by Tia Siren
I finished with the doppelganger, and he left the office. The minute the door shut, I crumbled. My brother was dead, my parents were dead, and I had no one.
“Oh, my god,” I breathed.
I looked around the room and tried to get my bearings and pull myself together. I couldn’t let Patrick’s death mean nothing. I needed answers. While tears still streamed down my face, I rifled through Leo’s desk one last time. I knew if he kept any information on this anywhere, it had to be in his desk. This was a professional piece of equipment with professional statistics and studies, so it made sense the professional paperwork that was just for him would be somewhere in his desk locked behind his office door.
But I came up empty.
“Miss Joanna?” Leo asked before he knocked, “We’ve got two more people for you to check.”
“Bring them on in,” I called out. I examined them and found it to be the same as all the others. The implant didn’t hurt, tingle, itch, or vibrate. It didn’t leave a mark or a scar, and only one person could feel it when I played around with it. That person was taken to a doctor, and I was left with absolutely no answers.
“Miss Joanna—”
“Claire, please,” I breathed.
“Claire,” he said again, “it’s been wonderful having you around today, but I’m afraid I must escort you out.”
“Such a shame. I was hoping to see how this thing was built,” I said.
“Well, I suppose I could take you down to the floor they created it on, but it’s boring. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather get a bite to eat or something?” he asked.
“Like a date? While you’re in the middle of an investigation? You like to live on the wild side, don’t you, Leo?”
“There’s no better way to live,” he said with a smirk.
I raised my eyes to meet his, and it was a mistake. All at once, my legs grew weak. Rhonda was right. He really was a handsome man, and I hated how I loved his gaze on me, how I loved the way my name had rolled off his lips, how he put flutters in my stomach with the brush of his hand.
“Would you like to go to dinner with me sometime, Claire?”
“I suppose that should be fine, Leo,” I said.
Part of me was taken aback by him brazenly asking for a date. One of his employees had died today in some shady way tied to his study, but he could still think about advancing his dating life. It didn’t show him in a positive light. If he’d felt guilty earlier, there really wasn’t any trace of it in this man’s body right now.
I hadn’t found anything today, but there was something about this project that seemed very personal to him, and personal items were never kept in an office. If I was going to get any sort of information out of him, I had to get to the place every man could feel personal and vulnerable.
I had to get into his bedroom.
There might be something Leo had that he wasn’t telling anyone because he thought it wasn’t important, and if I didn’t find the truth, it probably would never be found. That biased lead detective would pin it on the tech, even when the tech clearly wasn’t responsible.
But, if I was going to find a way into his home, that meant sleeping with him. Men don’t take women back to their houses just to show them around and let them hang out. It would be a small price to pay for figuring out what the hell had happened to my brother.
“Well, if you would like to give me your number,” he said as he took out his phone, “I could give you a call tomorrow, and we could figure out where to go from there.”
“Sounds delightful.”
I rattled off my number, and he flashed me his trademark smile, and when he left his office, the big guy came in right behind him.
“Time for you to get out of here,” the tall man with the tattoos said.
“A little bit of manners would do you just fine,” I said.
“No reason for you to be in here anymore. I’ll escort you out.”
“No need. I know how to work an elevator and follow ‘exit’ signs,” I said.
“I’m coming with you anyway.”
“No. You are not,” I said as I turned around. No way was I spending more time with the guy than I had to. He grumbled at me, and I realized I didn’t like him at all. His fists were balled up and his face was pulled taut, and the veins in his neck bulged. What the hell was he so afraid of me finding?
No, I didn’t like that man one bit.
This company had something to hide, and I was going to figure out what the hell it was.
7
Leo
I made plans with Claire to pick her up for dinner tonight. I dressed myself in my finest suit and picked up a small bouquet of flowers, but when I arrived, she shot me a message.
I’ll come out to you. Just honk.
I didn’t think anything of it, and when she walked out the door, I was absolutely stunned. She looked beautiful in the dress she wore, a tight black one that accentuated her breasts, rounded out her hips, and fell just above her knee. Her heels flexed those legs I wanted wrapped around me so badly, and when I held the flowers out for her, she smiled.
“For you, Claire.” I smiled.
“These are beautiful.”
She put her nose in them and breathed in the scent, and it bought me time to let my eyes linger on her. Her curves made my mouth water to trace every inch. When her cerulean blue eyes rose to meet mine, the attraction shot through me. My dick roused to life at the idea of having her on my arm all night. What were my odds of getting her back to my place at the end of the evening? Suddenly, I couldn’t wait for the dinner part of the evening to be over.
“Ready to go?” I ushered.
I opened her door for her before I slid in beside her, and when the door shut, the driver was off. We made our way to this wonderful place downtown that had the best seafood on this side of the country, and the conversation flowed easily between the two of us.
“So, Mr. Leo Wallace,” Claire smirked, “how did you start this big company of yours?”
“Well,” I sighed, “I suppose it started with a dream, a small dream from a small-town boy.”
“I’m not asking for the interview answer. I’m asking for the real one,” she quipped.
