by Aria Ford
Megan decided to tip her hand just a bit and see how he reacted. “And did she need to be in a slinky little black dress for that errand?” she asked him sweetly.
She caught the slight flare of his nostrils. “Do I need a lawyer present, Detective Lowe?”
“No. Not unless you’re guilty of something.” She smirked, and pulled her notepad out of her purse. “Okay, Gabriel. So you asked her to deliver some contracts to the LA Note?”
He nodded and reached into his desk for a thick packet of papers. “This is a copy of the documents I asked her to get notarized. They made it to the newspaper Tuesday morning, but I don’t know what happened to her after that.”
That stopped Megan in her tracks. “Tuesday morning?”
“Yes,” Gabriel replied, looking at her like she might be stupid.
“So she was here Tuesday morning?”
Gabriel sighed and rose to his feet. He stretched and pulled off his brown suit jacket. Megan allowed herself a small internal gasp at his muscular build. He looked like walking sex.
“No, she was not here Tuesday morning, hence the text Monday night reminding her to drop off the documents,” he said. “Now Detective, if you have any other questions, you might want to talk to Allen West at the Note since he talked to her before she went missing. If you’ll excuse me, I am late for a meeting.”
With that, he stalked past her, leaving Megan alone in a cloud of $500 cologne.
Chapter 4
Megan had spoken to Allen West at the LA Note as Gabriel had suggested and had gotten pretty much nowhere. According to him, Charlotte had arrived around 7:30 am, dropped off the contracts, and left without much fanfare. Megan had no new information and was beginning to grow frustrated.
She called Gabriel again and demanded that he give her more of his time. She was still holding firm to her suspicion that his and Charlotte’s relationship was more than just professional. He had agreed to meet her at the coffee shop around the corner from his office.
Gold-colored curtains fell from the ceiling and barely grazed the ground before being lifted up again in a U shape. The smell of madeleines wafted through the air, and you could taste the treat before it even made it to your plate. Waitresses walked around with frilly white aprons tied tight to their waists, and the bustle of patrons and the click of a waitress’s heels were all you could hear.
Megan groaned as the waiter pulled out her chair and she eased herself into it. I’m not against a regular cup of coffee with mocha in it. Why does he have to pick such an extravagant place? Café Don costs a fortune.
She skimmed the menu and her leg bounced up and down underneath the table. Why does all of the coffee start at 8.00?
It wasn’t long before he appeared, in a silver cardigan and blue jeans. His hair hadn’t been gelled down, and the tousled chestnut locks looked boyish on him as he eased into the chair across from her.
“You beat me here.” He smiled genuinely at her, like they were old friends.
“Are you ready to answer more of my questions?” Megan asked him, ignoring the pleasantries.
He flagged down the waiter and said, “Could we have a French press please?” He turned to Megan. “How do you like your coffee?”
“With mocha, and a lot of cream.”
The waiter nodded and scurried off to find a freshly cleaned French press.
Gabriel noticed how two of Megan’s fingers constantly toyed with some of the ringlets in her hair. The way she sat, like she would have to spring up at any moment, left her with one arm just below her breasts. She offered a hard expression. She clenched her jaw and he saw her forget to smile when the waiter came back with a French press of light roast and a short cup filled with mocha pumps. He could see that he wasn’t going to be able to charm her that easily.
“Okay, Megan. Here’s what I can offer you,” he poured some coffee into the bright green mug that the waiter had slid in front of him. “I was with Charlotte the morning she disappeared. She was at my home.”
She whipped out that famous notepad and copied down what he said. I knew it! she thought.
“We spent the night together, and no, it wasn’t the first time. The last time I saw her was when I left for my jog at 7:00 am. She was supposed to have the contracts notarized and deliver them to Allen West at the Note. He called to tell me that you spoke with him so I know that you know she at least made it there.”
