by Ali Vali
The bed was a beautiful old brass one with a headboard almost as high as the wall behind it. Cain studied the metalwork for a minute and figured it would make a wonderful handhold. “Like I said, I have something in mind.”
“Please, baby.”
“Come up here, Emma.”
Emma stood up on the mattress and walked to the head of the bed. No way was she going to chance dragging herself across Cain’s body and have to stop if anything went wrong.
“Are you sure?” she asked, with one foot on either side of Cain’s head.
“I don’t mean to be blunt, love, but sit.”
Emma did as she was told, and Cain took a deep breath. This was definitely a scent unique to Emma, and having her in this intimate position was like coming home. With a flat tongue, Cain slid from one end of Emma’s sex to the other, dipping in just a little, causing Emma’s fingers to clutch the bed as tightly as the walls of her sex closed around Cain’s tongue.
“That feels so good.” Emma threw her head back when Cain wrapped her lips around her clitoris and sucked it in with as much pressure as she could.
Cain’s hands on her butt encouraged Emma to move all she wanted, and she did, but not enough to lose contact with Cain’s mouth. Four years of wanting came to an end much too quickly, and she felt the first spasm shoot from her groin throughout her body. Emma couldn’t keep from screaming, no matter how many people were in the house. Just as quickly her need overwhelmed her and she started to cry. She needed Cain to reclaim what was hers, and she wanted it now.
“It’s okay, love. Move on down here and let me take care of you.” Emma heard the words and nodded as she moved back to her original position, and the tears of happiness intensified when she felt the two long fingers slide in and fill her to the core.
Knowing what Emma craved, Cain situated her hand so that her thumb would provide the right stimulation whenever Emma moved.
This time Emma tried to use a little control, slowing down and bringing her hands to her own breasts and squeezing them.
“That’s it, let go for me. I want you to relax and feel how much I missed this with you.”
She gazed down at Cain’s beautiful face and was glad she didn’t have to explain the emotions running through her heart. The ability to string words together had left her, and she could only concentrate on Cain’s fingers sliding in and out of her with every thrust of her hips. Every position they’d tried in their time together always felt good, but this was one of her favorites.
It left her open to Cain, who could see how much Emma enjoyed her touch—the way the muscles in her thighs bunched with every jerk and her hips sped up in a way some would have called wanton, desiring to reach the peak Cain was leading her to. Cain knew that Emma would jump without fear because at the bottom was always a set of strong arms to catch her and keep her safe.
Emma pulled on her own nipples when she felt the walls of her sex start to spasm. No amount of control or slow going would prevent the orgasm she couldn’t hold back any longer. Emma’s hips sped up for only a short time before she slammed down on Cain’s hand one last time and stilled with her breasts just barely grazing the muscles of Cain’s abdomen.
Cain had always considered Emma’s letting her see her at her most vulnerable point the greatest gift Emma could give her.
“Are you okay?” Emma asked as soon as she was able to get enough air in her lungs.
“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that question?” Emma was lying against Cain’s uninjured side, and Cain ran her hand, soaked with the evidence of Emma’s passion, up her chest. “God, I love the way you feel.” Slick fingers encircled a nipple, getting it to come back to life. “I love the way you smell.”
Cain buried her face in the blond, disheveled hair. “And I love the way you taste.” The confessions ended when she brought her hand up and licked her fingers clean.
“You keep that up and I won’t ever let you out of this room.”
“Is that supposed to be a threat?”
Emma sat up enough to see Cain’s face. “It’s what you want it to be, just as long as I get to return the favor.”
“You know you’re free to do whatever you like without threats.”
Cain’s statement earned her a kiss before Emma got back on her hands and knees over the long stretch of skin below her.
“Let’s see if I remember how to make you feel as good as you just made me feel.”
“Well, if you don’t, please take all the time you need to get it right.”
“I seem to recall you liked this,” Emma said, as she slid down, planting kisses along the way.
