by Zara Chase
“Perhaps now you understand why we live, work, and play together.”
“Yes I do, and thanks for sharing.” She paused. “How are your sisters and brother now?”
“All married with families of their own, and doing a damned sight better job of raising them than the example that was set by our old man.”
“From what you’ve told me, that can’t be difficult.”
“You got that right.”
Still holding hands, they lapsed into a companionable silence. She thought about all Hunter had just told her, wondering if his penchant for chastising his subs was a product of his violent childhood, or whether he did it to prove it could be a controlled, pleasurable, nonaggressive experience. Then again, perhaps he did it just to prove he wasn’t his father’s son. Anais’s heart went out to him. He’d had a tough time of it, been let down by everyone who mattered to him, with the exception of Lewis and his grandmother. No wonder the two guys were so tight.
Anais was warmed by a hot sun and the even hotter male sitting with his thigh jammed up against hers. The sexual magnetism flowed between them like an electric current, filling her senses with an urgent desire.
“Don’t even think about it,” he said, a smile in his voice.
“About what?”
“About fucking.”
“How did you know I—”
“Honey, I can read you like a book. Your eyes go all dark and swirly—”
“My eyes are closed.”
“I have X-ray vision. Besides, you also bite your lip, and…” He glanced down at her torso and chuckled. “Your nipples pucker.”
She opened her eyes and returned the favor by fixing her gaze on the bulge in his pants. “And you’re completely immune to temptation, I suppose?”
“Nope, I’m harder than a loan shark, but we have other things to think about right now. Like setting up this sting to catch your husband. Or not.”
“He isn’t my husband. The man I married wouldn’t just walk out without leaving an explanation. Even if he is still alive, I don’t want anything more to do with him.”
“I’m glad to hear it, but that’s not the point.”
“Then what is the point, Mr. Control Freak? We have time on our hands, and I’d rather like you to fuck me, if it’s not too much trouble. Where’s the harm in that?”
He shook his head, his expression changing from fiercely determined to unsure. “We were rough with you yesterday. You need some recovery time.”
“Isn’t that up to me to decide?” She wound her arms around his neck, slid onto his lap and tangled her fingers in his ponytail. “I can feel you want to.”
He laughed. “You’re insatiable.”
“And whose fault is that? You’re the one that awoke the beast inside of me.”
“Hey, look.” Hunter pointed to the water. “Dolphins.”
“Wow, they’re so close.”
They watched for a while as a dozen dolphins’ heads appeared above the water. Some of them did barrel rolls, others appeared to chase one another. Anais was enchanted.
“They’re hunting. Wanna join them?”
“Can we?” Anais asked.
“Sure. Why not?”
He took her hand and led her to the dock. Without seeming to care that they might be seen, he stripped off his jeans and T-shirt. He was naked beneath. Anais took herself down to her pretty underwear but wasn’t quite so brave as Hunter and left it in place. He shot her a look, quirked a brow, and laughed.
“Coward.”
He took her hand and, knees bent up to their chests, they jumped into the cold water from the end of the dock. Surfacing together, they were really close to the dolphins, who stopped to investigate them. Hunter swam toward them with a strong crawl. Anais followed more slowly, enchanted when a dolphin allowed her to touch its nose. Then it swam off after the rest of the pod.
“That was amazing,” Anais said, treading water as she watched it go.
“Yeah, they’re pretty curious.”
She followed Hunter when he swam back toward the dock. Instead of climbing the ladder, he turned and pulled her into his arms. He could touch the bottom, but the water was too deep for her and she put her arms around his neck to stay afloat. Somehow her legs just happened to work their way around his waist.
“You ever fucked in water before?” he asked.
“Only in the bath with Lewis.” She canted her head and smiled at him. “I thought you didn’t want to fuck.”
“Well, you seem kinda anxious about…everything.”
“Oh, so I’m to blame for this?” She bumped her buttocks against his groin.
