Elijah snorted. “Is that a real thing?”
“It could be. Chaz once said he’s always looking for a victim or villain. Your ex-wife is the vilest villain I’ve ever had the displeasure of hearing about.”
“I love so many things about you, Maegan, but I think your loyal heart takes the cake,” Elijah said when he pulled up to our house.
“Elijah, I’m so happy you love my loyal heart, but right now I want you to love my horny body.”
“Your wish is my command, Freckles.”
“GOD, YOUR SKIN IS SO soft,” I whispered against the swells of her breasts popping up over the lacy cup of her bra. “You smell delicious too.” I dipped my tongue beneath the lace and licked a path across her tits.
Maegan stretched in the center of our bed, arching her back and thrusting her breasts up higher. She didn’t have a shy bone in her body when it came to her sexual needs, and I fucking loved it so much.
“Then eat me,” she purred, slipping her hand down her stomach and beneath her underwear. I saw her fingers slide further under the lacy fabric until they dipped over the curve of her mound, inching ever so slowly toward her slick, smooth entrance. Maegan parted her thighs ever-so-slightly, and I watched her middle finger dip inside her pussy. My wildcat gasped in delight then clinched her thighs to keep her hand in place while rocking her hips to attain friction against her clit.
“Mine,” I growled.
Maegan unclenched her thighs and removed her hand from her panties then held that middle finger up in front of her. She wasn’t giving me a crude gesture; she was presenting her taste to me, and I engulfed the entire length of her finger inside my mouth. I sucked and licked her finger clean then let it slide from my lips.
“Tastes delicious too,” I said, reaching for her panties. I’d learned to tame myself enough that I wasn’t ripping them and leaving scraps of satin and lace in my wake. Tossing the scrap of lace over my shoulder, I positioned myself on my stomach between her parted things, drinking in the sight of her smooth, creamy skin.
Maegan released the front clasp of her bra then cupped and pushed her breasts together, teasing her nipples because she knew how much it drove me crazy. I wanted to clone myself so I could go down on her and suck her tits at the same time, but I’d be too jealous to let anyone, even another version of me, anywhere near my lady.
“Mine,” I repeated, moving in and pressing a kiss against her mound. “All mine.”
I went to work on her clit, sucking and flicking it with the tip of my tongue, lightly tugging it between my closed lips. I could make her come from that alone, but I wanted more. I parted her lips and teasingly darted my tongue inside her, making her gasp and plead for more. I waited until she fisted my hair before I plunged my tongue inside her heat as far as it would go, making sure my nose rubbed against her clit at the same time so I could breathe her in and work her closer and closer to climax from the friction.
“Oh, please, Elijah.”
I lifted my head and looked at her flushed face and shiny, green eyes. “Please what, Freckles?”
“Make me come.”
It would’ve been so easy to lower my head back down and make her climax with my mouth, but I wanted to feel her shatter while wrapped around my cock. I got to my knees, removed my briefs, and climbed up her delectable body.
“Now we’re talking,” Maegan said when the head of my dick inched inside her. “More.”
I gave her what she demanded with her words and the hands she’d placed on my ass to urge me deeper inside her. I claimed her mouth in a feral kiss as I slid in and out of her, easy at first to gently stretch her then at a much quicker and intense pace when she slid her hands into my hair and wrapped her legs around my waist.
Maegan arched her neck and cried out my name at the same time her cunt clenched tightly around my cock. I fucked her through her orgasm while chasing my own. By the time I spilled inside her, I was incapable of words, barely able to breathe.
“Wow,” Maegan said after I gently lay on top of her. “It just keeps getting better. I think I might’ve snapped a toe or two from curling them so hard.”
“Should I apologize?” My voice was muffled against her shoulder.
“I think you should stand up and take a bow.”
“I need strength in my legs for that.” I wasn’t a bit ashamed that I needed a few more minutes to recover.
“I like you right here anyway,” Maegan said, squeezing her arms tighter around me.
