by Brynne Asher
When Eli walks out of my bathroom with nothing but a thick white towel wrapped low on his hips, I’m glad I did.
“Did I wake you?” he asks as he rubs a hand towel over his hair and face, tossing it to my floor.
I don’t move but my eyes follow the water droplets chasing one another down his broad chest and abs before getting eaten up by the towel. I shake my head and tell him the truth. “I don’t know. I don’t remember the last time I’ve slept this late on a weekday but, really, I think I missed you. And I’m not used to having anyone else in my shower, so there’s that.”
A ghost of a smile touches his lips and he settles on the side of the bed pressed against my hip. He pushes my messy hair out of my face. I don’t even want to think about what I look like after all the tears I shed yesterday. I bet my face looks like I’ve had an allergic reaction—which is how I feel. I think I’m allergic to life outside of Elijah Pettit.
“How are you feeling?” he asks.
I give my head a shake. “I don’t know what to do. I need to go to work. I need to see Patrick’s wife and daughter. I need to call Lehmans. I need to set things straight with my dad but I don’t want to do any of that.”
He nods. “I just got off the phone with headquarters. You might want to call your attorneys first.”
My face falls. “Why?”
His tattooed arm reaches out and he dips a hand into my hair where his grip tightens. “I have a buddy in OPR. It’s like internal affairs—they basically police the police. They would’ve called me sooner or later to ask me to make a report as to why I was with a federal target at a murder scene. I preempted that call and reported it myself but, while I was on the phone, I told him all I knew about Bree Newman. They’re looking into it. I think it’s only a matter of time before a couple of people at the Dallas Field Division are in some deep shit—so deep, they won’t give a shit about you. Your team needs to know this.”
I sit up so we’re facing each other, hip-to-hip, and put my hands to his chest. “Enough for a dismissal?”
He puts his hands on my waist and drags me across his lap as he shifts and I straddle him. He lowers his voice and I not only hear the gravity of his words but see it in his face. “Yeah, but right now I’m more worried about what the PI found at your company. The only two people who had answers to that are now dead. It doesn’t take a trained investigator to conclude that whatever they knew, they were on the right track and we don’t know what that information is. You need to be more careful than ever.” His hands slide up my sides, pulling my tank with them, making me shiver. “I don’t get off on bullets flying anywhere near you, baby.”
I press my bare breasts into his warm skin. “That might be the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.”
He yanks my tank all the way off before his hands dip into the back of my panties where he squeezes my ass. “Then I need to work on that.”
“I wouldn’t want you any other way.” I press down where I feel him hard with only the towel and my panties between us.
His voice dips and he narrows his eyes. “What are you doing, Jen? You want this now? You had a bad day yesterday.”
I shake my head and wrap my legs around his waist. “Yesterday was the worst day of my life.”
His eyes drop to my bare chest for a quick second before shooting back to my eyes. With his hands still in my panties, he presses me onto him even harder and sensation grows where I’m now wet for him, making my stomach quiver. “You need to meet with your defense team and I need to make sure you’re safe at work.”
“There you go, being all dreamy again,” I breathe and he squeezes my ass to almost the point of pain. But that squeeze feels good—so good, I want his touch everywhere on me. “How many times have you saved me since I met you? You even rescued me from the wrath of my dad last night. I want to think of nothing but you. Make me forget everything else, Eli. For just five minutes, please?”
He draws my body up and pulls my nipple into his mouth. “Baby, the first time I take you? I’m going to need more than five minutes.”
“Eli.” I dip my hands into his still wet hair and pull his head back to look at me. Leaning into him, I put my lips to his jaw and make my way up to his ear and whisper, “Please.”
He grabs the back of my head, fisting my hair and I see nothing but him. “You going to work today?”
I nod as best I can. “I don’t want to but I have to.”
He stands and takes me with him. I feel him rip the towel off his hips and toss it to the side. He turns and my back is to the bed in no time. “Wiggle out of those panties, baby, because you’re going to be late.”
I exhale and put my hands to my hips, but he gets there first. And it’s a good thing, too, because all I can do is stare at Eli, standing over me, looking like a god. His cock is long and erect, bobbing with every movement as he drags my panties down my legs. When he throws them aside, I draw my legs up and put my feet to the bed, but can’t take my eyes off him.
He’s beautiful.
Putting a finger to my knee, he pushes. “Spread.”
I let my legs drop open and he traces the inside of my thigh at the same time he strokes his thick, veined cock. What he doesn’t do is take his eyes off mine.
“What?” I ask.
He drags a finger through my sex and I feel how slick I am—ready for him.
His eyes drag down my body and he shakes his head. “Trying to decide where I want to start. Been thinking of nothing but this since the first moment I laid eyes on you, but now?”
He flicks my clit and I gasp. “Now?”
Eli bends at the waist and rests a forearm on the bed next to my head, leaning in close. I bring my hands to his face and pull him even closer. When he speaks, I not only feel his words brush my skin, but they hit my heart as well, and, when they do, they sting. “Jen, we couldn’t be more different. My being an FBI agent and you being charged with a federal crime is only the tip of the iceberg. I’m talking about where we come from, our backgrounds, and I won’t even start on the fact I have three pairs of shoes and can fit everything I own into the bed of my truck.”
