by Geraldine O'Hara, Natalie Dae, Nichelle Gregory, Crissy Smith, Lisabet Sarai
“Do me a favor. Let’s wait to talk until we get to my place. Head toward the East side.”
Sienna frowned, then tried to logically assess the situation. Maybe if they were being listened to or followed, the same people might know where Harlan’s house was. Might have even bugged it. They’d swept it the night they’d taken Harlan in, but that wasn’t to say someone couldn’t have been in since.
Probably the less said the better until they were somewhere safe.
My place.
She had to go with her instincts—they’d never steered her wrong before. It might be the worst decision she’d ever make, but Greg was either on the up-and-up or he was the best damn actor she’d ever met.
Instead of turning to cross the river as he’d asked, she flipped around and headed toward the Interstate access ramp. He opened his mouth to protest and she held up a hand to silence him. Surprisingly, he remained quiet and let her drive without question.
She got off two exits early and made her way to a shopping center. She found a parking place near the back of the lot, stopped the car and got out. He followed suit, looking around then at her, puzzled. She held a finger to her lips and he nodded in understanding.
Sienna had thought about the possibility of being bugged or tracked. If he thought that Harlan’s house was likely to have been bugged, she took that a step further and knew her car was an open target while she was working. So until she had a chance to get it checked, she was going to leave it here.
She mentally ran through everything on her person, trying to think of anything that had been out of her possession. Nothing came to mind, so she grabbed her bag, locked the car and had taken a few steps before she stopped short.
Looking down at her hand, she rolled her eyes then unlocked the car again.
“What?” Greg mouthed at her.
She dangled the keys in the air—hers plus the ones she’d gotten from Harlan—and watched a dawning comprehension spread across Greg’s face.
She removed the café key and her personal set then tossed the rest of Harlan’s key ring on the floor of the car. In addition to the big leather tab embossed with an H, there was some kind of nubby dog toy shaped like a cat, and a stress ball. It was bulky as crap, she’d hated carrying it around…and there probably wasn’t any better place to plant a tracking or listening device.
After locking the car again, she started walking toward the bus stop. “I picked this parking lot because the bus line here runs straight to my place, though it isn’t close by,” she explained. It felt a bit weird to be talking in a normal tone of voice after being silent for so long.
Greg nodded thoughtfully but didn’t respond. When they got to the bus stop, there was nobody there, so they were able to sit on the bench to wait. Inside the weather shelter, it was surprisingly intimate considering the traffic flowing by on the busy city thoroughfare. They were about as private as they could get.
“So…either you watch a lot of detective shows on television, or we have a lot to talk about.”
Sienna couldn’t quite get a read on his mood. She took a deep breath, exhaled then confessed, “The latter.”
Greg leaned back and laced his hands behind his neck, stretching his long legs out in front of him. “I guess it would be pretty hypocritical of me to be upset that you misrepresented yourself to me.” He didn’t wait for an answer to the obviously rhetorical observation. “Local?”
“Portland Police Bureau. Detective in Drugs and Vice.”
“I had a feeling, especially after you said my name the other night…before we were introduced.”
Sienna gasped. “What? Oh fuck.” Chills went through her at the thought of how that mistake could have cost her if he hadn’t been on her side.
“Hey.” He gripped her shoulder. “It’s okay.” He seemed to realize what was going through her head. After a minute of quiet support, he squeezed one more time then let go. “Your name isn’t really Cici Coffman, is it?” he asked wryly.
She felt about fifty pounds lighter seeing his smile after being found out when by all rights he could have been pissed off. “Sienna Reynolds.” She held her hand out. “Good to meet you.”
“Greg Mazzeo, but you knew that.” He softened the jibe with a wink, shook with her then refused to let go. She didn’t fight too hard. It had been an exhausting couple of days and the hairy situation kept getting more complicated by the minute. But here with Greg she knew she had someone on her side and at her back.
While they waited for the bus, she sent a mental apology to her partner for breaking silence without consulting him first, then gave Greg a brief rundown of their investigation. She included the fact that they’d had no idea about the DEA involvement, and their concerns about having someone in law enforcement deliberately obstructing the case, perhaps to cover their own tracks. Meanwhile, Greg shared that the DEA was coming in with him and Agent Blevins being temporarily assigned to a local task force—one that sounded for all the world like her team, and yet they didn’t know anything about it. He even knew about Harlan’s extraction, though he’d played as though he hadn’t when he’d still thought she was Cici.
The information seemed to be flowing only one way. That conclusion gave them food for thought as the bus came and they rode in silence to the stop closest to Sienna’s house.
Her place was her sanctuary from the world. It was a small, older house, but the person she’d bought it from had updated and restored it beautifully. It occurred to her that she hadn’t ever really brought anyone from her work life here since she’d moved in two years ago. Either too busy or just didn’t want to go outside of work with them.
Once they were inside, Sienna could finally relax. Reflexively, she pulled out her phone to text Tyson…then stopped.
“What’s wrong?” Greg’s voice seemed more intimate, concerned.
“I usually check in with my team when I change locations. But…” She didn’t need to finish. The quandary was clear—it was hard to know who to trust. Her instincts that had so readily accepted Greg were clamoring in alarm at giving the same trust to even her team and partner. Why, she hadn’t resolved yet, but until she’d found out more information, she needed to go with her gut.
She put the phone and her bag down then walked over to sit on the couch. Greg joined her, then held his arm up in invitation. She rested against him, grateful to absorb his strength and support. It helped her to be able to give voice to her fears, to release some of the disillusionment inside her. “Even an hour ago, I would have said that I trusted Ty implicitly. Now? Maybe I’m crazy, but the only person I truly trust is—” She cut herself off.
