Scarlett shifts down with me, gently moving her fingers inside me now, easing me down from the orgasm that has left my brain mush.
How the hell have I been able to go so long without this?
When I open my eyes, I smile dazedly at Scarlett, who is staring at me fervently, her eyes heated and her tongue poking out to lick her lips.
“That was fucking hot, Cyn. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you let go like that.” She shifts her fingers out of me then, and I whimper at the loss, though I’m tender enough that I need a break.
“You didn’t even get undressed,” I complain weakly, taking in her dressed state.
She leans forward, brushing her lips against mine while her eyes never leave me. “And only you could get me off while not touching me and never removing so much as my shoe.”
My eyes widen in delighted surprise. “You got off?”
“I’ve soaked my panties,” she admits, and I grin, loving how much me getting off can turn her on.
“I’m hungry,” I tell her, waiting for her to figure out what I mean.
Her eyes shift for a second toward my kitchen. Then I see the moment she catches on.
“Are you?”
“Yes.” I nod eagerly. “But I feel like eating in my bedroom. That okay with you?”
“I think I can be amendable to that,” she answers calmly, though her body betrays her eagerness when she leaps to her feet, immediately popping her shoes off without undoing the laces. Next, she drops her coat, moving backward toward my bedroom.
“You going to make me undress myself?” she asks boldly before she whips off her shirt, leaving her in a bra, jeans, and socks that are visible. I assume she has panties on, too.
“I like watching you strip for me.”
I’m not lying. Many times in our relationship, I would get off watching Scarlett strip. I discovered I liked watching her touch herself, get herself off for my eyes only. There was something powerful in seeing her light up under my eyes. Something pure and bold in watching her work herself over. She used to like me to do the same for her.
“Then it’s a good thing I like to strip for you,” she states before turning her back to me, her ass wiggling a little more than needed as she shifts her tight jeans down, leaving her red panties on.
With the jeans removed, she looks down at me from over her shoulder, gives me a cheeky grin, and then sexily struts toward my bedroom.
Legs no longer boneless, I jump to my feet and race to meet her at my bed, biting my lip when she crawls on top, leaving her bountiful ass in the air when she turns to look back at me.
“How do you want me?”
I’m not sure there is an answer to that, since I want her in so many ways there are too many to count.
“Face me,” I tell her, watching her shift to her back. “Move up the bed. Head to the pillow.” I remove her socks before she can get too far away.
Completely naked, I place my knees on the bed and crawl up toward her, shifting over her as I kiss her lips almost drunkenly. She might have controlled ours before to be all-consuming and leisurely, but I’m already feeling desperate for her again.
Nipping at her bottom lip, I listen to her gasp for air as I give her small kisses over her eyelids, down each cheek, and across her jaw. I suck below her ears on each side, licking and kissing my way down each collarbone.
“I missed you,” I tell her between kisses, feeling her restless body underneath mine.
“I missed you, too.”
“Is tonight just for tonight, or does this mean forever?” I am unable to resist asking the question that has the power to gut me.
Maybe having her half-naked and under me isn’t the right time to bring it up, but I need to know.
“It means I want you for as long as I can have you,” she promises, her heated eyes holding a promise I know I can trust.
I smile, feeling something settle deep inside me.
I have her back. We are together again. Everything else will right itself.
“I love you, Scarlett Booth,” I tell her, feeling lightheaded to admit it out loud under this circumstance. It no longer causes me grief at what I lost. Instead, the words are filled with possibility and hope. I get the feeling I am going to be completely in love with being in love with Scarlett.
“Then love my body,” she begs.
I can do no less than comply.
I make short work moving my lips down her shoulders then down her chest, kissing her covered breasts. I lean back and appreciate the way the dark red color sits against her skin, the way the cups hug her breasts, and the cleavage it pushes up for me to appreciate. Her body is heaving already, her skin showing a slight sheen of sweat, but nothing compares to when I remove her bra and expose her to me. Her nipples tighten into small buds, their pink color my favorite color in the world as I kiss each one, wondering if I have the patience to spend more time with them.
I don’t.
Scarlett has already gotten me worked up, and I know we need this round to be fast and hard.
“You’re so stunning, Scarlett,” I murmur, moving down her sternum and dipping my tongue into her bellybutton.
Her body quivers under me, and the musky smell enticing me to move lower is enough of a pull that I can do little teasing.
I use my teeth to pull down her panties, partly because I’m feeling a little animalistic and also because it causes Scarlett to chortle at my antics. That is … until I remove them altogether and spread her legs, exposing her completely.
Glistening with wetness, I am at a loss for words as I gaze over her body, her skin heated and her desire leaking for me.
Scarlett is the hottest woman I have ever been with, but she is also the most courageous, bravest, and smartest. She is everything to me, and knowing she is handing over her pleasure to me right now is almost overwhelming.
“Gorgeous,” I whisper, seeing the jerk of her lips break into a smile before I cover her thighs with my lips, kissing and nipping my way closer to her pussy.
“Touch your breasts for me,” I say against her skin, my voice muffled.
