by Taylor Lee
Infuriated at his dismissal, she was as fierce as he was.
“No, Ian. Damn you! This is not merely a tirade or a temper tantrum or any of those other diminishing ways you label my feelings. It is the truth!”
He shook his head and glared at her. “Fine, I’ll concede, I’m an overbearing, insensitive son of a bitch. But dammit, we’re going to talk about what’s really going on. You’re afraid, Diamond. Of me, yes. But mostly of yourself. Afraid of how you feel with me, how much you want me to do all the things I did to you. So you’re doing what you always do when you‘re scared. First you attack. And then you run.”
She shoved at his arms, trying to break his hold. She didn’t remember ever being as angry. Her voice rose to a shrill shriek.
“What do you want me to do, Ian? Let you do things to me that no one ever has and then not be upset when you laugh at me, make me a joke, a ruse?”.
“Goddamn you, Riley. I’ll say this one more time. You know that’s not what I was doing. You know that, Riley.”
Holding her arms up and out to the sides, he shoved her against the wall. His face was flushed, a dark angry scarlet, but his voice dropped dangerously low. Pressing her body against the wall he held her hands high above her head. Shoving his knee between her thighs he spread them open.
Stunned at the firestorm of sensations exploding in her core, Diamond cried out. “Stop, Ian, stop! I can’t do this. I don’t want to....”
His voice against her ear was a low raspy growl, thick with passion. “What don’t you want to do, Riley? Christ, baby, you loved everything that we did. You begged me not to stop and I didn’t, because I couldn’t. Jesus God, Tiger, I did everything to you except put my cock in your ass—which I plan to do, soon.”
At her shuddering moan, he grabbed both of her hands in one of his and held them higher against the wall. With his free hand, he reached for the top of her dress and dragged it down, revealing her breasts. He laughed, a harsh mocking sound.
“Look at your dress, darling! Hell, it’s nothing more than a stretchy elastic tube. Christ, I could pull it off of you in seconds. He laughed again, his voice taunting. “Tell me why you wore it? Tell me why you wore a dress that with one move, I could reveal your breasts and one other move, I could bare your thighs and pussy?”
Crying out at the cool rush of air hitting her heated skin, Diamond tried to explain. “You…you told me to wear something sexy, something provocative like you made me wear the other night—so that I would look like a....”
He grasped one distended nipple and twisted it then sucked the throbbing nub into his mouth, laving it with his tongue. His voice was low, threatening. “Don’t say it, Diamond. I don’t ever want to hear you call yourself that ugly name again. Do you understand? Do you?”
When she nodded, he grasped her chin in his free hand and forced her to meet his heated gaze.
“But right now, baby, we’re gonna forego the foreplay. I’m going to fuck you, right here, against this wall. Because if I don’t, I may explode, I’m so angry.”
Ian dragged the bottom of her dress up to her waist, then ripped off her thong. Grasping her bare ass cheeks in his hands, he lifted her up against the wall and wrapped her legs around his waist. His eyes were dark with lust as he gazed at her bare pussy pressed against his stomach. When he reached for his belt and in one deft move unzipped his pants and freed his burgeoning cock, she sobbed in anticipation. He pressed the weeping end of his erect staff against her swollen lips and moaned a deep, hard, male sound. Overwhelmed by the surge of exploding sparks raging through her, Diamond cried out. Digging her fingers into his scalp, she pulled Ian tighter against her, reveling in his rough groan.
“God, yes, Tiger, do that! Jesus, baby, you want this as much as I do. Do you know how I know? Do you? Because I’ve seen you deck a 250-pound man who so much as put his hand on your shoulder. You could have me on the floor in seconds, Tiger. But you’re not fighting me, are you? Hell no! You want this as bad as I do! Say it, dammit! Tell me that you want this. Tell me that you want me to fuck you, just like this.”
Feeling him drive into her, impaling her with one hard deep thrust after another, she screamed, “Yes, Yes! Do that, Ian. Oh god, yes. Please do that!”
