by Nana Malone
Her return smile was full of feminine power. “I learned from you. I told you I wanted to taste you.”
“Anything to make the lady happy, but right now, I think I may actually die if I don’t get inside you.”
Her only response was to raise her hips to his. He groaned out a curse as the tip of his shaft grazed her dewy core. His left hand fumbled for a condom in the nightstand. As he struggled to open the wrapper, Jessica refused to be patient.
“I just want to feel you for a minute.” She moved her hips again, and this time, the whole head was surrounded with warm, slick, tight female.
Eli slammed his eyes shut and dropped his forehead to hers. “Sassy, oh Jesus. You feel so hot.” He groaned.
He pulled back and quickly worked the condom on. When he returned, she was ready for him. Open, eager, slick, hot. He once again nudged the tip of his cock inside her and felt the muscles of her inner walls draw him in.
Slowly, he inched forward, watching Jessica carefully for a reaction. Every bit of energy he had was concentrated on not moving too fast. She met his gaze directly. Her pupils were dilated, smoldering and completely focused on him. When he was finally sheathed inside her, she squeezed around him, and he knew he was lost. Being inside her warmth felt like a homecoming. He rocked his hips forward slowly and was rewarded with another contraction. “You…So…God…Tight.”
“Mm, I think it’s a perfect fit.” Jessica met each of his strokes in time.
He pulled back to the tip and surged forward again. As he worked in rhythm, Jessica gasped and moaned with each stroke.
Deftly, he shifted their position so that she lay on top of him, not only giving her all the control, but also giving him better access to her full breasts. His hands settled comfortably on her hips as she rotated them. He couldn’t last long. He was aching to come, but now that he was finally buried inside of her again, he never wanted to leave.
He raised his head to suckle first one distended nipple, then the other, flicking the tiny silver ring with his tongue. Her breasts filled his big hands completely as he taste-tested the feast before him.
Their bodies rocked and mated to a beat only they could hear. When Eli knew he wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer, he held tight. Reaching a hand between them, he gently stroked her clit, and she immediately started to quake around him. Throwing her head back as her orgasm rolled through her, she called out his name. Eli stroked in once more, then again, before finally giving into bliss. He shook with the force of his release, until he collapsed backward with Jessica on top of him.
Chapter 14
“Vince, tell me you got something, man?” Eli looked up at Vince hopefully.
Vince leaned against Eli's doorjamb wearing his ‘We're fucked.’ expression. “Sorry man, nothing came back on him except he has no discernable past beyond three years ago. Anything we could get him on is circumstantial at best.”
“What about the bracelet? What about the photo?”
“Without the bracelet, we can’t verify its authenticity. And the photo is iffy. Sure, he looks like the right age, height, and build, but facially, this guy is sort of a ghost. None of the other pictures we have on him is really conclusive. It’s most likely him, but I couldn’t get any of our vics to come forward with a positive ID. If he is our guy, then he's got enough money to afford fancy prosthetics to change his look. We only got a partial on the facial recognition.”
“Fuck.” Anger simmered close to the surface, and the threads of Eli’s control snapped. Gripping the edge of his desk, he dragged in a couple of deep breaths. “This is him, Vince, I know it.”
Vince nodded. “I believe you, but we still have the little problem of proof. If you can get close enough to snag the bracelet to identify its authenticity…”
Eli ground his teeth. “Of course, we want to do that legally with a warrant.”
Vince shrugged. “Eh, legal, shmegal. If your girlfriend grabbed it for you and brought it forward as a concerned citizen, then there is no problem.”
Eli narrowed his eyes at his partner. “You want me to use her to get us the evidence you need.”
“Use is such a strong word, but yeah.” He shrugged. “It's the only way we'll get something good enough to stick on him, unless you have a better idea. What do you suggest we do?”
“Shit. Vince, I don’t like it. I'm already on thin moral ground here.”
“Look, I know you like the girl, and frankly, I don’t like you doing field work, but you kind of fell into this on your own. It's a lead. Better than we've had in months.”
Vince was right. He might have to ask Jessica for help. Anything was better than letting that douchebag close to her mother and thereby close to Jessica. “I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, did you get anything on any of the other artists at the party? Anyone with a past that's not too shiny?”
“We’re about halfway through. Some of them have already popped for minor things. Some theft, some prostitution, but nothing nears the scale of grand larceny. Maybe we'll get lucky and one of them is his accomplice.”
It still made Eli nervous to think that Michael had recognized him. Since he didn’t know him, he could only assume Samson did, and that meant trouble. Not to mention Samson’s signatures were all over some of the pieces. He gritted his teeth. He'd have to talk to Samson about Fenton. In the meantime, he had to get his shit together. “Okay. I'll stay in with Jessica. If this is the guy we've been hunting for, then the last thing I want is him anywhere near her.”
