Catch Your Breath

by Shannyn Schroeder

  Still fucking holding back.

  She shot him a look of challenge. She wouldn’t let him hold back now. Forcing her head down on his cock, she knew he’d either have to loosen his grip or pull out her hair. She rammed him into the back of her throat, ignoring the automatic gag reflex. She scraped her nails gently on his balls, and he jolted, then settled into the sensation.

  “Moira, babe, just—” The sounds of his panting filled the room as his balls tightened in her hand.

  The first spurt shot into the back of her throat and she swallowed. He growled and held her head, pumping into her furiously.

  When he finished, her lips and jaw were a little sore, but the complete look of relaxation that took over Jimmy’s body was worth it. She tucked him back into his pants, but didn’t attempt the button or zipper.

  “Holy fuck,” he said as he still panted with his eyes closed.

  His head lolled back on the chair and Moira crawled up his body. “Feel better?”

  “Hell, yeah.”

  “Good.”

  “Come here.” He pulled her up until she was on his lap.

  His eyes were barely open, but she looked into them. “Don’t hold back. Not with me, okay? I can’t live like that.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Jimmy’s chest tightened, his heart constricting so much he thought it might be a heart attack. Then Moira settled her head on his chest, tucking in under his chin, and every nerve in his body eased. He loved the feel of her body against his, not just sexually, but all the time.

  Fuck, he was a mess.

  He swallowed and cleared his throat. “Just so you know, Gabby’s going to follow you home to make sure no one else follows.”

  Moira played with the buttons of his shirt. “Why would someone follow me?”

  “We don’t know who’s doing the following. We have no idea who the players are and I’m not taking any chances with you.” He kissed the top of her head. She was safe now and he’d make sure she stayed that way. “You need to back off this story, Moira. Not only is it not safe, but it’s stupid and it’s getting mixed up in my case.”

  He felt her body stiffen, but he held her in place and rubbed her back, down her arm, keeping physical contact because he wasn’t ready to let her go.

  “My story is not stupid, and it’s not my fault you got mixed up in my story. If you hadn’t gotten all grabby at the party, we wouldn’t be here now.”

  He sighed. She was right, but he didn’t feel any better about it. “I know your story’s not stupid. The way you’re trying to get it is what I take issue with.”

  This time she did sit up to pull away, but he locked his arms on her hips.

  “If I was a journalist embedded with soldiers in Afghanistan, I wouldn’t be called stupid.”

  “Maybe not by some, but it is stupid. A civilian doesn’t belong on the battlefield any more than you belong acting like a hooker.”

  “I’ll do whatever I have to do to get a real story.”

  “You’ve been writing real stories for a long time.”

  She snorted. “Yeah, my real stories are taking me far. No one knows my name and no one takes me seriously. I’m not some airhead taking notes on my palm. I’m a journalist.”

  Her voice rose as she continued and her eyes flashed. Jimmy cupped her jaw. “I know your name and I take you seriously.”

  “No, Jimmy, you don’t, or you wouldn’t assume I should walk away from a story—a valid, good story—just because you say so.” She stood now and slid back into her sexy high heels. “I assume it’s safe for me to go? I mean, if I were really a hooker, we’d be finished, right?”

  He laughed. “I think we both know that if we were actually having sex, I wouldn’t be anywhere near finished.”

  She looked pointedly at his crotch. “If you say so.”

  He stood, adjusting himself back in his pants. He didn’t want her to go. James Buchanan had the money that he could afford to have her spend the entire night. The simple thought of anyone treating Moira like a prostitute burned in his gut. “You don’t need to leave yet.”

  The look she shot him was cold and so unlike Moira. “Yes, I do.”

  Jimmy knew he’d be working with Gabby, so he couldn’t have her stay. “Let me call downstairs and have them get you a cab.”

  She nodded.

  “I would drive you, but James Buchanan wouldn’t be taking you home.”