As he pounded into her, his hard groans and cries matching hers, Diamond gave in to a storm of sensation that she didn’t know if she could survive. Wave after wave of brutal sensations flowed over her as her orgasm took her over an erotic peak she hadn’t known existed. When she could breathe again without panting, she buried her damp body against Ian, clinging to him, not wanting to let him go. For a long moment he held her against the wall, their bodies’ slick with sweat, their breaths coming in hard gasping pants.
It took her a moment to understand that the sound of the door closing in the hallway above meant that someone had seen them. Someone who had to know what they were doing. Ian obviously heard it as well because he lifted her to the floor and was holding her tight against him, murmuring that everything was okay. But it wasn’t. At the thought of the unwitting voyeur going back to his companions agog at the scene he’d witnessed, Diamond was horrified. She shoved at Ian and struggled to cover her sweaty body with her damp excuse for a dress. Before he could stop her she picked up her shoes and ran toward the door at the end of the hallway that seemed at least a mile long.
Ian leaned against the wall, knowing that it was useless to try to catch her. He realized with a hard groan that he’d done something he’d never known he was capable of. He had taken a vulnerable angry woman against a wall in a public building exposing her to a barrage of salacious gossip. What made it unforgivable was that it wasn’t just any woman, it was Diamond. Wondering how the hell he turned an already tense situation into a fucking nightmare, he reached for his vibrating phone. Adjusting his trousers, he spoke into the mouthpiece as he headed for the door.
“No, Noah. I’m not busy. I’ll be right there.”
Chapter 30
Diamond poured half a bottle of body wash onto the bath sponge and scrubbed at her naked body until her skin felt raw. She’d owe Ruby a new bottle of the smelly stuff but knew her friend would understand. Not that she would ever be able to tell her red-haired super-agent what had happened. Even now, just thinking about it she had to lean against the shower wall to keep from sinking to the floor. So much for running five miles a day. What good did strong, muscled legs do when they were trembling so hard they couldn’t hold her upright?
She still couldn’t believe what had happened or how she’d gotten to Ruby’s. Diamond could only imagine the story the cab driver would tell his family and friends tonight. But then there were a whole lot of people in Washington D.C. tonight who would be talking about the amazing scene they witnessed at the supposedly staid Aegean Club. She refused to dwell on the fact that none other than Marjorie Chapman was among the coterie of wealthy Washingtonians who knew her shame. Diamond didn’t bother to imagine how Marjorie would spin the story. She didn’t have to. The person or persons who saw Ian fucking her against the wall in the Aegean service corridor would provide all the salacious details Marjorie needed to paint Diamond as the slut she’d proved herself to be.
Diamond had been relieved to see Ruby’s note on the kitchen table, indicating that she’d gone to take care of Francis Walker. Grateful that she didn’t have to explain her rumpled dress and bedraggled appearance, Diamond had fled to the comforting cocoon of a blistering shower.
After she dried herself off, Diamond plowed through her suitcases until she found her skinny jeans. Determined that she would never wear a dress again, especially a body-revealing one, she yanked on the jeans and topped them with a loose fitting cashmere sweater. Reminding herself that she was on duty, she tucked her custom Rugar in her boot holster and added a knife to her boot sheathe. She called a cab, intending to go to the Walker house to see if she could help Ruby, when her phone vibrated. For a moment she refused to look at the caller ID, afraid that it might be Ian. But, seeing an unkn
own caller with a D.C, area code on the caller ID she punched on the number. She didn’t recognize the woman’s voice on the other end.
“Is this Diamond?”
When she affirmed that she was, the woman spoke in a hurried voice.
“Diamond, this is Amber—from Club 69. I’m really sorry to bother you, but I need your help.”
“What is it, Amber?”
“I know you know Ian Ross. And I know Mr. Ross is a good friend of Senator Walker’s.”
“Yes, he is. Is something wrong?
“Yes. Yes it’s my friend Tiffany. You know, the drug case you met yesterday? Well, she finally has gone completely over the edge.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. But why do you need Ian?”
“It’s just that… well I hope I’m wrong, but Tiffany just left here higher than Lamar Odom at his favorite fuckhouse. She saw Senator Walker on television denying that he had anything to do with that crazy Brunson guy’s murder. What really set her off was when Senator Walker insisted that the only woman he’s ever loved is his wife.”
