by P. J. Fiala
Her legs lifted around his ass and he felt her lock her feet together, she was going to hang on for the ride. That was fantastic 'cause it was going to be a fast and furious one.
He croaked, "Fast or slow?"
"Fast." She whispered. "Very fast."
"Good answer."
Arching his hips, he felt the instant his throbbing cock fell against the slit he wanted. Tightening his hips slightly, he felt himself seat into place. Raising himself up on his hands to perfect the position, he slowly entered her warmth.
She moaned as he slid as far in as he could. He ground against her clit, slid out and repeated, this time sliding in further, his cock coated perfectly with her cream. They were ready. He increased his speed, pumping in and out, enjoying the way her lips rippled along his cock, it was the perfect massage and friction for their mating. Yeah, he wouldn't be wearing those condoms. Not ever.
He continued his pace, grinding against her clit as he pushed all the way inside, pulling out and doing it again. Sophie moaned, her hands on his back squeezed and she whispered, "Gaige."
She whimpered and he gruffly said, "Let it go."
Her hips kept time with his, both of them trying to reach the pinnacle. She cried out his name. His name. Never would he have thought it could sound so good. He pushed all the way inside of her and applied pressure to her clit while she rode her high. He could feel her spasms and it was all he could do not to let go, the sweat formed on his back and arms, he could feel it trickle down his head.
He began pumping again, it wouldn't be long now. His balls tightened up to the point of pain, his cock felt as though it would rip apart, the heat and pain from being so hard nearly unbearable and then he came. The throbbing caused him to groan into her hair, still fanned out on the bed. Her legs tightened and pulled him in fully, her arms squeezed him tightly. His hands found her head and cupped her as he breathed in the scent of her skin and hair and allowed the feeling of floating to overcome him. If this was heaven, he didn't want to leave.
He jerked a few times as his seed flowed into her and two thoughts reached his brain. They'd have to talk about birth control and it wouldn't involve condoms.
Chapter 43
Sliding the door closed quietly she walked out to the kitchen to find Gigi sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and the newspaper. Her mug had a cute saying on it, People say I'm condescending (that means I talk down to people). Sophie giggled, "I love your coffee cups, Gigi, how fun."
"Thanks. I collect them. I can't seem to stop it actually. I've got some pretty sassy ones on the top shelf. Those are my favorites."
Making her way to the coffee pot and the cupboard with the cute cups, she picked out one with a bright sunflower on it and no saying. Adding a spoon of creamer and pouring coffee in it, she glanced at Gigi who shook her head no.
Taking the seat across from Gigi she sat and sighed. "It's peaceful here."
Gigi looked out the patio door and stared for a minute. "It is. It's what I love most about this place. That and the fact that I feel safe here."
"Are you going to sell this place and move into your bed and breakfast?"
Gigi tightened her lips for a moment then looked into her eyes. "I may, someday, but certainly not now. The thought actually makes me nervous. So, I'll have locks inserted on the kitchen and laundry doors. When I'm not there or one of my staff, then those doors will be locked. I'll have snacks out that can sit and guests will be treated well. I may even find a caretaker to live there and help out for free room and board, we'll see."
"You've certainly given it all a lot of thought."
Gigi giggled. "I have. It's time for me to branch out and do some of the things I've always wanted to do. I'm not getting any younger. Having you all here has helped me realize that I enjoy people and I'm ready to move forward. How about you, Sophie, what are your plans when all of this is over?"
She let out a long breath. "Well, first I have to get my record cleared up. Then I have two months left on this contract with the ARMY, so I'll have to finish them. But, this has certainly spoiled the military for me, so I think I'll need to do something else. I'm not sure what that is just yet."
"What have you trained to do?"
Giggling she responded. "Oh, gosh, I've trained for all sort of things. Communications is my major specialty, but I also finished college in Business Administration and Kate and I used to dream of opening a craft shop. Selling our crafts but also teaching other people how to do them. I may give that some thought. Or not. I honestly haven't given it any thought since Kate's been gone. I've dealt with one thing or another since her rape, then her death and to be honest until Gaige had arrived, my only thoughts were how to stay alive."