As I lay under him naked and as vulnerable as one can be, my insides twist. After yesterday, my nerves are shot and there’s no way I can keep my eyes from welling. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I’ve never been more grateful that my instincts are on point. Because I might’ve wanted you the first time I saw you, but right now? Baby, you throw all that other shit that should be standing between us out the window, the difference now is I don’t see myself ever wanting anyone else.”
My eyes close and the tears leak out, rolling down my temples.
He brushes the wet from my face. “I don’t like seeing you cry.”
I wrap my legs around his waist and he rubs his shaft on my clit. “I’m usually not a crier but I’m a mess right now.”
He puts his lips on mine and pulls my bottom lip between his. “Can’t wait to make you mine.”
I shake my head. “I was yours the moment I walked into your arms last night at my parents’ house.”
It’s his turn to close his eyes. He wraps me up in his arms and puts his lips to my ear. “For the sake of my balls, tell me you’re on the pill. I’ve been tested. I don’t have a condom, but I’m clean.”
I lift my hips and rub against his cock. “You’re really hitting me with the passion, aren’t you? Your balls will be happy to know I’m on the pill and clean, too.”
He groans and lets go of me. When he’s standing over me again, I get to take in all of him—from his dark hair and eyes, to his broad shoulders and chiseled chest that narrows down into the perfect V, pointing straight to his cock that’s now standing at attention and glistening with precum. He presses my thighs high and wide and settles his gaze between my legs. “I’m going to eat you and then I’m going to fuck you.”
I look down my body as his fingers begin to play between my legs. “A man with a plan. I’m
down with that.”
He looks up to my eyes. “You can return the favor when you haven’t had a shitty weekend.”
My eyes drop to his cock and I can’t help but lick my lips.
He slides a finger inside me. “You want that?”
I nod, not caring how quickly I respond. With him, I find myself wanting everything.
“Greedy.” He slides his finger out and it glides easily down to my ass, making me gasp. There, he draws a lazy circle with his wet finger. “So am I.”
Eli leans down to kiss me before he makes his way down the center of my body. His light kisses are a sharp contrast to his fingers that pinch and twist my nipple, causing my body to come alive. He was right. I am greedy. Every inch of my skin is desperate, especially when he settles between my legs and does what he said he’d do.
He laps and kisses and sucks. All the while, he holds the backs of my thighs where he wants them so I can’t move. I can’t even rock against him. I’m at his mercy and don’t know if I want to scream with joy or beg for him to let me orgasm because right now, I don’t want this to ever end.
“Eli,” I call for him and fist the sheets below me.
He pulls my swollen clit between his lips and gives me a light bite. It doesn’t take long and I feel the pressure building, my body tense—I might combust.
It only takes two more laps of his tongue and I do. I tip over the edge and fall, coming apart but he doesn’t let up. He keeps at me as my body shakes.
When I lose his mouth between my legs, it’s soon replaced by the tip of his cock at the same time he wraps an arm underneath me and angles it up my body. I’m forced to open my eyes when he fists my hair and find him looking down at me with an intensity so deep, I feel it in my soul.
He kisses me and I taste myself on his tongue. “This is it, baby. You’re mine.”
“I need you,” I breathe and the minute I do, he thrusts inside. Not slowly or softly. He takes me with as much power and strength as he has from the first moment I met him.
And he fills me so full.
I’ll never forget the look on his face. Like he needed me more than anything in the world—like I was the cure to his worst ailment.
He pulls out just enough to pump back into me, over and over, our bodies fitting like the perfect puzzle piece that’s been missing until now. His breathing shallows and our bodies warm. Each additional time he powers into me, I feel it build again.
I thought he wrecked me before, but coming with Eli inside of me, as we’re connected in the closest way possible, my orgasm shakes me in an entirely new way. My mouth falls slack and my head tips back as I moan.
This makes Eli move faster and harder. Just when I’m getting my wits about me again, he comes, slamming into me two more times.
When he settles, giving me all his weight and pressing me into the bed, I’m spent. Especially after the last twenty-four hours.
I hold him tight—if I could stay like this all day, I would. Hell, I’d be happy to stay like this for the rest of my life.
When Eli sighs, I feel it everywhere and he tips his face to mine. “Now we just need to take care of all the other shit swirling and, I promise you, baby, I’ll make sure life is simple.”
I lift my head to kiss him.
Simple.
There’s nothing I’ve ever wanted more.
Chapter 19
Shit Happens
Eli
Bree Newman storms out of the boss’s office.
Well, our boss and her lover, but that’s just semantics at this point.
Her face is red but not from crying. No, she’s pissed. I know for a fact she was slapped with an OPR investigation for tampering with a case. I was only too happy to inform the powers that be at headquarters about the files she “found” in the dumpster. Her computers were locked down before she even knew of the investigation.
She doesn’t know, but I did her a favor and withheld the info about her blowing the boss. I’m holding that over his head and, by now, she surely knows it, too. They can sit and stew on that for a while, wondering if or when I’ll let that cat out of the bag.
