Constant Craving (Task Force Hawaii #3)

by Melissa Schroeder

  He backed her up against the opposite counter without breaking the kiss. Pulling away, he lifted her up by the waist and set her on the counter. He eased her shorts down her legs, then slipped his fingers beneath the waistband of her panties. As he pulled them down her legs, his fingers shivered. TJ was a man who liked to take his time, liked to savor women, but with Charity, he seemed to have no control; wanting her now, right here.

  He tossed the panties behind him, not caring where they landed. Dropping to his knees, he placed a hand on the inside of each thigh. He pressed against them, spreading her out. She was already wet. Leaning closer, he pressed his mouth to her. That unique taste, the need she had for him, burst through him as he dipped his tongue inside of her sex. Over and over, he thrust his tongue into her. He added a finger, as he used his mouth to tease her clit. Within seconds, she was coming apart, her hands molded to the back of his head, as she chanted his name over and over.

  When her shivers had subsided, he picked her up, and strode to her bedroom.

  “TJ,” she said, her voice just above a whisper. He turned to look at her and she kissed him.

  He tripped over his feet. He righted himself and made it into the bedroom—barely. Setting her down on her feet, he started to undress her. She batted his hands away and started to do it herself.

  “Sit down, Thor.”

  Her mouth curved into the evilest of smiles, as she took a step back. He hated to relinquish control, anywhere, but particularly in the bedroom. He liked to be the one in charge. But the gleam in her eyes told him that it would probably benefit him to give in this once.

  He surrendered and did as she ordered.

  With extreme care, she peeled off her shirt. His fingers itched to touch, but instead, he fisted his hands in the comforter. She continued her lazy pace, skimming her hands over her own flesh. How he was sitting there without passing out, he did not know. There was definitely no blood left in his brain. She slipped her bra off, letting it fall to the floor. Then, with that same secretive smile, she slid her hands back down her body.

  The woman was killing him inch by inch. Again, she skimmed her hands over her own flesh, caressing her soft skin; first on her belly, then up to her breasts. His cock ached. He was damned close to losing all control. Need spiraled higher than ever before, as he tried to keep himself in check. He wanted to touch, to taste. She pinched each of her nipples, then her hands roamed down to in between her legs. He knew she would be wet, ready for his hands, his mouth, his cock. His licked his lips and she chuckled. TJ glanced up and saw it. The power of the woman, the need to control the situation, to have him on her terms. It was fucking intoxicating.

  Stepping between his legs, she started to unbutton his shirt. He paid no attention to her hands because her breasts were eye level. Ignoring them was just not in him. He leaned forward and licked first one, then the other. She shuddered, causing them to sway. TJ could no longer resist. He took one hardened tip into his mouth as he teased the other.

  She moaned as she yanked off his shirt. When her hands were free, she slipped her fingers through his hair and urged him closer. Then, she pulled away.

  “We have got to get you naked,” she said, with a laugh. Again, his heart felt lighter at the sound. She accomplished her task in record time, and was kneeling between his legs before he could even think straight.

  “I want to take my time tonight. I didn’t get to play with your body nearly enough last night.”

  She wrapped her hand around his cock and stroked him before bending her head. He watched her, unable to take a breath. Charity looked up at him with those golden eyes, as she took him into her mouth. Right then and there, he almost lost it and came. She hummed and added her hand as she continued to tease him. God, the woman was going to be the death of him. He was half out of his mind, ready to lose it, when she pulled away and urged him back on the bed. She joined him with a condom, rolling it down on his cock, then straddling his hips.

  Rising up, she grabbed hold of his shaft and sunk down on it. She was slow about it, leaning her head back and moaning as she did it.

  It was the most erotic thing he might have ever seen in his life.

  Then, she started to ride him. She took him deep again and again, as he grabbed hold of her hips. She batted his hands away, leaning down, but continuing to gyrate her hips.

  His orgasm approached, and he wasn’t quite sure he could hold back any longer. She rose up again, pulling him with her, and holding him tight. She started to come again, and he gave into his own release. As he let loose a shout, she bent her head and kissed him. In it he felt her need for him, for this connection. They fell back on the bed together, still joined.

  The next day, TJ stepped into his office just as his cell started to ring. He knew it was Remington, and he wasn’t in the mood. But, there was one thing you couldn’t do at the FBI, avoid a cell phone call. Bastards would figure out just what you were doing, he thought with a smile.

  “Callahan,” he said.

  “Hey, we’ve been going over that footage and have yet to find Edwards. Right now, it looks like the trip to LA might have been a ruse, just as I expected.”

  The bottom fell out of TJ’s stomach. “Is that a fact?”

  “Yeah. I’m not ready to pull her in, not yet. But, I want to make sure that you were aware of the situation.”

  “Of course.”

  “Did you have anything to report?”

  “No. Everything else seems on the up and up.”

  “I was looking at the financial reports on her. She seems to have a lot of cash.”

  “Family money. She was left a trust from her grandfather on her father’s side. She barely touched it for college, since she had scholarships. From what I can tell, she’s been investing it for a few years and it has done well.”

  “Hmm, still it could be a cover.”

