by Amy Brent
When I called him, Mark readily agreed, although he sounded like he had company. So, although our conversation was brief, I at least had something to look forward to in a few hours.
Out on the spacious golf course, Mark had a whole lot more to say.
“You’ll never guess what I did last night,” he said as he arranged his golf club for a swing.
“Thought of new ways to propel Virus Killer to the next level?”
Mark nodded furiously.
“How’d you know?” Laughing, he clarified, “I had another threesome.”
“You dog, you!”
Mark nodded, hit the golf ball, and then, without even watching where it had gone, turned to me.
“Man, I know it’s been a while for you—just how it had been for me—but you have to give it another go. Life is never so sweet as when there are two women between your legs taking your dick to town.”
Closing my eyes, I tried to imagine the glorious reality Mark was referring to. After all, it had been only a few months ago that I’d hooked up with those Swedish girls. But once again, the memory didn’t entice me in the least, and I found myself opening my eyes to scan Mark’s face.
“How did it go down?” I asked so I wouldn’t have to give him my actual take on what he’d just said.
“Just like the best ones always do,” Mark said, his blue eyes crinkling wistfully at the mere thought. “Pure chance. I met this hot Romanian, and then, while I was chatting her up, I hit it off with her hot British friend, too. They were at Locato if you can believe that. I’d headed there not expecting much but a cheap cover, but there they were, sitting cross-legged in all their stiletto glory. So, get this: We go back to the Romanian’s place, and it’s the English one who—”
Mark’s story blurred into white noise. I was recalling how last night with Kathryn had ended, which had been hotter than any threesome I could even imagine. The way I had just taken her on the kitchen counter—it had been absolutely sublime.
“You bastard, you’re not even listening, are you?”
I came to to see Mark leaning on his shiny golf club, frowning at me.
“Sorry,” I said. “I just had a really hot time last night with Kathryn, too.”
“Didn’t you visit your parents yesterday afternoon, though?” Mark shot back.
I nodded. A knowing smile crept over Mark’s face.
“You totally introduced them to your mistress!”
As he cracked up, I kicked his golf club out from under him. As he staggered backward, I pointed out, “I didn’t tell them she was my mistress, obviously.”
“Okay. Geez, chill,” Mark said, resuming his somewhat precarious position.
I jerked my head in the direction of the green ahead of us.
“See which way your golf ball went?”
Mark shook his head.
“Nope. Did you?”
Meeting each other’s dumbfounded gaze, we burst out laughing.
“Remind me why we even go golfing again?” Mark asked.
I shrugged.
“I figured it was what rich guys do.”
Mark nodded himself, as if I had voiced his very thoughts. Then, patting my arm, he said, “We’re living the dream, Eric. Never forget that.”
***
That night, after the uninspiring golf match with Mark, instead of heading over to Hooters and getting their wings special like we usually did, I called it a night. It was only seven, but I wanted to catch Kathryn in case she went out or turned in early. Part of me knew it wasn’t a good idea to dial her number, but the other part of me knew that if I didn’t, it would be a lot worse for me.
“Eric, hi,” Kathryn said, clearly surprised by my call.
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” I said. “We just saw each other. But I wanted to make sure you didn’t have plans tomorrow night.”
“No, I don’t have plans,” Kathryn said, although her voice was a bit uncertain. “But I’m not sure if—”
“I can afford this many visits?” I quipped.
A sigh.
“No,” she said. “It’s just that my work has been suffering from this. I might need to work a bit late tomorrow.”
Her cool-voiced answer sliced into me. It wasn’t what she said as much as how she said it, without any hint of regret. Maybe I hadn’t been imagining how off she’d seemed this morning. I’d just figured it was from a lack of sleep the night before, but what if it was something more?
The thought rippled down my spine with dread.
“How was your day anyway?” I asked.
“It was all right,” she said. “I woke up next to a really handsome guy—”
“Anyone I know?” I asked, smiling.
“I think you’re pretty well acquainted with him,” Kathryn said, and I could almost imagine her delicious full lips curling at her own wit.
“A handsome guy like that,” I said, “wouldn’t he be the kind of guy you would see whenever you could? Work be damned?”
“Eric,” Kathryn scolded, although I could hear that she was still smiling. “How about let’s say maybe. I don’t want to promise anything and then disappoint you.”
“You’ve already disappointed me,” I pointed out.
“Well, I’m not the first,” she said cheekily, “and I won’t be the last.”
More irritation scraped through me, but I shrugged it away.
“Lucky for you, you also please me in ways that far exceed all other women I’ve been with,” I admitted, “so I’ll let it slide—this time.”
“I guess I’ll have to see what I can do next time to make it up to you,” she said in a throaty voice guaranteed to induce a boner.
Oh yes, if I could just have her spread out on my bed again, filling her with how much pent-up passion I had already, I’d have her screaming.
“You’re thinking of it now, aren’t you!” Kathryn exclaimed.
“Hey, you brought it up,” I said irreverently.
“I guess I did,” Kathryn said. “And the only reason I guessed what you were thinking was because I totally was too.”