Gigi's hand reached across the table to hers. "Oh, honey, I'm so sorry."
That simple gesture made tears form in her eyes. The simple act of someone caring made such a difference. "Thanks, Gigi." She cleared her throat and swiped at her eyes with the pads of her fingers. "I guess if something good could come of this, Gaige and I found each other again. Though, I'd give anything to have Kate here to see it."
"She can see it." Gigi's warm smile and simple confidence made her feel so grateful.
Her bedroom door slid open and Gaige stepped out into the living room. His eyes still looked sleepy, but when they landed on her, they lit up. Butterflies formed in her tummy at the sight of his face brightening just by looking at her.
Gigi whispered, "Now what woman wouldn't want to be looked at like that?"
Gaige walked directly to her, leaned down and kissed her upturned lips. "Morning."
"Morning."
Gigi sighed but mumbled, "Morning."
Gaige walked to the coffee pot, took out a mug, chuckled at the saying, then poured his coffee. Walking to the table with the pot in one hand and his cup in the other he refreshed both of their cups, then took the pot back to the coffee maker and set it on the hot plate.
Sitting to Sophie's left and Gigi's right he sipped his coffee quietly, looking out onto the backyard at the flowers in bloom and the birds swooping here and there.
"Well, I'll get breakfast cooking, I suppose you all have a busy day ahead."
Sophie stood but Gigi motioned for her to sit. A couple of minutes later she brought apples, strawberries, peaches, and blueberries in a big bowl to the table with a knife and cutting board and a big platter. "Cut these up while you and Gaige chat. I've got the rest."
"Thanks, Gigi." She pulled an apple from the bowl and set it on the cutting board. "What are we doing today, Gaige?"
He grinned at her. "First, I have reports coming in soon, I hope, on the rape victims that have died. Autopsy reports, rape allegations, police reports, all of it. My military contact, Casper, was quite eager to help out on this one. He's pissed they have a piece of shit like Killian on staff. GHOST is pulling up records on Rand Gillman. Birth Certificate, employment records, family members' records, etc. We'll pour over all of that and see if anything leads us to be able to pin down Killian or Gillman. Then, I'm going to go out and talk to my Uncle Jeff."
"Oh no, Gaige. I thought he didn't want this to go any further."
"He didn't. He used Killian to clean up what he thought was Tommy's mess only it was Killian’s own mess. No wonder Killian was eager to help out. But, it's time to let Tommy off the hook. It's time for Uncle Jeff to face the fact that not only did he treat his son horribly by not trying to clear his name and by making him quietly live with this shit, but he may have let the rapist and killer into a lot of places that helped him cover up all of the evidence. Then, he's going to clear your record, Soph, and Kate’s. Then, we're going home." She sat staring at him for the longest time, knife midair over the apple she was cutting. He told her he loved her last night and always would, but they didn't talk about what would happen from here. He sipped his coffee and his eyes landed on hers. Setting his cup down he tilted his head and furrowed his brow.
"I guess we didn't talk about this last ni
ght. I have to be at GHOST. I would love it if you'd come back with me. Live with me. Be part of my life. The biggest part of it. But, we have to do it in Indiana. Do you think you can live there?"
Her smile felt impossibly huge. Setting the knife on the cutting board, she looked into his eyes. "I can probably make that work." Then her eyes opened wide. "But, speaking of work, I'd be unemployed. I'd have to find a job and do you have room for me there or where would we live? I don't know any place around there to even begin looking. And, I'm rambling."
Gaige laughed and it was glorious. "It'll all fall into place, Soph. One thing at a time. We have to clean this all up first."
"Did I hear that Sophie's coming home with us?" Hawk walked into the room, freshly showered and smelling divine!
"Once we get her record cleared."