I laughed. No one calls me out on my bullshit except Obi. Women tended to pander, especially women I dated.
“It honestly started by accident. I was trying to build my own home surveillance system that I could log into from my phone after the apartment I had in college got robbed. Everyone around me thought it was a good idea, so I built them one for the cost of parts, and then someone asked me if I could tailor one for a dorm room. The rest was history, I guess.”
“That’s actually kind of awesome. Why the whole shindig about a small boy from a small town?” she asked.
“It just sits better with people. They like the all-American story.”
“Well, I like the actual one.” Her smile somehow made her even more gorgeous.
“When I found out I had a knack for it, I actually dropped out of college. I was helping people around me keep their stuff safe, and that’s what I wanted to do, help people keep the stuff they treasure as safe as possible.”
“Is that where the idea for the microchip came from?” she asked.
“Honestly? Yeah. It makes me sick when all these Amber and Silver alerts ring on my phone. Imagine the heartache those families could rid themselves of if they just had a chip they could ping?”
It shocked me that she wanted to talk about the microchip. But, she seemed genuinely interested, and I, for some reason, was compelled to tell her. Usually, I kept conversation centered around the woman while throwing out random compliments. It made them feel wanted and beautiful, as well as listened to, and then it gave me higher chances of getting them back to my place—not that it had ever been a challenge before. Her smile and her demeanor was just so welcoming, and I was incredibly comfortable with her from the time she got into the car.
I’d done this hundreds of times with o
ther women, but Claire felt different. My nerves were on the shredded side. I’d never worried about a woman wanting to come home with me or wanting another date.
She would be a great distraction throughout this murder investigation.
“What do you do?” I asked her.
“I work in the offices of the hospital up the road. My job isn’t nearly as entertaining. I enter and file paperwork, which is how I knew about your implant and how it was working. I gab with the girls I work with, and every once in a while, we order too much food and send it to the hospice floor.”
“Really?” I asked. “How often do you guys do that?”
“Eh . . . a couple times a month. Usually, it’s pizza. They run the best specials. But sometimes we can pool some of our bonuses together and have something catered in for them and their visiting family.”
Her heart astounded me. This woman, who probably made no more than fifty or sixty thousand a year, would take what she had and willingly give it to those who wouldn’t see the outside of that hospital before they died.
“That’s incredible,” I said.
We ate and enjoyed each other’s company. I didn’t have to put on a show or fulfill a role or fantasy, and for a split second, I forgot about all the shit that sat outside that restaurant. I got to indulge in the company of a beautiful woman who had wonderful life stories to tell.
“Well, how about we pick up this party and take it elsewhere? I’d offer my place, but it’s an absolute disaster zone. It’s why I didn’t want you coming in.” She giggled.
“Well, my place is not a disaster zone, and if you’d like, we could go back there and have a nightcap.”
“Sounds fabulous.”
So, at her direction, I put my hand at the small of her back after paying for dinner and walked her out of the restaurant. She slid deep into the crook of my body while we rode back to my home, and I found I enjoyed a woman who knew exactly what she wanted. But, when we got to my house, I came to appreciate how forward she was when we didn’t even get my front door shut before she kissed me. Those deep crimson lips I’d been staring at all night were suddenly pressed to mine, and by the time I shut my front door, I’d already grown hard. I usually made the first move after loosening a woman up with some wine, but having a woman in my arms who knew exactly what she wanted was thrilling.
I planted my hands at the small of her back and pulled her tight curves close to my body. She linked her arms around my neck and pressed so close, I could feel her pulse pounding. When my lips trailed down her neck, she sighed in sweet surrender. I nipped at the tender flesh below her ear, and she ground her hips toward me. Before she could make another move, I swooped her into my arms.
“Oh!”
“How about you come with me?” I asked.
I walked her through my home and to my bedroom. When I shut the door behind me, her lips attacked my neck. Crimson lines of her lipstick trailed along my upper chest, and I imagined being branded with it all the way along my throat to my jaw. I pressed her down onto the bed, where she grabbed my tie and pulled my lips back to hers. She tasted like the tart wine we had for dinner, and I couldn’t help but palm the tits pressing against my body.
“You’re so beautiful,” I murmured into her mouth.
“Then show me how beautiful I am to you,” she said with a whisper.
God, just her voice could make my dick pound in surrender to her. I slowly slid my hand up her dress and moved the fabric up to her stomach, and just as I freed her breasts from the confines of her clothing, she slipped my tie from around my neck and threw it onto the floor.
“There’s a bit too much fabric on you for my liking,” she purred. Not one to keep a lady waiting, I stood up and began slowly shedding those layers of fabric.
She was more than willing to surrender her body to me tonight, and I would lap up every part of her she allowed me to taste.
8
Claire
His lips on my neck felt like silk, hot silk I wanted to rub in every crevice of my body. My dress was hiked up over my breasts, and I watched him while he slowly shed that beautiful tailored suit of his. When I sat up and pulled my dress over my head, I could feel his eyes on every inch of my body. One by one, his clothes dropped to the floor, revealing a tall, strong, chiseled man with rippling muscles and a heavy, throbbing cock that caught my stare when I raked my eyes down his body.
