Absolute Pleasure

by Jamie Denton

  “What about the Manhattan accounts?” Georgia asked. “Anything useful there?”

  “You’ll be eating your heart out when you hear this, buddy.”

  “Gee, thanks, pal.”

  “Three of the accounts belong to names we know—Banyon, Kaufmann and Abbott,” Ned explained. “Peter Seville, Farley Madison and Jefferson Wright were the other three. I ran them through the database, but there were no hits on Madison or Wright.”

  “Seville?” Sunny asked hopefully.

  Ned grinned, looking mighty proud of himself.

  “If you have fingerprints and a positive ID, I will kiss your feet.”

  “Don’t pucker up just yet, Mac. You’re gonna love this. Peter Seville is a big-time lawyer out of Los Angeles. The ID on file at the bank matches Seville’s ID. But, it’s no match to any of the descriptions or the composites we have the UNSUB.”

  “What did the computer spit out on Seville?” Georgia asked skeptically. “Unpaid parking tickets?”

  “No. A theft report filed by Peter Seville.”

  “That makes no sense.” Sunny rubbed the spot above her eyebrows with her thumbs. “The UNSUB’s vics have all been women.”

  Georgia shrugged. “Not if he’s bisexual. A man wouldn’t be as likely to come forward as a woman and admit he’d been suckered by a smooth-talking seducer.”

  Ned waved his hands back and forth in front of his face and looked as if he just gotten a whiff of something foul. “Hey, hey, hey. Time out. You’re way off base here. I just heard back from the L.A. field office. Seville is eight months in on a year-long sabbatical. He reported his wallet stolen two weeks before the UNSUB hit Atlanta. Seville was vacationing in Dallas around the time of the Alicia Dearborn incident.”

  “Vossler,” Sunny and Georgia said simultaneously, referring to the Seducer’s Dallas alias.

  Ned looked relieved. “Seville thinks he lost it in the men’s room at some place called Billy Bob’s, but I’m guessing it was lifted by the UNSUB. Pickpocketed, maybe.”

  “Why resort to petty theft when he has all the cash he’s taken from the vics?” Georgia asked.

  “He doesn’t have to need it,” Sunny clarified. “It’s the fact that he can do it and not get caught. The rush he gets from it.”

  Georgia snapped her fingers. “We’ve got him,” she said. “If he’s used Seville’s credit cards, paper trail.”

  Ned shook his head. “Guys, wait—”

  “He wouldn’t use the cards,” Sunny told Georgia. “He’s too smart for that, he knows we’d be on him in no time. Besides, Seville would’ve cancelled the cards as soon as he learned his wallet was missing.”

  “If you’d let—

  “He could have applied for credit under Seville’s name from different banks. It takes time for those cards to come in, so there could be something recent,” Georgia said.

  “They have to send those cards somewhere. We might get lucky,” Sunny added.

  “Please let it be a New York address,” Georgia said.

  Ned loudly cleared his throat and glared at Georgia.

  “I’m sorry, Ned,” she said. “What were you going to say?”

  He pushed his glasses back up his nose. “Watch closely, my friend. This is the part where Mac kisses my ring.”

  The phone on Sunny’s desk rang. She still hadn’t heard back from the lab on their final findings at the art gallery and theater and it’d been almost two weeks. “Hold that thought,” she told Ned before reaching across her desk for the phone. “Mac, here.”

  “Tell me you’re alone so we can have phone sex.”

  Warmth spread instantly through her at the sound of Duncan’s voice. He’d been using that line every time he called her. It was his way of asking if he’d called at a bad time, but it never failed to make her pulse race just a little bit faster.

  “I’m in the middle of a meeting. But I’d be happy to schedule you an appointment?”

  Georgia nudged Ned with her elbow. “It’s him,” she said loud enough for Sunny to hear.

  Ned tilted his head to the side, reminding Sunny of a curious cat working out a puzzle. “Is she blushing?”

  “Every time he calls.”