I might be their so-called golden boy after the MacLachlans were taken down and even though I hated all the attention, right now, I’m grateful for the contacts and the name I made for myself. Today, it carried the weight I needed.
When she gets to her desk she holsters her gun, grabs her bag, and slams her drawer shut. Dean sits back in his chair and frowns. “What crawled up your ass?”
“Shut the fuck up,” she mutters and turns to leave. If she had one, her tail would be tucked between her legs.
I look at my computer and see it’s almost noon.
I grab my gun and keys off my desk and look to Dean. “I’m going to grab a burger. You want anything?”
He looks up at me and rolls his eyes. “My wife is on a diet so I am, too. Apparently, to be supportive. She made me a salad.”
“Enjoy that,” I mumble and hurry down the hall.
When I reach the elevator, it’s about to close, but I catch it just in time. The door slides open and the only person waiting inside is not happy to see me.
I step in but instead of facing the front like elevator etiquette dictates, I turn and lean against the side wall facing her, cross my arms, but say nothing.
We don’t even pass two floors when she lunges forward and pulls the emergency button.
When the elevator lurches, so do her words. “You did this. I know you did.”
I shake my head once. “I didn’t plant any evidence. Pretty sure you did this all on your own.”
She takes a step and glares. “You just wait until I write up a report on how you’ve been sneaking around with my target. I won’t be the only one slapped with an OPR investigation.”
I push off the wall and take a step, letting my arms drop. She moves back in unison but we’re still close when I lean in and lower my voice. “I already told OPR everything about Montgomery and me and, trust me, it’s a shit-ton more than you think you know. If they open a case on me, it’ll be dropped as soon as they confirm you planted those documents in the dumpsters and who knows what else. You submitted your shit evidence in an affidavit to the U.S.-fucking-Attorney. You know what happens to agents who are caught lying under oath? They get Giglioed for life. Your name will be thrown into the dungeon of law enforcement who can’t be trusted. You’ll be useless on the witness stand which means you’ll be useless to the Bureau.”
Her jaw hardens and her composure is shaky at best.
“That’s right,” I go on. “You’ll be lucky if they let you manage new recruits. If I were you, I’d forget about your shit case, forget about Jensen Montgomery, and definitely forget about me. You’ve dug yourself into such a pit, you’ll be clawing your way out for months.”
A voice surrounding us breaks into our little chat. “This is building maintenance. Is everything okay in there?”
I reach over, jab the emergency button but don’t look away from Bree when I answer, “We’re good, thanks.”
I turn away from her and cross my arms as we stop at three more floors on the way down and people file in. When we get to the lobby, everyone else gets off first and, as she moves, I call for her one last time. She stops to look back. “And if you think of doing anything like this again, I’ll go straight to OPR with pictures of you going down on our supervisor.”
Interesting. I guess her lover, Larry Flemming, didn’t tell her I have dirt on both of them because her face pales.
I move around her and off the elevator, leaving her with one last warning. “If you fuck with Jensen Montgomery, you’re fucking with me and you cannot keep up with me. Leave her the hell alone.”
*****
Jen
I’ve been sitting here for only ten minutes listening to the legal plans my team at Lehmans has made after what happened yesterday.
It’s hard to concentrate. My father is sitting by my side and we haven’t said a word to each other
since we walked in separately.
Eli offered to bring me here but I told him I’d have Donny pick me up since I’m sure Eli had stuff to do at work once we were outed yesterday. I had no idea if the press would be lurking, but they are.
“After what happened yesterday,” Scott Lehman, the founding partner at Lehmans, starts, getting my attention. He leans forward, resting his forearms on the conference table. “We need a lead on your case. We were providing support to Patrick and letting him pave the way. I know this is hard to think about right now, but we need to replace him and you don’t have anyone else in-house who can handle it.”
As much as my insides are in knots thinking of Patrick, I tap my finger on the screen of my phone that’s sitting in my lap and decide now is as good a time as any to tell them everything I know. “The agent at the FBI who’s leading the investigation on me has had an internal case opened on her. I know they’re looking into her files, but there’s reason to believe she planted the so-called evidence they found in the trash bins. That evidence was the only reason I didn’t get a dismissal before.”
I hear my dad shift in his seat next to me, but I don’t take my eyes off Scott Lehman. He leans back and crosses his arms. “And you know this how?”
I tip my head to the side. “Elijah Pettit.”
He nods. “I did my research on him yesterday after we were done at the police station. He’s got quite the resume.”
“He does,” I agree. “Which is why we need to trust him. He was the one who told me to focus on my whereabouts when the dummy corps were created and he’s the one who figured out Agent Newman may have planted evidence,” I pause and look to my dad for the first time since we walked in here, “and he’s the one who saved my life yesterday.” I look back to Scott. “I trust him. I want him to look into things at MI. I want to know what trail the PI was on, what he found, and what he and Patrick knew that got them killed.”
“Jensen—” my dad starts, but Scott interrupts.
“I doubt that can happen. The FBI won’t allow him to work on a case associated with you after yesterday.”
