by Coulton, JC
He nods and falls silent.
“Okay. Thanks for your time.”
I can’t help feeling gutted; I came all the way out here to walk around the edge of a building and talk to a guy who couldn’t care less.
I head back out the front, cross the road and resume my jog down past the front of the Blue Star Office Products building. There are no lights on. I can’t tell if they are still in business after the sale. There are also no cars parked in the small lot.
When I bend over to tie another imaginary shoe lace and look through the fence at the door of the office, I see nothing but a discarded length of a garden hose and an ashtray by the door. It’s one of those long metal ones with a lid that flaps closed over the cigarette butts.
I’m about to get up, but I look again. There’s something about the ashtray that makes me squint to look more closely. It’s a thin trail of smoke, weaving its way through the morning air, twisting gently out of the can. Someone has been standing there moments before. My eyes dart upwards to the room above the showroom. I see the swish of a curtain closing. In that moment, I am certain I’ve been seen, and my heart jumps into my chest.
It’s more than time to go. I jog on as if it’s totally normal for me to be in the area at this time, and I’m not a complete stalker who’s just been caught red handed. I get about a hundred or so feet down the road and wave for a cab back to the hotel. My heart is still in my throat. I feel my fists clench open and closed as I wonder who it was that caught me watching the building.
Traffic is worse now. I hardly notice what’s going on outside the car window. The officer outside my room will be wondering why I haven’t left to go down for breakfast yet. I should be planning what to tell him, but my mind is fixated on the flap of that curtain and the trail of smoke that came out from the ashtray. It could easily just be a staff member. But if that reporter was right, and if the gas station guy hasn’t been off getting hammered in some friend’s basement, then someone could actually be hiding out in there.
I ask the taxi driver to drop me off a few blocks away from the hotel. I need to build up some sweat by running back there, for my morning run story to come off as authentic. I push my body and make sure the hotel doorman and the reception desk clerk see me before I head up in the elevator.
The young officer outside my door looks a little shocked to see me. I wave cheerily as if nothing is wrong.
“Good morning Carrie, I didn’t see you leave this morning? Is everything ok?”
I wave him off. “Oh I’m fine. I just didn’t see you when I came out this morning, so I went for a run alone. No problem at all.”
He looks confused for a second, but the sweat on my face and my half-breathless demeanor seem to ease his worries.
“Have a good day then, Carrie.”
I nod and make my way back into the room. Thank God I pulled that off. I jump in the shower and wonder what the next logical step is. I’m just starting to enjoy the heat of the water when I hear loud pounding at the door…
Chapter Three
Blake
Lieutenant Jacob’s words slowly seep through. My head is foggy after a night with no sleep, but I followed orders and got in early for a special briefing anyway. We have a talk. At first I’m angry, but a sense of freedom soon seeps in. This decision may have advantages beyond my awareness.
Carrie’s been on my mind all night. I need to feel her in my arms and tell her the news. That woman drives me to distraction. I literally go to sleep and wake up every damn day, thinking about her lips. I need to see her and make it right between us.
Excusing myself from our meeting, I head out to my desk, collect everything I have on the April Lee case and leave it with the Lieutenant’s assistant. The cage is starting to fill up with jackets being slung over the back of chairs and coffee cups collecting on desks. But she’s the only person I need to see before I do anything else, including work.
I grab my keys and head downstairs. All I can think of is getting to her. I jump in the squad car and head over to the hotel. I drive fast and then take the liberty to hit the siren at a few crowded points to get through traffic. Technically, this is an emergency. If I don’t see her and make it right, then something terrible could happen. She could put herself in danger, I could lose her, and it could just all go to shit.
I listen to some old school hip hop and tap my fingers on the steering wheel. My cock is already waking up in my pants. Jesus the taste of her is all I want. I need to make everything okay. I pull into the hotel parking lot. I’m out of the car and in the elevator in a flash. Last night’s security report came in without mention of anything, but the day officer stops me half way down the hallway of Carrie’s floor.
“Your girl was out running alone this morning. She must have slipped out during shift change, because neither of us saw her go. It seems legit, but it was a surprise.”
He looks annoyed at himself. I tell him not to worry.
“It’s ok Greg. She’s human, and it’s not like you were instructed to do a wake-up check on her. I’ll talk to her about it now.”
He nods and looks a little less worried. It’s an endearing facial expression for such a big guy. I chose him because he’s a two hundred pound marshmallow who’ll happy snap necks should the occasion require it.
I knock on her door and wait, then just as I’m about to knock again she opens it, wrapped in a towel, looking fresh and beautiful.
“Carrie, I’m sorry.”
They’re the first words out of my mouth and the look on her face is surprise. It’s obviously the last thing she expected. After my behavior last night, I can relate.
“Let me make it up to you.”
My voice cracks a little and she must hear the depth of my emotion, because she ushers me inside without another moment’s delay.
We sit on the small couch. My eyes travel from her neatly painted toenails to her slim ankles and up those smooth legs. The thick white towel is a soft contrast to her slightly flushed skin from the hot shower. It’s beginning to hike up to expose her thighs. There’s something incredibly sexy about this woman. Everything she says and does makes me want her just a little bit more.