  She hummed a minor response while she pinned her gorgeous red hair up and tucked it under the wig. He hated everything about this night.

  Well, except for the blow job. That had almost made up for the clusterfuck he was in the middle of.

  He called down to the front desk and had them arrange for a cab. Then he called Gabby to let her know Moira was on her way down.

  “All set?”

  Jimmy stared at Moira, knowing he should say something else, but he had no idea what. Remembering what he’d discovered about her and her writing, he searched for words, but they were buried beneath his roiling emotions looking at Moira pretending to be a hooker. The entire image was so wrong. “Moira.”

  She looked up at him, and if he could ignore the makeup and the hair and stare into those baby blues, he could focus and see her. Only her. And what he saw twisted him. She was wounded. He kissed her gently, hoping to ease the uncertainty from her, to let her know he’d meant what he said. “I take you seriously. You’re amazing. But this is complicated. Even if I wasn’t working an overlapping case, do you think I’d ever want to see you dressed like this? Pretending to be a prostitute? Putting yourself in danger?”

  It was the last one that pushed him over the edge. Experience taught him that no prostitute led a safe life.

  “I’m an escort, Jimmy, not a hooker. I’m arm candy and conversation for guys with money who don’t want the dating scene.”

  When he opened his mouth to protest, she held up a hand. “Don’t treat me like I’m stupid. I know most of the girls sleep with clients for money. I have no intention of doing that or putting myself in a situation where I’m vulnerable. I don’t even plan to do this for long. I’m gathering information.”

  “I can’t handle the thought of you doing this, Moira. It’s not like you’re interviewing people to get the story. You’re doing the job, and it’s not safe. Whatever protocols you think are in place to protect you, they’re not enough.”

  The sadness never left her eyes and now he saw a hint of worry. Worry was good. It might be enough to protect her. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and left without saying anything else.

  He paced the length of the room, feeling useless. He stared out the window as if he could see Moira leave, watch for someone following her, but that too was useless. The room didn’t even face the front of the hotel. Impatience tugged at him. Why hadn’t Gabby called with an update?

  He gripped his phone in his hand and forced himself not to dial. Gabby would call as soon as she knew something. The phone buzzed and he answered.

  “The tail is following Moira’s cab. Kittner wants you to stay put in case there’s a second car.”

  Right now, he didn’t give a fuck what Kittner wanted. He needed to make sure Moira was safe.

  “I know you care about her, Jimmy, but she got herself caught up in this. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. She’ll be more forthcoming with information than some random girl. We can use this to our advantage.” Gabby was right. He was thinking like a boyfriend, not a cop undercover.

  Fuck. If Moira had been any other girl, he would be using her, but this was Moira and they had a personal relationship. This was exactly what Kittner warned him about. “I don’t like it. We still don’t know who we’re dealing with and what they’re capable of. If something happens to her, the entire O’Leary clan will descend on me and the whole department. It’ll be ugly.”

  Gabby laughed. “We’ll make sure she stays safe.”

  “What the hell am I supposed to do? I don’t have any clothes or anything. I’m stranded in thi
s room until Walker arranges a key for his place.”

  “I’ll go to your house and send some clothes and stuff to Walker’s by morning. In the meantime, enjoy your night off.”

  She disconnected and he flopped back on the bed. He called home and let Norah know he wouldn’t be home tonight, but that Gabby would be dropping by. She assured him she’d keep an eye on Dad. He should feel more relief knowing that, but since he was still so worried about Norah and her pregnancy, the turnaround he’d witnessed just confused him.

  For once, it would be great if things in his life would go the way he planned. This was supposed to be the year things would smooth out and he’d move forward. Instead, he was hit with one twist or turn after another.

  Moira had the cab drive her back near the escort office so she could pick up her car. When she’d left the hotel, a flurry of emotions stormed through her. For every step she made with Jimmy, it felt like he’d given her a shove back.

  She’d believed something shifted between them when they’d spoken on the phone last night. He’d taken the time to actually read her work. Jimmy understood her more than she’d given him credit for. She thought he understood how important her career was to her.