“Honey, you have no idea.”
“Hunter, I’d really love to, but there are houses all along here. We could be seen.”
“Only the bits of us that aren’t below water,” he replied, grinning. “What’s the matter? Gone off the idea.”
Recklessly, Anais pulled out the band that held his hair in a ponytail, and dug her fingers into his wet locks. With a groan he claimed her lips at the same time as he pulled her sodden panties aside and drove his cock into her. Hard and demanding, just like always. Just like the way she was staring to enjoy it.
“That what you need, baby?” he asked, breaking the kiss.
“Yes, Sir. It feels so damned good.”
She moaned when he pulled out again almost immediately.
“Turn around, and hold on to that fender,” he said, indicating the floating buoy tied to the dock.
As soon as she did so, Hunter slapped her butt hard beneath the water. “Bad girl,” he said. “Bad, bad girl.”
And then he was inside her again, from behind, giving it to her hard and urgently. Anais pushed back against him, feeling her orgasm blossoming, just as something loud splashed beside them.
“What am I missing?” Lewis asked, surfacing and pushing the wet hair out of his eyes.
“Our sub was getting antsy,” Hunter replied. “Needed to teach her a few manners.”
“Quaint teaching method you’ve got there, buddy.”
Hunter laughed. “It’s the only one she understands.”
“You need some help with her?”
“I’d appreciate it. She’s too demanding for me to handle her alone.”
Lewis dove again and surfaced below the dock, directly in front of Anais. He attacked her tits with his teeth, while Hunter continued to fuck her from behind. She felt his laden balls slap against her buttocks, and glanced up at all the windows fronting the waterway, wondering if they were being watched. No longer embarrassed at the prospect, the thought was now a real turn-on. She would never last two minutes like this. No one had forbidden her to come, so she buried the fingers of one hand hard into Lewis’s shoulders and screamed as she took what she needed from Hunter. She clung to his cock just as tightly as she was holding the buoy with her other hand, floating without any help from the water.
Anais was pleased when Hunter swelled inside her and exploded almost immediately after she finished coming. Mr. Self-Control wasn’t quite so controlled as he would have her believe.
The realization was empowering.
Chapter Eleven
Once they were all showered and dressed again, Hunter got right down to business, pleased to see that Anais looked calmer, and more in control. He really hadn’t meant to fuck her in the water like that, had he? The dolphins were just supposed to be a distraction—a way to mark time until Lewis returned. Yeah, right, keep telling yourself that.
He still didn’t quite know why he’d given her chapter and verse on his childhood. He didn’t talk about those days. There never seemed to be any point. It would never change, which is why he had avoided shrinks. He didn’t need some overpaid naval gazer to tell him he had hang-ups about his youth, and the bitch who’d tried to foist her child off on him. In his darkest moments he was still haunted by his father’s bitter, angry face, and yet talking to Anais about him had somehow put the nightmare into perspective. His old man could no longer hurt him
.
“How was Anais’s apartment?” he asked Lewis as they took coffee together in the lounge.
“As I left it. No one’s been in, and the bug’s still in place.”
“How can you be sure no one’s been there?” Anais asked.
“We have our ways,” Lewis replied, waggling his brows at her.
“Oh okay, play James Bond if it makes you feel good.”
Lewis blew her a kiss. “You make me feel good, darlin’.”
“Did you figure out where anyone might watch the place from if they want to listen in?” Hunter asked.
“Yeah, there are only two places, but the most likely is in a bar’s parking lot immediately opposite. It’s close enough for good reception, and a strange car parked there wouldn’t be out of place. The only other spot is within the grounds of the apartment block. There’s no gateman, nothing to stop strangers driving in, but there is a super who might notice someone sitting in a car that doesn’t belong to a resident.”
“So you think the bar’s lot is the more likely place?”
Lewis nodded. “It’s where I’d sit, and it’s easy to make a quick getaway if necessary.”