Amber hesitated then added, “I’m worried, Diamond. I don’t know what my crazy friend intends to do, but I heard her give our driver directions to the Senator’s office. I hoped that you could reach Mr. Ross. Have him make sure the Senator isn’t alone.”
Diamond assured her that she would contact Ian and that he would ensure that the Senator was safe. She added that she would check back with Amber and confirm that everything was under control.
After she hung up, Diamond stared at her phone. All she had to do was hit the #1 key. That was her connection to Ian. Remembering his strong body pressing her against the wall, telling her how he intended to fuck her, Diamond closed the phone. There was no way that she could call him and casually give him a message as if nothing had happened between them. It was bad enough that half of Washington D.C. likely had heard the sordid tale by now. But talking to Ian would make it real. Besides, she reminded herself, she was a trained agent and a damn good one. She could check on the Senator as well as Ian could. So what if someone saw her? At least she had on jeans and a sweater. With her hair tied up in a ponytail and her dark glasses, maybe, just, maybe, no one would recognize her.
~~~
Ian and Noah sat at Frank Gunderson’s conference table, watching the pundits on the big screen television analyzing Senator Walker’s earlier interview. Frank groaned when the conservative pundit pointed out why he was convinced that Senator Walker was prevaricating. The pompous man intoned with ill-disguised glee.
“Listen to him. We all but asked him straight out if he was having an affair. All he said is how much he loves his wife. But notice that he did not deny that he’d had an affair. Classic.”
When the other reporters chimed in with their over the top views, each attempting to feed the frenzied twenty four hour news cycle, Frank clicked off the remote. Turning to Noah, he emitted an admiring sigh.
“Your father is as accomplished a prevaricator as I’ve seen—even among politicians. Christ, even though he confessed to us that he had a yearlong affair, with a prostitute no less, listening to him answer that asshole’s question, I believe that he’s telling the truth. And he is. He does love your mother. Which as we know doesn’t in any way confirm that he didn’t commit adultery.”
Ian saw the pain wracking Noah’s haggard visage. Knowing what a toll this ugly affair was taking on his friend, and knowing that it would inevitably get worse, Ian tried to concentrate on next steps. He reminded himself that Noah was counting on him for his good advice. The problem was that he was all out of advice. All he could think of was Diamond’s face. First when it was flushed with heat and she was begging him to pound into her harder, deeper; then minutes later, her shocked expression knowing that they’d been seen. Ian ached to go to her. He needed to help her through this, keep her at his side. It was the only way he could protect her from the salacious gossip storm that was sure to sweep Washington. Fuck, he thought with a disgusted snort, the scandal might even take the spotlight off Senator Walker.
Realizing that both Frank and Noah were staring at him as if waiting for a reply, Ian brushed his hand through his hair distractedly and shook his head. Trying for a respite, he turned to Noah.
“Sorry, Man, I was preoccupied. Run that idea by me again.”
After Noah described his plan, Ian and Frank played devil’s advocate. After a lengthy discussion sorting through the pros and cons, Ian tugged at his chin and threw Noah an admiring glance.
“It’s clear, buddy, that you’ve learned a few things from that slippery old man of yours. This is a brilliant idea, Noah. However, I think we all know what stands in the way of making it work.”
Noah huffed a hard sigh and nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, we do. My father.”
Ian glanced at his vibrating phone and saw a D.C. number he didn’t recognize. Excusing himself from the conversation, he hit the number.
“Ian Ross here.”
“Mr. Ross, this is Amber from Club 69. I was wondering if Diamond got a hold of you.”
Ian’s pulse shot up at the mention of Diamond. “No, she didn’t. Why? What’s up, Amber?”
“I called her a couple hours ago to ask her to warn you about Tiffany.”
“What about Tiffany?”
“Well, it’s like I told Diamond. Tiffany got real upset when she saw Senator Walker on TV talking about his wife. I don’t know if Diamond told you, but Tiffany’s been taking a lot of drugs. She’s mixing everything from scripts, to meth, to Coke, to booze!”
“Yes, Diamond did tell me that. What do you want from me, Amber?”
