by C. J. Pinard
“What’s up, soldier?” I asked, using the greeting I always did.
“Not much, Devil Dog,” he responded, a smile in his voice at his nickname for me from my Marine Corps days.
“Everything good?” I asked, sincerely meaning it.
“Yeah… holding down the fort here. Where the hell are you?”
I paused, wondering if I should say anything. I figured Mason was probably wondering where I was. Or hell, maybe he wasn’t. I had left my work cell back in the vic’s apartment in St. Petersburg. I had an ancient, pre-paid flip phone, but Mace didn’t have the number to it.
“Anything going on there?” I asked, ignoring his question. I was just happy to hear my brother’s voice.
“Of course, but I’ll fill you in when you get back. You are coming back, aren’t you?” Mason asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
Chuckling nervously, and while still staring at Rayanne sitting in the passenger seat of the car, I said, “Of course. I’m on a case. I should be back in about a week. Maybe less.”
I could hear telephones ringing amidst all the background noise. “Well, I worry about you, dude. Stay safe. I gotta go to a call.”
“Cool. See you soon.”
I hung up and quickly racked my brain for anyone else I could call while I had the opportunity. I really couldn’t think of anyone so I got in the car. Rayanne looked over at me. “You get to use the phone and I don’t?” She folded her arms over her chest and stared out the front windshield.
I felt my face get hot with anger and I narrowed my eyes at her. I used my hand to grab her chin so she would look at me. “Yes, that’s exactly right. Every person I’ve ever known, including my family, doesn’t have their phones and houses bugged or are being watched. Nobody cares where I am, Blondie, but I guarantee you there are a lot of people who would love to know where the hell you are. So no. You will lay low for the next five days, and once this trial is over, you can throw a party in the middle of the fuckin’ street for all I care.”
Her eyes got glossy and I saw her bottom lip beginning to wobble a little. Fuck.
“Fine,” she said, pulling her face out of my grip and scooting closer to her door to get away from me.
I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my chew, and shoved some into my lower lip. It had been over 24 hours since I’d had any. I was trying to quit, hence the gum, because as annoying as she was, she was right. I really needed to kick the addiction. It was as much a weakness as the pain meds and injections she said I should be using to numb the pain in my leg.
But not now. Who was I kidding thinking I could quit in the middle of the situation I was in. I put the car in drive and headed back to the cabin, checking my rearview mirror the whole time.
After a few minutes, she hadn’t said anything. So in a moment of softness, I said, “Look, I’m sorry. I just thought you were clear. Zero contact means zero contact. Don’t take it personal. The government – in the form of me – is trying to keep you safe. To keep you alive.”
She was quick to respond but she faced the window. “So… shouldn’t zero contact mean you don’t contact anyone, either?”
“Yes and no. The people who are after you would be hard-pressed to not only figure out which agent had been assigned to you, but get all my personal information. The Justice Department keeps all my personal information tightly guarded.”
This time she did look at me. She narrowed those infuriatingly gorgeous honey colored eyes and said, “Wasn’t the Justice Department’s computers hacked by the Chinese last year? All their employees’ personal information stolen?”
Huh. She was right, of course, but I’d forgotten about it. The Attorney General had assured us that everything was handled, and had even offered us free credit monitoring services. I just simply nodded.
“I saw it on the news,” she continued. “Not only that, we had a client who worked for the government and wanted to see if he could sue them for the breach.”
I chuckled and spit a brown stream into a cup which sat in the cup-holder. “Did you tell him good luck suing the highest attorney in the land?”
She actually giggled a little and looked at me. “No, but good one. I’ll have to remember that.”
I found hearing her laugh actually warmed my cold, dead heart a little so I kept her talking. “So, what are you gonna do once the trial is over? Find another job?”
She shrugged and pulled a piece of chocolate from the bag in her lap. She unwrapped the red foil and popped the candy in her mouth. “I don’t know. Been kinda worried about it, honestly.”
I bit back a smile at how her words were muffled by the chocolate.
“Want one?” she asked, offering me a heart wrapped in red foil.