Megan squirmed in the wooden chair and poured herself some coffee. Even though she had suspected this, she hadn’t wanted to be right. Now she’d have to take a harder look at Gabriel and she might not like what she found.
She wiped some spilled coffee from the table top, and started to add cream and drizzle the mocha syrup into her mug. There were so many questions swirling through her mind, she just had to organize them. How long had the affair been going on? Did her husband know? If he did, that would make him her top suspect with Gabriel a close second. Had they had a fight? Was she planning on cutting things off with Gabriel and he had gotten angry and hurt her? She didn’t know which one to ask first.
Instead, she studied Gabriel as he sipped at his coffee. He seemed cool and confident even though he had just told her he was sleeping with the missing woman. Was the confidence borne out of innocence? Or was it borne out of thinking he was rich and charming enough to get away with it?
Gabriel looked back at her and wondered what she was thinking. He thought he had read a fleeting moment of disappointment in her eyes when he’d admitted to sleeping with Charlotte. That intrigued him. Was she just a little bit jealous? He could do a lot with that information.
He leaned back and stretched his long legs under table, purposely trapping her legs between his for a moment. “Oh, sorry about that,” he feigned innocence and pulled his legs back under his own chair. Megan squirmed just a little bit and he tried hard not to smile. Gotcha.
“Don’t worry about it,” she said quickly. This might be the most action I’ll get all year, she thought.
She finally decided that she had to ask a few of the questions scrambling around in her brain if she had any hopes of solving this case. She clicked her pen and stared pointedly at Gabriel. “How long have you and Charlotte been seeing each other?”
Gabriel flashed that wolfish smile at her again. “I wouldn’t say we were ‘seeing each other’ he stated. It was purely physical, and I’d say about a month or so,” he said, noting how uncomfortable she looked as he spoke. It was almost fun.
“Great,” she murmured. “And did her husband know?”
Gabriel shrugged. “I don’t think so; I never asked and she never said. I mean, we didn’t do much talking.” Now she was fidgeting in her seat. It was all he could do not to reach out and tug on a fistful of her thick hair. He briefly wondered what it would feel like wrapped around his hand while she knelt in front of him.
Megan nodded. “Right,” she said, looking miserable.
He decided to put her out of her misery. “Charlotte and I had a lot of fun together. It wasn’t serious and I don’t believe her husband knew. We didn’t have a fight and I promise you that I had nothing to do with her disappearance. Does that help you?” he asked, leaning forward.
Megan considered him for a moment before nodding her head. “I guess so,” she said. He seemed to have all the right answers, which left her with absolutely dick in the leads department. She was back to square friggin’ one. She might as well get ready to go back on patrol.
***
A frustrated yell made its way out of Megan’s throat and she kicked the beanbag that sat next to the couch in her apartment. “Where do I go with this now? Charlotte is still missing, and Chief will demote my ass without a doubt.”
She was missing something, she had to be. Gabriel had told her that things with Charlotte hadn’t gone south and that he hadn’t had anything to do with her disappearance. Was it really that simple though? Her cop instinct told her that he was telling her the truth; or was it wishful thinking? Did she simp
ly want to believe him because he was hot?
Chapter 5
“Do you think this is progress? Cutesy lunch dates on the department’s dime?” Chief Cole snapped, as Megan sat down across from him.
Shit, I should have closed the door, she thought. She composed herself, crossing her legs and speaking slowly. “Chief, what else can I do? I’m looking all over for clues, Mr. Geroux was my last solid interview.”
Chief Cole snorted and half turned in his chair. “Hand me a cola, will you?”
Megan frantically nodded and scrambled up to the Chief’s mini fridge. She slid him the cola and once he popped the straw holder off he said, “Okay, who were the last people to see Charlotte?”
She toyed with her split ends as she said, “Gabriel and Allen West from the LA Note.”
Chief Cole slurped his cola. “Alright, then. What did you get from those two?”
