Suds and Sam For Hire

by Stella Marie Alden

  If she wants some role playing, I’m game.

  Her disappointed sigh makes me chuckle as I climb up her body and clamp my mouth around a breast. With my tip at her entrance, I suck real hard while she writhes and bucks up to take me in.

  Not done teasing, I move my lips to her left side, and roll the right nipple between my fingers.

  She squirms, and yet I hold back. Yeah, I want her, but a man needs to feel in control, at least in the bedroom.

  I whisper in her ear. “Repeat after me. I will never worry you again.”

  “I will never worry me again.”

  She thinks I’m funnin’ but I’m damn serious. “No sex until we get something straight between us.”

  “Seriously?” She points to my cock and I start to laugh but think better of it.

  I lean on one elbow and rub my tip around her opening. “Babe, promise me.”

  “I do.” Legs open wide, eyes black with passion, she captures my heart.

  A weaker man might’ve been scared off at those two words but I plunge in with all I got.

  “Sebastian. Oh shit.” She clamps my thighs and sucks me in deeper.

  I don’t want her coming without me so I don’t move, sweat pouring off my sides. When we fly to heaven, dammit, we’re doing it together.

  Her heels loosen and she lets go her breath with a disappointed sigh. Chortling, I begin slow dancing and bring my mouth to hers.

  Water drips from the corners of her eyes and I lick away the saltiness. “Don’t cry. I got you, sugar.”

  “I know.” The black centers of those brown orbs widen, her hands slip into my hair, and as her short nails dig into my scalp, I need to move.

  Slowly, I take her closer to release and grow thick inside her. The tightness of her inner muscles makes me increase my pace. I grunt and thrust while she screams in passion and finds her high.

  With her lost in pleasure, I dive in deep, she shudders, and I come hard. With her quivering all around me, I empty until we’re both spent.

  She’s already asleep when I come back to earth and pull out. Spooning, I tug the covers up over our shoulders and for the longest time, lie awake, thinking how close I came to losing her.

  What the hell am I going to do with you, Samantha?

  Chapter 16

  Sam

  The sun’s bright rays wake me and my heart races. For a moment, in this half-dream state, I’m in my car, covered with snow.

  Suds stirs, his morning wood poking at my behind. With his warm body at my backside, his heavy arm slips around my waist as he snores lightly near my ear. He needs sleep so I try to lay quiet and say a few prayers of thanks.

  Now my brain is functioning, I realize death had come close but not sure what I could’ve done any differently. I’m certainly not going to ask permission every time I have a case and my partner is out of town.

  However, next time, I’ll be better prepared. For one thing, I’ll make sure my cellphone charger works. It’s not like I meant to freak people out. Shit happens. I suppose I could’ve told Suds my final destination but he was in Utah, working.

  The thought brings pangs of guilt. Dammit. He had to leave his job to come and find me. Slate will be pissed at him and at me. The best thing I can do is solve my case and gain some goodwill.

  Determined to make things right, I slide out from under the covers and in the shower, make a mental checklist.

  First, I need to find my suspect. I’ll talk to him, form my final opinion, and bring my data to Slate. He can share it with the lawyers who hired us. From there, they can decide where to go. My guess is, they’ll inform the FBI, who’ll file charges.

  There’s one nice thing about being a former analyst. I know how Feds think.

  When Suds’ clears his voice behind the thick curtain, I jump, peek out, and turn the sprayer toward the wall.

  Suds, completely naked, scratches at the stubble on his chin in the doorway. “Use up all the hot water?”

  “Probably. Get in. Quick.”

  “Yes ma’am.” Grinning, his cock jumps to attention and three giant steps later, joins me in the tub.

  Standing behind me, he kisses my neck and nibbles my earlobe.

  My knees grow weak and as my head leans into him, he grabs the soap.

  “You are so damn beautiful.” He guides the bar over my breasts around my chest and into my lower curls.

  I try to turn in his arms so I can touch him, too, but he slides his arm around my waist and holds me captive.

