Suave

by C. A. Bell

  “I’ve been on the edge all night.”

  “Well, fucking do it, baby. Cover me.”

  He sunk his fingertips into my hips and shook me so fast on his cock it almost felt like I had a vibrator inside me.

  My core pulsed and my inner muscles clamped down on his shaft as my climax built steadily.

  I gasped for air. “Don’t stop. Oh God,” I cried, half in pain from the stitch in my side and half in pleasure as I felt my body slip into orgasm mode.

  Every muscle in my body tensed and my head suddenly drifted off into a place that could only be described as fucking heaven.

  “Fuck.” He roared.

  I pulsed around his cock, feeling him swelling back against me. My warmth covered him as I continued to spasm against his girth, squeezing and milking every last drop from the pair of us.

  I fell to his chest, breathless, mouth dry, legs shaking. He ran his hands up and down my legs.

  “Are you cold, baby?”

  “Seriously.” I sat up. “I’m sweating like a sinner on a Sunday morning.”

  He chuckled.

  “Just post sex shudders.” I smiled.

  “Mmm, fuck. I love that.” He leant forward and kissed me before tapping my bum and asking if I wanted a drink.

  “Water, please,” I said, cocking a leg to allow him to escape before flopping down on the sofa and staring at the ceiling.

  Max and I really were sexually compatible. It was just a fucking almighty shame that he had to open his mouth so much.

  Miss Chambers is Here to See You

  Brooke Knight

  One week later

  After numerous visits to Bar Noir and a few to the department store where Jasmine worked, I was starting to become very impatient. I didn’t have time to play these stupid ego games anymore. Lennox Grant and his fucktard solicitors were still trying to get me to shut Suave down until the end of the trial. It wasn’t going to happen. Even if I saw it in writing with a big arse court stamp on it, I wouldn’t be closing. The only way that would happen would be over my dead body. The whole week had been awful. Not only did I have solicitors breathing down my neck, but I also had to deal with the really awkward atmosphere that presented itself whenever I saw Max. When I left on the Saturday morning after falling asleep on his sofa, something really strange happened. He kissed me. Not a horny, let me eat your face kiss. But a real kiss. As soon as it happened, I dashed out of his place and since then, we’d stayed well away from each other, only giving one another a nod when passing in Bar Noir. I didn’t like it, and I missed winding him up. Hell, I even missed him winding me up.

  I swivelled from side to side in my chair as I glanced at the lengthy email I’d just written. My head hadn’t been in the game for weeks now, and it was starting to show because I was now receiving replies saying, ‘What the hell are you on about?’ after sending rather confidential emails to the wrong people. I needed to get my head straight. I needed to just tell Max this stupid bet was off and give him his money so I could concentrate on work and this Lennox shit. Deep down, I didn’t want to, though. I wanted to see the bet through to the end. I wanted either of us to sleep with her just so I had a picture to taunt Lennox with. After his run in with Jasmine and getting all bunny boiler on her arse, I knew she was his weak spot, but at the moment I just couldn’t bring myself to play anymore. I was defeated for the first time in my life, and I hated it.

  I picked up my phone and pulled Arse Max up. I giggled and hovered my finger above the call button.

  Okay, you can do this. Just tell him the bet’s off and he’s won, and that you’ll meet him later with a cheque, and then hang up.

  I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the first loss of my life.

  Someone knocked on my door, forcing me to lock my phone and place it on my desk. “Yes?”

  Ava came in. “Miss Chambers is here to see you. She says it’s urgent.”

  I almost choked at her sentence.

  “Jasmine Chambers?”

  “Mhm.”

  “Lennox Grant’s ex?” I had to be certain.

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. Send her straight through, please.”

  “Of course. Do you want me to stick around while she’s here like last time?”

  I shook my head. No chance. This was my chance to win. God, I was so glad Ava had knocked when she had.

  “That won’t be necessary this time, Ava, but I’ll call you if I need anything.” I smiled, trying to contain my excitement.

  “Okay.” She twisted on her heels and headed out.

  As I waited, I wondered what the urgency was about. Did she have information on something to do with this court case? Something to help me out? Fuck, my day had just got better and it all came with one sentence—Miss Chambers is here to see you. This woman could be the answer to everything.

  A knocking on the door sent my heart thumping against my chest.

  “Come in.”

  I stood as the door opened and greeted her professionally with an open hand. She took it and we shook.

  “Nice to see you again, Miss Chambers. What is it I can do for you today?” I asked, desperate to hear what she had to say.

  “I have some information I think you might be interested in.”

  “Please, take a seat.” I remained calm and sat as she did, pressing record on my Dictaphone.

  “Lennox has a big poker game tomorrow night. I’ve only just found out about it.”

  I instantly thought of Max.

  My curiosity piqued. “Go on.”

  “He hasn’t played for ages because I made him stop once I found out what he and Joseph were up to.”

  I remained silent, computing every word.

  “Lennox and Joseph set games up. I don’t know how or anything like that, but I know they do. They cheat.”

  I frowned, “How do you know this?”