“Well West said that she was on time and polite and nothing seemed like it was out of the ordinary. Security cameras saw her enter and leave the building alone. They also saw West enter at 6:30 am and he didn’t come back out until almost seven that night.”
The chief nodded. “And Geroux? What was his story?”
Megan cleared her throat. She was almost hesitant to tell the chief that Gabriel and Charlotte had been having an affair. She knew Chief Cole would grab onto that like a dog with a bone; like she should be doing. “Well, according to him, he and Charlotte have been sleeping together for the past month and-”
“Wait, what?” Cole nearly yelled. “The boss tells you they’ve been having an affair with the missing woman and you aren’t crawling up his ass with a flashlight and a microscope? You know that is usually the first person you look at!” He shook his head as if he was disgusted with her.
Megan mentally cringed. “I know that’s typically the first person we suspect, but I honestly don’t think he had anything to do with this.”
The chief fixed her with his grey gaze. “And why is that?”
Megan gulped, knowing how he was going to react to her answer. “Because he told me he didn’t.”
Chief Cole snorted and slapped his meaty hands on his desk, causing some of the cola to spill from the can. “Oh well then we should probably call lock up because we have a lot of perps down there that said they didn’t do it. We should probably let them all go,” he said derisively.
Megan got up, her cheeks burning red and her temper nearly as hot. She stormed out of the chief’s office and grabbed her purse and gun from her desk. She was more determined than ever to prove herself with this case.
She walked down the block to the coffee shop and plopped into a chair. It was quiet and she would be able to type out her notes without the chief breathing down her neck.
She opened up her laptop and began searching through what she already had saved, trying desperately to find something that she had missed. Nearly an hour had passed and she had come up with nothing.
Maybe the chief is right. Maybe I am all wrong for this job, she thought, feeling defeated.
She blew on her coffee and typed with the hand that wasn’t grasping the handle of orange coffee mug. She looked up from her hot drink and glimpsed Gabriel’s tall form coming through the doorway.
He said hello to the waiter and walked toward a table. She was prepared to offer a polite smile if he noticed her, but upon seeing her, he stopped walking and called out to the waiter, “I’ll be sitting here!”
He borrowed a chair from another table and sat opposite her. “Good afternoon, Detective Lowe.”
She waved a hand at him as she gulped more coffee. “Call me Megan. I’m not here in an official capacity.”
He nodded. “Alright, then. Are you working on Charlotte’s case?”
“I am. I’m just putting all of my notes together for an official report. “
“Ah.” He toyed with the menu. “Are you making any headway?”
There was no way in hell she was going to tell him just how much she sucked at her job. Instead, she hid behind the department’s official line. “I can’t really comment on an ongoing investigation,” she said, trying to sound as official as she could. She knew if he pressed her, she would break. He stared at her long enough to make her squirm in her seat again. “Can you at least tell me if I’m a suspect?” he asked, innocently.
She stirred her coffee. “I’m not ready to rule anyone out just yet,” she said vaguely.
“If that is the case, why are we pretending to chat like old pals?”
“You sat here, Mr. Geroux.”
“I’m Mr. Geroux, again?” Gabriel was not at all pleased that she had switched back into cop mode with him. He wanted to keep her on her toes. “Megan, did you come here hoping that I might find you? That I might say hello, and even sit down like I am right now?”
Maybe. “I came to type my notes.”
“Are you sure about that? Because I’ve been coming to this place for at least two years and I’ve never seen you in here before this case. And trust me, I would’ve noticed you,” he said flirtatiously.
Megan felt the heat creeping up the sides of her neck. Had she subconsciously come here in the hopes of seeing him? If so, what did that mean?
I’ve got her, Gabriel thought to himself as he watched her internal struggle from the across the table.
***
Megan’s thighs clenched around Gabriel’s waist as they all but knocked down the front door to his condo. He gently nipped at her neck and she groaned as he directed them to the bedroom.
