“So he was here when you showed up?” the detective asked in disbelief. “Why would a man of his rank want to kill you?”
“I am telling you the truth. Contact Brigadier General Landen. He will tell you all about my project. He will confirm that I am telling you the truth,” she calmly told the detective.
But truth be known, she had killed a man. She felt in some way she deserved to be punished for taking a life. The guilt was overwhelming her. She began to cry again. Immediately Michael stopped talking to the other detective and was at her side.
“I think she has enough for one day, don’t you? Make your phone calls. Call this number; he is with Homeland Security. He is familiar with the situation and can help clear up this matter.” Michael placed one arm around Emma tucking her neatly into his side while he handed Kevin’s card to the detective with his other hand. He made it clear she wasn’t going anywhere, with anyone tonight.
The forensics team arrived to remove the body. They took many pictures and then loaded the body onto a gurney. Thankfully, Ingrams was finally removed from her apartment.
“Johnny, I want pictures of the burns on her hands.” The detective turned towards Michael and Emma. “I guess that’s all for tonight. But don’t leave town. We will want you to come down to the station first thing in the morning.” The detective told her in no uncertain terms that she wasn’t off the hook yet. She would probably face charges for killing Ingrams.
“I don’t want to stay here, Michael,” Emma whispered. She turned her head to her side to inhale his unique scent.
“Of course not, Baby. We will stay at my place tonight. We will get some guys to come and clean the place tomorrow. After they’re done, you won’t even be able to tell anything happened here at all,” he reassured her.
“I don’t ever want to stay here again, Michael. I will have to find another place,” she said more to herself than to him.
Michael hugged her tightly against his body. “Let’s just worry about tonight. We’ll worry about everything else tomorrow, deal?” he asked, kissing the top of her head.
“Deal,” she said leaning into his kiss.
It was after dark by the time they arrived at his one-bedroom apartment. Upon walking in the door, he instantly regretted the way he used to live. A scotch bottle still sat next to his recliner. He house wasn’t messy, but there were some clothes thrown about. He hurried to remove the clothes so she could sit down on the couch.
“It’s not as nice as either of your places. I have been saving my money to buy a cabin in the Sugarloaf Mountains, like yours,” he explained, his face reddening with embarrassment. He couldn’t ever remember blushing before, and he wasn’t doing it now because he was ashamed of whom he was. He was just ashamed of how he had lived the last six months of his life. She had brought him back to life. He wanted to enjoy it and take part in it again with her at his side.
“You have got to be starving. I’m gonna make us something light. It’s late, and I’m not sure your stomach will do so well with a heavy meal,” he told her as he walked into the kitchen and opened the cupboard. He found a can of Spaghetti-o’s. “I can’t feed her this,” he thought. He hadn’t been to his place in weeks; everything in the fridge had gone bad. “How ‘bout we order some take-out. Do you like Chinese?” he asked, bringing a menu to her.
She nodded and said, “You order. I will eat whatever.”
She couldn’t think about food right now, not with the thought of killing a man still in her head. She needed Michael to somehow make it all go away.
The food arrived and Michael arranged it on two plates. He placed her plate on his coffee table because he didn’t have a kitchen table. She picked up the plate, rested it on her knees, which were pulled tightly to her chest, and pushed her food around the plate.
“Tell me how to help you, Emma. I hate seeing you like this,” Michael said pleading with her to let him help.
If only she knew how he could make it all go away. She placed her plate back on the coffee table. She took Michael’s plate from his hands and placed it next to hers. She moved so she was straddling Michael. “Make me forget, Michael. Take it away,” she pleaded, looking into his sexy caramel eyes lined with thick, dark lashes.
She placed a kiss on his neck. Then, another one. She ran her tongue from the base of his neck to his earlobe. She whispered, “Make love to me.”
Michael went instantly hard. She felt him pressing against her clit. She rubbed herself against his hard shaft unabashedly. She continued nipping and kissing his neck.
His hands found their way under her shirt. He worked to remove her bra. He finally released the clasp on the front. She sat up straight and peeled her shirt from over her head. Then she removed her bra. She leaned back in so she could continue licking the sweet salt from his neck. She inhaled deeply relaxing in his particular scent. He found her breasts and grasped each one. He pinched both of her nipples hard gauging her reaction. She screamed at the pain then melted into the pleasure. She rubbed herself harder against him through his jeans. He thought she needed it rough tonight to make her forget. Tonight was about her being his. He left her breast and moved his hand into the back of her hair. He pulled hard and she moaned low in her throat. She liked the exquisite pain that lasted seconds until it morphed into nothing but pleasure. He knew exactly what her body needed, because this is what he needed after he had killed someone.
He roughly pulled her back from him by her hair. She met his eyes and he saw fire dancing in them. He bit her shoulder hard, so hard he left teeth marks. She rewarded him by pulling against his hand to kiss him. Her kiss was ravaged with need and desire. She ached in every pore of her being for him. She kissed him wildly; she was out of control. Her tongue sought his. She pushed into his mouth and explored like he had done to her many times. He pushed back until he possessed her mouth. He was only going to let her think she had control.