  Sunny rolled her eyes and turned her back on Ned and Georgia, although her cheeks did feel hot suddenly. She was entitled to blush. She and Duncan hadn’t been seeing each other that long.

  “Pack a suitcase, babe,” he said. “We’re going to Chicago.”

  “Sounds tempting,” she told him. “I can’t. We’re getting close.” She didn’t need to explain closer to what, he’d know she meant the UNSUB.

  “I can get you close,” he said and chuckled in a way that had her folding her arms over her chest to hide her tightening nipples.

  “This is not a good time,” she whispered desperately into the phone.

  “Lucy’s faxing you a new claim that came in about ten minutes ago,” he said, his tone sobering. “It’s your UNSUB, Sunny. He hit twelve days ago. Call your field office to get verification on a police report filed by a Hope Templeton in Lake Forest. Meet me in Chicago.”

  Her stomach bottomed out. Twelve days ago meant the UNSUB was long gone, to only who knew where. Again. “I’m on it,” she said, and jotted down the pertinent information. “Thank you, Duncan. I appreciate this.”

  “You can show your appreciation later.” His voice went all deep and husky on her again. She felt the vibration clear to her toes, among other places.

  “My flight leaves in a couple of hours,” he said. “I’ll be at the Sheraton.”

  “I’ll have to wait for confirmation, but I’ll call you when we get in.”

  “We?”

  As much as she would like nothing more than to spend time with him, this wasn’t a lovers’ getaway for her. “Georgia and Ned will be with me.” She tried not sound too disappointed in front of her audience.

  “Well, we’ll figure something out so we can be alone. Watch your back, babe.”

  “Always.” She hung up the phone and turned back to Georgia and Ned. “See if you can get the three of us on a flight leaving Dulles around six or seven tonight,” she told Georgia. “Ned, Atlanta will have to wait until next Monday.”

  Georgia and Ned both stood.

  “Sure thing,” Georgia said. “I’m always ready for a change of scenery. Where to?”

  “Chicago,” Sunny told them. “The UNSUB hit twelve days ago.”

  “I’ve been upstaged.” Ned let out a sigh, his expression crestfallen. He looked at Georgia. “There is no justice in my world, either.”

  “At least you had something,” Georgia said gathering the documents she’d brought with her.

  “I bet she kisses his ring,” he muttered to Georgia as they turned to leave.

  “Trust me, Ned,” Georgia said. “You wouldn’t want to know what she’ll be kissing.”

  “I’M PROBABLY in violation of, at minimum, a dozen Bureau policies and procedures right now and I don’t care,” Sunny said and stretched her arms over her head. “This is worth it.”

  Duncan’s hands smoothed over her breasts and down her belly. “Since when did you start living dangerously?” he asked.

  “Exactly two weeks ago today.” She slipped slightly forward in the Jacuzzi tub, but he banded his arm around her waist and hauled her up against him. She laid her head back against his shoulder. “You’ve corrupted me. Now I’ll be canned for misconduct. Whatever will we do with all that spare time on our hands?”

  “We’ll see how proud you are being drummed out of the Bureau for a hot bath.”

  She let out a sigh and turned so she faced him. “You’re much too hard on yourself.” She placed her fingers over his lips when he tried to argue with her. “Yes, you made a mistake. A big one by Bureau standards, but if you’d been physically capable of passing your firearms certification, that letter of censure would’ve been the end of it. You aren’t the first agent to screw up and you aren’t the last.”

  He didn�
�t look any more convinced than he had the last time she’d told him, but there wasn’t anything more she could do. She knew from her own experiences, it was really up to him when he could let it go.

  The sound of muffled voices followed by a loud thud in the hotel corridor made Sunny gasp. She grabbed for the side of the tub to stand, but her hand slipped on the wide ceramic tile base. Duncan steadied her, and she crouched not sure which direction she was supposed to go.

  “What is it?” he asked her.

  “The door.” Her heart began to race. “Did you lock the door? The safety clasp. I forgot to check.”

  “It’s taken care of,” he said, his voice calm and reasonable, unlike her sharp, clipped tones.

