In Too Deep: A Romantic Suspense Novel

by Landish, Lauren

  "You think he'll buy it?" Sophie asked, beside me as I picked up the pieces of smashed cell phone and threw them into the bay. They disappeared under the water, and I turned to look at her. My right shoulder burned like hell, and I kept the hand tucked into the pocket of the hoodie I was wearing to try and support it somewhat.

  "I'm pretty sure. Lynch and the Confederation were always worried about an outside party making a play in town. This city is too rich and too important for it to be just a two game town. The biggest worry they had was someone internal going into business with someone out of town like me. So Lynch is going to have to take time and try and verify if I really am as connected as that call makes it seem. He won't understand where I'm getting the money from, nor just how it all is working. He's a very cautious man, it's how he's gotten to where he is."

  Sophie nodded. "What outside players would he be checking out?"

  "The Korean gangs, the Triads, some of the operators in Italy. The Confederation has Sal Giordano from the Mafia, but his family isn't the only Mafia organization in the world. All of them have tried from time to time to make inroads here. We're going to have to watch for them too as we take Lynch and the Confederation down at the same time."

  We turned and walked back to our vehicle, a lightly used Nissan Frontier that felt like an old friend. Not quite as good as my old pickup, but it still felt a lot better than a rental car. Sophie helped me into the passenger seat before going around to the driver's seat. "So where to now?"

  I chuckled and looked over. "Now? Let's go home. I think Tabby can bring the paperwork to us at home for once."

  * * *

  Sophie

  Mark's prediction was spot on. Lynch didn't move against us at all, although we both stayed hyper vigilant. It took a little over a week for Mark's wounds to heal, and he grimaced as I snipped the sutures and pulled them out in our bedroom. "Next time let's use dissolving sutures," he hissed in between snips. "Jesus, this hurts about as much as when you put them in."

  I chuckled in reply. "Now, how's that feel?"

  "Stiff," he replied, working his arm in tight circles. "I hope I don't need to exert the muscles for a while."

  "Well, you'll be doing that this afternoon," I said as I put away the scissors and packed away my kit. "You need to start rehabilitating that shoulder."

  Mark groaned and leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, sticking out his lip and pouting. I'm sure he knew how cute and adorable he was when he did that, but I wasn't going to let it deter me. “Now, let's get you into the shower to wash up and relax. We've got no business appointments today, just the workout and then some much needed private time together."

  Mark smiled and went into our brand new bathroom. While Mount Zion originally didn't have very good water pipes, the workers we'd had on the property ever since we moved back had worked updating the utilities to modern standards. The scars across the turf around the building were still raw and fresh, but our new home was now fully equipped with all the amenities.

  The bathroom was our biggest work, with an in ground deep tub that could go all the way to your neck without a problem. It was even environmentally friendly, using filtered and re-circulated water from the shower and the bath to do the laundry and toilets before finally doing some sort of whoopty-dos and irrigating the vegetable garden we'd had put in. It was another public relations coup for Marcus Smiley, and was getting us a write-up in the local paper the next week.

  Right then though, Mark needed a shower, and I listened at the door as he got into the stall and the dual overhead sprays turned on. I gave him about two or three minutes to let himself get acclimated before slipping quietly into the bathroom and stripping, getting into the stall behind him while he shampooed his hair. "Mmmm, now that's something that will motivate any woman to work out," I said, running my hands over his chest. The muscles were slick with water and the runoff from his shampoo, and I relished the feeling of his skin under my fingertips. "Very sexy."

  Mark sighed and leaned his head back, letting his arms rest on the granite tile of the stall. "You can do that all day."

  I rubbed my breasts against his back, enjoying the feeling radiating out from my nipples. I continued my massage, tweaking his nipples and kissing the large muscles in between his shoulder blades. Keeping my right hand on his chest, I rubbed my left hand down to his waist, wrapping my fingers around his rapidly thickening cock. "Think I can do this part all day too?"

