In Too Deep: A Romantic Suspense Novel

by Landish, Lauren

  "Then I would have come to your rescue," I replied matter-of-factly. "Besides, I didn't start this bath until you were already down and in the car back here."

  "I see. And you're not interested at all in what we learned from my little case of corporate espionage?" he asked, unbuckling his belt.

  "Not as much as I am feeling you in this bath next to me. The data analysis can wait at least a few hours," I said. "That is, unless you happen to like analyzing data instead of spending time with me?"

  Mark finished stripping off his clothes at what looked like warp speed, which was a shame. I enjoy watching him pull the fabric over his firm muscles, revealing himself to me. Even the scars on his body were sexy to me, and I shivered in anticipation as he stepped over the side of the tub and into the water, upon which I found the other drawback to the mineral salts I had used for the bath. While they provided a great scent and let me tease him by only giving Mark hints of my body underneath the water, now I couldn't see him the same way. I growled lightly in frustration and slid closer to him.

  "I know that you're good, but that doesn't mean I don't worry," I said as our thighs brushed together. "All I can imagine is not being able to feel you again."

  "You can feel me all you want," Mark whispered to me, pulling me onto his lap. Our kiss was hot and slippery, like the water we were in. I could feel our bodies pressed together, his skin electric over mine, and I could feel his cock already starting to swell in between us. I rubbed against his chest, letting my nipples rake over his skin, both of our hearts hammering in our chests.

  "Tonight....." I said, breaking the kiss. I sat back in his lap, looking him deep into his eyes.

  "I was safe," Mark whispered, stroking my back. "I promise."

  I shook my head. "That wasn't what I was going to say."

  Mark cocked an eyebrow at me, encouraging me to continue. "Tonight," I said, taking a deep breath, "I want you back there."

  Mark's other eyebrow joined his cocked one in surprise. We'd discussed anal sex before, and in fact he'd used his fingers on me once or twice while he licked me, he'd never slid his cock back there before. In fact, nobody had.

  But after the risks of our job, I needed this. It was one of the first dangerous missions he had undertaken since we'd been together without me, and it had scared me more than I was letting him know. "Are you ready?" Mark asked softly, kissing my neck. "Did you prepare?"

  "A little," I said, “but not a lot."

  "Then we'll take our time, and help you be ready," Mark replied, kissing down my neck to my collarbone. I groaned as his hands roamed up and down my back, stroking and massaging the muscles while his mouth feasted on my skin. His right hand disappeared under the water, cupping my butt cheek and massaging it.

  "Yesss...." I sighed, lifting my breasts out of the water to his lips. Mark obliged me, kissing them quickly before raising his head up to kiss my lips again. While our tongues danced and twisted around each other, I felt his fingers slide into the cleft in between my cheeks, and I pushed back, opening myself for him. Mark's finger found my tight hole and rubbed slowly, in tight little circles.

  "You told me you are virgin back there, yes?"

  “I am.”

  Mark's solemn nod while he lowered his lips to my left breast again, reassured me while at the same time his lips and tongue sent tingles up and down my spine. I could feel the warm pleasure building in my chest, and barely noticed when he slipped his finger inside me. He pumped slowly, letting my body adjust to his graceful digit. On my end, it was absolute heaven. Mark's lips were sucking and pleasuring my breasts while his legs supported me, and at the same time let me rub myself against the strong muscles of his thigh. Then, behind, I was wonderfully impaled, filled and taken by the man I loved.

  I don't remember how long Mark kept up his digital stretching, but the next thing I was aware of was the tight coil of tension building in my stomach, one of the precursors of an orgasm that I knew meant I was going to lose it soon. Mark heard the change in my gasps and moans, and shifted his legs slightly, letting my clit rub directly against his thigh. I came quickly after that, moaning and calling his name softly while he supported me with his free hand.

  When my climax had passed, he kissed my lips again. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked me, concern in his voice. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

  "I know that," I told him, stroking his face and looking him in the eye. "It's why I know you're the only person I trust with this."