  She slowly released her death grip of the side of the tub and settled in with her back against Duncan’s chest again. “You’re sure?” she asked after her heart rate slowed to a more reasonable pace.

  She could feel him watching her, and it only increased her unease.

  “I’m sure.”

  She let out a quick breath, more like a whistle with no sound than an actual breath. Her hands trembled and she shook them hard to steady herself.

  “You have lock issues, babe.”

  She wasn’t fooled by the casualness of his tone or the way he tried to distract her by sliding his hands up and down the outside of her thighs. “Busted.” She aimed for bright, but ended up closer to brittle.

  “Were you robbed?” he asked. “Have a breakin?”

  If only, she thought. She supposed in a way she had been robbed. Of a friendship, maybe even her wide-eyed innocence. “The Bureau shrink thinks I’m mildly paranoid. What do you think?”

  “What matters is what you think.”

  She really did like that about him. “I prefer cautious, but you know, everybody has their favorite label.”

  He tipped his head forward to get a better look at her.

  She studied the water as it sloshed against the side of the tub as if it were the most fascinating thing she’d ever seen.

  “Are you going to tell me or do I have to drag it out of you?” He saw right through her flippancy. She really didn’t like that about him.

  “I get spooked sometimes,” she admitted.

  “I noticed.”

  He put his arms around her and pulled her tighter against him. She closed her eyes, feeling safe. Almost protected, wrapped in the warm strength of his embrace. As if she finally had someone who could watch her back once in a while, giving her time to catch her breath.

  In addition to his adorable way of asking if he’d caught her at a bad time when he called, she realized he never actually said goodbye. He always told her to watch her back, as if reminding her she only needed to do it when he wasn’t around to watch it for her. She didn’t need a big, strong guy to protect her or shield her from the world, but she did like knowing Duncan was there, wanting to, because he cared about what happened to her.

  She drew in a steadying breath, then spent the next twenty minutes explaining to him the reasons she took extra precautions with her safety. She didn’t hold back, and told him of how frightened she’d been and all the what-if scenarios she’d tortured herself with and still carried around with her. What if she’d gone with Abby that night? What if she’d stayed up to watch a movie, had actually heard something and ignored it? But no matter which what-if scenario she played in her head, reality told her the outcome could never be changed. And that only reminded her of how little power she possessed.

  “I don’t care how Freudian it sounds, that night was my great defining moment when I knew precisely what it was I wanted,” she told him. “The ISU agents who interviewed me were big and tough and a little scary. People stood back when they came into the room and nobody messed with them. Maybe it was because I was feeling very vulnerable at the time, but I knew I wanted to be big and tough and a little scary, too. I was desperate to have that security of knowing people wouldn’t mess with me, either.”

  “I’m sorry you had to go through what you did. But sometimes good things come out of the bad. Even as bad as what happened to your friend Abby.”

  “Somebody I know should practice what he preaches,” she said dryly, referring to his unwillingness to let go of his own past. “So locks became my life metaphor. Keep everything locked up safe inside and keep out what can come in to hurt you.”

  “You know the problem with doors and locks? If you keep them locked, nothing can get in or out.”

  “I go out.”

  “Only when you’re sure it’s safe.” His arms tightened around her. “I’m not safe, Sunny. Don’t think for a minute that I am.”

  “That’s ridiculous.” She rose up, turned and wrapped her legs firmly around his waist. “I’ve never felt safer than when I’m with you.”

  His lips tightened into a thin line. He took her hand and placed it over his chest, carefully splaying her fingers wide. His heart beat beneath her palm. Strong. Sure. Just like him.

  “If you stay locked behind the door where you think you’re safe, how are you going to know what’s in here?” His fingers tightened over hers. “This is where I want you, Sunny. But you have to open that door and not be afraid of what happens once you get there.”

  She shook her head. “No. No. No. No.” She tugged free to take his face in her hands. “You’re wrong. You have to be, because I know you’re already in my heart. You couldn’t be there if I hadn’t left the door open.”