  She’d allowed people to make jokes about her job for so long that she’d forgotten how much she did love it. When was the last time she talked seriously about writing with anyone? Jimmy had been the first person she could remember wanting to share that part of herself with.

  Yeah, she had it bad. And it no longer felt like the teenage crush she’d always harbored.

  And then tonight he ruined all the progress. She must’ve only been a good writer when she covered safe topics like abandoned animals.

  He’d actually called her stupid.

  The cab pulled up in front of the building and Moira stepped out. She glanced up to the office and debated going in to see Billie. At some point, she’d have to let Billie know who she left the party with. It was too much for her right now.

  “Excuse me,” a soft, elegant female voice called from the curb. Moira turned and tried not to swallow her tongue. It was the mystery woman she’d been looking for, leaning against a sleek sedan. Moira cleared her throat. “Yes?”

  “My name is Gail. You’re Grace, right?” The woman spoke with confidence, the question just a formality.

  Moira nodded, feeling quite uncomfortable with this woman knowing her name, fake or not. She had to have followed Moira in the cab, which meant she’d followed her and Jimmy when they left the party. How did they not notice?

  Gail pushed back her auburn hair, darker red than Moira’s, and tilted her head. Light brown eyes focused on her. “I don’t mean to alarm you. I spoke with some of your colleagues at the party and they passed on your name.”

  Moira waited. She pictured Jimmy playing James Buchanan and masked her expression as best she could, but her heart slammed in her chest.

  “I can’t help but feel we’ve met before.”

  Moira swallowed hard, grateful for the long shadows on the street. Even with the disguise, Gail might be able to put two and two together. “I don’t think so.” She pulled her keys from her purse. “Was there something else?”

  “You left the event with James Buchanan.”

  Moira straightened her back. “I don’t think it’s any of your business who I left the party with.”

  Gail waved her hand as if Moira needn’t answer, and then stepped closer. “I wasn’t asking. What I’d really like to know is whether you have a personal or business relationship with Mr. Buchanan.”

  Moira summoned every ounce of courage she had. She cocked an eyebrow and pointed up at the building behind her, where Billie’s office was located. “Like I have time for personal relationships?”

  Gail smiled then and a scheming look came into her eyes. “If you think Mr. Buchanan will be contacting you again for your services, I might have a proposition for you.”

  Intrigued, Moira stepped closer to Gail and lowered her voice. “I know he’ll be calling me. He made sure to get my number and asked when I’d be available.”

  “Do you already have plans?”

  Moira shook her head. Her heart continued to pound and her palms were sweaty. She had no idea where this conversation was going or what the right answers were. “He’s supposed to call me tomorrow.” Moira paused, remembering what she knew of the other victims in Jimmy’s case. “His wife is out of town, and he’s trying to squeeze in all the fun he can.”

  “Perfect.” She held out a business card. “Call me when you set up the date with Mr. Buchanan. You will be compensated well for your help.”

  Moira took the card. “I’m not doing anything illegal like drugging him or blackmailing him. This is just a job to me like anything else. No one is worth going to jail for.”

  “It’s nothing like that.”

  “Then why are you so interested in . . . James?” Shit. She’d almost said Jimmy.

  “We’ll talk more when you call me.” Then she spun on her incredibly high heel and returned to her car.

  It was like something out of a movie. Secret meetings, hidden agendas. This might be the information Jimmy needed for his case. A nervous flurry skittered through her body. Moira raced to her car. She needed to see Jimmy.

  No, she couldn’t see Jimmy, especially if Gail continued to follow her. Plus, she didn’t know where Jimmy would be. Probably still at the hotel. She flipped the business card between her fingers. No name, no identification, only a phone number.

  As she sat behind the wheel, a wave of nausea rolled through her. Taking a deep breath, she started the engine and blasted the air-conditioning. The unexpected meeting had her so rattled her hands shook.