“I'm glad to hear you say that, because the bosses want you to stay in. If anything, it at least keeps us in play with this guy. We'll see how things pan out for a couple of weeks.”
In the meantime, Eli had some cleanup work of his own to do. He needed to make sure the past he'd constructed with Samson stuck. If any of the threads he'd woven started to unravel, or anyone tied those signatures back to his brother, the whole facade of Samson Marks would crumble.
“One more thing. I pulled some cases trying to figure out the deal with that signature we found. It popped on some sealed case from over a decade ago.”
Eli froze, unable to breathe. “A decade ago?”
“Yeah. Means there is probably a minor involved. I’ll have to work a judge to get the records unsealed.”
It wouldn’t take Vince long to put two and two together. Eli needed to talk to Samson.
***
“Okay, I really have to stop with this whole grinning like an idiot thing, wouldn’t you think?” Jessica peered in the rearview mirror at the chubby toddler in her car seat.
Kara just beamed a toothy grin at her and shook her head. The motion had the little girl’s curly afro catching the light and infusing it with shades of auburn and blonde to match the light brown.
Maybe Kara was right. Nothing wrong with a smile. Just something wrong with the way it got on her face. As she hunted down a parking spot, Jessica’s skin hummed as she thought of Eli’s strong hands gripping her thighs open as he slid into her. God that man knew how to—
“Jaja, Jaja. Cah,” Kara squealed and pointed.
Sure enough, a large SUV had just vacated its prime location right by the entrance to the Grove. “Hot damn, you’re like my little parking Karma Buddha doll aren’t you?”
“Damn,” Kara repeated merrily. She clapped her dimpled little hands and grinned.
Shit. “Darn, I meant darn.” The running joke with Izzy, Jason, and Nick was that it would be Jessica who would have Kara dropping her first F bomb. As she parked, she mumbled, “Can’t have you swearing yet, kid. Apparently, that’s bad parenting.” And while she was only Kara’s godmother, she took her godparenting skills seriously. Not to mention she adored Kara and wanted to be granted babysitting privileges again. If she kept it up with the potty mouth, Izzy would ban her from talking to the kid.
“Okay, kiddo. Do you want the stroller? Or you feel like walking? We’ll only be a minute. Mommy wants Auntie Jess to pick up her shoes from the shoe
repair and pick up some fruit. You want some fruit?”
“Kara want walk.”
Figured. Though Jess had a feeling how this would go. They’d walk, and Kara would last exactly ten minutes then want to be picked up, and Jess would be forced to carry her for the rest of the errand. But if she grabbed the stroller now, Kara would howl with indignation. She hated being treated like a baby. Jess hated to break it to the kid, but she was barely two. She didn’t really get to have an opinion on such matters.
Hand in hand, they skipped past the fountain and skirted the Stuart Weitzman store. Jessica averted her gaze and distracted Kara with a well-timed, “Hey, do you want to get ice-cream later?” Never mind that Kara wasn’t supposed to have too many sweets. Jess would deal with that later. The key was to distract her from the shoes. If Kara had her way, she’d be playing in a pile of stilettos for hours. Which was how Izzy’s pair of Louboutins got scratched up.
I feel you, kid, but there’s no way we have time for this. Once we get home, I need to go and prep for dinner with another potential client. If she kept up this pace, she’d be a full-fledged working girl. She shuddered at the thought. But she didn’t have any time to wallow. That opening would make or break her. So much for a life of leisure. Seems like she was never meant to be a debutante anyway.
As they picked up the shoes for Izzy, Jessica let Kara play with some of the model shoes in the window. Thankfully, she was able to find a cobbler who specialized in high end shoes. Otherwise, Jason would have gotten his way and just bought Izzy another pair. And Izzy wasn’t having that.
“Come on, munchkin, one more stop, and we’re outta here. Fastest shopping trip ever.”
“Jaja?”
Jessica stroked Kara’s hand with her thumb. “What’s up, kid?”
“Want up.”
Jessica rolled her eyes and scooped her up. “How did I know this was going to happen? I gotta tell you, honey, you ain’t light.”
As they made their way to the farmer’s market, Jessica managed to avoid the magazine stand with its candy and glossy covers that sometimes featured Jason. Last thing they needed was for Kara to advertise to the paparazzi that she was out in public by shouting, “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!” Izzy would kill Jessica if one of the photogs snapped a photo of Kara.