“Then we’ll watch both locations but concentrate on the bar’s lot.” Hunter smiled at Anais. “Okay, darlin’, it’s time to send the e-mail to Tony.”
“I need to have a reason not to have been at home since the place was vandalized. If they’re watching they will know I haven’t been there.”
“Good point.” Hunter nodded. “I don’t think they’re watching all the time. That visit was strictly a one-off, but you’re right to say we need to cover all bases. Do you have a reason to go away? One that would sound right to Gary if he heard it.”
“I sometimes have to go to the headquarters of the publishers I edit for. We have editorial meetings, pitch for books we want to acquire, stuff like that.”
“That would work.” Hunter paced the room, thinking aloud. “You’ll tell Tony that the super noticed your broken door and called you on your cell about it. You asked him to get it fixed, which he did. He noticed your computer missing, but nothing else seemed to be, so you told him not to file a report to the police.”
“Hang on, if she’s on her way back from the publishing meeting, why didn’t she have her laptop with her?”
“I have an iPad I travel with,” Anais replied to Lewis’s question.
“Then we’ll make sure your e-mail to Tony goes from your iPad, which I assume is in your purse.”
“Right.”
“We’ll send him a picture of the writing on the bathroom mirror as well. You’ll tell Tony you’re freaked out about it, but want answers more urgently than ever. You have a few new theories about Gary’s disappearance you want to run past him in person. You’ll be home later this afternoon. Would he mind coming over? He did offer to help you the last time you spoke by e-mail, which is true.”
They spent some time getting the wording of the e-mail exactly right.
“Are we happy with that?” Anais and Lewis nodded in response to Hunter’s question. “Then press send.”
“There, it’s gone,” Anais said.
“Right, we’ll have some lunch, then you need to drive back in your own car, babe,” Hunter said. “We’ll be right behind you.”
“I’m not sure I can eat much. I’m pretty nervous.”
“If you don’t want to do this, we’ll think of another way,” Lewis said, touching her hand.
“No, I definitely want to do it. I guess I’m just a bit scared about what I might find out, but I do really need to know.”
“I guess you do,” Hunter replied.
She grinned. “If Gary is alive, he won’t remain that way for long once I get my hands on the lying jerk.”
The guys both laughed. “Atagirl!”
Hunter made tuna sandwiches for lunch, after which it was time to leave. He and Lewis helped Anais into the driving seat of her car and closed the door once she was inside. She opened the window, but the smile she sent them didn’t reach her eyes.
“Wish me luck,” he said.
“You don’t need to worry, darlin’.” Hunter reached out and touched her face. “No one will try to get to you this afternoon, but I’ll bet my bank balance they’ll be there to listen, just to make sure you don’t know anything. Are you sure you know what to say?”
“Yes, we’ve been over it a dozen times.”
“If it helps, imagine Gary being in the room with you, listening to every word. Think before you speak. Don’t say anything you wouldn’t want him to hear, but try to come across naturally at the same time.”
Anais grimaced. “No pressure then.”
“You can do it.” Hunter leaned through the window and stole a kiss. “I have every faith in you.”
“Thanks, but I need to go now, before I lose my nerve.”
She wound the window up and drove out of the garage. The guys jumped into their truck and were right behind her. They watched her drive into her block, and stop to have a few words with the super, just like they’d told her to. If she really was returning from a trip then she would want to speak to him about the break in. She then grabbed an overnight bag Hunter had supplied her with from her trunk and headed to her apartment.
“She must be scared silly, but you’d never know it,” Lewis said admiringly.
“Yep.” Hunter killed the engine and jumped out of the truck, followed by Lewis. “Right, buddy, you get the better job. Go sit at the bar opposite, drink a beer and keep a careful watch on the lot.”
“Will do,” Lewis replied, grabbing a newspaper from the truck that was folded open to the sports section.
“I’ll be around the back, watching the only other possible place. I’ll also see if anyone goes near her condo.”
