Trixsters Anonymous

by Ahren Sanders

  “Why? Because it means something to me. This is going to be our life—which, by the way, I love. He’s your best friend, and I hardly know him. I want this, Walker, all of it.” She says it with such conviction, I decide to let my irritation go.

  “Okay, Emi, but I wanted this weekend to be about us.”

  “Isn’t this us?”

  The way she points it out makes me realize she’s thinking about what I said in the truck yesterday. “Yeah, but not exactly what I had planned.”

  “Plans change, and besides, I think I’m broken.”

  “Broken?”

  “I’m pretty sure the horseback riding, paired with the activities last night, may have crippled me. You may have to haul a crane in here to get this chair back to your cabin. My whole body is aching.”

  “Mine, too, but not in the same way.”

  Her face softens and eyes start to glimmer. “I love you.”

  “I would believe you more if you didn’t invite my nuisance of a best friend to stay with us.”

  “It’s one night.”

  I reach over to run my fingers along her cheek, only to be head-butted by Micky, who’s taken a protective edge.

  “Buddy, back off.” I nudge his face to the side. “She’s still mine.”

  “Your mom told me about his breeder. I’ve decided I want one.”

  “He’s a big dog, Emi. Great Danes need land to roam. They also need attention as puppies. It’s a huge decision to make after only a few hours with him. It’s not always going to be this easy,” I point out.

  “You mean kinda like making a decision you’re going to spend the rest of your life with someone almost immediately?”

  It takes a split–second for me to rethink my stance. “You want one, I’ll get you one. We’ll talk to the breeder.”

  Her eyes light up, and she reaches for my hand. “We have time. Once life calms down and we can be out here more, we can get Micky a playmate.”

  There’s a heavy, heartfelt sigh behind us, and I turn to see Mom and two of her friends with their hands at their mouths and eyes shining bright.

  “Fuck,” I whisper under my breath and focus back to Emi. “Can we go back now?”

  She nods. “I think twenty pounds of barbeque, five pitchers of margaritas, and a full day have caught up to me. Does your dad have a crane lying around to transport me?”

  “I won’t need a crane. I’ll carry you.”

  “How about trying to help me stand before you swoop me up? I’m scared I’ll hurt you.”

  “Impossible.” I put her hand to my mouth and kiss it lightly then stand. “Micky, down,” I order, and he audibly whimpers before obeying. Once Emi’s lap is free, she uses me to help her up.

  “Mom, we’re going to go.”

  “Okay,” she replies dreamily, still watching us with the gleam in her eyes.

  “Thank you, Leslie, for a wonderful night.” Emi leaves my side to hug Mom and say goodnight to her friends.

  After several minutes of hugs and promises to see them again, I drag Emi to my truck, waving at my dad and a few other men on the way. Marcus is close behind.

  On the short drive back to the cabin, Emi recaps the night and gushes over my parents’ property. Then she surprises the hell out of me when we park and she turns to me with a serious expression etched on her face. “I have a confession to make. There’s another reason I invited Marcus to join us tonight,” she announces.

  The hair on the back of my neck starts to tingle.

  “Maren and I agreed that we want to tell Marcus about TA.”

  “Why?”

  “Because of his interest. He brought his curiosity to you, and now that you know, I don’t want you to lie to him.”

  “It’s giving up another layer of your anonymity. I can handle Marcus by evading his interest.”

  “You trust him?”

  “With my life.” I don’t waver.

  “Then we do, too.”

  My chest squeezes with a pleasant ache. “Okay.”

  She nods happily, her face relaxing.

  Marcus is waiting for us, watching Emi closely as she makes her way to the door. “Are you limping?”

  “I’m not sure it’s limping as much as waddling. I haven’t been on a horse in about fifteen years. That, mixed with hours of sex and a new set of nipple piercings, has left me a little sore,” she responds openly, not missing a beat.

  “Jesus.” I drop my chin to my chest. “Emi, thought we discussed this.”

