulders, holding tight, and wrapped her legs around his hips.
He shifted inside her, and she moaned in delight. ‘Perfect,’ she agreed.
‘Oh, damn, baby,’ he groaned.
‘Fuck me, Josh,’ she panted. She’d been waiting so long.
She lifted her hips, pushing herself onto him, and his own hips bucked forward. It sealed him deep inside, filling her, and Nina cried out again. The high-pitched, husky sound filled the corners of the room and not even her neighbours downstairs would have mistaken it for a sign of distress.
Her cry was the starting pistol that sent him off. He began to thrust into her, carefully at first, then more energetically as he gauged her reaction.
Her shoes clunked together at the small of his back with every thrust. She loved the sound. She loved his harsh breaths. She loved the excruciating intimacy.
He fucked her harder, and she scored her nails down his back. He was heavy, but she liked feeling his body moving on hers.
In hers.
He smoothed his hand up the back of her thigh, and she unlocked her ankles as he tugged at her leg. He straightened it against his chest and kissed her ankle. Her white and gold shoe looked so sexy pointing up in the air.
He must have thought so too, because he swelled even bigger inside her.
Nina’s body undulated sensually. She knew what he wanted, and she lifted her other leg.
He braced both hands on the mattress on either side of her and began thrusting hard and fast. Deep and wet. Nina couldn’t stop the sounds that were coming from her throat. Needy whimpers. Greedy squeals.
He wasn’t any quieter. His breaths were ragged, and desperate curses sliced through the air. He talked dirty to her. He told her how good she felt around him. How tight.
She clutched at his arm and felt his muscles straining. Her hand glided over his heaving chest to his corrugated belly. The way her legs were braced against his shoulders looked debauched and so suggestive, she could barely stand it.
‘Nina,’ he gasped.
Heat filled her entire body as she came. Her pussy clamped down on his heavy cock and pulsations ran through her. Her toes pointed hard inside her sexy shoes.
Her orgasm was hot and overwhelming.
Josh kept pumping. Their bodies slapped together until he, too, went over the edge of the cliff into freefall. His body clenched, and his hips ground. His arms buckled at the end, and his weight dropped onto her.
Nina wrapped her arms around him, holding him protectively. Her legs felt heavy as she dropped them, and her heels snagged in the sheets. She caught his hips between her thighs and held on.
Keeping him where he was. Keeping the connection that had been so long in coming.
His breaths were hot against her ear. ‘I think we just became exclusive.’
Her rushing heart took a stutter step. She turned her head on the pillow and their noses brushed. His eyes were sharp, but then he tucked her hair behind her ear. He brushed his lips over hers once, twice before settling down into a deep kiss.
She relaxed onto the pillow with him.
Exclusive, the old-fashioned way.
Rielle had been right after all.
They stayed that way, making out softly until Nina felt Josh move. He was still hard, and she protested when he disconnected their bodies, but there was the business side of sex to take care of. He dealt with the condom and threw it away. When he came back, he settled on the end of the bed to remove her shoes.
She pulled the sheet half over herself and watched him lazily as he undid a strap. He caught her ankle protectively as he worked the shoe off her.
He frowned as he weighed it in his hand. ‘That’s some serious footwear.’
She lifted her other foot. ‘But they’re so pretty.’
He caught her ankle and bent down to kiss her knee. ‘I can’t argue with that.’
She pressed her foot against his flat stomach and squeezed her toes. He wasn’t a man who waxed. The thought of it was laughable, and she would have killed him if he tried. The dark hair that dusted his chest was light and soft. His chest was thickly muscled, but not only from lifting weights. She could see he did that, but he was just built big. And manly.
She wiggled her toes again, and that glint came back into his eyes. She liked that her shoes made him hot.
It had been her intention, after all.
She watched as he divested her of her other shoe. Shoes had more purpose than just covering feet.
She let out a moan when he pressed his thumb into her arch. ‘Oooooh.’
A purpose like that.
He massaged her foot and up the back of her calf before treating the other to the same bliss. He dropped a kiss on her pink-painted toes before crawling up the bed to spread out beside her.