She immediately brings her hands to her breasts, manipulating them the way she likes, as she shifts her hips and bites her bottom lip, her eyes fluttering closed.
I am one lucky woman, and I know I will never take this for granted. Never again.
Without delay, I get to work on getting my woman off, moving quicker toward her pussy and spreading her folds with my fingers before I lick her, shifting my tongue around her clit to tease her.
“Cyn, Cyn, please!” she gasps out, her hips moving faster as I give in to her.
Spearing her a few times with my tongue, I shift to balance on my knees so I can insert my fingers while sucking and toying with her clit.
Hitting the spot inside her I know makes her crazy, I let her ride my mouth and fingers.
I lift my eyes enough to see her working on her breasts as my own hips begin to jolt.
While eating Scarlett, I am consumed by the essence of sex that I smell between us, her delicious cries of pleasure echoing in my ears, and the taste that is uniquely hers melting in my mouth. I lose myself to the momentum, her quickening shifts and cries racking up my own pleasure. And when she screams my name, coming against my mouth and fingers, I feel a release of my own steal over my body.
Her breathing is heavy, her skin pink and blotchy, and her posture nothing short of satisfied as she collapses against the bed with her legs open. I smile when she gives me a lazy grin.
“That was incredible,” she tells me huskily, her voice hoarse from her screams and moans.
“Shower with me?” I ask, already thinking of the fun we can have in there.
“Hell yes. I might have needed to sleep for days when I got to New Zealand, but I feel wide awake now. I could go all night.”
A shiver of excitement rushes over me. “Let’s test that statement.”
She laughs when I help her up, and then we make our way naked through my apa
rtment.
We spend the rest of the night and the morning making love. I can’t get enough of her. Soon, the only talking we do involves moaning and begging.
I don’t get the chance to speak to her about the developments we made just that day on Sanchez. I don’t even think about it.
All that matters are her and us. The rest will sort itself out.
***
“Are you sure we have to move?” Scarlett whines again, buttoning up her coat as I lock my front door and take her gloved hand, moving us over to her car.
“Yes, I promised Larissa I would meet her for lunch.”
“Bail on her! We can stay in bed,” she begs, resting her chin on my shoulder while I unlock my car, making me think of her being the little devil on my shoulder.
“I already took this morning off work. I can’t hide away with you forever,” I state sadly, not that the thought hasn’t entered my mind.
I suppose I could have easily gotten work off, but something is up with Larissa. I think she got herself into some sort of mess. I fear it might be with her ex.
She has turned out to be a good friend, and she was there for me when I needed someone to help me translate French. I owe her, unfortunately.
“But I just got back! And we’re together again. We need to celebrate!”
I smile, loving the words coming from her mouth. “And we will after I finish work tonight. But first, you can help me with Larissa, and then I will drop you off at your place to pack up the rest of your things.”
She moves around to the passenger side, and we get in the car. I immediately start up the heater. The icy air inside burns my exposed skin. I don’t think I will ever get used to these winters.
I glance out at the icy roads and figure it will take me at least fifteen minutes longer to get to work than it usually does.
“Damn, I miss New Zealand. I can’t believe I was just in a T-shirt and shorts yesterday, or whatever day given the time difference. And now I’m freezing my tits off.”
I laugh. “I like those tits, so warm them up!” I joke. “I wouldn’t mind the weather easing off a bit.”
“Give it a few more months, and then maybe it will get better.” Scarlett sounds forlorn.
“Maybe we should take a trip together? Somewhere warm?”
“I can’t afford it, but I already don’t care and want to say yes!”
“Then just say yes. Leave the rest to me.”
I keep a good distance behind the car in front of us, watching their brake lights carefully so I have enough time to stop in case I slide.
It takes me a moment to realize Scarlett has gone quiet.
“Lettie? You okay?” I chance a quick glance at her to see she looks deep in thought.
“I am. I’m great in fact. I’m happy.”
I smile happily. That’s exactly what I want to hear.
“But I don’t want us to rush. The reason I said we should wait before we made any decisions until things were over with Sanchez was because I really want this to work. And I want us to be in it for the right reasons.”
“I know, and we are, aren’t we?” I take my chance at the red traffic light to give her my attention, worried we slipped into such a serious conversation. One I don’t know how it’s going to end up.
“I know waiting was the right thing to do, but just last night, we confirmed that we’re dating again. And already I’m going to pack up my stuff and move in? We’re planning a vacation? One I can’t afford and that you’re insinuating you’re going to pay for? What if we’re rushing this? What if this isn’t such a good idea?”
I sigh, starting back up when the light changes to green.
“Okay, scrap the vacation. I was just thinking of you in a bikini on a beach. And moving in is just practical at this stage. I mean, am I sure you living in that security dead zone is a bad idea? Definitely. Is having you moving in with me a bad idea? I don’t know. I don’t think so. I mean, you’ve been staying with me for weeks without an issue,” I point out.
“But this is a huge step for us,” she argues. “Before it was just me staying with you. Now it’s more than that.”