A few minutes later, I found the strength to roll off her, and we headed to the shower to clean up.
“Did you discuss the book this time?” I teased while soaping up her back.
“Hey now,” Maegan protested. “We normally discuss the book after dinner, but April and Violet put us on a time limit, and we had too much to discuss in the allotted time. Given a choice, we had to discuss what was happening to each of us instead of the book. I mean, those characters aren’t going anywhere. Well, shoot,” she said suddenly. “I forgot to discuss my idea for the next book.”
“You can always send out a group text in the morning, Freckles. Hell, you’ll see Candace and Vanessa when you take them to pick up their cars.”
“I’m so excited for April and Vi.”
“Going from friends to lovers sounds like it should be easy, but it rarely is. Both people feel like they have so much to lose if it doesn’t work out.”
“Nothing about love is easy, is it?” Maegan asked.
“I find loving you is pretty damn easy.”
“It wasn’t like that in the beginning though,” she reminded me.
One night in her arms shook me to the core and fucked me up. I knew she wasn’t just someone I could fuck and forget, and I resisted her until my duty as a detective threw us together again. I slid my arms around Maegan and held her against my body. “I was such a fool.”
“Yes, you were.” I swatted her ass playfully, but the sound of wet flesh against wet flesh echoed loudly in the bathroom. “Okay, you were scared of the way I made you feel. It wasn’t foolishness; it was self-preservation.”
“You’re so sweet to give me a pass, Freckles. I’m sour about the time I lost with you though.”
“Babe, at least it wasn’t twelve years of stubbornness like my brother and Andy.”
“True. Those two wear the title belt for stubborn jackasses.”
Maegan snorted then stepped out of my arms so she could pick up the body wash she bought for me. Before Maegan, I used a bar of soap and didn’t think about the condition of my skin, but I noticed a difference when she talked me into trying different products for it and my hair. My skin was softer and more supple instead of scaly and dry. My scalp no longer itched, and my hair looked healthier and shiny.
After our shower, we only went downstairs long enough for Lulu to do her business and grab ice cream to take back upstairs with us.
“One big bowl to share or two individual bowls tonight?” she asked.
“Depends what kind of ice cream you’re planning to eat,” I said, keeping an eye on Lulu as she sniffed at least fifty percent of the yard while looking for the perfect spot to pee. I started humming the Batman theme song because she looked like she was wearing a bat mask. It seemed to make her happy, and she finally squatted down to pee.
“I’m thinking strawberry cheesecake tonight. How about you?”
“I’m kind of in the mood for chunky monkey.”
“Two bowls it is,” Freckles said.
“Great, now I think she wants to poop.”
“Better out there than in here.”
“True, but our show is starting in a few minutes.”
“Elijah, is there something you want to tell me about your obsession with Expedition Unknown?”
“Like?” I asked, turning to face her.
“It sounds like you have a little bit of a crush on Josh Gates. Should I be jealous?”
I snorted. “Look, if I were into dudes, he’d be the kind of guy I’d pick.
He’s intelligent, has a thirst for adventure, a wonderful sense of humor, and a great smile. What else would anyone want in a guy?”
“Okay, now I’m crushing on him too,” she said as if I didn’t already know about her crush on the host.
I turned back to check on Lulu in the back yard and noticed she was gone. Fuck! I regretted that we hadn’t put up a fence yet. “Freckles, your little darling has taken off through the woods surrounding the property again.”
“You want me to go with you?” she asked, not sounding alarmed because this wasn’t the first time Lulu got bold enough to dart off the second one of us wasn’t looking. I’d find her easy enough with the flashlight on my phone.
“Nah, you go on up and start our show. Lulu and I will be there in a few minutes.”
“I’ll put your bowl of ice cream back in the freezer so it doesn’t start melting,” she said.
