by Jayne Rylon
Discomfort faded. Pure happiness replaced unease.
“That’s right, Lily.” He peppered kisses over her mound, belly and thighs. “I’m inside you. Part of you. Just like you’re branded on me. Since the first moment I saw you I knew. You were meant to be mine.”
His fingers unfurled a little.
The internal massage sent a shock wave of pleasure bursting out toward her fingers and toes. “Yes. Yes. Please.”
Managing more than monosyllabic feedback was beyond her capabilities.
He pumped his fist forward then back in tiny jabs. The barest motion triggered a riot of sensation. Fingers splayed, she slapped the bed. Her heels dug into his back. Whether it was his fist or his heart triggering her rapid climb toward bliss, she couldn’t say.
“Fuck, yes,” he growled before he lowered his mouth to manipulate her clit. “I can feel your pussy rippling around my hand. Come for me, Lily.”
Her toes curled, and her breath caught in her chest.
Jeremy rocked inside her as he devoured her pussy. The combination of his bold stuffing and his gentle worship tipped her over the edge. Rainbows bloomed behind her scrunched eyelids. Her pussy spasmed around him. Though spread enough she could barely clench, she didn’t need to grip much to smother him with her passion.
When she would have descended on the far side of rapture, he chuckled against her sopping flesh. “Oh no you don’t. You have more to give. More to take.”
The rotation of his wrist added another dimension to the power of his shallow yet mighty thrusts. He drew a figure eight with his fist inside her, filling her to overflowing. The addictive pressure had her seeking the next crest before she’d fully dropped into the valley of the waves battering her.
Another climax stole her breath, making her gasp and shout. She clamped around him, losing track of time and space. All she knew was he had control, he wouldn’t abandon her and that she could trust him. Those were the only things that mattered.
Lily soared.
She wrung every drop of pleasure from his touch. When she laid shuddering, teeth chattering in the wake of his awesome present, he finally relented.
“Very good. Such a sweet girl.” He hypnotized her with his praise. “Time to let go, Lily.”
She thrashed her head on the pillows, her hair tangling around her. “Nooo.”
“Sorry, you have to. Just for now. We’ll try it again someday. I promise.” He brushed the stray strands from her sweat-slicked brow. “Remember, I’m always with you. This won’t change a thing.”
How wrong he was. It had altered absolutely everything.
Lily wasn’t proud of the noise she made when he began to slide from her sopping pussy. A blended yell, groan and protest ricocheted around them. Pressure built to a small pain that couldn’t match the sense of loss swamping her as his hand squeezed from her body.
He lunged for the nightstand and the towel he’d staged there. Even that meager distance was too much for her system, which operated on raw, primal levels after being deconstructed by his mastery. Tears leaked from her eyes and sobs bubbled up.
Jeremy surrounded her as soon as he finished drying his arm.
The mighty attempt she made to contain her emotions failed. Another hiccup slipped past her guard.
“It’s okay to cry.” He showered her with care and attention. Rubbing her back, he nestled her against his chest and began to rock her softly. “You’ve stood alone so long. No more. Never again. You don’t have to hide from me or yourself. Just be, Lily. Feel. It’s all right. You’re safe.”
“I wish I could repay you.” She had nothing left to give.
“Look at me.” He nudged her jaw until the blaze of his stare filled her vision. “You have. A million times over. No one’s ever given me anything as special as you just did. I’ll treasure that experience until the day I die.”
“You’re still hard.” She nibbled her lip. “I didn’t take care of you.”
“I’ll let you know when I require you to service me.” He nuzzled her nose. “Being with you, holding you, is all the satisfaction I need right now.”
She doubted that was true. The idea of him jerking off in the bathroom after she fell asleep bruised her heart. It didn’t seem fair after all he’d done to guarantee her pleasure.
“Remember your lessons.” He pressed his palm over the sore spot on her ass where he’d landed his final, stinging spank. “Would I lie to you?”