I shook my head and pointed at my lip. “Chocolate and dip don’t mix very well.”
She wrinkled her nose and said, “I thought you were quitting. I hadn’t seen you use any of that nasty stuff in the past day or two.”
I nodded. “I need to quit, but right now isn’t the time.”
“Well, whatever makes you nicer, I guess,” she replied, lifting a shoulder and letting it fall.
I couldn’t stop my gaze from roaming down her long, tanned legs. Damn they were nice legs. Thin and fit but not skinny, and shiny like she used lotion on them. And those shorts. My eyes traveled up her flat stomach to her chest, where the white V-neck tee left some to the imagination. When my gaze finally reached her eyes, they were dancing in amusement.
“Like what you see, Cowboy?”
I cleared my throat and tried to play cool. Spitting again to stall, I slowly set the cup in the cup-holder and said, “I’m a dude. You have a nice legs, and it’s not like I want to look. I just can’t help it.”
She turned her body all the way around in the seat, facing me, and said, “Did you just pay me a compliment?”
“Maybe,” I grunted.
Sliding a sideways glance at her, I saw her grin in triumph. Then she popped another chocolate in her mouth and pulled out a magazine from the bag and began flipping through it.
I did the usual check of the cabin before I let her in. It was quiet and all clear, just as we’d left it. I locked the car then locked the front door behind us, and armed the security system. Rayanne went into her room clutching the white plastic bag in her hand, closing the door behind her.
Flipping on the TV, I checked the silver watch on my wrist and sighed when I saw it was three in the afternoon. Of course there was nothing on and I scrubbed a hand over my face. Suddenly, the government phone in my pocket vibrated. I pulled it out and flipped it open, looking at the screen.
Jack-N-Jill: Still alive, big guy?
I typed as fast as I could on the tiny keyboard: Yes, and so is the vic.
Jack-N-Jill: Great. Text me a watch-call once a day, will you?
I replied: Yes, drill sergeant.
There was no reply after that.
Settling on a local cable access channel that was showing recaps of the town’s high school football game, I set the remote down and went into the kitchen. I pulled out sandwich fixings and made three turkey and cheese sandwiches. I found a bag of chips and poured a little on each plate and then carried both plates out to the living room. The plate with two sandwiches was mine, and I set it on the end-table. I took the other plate to the vic’s room and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” she said.
I opened the door and almost dropped the plate. She was lying on her back on the bed, her long bare legs crossed at the ankles. One arm was propped behind her head, causing her white T-shirt to ride up and show about half her stomach. The other hand held a book. She turned her head and smiled when she saw me.
“Lunch?”
I nodded and set the plate on the night-stand closest to me. She set the book face down on the bed, open to her spot, and grabbed the plate.
Turning to leave, I heard her say, “Thanks, Duke.”
With my hand on the door, I half turned and said with my head down, “I�
��m eating in front of the TV, so if you want…”
My eyes looked up to meet hers and she smiled while sliding some hair behind her ear. “It’s fine. I’m reading.”
I nodded and shut her door, going back to the living room to eat my lunch.
Chapter 18
Rayanne
The sandwich was mediocre at best, but over the past four days, it had been what I had come to expect. I shoved a gum wrapper into my book to hold its place and got up, taking my plate to the kitchen.
I saw Duke watching some sports recap on TV but ignored him. Opening the fridge, I found a can of iced tea and cracked it open and took a big swig. That sandwich had been dry. Not that I’d ever tell him that.
Walking slowly to the edge of the kitchen, I rested my hip on the doorjamb and looked at Duke. He must have felt my gaze because he looked up and said, “What?”
Before I could answer, the TV program switched to what looked like a local band playing inside of some sort of nightclub. I walked closer to the TV and saw a girl and two guys playing instruments and singing to a small crowd in what looked like a barn. No, wait. It was a barn with a stage. Some kind of converted barn-club.
I smiled when the music started. Sugarland’s “Stay” was the cover song and the chick doing the singing was definitely talented.
I’ve been sitting here staring at the clock on the wall… she began to sing.
Duke looked at the TV, then back at me. “I, uh, was watching the local sports.”