"Well, along those lines, I got the employment records for Rand Gillman at the hospital. You have them in your email, too. He's only worked there for six months. But, get this, I have his employment history from the social security records. He'd moved to each town a few months before the death of each rape victim."
Chapter 44
They each sat huddled around the kitchen table, their laptops and phones burning up the internet downloading files and reports that had been pouring in. The doorbell rang and Gaige jumped up to get it. Gigi had left for the bakery hours before and this was likely the package he was expecting today. Glancing out the window, he instinctively reached behind him for his gun, right hand on the stock, just in case.
Seeing the delivery driver uniform, he cracked the door open. The driver, a younger man not more than twenty-eight years old, looked him in the eye and smiled. "Afternoon, sir, package delivery for Mr. Gaige Vickers."
Releasing his weapon and leaving it holstered, he took the box from the driver. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." And off the porch he went, already making time to get back to his truck.
Seeing the bright pink bra and panties on the mailing label, he felt secure bringing the box into the house.
Turning around, Hawk stood behind him, gun in his hand, pointed at the floor. Nodding to his comrade he locked the door once more, carried the box to the kitchen table, and using a pocket knife he slit the tape open. Lifting the lid and unwrapping the box, he glanced over at Sophie who was watching his every move.
He smiled at her and Hawk resumed his seat at the table.
Lifting the new laptop from the box, he lay it in front of Sophie, "Welcome to GHOST."
Her head tilted, her dark hair hanging freely over her shoulders and he thought again she was without a doubt an unparalleled beauty. He'd thought that from the first moment he'd seen her. All those years did nothing to change that about her or change his feelings.
"That's for me?"
"Yep. We can't ruin your eyes by having you stare at that phone all day."
She ran her hands over the top of the computer, lovingly petting it, whispering, "Oh, wow."
Then her brows furrowed and she reached over and lifted the lid on the box where the pink bra and panties sticker was affixed.
“Laptops come from a lingerie store?”
Hawk laughed which made him laugh. “No, it’s our front.”
“Your front? As in a dummy company?”
“Yes. There are times, such as these, that we have to ship things. I didn’t want to bring an unknown box into the house, so they labeled it so I’d know it was legit.”
“What do you call this front company?”
“GHOST Lingerie.” He and Hawk chuckled again.
“So you guys all think this is funny, I see. What about Jax, does she think it’s funny, too?”
Hawk stopped typing for a minute. “She thinks it’s a riot.”
She lifted the lid and turned it on. It startled her when it almost instantly popped on. He continued to pull the cords, a cordless mouse, mouse pad that had the GHOST shield on it and the instruction manual.
"It's all set up with all of our programs. I'll help you learn the software we use, but you'll have full search capabilities just as Hawk and I and the entire team at GHOST have.
"You're serious? Really?"
Hawk chuckled and continued reading through his reports, but his eyes slid to Sophie periodically, his amusement evident on his face.
"Don't abuse it, Soph."
Her head shook vigorously, "I won't, I swear."
He pulled his phone up, forwarded a text he'd gotten from Josh with Sophie's user name and password and sent it to her.
Her phone pinged and she looked down at it. "Your sign in credentials."
She logged in using the information he'd texted her and as her screen appeared her mouth dropped open. Her eyes scanned the screen then she looked up at him. "So, what does this mean? Do I work for you now?"
Hawk laughed. "Sophie, in a matter of a few minutes you became a member of the team and you're sleeping with the leader of GHOST. Record time right there." Her hands flew to her cheeks to hide the red that tinted them. He laughed and she jumped from her chair and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you."
Taking the opportunity to give her a squeeze he responded, "You're very welcome. But, once we get back to GHOST, all the team members will meet with you, then they’ll vote on whether or not you’re a permanent member of the team."
Fear passed across her face, then she said, “You’ll vote yes, right?”
He couldn’t help it, he laughed. “Probably, but no guarantees.”
Her head swung to Hawk. “Hawk, will you vote yes?”