My dick perked up. If only Kathryn were here, sitting at the kitchen table beside me with that hungry look that indicated she was thinking exactly what I was to a T—an absolute filthy T.
“I should get going,” Kathryn said, “but I guess based on everything you’ve said tonight, that means you’ve missed me?”
“Yeah, I guess I have,” I said without thinking.
Silence. My admission rapped through my head. Was what I was feeling now really missing Kathryn? This cock-itching, heart-fumbling distraction?
“Goodbye, Eric,” she said softly.
“Good night, Kathryn,” I said.
I waited until she hung up. Then, for good minute or so, I listened to the fast beep-beep-beep of the dial tone. It seemed preferable to facing what I’d just admitted to her—and myself.
I missed her. Really? What was going on with me?
Chapter 21
Kathryn
Huh, that was weird.
As I sat on the toilet and stared at the unseemly peach-colored door, I remembered. I was supposed to have my period by now. There’d been so much happening this past week, I hadn’t noticed that my monthly friend was missing. It wasn’t like it was something I anxiously looked forward to after all.
But now, as I mentally calculated the days in my head, there was no denying it. My period was late—by a whole week.
While other girls, Sadie most of all, often moaned about their flighty periods, I’d never been one of them. My period was regular, always on the dot—Monday morning, starting just as I got to work actually. My period routine had been the same over the past few years: put in my little light tampon Monday morning, go to work, and, bingo, there was my period.
Glancing down, I realized my hands were clenched. Chill, Kathryn, I mentally reminded myself.
But now that I was in a good old worried mood, other worries were popping up, too. That one time I’d
spent practically the whole day with Eric, had I remembered to take the pill then?
Dolefully, I stared at a big metallic scrape on the stall door, as if it contained the reassurance I needed.
With a deep breath, I got up. Flushing the toilet, I beelined for the sinks. There was no point in worrying about the whole missed period and maybe missed pill thing now. I was probably just stressed. This was the biggest and certainly the most involved case I’d ever been on. I mean, I was in a contact and sleeping with Eric almost every other day. And then there was the whole strange feeling I was starting to have with him.
Besides, it was probably just me being so sexually active lately. While I’d never been the kind of prude who saved herself for Prince Charming, whether he took months or years to show up, I certainly hadn’t had sex this much in, well, ever.
Back at my office, Sgt. Williams was sitting at my desk. He turned his chair to face me.
As soon as I saw the pressed set of his lips, I knew it was bad.
“Kathryn,” he said.
“I know, I know,” I said quickly, frozen in the doorway, unsure if I should make my plea from there or walk up closer to him. “But I’m getting closer. I can feel it.”
“Did you find anything about Trisha Nichols?” he asked, clasping his knobbed fingers in front of him.
“No,” I admitted. “There wasn’t really an easy way to segue in without the conversation growing awkward. The first time I brought it up, back at the charity gala, Eric didn’t want to answer me, so I know it’s a touchy subject for him.”
Sgt. Williams nodded slightly to himself, although I could see the answer didn’t satisfy him. It didn’t satisfy me, either, to tell the truth.
Last night, I’d been up half the night, furious with myself. That was when I’d remembered the whole Trisha thing, the whole point of the case. There was something about Eric that emptied my mind of all the rational things I should be doing with him and flung me fully into the present moment with him instead.
But I wasn’t about to admit to my sergeant that I’d been enjoying spending time and having sex with the guy I was supposed to be investigating, so much so that I’d forgotten what this whole case was about.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I haven’t been doing this case justice. Tonight I’ll find more answers. I promise, by tomorrow morning, I’ll have a lead for you.”
Sgt. Williams adjusted his glasses warily, as if the slight adjustment could make him believe me.
Rising, he gave me a curt nod.
“See that you do,” he said. “It’s not that I doubt your dedication or your talent, Kathryn,” he added, his face softening. “It’s just that this case is a singularly difficult and sensitive one, and you’re using a tactic that, frankly, I don’t agree with. But if it works, it works.”
Pausing at the doorway, he gave his head a slight incline.
“And I know I don’t have to tell you what will happen if you come in empty-handed tomorrow.”
“No, sir,” I said quickly.
He gave another quick nod, then turned on his heel and left.
My body crumpled into the chair. His revelation hadn’t exactly shocked me. I’d been ruminating over the lack of progress on this case myself. While I had been getting closer to Eric, his family, and his bed, as for actual leads…
I dropped onto the cushioned seat behind me in exasperation. It wasn’t failing the case that upset me the most, or even all this wasted time sleeping with Eric. It was letting Sgt. Williams down when I had convinced him of employing this tactic that he hadn’t agreed with in the first place. Throughout my career, he had always believed in me and supported me implicitly, and now I was letting him down more and more each passing day.
Then there was the whole issue of Eric Black himself. Was I just getting in too deep with him, or was he actually not our guy? My gut seemed to think that whoever had made the allegations had gotten it wrong, that he couldn’t be embezzling money out of his company. It was some sort of mix-up, or someone else was committing the crime.
But the facts were the facts, and our office hadn’t gotten a tip for nothing.