  Emotion wedged in her throat, but she was so positive of the definition, this time she had no trouble finding the right label to apply. “I love you,” she told him. “How could I feel that way if I was afraid of you?”

  He slipped his arms around her and tugged her closer. Her breasts brushed his chest, her nipples tightening into tight beads.

  “You should be,” he said gently. “Because I’m scared to death.”

  She laced her fingers behind his neck and gave him a sassy smile. “I’ll protect you. I’ve been trained to kill, you know. You’re safe with me.”

  “I love you so much, Sunny.” The intensity of his blue-gray eyes heightened, along with the swelling of her heart. “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

  A smile she couldn’t contain lifted her lips. “Yeah,” she said. “I knew.”

  He rested his forehead against hers. “And you took pleasure in torturing me, too, hmm?”

  “I’d prefer to torture you with pleasure.” She rocked against him. The length of his shaft slid sinuously along her clit. Desire flowed instantly through her and she trembled.

  “Or you could torture me with pleasure,” she said, moving again. “Just be warned, I might like it and then—” she shrugged “—you’d have to do it all the time. Think about how exhausting that could be.”

  “There you go again, worrying about my stamina.” His hands were on her bottom, gently kneading as she continued to rub herself along his length. In the cooling water, she felt the heat pulsing from him.

  She moaned as the most delicious sensation rippled over her skin. His fingers found her opening and parted her folds, exposing her throbbing clit to rub unshielded against him. The pressure slowly built inside her, coiling tight, tighter as she reached for that pinnacle where she would explode and he’d be there to catch her.

  “Not so fast, babe,” he whispered, his breath hot against her ear. He caught her lobe between his teeth and gently bit down. “Make it last, and you’ll come twice as hard.”

  “No.” She pressed down, wanting to feel him against her.

  He lifted her and the glorious feeling dimmed and clawed at her at the same time. Standing, he carried her from the bath to the big king-size bed where he gently laid her soaking wet body.

  “What are you doing?” she asked him. The cool air hit her damp skin, and she shivered. “Just when things were going so well.”

  “It’ll get better real soon, I promise.”

  He went to the closet where they’d stowed their luggage. “Duncan?” Th
e sound of the zipper of his suitcase rent the air. She frowned and rose up on her elbows. “This whole making love thing? It works much better when you’re over here with me.”

  She heard the rustling of paper and craned her neck to try to catch a glimpse. His wide back shielded her view. Nice view, but she wanted to know what he was up to because he was starting to make her nervous.

  Finally he stood and came back to her, a bright pink-and-white striped bag in his hands. “Uh…exactly what do you have planned?”

  He joined her on the bed and tossed the bag behind him where she couldn’t see it. Now he was really making her nervous. “Duncan?”

  “Do you trust me?”

  “Yes,” she answered slowly and with a moderate amount of caution.

  “I’ll never do anything you don’t want, and I’ll never hurt you.” His hand smoothed over her belly and upward to cup her breast in his palm. “Do you trust me?” he asked her again.

  “Yes,” she said, without an ounce of hesitation.

  He drew his fingers through her damp curls and loomed over her to kiss her thoroughly. Parting her legs for him, she pushed his hand lower, her hips rising to meet him.

  “That’s much better,” she purred when he lifted his head. He suckled her breasts and the glorious pressure she’d been craving returned full force—until the delicious strumming stilled. She opened one eye. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  The most wicked smile she’d ever seen tilted his mouth, making him look dangerous in a good way. He dipped his head and nuzzled the side of her neck. “I’m going to make you come so hard, you scream—” he flicked his tongue against her ear “—my name.”

  His words had the most profound effect on her. Her breasts swelled, her nipples grew tighter and she ached for him, feeling moisture gather between her legs. “Oh my,” she managed in a whisper around the sudden clogging sensation in the back of her throat. “That sounds…”

  She never finished the thought and gave herself up to the passion she trusted him to bring her while keeping her safe in his arms and in his heart. Whatever he demanded, she wanted, then wanted more, until all that existed were the two of them and white hot, absolute pleasure.