Greg didn’t make her say it. “I trust you too, Sienna. And I have your back.” He sighed. “My guess is that it’s a stall tactic, that you’ll get the information about the multi-agency task force any day now…after whoever is involved gets a chance to clean up a few things. They can’t hide it forever—just delay the roll-out for a while.”
Sienna nodded. It made sense. There were just too many people involved for it not to become known that there was more than one team at the rodeo.
“Till then we’ll play it cool—have some fun with our secret identities.” He turned so that he was lying back and she was draped across him. He urged her down into a promising kiss, and she took full advantage of her position to straddle him and taste him fully.
Sienna realized she’d been anticipating this since they’d been together at the café. As heady and exciting as their first two encounters had been, she was looking forward to being able to let go and enjoy the moment with Greg completely. She moaned into his mouth as he urged her even closer with his large hands on her ass, then left one hand there while running the other up into her hair.
Circling her hips against his growing erection, she gave back as good as she got while he intensified the kiss, stroking her tongue with his. She sucked on it then relented as he growled and thrust it even deeper.
In a sudden move, he rocked forward an
d stood, and she wrapped her legs around his hips.
“Bedroom?” he mumbled into her mouth, and she threw out a hand in the approximate direction, loving that he hadn’t wanted to leave the kiss long enough to look around.
There were three rooms down the hall, but it was simple enough to guess which was her room since the door was open and her king-sized bed was visible from the doorway.
Before she knew it, she was on her back on the mattress. She instantly missed his warmth as he straightened and started stripping. When he got to his pants he sat on the edge of the bed and began undoing his ankle holster.
“Going to actually take your socks and gun off this time, Mr DEA?” she teased then kissed his bare back.
“Yep, going for the Full Monty this time,” he confirmed with a shivered reaction to her tracing lips. He carefully laid his gun, still in its holster, on the nightstand—within easy reach, she noticed. “How about you?” he continued, fumbling with his boots before finally managing to get them untied.
“Good point.” Impatient, she worked off her own boots, flung them across the room, then lay down and shucked off her lower garments. With a smirk, she pulled her gun out of the cargo pocket and put it on the opposite nightstand.
“Thought that was a piece. You were a bit lopsided.”
“Hmm.” She pulled off her tops and sent them soaring.
His eyebrows went up. “In a hurry? Or were you faking being so orderly earlier?”
She didn’t reply but smiled slightly as she kneewalked the short distance across to press against him. They resumed their kiss, which had trebled in intensity with nothing between their skin. Greg’s hot shaft was pressed against her leg and she shifted so she could close her thighs around it.
“Ungh.” Greg lifted from her mouth and thrust into the pressure. She explored the dips and swells of his well-muscled back, shoulders and arms while he rocked against her. Then the room tilted as he tackled her to the mattress. He trailed his lips down her chest to her breast and gave it the heady, rough attention with lips and teeth that she was learning to expect from him when he was aroused.
Soon she was gasping and needing him in her. “Fuck me.”
“Yeah,” he groaned and switched to give the other nipple a lick and a promise before lifting up in a push-up. “I hope like hell you have more condoms.”
Sienna scooted partially out from under him, reaching toward the nightstand with his gun on it. He stopped her and she froze. Did he not trust her?
As though he’d read her mind, he leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss. “I have longer arms, babe. I’ll let you handle my gun later. Drawer?”
She nodded, relieved. She gave a sudden laugh as he unwrapped it and sheathed himself. “I’ve already handled your gun.”
He grinned at her, and something inside her bloomed with warmth at the open expression. That warmth spread and he urged her over onto hands and knees. “This okay?” he asked, stroking a hand down her back. “Love your tats.”
“Fuck, yes,” she gasped as he trailed his touch down her crack, just teasing at her hole before reaching her damp pussy then delving inside. He replaced his fingers with his cock and entered her. The depth of this position roused her to a fever pitch as she rocked back against him.
He grasped one hip for leverage and pounded into her.
“God!” she cried out when he reached around her with his other hand and rubbed her clit. His motion drove her against his touch again and again until she hit the pinnacle with a moan, going to her forehead and elbows as her strength left her.
“So good,” Greg groaned his approval of the new angle and let loose a last volley of thrusts before stiffening against her. “Fuck.”
Sienna turned her head to the side, her hair sticking to her perspiration-damp cheek. He smoothed it back then dropped gently to cradle her until he was forced to withdraw.
He must have left to do something with the condom, because suddenly he was back, the bed dipping with his weight as he moved in behind her. Sienna relaxed, fully replete and moreover, completely at ease with Greg embracing her from behind. Here in her house, she could be herself, her true self. Not the detective, not whatever role she was playing undercover, but just Sienna the woman.
That was her real secret identity, only known to one person—the man she had at her back in the investigation and in her bed.
“Nap, Cici?” he suggested quietly. “Then we can start fresh trying to work this case out.” He leaned over her to press a soft kiss to her mouth.
“Sounds like a plan,” she murmured against his lips. “As long as you never call me Cici ever again.”
About the Author
After living all over the US while growing up, I’ve settled into the beautiful Pacific Northwest and can’t see myself living anywhere else. I’m a mom to two girls, who—to my pride and gratification—love to read and want to make a living with words themselves someday.
Even when I’m not writing, I find myself storing up experiences and people for future reference. I had decades of potential material at my mental fingertips by the time I started putting my stories into words.
I believe that passion is to be treasured, stepping out of the box should be encouraged, and forever can come from the most unlikely of beginnings. So find a story, step inside and immerse yourself in the magic of love. I’ll meet you there…
Email: [email protected]
Stacey loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.totallybound.com.
Also by Stacey Lynn Rhodes
Seasoned Women: Sex on Summer Sabbatical
Seasoned Women: Falling for the Other Brother
Seasoned Women: Winter’s Thaw
Totally Bound Publishing