Tossing her on the bed, he unbuttoned his silk shirt. He freed his shoulders and chest and Megan moaned again at the sight of him. His fingers snuck underneath her T shirt and he pulled it over her breasts, and then over her head. She was left sitting on his bed in her hot pink D cup. Her chest heaved and her mind raced.
“Fuck me before I change my mind,” she growled. Her hands wrapped around the back of his neck and she pulled him closer.
Gabriel chuckled and flipped her onto her stomach. The cool silk sheets felt like heaven on Megan’s skin.
“You are not in charge in this room, Detective,” he mumbled wickedly, as he nipped at her ear lobe and continued to bite her down her neck, her shoulder blades, and finally the inside of her thighs, and the round curve of her ass.
His hands ran over Megan’s bronzed skin, and his tongue teased her pussy. She cried out, and started to squirm away. Gabriel slipped his arms underneath her knees and held in her place as he licked the inside of her lips, and ran his tongue along her clit with care. She trembled in his grip and whispered, “Please.”
He delivered a swift slap to her ass and the skin turned pink. “You are not in control, here I said. I decide when you are fucked, how you are fucked, and when you get to come. Is that clear?” he asked.
She barely had time to answer when he dove back in, his tongue working her into a frenzy. She bucked and moaned against him, but when she was just about the trip over the edge, Gabriel pulled back.
She glared at him as if she had suffered a betrayal. She heard the clink of his belt buckle as he undid his pants. He rubbed his rock hard cock against her through his briefs and Megan had never felt so hungry for sex in her life. The few men she had been with had always made the experience a brief one.
He pulled his throbbing member out of his briefs and slid it inside of her with little effort. She was slick from their fun, and when he bucked his hips into her, their flesh smacked together
He thrust deeply, and Megan squeezed her eyes shut as he rammed into her G-spot with each pump. He reached around pinched her nipples, causing her to cry out in a mixture of pleasure and pain.
“Uh uh uh, not yet,” he said, pulling out before she could come and flipping her onto her back.
He straddled her shoulders so that his hot, musky cock fell in front of her face and he stared down at her. “Don’t pretend that you haven’t wanted to try this since we met. I’ve seen you eye-fucking me, Megan. Go ahead, taste it.”
Her pussy pulsed as he pumped his hips toward her face. “Suck it. I want you to try and take the whole thing in your mouth.”
Her eyes examined him as she slid her mouth over his cock. He groaned as she pumped her head along, letting her lips form a perfect “o” as she slid them to the base of his cock and back to the tip. Her fingernails left small impressions on his ass as she squeezed it. She sucked heartily, coaxing a few drops from his tip. She savored the taste of him on her tongue.
His hand forced the back of her head down, insisting that she keep at it. She let his cock fall out of her mouth, and suctioned onto one of his balls. Gabriel moaned in pleasure.
He reached back and his fingers grazed her asshole but wandered back up as she urged him onto his back. He relaxed, and allowed her some control as she thrust a toned leg over him and mounted his cock.
They both cried out as she bounced on him. She swirled her hips, and tossed her head back as she ground out her need on him. She groaned at the feeling of their closeness, the way her patch of hair rubbed against his.
He gripped her ass, one hand on each cheek and he spread it open. She gasped as he kept it open as he lifted his up and into her. He favored a slower motion as they both climaxed, and his hips idly pumped into her, already spent, but still wanting the moment.
Megan collapsed on top of him. I want to wake up with him still inside me tomorrow. Just so I know that this was real.
He grinned at her and kissed her shoulder.
She ran her hands along him, and along his sheets just as Charlotte may have done only a week ago.
Chapter 6
Megan propped her feet up on the cheap and rotting wood of the coffee table. She massaged the back of her neck with her fingertips. The last couple of days had been hell. She had interrogated the kid that worked at the notary the morning that Charlotte went missing and hunted down all of Charlotte’s direct relatives that for ideas on anyone that might have held a grudge against her.