“No, we won’t do anything permanent. A few henna tattoos, a mousy hair rinse with some goop to make your beautiful hair look dry, chipped nail polish on chewed off nails, and tons of gaudy make-up should do the trick.”
“Good, I’d hate to remain scaggy after this is all over.”
“Mmm,” he said as he looked me over, “I can’t wait to see you skanked out a bit.” He leaned in and put his forehead to mine and whispered so no one else in the room could hear, “I sure wish I was going to be the one to pick out your slutty outfit. I’d love to see you in fishnets with huge holes in them, and a plunging see-through blouse over a tawdry mini-skirt.”
“See-through!” I gasped, a bit louder than I’d intended. He put his fingertips to my lips. His boss was sitting at the table watching our little reunion and just outside the door was a bustling police station.
“Just joking. I don’t want anyone, least of all this perv seeing you topless.”
I looked into his face, my own creased with worry. “Speaking of . . . what have all your friends been saying . . . uh, on that score?” I’d had the unfortunate experience of being rescued in my all-together a few weeks earlier, but despite Brick’s efforts to shield me, his whole team had had an eyeful of my 38Cs. I still flushed red whenever I thought about it.
“We don’t talk about it. But if anyone did, there’s hardly anything they could say, except how lucky I am that you’re my girl.”
“Am I your girl?”
His boss got up and left the room, mumbling something about a meeting in ten minutes.
Chapter Three
“Of course you’re my girl. I would hope by now that you’d have no doubt about that. I mean, sure, after all we’ve been through it’s been tough to have a normal romance, but we’ll get there. After this is all wrapped up, I think you and I need to take some time, get to know each other . . . check and see if this is chemistry we’re feeling or something deeper.”
“What are you opting for?”
“Something deeper, not so transient.”
“White picket fence,” I chided. It was something he had mentioned while I was in the hospital, but I was fairly certain he had forgotten.
He smiled at me and chucked my chin. “I know I offered, but I just can’t picture you as the white picket fence type. I saw your house, remember? You’re more the castle with the moat type.”
“Actually, I’m pretty happy with my Dolphin.”
“Speaking of which, your driving skills must have really improved for you to have made it down into this valley.”
“Took my time and held my breath all the way down.”
He chuckled and then his eyes met mine. There was a spark of sadness in them that I had never truly seen disappear. “Thank you for coming.”
“How could I not?” He was so handsome even disheveled, so tall, and right now so melancholy it actually hurt my chest to see it.
“Hey, you don’t have to do this. We can get someone else.”
“That would take time you don’t have. Sounds like this is all coming down pretty quickly.”
“It is. But we could fly someone in.”
“Not necessary. I’m honored. And just a bit curious.”
“About what?”
“Playing the role, getting trashed-up so to speak. Seeing if I can put a smile back on your face when you get this guy.”
His fingers cupped my chin and he bent to brush the softest, most tender kiss I’ve ever had across my lips. It spoke volumes. I could feel the need as well as a fierce undertow of possessiveness as he deepened the kiss and moved his lips over mine. Then his large hand slid up my jaw and wrapped around my head bringing me closer. His mouth captured mine and claimed it. There was nowhere his tongue didn’t delve; nowhere our lips didn’t mesh. The only thing that kept me from sinking deeper into the abyss was the sound of his boss clearing his throat behind us.
Brick ended the kiss, but not abruptly, despite the audience, he still let his lips linger, his tongue taste, before pulling back. His hand fell to my waist where he gripped it before turning me and leading me through the door.
Until then I hadn’t known I was to be a part of the meeting, but it soon became apparent that I was considered part of the team and had to be included so I could thoroughly understand my role.
Soon, the makeshift office they were using would be dismantled and moved to Kentucky, along with me—the new and not-so-proud mother of a teenage girl who was going to surprise this John Howard by kicking his ass.