  “I overheard them one night laughing and joking about it in his study. He didn’t know I was there. I’d come back early from a fashion show to surprise him.”

  “What did you actually hear?”

  “Lennox said something like, ‘next time, make sure you switch them before the third round’ and Joseph agreed to.”

  “So they switched the pack of cards?”

  “Yeah. Lennox later confirmed what I thought I heard was correct. He admitted it to me, told me that he and Joseph had been doing it for years.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

  “Tell me what he said when you confronted him about it.”

  “He said he knew what he was doing was wrong, but that Joe had got him into it and now he was addicted. He said he tried to get Joe to stop but he’d threatened to expose Lennox, which was why he was still doing it. I fell for it then, but now I know he was just feeding me a load of bullshit.”

  “When was this?”

  “About a year ago.”

  “And he is playing tomorrow night? What time? Do you know where? Who with?”

  “It’s at the Imperial Casino on Oxford Street. I don’t know what time, but I do know that Joseph is playing, which is why I am here. I just know the pair of them are up to no good.”

  “Can I ask you something?” I said, moving my chair closer to the desk.

  “Of course.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” I had to know what her true motives were.

  “Because I hate Lennox Grant.” She looked to the floor and swallowed hard. “Frank has left me because of that article Lennox claims is true.”

  “Oh.”

  I didn’t know what else to say. I somehow felt like I had played a part in her relationship breaking down. If I hadn’t printed it, she probably wouldn’t have been sat here, single.

  Reality struck. She was single now. On the rebound, possibly. Looking for someone’s shoulder to cry on and lap to sit on and rock away the pain. I had a plan. A very naughty plan.

  She lifted her head and caught my eye, her pupils dilating, darkening he
r irises. “Expose the bastard.”

  My cheeks slowly lifted to a smile as my inner deviant rose and took over. I pressed stop on the recording device.

  “On one condition.”

  “Anything.”

  “If I do this. If I send someone there tomorrow to get proof, whether they do or not…”

  She watched my lips intently. I wasn’t about to beat around the bush. This needed to be said as straight as possible. “You sleep with me.”

  Her face twisted into a look of utter shock. “What? Sleep with you, as in have sex with you?”

  “Mhm.”

  She laughed nervously. “You’re not serious?”

  “I am. Deadly.”

  She stared at me, gobsmacked, just shaking her head from side to side in disbelief.

  “But that doesn’t make sense. I’ve just given you the story. You should be doing something for me in return. I’m doing you a favour by coming in here and telling you this.”

  She was right, she was doing me a favour, but I acted aloof. “On the contrary. I am the one doing you a favour. It costs me money to send my stalkers out.”

  “Fair enough, so why don’t I just pay you instead. Not that I should, because your magazine will be flying off the shelves with this story.”

  “That is if your story amounts to anything.” I leant over the desk towards her. “How badly do you want to nail this fucker’s balls to the floor?”

  She breathed out heavily through her nose. “Bad.”

  “Then give me one night. Not even a night. Just an hour.”

  “This is crazy. I’ve only just broken up with Frank, and… no offence, but I’m not that way inclined.”

  “Then Lennox’s balls shall just have to swing freely.” I rested back in my chair. “Oh, and just for the record… neither am I. But I do like to appreciate the same sex now and again. They are much more… in tune, shall we say. Makes for fun times.” I smiled.

  She looked at the floor for a few seconds before looking up and staring me right in the eye. “You get the dirt on him… and I will fuck you like no one has ever fucked you before.”

  My brows shot up my forehead. I didn’t expect her to be so direct.

  “You don’t get the dirt… and we don’t.”

  I shook my head and clenched my legs together to soothe my throbbing clit. “That’s an unfair deal. What if there’s no dirt to get?”

  “Trust me. There is. There’s no way both Lennox and Joseph are going to play a high stakes game with one another without cheating. I just know it. Trust me.”

  “So, I’m supposed to just take your word for it?”

  She maintained eye contact with me. “Trust me.”

  I tapped my finger against the desk and pulled a thoughtful face. I knew what I was going to say, but I wasn’t going to display my enthusiasm.

  I held my hand out. “Deal.”

  She took it firmly. “Deal.”

  Max Harper

  I placed the weights down on the floor and headed to my phone.

  AABrooke.

  I stroked my chin. Did I really want to answer? Ever since that amazing session last Friday and the awkward aftermath of our kiss in the morning, we’d stayed well clear of each other. We both knew why as well. People like us never allowed ourselves to get too intimate. Sex was fine, just a means to an end. But getting emotionally involved was something completely different. Neither Brooke nor myself were the kind of people who did emotional intimacy. It just wasn’t something people like us felt comfortable with. The kiss we’d shared on Saturday morning was intimate, and that was why we both fled as soon as we felt the connection. Neither of knew how to deal with it.

  I watched her name flash on the screen, curiosity getting the better of me.

  I pressed accept. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Max, it’s Brooke.”

  “AABrooke, no less.”

  “Ha. Listen… I need you.”