“Like I told Diamond, Tiffany was really bent out if shape. I heard her tell our driver to take her to Senator Walker’s office. I was… concerned what she might do there. I asked Diamond to tell you to go see about the Senator. Diamond said she’d call you and that she would call me back when everything was okay. She never called, and I’ve been trying to reach her and Tiffany, but neither one is answering her phone. I’m kind of scared, Mr. Ross. I think Tiffany might have had a gun.”
Before Amber finished her hair-raising tale, Ian was out the door, motioning for Noah to follow him. Dashing to the elevator, Ian called his driver to meet them out front.
Noah grabbed his arm. “Christ, Ian. What’s wrong? I’ve never seen you look this way—like you’ve seen a ghost.”
As he ordered the driver to take them to the Senate office building ASAP, Ian said to Noah, “I hope to hell not, Noah.” He added tersely,“Tiffany Jackson went to confront your father. She may have a gun. There’s a good chance Diamond is also there.”
~~~
Diamond used the key Peter Kennedy had given her and let herself into Senator Walker’s outer office. A quick glance confirmed that it was empty. Hearing voices, she moved quietly toward the private office down the hall. Standing at the door, she recognized the Senator’s deep bass tones. The woman’s voice was harder to identify. If Diamond didn’t know that Tiffany was high on God Knows What, she might not have known it was her. She held the door handle firmly then slowly turned it enough to open a five-inch crack.
Looking inside, Diamond saw John Walker standing in the middle of the room. Tiffany was in front of him. From her vantage point, Diamond could see both of their faces. Tiffany’s voice was muffled with sobs and likely the drugs she’d ingested. Diamond’s stomach hit the ground when she got close enough to hear what they were saying.
`Senator Walker was frowning at the disheveled young woman, his expression pained.
“Tiffany, my dear, you know you shouldn’t have come here. We can’t be seen together. Surely you understand that.”
Tiffany’s voice was shrill. “I don’t understand, John. I had to come here, John. You didn’t answer my calls. I told you I needed to see you. Don’t you understand? I saved you. I kept that fucking little prick Brunson from giving those pictures of us to the press.”
John’s eyes widened in shock. �
��What…pictures, Tiffany?”
Tiffany glared at him, her lips twisted with scorn. “Do you think I’m stupid, John? That I wouldn’t keep evidence of you and me together?” Seeing Walker’s clear shock, Tiffany was defiant.
“And, yes, when it looked like you might go back to that old woman, your wife, I gave the pictures to Deacon. He told me if I gave him proof that you loved me, he would make sure you resigned and you and I could be together. But he was a liar. He didn’t care what happened to you.”
Tiffany put her hands on his chest and peered up at him. “Don’t you see, John, I had to kill him. I did it for you. To protect you.”
The Senator reeled back in shock. “Oh my God, Tiffany, Jesus, God, woman. How…how could you? Oh, my dear girl. Why, why?”
The drugged girl’s voice rose higher.
“Don’t you understand, John? I had to. I did it for you. Now we can be together. Forever, you and me.”
John’s agony was apparent, his voice desperate. “No, no, Tiffany. No, my dear. That can never happen. I love my wife. She’s the only woman I’ve ever loved.”
Tiffany eyes widened and she shrieked a loud piercing wail. To Diamond’s horror, Tiffany yanked a 9mm extended Glock out of her purse and pointed it at Senator Walker.
Diamond knew she had to enter the room. Praying that she could get the gun away from the shaking girl before she fired it, she called out to her.
“Tiffany, don’t. Look at me, honey. Remember me? I’m Diamond. I came to help you.”
Tiffany whirled on her. At first she was startled, then seemed confused. After a moment she glanced from the Senator to Diamond and her expression hardened. She glared at Diamond.
“You. It’s you! You’re the one he loves now.”
Diamond moved forward, slowly, carefully.
“No, honey. You’re wrong. I came to help you. Amber was worried about you.”
Tiffany shook her head fiercely from side to side, glaring at Diamond. “No, no! Admit it, you conniving bitch! You’re fucking him. That’s why you’ve been sneaking around the Club asking all those questions. You wanted to be sure he was leaving me.”