  I reached down under the water and wrapped my hand around his cock, which was still rock hard and thick. There was no way I was ready at that point. "What do we need to do?"

  "Bend over the edge of the tub," Mark said, slipping out of the water and going to the medicine cabinet. Inside we had a few of the various toys we'd collected, but he came back with a large tube of lubricant. "This might feel cold after the bath water, I'm sorry about that."

  "Well then," I teased, wiggling my bent over backside at him. "I guess you'll need to warm it up then."

  Mark coated two of his fingers in the shiny, clear gel before capping it and setting the tube in the overflow area of the tub. It made sense, it was almost as warm as the bath water. "Okay, now look at the wall, and push back, see yourself opening up," he said.

  I did as he asked, in my mind's eye imagining my ass opening up to allow him in. There was a moment of tightness, but suddenly both of his fingers were inside me, massaging my inner walls and filling me with delicious fullness. At the same time, his other hand continued to rub and massage my back, relaxing me and letting me feel calm and at peace.

  Just when I thought I could actually feel my body start to rise again towards another climax, Mark pulled his fingers out. Getting out of the bath, he lay down on the thick faux fur rug that we use for catching drops and smeared another glistening dollop of lubricant on his cock, until it was shiny and ready. "You control your depth," he said simply.

  I nodded and got out, making sure my feet were dry before squatting over top of him. I could feel my ass still wet and ready for him, and I took him in my hand, looking into his eyes. "I love you, Mark."

  "I love you too, Sophie," he said, and I lowered myself down. It's one of the benefits of having a super-fit hitman as your fiancee, you get lots of exercise. My legs, which couldn't have supported the squatting position for very long before, gave me plenty of control as I felt the blunt spongy head of his cock push against my ass. It was bigger than his fingers, but it wasn’t too much for me, and except for a momentary twinge of pain, I guided myself down onto his cock in a smooth, amazingly sexy descent.

  "Oh fuck," I groaned as my hips settled against Mark. I'd read about anal sex before. Hell, it's not exactly a subject that you go into blind nowadays. I'd read both the good and the bad, and all I can say is, the good paled in comparison to how I actually felt. It wasn't just the fact that I had Mark inside me in a way no man had ever been before. It was the look in his eyes, and the calm assurance in his face as he held my hips in his hands. There were no words to describe it.

  "I'll go slow," Mark promised me as he lifted my hips up slightly before holding me there. He began to thrust, slowly at first, letting me feel the taboo pleasure make its way through my body as our eyes stayed gazing into each other. I swore I could see into Mark's soul, which was just as beautiful as it was tortured. Still, his love burned bright for me, and as his hips increased in pace, I could feel that burning start up again deep in my belly.

  I pushed back, stroking my ass up and down Mark's cock as my own desires took over. As I did, I marveled at how perfect our position was. My breasts dragged against the strong muscles of his chest, while at the bottom of each filling thrust my clit ground against the flat muscle below his belly button. I was filled, I was taken, and I was safe all at the same time.

  The only thing that our position wouldn't let us do was last. It just felt too damn good. My hips sped up, to be met by Mark's thrusts, and soon both of us were trembling on th
e edge of another orgasm. I looked up into Mark's eyes and nodded, pushing myself back and squeezing down. I saw his eyes roll up in his head and I knew he was ready. I was quick to follow, reducing me to a trembling, teary mass on the rug. Mark's arms held me tight through my convulsions, his body never pushing me away or pulling me too tightly against him. Finally, my convulsions passed, and we lay against each other until I started to shiver. "What's wrong?" Mark asked.

  "I'm cold," I told him. "Let's get back in the bath."

  * * *

  Sophie

  The next day, we started to pour over the data that Mark had stolen. "I think we've got a lot here," Mark said as he skimmed the file headers. "I recognize a lot of these businesses, they're ones that the Confederation used to launder their money."