As soon as we sat at the improvised conference table consisting of two folding tables pushed together, Brick’s boss stood and paced the perimeter of the room. “This man is fully bankrolled by his mama, he dotes on her and she dotes on him, but despite what he says or how he acts in public, his main focus in life is to always please his mama. It’s not clear to what extent she condones his pedophilic lifestyle, but the pattern she’s shown all his life is to deny him nothing. Absolutely nothing. It’s rumored she secured two young teenaged girls for him as a birthday present when he was fifteen. Paid them five hundred each to make sure he woke up a happy little man. He is her only child, and while he left her to manage her huge hog farm all on her own, she doesn’t seem to hold that against him . . . so long as he visits regularly. The pattern we’ve mapped out seems to include all major holidays, her birthday and his, with occasional surprise visits we suspect are for allowance issues. As I said she holds the purse strings. Of course, she does all the work, so I’m not thinking he minds her being in charge all that much.
“In two days she’s putting on a big to do in a bar in her hometown to celebrate her birthday, the whole town has been invited and there’s talk she would like a grandchild—soon. Junior, always obliging, as I said, will probably be pressured to pick a local woman and settle down. But so far, his tastes don’t run to the motherly type. He seems to draw the line at seventeen-year olds. Although the odds are fairly high he’s impregnated at least one of his victims at one time or another, mama’s probably looking for progeny to cuddle and spoil like her son. And of course, there’s the farm—down the road she’s going to want to retire. Sonny boy either has no desire or no talent for running an enterprise that’s put the town on the map.”
“How old is mama?” Brick asked.
“Fifty-two.”
“And no husband?”
“Been out of the picture for fourteen years. She divorced him when she found him in the barn with her sister. The sister hasn’t been seen since then, maybe she went with him, maybe she didn’t—at least that’s the way she’s always answered the question concerning her whereabouts.”
“So what time’s the party, and are we all going to just saunter into town and belly up to the bar?”
“The party is on the 5th, starts at sundown, and everyone’s invited. A stranger is going to be suspect though, so we’ll keep it to a minimum. Jenny, you’ll be there with your daughter Vanessa, your car will break down just outside town. Brick and Jed, you’ll be two truckers on the road. The rest of us will be inside the back of the truck monitoring everything and calling the shots. He said this last part while giving Brick a stern look. We will not jump the gun this time. As everyone has watched that tape over and over again, I’m sure you all realize that we do not have enough evidence to put this man away. We only have his voice, and him from the back. This time we’re going to have everything nailed down. So nailed down that good ol’ mama is going to have to visit her son in jail for her next birthday. Got that?”
Everyone nodded or murmured their assent and then chairs scraped on the wooden floor as the meeting came to a close. Brick’s boss motioned for both of them to join him at the head of the table where he was still pacing.
“Jenny, your daughter will be here this evening, along with the agent who’s going to ugly you up a bit. You two can bunk together over at the B & B on Dawson, the rest of us will be in the old Army barracks on Maplewood. We’ll leave at six a.m., plenty of time to get the
re and roll into town for Junior’s momma’s birthday party.
“All you have to do is parade Vanessa around a bit, indicate she’s more trouble than she’s worth and that for two cents you’d ditch her right then and there. Act a bit shaky like you need a fix and then negotiate whatever he offers—then take the money and run. When he spirits Vanessa away we’ll be right there, eyes and ears recording. When he makes his move, this time we’ll have him surrounded.”
He looked her in the eye, trying to gauge her, to sense her spirit or her gumption. “Got it? Any problems with any of that?”
“I’ve got it. Sounds easy enough. Where do I go when I get back in my car and leave?”
“We’ll be set up at a travel park in the next town over, that’s where we’ll leave the RVs—yours, Brick’s, and the rest of the team’s. Just head back there and wait for us. It’ll take a while because we’ll have to hand him off to Federal marshals before we can join you. No way are we leaving him anywhere where his mama can get to him. Why don’t you go get something to eat and rest up, we’ll come get you when Vanessa gets here.”