  He pinches my nipples until they’re pointing, sending zings of want to my core. I’m already panting when his fingers move to my clit.

  “Sebastian…” Moaning, I spread my legs at the insistence of his knee.

  I’m a little sore from last night but he senses that as he gently plays my nub until it swells with want. Reaching behind me, my nails dig into his butt.

  Groaning, he places my palms about shoulder height on the tiles. Then, his slick hands slip down my back, along the crease between my cheeks, and to my over-sensitive sex.

  About to come, my breath hitches, and I wait for him to take me over the top.

  Instead of my nub, he grabs my hips, places himself at my opening, and fills me to the bone. As I grind into him, he pushes up, and a deep satisfied growl sounds behind me.

  Repeatedly, he drives deeper and faster, as he holds me at this perfect angle. The water sloshes and my boobs bounce as we move frantically to the beat of our rising passion.

  Letting go of my right side, his hand glides down my belly. All it takes is one touch to set me off.

  I buck like a wild woman while he thrusts from behind.

  “Sam. Oh fuck.” His body coils, he shouts as he goes for the gold, which fires off my second orgasm, bigger than the first.

  “Shit. Oh my God.” I lean against the tiles as he fully empties into me.

  My fingers are little prunes by the time he stirs and pulls out.

  Turning, I wrap my hands around the back of his neck and kiss him. “I love you.”

  A satisfied smile is plastered to his face. “Love you, too.”

  I’m convinced we’re about to go at it again, when his phone buzzes.

  “Shit.” He jumps out of the shower, grabs his cell, and puts it to his ear. “Yeah. I know. Be right down.”

  Hanging up, he reaches for a thick bath sheet. “Lucky says the roads are clear. He also informed me he gave us plenty of time for makeup sex and we should get going.”

  Laughing, I snap my towel at his knees. He steals it from me, wraps it around my waist, and pulls me close for a kiss. “I will punish you later.”

  “Promise or threat, tough guy?”

  “Both.”

  I back into the bathroom and point the hairdryer at him. “Don’t mess with me. I got heat.”

  “Copy that.” Chuckling, he dries off and slips on his jeans. “Should I keep the top button undone and the fly open?”

  I hiss, thinking how we missed our final round of sex. “Not unless you want to call Lucky and tell him we’ll meet for lunch.”

  He grabs the paper someone slid under the door and reads. “It says here we need to be out by eleven.”

  “You better book another night.” Grinning, I switch on the hairdryer, and point it at my blond mop.

  A few minutes later, he slides his fingers through my damp locks. “Good enough. We should go.”

  “Nuh-uh. You go out with wet hair, you could die.” I turn up the wind and fluff furiously.

  “You can’t mean it? What about a hat?” Brows raised, one side of his mouth goes up.

  “That doesn’t count. If you have doubts, ask my nonna. She’ll explain it all to you, in Italian. “I blow hot air into his face until he laughs and leaves me be.

  Once I’m sure I won’t die, I join Suds and his pal in the small dining area with a help-yourself buffet. After pouring an extra-large cup of coffee with real cream, I sit with them at a table for four. The two men are so large, the table shrink
s, making me feel tiny.

  After we eat, we return my rental car and let Lucky drive us to Middletown. I show the picture around but everyone is pretty tight lipped.

  In the local grocery stop, a young woman, maybe sixteen nods from where she rings up our sandwiches. “That’s Robert. He lives with his sister. Take this road, turn left, and then left again at the red mailbox. They live in a trailer, about a ten-minute drive.”

  Back in the SUV, Lucky doesn’t say much so I try to breach the awkwardness. “I’m really sorry you had to come looking for me last night. It’s just when I got this letter in the mail, I may have panicked a little. It said my application for my PI license was going to be terminated and I would have to start all over unless I could prove I had done some field work. I couldn’t wait.”

  Lucky glances over at my partner. “It’s all good, yeah?”

  Suds narrows his gaze at me. “It won’t happen again.”

  “No. Really. It won’t.” I cross my heart with my index finger. “Scout’s honor.”