  “Sorry.” She starts to giggle. “It was too good to pass up. Look at his face.”

  I glance at Marcus, who’s frozen in place looking shell-shocked at her bluntness. Even if inappropriate, it’s funny as hell.

  He recovers quickly, pinning his eyes to mine. “Is it way too late to use the bro-code, I knew her first, therefore—”

  “Don’t even think of finishing that statement if you want to live to see tomorrow,” I growl, narrowing my eyes in warning.

  Emi giggles louder, leading us inside.

  “I’m going to change, then I have a story for you, Marcus. It’s a surefire way to make you change your mind on the bro-code.” She goes to the bedroom, leaving me standing with a gawking Marcus.

  I smack the back of his head. “Stop staring at her ass.”

  “I’m not,” he lies, still gawking.

  “Take a seat. I’ll grab us a drink. You’re gonna need one.”

  A few minutes later, Emi joins us, coming to sit by my side. She looks at me for approval to start, and I drape my arm around her shoulder and squeeze gently. This is her show.

  She launches into her story, telling Marcus all about Trixsters Anonymous. I’m surprised at the level of detail she goes into, yet still keeping her clients’ identities a secret. The only one she names specifically is Jean and her friend.

  He sits quietly, his face expressionless, listening intently. His eyes are locked on her, soaking in every word.

  “Well, that’s about it,” she finishes, blowing out a deep breath and looking at me for support.

  “Come here.” I nudge her.

  She crawls into my lap, laying her head on my shoulder and her hand on my chest. I kiss the top of her head then focus back on him.

  Emi starts to squirm, growing uncomfortable with the silence. “Why isn’t he saying anything?” she whispers.

  “Because he’s soaking it all in. He’s a natural thinker.”

  Finally, she loses her patience and points to him. “Say something!”

  “I think you may have accomplished what no one ever has. You’ve stunned me speechless.”

  She turns to me with a question in her eyes. “Is this a bad thing?”

  “I don’t know. It’s never happened before. Quiet, processing, reserving judgment… I’ve seen it all, but never speechless.”

  “You two have quite an operation. How the hell have you remained uncaught?”

  “Disguises, roaming VPNs, untraceable phones, impenetrable firewalls, timed email deletion, excellent technological expertise, blanket business profile…” she rambles.

  “And luck. Pure luck.”

  “And there’s that. But I’d like to think it’s more professional acumen than luck,” she insists.

  “Walker caught on. Who’s to say someone else won’t trace all this back to you?”

  “Walker caught us because of his intimate knowledge of me personally. And my ass. We can’t forget my ass,” she adds proudly.

  “Damn.” He sucks in a breath and shakes his head before shifting his eyes to mine. “What do you have to say about this, Walk?”

  “Not much I can say. We’re working through the details as we go. I’m not thrilled with any of it, but I can’t demand she quit. The way I see it, I’ve taken on another full-time job—a lifetime of making sure she’s safe.”

  “Have you thought about getting your license? Making this a little more legal?” he asks her.

  “It hasn’t come up until Walker mentioned it,
” she admits.

  “I’ll cover the costs, for you and Maren.”

  “That’s not necessary.”

  “That didn’t come out right. I want in. I want to be able to refer people to you, but I’d need to have the proper licenses in place.”

  “W-w-what?” she sputters.

  “Obviously, there would need to be a few contracts in place, and I’d do my best to keep you anonymous.”

  “No, I didn’t tell you all this for a job. It was for Walker. I didn’t want him to lie to you. We’re not interested in being in business with anyone else. Our secrecy is our platform. People feel comfortable coming to us.”

  “I know! That’s why I want in. Think about it, run it by Maren. Having a license will give you more and more access to things.”

  “Won’t we have to register our names with the state and follow other complicated processes that will compromise us?”

  “I’ll look into it next week and report back to you on the full process. If you’re not interested, I won’t push.”