“Lulu,” I called when I stepped outside. “Here, girl.” I didn’t bother whispering because we didn’t have any neighbors to overhear us since trees surrounded us on all sides. Anthony planned the layout of his property very well; although, I’m sure he’d be surprised to realize how much his town grew.
I headed in the direction the little dog normally took but didn’t find her sniffing the ground where I usually did. “Lulu?” I asked, starting to worry a bit. How far could she have run in the amount of time it took me to tick off Josh’s attributes?
I stopped when I heard a foreign sound. It wasn’t tree branches snapping as someone else walked through the woods or leaves rustling in the wind. It was a sound that didn’t belong—chickens clucking.
I stood still so I could determine the direction the sounds came from, turned off my flashlight, and followed them as stealthily as I could. I had a feeling it was the chickens that drew Lulu out of the yard this time. Chickens that had no business being in the woods to begin with. I had a suspicion I knew whose chickens they were but no idea how they got there or who put them there. I wanted to call out for Lulu but didn’t want to give myself away in case the chicken thieves were around.
There was a gap in the trees above allowing a sliver of moon to illuminate the ground, and I saw Lulu standing by a makeshift chicken coop wagging her tail at the new friends she’d found. I cautiously scoured the area and determined it was just the chickens, Lulu, and me out here. I dialed Adrian who answered on the second ring.
“Everything okay, partner?”
“I solved the case of the missing chickens,” I said proudly. “Well, I found the chickens at least.” Lulu barked as if to say she was the one who found the chickens.
“Where?” Adrian asked. I heard rustling in the background and suspected he was putting on clothes to rush out of the house.
“In the woods behind my house,” I answered. “Do you think we should get the chickens and return them or set another stakeout for when the culprits come back?”
“Man, that’s a tough call. I don’t want the chickens to get harmed.”
“They appear to be okay. This coop is a real DIYer, but the chickens don’t appear to be distressed. There’s food, water, and shelter from the elements here.”
“You think you can get Lyric out there early in the morning to set something up like he did at my house?”
“I’ll give him a call as soon as I get back home.”
“How’d you even find them?” Adrian asked.
“Lulu technically found them. She must’ve heard them clucking and ran off to investigate while I was telling Maegan how hot Josh Gates was.”
“Huh? The guy from Expedition Unknown?”
“I mean, he would be hot if I was into dudes,” I said. “You know humor, smarts, and adventure.”
“He has a nice smile too.”
“Yeah, that’s what we were discussing when Lulu ran off.”
“That’s a good girl,” Adrian said. “Uncle Adrian is bringing her extra treats.”
“I’ll let you know what Lyric says.”
“Thanks, partner.”
I scooped Lulu up and jogged back to the house, taking her straight upstairs to our bathroom to check for injuries or dirt.
“You were gone a long time,” Maegan said, making a beeline for her precious dog. “Where’d my girl go, and why is she so filthy?”
“Lulu solved the case of the missing chickens.”
“You did?” Maegan asked her. “That’s my good girl.” Lulu wagged her nub for a tail and barked happily.
“Well, we know where they are, but not who placed them there or why.”
“What are you going to do now?” she asked.
I repeated the conversation I had with Adrian, and she nodded. “I haven’t seen a coyote or fox around here in years, but that’s not to say there aren’t any. That’s your biggest threat to the safety of the birds while you set up your sting.”
“What about Henery Hawk?”
Maegan snorted. “I think you’re safe from him too. The person who took the chickens would’ve hurt them already if that had been their goal. They’re trying to make a point or something.”
“A political point? Like an animal rights activist?”
She shrugged. “Makes as much sense as anything else.”
“Know of anyone who fits the description?”
Maegan tilted her head to the side. “No one comes to mind.”
“Okay,” I said, kissing her freckled nose. “Are you okay to clean Lulu up while I call Lyric?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Expedition Unknown is a rerun tonight anyway.”
I expected Lyric to say he’d be over in the morning, but he sounded eager to set up a few trail cameras equipped with night vision rather than wait until the morning. “There’s a better chance of me getting spotted in the morning than there is right now. I’m used to walking around places in the dark.”