“Blake, listen.” Her eyes are pleading. “I know you’ve got a job to do, but I need you to know something…”
I don’t know what she’s going to say, and I don’t care either. All I want is her lips on mine, so I cut her off with a kiss.
Our mouths meet and she immediately softens into me. It’s like no kiss we’ve shared before, like nothing I’ve experienced. I feel her gasp and open her mouth under my own, and the connection between us crackles like electricity. She murmurs softly in her throat, leaning in closer, eagerly allowing me to deepen the contact. Her warm tongue meets mine with a welcoming pressure. I take over, gently pushing her head backward as our mouths move in unison, sucking and tasting each other.
She groans, pulls away slightly and starts to softly nibble and bite at my lower lip. Her breath is sweet, and those open luscious lips make me want to do bad, bad things with this beautiful woman. Her breathing gets deeper as I kiss her, my tongue plunging deeper into her mouth.
My cock is rock hard. I need to see every part of her. I grasp at her towel, pulling it away to expose those beautiful breasts. I palm them slowly as I take her mouth harder. Her nipples are instantly pebbles between my fingers, so I tweak them gently and then pull the towel right off to expose the curve of her hips and ass.
She’s still perched at the edge of the couch next to me.
“Come here.” My demand is urgent, but she looks at me with a challenge in her eyes.
“Make me.”
Her words drive my cock into pulsations of desire as I pull her onto my lap. I know I can’t be rough, so before I take her mouth again, I reach out and stroke her neck under the damp weight of her soft hair. She smells incredible. I can’t help myself from taking over. She’s so soft and I want her to be mine for good.
There’s no resista
nce when I tip back her head and plunder her hot, wet mouth my own. I take her face in my hands and increase the pressure, my lips and tongue moving roughly against hers, simultaneously kissing and pulling her naked body into me as she groans into my mouth. She’s moaning my name and her hands are in my hair, pulling at it, fisting it with her fingers and driving me wild before she pauses to catch her breath.
“Hang on soldier. Why the change of heart?”
I realize I haven’t told her about the case yet so I cool myself down for a second.
“Actually, Carrie, I have some news. I met Jacob this morning and she’s taking me off the case. It’s not just me, though. Carrie, it’s the whole agency. The FBI is taking over.”
Her face looks worried. “Why?”
The truth is, I don’t really know the answer.
“Jacob told me this morning. Apparently they’ve pinpointed some similarities between April’s abduction and some recent cases that occurred out of state. They think her kidnapping could be bigger than what it seems.”
Carrie slides off my lap and wraps the towel back around her slender frame in retreat. I notice she’s lost a little weight in the last week or so. It makes me want to hold her even more closely. The urge to protect her is fierce. She’s becoming an obsession. I need to look after what we do have, and give us a chance to see if this can work.
I don’t even know if that’s what she wants, but right now, now that all the work barriers have been removed, it feels like the most important thing in the world. I want her to know it.
“Carrie, this is good. The FBI have the resources and the reach to really make a difference here. It also means we can spend more time together.”
There’s a crease in her forehead now. I want it gone. I want this woman to open her heart to me. More than anything, I want her to tell me how she’s really feeling.
“Do you think they’ll ever find her?”
The wobble in Carrie’s voice sends a crack through my heart. I hate seeing her in pain.
“Honestly, I can’t tell you the answer to that. But fresh eyes and a nationwide network is a good thing. The FBI can throw in years of experience that I don’t have, and the reach of their power is far greater than ours for this case. April is caught up in something bigger than both you and me, Carrie. I’m relieved to see the bureau is responding. It means they took our request seriously.”
Her delicate eyebrows go up, “You asked the FBI for help?”
I nod. “Yes. Lieutenant Jacob did. It’s standard procedure when we track cases that have similarities out of state. We’re all part of the same network in a way, when there’s a common goal; even if the way we go about achieving it is different.”
Carrie nods her understanding, and a tendril of hair falls over her face. “Okay. So if this is a good thing, what does it mean for us?”
It’s the first time the ‘us’ topic has come up. The timing couldn’t be better. I have no doubt she wants me. I knew she liked me in high school, but I was too fucked up to do anything about it back then. I take her back into my arms.
“Carrie it means that we can be together. It means I want you to stay with me in New York.”
She blushes. It makes her look even more gorgeous in the morning light that drifts into the room.
“Would I need to stay here at the hotel?”
I’m ready to answer that question. Thankfully, I talked to Jacob before about whether Carrie would need to stay in protection.
“The FBI isn’t taking a different direction with the case. They’re expanding the hunt. You can stay here, or go somewhere else, but it needs to be a place that’s safe, and I’m afraid you won’t be going home for a while.”
She bites her lip in the sexiest way, and tells me she wants to think about it. It’s clear on her face she’s still troubled, and all I want to do now is make it better.
“In the meantime, I have a day off, and I want to spend it with you.”