“It seems like you might be a bit too dressed now, Claire.”
His voice was low and gravelly, and my nipples puckered at the sound of his voice. I wanted this to last forever, but at the same time, I wanted him pounding inside of me right that second. He knelt onto the bed and slowly crawled toward me, his arm wrapping around my body to pull me close, his fingers expertly snapping my bra open. He peeled it back from my body as he placed warm, wet kisses on the rise of my breasts, and when my hardened nipples were finally freed, he wrapped his soft lips around them as I lowered myself back to his bed.
Electricity coursed through my veins, and for a while, I forgot why I was even there. His fingers danced along the edges of my body, and my legs willingly parted to accept the length of his body. As his lips trailed down my stomach, I undulated into him. In my mind, I previewed where he was heading, and I wanted it more than I wanted my next breath. His teeth nipped at my skin, heating my body with his every movement, and his tongue slid around my curves while they memorized my naked form.
“Oh, Leo,” I whispered.
I ran my fingers through his hair as he tossed my legs over his shoulders and slowly sank his head between them. My breath seized, and my body shuddered with anticipation. His tongue licked a thick stripe up my glistening slit, shaking my entire form, and his hands threaded themselves underneath my thighs and held my hips down to the bed. His tongue dipped into my pussy and scooped my essence to his lips, and when his darkened eyes shot up to me, I could feel him smirk against my pussy lips.
“So sweet,” he hummed.
His tongue dipped deep and found my throbbing mound, and when I jumped in his grasp, he started his assault. His tongue licked and flicked that beautiful little spot, and as the heat from my pleasure cascaded over my body, I lost all control of my movements. I bucked down onto his lips and my hands tugged on his hair, wanting him closer and closer as I slowly reached my edge. He moaned and groaned with my growing sounds, and when he pressed his tongue flat into my clit, it sent me over the edge as I choked out his name.
“Leo. Oh, my—Yes, Leo. Oh.”
He sucked my little bud in between his lips and rode out the high of my orgasm, but when my back finally plummeted back to the bed, he raced up my body and pressed the tip of his dick to my entrance. I fluttered my eyes open and connected my gaze with his wanton one. A flash of hesitation crossed his face.
“If you’re concerned about protection, I’m on the pill, if that helps,” I whispered.
Then, as if I’d unleashed a beast, he thrust deep into my body. I groaned and rolled my head back, lifting my hips to him and begging for more while his thrusts pounded into my skin. He dipped his head to my breasts and placed savage, wet kisses on them while his hips assaulted my body. Skin against slapping skin rang out into the corners of the room, and I locked my legs around his waist just to pull him closer.
Deeper.
Harder.
“Fuck, Leo,” I breathed.
“Dear God, Claire. You feel incredible,” he grunted.
My fingers lightly raked down his back, and my teeth sunk into the meat of his shoulder. The way his hips went jerky told me he was quickly approaching his end. I unhooked my legs, planted my heels into the bed, and rose to meet his primal thrusts, making his dick hit me in just the right way. My body trembled and his forehead began to drip with sweat, and when I lifted my shoulders up and encompassed his lips with mine, his cock twitched inside of me before he stilled. He pushed his thick dick as deep into me as he could get, and he painted my body with his juices while I trembled with my second orgasm.
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He held me close to his body while the two of us fell over the cliff and then collapsed to the bed, heaving each other’s air.
“Oh, my God,” I panted.
“Holy shit,” he said.
He slid off to the side and ran his fingers through my hair, and all I could do was stare into his beautiful eyes. I smiled while he worked the knots out of my hair, and instinctively I worked my leg in between his.
“I suppose we should clean up, huh?” I asked.
“Maybe not this second,” he said.
“That was incredible, Leo.”
“You’re telling me.”
“I’m sorry if I was a little bit forward.”
“Jesus, don’t be sorry about that. I’ve never had a woman know what she wanted so much she was willing to take control. It was thrilling. Never be sorry for something like that.”
“Do you think people will look at us awkwardly?” I asked.
“How so?”
“You know, with who you are and with the fact that I’m not, like, some model or something.”
I saw him genuinely ponder that question, and a part of me wanted to know. Yes, as the fog of pleasure slowly lifted from mind, I remembered why I was there, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the evening. He’d been an absolute gentleman, and the dinner had been fantastic. He was easy to talk to, seemed hell-bent on helping others, and it didn’t hurt that he knew how to wield his own body intimately. It’d been years since I’d come multiple times during sex, and a part of me was hoping—when this was all said and done—we could maybe go out again.
“With what’s going on right now, I couldn’t give a shit less what others thought,” he said.
I giggled and rolled over onto my back, and his body was automatically on top of mine. His lips captured mine in a sweet, innocent kiss, and just as easily as it had been to get him back here, my legs parted to welcome the rock-solid body that slipped down between them. His tongue raked across the inside of my cheek, and my nipples puckered against the touch of his skin, but when our eyes fluttered open, a little bit of reality set back in behind his eyes.