  "That's a lot of businesses," I said as we looked at the long list of file folders. Even on the huge thirty inch monitor we were plugged into, the list of names filled the screen. "How are we going to get through them all?"

  “We probably won't need to," Mark said. "If we take down random ones, it'll put pressure on the others. Since I know quite a few of them myself, I was actually thinking of saving some of those for last. Let Sal Giordano and the rest of the Confederation keep guessing. Also, we don't have to take down these companies. We can just monitor them, get the dirt on them, and then turn them over to the Feds. Even if the FBI is pretty incompetent, they have their uses."

  "You don't like the FBI, I take it."

  Mark chuckled. "Considering the rings I ran around them for years? Nah. But I give the FBI credit on one thing. Once they know where to apply pressure, they are like millstones, they grind very very fine. We just have to make sure that we're not in their path when they let loose their juggernaut."

  "Can you do it?" I asked. Mark grinned and nodded.

  "Of course. With this amount of data, it's not a matter of if the FBI will get involved, but when."

  Our conversation was interrupted as Tabby Williams buzzed for entrance. We were on the fourth floor of the Smiley Headquarters, far enough away from the noise and music of the gym on the first floor that we could work uninterrupted. After buzzing her in, Mark shut down the files we were looking at and went back to his normal desktop. Tabby may have known our real identities, but there was no reason to put her at risk by letting her in on more secrets than she already knew. "Hey you guys."

  I could tell as soon as she came in the door that something was different with her. Tabby was always bubbly, but this was almost perky. "Hey Tabby. What's up?"

  "Oh, just wanted to drop off some more files for your perusal," Tabby said, practically skipping across the floor. "How's life in Mount Zion?"

  "Good," Mark replied, turning towards her. "You seem rather chipper this morning. Get some extra caffeine in your latte or something?"

  "I just had a really good night last night, that's all," Tabby said, starting to blush. I looked at Mark, who nodded.

  "What was his name?" Mark asked with a smile. "And just how good a night was it?"

  "Marcus Smiley!" Tabby said in mock outrage. I was glad that Tabby knew Mark more under his assumed alias than as Mark Snow, because you could tell she was being flippant and not really thinking. "I will let you know, Sir, that despite all appearances, I am a very hard to please woman. In fact, I'm just the sort to take home to your mother for Sunday dinner."

  "Uh-huh. So is he or she cute?"

  Tabby rolled her eyes and nodded. "Yes, HE is very cute. But more than that, he was a total gentleman the whole time. In fact, we only kissed once, when he walked me to the door of my apartment."

  I was surprised. Tabby was no slut, but she rarely played hard to get like this. "Really? And you're seeing him again?"

  Tabby smiled and started giggling. "Tonight, in fact."

  I was flabbergasted. "Whoa, two dates in two nights with the same guy? He must be a good one."

  "He is. Listen, I'd love to tell the two of you all about it, but I just barely had time to drop these files off before getting to the office. I have a meeting in thirty minutes that I can't be late for."

  "Okay. Well, give me a call tomorrow or something, we can talk all about it," I said, picking up the inch thick pile of file folders. "And when do you need these back?"

  "I don't," she replied, heading for the elevator. "Those are your copies now. See you!"

  As quickly as she arrived, Tabby was gone, the elevator taking her down stairs. I turned to Mark, who had a careful look on his face. "What is it?"

  "Have you ever known anyone interested in Tabby who was willing to settle for just a kiss at her front door at the end of a good date?"

  "No, but that doesn't mean it can't happen," I said. "Maybe Tabby has finally run into a guy who will treat her with respect and admiration. Trust me, when that happens, it feels great for a woman."

  I saw Mark blush, and he turned back to his computer without a reply. "Okay, well, could you start taking a look at the businesses while I work my way through the files from last night?"

  "Okay," I said, starting with the top folder on the pile. The first sort was easy, really. While we had given Tabby very specific ideas on companies that we wanted to look at in terms of income, potential for growth and other hard data, there were factors that we hadn't told her.