I laughed. As if he had to defend what he was watching. “I saw. Looks like the local cable access channel plays whatever the heck they want.”
He sighed and set the remote down. Picking up his plate, he stood but I was blocking his way. I moved right and he moved left, leaving me still blocking him. So I moved left, then he moved right, and we were still in the same predicament.
“Wanna dance?” I asked, thinking of all the times this would happen to my parents, and my daddy would ask my mom this.
Duke’s stormy blue eyes stared into mine, and setting his plate down on the end-table, he nodded slightly.
Did he just nod?
Why don’t you stay? I’m down on my knees… I heard the singer croon.
Gently slipping a hand around my waist, he pulled me flush against his body and began to sway slightly. He continued to stare at me.
I’m so tired of being lonely, don’t I give you what you need?
In complete shock at the gesture, I tried to relax into his hold but I was just… just… stunned. Was I dancing with Duke Hawthorne?
His arm went around my shoulders and his warm hand gripped my neck.
When she calls you to go, there is one thing you should know…
Slowly, I reached my right arm to his backside and wrapped it around his solid waist. My other hand reached up and rested against his hard pec muscle.
We don’t have to live this way. Baby, why don’t you stay?
His hips began to sway, and as if my body had a mind of its own, I swayed with him. I couldn’t stop staring at him. His eyes bored into mine as if he wanted to say something. My head began to move in closer to his as we made slow circles around the small living room.
I can’t take it any longer, but my will is getting stronger, but I think I know exactly what I need…
As my face got closer, his did, too. When his face was inches from mine, my hand, without my permission, reached up and touched his cheek. The scruff of his beard felt good under my sensitive fingertips.
Then, Duke was kissing me.
It was passionate – desperate – but not like last night. There seemed to be an element of emotion with it. His right hand was still around my waist, but his left was now trailing up my neck with just one finger. As his warm tongue slowly licked along the seam of my lips, I had no choice but to open my mouth slightly and accept his invitation. Not that I would have denied him in that moment.
His hand on the back of my neck was seriously hot. I raked my fingernails through his short beard, then I skated them around his neck and shoved them into his hair at the back of his head, scratching his scalp. He groaned into my mouth and I was suddenly well aware of his arousal pressed into my stomach.
As the song began to end, he danced me toward the small hallway that led to the rooms. I didn’t resist at all, just continued to let him kiss me. In a move that surprised me, he picked me up and carried me the rest of the way to my room. He broke the kiss and then stared into my eyes.
I was panting, my chest heaving up and down in anticipation. The door was already open, so once inside, he set me gently on the bed and I watched in lustful fascination as he grabbed the bottom hem of his shirt and lifted it over his head.
Oh, my God. His chest looked as hard as it had felt against me earlier. A small spread of dark hair covered it, but it was sparse enough that I could see every muscle and ripple. His pecs were solid, and I could make out the ridges and bumps of his abs. They disappeared into the waistband of his jeans. When I looked up into his eyes, it was his turn to smile in amusement.
“Like what you see, Blondie?” he asked, using my earlier words against me.
I nodded, my lip between my teeth.
He grinned, yanking one side of his leather belt to the side and releasing the buckle’s latch. Once it was free, he pulled it with force, freeing the belt from the confines of its denim loops. My eyes widened when I realized he wasn’t going to just drop it to the ground.
With it still gripped in his hand, he placed a knee on the bed and gazed at me. With his free hand, he reached up and freed the button on my jean shorts. It came open with a pop, then he slid the zipper down. Keeping eye contact, he put the belt around his neck like a pet snake and used both hands to yank my shorts down. He tossed them over his shoulder, where they hit the floor.
“Fuck,” he said, eyeing my white lace panties.
I grinned, wondering what he would say when he saw the bra I wore, since it matched the underwear. I saved him the trouble and pulled off my white tee, tossing it on top of the growing pile on the floor.
His eyes trailed up my body, and as if his hands had minds of their own, he reached up and used his finger to trace the outline of my breasts, which were straining against my bra. When his thick digit wandered into the valley between them, he smiled in satisfaction when he saw the clasp was in the front. With two fingers, he flicked the plastic apart and the bra popped open, freeing me with a bounce.