  Dammit, when Remington had his teeth in something like this, he rarely let go. It was one of the things that had helped him move up in the FBI, but it had also kept him back in certain cases. The single-mindedness was seen as a hindrance to being a good supervisor.

  “Anything else?”

  “No, not now. Just keep on working the job. When we need to pull her in, I’ll give you a call.”

  He clicked off his phone as his mind started to work over the problem. Something was off. TJ knew she had gone to LA. Knew it to be a fact down to his bones. Even without that, she had a picture of her and her parents at Disneyland. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Charity was innocent. It definitely smelled like a setup, but if he mentioned that to Remington at this point, his former boss would say he was missing the bigger picture.

  He checked his schedule and realized he had a staff meeting at ten, but after that, he was heading back into Honolulu. He needed to talk to the TFH folks and see if they could get their hands on the footage. For a long moment, he sat there and stared at his computer screen. When did he become someone willing to break ranks and break the law? He had always followed orders—as long as they were lawful. Now, he was playing outside the lines...and for what reason?

  Charity.

  The answer was simple to him. In less than two weeks, she had become so damned important to him. It was stupid...insane even. It could also be a career ending action. He had worked long and hard to get to where he was at the FBI. Putting it all on the line for a woman who might be helping a man steal millions of secrets to sell on the dark net didn’t sound like TJ Callahan, he thought. But, then, he knew Charity. In the short time they’d been acquainted, he had come to know the woman pretty well. He knew she could not do this. It just wasn’t in her makeup. Oh, sure, she would hack things for fun, or even to find out info for a case, but she would never sell secrets. And, she wasn’t involved with a man other than TJ.

  He decided to get his work done and get ready for the meeting so that when it was done, he could head out to see her and the team. They would definitely be able to figure out what was going on.


  TJ was pacing back and forth in Charity’s small office. He had arrived ten minutes earlier in an agitated state. He was pissed and rambling on about the case. Some of it she could figure out, but a lot of it was just irritated mumbling. Her father did something similar and, as she had learned a lot from her mother, she did just as her mother did. She stayed out of his way and waited. He was working through some things in his head, and there was no soothing his temper. Not right now.

  “It makes no sense,” she said. Before he could say anything else, Emma and Del walked into her office. As soon as TJ had told her about the news this morning, she had called them in. Del, because he was the boss, and Emma, because she was the smartest person Charity knew.

  “Hey, so what’s up?” Emma asked.

  “The footage from LAX was missing any sign of Charity.”

  “Why didn’t you get footage from Honolulu?”

  He sighed. “We’ve had cases of people going through security at the home base, then just turning around and leaving. Having her here means less if she never arrived at LAX.”

  “I went to LA,” she said.

  He looked at her, his eyes narrowed as he studied her. “Of course you went. The problem is that the LAX footage is screwed up in some way.”

  “What I don’t get is that if she was in LA, she could have still hacked into the servers here, right?” Del asked. “And didn’t we prove that someone sent an attachment to her computer, and that’s the way the hacker got in?”

  “Yeah, but there must be something else that makes them think she was here,” Emma said, looking at TJ.

  He held up his hands. “Hey, they didn’t tell me.”

  “But it is a good point,” Charity murmured. “Did they have some kind of information they didn’t give you?”

  TJ shrugged, and he looked even more irritated. “And I would say it was more of a him than a they. I’m not sure if the FBI is interested in you or if it’s Remington.”

  “Why does he seem to have a hard-on for Charity?” Del asked.

  “That is a very good question,” Emma said. “Have you met this Remington before?”

  Charity shook her head. “I went to a few lectures when I was in DC where he was on a panel, but I have never met him personally. I’m pretty sure he didn’t know me.

  “He does.”

  “Why do you say that?” she asked TJ.

  “He mentioned that the FBI tried to recruit you and they he had attended some of your lectures.”

  “Yeah, the FBI did. The CIA offered a better deal.”

  “That doesn’t mean he really knows who she is,” Emma pointed out. “He just had a good file on her. “

  TJ nodded. “True.”

  “We need to find out why it is important to tie her to Honolulu,” Emma said.

  “Yeah. Remington must know something he isn’t telling me.”

  “What I don’t get is why they zeroed in on Charity in the first place?” Emma said.

  “What do you mean?” Charity asked.

  “I’m the better hacker. Well known, in fact—at least in certain circles. I’m pretty sure the FBI has a fairly thick file. So, why not pick me?”

  “You are only considered a contractor here,” Del said.

  “True.”

  Then she got what Emma was getting at. “Yeah, it would make more sense to check you out. You aren’t bound by any oaths or, hell, you don’t really need the work.”

  “But you’re married to me.”

  Emma gave her husband a pitying glance. “If I was dirty, you would never know it.”

  He smiled. “I would know.”

  “Still, there is a big reason they didn’t use Emma. She has ties on the island. A half-brother and now Del,” Charity pointed out. “All I have is a job.”

  “But you bought an apartment,” Emma pointed out.