I looked up at Brick and saw the thoughtful expression on his face. I knew he was already planning contingencies, seeing everything happening and reacting to it all in his mind. I could tell he was in no mood to baby-sit me for the next few hours.
“Sure. I’ll just go back to my RV and have a snack. Then I’ll take a nap. You know where to find me.”
Brick came out of his reverie long enough to walk me back to the RV I’d left parked at the far end of the parking lot. I unlocked the door and then he turned me back to him as I was about to go up the steps.
“I have to go check all the electronics, make sure there are no glitches. You look tired. Grab some soup or a sandwich and then get some rest. I’ll come check on you after I’m done.” His hands fell from my shoulders to my arms and then to my wrists.
He brought them to his lips and kissed each one. I felt the warmth seep all the way down into my fur-lined Uggs. He leaned in and kissed my forehead. “Thank you,” he whispered, and then turned and left.
I watched his tall frame move away, his shoulders slightly hunched as he stared at the ground and ate up the distance with his long, lean legs. On the outside he was a force to be reckoned with. But on the inside, he was fragile. He was doubting himself and he was still bashing his head against the wall of disgrace and humiliation. I could feel how all this was affecting him. I could sense his despair. But there was nothing I could do about it. At least not until tomorrow when I would sashay into the bar, crash Junior’s momma’s birthday party, and sell him my make-believe daughter for his perverse sexual needs. Then Brick could avenge himself. He would time it right this time and put that bastard away where he couldn’t hurt little girls anymore.
As I turned and climbed the steps into my RV, I touched my lips and remembered Brick’s all-consuming kiss, full of need and desire, laced with the possessiveness of a man who knew what he wanted but careful enough to make sure his woman had the same needs and wants. It was how every girl, every woman, deserved to be kissed—her innocence taken with awe and respect, not inconsequentially and with force.
Chapter Four
I was sleeping like the dead, all bundled up, knees to my chest, face into my pillow when I sensed I wasn’t alone anymore. I slowly opened my eyes and assessed that feeling. I was sure there was a distinct reason for it. Then I smiled. Brick’s big, splayed hand was on my butt, not kneading or caressing, but just holding and letting his warmth seep into the rounded cheek that I had hiked up in the air.
Slowly I turned and opened my eyes to the dim interior of my bedroom. I almost always kept the blinds drawn back here but I could still tell that it was late in the afternoon; the light seeping between the cracks had lost its shimmer and was morbid with shadows. When I managed to get fully turned so I could see his sleeping form, my world lit again. He was magnificent in repose. This man who allowed me to see him when he was so vulnerable, so wounded by failure.
His dark brows were relaxed, there were no frown lines marring his smooth forehead—his cheeks, far from being smooth shaven had their own dark shadows blooming on them. His jaw was taut leading down to a chiseled chin with the slightest hint of a dent. He looked latently dangerous, a powerful Titan. But it was his lips that drew me. Partially open and emitting the softest puffs of air, they were firm and welcoming, a lovely shade of rose that I wanted to taste. I leaned in and the scent of him encased me, spiking something visceral within me. His lips were warm under mine, firm, yet welcoming. I couldn’t get enough. My lips plucked at his bottom lip, tasting, exploring the texture, and drinking in the sensation of knowing I was being intimate with the most sensual pair of lips on earth. I heard him moan, long and low and then I was on my back and he was covering me with his body, his jean-clad knee insinuating itself between my legs.
Tongues are amazing things. They can lick, soothe, feather, flicker, and together with lips they can suck, stroke, caress and nip tauntingly. His did all that and more, drinking me hungrily as if he couldn’t get enough of the flavor, of the taste that now was essentially us. Deep throaty groans accompanied rasping forays and searching plunges, until I couldn’t tell which ones were his and which ones came from me. When his hand slid down my cheek to my throat and then to my breast, I had no trouble telling which groan was mine. His were deep and throaty—full of appreciation, mine were low and keening as my body arched and I tried to feed my breast to his palm . . . and then to his mouth. Still I needed more. Much more. I was almost in pain from the yearning, the intense desire burning through me, lighting little fires everywhere. Please, please, my mind screamed, take off my shirt. For the love of God, touch me there—naked . . . please.