The muscled legs spread, and Emma stopped in the right position and cupped her breast, squeezing long enough to get the nipple to harden for what she had planned.
Feeling the feather-light touch of Emma’s nipple on her clitoris drove Cain mad. It didn’t take long for her right hand to land on top of Emma’s head, encouraging her to keep moving down. “Don’t be cruel now, lass.”
“I have no such intention.” The promise of bliss was just on the tip of Emma’s tongue, or that was what Cain thought when Emma spread her open and lowered her mouth. And that was all she used for the longest time, just the tip of her tongue. The gentle touch coaxed her clitoris to harden to the point where Cain thought she would have to start begging for Emma to do something about it.
“Tell me what I want to hear,” Emma said when she pulled back and gazed up at Cain. At times like this in the past Cain had let her defenses down and showed what was in her heart. Not because of the possibility of good sex, but because Emma had the ability to strip away everything Cain used to shield her soul from the world. “Tell me,” she said a little more firmly.
“I love you.” Cain cupped Emma’s cheek in her palm.
Three such simple words, but they conveyed every ounce of what she felt for this woman. The only woman she’d let in, only to have Emma slice her heart in two with such ease it had amazed her for months after the door had slammed behind her. To say the words again now was to lay herself open and bare once more, and she knew Emma could see the fear in her eyes. Cain was holding nothing back, which scared her more than anything Giovanni Bracato or anyone like him could do to her.
Emma kissed Cain’s center before moving back up to lie next to her. “Say it again,” she said, with her hand flat over Cain’s heart.
“I love you.” The words didn’t sound as haunted, and Cain closed her eyes for just a moment as if to gather her defenses. “And there’ll be no other for me as long as I draw breath.”
“Then we have something in common, my love. Because for me there’s only been you, and there’ll only be you for the rest of my life. Thank you…”
Emma didn’t have to say the rest. She pressed her lips to Cain’s as she slipped her hand between Cain’s legs, this time applying the pressure Cain so desperately wanted. To try and keep her from moving too much and hurting herself, Emma draped herself over her lover’s body as her fingers moved easily over the wet heat. “Now you let go for me, love. Show me that you still belong to me.”
It was the same soft voice that Cain heard in her dreams, luring her to the pleasure always just out of reach, because every time she reached for Emma she would disappear into mist. This time, though, the pressure continued to build, and she could feel the compact body pressed up against her and heard the loving words being whispered in her ear. “Aaaah.” The groan signaled that Cain had reached the point of no return. “Fuck.”
Emma just smiled against her skin at the vulgarity. That was just Cain, she thought. A unique combination of polish and rough edges.
When Emma pressed harder, the orgasm overtook Cain, and she clamped her legs together to make Emma’s hand stop moving. The intense sensation was almost painful, and, as her nostrils flared with one last explosive breath, the final spasm rushed through her body. When Cain opened her eyes again she was surprised to find tears spilling from them just as they had from Emma’s bef
ore. Emma never lifted her head from her chest, but Cain could feel Emma’s breath and the touch of her hand as it left its warm haven and rubbed her lower belly.
“I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“You did once, but I’m thinking it’s getting better.” Cain laughed in a carefree way Emma hadn’t heard since they’d seen each other again. “And what of your hurts, my love?”
“With you by my side I’ll never need anything else.”
“May that always be true.”
“Oh, it will.” Emma kissed the shoulder she’d been resting her head on before moving to Cain’s lips one more time. As much as she didn’t want to, they had to get up. Hannah would be waking up from her nap, and Hayden would most probably be finished and coming back in. “Are you ready, or do you want to get a little nap in before you go face the masses?”
“I think I’d better get up. Three weeks is long enough to be lying about doing nothing.”
“Cain, you were shot. Give yourself a break.”
When Cain sat up and put her feet on the floor, Emma pressed up to her back. “It’s true I was shot, but now it’s time to build my strength back up. Want to sneak down the hall and take a shower with me?”