“Remove your clothes,” he commanded. She stood and dropped her pants and panties to the floor in one swoop.
He stood and said, “Undress me.” She followed his orders and ripped his button down shirt open, the buttons popping and flying in every direction. There was nothing gentle about her tonight. She leaned in and bit his nipple, hard, like the way he had bit her shoulder. He winced at the pain, but then she took it away by flicking her tongue over it and then sucking it into her mouth.
She pushed him back down on the couch and covered his lap with hers, straddling him. She positioned his cock at the entrance of her pussy. She bent forward, bit his neck hard, and slammed down on his cock burying him deep inside her. They both growled at the feeling of him being fully sheathed by her. She took pleasure in the fullness of her pussy, the way her walls stretched to accommodate his length and girth. He placed his hands on her hips and guided her up and down over his cock meeting each of her downward movements with one of his own upward ones. “Harder,” she pleaded. Their bodies meshed together forming one. They rode the wave in unison, kissing and biting each other. Hands explored flesh. Each time he would pinch her nipple with his fingers, she would reward him by moving back and forth over his pubic bone, taking him deeper than he had ever known. She rode him hard. She impaled herself with him. He brought his open palm down over her ass and spanked her. The first one was just an easy smack to see how she would react. When she threw her head back in pleasure and called his name, he satisfied her with another smack to her ass, this one much harder than the first, so hard his hand was tingling. It had hurt, but the burn soon melted into pleasure. She rode him harder. Higher and higher. He hit her other check even harder.
“More,” she begged. He lifted her from him and said, “Get on your knees.” She practically came at his command. She waited on her knees, the carpet not a comfortable spot for her knees to rest. He joined her. He took her hips possessively in his hands and thrust deep inside her, bringing her back against him as he thrust forward. He withdrew completely. He left one hand on her hip but slapped her ass with the o
ther hand.
This slap made her scream, “More.”
She felt the burn of pain, but it soon morphed into a fire of pleasure. Her voice was hoarse as she pleaded to be punished. He commanded, “Stand up.”
He sat on the couch and motioned for her to lie across his lap. She did so willingly. He took her over his knee and spanked her ass in an upward stroke again and again. With each smack, she climbed towards orgasm. She angled her ass so his slaps would hit just the right spot. Her behind was beat red from his beating. He took care not to smack her in the same place twice. He knew she couldn’t take much more. He slapped her ass again taking care to hit the spot that connected between her thighs. He did so again and again as she cried out his name. She quivered against him, her orgasm shaking her to the core. Now he got to see that beautiful, tamed red ass as he fucked her. He waited until she was done coming down from her high, before he ordered, “Back on your knees.”
She found her same spot on the carpet. Her ass was on fire with pleasure. She had never been spanked before, but she knew she needed it. He positioned himself to take her and that’s what he did. He thrust into her over and over again with a fever she had never felt before. He was fucking her hard. She felt him deep inside to the point where it was almost painful. But, he managed to make his fucking pleasurable, stroking her walls with his cock each time he withdrew. He gently rubbed her ass with his hand admiring the ways he had marked her as his. It was too much: the sight of his markings, the feel of her pussy around his cock. With one more thrust he fell forward with his own release. It was enough to send her into another orgasm. She sucked at his cock as he pumped his hips into her a few more times squirting his hot liquid inside her tight pussy. She felt their juices run down her legs when he pulled his semi-hard dick out of her swollen flesh.
“Stand up,” he ordered. She obeyed. He lifted her into his arms and carried her to his bedroom.
“Let’s get a shower before bed,” he said as he placed her on her feet. Her legs trembled from coming so hard.
He took care in the shower to wash every inch of her body. He took special care to wash her ass. After the shower, he dried her and asked her to lie down in his bed, backside up. He came to her side with cream that would help the burn on her ass. He had really given it to her. He didn’t want her to feel pain, only pleasure. He gently rubbed the cream into her skin. When he was done, he left the bed and returned to the bathroom. When he reemerged from the bathroom, he heard her cute little snore. She was sound asleep. He crawled into bed behind her and pulled her close to him. She snuggled in and he feel fast asleep – all demons exorcised.
« Chapter Thirty-Two »
The ringing of Michael’s cell phone awakened him. It was after 8:00 AM. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept that late. He didn’t want to wake Emma, so he removed her from his arms carefully and found his phone. “Hello,” Michael said, recognizing Kevin’s number from the caller ID.
“Look. I wanted to be the one to tell you that apparently Agent Ingrams had an impressive record. But, lately his boss noted he was obsessed with the GIA,” Kevin said in a calm voice, like his whole world wasn’t depending on the outcome of this investigation.
“And…” Michael hissed at his brother.
“And. The PD’s forensics department confirmed her burn marks were consistent with her story. She wrestled the gun from him and it went off,” he smiled knowing his brother was smiling on the other end.
“So, that’s it. It’s over. No more questions?” Michael asked cautiously not wanting to get his hopes up.