His mouth came down on my neck as I shrugged out of the bra, which also found its way to the floor – I think. I couldn’t be sure. Whatever he was doing with his warm mouth had me deliciously distracted.
With his huge body pressing down on me, I wrapped both bare legs around his waist. His mouth reached mine and with a hard, desperate kiss, he lingered there for a few seconds, then pulled back, staring into my eyes. The look in his was wicked. Desperate. Aroused. Determined. Admiring.
I grinned a little and wiped my wet lips with my index finger. “What are you looking at, Cowboy?”
His passionate blue gaze flicked back and forth between mine, but I refused to give up and look away. Finally, after a long, thick silence, he said, “I’m gonna need to spank you now.”
There was no way from keeping eyes from widening in surprise. I couldn’t even process what he’d said before his body lifted off of mine. Kneeling on the bed, he grabbed both ankles and flipped me over like a pancake. I landed on my stomach, giggling because I just couldn’t help it. I tried to recover by pushing up on my knees, but no sooner had I done that when I heard a chuckle from behind me. He reached up and slid my panties off, throwing them over his shoulder.
With the flats of my palms on the bed, I peered around to my protector to see him up on his knees, pulling the belt from around his neck, a frighteningly wicked grin on his face as he slowly ran the belt over the palm of his meaty hand. I swallowed hard.
“Um, what are you going to do with that?”
He chuckled and folded it loo
sely in half. Without a word, he gently smacked it against my bare ass cheek.
OOH.
I thought that would hurt. I grunted and smiled, and thinking about a book I’d just read, I decided to have some fun. “Is that all you got, Master Duke?”
One dark eyebrow reached his hairline and he stroked the belt again. His jaw pulsed as he stared at me. “No.”
Releasing the belt from its folded position, he reared it back, his hand in the air, and I got a little scared. I stiffened in anticipation for the whack. His eyes drilled into mine, seemingly asking for permission, and I chewed my lip and nodded slightly.
He unleashed the belt onto the other butt-cheek and while it stung a little, I was incredibly turned on. I’d never experienced anything like this before. Admittedly, when I’d read about this sort of thing in books, I didn’t think I could get into something like that, but it had intrigued me nonetheless. And even though Duke came off as a hard-ass, I thought for sure he’d be a big teddy bear in the bedroom.
Yes, I’d thought about what kind of animal he’d be in the bedroom, and Duke the Dom wasn’t the one that came to mind.
His warm hand massaged my bottom where he’d whacked it, and it felt so good, I groaned. He slowly slid his hand to the center, and I squealed when one hot finger pressed hard against me, then ran the length of my slit, his finger sliding easily over the wetness. My eyes opened when he pulled away. Still on all-fours, I turned around to see him put his finger to his mouth, but then he suddenly froze.
Eyes widening, he looked at his finger, then at me. Using his hands, he pushed my ass down, flattening me on the bed, then he flipped me back over. “Wait… aren’t you on your, on your, your monthly… thing?”
His face was already red with arousal, but I chuckled when it almost turned purple.
“No,” I breathed, trying not to dissolve into a fit of giggles.
“But you said you needed more… stuff… today…”
At the risk of ruining the mood, I quickly fibbed. “I was mistaken. It’s gone. Been gone, false alarm.”
He grinned again and nodded – in relief, I’m sure – and straightened up to his knees. Pulling open the button to his jeans, he ran the zipper down and before he could lower the denim over his hips, I sat up quickly and used both hands to lower them. I saved us both the trouble by taking his navy blue boxer briefs along with them. When he sprung free in my face, I gasped. Yanking the pants down to his knees, I put both hands on his rock-hard thighs and smoothed my palms up them, avoiding his scar, until I reached his hips. Wrapping my mouth around his impressive length almost came naturally. He filled me all the way up and the way he groaned in the back of his throat turned me on. His hand threaded into my hair and he gently grabbed at the scalp while his other hand rested on my shoulder. I was relieved that he didn’t try to control my head, because really – no woman likes that.