  “Actually, I think it’s a good idea to let him look into it, Emi, especially if you’re going to be crawling in backyards for surveillance and hacking into people’s personal finances.” My arms tighten around Emi.

  “Fine, but this is not an agreement of any kind. It’s me allowing you to look into what it takes to become a certified Private Investigator,” she huffs.

  “Marcus, maybe we should leave it as it is tonight.”

  He sits back and finishes off his beer. Then he shoots me that fucking smug-ass wicked grin. Knowing whatever he’s going to say is going to piss me off, I dig around in the cushions, finding one of Micky’s tennis balls.

  “She’s mine,” I remind him.

  He’s smart enough to cover his face before I pelt the ball at him.

  Chapter 24

  Emi

  Walker’s going to kill me.

  There’s no other choice. In order for this to work, I have to be near her. Maren’s carefully calculated plan needs to have both of us in the same vicinity to ensure all transmission of the videos files come through before she deletes them and uploads the virus.

  Unfortunately, this means I must be close when she seduces ‘Felix’ until the laxatives kick in. Once he’s indisposed, we can get busy. With our trial run-throughs, it’s taken us no less than ten minutes to cover our process. We’ve had to assume a timetable on a few critical items, such as finding the files in his phone, which is why Maren needs her computer to run a program to locate them and transfer to her laptop without leaving a trace.

  It has been two weeks since Walker and I returned from his cabin, which seems like a lifetime ago. Things at work started to heat up and fall into place with his drug case. He was working long hours, sometimes through the night. When he got a few hours to sleep, he usually met me at my house and passed out on my couch as I worked close by. Then he was off again, leaving most of my evenings with Maren, where we slaved over discovering more about Felix.

  It didn’t take long for Maren to get his attention. She actively pursued him, claiming she was a young divorcee looking to meet a man who could salvage her opinion of all mankind. He took the challenge.

  It also helped that she constantly dropped hints about her wealth and luxurious living. He was now a clinger, constantly messaging her for a chance to meet face to face and ‘show her how a real man appreciates a woman’.

  Each night, she’s spent hours on the computer with him under the alias Hanna Spencer, all the while running programs to find his IP address. In no time, we knew his identity.

  Ricky Sharp is a thirty-five-year-old investment banker from Atlanta. He relocated here for a job two years ago and lives in a high dollar condo downtown. It’s easy to understand how he could catch the eye of any woman looking to find her confidence after a divorce, he’s a suave manipulator. Maren’s interactions with him are proof.

  I’ve weighed the options of bogging Walker down with all the details, but seeing as he’s so pre-occupied, the little time we do have together, I try to not discuss TA business.

  But, tonight, I have to tell him because Maren’s scheduled their date for tomorrow night.

  “Emi!” Walker calls as the front door slams behind him.

  Here goes nothing. I peer around the room to make sure everything’s in place and give myself a mental pep talk before answering, “In your kitchen, honey.”

  He stops at the entrance, surveying the room, before his heated eyes land on mine. “Get naked.”

  “W-w-what? Why?”

  “Because I can tell a set up when I see one. I have exactly eight hours before I have to leave again for the station. I know you, Emi, and something’s changed with your grand plan to easily catch a con man. I’m going to use each of those four hundred and eighty minutes to try to talk you out of whatever you have on your mind.”

  “But I made dinner.”

  “You’re going to be my dinner.”

  A little tremble runs up and down my skin as my nipples begin to tingle. He starts toward me, his eyes burning deeper with every step. I stay planted until he’s pressed so close the heat from his body seeps into mine.

  “Naked now.”

  “Maybe we should—”

  “Fine, I’ll do it.” He bends, gathering the hem of my sundress, and in a single swoosh, it’s gone, leaving me in nothing but a pair of blue skimpy panties. His fingers hook the sides and snap the material before I can protest.

  His mouth comes to mine at the same time his fingertips slide between my legs and start to stroke. He teases me, gliding them back and forth, his thumb circling my clit as his tongue swirls. I fumble with his belt, button, and zipper before I can reach inside his pants and find him hard and thick, the hot skin pulsing at my touch. My thumb follows the same movements as his, playing with him.

