“Where’d she get that kind of money?” Blake asked.
“She sold a gaming program to a major brand name the previous year,” Chase answered. “I’m getting a bad feeling about this. There have been too many screw-ups. She’s been compromised too many times, and that’s a lot of money to come up missing.”
“You think someone on the inside is dirty?” Blake said.
“I don’t have enough information yet, but it’s looking that way. Did you get on the inside track with that Hannah woman?”
Blake looked down at his naked body and smiled. “Yeah, we spent some time together. The only thing she can remember that could be of any help was that she saw an envelope that Caitlin had tossed up on the dash so she would remember to mail it. When they took a sharp turn, the envelope flew out of the Jeep. They had to stop and search for it. Valerie found it, and it was addressed to a real estate company in Concrete, Washington, but the return address was a P.O. Box and had another name in Reno. She couldn’t remember the name and when she asked about it, Caitlin told her she’d promised to mail it for someone else. She didn’t think anything of it at the time. That’s all I got so far.”
“If I asked, could you take some vacation?” Chase asked.
“When?” Blake responded. He knew it was a code. He and Chase had worked it out years before, meaning one or the other was needed as backup, officially or unofficially.
“I need to find out where she’s heading first,” Chase admitted.
“I’ll clue Hank in,” Blake said. “He’s supporting you on this. He’s cut the paperwork assigning you as her protection detail, so you’re not out of the service yet, bro.”
“That’s a bonus,” Chase admitted. “I’ll keep in touch.”
Blake snapped off his phone and returned it to his coat pocket as Valerie came into the kitchen and put her arms around him. He felt his erection rise at the sight of her nakedness.
“Is there trouble?” Valerie asked. “Is Caitlin okay?”
“Ms. Randolph is with one of the best,” Blake said. “I may have to join them.”
“When?
“I don’t know yet, but not right now,” Blake said looking down at her amazing body. He spread one large hand across each of her buttocks, gripped them and pulled her closer. With a lift, he hoisted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. “God, woman what you do to me,” Blake groaned. He looked around and decided that the small rounded eat-on counter was about the right height. Shoving the stool out of the way, he sat Valerie down then turned and lifted her to lay face down on her belly. He stroked that rounded booty with the utmost admiration and plunged in greedily.
Chapter 4
Caitlin woke up slowly, and realized that she was cuddled up close to Chase. She rolled to her feet only to be jerked back, landing half on the floor and half on the bed. Her right wrist was handcuffed to Chase’s left wrist.
“What the fuck!” Caitlin exploded.
Chase rolled to sit on the edge of the bed beside her. He leaned over and gave her backside a hard whack.
“Goddamn it!’ Caitlin screamed. Her bottom was sore!
Whack!
“Chase!”
“Haven’t you got the message yet, sweetheart,” Chase said in an unsympathetic but firm voice. “Somehow I got the impression that you weren’t a slow learner.”
“Get this…” Caitlin stopped as she saw his hand rise. “Why did you cuff me?” She demanded.
“You drugged me the last time I let my guard down,” Chase admitted. “I’m not taking any chances this time. I didn’t know if there would be any lingering side effects from DFSA you gave me that would make me sleep deeper than usual. I didn’t think you’d be able to drag me down the sidewalk attached to you.”
“Real funny,” Caitlin snapped. “I have to pee, so unless you want it to get nasty, you’d better get this thing off me!”
“No problem,” Chase said, amenably producing the key. “But it’s going back on after you are cleaned up and dressed, and it’s staying on.” He unlocked her cuff, and she was almost through the bathroom door before he stopped her. “Sweat pants and tee-shirt off before you go in.”
“Why?” She demanded halted at the doorway.
He smiled. “There’s a window in the bathroom. I don’t want you tempted to make a run for it. If you do try, you won’t make it very far in those skimpy little panties without someone noticing.”