The handsome lines of his face blurred behind another curtain of tears. She’d nearly slipped into her old thinking. “No, Master. You wouldn’t. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry, wildcat.” He rubbed his chin over the crown of her head. “I’m going to have lots of fun taming you. I don’t expect a lifetime of disappointments to evaporate in one day. For now, why don’t you rest for a little while?”
Sleep sounded divine. After hitting emotional bottom then crashing through the ceiling of her preconceived limits, she didn’t have a lot of energy left to spare.
“I’ve got you, Lily.”
A smile tipped up the corners of her mouth as her eyes drifted shut. “I know.”
The last thing she heard before dozing off was his whisper, “Sweet dreams.”
Chapter Twenty-One
The rumble of curses falling from the trio of cops crescendoed until Matt howled, “Son of a bitch!”
“Shh.” Jeremy knocked his elbow into the overgrown oaf although he wholeheartedly agreed with the sentiment.
“Too late,” Lily mumbled from the bed.
He pivoted from the monitor they huddled around in time to watch her sit up. She pressed the rumpled sheet to her chest with one hand. The other scrubbed her eyes while she yawned and stretched like a sleepy kitten.
As quick as that, he had to shift the bulge forming in his jeans.
“I’m awake.”
So was his cock after taking in her adorably mussed hair and the well-fucked pout of her slightly swollen lips. He unbuttoned his pants, thankful neither of his friends could pry their stares from the gorgeous woman lounging in his bed.
“Sorry, Lily.” Matt winced.
“After you stood by and let Clint manhandle me, this is the least you should be apologizing for, asshole.” The gentle smile accompanying her harsh dress down remediated some of the bite.
“C’mon, JRad.” Clint huffed as though he were actually offended. “You’re not going to let your girl talk to us like that, are you?”
“Absolutely.” He hoped she could read his approval in his smile. “As long as she kneels for me, the rest of you are on your own.”
Their jaws dropped when she climbed from the enormous mattress, unconcerned with her nudity. Thank God Jeremy’s earlier explorations hadn’t damaged her no-holds-barred sensibilities.
Lily stuck to her guns. Slinking over to them, she propped one hand on her hip. “I’ll forgive you both if you join my harem for a day. Beg nicely and I’ll consider your newbie status.”
Respect flared in Jeremy’s chest at her brazen sexuality. A soul-deep laugh overcame the remnants of worry their strategizing and the results of his hacking had planted in his mind.
His friends exchanged nervous glances as if unable to tell she was joking. Mostly. They flip-flopped between avoiding gazing below her shoulders and meeting her fierce stare. Adorable yet formidable, she kept them off balance with her extended silence. Hell, it wasn’t like the cops hadn’t fucked her the night before.
Lily toyed with them because she had to know as well as he did, the other men had only been his agents. He’d directed their attraction to bolster her pleasure and relied on their loyalty to keep her safe. She had a million times more experience with mind games than either of his friends and she didn’t hesitate when it came to exacting a bit of revenge.
“Or…” She drew a meandering path down Clint’s chest. “You could perform a little right here in the comfort of our private quarters. I think a simple kiss might do the trick.”
�
��You got it.” The younger cop fell right into her trap. “A kiss I can do.”
“Fantastic.” She beamed up at him. “Matt, get over here.”
“What?” The muscle-bound giant looked at him for help. “JRad?”
“This is between you and her.” He chuckled. Observing her craftiness would never get old.
“I have a thing for watching my guys touch.” She shrugged, distracting them with the bounce of her luscious tits. “Give each other one tiny peck—on the lips—and I’ll consider it bygones. Who knows, you might like it.”
Lily had bitten off more than she could chew this time. Jeremy had worked closely with the men for years and they’d never once given any indication of bisexual tendencies. However, instead of the objections JRad expected, Clint shrugged.
“Fuck it. I’ve done crazier shit on dares.” He wrapped his hand around Matt’s beefy neck and yanked. Such an artless move couldn’t have forced the larger man if he hadn’t been willing. Their stares clashed for a fraction of a second before Clint laid a perfunctory smack on his partner’s mouth.