  Mark's rumbling reply vibrated through his chest, and I slowly jacked his cock, until his head drooped and the breath tore through his body.

  The feeling of having him in my control was exhilarating, and I paused as a kinky thought came to mind. "You know, in this position I'm the one in charge," I whispered into his ear. "You've taken me from behind so many times..... maybe I should return the favor?"

  I heard Mark's breath catch, then he slid his feet apart, bracing them against the side of the stall. "I trust you," is all he said, his voice quiet and intense.

  My heart swelled in my chest as I realized just how much Mark was giving me. He was the ultimate alpha male in my mind, strong, intelligent, decisive, powerful. Yet here he was, willing to let me have my way with him. The fact that he was so confident in himself and trusting of me made him even more masculine and alpha in my eyes. I slid beside him, and turned his chin until he could look at me. "I don't need to," I said, kissing him. "But maybe some other time."

  We kissed, our lips meeting and the warm water running down our bodies. It was like kissing in a tropical rain shower, and before I knew it, Mark had wrapped his arms around me, holding me against him as our tongues and lips caressed one another and I could feel his cock press against my belly.

  Mark pulled me in tighter. He lifted me up in his arms, his footing sure and stable even in the wet shower stall, pinning my body against the relatively cool tile of the shower wall. I wrapped my legs around him, both of us letting loose long groans as I sank down onto his wide, beautiful shaft. It didn't matter how often or how many times, having Mark's cock inside me was heaven on earth. "Did you stop the pills?"

  I nodded, smiling. I'd thrown out the package the day after our fight with the two men, along with the M-14 rifle, all three being dumped into the ocean. "You said after the Russians were done."

  Because of his wounds and the stress of everything, we hadn't made love since before the firefight, and we took our time. I was amazed at his strength, even after two weeks of relative inactivity. Mark held me effortlessly as he filled me over and over with small short strokes of his cock that had us both crying out softly. It was a perfect position for what we wanted. The thick spreading lit up the nerves inside me while my nipples dragged over his chest, sending fireworks through my body until I was almost begging for more. Mark was in the same situation, his cock squeezed and my fingernails dragging over his neck and back while we kissed.

  At the same time though, because of our position, we couldn't go to that final level. Mark couldn't thrust deep enough without me sliding down the wall, and because of the difference in our heights, I couldn't put a foot down to help support myself. Instead we stayed in that prison of pleasure while he stabbed into me over and over with his cock, unable to stop but at the same time caught on an erotic plateau. I could hear myself groaning over and over, "Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me," in tune to his short viscous thrusts that pounded into me, wanting more than either of us could give.

  My legs wrapped around his hips, pulling him in tighter, trying to use my own thighs to help lift and lower my body, but our skin was too wet and slick. I pushed with my arms, trying to add that, and it helped some. Our strokes became an inch longer, the extra distance exponentially increasing the sensations from the heated passion of our joining. My left breast lifted up high enough to catch on the hard line of Mark's collarbone, pinching for a moment before sliding down, a cry tearing from my lips as it shot pleasure down my body to the pit of my stomach and deep into my brain.

  Finally, with an an
imal growl of frustration, Mark wrapped me up and took me to the floor of the shower, turning me over and setting me on my chest and knees. I could barely get my ass up as he lay on top of me, his cock impaling me over and over from behind. Both of us were almost drowning in the spray from overhead, but didn't care. My body was on fire with the pleasure tearing through me, and my mind flashed with colors with every slap of Mark's hips against mine.

  I could feel my orgasm rushing up on me like a drag racer, and I clenched my fists, wanting to hold off for just a second or two longer. I couldn't stop it though, and it shattered through me, sharp shards of ecstasy that stabbed deep into my stomach and up my backbone before piercing my brain and leaving me senseless, red and white strobe lights behind my eyeballs that only grew brighter when I felt Mark's cock also explode.