“Pervert,” Caitlin snapped but she yanked the sweatpants off and tossed them at his head. She turned her back to him and tossed off her T-shirt. That left her only in her panties, which were very tiny indeed. She slammed the door.
Chase grinned. He knew for a fact that the window was sealed shut, because he’d already checked it. Caitlin was still the most naturally beautiful woman he’d ever met. She was also a royal pain in the butt, and being anywhere near her gave him a sexual buzz and a near permanent erection. He looked from the closed door down to the tent in his boxer shorts and grinned.
Caitlin almost screamed when the shower curtain was pushed aside, and Chase stepped in. Instead, she felt an immediate throb between her legs. He didn’t ask, because he didn’t need to. His mouth covered hers, his tongue teasing, searching, thrusting, as his hands explored her body. Her hands couldn’t be still either as they roamed over his chest and his buttocks. As one of his hands spread her legs, one of hers cupped and stroked him. His fingers were working magic inside her, her knees were getting weak. She was suddenly lifted, and her legs circled his waist as he pushed her against the shower tiles. He found her center, and they began the primal beat of thrust and stroke, faster, harder, deeper. She went over the edge, her entire body releasing years of sexual deprivation, her body torturing his sex with convulsive contractions, and he drove his sex deeper into her claiming her as his. They clung to each other, breathing hard and savoring the joining of their bodies.
A sudden blast of cold water from the shower nozzle shocked both them and made them suck in their breath. Chase grabbed for the handles to turn the water off.
Chase set her down on her feet and stepped out carefully, quickly toweled off before drying Caitlin and carrying her to the bed.
“Chase, we haven’t solved anything,” Caitlin said as he slid under the sheet with her.
“Yes, we have,” Chase countered. “We’ve established that although we’ve lost time, we haven’t lost the passion for each other. We felt it then, and we still feel it now.”
“We’re still in opposite camps on the real issues,” Caitlin said weakly.
“We’ll solve those later,” Chase promised and he took possession of her mouth, slowly and deliberately working his way down and round every inch of her.
When Caitlin awoke the second time that morning, she was lying across Chase Bennett’s chest. He’d made love to her again, and put the cuffs back on her and told her to get some more sleep. Surprisingly, she had. She looked over at the clock. It was only 7:08 am and she had to ditch him. He’d talked about protecting her, but he didn’t seem to realize that protection went both ways. She needed to ditch him so she wouldn’t be endangering his life. She had her contingency plans already in place, new identities, new locations carefully selected to start over again. She’d made her peace with what she had to do to survive and permanence wasn’t in those plans. She no longer had the luxury of doing what she wanted. She had to do what was necessary to stay alive. She would also do what was necessary to keep Chase alive.
She could keep a low profile. She was well practiced at it. Okay, she’d screwed up by allowing her friendship with Valerie to influence her to make a major mistake. She wouldn’t make that mistake again.
“Humm,” Chase mumbled in his sleep and jolted suddenly. He checked the cuffs, and the time. “We’ve got to get moving.”
“I agree,” Caitlin said holding up the cuff.
Chase rolled and took her with him over to the dresser where he picked up the key.
Caitlin went through her
duffle bag and pulled out jeans, a T-shirt and underclothes. Chase was doing the same, but he was getting dressed much faster.
“Don’t put on your jeans yet,” Chase, said when she reached for them.
Caitlin’s head came up. “Why?”
“Unfinished business,” Chase said coming over to her and taking her hand and pulling her over to the bed.
“Chase, we need to get going. There isn’t time for more sex…”
“This isn’t about sex,” Chase said and Caitlin noticed that his voice was different. His voice was stern and firm.
Realization dawned at the same moment that he sat down and yanked her over his lap.
“No! You can’t do this again!” Caitlin screamed.
“You drugged me. You cuffed me to a bed and ran out on me,” Chase said firmly. “That cannot go unpunished! You earned this and I intend to deliver it.”