“I wonder how thick these walls are?”
The only answer Emma got was a knock on the door. Cain stood to see who it was and what they wanted, but Emma cleared her throat. “I’d hate to ruin this wonderful afternoon by having to get into a fistfight with whoever is going to ogle you from the other side of that door if you answer it dressed like that. I’m almost positive there’s a robe in the closet.”
The possessive comment made Cain’s chest puff out a little and a huge smile break out across her face. When she looked at the bed, the sight of Emma sitting there with the sheet pulled up just under her arms was enough to make her want to go back and spend the afternoon exploring the skin that lay beneath the thin cover. “Have I told you recently just how beautiful you are?”
“You’re killing me here, baby. Put something on before the whole house knows what we’re doing.” The favor asked almost in a whine prompted Cain to the closet as the person awaiting entry knocked again.
There was only one robe, but when she headed for the closet she watched as Emma picked up the shirt Cain had been wearing and put it on. It was an old habit of hers on most mornings when she felt chilled and found some shirt of Cain’s lying about. The shirt covered as much of her as the robe did of Cain.
When Cain finally made it to the door, Maddie was standing in the hall with an amused expression. She glanced from the woman who was clearly naked under the robe to the bed that looked like it had been put to good use. “I thought you might want to know that your other surprise for the little woman has arrived and is having coffee downstairs. Or maybe he’s down there having his horizons expanded? At this point it’s a toss-up, and here I am not having time to take a cold shower.”
The teasing had been done in a tone low enough for Emma not to hear her. Maddie remembered the young girl who’d always been embarrassed to talk about anything intimate. Hopefully from the scream she’d heard earlier, Emma had gotten over her self-consciousness, at least when it came to Cain Casey. Maddie was amazed as she watched Cain’s blush run up from her neck like a fire through a dry field.
“Please tell me you’re kidding?” Before they’d left New Orleans, through mediation from Maddie, Cain had called Ross from a secure phone and told him what their plans were. He’d said he’d get to the Rath place as soon as their plane landed to see them all back together. “This isn’t exactly how I planned on him finding out just how together we are.”
Maddie peeked in to see Emma picking up clothing and placing the folded items on the bed as she went along. “Honey, as much as he wiggled around in that chair downstairs, the man had a smile about a mile wide the whole time, and please don’t take that the wrong way. He realized a long time ago how happy his little girl is when she’s with you. I just think he’s thrilled that she’s found that happiness again.”
With nothing else to pick up, Emma moved to the door to see what the hushed conversation was about. “Hey, Maddie, is something wrong?”
“No, I just thought you wouldn’t want to sleep the afternoon away, and Hannah should be up soon.”
“Thanks, we’re just going to freshen up. Then we’ll be right down.” Emma noticed Cain’s face, which still bore some signs of her blush, and gave her an easy way out. “Go on in, baby, and I’ll get our stuff together.” She pointed to the bathroom to the right of them. When the door closed and the water started in the shower, she opened one of the bags and pulled out a fresh set of clothes. “So how much did you hear?”
“Enough to be envious.” Maddie laughed and sat on the bed. On the top of the dirty clothes was Emma’s discarded thong. “Good Lord, does this happen often? Your underwear bill must be outrageous. Though how much can this dental floss cost?”
“You’d be surprised. Now leave me alone so I can enjoy the afterglow.”
“Oh, honey, I’m not teasing you…”
Emma arched her brow much like Cain would have done in the same situation.
“Well, not as much as I could. You look like a woman in love, and it looks good on you. Are you sure about this?”
“I’m positive.”
Cain stood in the doorway and wondered if Emma was now the one in need of saving. “Em, the water’s running. Are you coming?”
“Not yet, but with a little luck, I may soon,” she whispered to Maddie, then gave her a wink.
Maddie shook her head and laughed. Her friend had most certainly changed, but it was a change for the good. Emma had come into her own, as the saying went, and as accomplished and strong as Cain looked, Emma was her proverbial match.