  Being undercover definitely wasn’t her strong suit.

  How did Jimmy do this without having a nervous breakdown? She closed her eyes again and focused on Jimmy. Always cool, controlled. Those were words that didn’t apply to her.

  Thoughts of Jimmy in cop mode kind of turned her on again. As much as she didn’t like being bossed around—she’d had more than enough of that growing up—his demands stirred something besides the usual resentment in her. A chill shivered down her back, so she turned the air down. That had to be the cause. She pulled out into traffic and headed home. She’d calm her body and her imagination and then she’d call Jimmy.

  Jimmy strode through Griffin Walker’s condo and stared at the expensive furnishings. The place was immaculate and made him feel completely out of place. Not that he preferred the mess his brothers left all over their house. Middle ground would be good. This place looked like a model home where no one actually lived.

  At least the TV was kick ass. He had nothing to do but sit on his ass and wait. Of course, no one knew exactly what they were waiting for. He itched to get back to work, but Kittner didn’t want to take a chance on Jimmy’s cover being blown.

  When his phone rang, he was glad for the distraction and he didn’t care who it was, but seeing Moira’s name on the screen made him smile. She must’ve cooled off. He wondered why Gabby hadn’t called again. Unease still clawed at him because he knew Moira was being followed. “Hey.”

  “Are you sitting down? You need to sit down because I have amazing news.”

  He loved her voice when she was pumped about something. It was like she could get high by talking, as if oxygen were a drug. “I’ve been sitting on my ass for hours.”

  She blew out a long breath. He braced himself for the onslaught of her rapid speech.

  “I had the cab drop me off by the escort office so I could pick up my car. I was walking down the street and you’ll never guess who came up to me.” She paused to take a breath.

  He paused to absorb the information. She went back to the damn escort office even though he’d expressed how it wasn’t safe for her to be playing these games. Plus, where the fuck was Gabby?

  “Mystery woman. Her name is Gail, by the way. No last name. I’m sure she has one; she just didn’t tell me. Anyway, she was very
interested in you, Mr. Buchanan, and the fact that I left the party with you. She gave me her card, which only has a phone number on it, just like the one she gave me last year that I couldn’t find. She kind of remembered me but couldn’t quite figure it out. Isn’t that great though? I mean the new contact not the not remembering me part. Although that’s probably good too. This is what you’ve been looking for.”

  His head spun and he got off the couch to pace, which only added to the dizziness. Moira proved she hadn’t lost her ability to be Mouthy Moira. His muscles tightened and he saw red. After their argument, he was sure she understood how worried he was about her and that she’d have enough common sense to back off.

  “Jimmy? Did you hear me?”

  “I heard all right. I heard that you ignored everything I said and continued to stick your pretty little neck out without a care.”

  “I didn’t do anything. I went to pick up my car. Like I said earlier, you’re the one who brought attention to me. She approached me because you led me away from the party. This is all on you. Asshole.”

  He didn’t give a shit if he was being an asshole. He knew that a good portion of her involvement in this mess was because of him and his inability to stay away from her. “Give me her phone number. Don’t leave your house and don’t tell anyone about this.”

  “No ‘thank you, Moira, for getting me the information I desperately need for my case’?”

  “I asked you to stay away from this.”

  “Actually you told me to, demanded that I stay away from your investigation. What you don’t seem to grasp is that I wasn’t trying to get tangled in your mess. It just happened. And I certainly didn’t have to come to you with any information. I’ve done nothing but help you from the beginning and I’ve done it for nothing.”

  “Don’t take a righteous attitude, Moira. You helped because you were promised a story. You’ve had an ulterior motive from the get-go.”

  “If you believe that, you don’t know me at all.” She hung up.

  He stared at the phone, not believing that she had hung up on him. What were they, twelve? As he was about to call her back, a text came through from her with the phone number she’d gotten. He took a deep breath and called her back, determined to stay calm and make sure she understood the importance of staying out of sight.