“Oh, I’m sure there will be some more questions, but she is cleared of any wrong doing. The PD concluded it was a case of self-defense,” Kevin said.
Michael exhaled.
“Are you okay, man? I thought this would be good news.” Kevin said, still smiling.
“This is the best news I have heard in a long, long time,” Michael said, smiling in return.
“I just wanted to be the one to tell you. Go, enjoy that girl of yours,” Kevin said.
“I plan on it,” Michael confirmed before ending the call. He couldn’t wait to tell her. He knew it was weighing on her mind. He carefully crawled back into bed with her. She snuggled back into his arms. “This is exactly where she belongs for the rest of her life,” Michael thought.
He had more than one piece of good news to share this morning. He just hoped she was ready for it all because he was done fighting with his feelings. He loved her. He wanted her with him forever.
She turned and faced him. He brushed the hair from her eyes as she peeked out from sleep. His smile was the first thing she saw.
“Well, good morning to you too,” she smiled in return.
Michael pulled her closer until their noses were touching. He rubbed his nose with hers. She giggled.
“How are you feeling this morning, Emma?” he inquired gazing into her beautifully blue eyes.
“I am much better after last night. Thank you, Michael. You took it away,” she confessed.
“You don’t have to ever thank me for that. Believe me, I enjoyed taming that beautiful ass, marking it as mine.”
It was now or never. He had to tell her. His tone changed into a serious one. “I have to tell you something.” She propped herself up on her elbow determined to hear the bad news with dignity.
“What is it?” she asked her eyes quickly darting from his. She bit her bottom lip as she waited for the dreaded news.
“I think I am falling in love with you,” he said.
Her eyes shot up and connected with his. He was worried. She wasn’t saying anything back yet. She just stared at him, like she was lost.
“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way, Emma. You don’t have to. I know it has been quick. And we didn’t exactly meet under normal circumstances. And the last few weeks have been crazy, but they also have been the best weeks of my life. I don’t want to lose you. So you take all the time…”
“Michael,” she said. “Shut up and kiss me.”
She pulled him down into the most sweet, most tender kiss. They lied in bed kissing each other, connecting with each other for an hour, just kissing and touching each other’s faces.
When she finally pulled away, she gathered up her courage and said, “I am in love with you. But…”
“No buts,” he demanded.
This time she disobeyed. “But what about Ingrams. I may get in a lot of trouble for what I did,” she protested as she fought back the tears. She had finally found love and it could all just disappear.
“Well,” he said, unable to see her gather her courage for a second longer than she needed to, “I have something else to tell you.” He didn’t even try to hide his smile. Apparently, it was infectious because she started smiling too, although she had no idea why.
“Out with it,” she said as she tickled his ribs. He started laughing. When she finished her assault on his ribs, he finally was able to calm down.
“Kevin called. He wanted to be the one to tell me the good news,” Michael declared.
“What good news?” She eyed him suspiciously with a twinkle in her eye.
He laced his hands through her soft hair and pulled her in for another kiss.
She backed away. “No. No. Tell me,” she admonished.
“The police have ruled Ingrams’ death self-defense. Apparently the burns on your hands corroborated our story. You are officially…all mine,” he declared.
“So what does this mean? Will you take me on a regular date?” she teased.
“It means you don’t need to look for a place to live. You can live here, with me during the week, and we will live at your cabin during the weekends. That is, of course, if you want to,” he said with trepidation.
“Isn’t it a little fast? We have only known each other a short time,” she argued.
“Look if you don’t want to. I was just throwing it out there because you don’t want to live at your place in the city anymore,” h
e said, sounding rejected. His eyes roamed the room for a moment, not connecting with hers.
She brushed his stubbly cheek with her fingers enjoying the feel of it against her skin. “Michael, I would love to move in with you. In fact, if you didn’t ask, I would have been heart broken,” she confided.
“So we’re really doing this? You’re in love with me and moving in?” he had to hear her say it again.
She smiled. “Yes, Michael. I am hopelessly in love with you. And I am moving in with you. But you are also moving in with me. The cabin is more like my home. Will you live with me there?”
“You know, Emma. We are sitting on a nice little nest egg now that I don’t have to buy a cabin,” he smiled.
“Good, then let’s find an apartment in the city that won’t be yours and won’t be mine, but will be ours. This one will be too small for the both of us.” She kissed him, melting into his touch.
He caressed her exposed arm with his fingertips. He rolled her over onto her back and pressed against her entrance with his hard member. Her blood was on fire. He pushed into her slowly, kissing her reverently. She kissed him back allowing herself to fall even deeper for the man. She was consumed by him. He slowly moved in and out of her. She was his, and she felt much love and confidence in that knowledge. There were no more bad guys. Although she didn’t know it, she had vanquished his demons. As he made love to her, she realized Michael understood her barest needs. That realization brought her closer to her climax. She finally came clenching her muscles as she dissolved into Michael. With one more thrust, he followed. He lay on her, inside her, not wanting to spoil such a perfect union.
He whispered, “Tell me you’re mine, forever.”
“I’m yours, forever.”
The End
Contents
Closer (The Unit #1) Page 20