  For example, one of our rules was that we didn't invest over a hundred thousand dollars unless the company was either offering very close to a majority stake, or that the company was already so wealthy that the stake offered was under ten percent. The first group of companies were true angel investments, meant to provide people with the ability to achieve their dream. They were relatively high risk, but still we did it to help people. The other group were companies that we were assured to get our money back, and we used them for growth of our total portfolio. Companies who were in neither group were eliminated because they either didn't need us, or were high enough risk that it wasn't a good investment for the amount of potential return.

  That rule alone eliminated roughly a third of the pile. The second pass was more careful, as I geographically mapped each of the potential investments. Mark wanted Smiley companies all over the city, but especially in the areas that were being taken advantage of by either the Confederation or Owen Lynch's organization. The reason was simple, to give the neighborhoods that were being exploited by these groups something to rally around. After the second pass, which took close to two hours, I was left with four potential businesses. I set them aside for a final pass through with Mark after he was done and stretched. "How're you looking over there?"

  "There's hundreds of companies here. I'm going to need to set up a database program to help us classify them and sort them according to a bunch of different factors. Just getting them all plotted on a map is going to take a long damn time," Mark said, rubbing his tired eyes. "Tell me you at least have something positive over there."

  "Four potentials," I said, "but nothing that can't wait until after lunch. Besides, you still have your other investments to look after and everything. You can't be Marcus Smiley all the time, my love."

  Mark hummed his assent and stretched, his back popping in three places. He walked away from his desk, a slight limp in his leg from where he had been shot. I knew he had to be tired, he only showed that limp when he was exhausted. "Come on," I said, making a decision, "let's get some lunch, come back, get our workouts in, and then go home. You're too blitzed to get anything else done."

  "Okay," Mark said, sighing. "You're right, this was a lot easier when all I had to do was stay fit, cruise the markets, and do my other work. Not that I want to go back to that, no matter what."

  Chapter 35

  Mark

  After a relaxing lunch at a Chinese restaurant that we were funding in the middle of the Triad-controlled part of Chinatown, Sophie and I drove back to the warehouse that was our headquarters as well as the first floor being another one of our investments, one of the most advanced fitness facilities in the entire state. The owner, a former
NCAA strength coach who got frustrated with the limitations of college politics, was a nice guy in his thirties who knew a lot about fitness. Between his knowledge, Sophie's training as a physician's assistant, and my own prior knowledge of the body's systems from my training, I doubt there was any place in the country that could give me a better place to do what I needed to do.

  "Good afternoon Marcus!" the staff member on duty said as Sophie and I came through the door. I was on strict terms with the owner that I was not to be called sir or Mr. Smiley by anyone in the gym. I may have been thirty-five percent owner, but I was still just there to do a workout just like everyone else. "What's on the agenda for today?"

  "Legs," Sophie answered for me. I inwardly winced, as I knew that Sophie's idea of a good leg workout usually left me feeling like my muscles were made of burning kerosene and my heart pounding somewhere between my throat and my eyeballs.

  "Did I do something to upset you?" I asked as we headed towards the one nod I had to being the owner, an executive locker room that Sophie and I could use together. "I thought you felt good after last night."

  "Oh, I did," Sophie replied with a twinkle in her eye. "In fact, the better you do during your workout today, the sooner you get to do that again."

  During the course of my free-wheeling, scattergun approach to higher education after leaving high school, I took a course on basic human psychology online from Stanford. In it, we covered quite a few lessons talking about motivation, and I still remember from the videos that the professor was talking about the difference between internal and external motivation.

  Internal motivation, as you can guess, comes from inside, the professor had said, while external motivation is imposed on us from an outside source. Both of these can be either positive or negative methods of motivation, but what psychologists have found is that for most people, in most circumstances, internal motivation is greater than external motivation. Basically, the fire that burns inside of us will often far outstrip anything that is imposed on us from outside.