  We lay there under the spray for a long time, until the water heater finally gave up the ghost, and we shut it off. My body still felt boneless, my muscles weak as a kitten as Mark got out and found one of the large Egyptian cotton bath towels we bought, coming back in to wrap it around me and carry me into the bed room. He laid me on top of the comforter on the bed, and kissed my forehead. "Take a nap," he whispered. "We own the gym, remember? I think we can go in a bit later than we originally planned."

  Chapter 29

  Sophie

  I checked my hair in the mirror, just now after almost a month and a half feeling comfortable and natural with the bright purple shade. It looked good, and the new manicure from Ms. Wen at her nail salon the day before made me feel pretty and feminine. It was a bit of a surprise, I thought. Six months prior, I'd felt overweight, lonely, and unloved. Since then I'd traveled the world, changed my identity, had some plastic surgery (none of it to my so-called problem areas), and had lost a grand total of five pounds. Yep, only five pounds. The difference was in how the rest of my body was laid out, and more importantly, in how my mind was laid out.

  I didn't look in the mirror and see the soft bulge above my belt line, even though I still didn't have much in the way of abs. I didn't see the tired, desperate eyes of the girl who hustled between class, the emergency room, and slinging drinks at an Irish pub. Even though I was working longer hours than I ever did in school, I woke up every morning refreshed and eager to see what I could do that day. "Amazing what love and purpose can do for you," I said to the Sophie in the mirror, a women I couldn't quite believe was actually me. "You're looking pretty damn good, Sophie Warbird."

  The door to the ladies room opened, and Tabby came in. "You get lost in here, or just going narcissistic on us?" she joked, coming over. "I mean, kickoff's in five minutes."

  "Yeah, sorry, just gathering wool," I said, giving her shoulders a squeeze. "By the way, congratulations on the tickets. I'm glad your boss is rewarding you."

  "Considering the amount of money you and Marcus have fed through my account sheets since you got back, I think using the company luxury box for the first game of the season is pretty small," Tabby said, "but thanks. Not that I did anything that spectacular."

  "You kidding? You've brought us plenty of businesses that fit our needs. And of course, some of your other information you've gathered has proven more than helpful."

  Tabby smiled, then shook her head. "You two have a lot more you're going to do. You know, I heard someone mention that Marcus should try running for Deputy Mayor next year, when the election is held. I had to laugh at that one."

  "We've heard that one too. Yeah, that's poking the bear a bit too much right now." I heard a roar from outside the washroom, and I looked over at Tabby. "Think we should go. Can't wait to see if the Spartans can get a win against Central City."

  We left the washroom, and found Marcus along with a dozen other various executives from Tabby's office along with their dates seated or enjoying the snacks and food from catering. I came up next to him and gave him a kiss. "Ready?"

  "Oh yeah," Mark replied, smiling down at me. "You know, I think this is going to be a great season, and it's just kicking off."

  Literally.

  Chapter 30

  Sophie

  There are downsides to being the second most public face of a new and intentionally attention-grabbing company. While Marcus Smiley was the president and public head, in public I was his trusty assistant Sophie Warbird. With long, electric purple hair and a penchant for tight-waisted outfits that emphasized my cleavage and my hips, I showed up in the news almost as often as Marcus did. I had even been named one of the sexiest new trendsetters in the city in a recent Sunday supplement article. It was quite a change from being plain old Sophie White, medical student and part-time bartender. In fact, Mark and I had such a laugh over it we clipped it out of the paper and put it up on the refrigerator with magnets, like some school kids first A test or something.

  But with all of the fun of becoming a sex symbol, there were things I didn't like. Besides the fact that I had to go to every public work appearance dressed like a walking anime fantasy, I had to sit through meetings. While Marcus and I kept things pretty loose due to the other activities in our life, we still had to go through the whole rigmarole every time we wanted to sink money into a new investment.