“Text if you need me. I’ll do the same.”
Hunter slapped Lewis’s shoulder. “Right, let’s do it.”
* * * *
Anais’s hands were shaking so badly that it took her three attempts to turn the key in her new lock. When she finally managed to push the door open, she half expected someone to jump out from behind the furniture. She told herself to get a grip. Lewis had been here just this morning and checked the place out. Everything was fine. It smelled a little musty. It also smelled of cleaning fluid. Someone, Lewis presumably, had eradicated all signs of the break-in, for which she was grateful. She opened the drapes and then the doors to the terrace, allowing sunlight to pour into her living space and wipe out some of her anxiety. Bogeymen don’t hide in broad daylight.
She walked through the apartment, satisfying herself everything was where it should be, more or less. She had loved this light, airy apartment the first time she saw it, and knew she had to buy it. Now it had been violated, her personal space invaded. She would never feel comfortable in it again, and would probably sell.
She gasped when she entered the bathroom. The mirror had been scrubbed clean, but she could still see a feint outline of the words that had been scrawled across it. Refusing to allow it to get to her, she wandered back into the living room and made some iced tea. It would be another half hour at least before Tony arrived, and time hung heavily on her hands. She remembered what the guys had told her to do, and flipped on the radio, just so there was some noise and anyone listening would know she was home.
She took her iced tea out to the terrace and tried to remain calm. Patience had never been her strong point, but she was rewarded when the door bell sounded ten minutes ahead of time. She peered through the spy-hole, just to make sure it was Tony. She panicked when she couldn’t see anyone.
“Look lower,” said a voice.
Of course, Tony would be in his wheelchair. Embarrassed yet reassured, she opened the door and tried not to show her shock at the deterioration in the vibrant man she remembered seeing not so long ago at a social function at the base.
“Hey, Tony, come in. Thanks so much for coming. Can you manage?”
“Sure, I’ve had plenty of tim
e to practice driving this thing.” He adroitly maneuvered his chair into the room and Anais closed the door. “You have good wheelchair access to this building, too, which helps. Not all the older blocks do.”
Anais switched the radio off, not wanting it to drown out their conversation. “I’m so sorry to see you like this,” she said, deciding not to pussyfoot around the subject of his disability in the way people often did. Besides, it was true, and she wanted him to hear it. “You don’t deserve it.”
“Thanks, but don’t let it bother you.” He grinned. “I try not to. Not everyone gets advance warning of how long they have left. It kinda makes you concentrate on the important stuff.”
“I can imagine.” But Anais couldn’t, not really, and his attitude put her own problems firmly into perspective. She wondered if she would be able to look at the world so prosaically if she were in his position, and was humbled by his attitude. “I was just having some iced tea. Can I get you a glass?”
“Yeah, that would be good.”
“Shall we take it outside?” Tony frowned at her, and she realized her mistake. They were supposed to remain inside so the bug picked up their conversation. Jeez, she was so not good at all this cloak and dagger stuff. “Or is to too warm for you?”
“I’m better in here, thanks. I don’t do well in direct sunlight.”
“Of course, I’m sorry.”
Tony moved his chair so he was facing her seat, and then winked at her. “I was sorry about Gary,” he said. “I won’t pretend we were buddies, far from it, but it can’t have been easy for you. Now you tell me this place was broken into and you were warned off from trying to find out what happened to him.”
“Exactly, but I don’t frighten so easily. Besides, I can’t move on with my life until I know what happened to him. I don’t believe Gary was taken by a ‘gator, as the military would have me believe. Do you?”
“Frankly, no. I didn’t like the guy, but I’d be the first to admit he had probably forgotten more about survival than I’ll ever know. He had a great respect for the big outdoors and would never make that sort of basic mistake.”
“That’s what I think. And I’ve…err, found out he did three consecutive tours to Honduras on counter-narcotic assignments.”