Chapter Four
Blake
She giggles. I enjoy that I can make her laugh under the circumstances.
“Now come here!”
I give her a mischievous look and she responds to my play perfectly with a demure, “I’m sorry, Detective Anderson. I didn’t realize how fast I was going.”
She flashes an innocent gaze up at me from under her lashes. We both laugh before the look between us becomes more intense.
“It’s about time you made more of an effort to do as you’re told.”
I say it playfully with a twinkle in my eye, but it seems to turn her on. She moves closer, and starts kissing me intensely. God, I just don’t know what I’m going to do with this woman.
I roll on top of her and kiss her again, my hand on her jaw, pulling her mouth up to meet mine.
“Carrie James, you’re in so much trouble!”
She says, “I know I am, but there’s no one better to keep me safe.”
Her words are delivered in the soft tones of a southern belle. We both know it’s a harmless game, but something in the way she meets my eyes makes me want to growl and claim every inch of that shining body.
“Well, little lady, if you’re willing to pay the price…”
I purposely put a similar drawl into my tone, but before I can go much further, she kisses me again. Her body is so supple and strong, I love that she has the confidence to play like this. My heart starts to pound faster. The desire in her eyes intensifies. She wriggles underneath me, turning to the side so her shapely hips press against my crotch. My cock is dying to burst out of my pants. It’s as hard as the marble statues in the lobby of this hotel, and I’m dying to feel her on it.
I look down at her.
“Carrie, for fuck’s sake, woman, you have no idea how sexy you are...”
I take one of her hardened nipples gently between my teeth. I want her to know how I feel. I want to see the pleasure on her face, and I want to know I’ve given it to her.
“Tell me what you want.” I breathe the words into her neck, close to her ear so she can hear how much I want to pleasure her.
“Blake, just make it all better. Take me.”
I’ve never been one for taking control, but there’s something so incredibly sexy in her tone. The way she trusts me to take care of her pleasure.
“Please,” she says again and gasps as I lick and suck at her neck. “Please just make me forget everything.”
I don’t need to hear another word. I ravage her neck and collarbones, sucking and gently kissing them, trying to show her exactly how I feel. I lace her hands in mine and gently pull them above her head. It arches her upper back, bowing her body, laying her out to wait for me.
I start between her luscious breasts and slowly work my way down towards her stomach. My arms are long enough that I can keep her hands firmly planted in the pillow above her head as I devour the space between her belly button and the top of her neatly trimmed bush. She’s so sensitive; squealing and giggling as I plant alternate kisses and licks on her sensitive skin. I can smell her musky scent. I want to bury my tongue in her pussy, but I take it slowly.
I trail my fingers up and along her rib line while she arches back and groans in pleasure. I make sure I flutter over every sensitive spot on her torso with the tips of my fingers, and watch the look on her face as she reacts to my touch.
“You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever tasted.”
I whisper the words as I look up into her eyes and I see the way her lips part as those beautiful hips begin to rotate under my firm grasp.
I tell her to keep her hands where they are and let go of my grip, moving down to lick and massage the curve between her thighs. She follows my instructions. I love that about her. I want to show her what she can feel if she’s willing to let go of control. There’s something so wanton and arousing about looking up, and seeing her splayed out for me like this.
I slowly part her thighs with my knee, giving myself access to her sensitive center. I can feel the heat of her pussy on m
y leg. She’s not shy about grinding against me, heightening the pleasure that’s been building up between us. I want this woman so much, it’s driving me crazy. Above all, I want to maximize her enjoyment, so I tell her she has to be patient.
“Wait for me Carrie, trust me.”
She makes to move her hands from above her head. I give her a warning look before making my way down her legs, and she keeps her hands where I left them. I caress every part of her smooth, soft body. I lick and kiss the space between her perfect toes and rub the soles of her feet at the same time. She groans and writhes a little more. Her nipples harden. She begins to gasp as she gets off on my touch.
“Jesus, Blake. Don’t stop.”
The look in her eyes is salacious. She’s inviting me to take her. I growl for a moment. I move my hands up her body without breaking her gaze, and slowly begin to stroke her dripping wet slit. She’s swollen and ready for me. I’m in no rush and she’ll love it more if she waits. I want to take her to edge; beyond anywhere I’ve taken her before.
She moves under my touch, lifting herself up into my hands. I love the way she looks, with her head thrown back this way. I hold my palm flat on top of her pelvis to keep her still as I intensify my touch. I circle her throbbing clit, but I don’t touch it yet. I keep making my way in a circular motion towards her center. I make a point of not quite hitting the spot.
She’s squirming under my touch. I decide it’s time to stop the torture. Without warning, I slide two fingers to the hilt deep inside her. She lets out a little scream of pleasure. I begin to massage her wet pussy, burying my fingers inside her wetness before pulling out to circle her clit again. I love setting her free like this. She’s nearly out of her mind. Her eyes are closed and she turns her head from side to side on the pillow at the intensity of the feelings. I give her even more. My probing fingers curve back inside her to play with her G-spot.
“Blake, please. Make me come, please baby.”