“Lovely.” She patted each of the men on their abdomens, which rose and fell more quickly than usual. “I caught your fascinated stares at Ryan and Ben when they pleasured me while Jeremy fucked me last night. Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves later. I’ll be giving Jambrea a call soon. I think I have some terrific advice for her.”
“We’re totally screwed.” Matt smacked his forehead.
“Pretty much.” Jeremy laughed out loud then winked at Lily. “Jesus, you’re hot when you’re devious.”
“Mind if I take a shower?” She bowed her head as she stood, feet spread, hands clasped behind her back. The subtle shift might not have been noticeable to Matt and Clint. Jeremy sure as hell cherished her submissive pose.
“Go ahead. Make it quick, though.” He glanced at the thick leather cuff supporting his square watch face. “There are a few things we need to discuss before we figure out how to plant this drive, minus the data, back in Morselli’s office. You should hear it. Weigh in on our plans.”
“Ten minutes tops.” She thrilled him by leaning in. Considering her bare feet, their faces were level as he sat and she stood, presenting her an opportunity to kiss his stubbly cheek.
At the last moment, he angled his jaw so she caught him on the mouth instead. He tried to keep their encounter fun. When she parted her lips, he staked his claim.
Clint’s cleared throat made it clear he’d failed.
“Clock’s ticking. Nine and a half minutes. You’ll earn a stroke with my belt for every ten seconds you’re late. I don’t like to be kept waiting.”
“Yes, sir.”
None of the three men spoke as she sauntered into the bathroom.
“JRad, was that your handprint on her ass?” Clint swallowed hard.
“It sure as hell better not be anyone else’s.”
“I’m not going to claim I get how everything works between you.” Matt surprised him by tackling the potentially awkward subject head-on. “But I can tell you’re happy. Like really…in a way I stopped expecting to see from you. I’m glad she helped you find what you were missing.”
“What he said.” Clint nodded at the other man. “Don’t fuck this up.”
“Not planning on it.” He sighed. “One thing at a time. Let’s finish this first, huh?”
“Yeah. I still can’t believe you cracked that password. I wish we could bounce this off Mason, Ty and Razor.” Matt paced the marble floor. “It feels odd not having them at our backs.”
“They’re probably doing their best to hold off Agent Sterns.” Jeremy assessed the various clues swirling around them, trying to assemble the bigger picture of Morselli, the Scientist and Sex Offender. Something didn’t quite add up. He just hadn’t figured out what it was yet. Without their three homebound teammates, they didn’t have as many theories to test. “We’ll ask Ryan to smuggle this into Morselli’s office. I’ll come back here, keep working on the formula. I might be able to build a query that attempts every combination. I don’t know how we’ll know which one’s the right one. It’s the only thing I can think of though.”
Long before her deadline, Lily emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of steam. She sported a thin, fuzzy robe. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“Normally, yes. I prefer you nude.” He situated her on his lap, cradling her close. “For now, we have other problems.”
“What was on the drive?” She peeked at his computer screen, tilting her head first one way then the other. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Do you think it’s the chemical formula for some derivative of amphetamine in the entactogen family?”
“I have no idea what you just said.” She squirmed on his lap. “But I do find nerds incredibly sexy.”
“Good to know. Though I prefer to think of myself as a geek.” He permitted himself a tiny taste of her smile before getting down to business. “Entactogens are the group of drugs ecstasy belongs to. They fuck with your serotonin levels for the most part. It seems like Sex Offender uses X as a base then twists it even more. The key is whatever’s going on here.”
He pointed to a blank spot in the structure.
“One of those doo-dads is missing, right?” She wiggled her finger toward the honeycombed lines of the molecular drawing.
“At least one. Maybe more.” He clenched his fingers on her hip. “It’s hard to say for sure. I’m guessing the gap is the reason The Scientist is spending time in Morselli’s dungeon instead of swimming with the fishes.”
“Do people really do that?”
“What? Murder their opposition?” He raised his eyebrows at her. Considering the lengths her father had gone to, she should have no doubt of the stakes.