He finally did. My long-sleeved tee was stripped off, my bra unclasped and my breasts freed, ready to be lavished. His knee slid up the sheet, wedged high between my thighs and pressed against me over and over again in a knowing, male-inspired rhythm. I came, shuddering uncontrollably long before either of us expected it. He drew me to him, holding me tight and tucking his face into my neck. He murmured soothing phrases I could only catch a word or two of—lovely, sweet, so sexy, primed were you? Love how you taste, want you badly—crooning sounds that made me realize we weren’t going any further right now. Why not?
I wiggled my hand down between our bodies and gripped him. He jerked and pushed into my palm letting me feel how much he wanted me. He was long and hard, it was at least to my mind, impossible to believe he wasn’t going to do something about this. I was game for any scenario. Any place, any way, however he wanted me—I was there to comply. My lust meter was pegged; I was in the red zone. It had been a long time since I wanted a man inside me. I had needed one many times but had found alternatives that required a little help from Duracell.
“No,” he whispered against my ear. “No.”
“Yes,” I whispered back. “Yes.”
“You deserve better.”
I pushed him back so I could see his face. “What does that mean?” I asked, clearly confused.
“You deserve better. I’m such a fuck-up.”
I pushed hard against his chest, sending him over onto his side. “You are not going to tell me that because of this . . . this . . . error in judgment on your part, that you are not worthy of me! I am the one not worthy of you. You are amazing—a wonderful, caring man. You are not a fuck-up. And one way or another, I am going to have you. Right now.”
Using both hands I undid his jeans and began wrestling them open. His hands joined mine as he tried to keep me from releasing him. But I was driven. I wanted his cock. In my hand, in my pussy, in my mouth—right now it didn’t really matter where. I wanted to give him pleasure. I wanted to love him. I wanted to show him that I didn’t deserve him. And the best way to do that, I reasoned, was to be submissive—to take him inside my mouth and love him, soothe his hurts, lave his bruised pride. If Brick could be the one to benefit from the long hours Jared had spent
tutoring me in the art of fellatio, that would please me very much. He fought me as I angled myself down onto the bed, as I turned my face into his crotch. But he stopped fighting the instant I took him into my mouth. The struggle was over. He succumbed as I greedily sucked and licked his penis. I curled into him, and like a baby with a pacifier; I would not let him go.
A long sigh escaped, then a deep throaty groan, then his hand cupped my head and he showed me the rhythm he desired. I marveled at how steel encased in flesh could feel so silky in my hand and feel so warm in my mouth. It had been years since I had found any satisfaction in pleasing a man this way. His total fulfillment was my only goal but a sixth sense told me he would never allow himself to come in my mouth. I knew I had another battle drawing near when he began to jerk and sob my name with distress. But I held on despite his efforts to buck me off and when he came I sucked his slick cum down my throat as it spewed from him, enjoying every single shudder that told me he had given me complete control. Finally. I continued to lick and suck until he went flaccid in my mouth. He caressed individual locks of my hair in long sensuous strokes until his hand went limp and I heard his even breaths. He was spent, and delightfully so.
I turned myself around on the bed, wrapped my arms around him, and covered us with the comforter. An hour later a knock at the door woke us and we were told Vanessa had arrived. It was show time. Time to get to know my daughter, and then time to get the show on the road. And soon it would be time to put the filthy bastard who was messing with little girls, and now with my man’s self esteem, in a big ol’ federal prison.
We crawled out on opposite sides of the bed but before I could round the bottom of the bed he grabbed me by the wrist and walked me over to a chair in the living area. Then pulled me into his lap. “You asked if you were my girlfriend. Who else’s would you be? I can’t think of anybody else who would put up with you.”
Running Into A Brick Wall Page 2