  “Easily sold on today’s market, or could be profitable as a rental. I have no family ties here. Plus, add in buying a massive apartment at one of the premiere complexes in Honolulu, that would raise red flags. Emma has money, well documented, but I don’t talk much about my family business. I also used most of it to pay for the apartment so I could live without a mortgage.”

  “But why Hawaii?” TJ asked. “This just doesn’t make sense.”

  “Maybe the person lives here. The one working for Foley. That would give him time to research me.”

  TJ nodded. “That’s been brought up before, but still, something is bothering me about it. It’s just odd.”

  “The first thing to do is get our hands on the footage. Where did you stay? Any hotels?” Emma asked.

  Charity shook her head. “Dad rented a house for the week. But...there might be something at Disneyland. We spent the entire day there.”

  Emma nodded. “That might be harder to screw with. Disney has better security than LAX.”

  Del looked at his wife. “And how would you know that?”

  “Everyone knows that,” she said. More than likely, Emma thought everyone did know that. Charity knew there was a good chance her friend had breached it more than once.

  “I have to give the governor a call about that other case,” Del said.

  “I’ll let you know what I find,” Emma said as he dragged her out of Charity’s office.

  “I understand why she isn’t doing it here, but where is she going?”

  “Probably to her brother’s. He’s got a massive system in his house in Kailua. It is almost impossible for people to trace.” She waited for him to comment, but he didn’t. “No recriminations for breaking the law?”

  He raised his gaze to hers. The intensity of it stole her breath. “No. This is life or death, and I can’t let you take the fall for a Foley stooge.”

  “Someday I am going to need to give Remington a big fat kiss.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “Yeah? Why?”

  “The fact that he called you in on this case probably saved me a lot of grief and money. I don’t think someone else would have looked beyond the reports on me.”

  His expression softened and he rose from the chair. He walked around the desk, and turned her to face him. Setting his hands on the arms of her chair, he leaned down and brushed his mouth against hers. The simple gesture should have just been that. Simple. Instead, her heart started to race and her blood heated. He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. “I wanted to take you to lunch, but I have to get back to work.”

  “That would have been nice, but I understand.”

  He straightened as he studied her face.

  “What?”

  He shrugged.

  “Thor Jackson, you better tell me.”

  “You use that name again and I will have you arrested and taken to a secret CIA site.”

  She laughed. “Try it. Remember, I’m former CIA. I can definitely mess with your life.”

  TJ smiled. “So, this is a battle of the government agencies?”

  “Go. I have work to do.”

  “See you tonight.”

  And then he was gone. Charity sat there for a long time, waiting for the panic. From the time she was allowed to start dating, she had avoided long relationships. She didn’t like the idea of being tied down. First, school was too important to her. Then, her career. It wasn’t as if she’d suffered from lack of male attention. She’d had her share of dates. She had even had men she called her boyfriend from time to time—until they asked for more than just right now.

  But with TJ, it was something else. She couldn’t put her finger on it, not really. She just felt comfortable with him. She liked how they were together, and he never had an issue with her intelligence. Many men say they don’t have a problem, but it was usually a lie. When challenged, they would always falter. She had found that out when she worked for the CIA. Men were okay with her being smart until they got involved. Then, they expected her to take a backseat to them…even at work.

  TJ was different. When he found out information, he came to her with it. They talked abo
ut it and, while he might not always agree with her, he listened to her. He respected her.

  Why was that more intriguing than the billionaire who had flown her to Paris for a weekend? Hell, she’d had a pro football player who had wanted them to move in together, but he didn’t make her feel the way TJ did. It took one look, one brush of his mouth against hers, and she was ready to jump his bones.

  She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. Releasing it slowly, she opened her eyes. She was falling for him. Hard. He was so good, so full of the right kind of qualities, but there was no doubt in her mind that he would fight to the end for her. He was going to do everything in his power to make sure she was safe.

  What would happen when it was all over? She had no idea, but she was pretty sure this time, it wouldn’t be that easy to walk away.

  Chapter Fourteen

  By Friday, TJ was ready to punch a hole in the wall. They were no closer to finding anything out about the case. Remington hadn’t called TJ, at least that was one good thing. A few texts and an email, but that was all. It was odd, and he wondered how much of the investigation was on the up and up. Was Remington trying to distance himself, or was he just being cautious?

  “You need to quit grinding your teeth,” Charity said as she studied him from across the desk.

  He forced himself away from his dark thoughts to really look at her. “What?”

  She laughed. “You don’t realize you do it, do you?”

  He shook his head. “That shows you how frustrated I am. We should be somewhere by now.”

  She stood up and walked over to him. Then, without another word, she plopped down in his lap. “Now, why is it that you are more worried about the case than I am?”

  “You are the case.”

  She blinked. “What?”

  He sighed as he rested his hand against the outside of her thigh. She smelled good, but she always did. Even after a hard bout of sex, there was that sweet womanly smell to her.

  “I need to do this. Thanks to my involvement, you’re a target.”

  “Oh.” She was quiet for a long stretch. “First, it wasn’t your involvement. It is the bastard who is helping Foley. Secondly, we have no evidence that Foley or his surrogate has targeted me after the fact. Maybe the whole idea was that I was a red herring so you would avoid the more likely suspect.”