“No, I meant the cement shoes thing. Seems a little old-fashioned.”
“Figure of speech.” Matt rolled his eyes.
“I wouldn’t put anything past people after all the shit I’ve seen on the job.” Clint would have spun away except Lily reached out and laid a hand on his arm.
“Stay.” She laced her fingers with his.
“Thanks.” He kissed her knuckles, not letting go.
Jeremy stared, in awe of her ability to read people. She had real talents you couldn’t train. No, she’d been born with this aptitude. Her empathy turned him on as much as the curves beneath his palms.
“Maybe this is good news.” Lily peeked up at him from beneath thick lashes. “If The Scientist isn’t sharing and Morselli can’t figure it out either, then the whole thing will go away. Morselli isn’t patient. If The Scientist doesn’t crack soon, he’ll kill the bastard.”
“She has a point.” Matt nodded.
“If not them, someone will figure this out. There are notes. Lab techs. Someone knows.” Jeremy groaned. “It’s not that easy.”
“Ryan told me his sister was hired by Morselli. To do research. She didn’t know anything. They’re kept in the dark. Only managing their little piece of the pie.” Lily shared Ellie’s story. The collateral their suspect had kept the submissive man in line with had them all fired up. “I know. And it gets worse. He has Ben’s sister and his seven-year-old niece, too. We have to find them…if Morselli hasn’t already gotten rid of them.”
“Damn, this thing is spiraling.” Clint smacked his palm on his thigh. “Too many objectives. We’d do better to divide and conquer.”
Jeremy looked at the woman he held. She didn’t object. Trust sparkled from her deep blue eyes. As much as he longed to lock her up somewhere far from danger, he couldn’t risk damaging her faith by making the wrong call. So new, fresh, it wouldn’t take much to wither her conviction. “No. Lily stays with me. Priorities are replacing this drive and locating The Scientist. She and I will hunt him. If Morselli spots us on his surveillance we can always claim to be checking out the facilities. From what we have so far, I assume he expects me to torture the man anyway. When I went up there before—” Lily massaged his chest over his pounding
heart, “—I had to think of some reason for my visit. I told him Lily was addicted to SO. He offered a job he would pay handsomely for me to take care of and counted on me not asking too many questions up front. In the meantime, he gave me that. In his mind, I’m on the hook.”
Matt stared at the vial next to the computer equipment. So unassuming, it cloaked the deadly hazard bottled inside. “Agent Sterns will be glad for the sample. You didn’t hear him the other day, ranting and raving about it. We can run it out to Mason so he can coordinate work on the formula. If we figure out what’s missing, we could identify some of the component compounds. By tracking bulk purchases of the supplies, we can try to locate the production facility.”
“Good idea.” Jeremy nodded. “In the meantime, Lily and I will snoop around for The Scientist.”
“I wish you would wait for us to get back.” Matt frowned.
“What time is it anyway?” Lily had lost all her bearings.
“Two-fifteen.” Clint stifled a yawn.
“In the morning?” She ran through the day in her mind. Waking up in Jeremy’s arms seemed like a million years ago and yet it was hard to believe almost an entire day had passed. “Damn.”
“We can’t afford to sit around any longer.” Jeremy shook his head. “Things are changing. I can feel it.”
“Fine. Then take Ryan and Ben with you.” Clint glanced at his partner.
“Yeah, that would make me feel a little better anyway.”
“We need them to return the drive to Morselli’s office. Staff are used to them roaming those halls, especially near his private quarters. No one will question them.” Jeremy argued against it.
“Damn it.” Clint turned toward Lily. “Lucas will watch your back. Steve can handle your guys. Hell, most of them could kick some serious ass if necessary. They don’t need both of their handlers for the time you’ll be away.”
She peeked up at Jeremy. “What do you think?”
“They’re right. I’ll be more comfortable if you have another set of friendly eyes on you.” He stroked her cheek. “Not because I think you can’t take care of yourself. But because I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you. Okay?”