“It’s fine with me if you want to come over now.” I sent a text to Adrian, letting him know that Operation Chicken Snatcher was underway.
Lyric and Memphis arrived exactly twelve minutes later, both wearing headlamps like miners use down in coal mines. Lyric had his ever-present bag of gear while Memphis carried a ladder. I didn’t have anything quite as savvy and resorted to using my phone again, but it got the job done.
Lyric carefully surveyed the area to determine the best place to install the trail cameras and ended up setting up two adjacent to each other. One camera picked up the front and right side of the coop while the other picked up the back and left side.
“We’ll catch those fuckers now,” Adrian said, entering the small clearing and scaring the shit out of me. “What? You thought I’d let you have all the fun without me?” He slapped my back hard enough to rattle my lungs then counted the chickens.
“Yep, they’re all accounted for.”
I wanted to make a joke about counting chickens, but I was too damn tired. When we got to the house, Adrian said goodbye and headed home while Lyric and Memphis followed me inside.
“Is Maegan still up?” Lyric asked, sounding almost shy.
“Probably, would you like me to go upstairs and get her?” I offered.
“No, I’m being silly. I’ll see you guys tomorrow for my first ever French toast brunch. I just wanted to ask if she was serious when she offered to hire me to do the baking for Books and Brew.”
“She wouldn’t have said something if she wasn’t serious,” I told him. “She’s very impressed with your baking skills, and to be honest, your muffins are better than the ones they buy from the commercial bakery in Cincinnati. More importantly, she’ll be happy you’re sticking around.” I extended my hand to him. “Welcome to Blissville, Lyric.”
Lyric shook my hand and thanked me before they headed home. I took the steps two at a time to tell Maegan the good news, but she was curled up around Lulu sound asleep. Instead, I turned off the television and lamps, climbed beneath the sheets, and spooned up behind her. I thought it would take forever for me to fall asleep after all the chicken sting setup,
but I drifted to sleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.
TYPICALLY, THE MOST EXCITEMENT I got on Wednesdays involved a ride on Elijah’s cock followed by French toast brunch. Afterward, I had the rest of my day to myself. I admit in the past that “me time” usually amounted to planning out the rest of the week, month, or even my life with a bubble bath and a good book thrown in. I also scheduled my hair, manicure, and pedicure appointments on Wednesdays, but Josh was out of town on vacation with his husband, Elijah’s captain, so my usual eight weeks between hair colorings was stretched to nine.
My morning started out earlier than usual when I drove Elijah over to April’s house to pick up his truck. I was disappointed neither April’s black Audi nor Violet’s dark blue Mustang were parked in the driveway. That didn’t mean Vi didn’t spend the night though. They both could’ve left for work already.
Candace and Vanessa eagerly awaited me at their prospective front doors.
“Was her car there?” they both asked when I picked them up.
“No one’s car was there,” I told them.
“I think it’s pretty pathetic we didn’t walk to get our cars this morning,” Vanessa said.
“Speak for yourself,” Candace said, running her hand over her sleek, red waves. “It’s too humid for outdoor activities if you have naturally curly hair.” I could see her glancing in my direction out of the corner of my eye and knew she was checking out my extra week of roots showing. “Besides, I’ve already been on the elliptical for an hour, showered, and styled my hair.”
I returned home after I dropped them off at their cars, indulged in a long, hot shower then set about putting my weekly French toast brunch together. Most of the time, I stuck to making traditional French toast on the griddle, but I liked to try something new at least once a month. Last night while Elijah was romping in the woods, I put together a French toast slash cinnamon roll casserole dish that smelled scrumptious and had to rest in the refrigerator overnight. I had a feeling it would be a big hit, which was confirmed when my guests arrived and began salivating before the casserole was even out of the oven.
The Lady Stole My Heart (The Lady is Mine, #2) Page 12