Hawk looked up from his computer, a smile on his face. He waited a few beats then said, “Jury’s still out for me, Soph.”
She leaned across the table and swatted at his shoulder.
Looking at the laptop Sophie said, "We'll need to have ground rules though. You can't grab my ass or anything while we're working."
"Darlin', you're the one who just jumped up and hugged me. Those rules go both ways."
She laughed and he and Hawk joined in.
"But, really Gaige, what does this mean? We didn't talk about me working for GHOST. And, my specialty is communications but I can learn, but I'm not sure I want to work for GHOST. I mean, I don't know anyone other than you two and what do you all do, just sit around and look at reports all day? Not sure I can do that. But, I guess I'd like to know..."
He laughed then held his hand up to halt her. "Honey, let's work at this slowly. Right now, we need to wrap this shit up. Then, we need to get you and Tommy cleared. Then, we need to get home. You can talk to Jax, who by the way will be thrilled to not be the only woman on the team, if it works out that way. Then, we'll talk again. Some of our missions are extremely dangerous. We've lost members on the job. Jax and Josh are twins, their brother and father were both killed while on duty. Hawk was recently shot as was another team member, Dodge, on our last mission. It's not for everyone and, as I say that out loud, I don't like the idea of you being in situations like that. But then again, Dodge probably hates it when Jax, his fiancée, is too."
Hawk chuckled. "He hates it. They make it work. I'll bet it all changes after they're married and she gets knocked up."
Gaige simply nodded, that would be a bridge they'd cross if and when that happened. If Sophie were pregnant with his child, no way he'd want her anywhere near some of the shit they deal with. He wasn't going to borrow trouble on this though, he'd take it one day at a time.
Hawk's computer chimed, then his phone pinged. "I've got reports on Rand Gillman."
Waiting to see what those said, he and Sophie both watched as Hawk read through them. "Killian's kid. Killian is on his birth certificate and it looks like he paid child support until Rand was 18. But, he didn't raise him or spend any time with him. He signed over legal rights to Rand three years later when Irene married Donald Gillman. Donald adopted Rand and gave him his last name. But, Reed continued to pay child support, even though he didn't have to." Hawk looked up at him. "Isn't he swell?" The sarcasm was t
hick.
Chuckling he responded, "Okay, so we have that connection in place. Now we have to confirm that Rand was in the area after each of the rapes. And, why was Rand on base to buy the ring from Balfreed at Fort Riley?"
"On it." Hawk typed away, as he lost himself in his mission. Glancing at Sophie, he said, "Soph, I need you to dig into Chet Forest. How did he know Rand Gillman? I'm going to work on digging up information on David Sams, the former owner of the car Kate was found in and see if he can give us some answers."
Chapter 45
Her head was swirling with all that had gone on over the past few hours. Gaige loved her and she loved him. That was the biggest and best thing. She felt hopeful she'd be cleared of Chet's murder and her AWOL status. A few days ago, she thought she was going to die at the hands of someone she didn't know. Now, she assumed and would prove that anonymous someone was Killian.
"Oh, wait a minute!" The thoughts and memories were running through her mind at breakneck speed. "The men that tried grabbing me at my apartment complex...I think I know who one of them was." Flipping her hair over her shoulder, she stared out the patio door for a moment. "We had some guy hanging around, said he was hired on for maintenance. There are tons of civilians who work on base and this guy was fairly new. Now that I think of it, he had a tattoo on his hand of a spider. It was about the size of a silver dollar on his left hand between the thumb and forefinger, but faded. I saw that. He tried grabbing me and said not to talk to another person about what I knew. Then he said to the other man, “The Captain will be…” and the other man told him to shut up. Anyway, while this was happening, I twisted and ran around the building. He tried grabbing me again and I remember seeing that spider. At the time it didn't come together who he was and how I'd recognize him.” Gaige sat next to her at the square table, and leaned across. "That's great. What's his name?"
"I never knew his name. But there must be a database of civie employees on base. Profiles?"