The groan Cain let out as Maddie went down the stairs was testament to that.
Chapter Eighteen
“They’re gone?” Shelby tried to massage away the headache that was building behind her left eye. She’d spent the morning trying to get in touch with Muriel, willing to apologize for something she had nothing to do with, if only she’d just pick up. “What exactly does that mean?” she asked the person calling, the guy Agent Hicks had assigned to unofficially keep an eye on Cain and company.
“It’s not a difficult concept, really, or am I speaking too fast? They’re gone, all of them. I took a walk up to the fifth floor this morning when I didn’t see Emma Casey arrive at her usual time.”
Shelby interrupted and hoped this guy didn’t blow apart an already shaky situation. “Did it occur to you that she might just be running late?”
“Gee, I wonder why I didn’t think of that,” he answered tersely. “I waited almost two hours before going across the street sans the coat and tie, and I even picked up flowers in the lobby so I could pretend I had the wrong room. No one was on the door, and the bed was made up and ready for another patient. She’s gone.”
“Why don’t you get back here? You can give us a report about what you have so far.” She was still talking into the phone, but also getting her jacket back on. It was time to visit Annabel Hicks and convince her to put together another team for Cain, as well as Vincent’s and Ramon’s organizations.
An hour later Joe and Lionel were back, along with their old partner Tony. The agent Annabel had put on Cain reported that Emma had left the hospital the night before at her usual time, flanked by at least six guards, including Merrick and Lou. Shelby wasn’t the only one who thought that was more than a little strange. The Cain they’d studied for so long that they knew how she took her coffee was never left alone and vulnerable; she never went anywhere without one of those two a few feet away.
After a fan around the city, they were all shocked to find not only Cain, but also her immediate circle and most of the people on her payroll, and Muriel, gone.
Tony looked at all of them, then lashed out at Shelby. “You wanted to befriend these people. I hope you see now she’s played us like a bunch of assholes again
.”
“Was there some warrant for her arrest that I don’t know about?” Shelby shot back. “We’ve already had one agent who made this all about personal shit, and he’s currently cooling his ass down at central lockup. If you want to join him, tell us now before some other innocent person gets shot.”
“Innocent? Do you want to fuck her so bad that you’d sit here and tell us Casey is innocent?” Tony stood up so fast his chair clattered to the floor.
“God, Tony, you should just turn in your badge and give Bracato a call. I hear he’s got an opening after Kyle got caught. After all, if a person has been under the microscope before, they deserve everything they have coming to them, am I right?” Shelby slammed the door behind her.
“Anthony”—Joe said the name with a good amount of sarcasm—“that was way out of line. I suggest you tell Agent Hicks you’d rather serve on some other team. I can’t speak for Lionel, but I have no use for you. Any man, or woman for that matter, I can’t trust to watch my back isn’t someone I want standing with me.”
Lionel looked from one man to the other before standing. “That’s right, Joe. You speak for me too. I’d rather not have you on our team, Anthony. And you owe Shelby an apology. We all do for ever doubting her loyalties.”
“Joe, come on. You know as well as I do Shelby has some personal bias.” Anthony’s volume rose a little when Lionel left the room. “And she has the nerve to accuse me of not looking at this with a level head.”
Joe glared at Anthony and wondered what had happened to make him so bitter. Everything had been fine until the day Muriel had waltzed into the warehouse where Kyle had shot Cain and handed their asses over to them on a platter. “I don’t know what your problem is, but you’d better figure out how to make it right before I go to Agent Hicks myself and file a complaint. Lionel’s right. You owe Shelby an apology, and it better be heartfelt.”
Joe had started for the door to see where Lionel and Shelby had disappeared to when he thought of one more thing. “Maybe you ought to take some leave. You know how these petty personal vendettas get around to the other agents.” It was a low blow, but Joe wasn’t in a generous mood. “Isn’t that what got your father in trouble in the first place during his stint with the bureau?”