At this point, it seemed that whatever the results, someone would come away disappointed. Either I would find nothing and whatever faith Sgt. Williams had in me would erode even further, or I would find something and the strange cocktail of caring and lust I had developed for Eric Black would detonate in a horrible explosion of finality.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. I went for coffee breaks about five different times. I tried looking over my notes, but when my notes were enough to fit onto one letter-size piece of lined paper, there wasn’t exactly that much to read and reread. It was a bit embarrassing to say the least, seeing how little data my weeks of effort amounted to.
By the time I left the office and drove home, I was frankly relieved.
After all, my time holed up in my office hadn’t been completely unproductive. Now I had a plan.
“You’re home early,” Sadie said from the couch.
I took in her look, Superman pajamas and all.
“You’re not at work?”
She shook her head.
“John is in Mexico for the week. That means I get to work the hours of a regular human being.”
I laughed.
“For me, this new case has been a bitch, and I didn’t exactly have any reason to stay late at work.” I added, “Unless I overly enjoy torturing myself.”
“But I know that look on your face,” Sadie said, her sparkly blue-shadowed eyes not letting me out from under their piercing gaze. “You’re up to something right now.”
I nodded.
“I’m going to bring this reconnaissance to the next level,” I said, setting my jaw.
Sadie stretched out her arms, a smile flickering over her face.
“That’s the determined girl I know. Go get ’em.”
Laughing, I headed to my room, happy Sadie hadn’t asked me what exactly such a move might entail.
Although, compared to what Eric and I had done already, putting on the sexiest lingerie I had under only a trench coat was almost tame in comparison.
In my room, I ransacked my drawers for a good ten minutes before I finally located the set I’d been thinking of. It was the best ones I had, and incidentally, the only one I’d never worn before. I snapped off the tags before I slipped the pieces on, then turned to the mirror and stared at myself with a critical eye.
An irresistible smile slid over my face. Yes, this was the one, a matching bra and panty set of red lace with a black lace frill along the border.
“Whatever your mission is, you’ll kill it, girl,” Sadie said, giggling from my doorway, which I hadn’t even realized was half open.
“Sadie!” I protested.
“What?” she said with an unrepentant smile. “I wanted to see what your master plan was.”
“This is only part of my master plan,” I said, going over to the door and trying to shut it.
Sadie stuck her foot in the crack.
“Okay, okay. I’ll leave you to your sneaky planning. But whatever it is, if it involves you wearing that, you’re sure to succeed.”
As I closed the door, I couldn’t completely fight the smile that had come onto my face. Sadie had a way of saying things that bolstered my confidence in a way none of my own thoughts could. Logically, I’d known I looked smoking hot in this bra and panty set, but after hearing Sadie confirm it? There was no doubt in my mind.
The last part was stepping into my long black trench coat, zipping it up, and then hurrying outside to my car. There was no way I’d feel comfortable making the short walk to his place. Even just driving there, I felt all sorts of naughty, and a bit exposed, too. If there were any kind of car accident or strange mishap that forced me to take off my coat, I’d be done for.
Luckily, I arrived at Eric’s place without incident. I hadn’t even called to tell him I’d be coming.
So, when he opened his door
in his pajamas, he wore a look of complete shock.
“You wear pajamas when you get home from work?” I said, taking in his sloppy gray sweats with a smirk.
“You have your penguin pj’s and I have my grey sweats from high school,” Eric said seriously, smiling himself. “Anyway,” he said, his gaze resting on me appreciatively, “I wasn’t exactly expecting you.”
“I know,” I said, my fingers hooking around my zipper.
As I began to pull it down, I spoke.
“Let’s just say I had some unfinished business with you.”
The lower I pulled the zipper, the lower Eric’s jaw dropped. Finally, at the bottom, I said, “Are you going to let me in?”
Practically staggering back, Eric latched onto my arm and yanked me inside, slamming the door behind me.
The coat dropped to the floor, and Eric stared at me for another solid minute.
“Jesus, Kathryn,” he said in a hoarse voice. “Do you want to give me a heart attack?”
He didn’t let me answer, however, because the next second he was plastering his face over mine. Tongues and lips swirled in one taste of desire. I pushed him off.
“Take me to your bedroom.”
Grabbing my hand, Eric’s dazed form could only comply. Inside his bedroom, I shoved him onto his bed.
“Turn on some music,” I said.
Never had I seen Eric fly to his bedside table so fast. Producing a little speaker set from his drawer, he quickly shoved his phone onto it and picked the first song he came across. Luckily, it had a chill beat with just the type of rhythm for what I was about to do.
Fixing my eyes on Eric, I let the beat take over. I swayed my hips back and forth, then back and forth again. I let it flow my hands up over my head and tilt my neck to the side.
My gaze snuck to his groin, where I could already see his cock growing harder. I licked my lips. When I hooked a finger through my bra strap and let it fall, my gaze slid back to Eric’s gaping face.
I sent him a wicked smile. The other strap I yanked down fast. Swinging my hips around in circles, I turned so that my ass was facing him. Lifting a hand up over my head once again, I bent all the way down until my hand was touching the floor. Like this, tits down and ass up, I jiggled my butt.