“No, you can’t!” Caitlin protested, trying to wiggle free from his tight grip. “I won’t allow it.”
“You are not in a position to allow anything,” Chase reminded her. “Need I remind you? I am in charge.”
“No!” Caitlin pleaded as her panties were yanked down to her knees.
Whack!
Caitlin screamed and fought, but it wasn’t doing any good, and she hated feeling helpless. Her hands went back to protect her already tender bottom, but he simply caught them in his hand and pressed them down on the small of her back.
Whack!
Caitlin bit her lip and felt her entire body react from the pain being inflicted on her bottom again. She would not cry. She wouldn’t!
Whack!
Whack!
Whack!
When the sobs broke free, she couldn’t stop them. She cried in earnest, feeling powerless to stop him from battering her bottom again. Worse yet, was knowing that she had endangered his life by drugging him. She probably did deserve it.
Chase knew exactly what he was doing. First he was setting a precedent so if Caitlin tried to defy him, she’d realize there would be consequences. Chase had lost one man in his twenty years of service duty. It had happened during his Marine service. The loss of life had not due to his negligence but due to man’s inability to see, and believe the real danger he was in. The situation was too similar for him to ignore Caitlin’s defiance. Her life was at stake here. Their life together was at stake. She might not believe they were meant to be together, but he did. He would set the rules until this situation could be cleared up. She would obey the rules. She would obey him or pay the consequences.
When he determined that her bottom was red enough to cause her some discomfort, he concentrated his final spanks on her sit spot again. She wasn’t going to be driving and could situate herself any way she could to be comfortable, but she wouldn’t forget what her act of defiance had cost her.
Caitlin was sobbing when he finished, and he laid her down on the bed to finish her cry. He opened his computer, logged on and spent an hour researching through databases and the recent files on the Rigoltee family. The name was behind a full out criminal syndicate that included dealings with drug cartels, money laundering and prostitution, in addition to sidelines of fencing stolen art, artifacts and jewels. The entire syndicate with its many outreaching tentacles all connected back to Charles Rigoltee and his son Steven and the new partner Anthony Connors. The Rigoltees had long and dangerous memories, and Caitlin was probably still on the top of their revenge list.
“It’s time,” Chase said shutting down his computer. “Finish getting dressed, we need to get on the road.”
Caitlin performed a complicated roll off the bed that kept her bottom from touching the bed and reached for her jeans. “Where are we going?”
Chase watched as she squirmed uncomfortably into her jeans. “You might be more comfortable in sweats,” he commented.
“If you cared, you wouldn’t have beaten me again!” Caitlin snapped.
“Being dead is a lot worse than having a sore bottom. I can tell you from personal experience being shot is a lot worse too,” Chase said calmly. “You have a choice, either we can go to Concrete, Washington since you’ve gone to the trouble of buying a place there under the name of Edwina Potter, or we can head for Texas. Either way, you’re not shaking me loose.”
“You’ve already had the alias of Edwina Potter researched?” Caitlin demanded.
“Of course,” Chase said.
“How?” Caitlin demanded.
Chase grinned. “I checked your wallet. You’re good Caitlin, but I’m better, and I’m the professional. The ID is damn near perfect, complete with social security number and Facebook account. The dossier even shows an impressive income and taxes paid. Not many people can work under several different names and make that kind of money.”
“Making money is easy,” Caitlin said. “Being safe from idiots that the government for all its gazillion dollars spent on security and protection can’t manage to stop is harder. Tell me Chase, why do innocent people have to suffer because a very few men set themselves up as invincible?”
“Because we have to live within the law,” Chase answered truthfully. “They don’t. Where are we going Caitlin?”
“You need to go back to Texas. I’m going to Australia.”
Chase grimaced. “Sorry, can’t do that, Australia is definitely out of my jurisdiction and where you go, I go.”
“Fine! Take me wherever you want to go,” she said giving in.
“I will,” Chase said grinning. He’d expected more resistance, more arguments. “Texas, here we come.”