  He jerks his mouth away and drops to his knees, forcing me to release him. One arm goes to my waist to steady me as he hikes one leg over his shoulder. Electric sparks ignite the instant his tongue swipes along my center.

  He sucks hard then plunges his tongue inside, causing my hands to fly to his head to keep my balance. His mouth moves against me like a man starved for days. I thrash against his face, clawing at his scalp as my blood starts to scorch. My stomach muscles clench, trying to hold back, delirious with the feeling of him devouring me so expertly.

  This is an untamed side of Walker I’ve never seen or experienced. It’s no secret how I respond to his every touch, but tonight, his dominance is the ultimate turn on. Moans of pleasure fall from my mouth as I writhe against him, chasing the orgasm that is seconds away.

  The tip of his tongue flicks over my clit several times before he sucks it between his lips, and I fly apart, screaming his name until my throat is raw.

  He doesn’t stop, but eases on the pressure, kissing me gently, licking in circles, and running his stubble against my inner thigh, which he knows I love so much. When my head stops spinning, I look down to see his eyes trained on mine, blazing bright.

  Slowly, he places my leg back on the floor and skims his lips up my body until he’s standing before me again.

  “That didn’t even take the edge off.” He starts walking us backwards, me now clinging to his forearms, mesmerized by the growing hunger in his gaze.

  When we reach his bedroom, he steps away only long enough to strip himself, then lays us down, caging me beneath him. My legs wrap around his waist, my ankles locking together as he sinks into me and stills.

  “If I asked you not to do whatever it is you’re planning, would you say yes?” The dominance from moments ago is gone. His eyes still glow with lust, but his movements are gentler, more controlled.

  “Yes, I would do anything for you.” I mean every word.

  He closes his eyes, his face tensing as he struggles with whatever is going through his mind. When he opens them again, the smoldering blue-green stare makes my heart skip a beat.

  “When is it happening?”

>   “Tomorrow night.”

  “I’ll be close.”

  “You’re not going to try to convince me not to do it?”

  “I was, but that would make me an asshole. When I walked in tonight and saw your face, that was my goal. But that’s not us. You don’t need to soften the details for me. I want it straight. I’m going to be there to make sure you’re safe, then bring you right back home to this bed, knowing you are done with that slime-sucking asshole.”

  “Okay.”

  He starts to move, speaking to me without words with every thrust. The air around us changes as he takes turns speeding up and slowing down, his eyes never wavering. He makes love to me gently—kissing, caressing, covering me with so much love—exactly like our first time.

  My head is spinning with the drastic change of attitude and shift in moods. Then it dawns on me; his life is in chaos. The case, the drugs, Trixsters… the usually controlled man can’t grip what is happening around him. He’s waging a battle inside, trying to gain ground. It’s my job to reassure him that I will be safe.

  “I’ll be safe, then I’ll be right back in this bed. With you,” I say softly, flexing my fingers through his hair.

  He exhales, the tension leaving his body. I let him control the pace, feeling every stroke throughout my body until I can’t hold back any more and arch into him, the orgasm ripping through me. He drives into me once more then calls my name, letting go and placing his mouth to mine.

  Our hearts beat together as I cling to him, pouring all my love into the kiss. He breaks away gently, covers my face with small pecks, then rolls to his back, turning us so I drape across him.

  “Promise me you’ll be careful and abort the mission if anything looks like it isn’t working.”

  Something in his tone sets off alarm bells in my head. I tilt my face back to see his. Gone is the gentle aftermath from seconds before. “Walker, are we still talking about me here?”

  He runs his fingers through my hair, never taking his eyes from the ceiling. “I’m leaving on Sunday, two weeks, possibly three. I have to know you’ll be careful while I’m gone. I can’t be fully focused on my job if I’m worrying about you being caught spying on a lying husband or wandering into a BDSM club.”