  “Well, well, those are words I never thought I’d hear come out of your mouth so willingly.”

  “Stop messing. I’m serious. I need you to do something for me. Will you come to my office?”

  “Okay, this sounds kind of dubious. You’re not going to be sat there in a trench coat and high heels ready to flash me when I walk through the door, are you?”

  “Like that would stop you… Will you come?”

  Of course I would. “When?”

  “As soon as you can.”

  “As in as soon as I can, today?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll be there in the next couple of hours.”

  “Thank you.” Her voice seemed more relaxed now. “Do you want the address?”

  “You mean the address to that huge sky scraper with Suave down the side of it?”

  She huffed a little giggle. “Thank you, Max.”

  “No problem. I’ll see you soon.”

  “Bye.”

  I stared down at my phone as the screen went dark. What was this about?

  ****

  “We meet again.” I smiled to the blonde sat behind the desk after being directed up to the top floor.

  “Oh, hello.” Her eyes twinkled. “Max, isn’t it?”

  “It is. The lady is expecting me.”

  “I’ll just call through.”

  I watched her take the phone from the receiver and place it against her ear. “Take a seat.” She smiled.

  I did, resting my right foot on my left knee and grabbing a copy of Suave off the table next to me. There was no doubt Brooke was going to make me wait a while. Just because she could.

  “You can go straight through.”

  I looked up in surprise. “Really?”

  “Mhm. She doesn’t hang about.”

  I placed the mag back down neatly and stood before straightening my suit and heading in the direction her PA was gesturing.

  Brooke Knight shone on the silver plaque on the door. I knocked.

  “Come in.”

  I gripped the handle and pushed the door open. She was stood behind her desk, looking as sexy as ever, gazing right at me, no doubt imagining what was under my expensive suit.

  “Hi, Max.”

  “Hey.” I walked in and shut the door behind me.

  “Please, take a seat,” she said, running her hands down the back of her skirt as she took her chair.

  “This is all very formal.”

  “Well, I have some business for you.”

  My brow quirked. Business?

  I got comfortable in the visitor’s seat and awaited her next words.

  The Deal

  Max Harper

  “You have a poker game tomorrow night at the Imperial Casino. Am I right?”

  I frowned. How the hell did she know that?

  “I do. What of it?”

  “Listen.” She shuffled to the edge of her chair. “What I am about to tell you does not leave this room, okay?”

  I was starting to get anxious for more details. “Okay.”

  “Promise me, Max.”

  “I promise.”

  “Okay.” She ran her hand through her hair, probably still debating with herself whether to tell me or not. “Lennox Grant is playing at this game. Am I right?”

  I nodded. “He is.”

  “And so is a guy called Joseph Denman. Correct?”

  She was. “How do you know all of this. Are you stalking me or something? Bugged my house with one of those tiny little gizmos so you can watch me undress?”

  She tilted her head to the side. “Let’s just say I have contacts. Anyway, I’ve had a tip off… Tomorrow’s game is rigged.”

  “Huh?”

  “Lennox and Joseph are swindlers. They cheat at the game together.”

  “That’s impossible, especially in a place like the Imperial. There’s just no way. They’d be seen.”

  “Well, there must be a way, because they’ve done it before. They switch the pack once the game is underway.”

  I laughed. “Trust me, ther
e’s no way that could happen.”

  “Look.” Her voice turned stern. “There must be a way. I don’t know what way, but there has to be.”

  “Okay. Just say there was a way to cheat and switch the cards without being seen. What do you want me to do?”

  “I want you to watch the pair of them like a hawk. I want you to find out how they switch that damn pack.”

  “If they’ve done it before and no one has noticed, what makes you think I’m going to catch them at it?”

  “Because you are aware. You’ll be more on the ball.”

  “Alright, say I do see or hear something, then what?”

  “Then you call me straight away and tell me everything.”

  “After that?”

  “After that I’ll take over.”

  “You want this for Suave?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you’ll just take my word for it? Print whatever I say?”

  She nodded.

  Suddenly, reality dawned on me. “Hold on. I could gain a rep as a snitch from this. This could put me out of every poker game around town.”

  “I won’t use your name.”

  “How can I be so sure?”

  “If you agree to do this for me, I will have a disclaimer drawn up this afternoon that states I will not use your name in any way, shape, or form.”

  I nodded. “Okay, if I do this for you, what’s in it for me?”

  She rolled her eyes and rested back in her chair. “I knew that was coming.”

  “Well, I can’t offer my sexy spy services for nothing or everyone will expect a free ride from inspector Max.”

  Her lips lifted into a brief smile before falling back to a serious straight line.

  “I will put you in Suave. Even give you a double page spread.”

  My heart thudded against my chest. Holy mother of all that was holy, was she for real? I wanted to snap her hand off, but I remained cool.

  “What’s the title?”

  She shrugged. “Whatever you want it to be?”

  “You’re the pro, you tell me,” I said, intrigued to know what came to her mind.

  She pondered a few seconds. “How about, One of London’s most eligible bachelors bares all? We can do an interview piece.”