“Don’t overthink it,” I beg, suddenly worried we are about to take ten steps backward. “We’ll keep an eye out for a better apartment for you, but I don’t see the point in you paying rent in a place that is unsafe and one I can assure you I will never sleep at. I want to live with you, Lettie. I want to fall asleep next to you each night and wake up to you every morning, but that doesn’t have to mean that you can’t move into your own place when it’s feasible.” I try to hide any sign of hope I have that this will never happen. I want her with me for good, not just for now.
“But—”
She cuts herself off when my cell phone shrilly rings from the cup holder.
She picks it up as I pull over to answer it. Usually, I just connect it to the Bluetooth, but with Scarlett in the car and the Sanchez case still niggling at me, I don’t want to risk her overhearing something she shouldn’t.
“It’s Larissa,” she tells me, holding my phone out once I park.
I guess my being overly cautious isn’t necessary.
“Hey—”
I abruptly stop when I hear the tears on the other end.
“Larissa? What’s wrong?”
“I-I … Are you … still meeting … me?” she asks between gasps of breath.
“Yes, of course. Scarlett and I are almost at the office. Are you there now? Are you safe?” I ask, not sure what has her in such a state.
“Just hurry,” she urges, hanging up and scaring the shit out of me in the process.
I might have only known her for a handful of months, but I have never gotten the impression that she is much of a crier.
I can’t help fearing something bad happened.
“Is everything okay?” Scarlett asks, pure concern in her voice.
“I don’t think so.” I glance back out to the road to find it blocked. The likelihood of someone letting me back in is low, and given the traffic seems to be backed up because of trucks moving in and out of the construction site by our work, that means driving isn’t practical.
“Come on; we’ll walk from here. I don’t think that truck is moving anytime soon.”
I rush out of my car, avoiding falling on my ass from the slippery pavement when I charge around the hood of my car before sliding my phone into my back pocket. I reach out for Scarlett’s hand and hold her tightly as we bundle close together against the chilly winds.
“Is she hurt? I could hear her crying,” Scarlett asks.
“I don’t know. But I don’t think we’re going to find something good,” I warn, quickening our pace while wincing at the loud squeal of steel being cut close by.
“Haven’t they been working on this place since forever?” Scarlett questions, glancing through the wire fence. With the holidays and bad weather, there hasn’t been many people working. Just yesterday, it was a ghost town, and now there is a flurry of activity. No doubt whoever owns it now is desperate to get it done before they run out of money and succumb to the curse of the site.
“It certainly feels like it. This is the longest we’ve been able to keep an office since I started working at J.P.I., and I sort of wish we could move just to get away from it. Not that we’re likely to lose another office. I think this one might be sticking this time,” I say just as my phone begins blaring from my pocket.
I grab it and see Zander calling.
“Hey—”
“The detective working the Sanchez case, a Detective Tony Tibbett, was just found murdered,” he rushes out.
“What?” I gasp, freezing on the spot and bringing Scarlett up short.
“He and his wife were gunned down in their home hours ago.”
“Shit!” I gasp, franticly searching our surroundings as if expecting someone to jump out at any second. “You think it was in retaliation?”
“He’s worked a lot of cases, likely has many enemies, but the
re’s more. A woman was set to testify in the case, but she backed out at the last minute. She and her family were shot down as well in the early hours of this morning. It looks like they were taken out with the same caliber gun. It’s too much of a coincidence. We won’t know for sure until forensics can see if it’s an exact match. Are you with Scarlett now?”
“Yeah, we’re close to the office.”
“Good. Get inside and lock it up. I’ll swing by and grab you guys in twenty. You know the drill. Keep everything locked up and go into my office. It’s the most isolated from the front.”
“I can just—”
I glance back at my illegal parking to find so many cars backed up that even if I did get back in, there is nowhere we could go. Sitting in a car on the street is much more exposing than a building.
“Dec, Joey, and I are at the crime scene,” Zander continues when he correctly notes I’m not going to argue. “I sent Harvey to round up Nix. Dec is leaving now to grab Ava, Sasha, and Teagan from their lunch. Joey will stay with the police here until they have more affirmative answers.”
“Where is Gemma?”
“She and some officers are going to the Booth family home to get her parents and brother out of there. We’re possibly being overcautious, but I would rather be that than sorry.”
“Okay, I’ll see you in twenty. I’m meeting my friend Larissa at the office, so there will probably be three of us,” I warn, not wanting any confusion when he arrives.
“Stay safe,” he commands before ending the call.
“What’s going on?” Scarlett asks, her body as tense as mine.
“The detective working the Sanchez case was just murdered, along with his wife,” I murmur in shock, still trying to wrap my head around it.
Scarlett’s gasp is sharp and choked. “You think it was because of the arrest?”
“We don’t know. Earlier today, another family was murdered. A woman who was meant to testify but didn’t.”
“What?” she wheezes out, her skin paling in seconds.
“I know. I’ve got a seriously bad feeling about this,” I admit, not bothering to sugarcoat.
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