  "So as you can see," the guy at the front of the room said as he turned his attention away from my breasts to the LCD display behind him, which dominated the west wall of the room. I'd have preferred a good projector myself, but the LCD was a product of one of our other investments, a tech company that was trying to make revolutionary ultra thin LCD's. I had to say the display was pretty good, to the point Marcus and I sometimes watched videos on it, and it could run off of a nine-volt battery if we wanted. I shook my head and tried to pay attention to the guy at the front of the room.

  "We've increased sales by an average margin of twenty percent over the past five years," he said, pointing towards a bar chart on the screen. "But more importantly, we're poised for even more growth. The past two years I've intentionally held back on further growth options because I was worried about overreaching my company's ability to deliver quality service to our customers. This year though I'm at a plateau. If I don't get venture capital in order to expand into new facilities, I'm going to be stuck where I am."

  "What's so wrong with that?" Marcus asked from his chair next to me. "You know that if I give you the money you're asking for, you're giving up at least twenty-five percent ownership in the company you founded. Isn't one hundred percent of a smaller pie better than seventy-five percent of a bigger pie?"

  "Depends on the size of the bigger pie. I predict we can double in size. Mr. Smiley, I came to you because you've gained a reputation in the city of being able to help companies like mine when we cannot go through traditional channels. I've tried those ways, but each bank I've approached has turned me down. If you say no, I'm going to have to look outside the city for expansion capital."

  "So you're this certain about your company?" I asked him. "Because while we provide money, the sweat equity and hard work comes from your end. Mr. Smiley makes his money by giving other people an opportunity, not handouts."

  "Miss Warbird, I've already put everything into this company. My home is carrying two mortgages and I'm driving a fifteen-year-old Ford for a reason. I know that we can make ourselves into a great success. I'm just looking for that last little bit to prime the pump."

  Marcus nodded. "Okay. Let me and my assistant look the figures and details over, and I'll give you an answer within twenty-four hours. Thank you for stopping by."

  The man clicked the power button on the remote he was holding, and the LCD went blank. "No, thank you Mr. Smiley. I look forward to hearing from you."

  After he left, Marcus Smiley was able to set his mask aside, and I was able to look at the face of the man I loved, Mark Snow. "So what do you think?"

  I stood up and stretched, aware that my position was making my already enhanced bust line stick out even more. Since it was just Mark though, I didn't mind showing off a little bit. "I think he spent far too much time looking a
t my breasts for someone who was dedicated to growing his company."

  Mark smiled and gestured with his hand. "Babe, with what you are wearing today, I had trouble not just jumping out of my chair and ending the meeting early myself. You look incredibly sexy today."

  I could feel the blush creeping up my neck and waved off his compliment. "You tell me I look sexy, that's one thing," I said as I unbuttoned the form fitting suit jacket. "Hell, you tell me to dress like every guy's fantasy of an office vixen, and it turns me on, you know that. But when Mr. Potato Head is checking out my boobs too, no thanks. These belong to the Snowman only."

  Mark got up out of his chair and pulled me to him, his strong hands holding my waist close to him. I could feel the lithe, powerful muscles under his navy blue Italian suit, and my heart sped up in my chest. "Mark....." I whispered, looking up into his eyes.

  "Later, my love," he said, kissing my forehead regretfully. "If I do what I want, we're not going to have a chance to get the rest of the work day done."

  Like I said, being Sophie Warbird was sometimes a drag.

  Chapter 31

  Sophie

  Later that afternoon, after we had concluded the daily work, I got to do one of the more fun parts of being Sophie Warbird. I stretched my wrists, twirling the bamboo stick in my hand and looking over at Mark. My hair was pulled back, and I was wearing the lightly padded outfit that Mark still insisted that I wear. Mark's stick was also padded, giving me just enough protection to prevent bruises or injury while at the same time leaving enough feedback that I knew when I screwed up. Well that, and the fact that Mark was a great teacher and knew exactly how hard to take things to push me.