‘I don’t know how you can walk in those things.’
‘It’s a secret.’
He propped his head up in his hand as he lay on his side. ‘You have a lot of those.’
Nina tucked her sheet a little tighter across her chest. She supposed she did.
He caught her fingers and laced his own through them. ‘You could have played the commander card a long time ago. Why today?’
She shrugged, suddenly wishing it was dark outside. The light coming through the window might be muted, but it was difficult to hide when he was lying so close. And watching her the way he did.
The way he always did.
‘I thought he should know what was going on in his department.’
She hadn’t had to coerce Jones or lie. She’d simply had to show him the machinations going on just a few floors down from his office.
She looked at her hand next to Josh’s. She’d played the card to help him.
Besides, it was only right. Toxic people in an organisation caused more problems than anything. She knew. And the commander would be getting a night on the town on Luxxor’s dime. She’d already told Rielle on the ride back to her apartment to set him up with Lilah.
His favourite escort.
The commander had been uncomfortable during her questioning, she knew. He’d been a client for years now, but he’d never ventured beyond standard escort services. The beautiful fifty-something woman he preferred as his companion was a peach. Stylish, distinguished and fun, Lilah had been working for Luxxor for nearly two years – and was having the time of her life. She loved attending fancy events and meeting new people. The two would have a night of it with an Italian dinner at Fiola, a private evening tour of the commander’s favourite place, the International Spy Museum, and dessert at The Cakeroom.
Nina’s teeth worried her lower lip. She’d played the card to protect them, too. Neither the commander nor Lilah knew about Luxxor’s extracurricular activities.
And they never could.
‘I’m a big boy, you know,’ Josh said.
She looked at their hands, palm-to-palm. ‘I know.’
She could still feel how big he’d been.
His eyes went dark, and he kissed her wrist. ‘I can fight my own battles, especially in the office.’
She frowned. ‘But you shouldn’t have to. You earned your way. You’re good at your job.’
Too good.
She needed to remember who he was and what he did. She wanted him, but being with him came at a price. He was a cop. He’d still be looking for mistakes or red flags. It was his way.
‘They really did a number on you, didn’t they?’
‘Who?’ She thought she’d handled today pretty well, thank you very much.
‘Those bastards with the glass ceiling.’
Nina hesitated, but then shrugged. She�
��d gotten past it. Mostly. She’d used it to put a fire in her gut, that was for sure.
He tugged on her hand until she rolled over to face him and he settled his hand on her waist. ‘Were you sexually harassed? Because so help me –’
‘A guy tried once.’ She lifted an eyebrow. ‘And only once.’
His eyes narrowed.
She pushed back her hair. ‘It was other things, like the time I was verbally promised a promotion. All that was needed to finalise the deal was the paperwork, but in the same timeframe I’d recommended a former colleague for an opening. I didn’t even like the man, but he’d been laid off and needed to support his family.’
She inhaled deeply when she felt the rage bubble up inside her again. ‘They gave him the job they’d promised me – at a higher wage and a better title. They didn’t even talk to me about it. Everything just vaporised as if it never happened.’
‘You’re shitting me.’
‘It’s all about the boys’ club. Later, I somehow found myself working for a twenty-seven-year old. He’d been the boss’s gofer and, when a position opened up, they just slid him right in. I swallowed my pride about that, but when the snot-nosed moron promoted his best buddy from college over me, I walked.’
‘What the hell?’
‘With all my experience and my expertise, I couldn’t compete with that.’ She smiled ruefully. ‘When I saw that young detective strut into that interview room, I knew exactly what was going on.’
‘Nina.’
‘And I didn’t like it.’
He snorted. ‘Get in line. Nobody likes Higgins.’
‘I protected you.’
‘I know, but you should have protected yourself.’
‘I did.’ She settled her hand on his chest. ‘I’m a big girl, too, you know.’
She gave him a push and came up over him.
‘Deal with it.’
* * *
He could deal with anything when she looked at him like that.
Josh reached for Nina as she climbed atop him. Darien had been right. Things went so much better when he got out of his own way.
Courting Suspicion Page 11