  The Aussie winks and I figure I’m forgiven even though I never made it past Brownie.

  It doesn’t take long to find the house described by the girl. Lucky pulls off the road by a towering snowbank near a trailer almost buried by snow drifts. Outside the wind howls and I glance at the temperature on the dash which reads ten below zero.

  Samantha Russo, private eye. It sounds a lot less glamorous as I pull my hat down to my eyebrows and wrap a scarf around until no part of my face is exposed except a slit for the eyes.

  I adjust the mic taped to my chest one last time as Suds unlocks the car door. “You remember what I said, y’hear?”

  “Copy that.” A shoveled sidewalk leads the way to the front door where I knock.

  A harried, middle-aged woman opens the door a slit and glances out. “Yes?”

  “I’m from the detective agency. We spoke on the phone?”

  “Yes, please. Come in.” She turns her head. “Robert? It’s that investigator I told you about.”

  When the scrawny man comes out, he’s nothing like his online photos. He’s lost a lot of weight, there’s dark circles under his eyes, and he shuffles like a man twice his age.

  He shakes my hand with a limp grip. “Can I offer you some coffee?”

  “Yes, please.” I unwrap my scarf and unbutton my coat in the overly warm space.

  Jeannette throws a library book onto a short table and motions me to sit on a lumpy, overstuffed chair while Robert eases down on the coach opposite me.

  He coughs and leans over. “You said there was a class action against Good Health?”

  “Yes.” Seeing how sick he is, I change tactics on the fly, hoping I guess right. “They have been systematically denying legitimate claims. A group of lawyers have asked my agency to locate those who were denied benefits.”

  “Thank God.” Follet’s eyes tear up and I feel like a heel for lying to him.

  “Excuse me.” He stands, squeezes past my legs with an apology, and walks into a bedroom.

  Upon returning, he holds a shoe box. “Here’s a copy of all my registered letters.”

  He opens the cover and pulls out a thumb drive. “I’ll zip this up and send it to you. It has all the details of my case. Can you believe I actually worked for those bastards? When I got sick, they fired me. They said it was for incompetence but I was damn good at my job. I knew if I could sue them I would win but who has that kind of money? How much do you think I could get?”

  “I’m sorry. I’m not at liberty to say but I’ll have the firm get in touch.” I hand him my card and stand. “I really can’t stay. There’s quite a few others I need to contact and the storm delayed me.”

  Jeannette opens the door for me. “Thank you so much. You can’t possibly know how grateful we are. Finally, someone is looking into this.”

  “I’ll be in touch.”

  Chapter 17

  Suds

  I take the zip drive from Sam and open hundreds of files as we drive back to town. There’s a lot for her to sift through, enough to keep her busy for some time.

  “You okay?” I glance across the seat as she purses her lips and frowns.

  “I should feel great. I got what our clients wanted and more…”

  “But?” I put my hand on her shoulder to catch her gaze but she’s staring out the window as if memorized by the sparkling snow.

  “Robert Follet is sick and if I had to guess, it’s cancer. He’s living with a sister who can barely afford the upkeep on a small trailer. I know he may have caused someone’s death but still, it’s sad.”

  I cup her cheek and turn her head toward me. “Not everything is black and white.”

  “I know but… when this is over, I want to investigate Good Health for real. I’m guessing they got some pretty shady practices.”

  My brows raise as her brown eyes meet mine. “We haven’t even hung our shingle and you want to go after the big fish?”

  “I know we can’t afford it, not yet. However, if Follet’s claims are true, perhaps I can find a pattern of bad behavior. Then, we can locate a firm and actually start a lawsuit.

  If I had any second thoughts about marrying this woman, they dissolve. Hell, she’s smart, funny, and she’s got this huge heart that melts my insides.

  I squeeze her knee. “Let’s go home and we’ll figure it out.”

  Lucky pipes up from behind the wheel. “There’s another clipper shooting through the area. It won’t drop much snow, but they’re saying it’s going to leave a thick sheet of ice in the city. We should stay put one more night.”