Chase handcuffed her to the front door pull of her Jeep. He called the agency on his rental car and told them where it could be picked up. Caitlin seemed to have accepted that he was in charge. That was good, but he still didn’t trust her. She was smart, and she was devious.
The silence in the Jeep was oppressive. Caitlin wasn’t talking to him, so she was mad because she wasn’t getting her way, or she was mad over the second spanking. She coughed several times, pulled a bottle of water out of her bag and drank from it. Five minutes down the road, she began to breathe deeply. She rolled down the window, stuck her face out into the wind and then swallowed some more water.
“What’s wrong?” Chase demanded.
“I’m going to be sick,” Caitlin exclaimed frantically. “Pull over, pull over now! There, there!”
Chase did, coming to a stop in front of a boarded up gas station. Caitlin yanked the door open and threw up violently. He turned off the ignition and went around the Jeep to unlock the handcuff. She staggered away from the Jeep and over to some trees and threw up again. When he thought she was through, he reached for her and pulled her into a hug.
“I’m sorry, Chase,” Caitlin sobbed, digging her fingernails into his arm painfully as she clung to him weakly.
“It’s not something you can control, sweetheart,” Chase said consoling her gently.
He didn’t even notice the tiny prick.
Chapter 5
Valerie Hannah swept across the restaurant as if she were a diva. Her dress was daring and sexy as hell. She didn’t want to think about the dent it had made on her Visa card. She’d planned her assault on Blake Ford, and now she was executing it. Every guy in the restaurant was watching her, but her attention was focused on only one man. She and Blake had been inseparable for days. Every part of her body tingled and throbbed whenever he came near her. She’d decided that he was her man and she wasn’t going to let him get away. She’d use every weapon she had in her arsenal of feminine tricks, and she had plenty.
Blake’s eyes lit up as Valerie made her way to him on those impossibly high heels she wore. Her dress was showing more cleavage than he was willing to share, but still he admired every inch of those beauties along with all her other ample assets. He stood as she came to the table, and she kissed him. It was a nice kiss, a public kiss, but wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted the kind of kiss that he’d been experiencing since two hours after they’d met—the g
ut grinding kind that put his mind on one thing only—how soon could he get inside her.
“That’s some dress,” Blake said in Valerie’s ear. “I can’t wait to get you out of it.”
Valerie’s whole body went on alert. “You’re the one that invited me to an early lunch instead of meeting me at my place.”
“My mistake, one I won’t make again.”
She laughed, and her eyes said ‘take me home’.
Blake’s phone vibrated and he pulled it out to check. “I have to take this,” he said seriously. He got up and left the table. He was back in less than three minutes. “I have to go, my partner’s in the hospital in Eugene, Oregon.”
“He’s supposed to be looking after Caitlin,” Valerie said. “Is Caitlin all right?”
“They think she’s the one who put him there,” Blake said.
“That can’t be. Caitlin wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Valerie said defending her friend.
Blake put a large denomination bill on the table. “Stay for lunch, treat yourself. I have to go.”
“No, I’ll come with you,” Valerie said.
Blake moved closer to her. “You can’t come, Val. This comes under official business. Have a great lunch, and no more skipping meals. I have to go. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”
Valerie watched him as he left the restaurant. Suddenly, she snatched the large bill, whipped a twenty out of her cleavage and slapped it on the table. She rushed out after Blake, removing her shoes so she could run. She kept her eye on his car as she climbed into hers and whipped out of the parking. She was only five cars behind as she followed Blake to the airport. She parked one row over from where he parked and ducked out of sight as he passed. Digging into her backseat, she came up with a pair of low-heeled boots and a sweatshirt and tugged it on over her spectacular dress before following him. She was taking off her jewelry as she walked and tossing it into her bag. She called into work, and left a message that she had an emergency and she might not be back for the rest of the day.
Caitlin's Conspiracies Page 5