  “When are you supposed to be back out West?” Sam slides her hand up my thigh, licks her lower lip, and her nostrils flare.

  “I should’ve left yesterday.” I give her a cocky grin. “Don’t worry. I texted the guy covering. He needs the money.”

  “So do we.” She sighs. “I really mucked this up big time.”

  “Back to the hotel, you two?” Lucky glances in the rearview and I catch a short downward twitch of his lips.

  “Yeah. Tell Callie I’m real sorry about this. You’ve been a real sport.”

  “She’s probably thrilled to be rid of me for a few days.” He winks but I know him. He’d much rather be home with his wife and kid.

  Back at the inn, Sam’s phone buzzes, she glances down at the message, and pales.

  “What is it?” Damn, if she’s got some other case I may handcuff her to her radiator before leaving again.

  She stuffs the cell in her pocketbook. “Nothing. Family stuff. I’ll deal with it later.”

  That’s an out and out lie but I can wait. “Good job with Follet today.”

  “Mmm?” She lies back on the bed and stares at the ceiling, thinking so hard I almost smell the wood burning.

  “If you’re not going to tell me what’s bothering you, how about we head downstairs for some lunch? I’m starving.” After a few beers, she’ll spill her guts. If not, I got other ways of making her talk which could be a hell of a lot of fun.

  My thoughts of sinking into her sweet folds are interrupted when someone knocks on the wall next door and says, “Excuse me. I need some help. Can I come over?”

  “Sure!” Samantha jumps up and runs to the door but I step in front of her with an index finger to the center of her chest, shaking my head, no.

  Years of experience have taught me, you can’t be too careful. I slip my jacket over my holstered gun while she waits with her mouth dropped open.

  “Do you really need that?”

  “Better safe than sorry.” I crack open our door and wait while a short man in his mid-twenties exits his room.

  His mannerisms seem normal enough so I relax but no way in hell is he coming into our room. As the bearded millennial walks down the hall, he shoves out his hand.

  “Jeremy Townsend. Thank you for speaking with me. You two solved the murder last summer involving the congressman’s wife. Am I right?”

  I step in front of Sam an
d puff out my chest. “What can we do for you, Mr. Townsend?”

  “Wow, I can’t believe I ran into you. I keep calling the police but they blow me off. They think I’m nuts but I’m pretty certain I know who the Manhattan serial killer is.”

  Chapter 18

  Sam

  What an awesome break. I pull on Sebastian’s arm and he grunts, but doesn’t budge.

  Standing between me and Townsend, my tough guy sticks his right thumb in his belt which makes his gun easier to reach.

  “I got me a few questions. How did you know we were here?” He leans against the doorframe, seemingly relaxed, but the tic in his neck tells me he’s not.

  The millennial scratches at his long beard and shrugs. “Dude, I had no clue but when I saw you in the lobby, I knew I had to reach out. Man, this shit has been too heavy to carry around. Know what I’m talking about?”

  I have to pull down on Suds’ bicep in order to be seen and ask, “Who do you think is the killer?”

  The stranger’s brows lift and his eyes brighten. “It’s a guy who works in the cube next to me. I swear, every time there’s a murder, the next day he calls in sick.”

  Damn. I let out my breath. No wonder the cops blew him off. A lot of people are absent after the slasher strikes. It doesn’t mean they’re the killer, it means they’re scared shitless.

  This guy is a nutcase.

  I walk back into the room, dig into my purse, and hand him a business card. “How about you send me all your data and I will look into it.”

  My partner smirks so I shoot him the evil eye. Hey, you never know what little tidbit of information may lead to bigger things.

  After the crazy nerd goes back to his room and slams his door, Suds frowns, and catches my gaze as I plop on the mattress.

  “What? You don’t think there was anything to his story?”

  “He was lying, for damn sure.” He keeps his voice low and when he sits next to me, I grab his hand.

  “I thought so too. But why?”

  “Attention, maybe. Who knows? Maybe it was you. He was checking you out.” Sliding a lock of hair behind my ear, he lowers to my mouth, and kisses me.