They also managed to avoid the Mr. Softie stand. Though Jessica might have promised ice-cream, there was no way she was giving the kid Mr. Softie. She knew better. There was a low sugar, organic ice-cream stand on the way back to the house.
Lucky for her, Kara was immediately distracted by the bright colorful fruit of the farmer’s market. Jessica made quick work of grabbing the provisions and was paying for it when her heart slammed against her chest.
Kara must have noticed the jolt in her body because she put her hand on Jess’s faces and asked. “Jaja, what happen?”
Eli Marks happened. Across the farmers market, she saw him standing at the flower mart, picking up daisies with a striking brunette. Shit. He casually swung an arm around her shoulder, and nausea rolled through Jessica’s body.
When the cashier handed her the bag, she barely mumbled a ‘thank you’ as she grabbed it and hugged Kara to her. She had to sit down and get out of sight. God, how humiliating would that be if they ran into each other? Hi there, Eli. Thanks for the fuck last night. Who’s your friend?
White hot jealousy seared through Jessica’s veins. Rounding the corner, she followed Eli and his friend through the crowd. He no longer had his arm around her, but they still had that look of two people who were intimately acquainted with each other.
She had to sit down. If she kept this up, she’d run right up to him and fire herself as his manager. And that would be no good. And yeah, she might have some new talent coming onto the roster, but none of them as vibrant as Samson Marks, so she couldn’t do anything crazy like finding the children’s play area, scooting Kara inside, and texting, Been thinking. Last night was a horrible mistake. Let’s keep things professional. Pretty daisies, btw.
Instead, she called Izzy.
“So I need you to explain to me why you're so upset,” Izzy mumbled after Jessica explained. She sounded distracted.
“Isn't it obvious?” Sometimes Izzy could be so obtuse.
“Well, if you were actually interested in him, and it wasn’t just about the sexual chemistry, then yeah, I’d get it, Jess. But honestly, honey, you said he wasn’t your type at all, unless he was in artist mode. What happened to that?”
“Nothing happened to that. And he's not my type. He just put his arm around her, but still...” Liar. “I just can’t believe that a day after I, erm, rocked his world”—no need to tell Izzy all the deets within listening distance of the kidlet—“that I see him just strolling about with some chick. Some way hot, model-looking chick. Not a tat or purple-streaked hair in sight.”
Izzy's voice went soft. “Honey, he should love you for you, tats, piercings, purple hair, and all. Though you are ever evolving, I’m noticing. He should like a little variety. Maybe he's just showing someone around. You never know.”
“Of course I know. I saw him draped all over her.”
“Okay, take a deep breath. Draped all over her like kissing her, or like intertwined fingers. I find that's a little different, depending on what they were actually doing.”
Jessica heard a series of banging and clicking. “Well, neither if you really want to be a stickler about it, but they looked really intimate. Like they were really comfortable with each other.” More clicking. “What the hell are you doing over there anyway?”
“Arming myself to the teeth. You called, I'm bringing the militia. I just want to make sure that when I slaughter some poor woman it's 'cause she deserves it and not ‘cause your new not-boyfriend was showing around his sister or something.”
Jessica giggled. “Are you really arming yourself to the teeth? ‘Cause I'd love to see you with a gun.”
“Now you sound like Jason. He's convinced everyone in the house needs to learn to shoot. Ever since that scare a couple of years ago, he's been a little security crazy. Part of the reason I had to leave normalcy for Malibu.”
“Stop complaining. I'd switch places with you any day. Not in the crazy, man-stealing way—although that man of yours if very nice to look at—but in the I'd love your life kind of way.”
Izzy chuckled. “I feel you. Speaking of family, how’s my kid? Thank you for scooping her up from dance class for me.”
Jessica eyed Kara, who squealed as she tossed sand in the air. Eeeks, must stop her before she got more sand in the hair. Izzy would kill her if, once again, she had to contend with sand in the baby's afro. “She's perfect. We’re headed home.”
“So, you're okay? No need for me to send the militia? ‘Cause right now I’m arming Nick and crew with paint guns. I figured it would be fitting.”
“Hardy har. I'm good.”
“Okay, come on back, and we'll discuss properly over hot cocoa. But honey, only you can know what you want from him. Either you want him, or you don't.”
“I really wish it was that simple. I want him. I simply don’t want the pain that comes with him.”
“You’re going to have to figure it out, sweetie, because this yo-yo thing isn’t good for you. Maybe you two should try having an actual conversation that doesn't end with the two of you ripping each other’s clothes off.”
Jessica frowned. “I am unfamiliar with these conversations of which you speak.”
“Truth be told, I can see why.”
After hanging up with Izzy, Jessica stared at her phone. Jessica had to determine exactly what she wanted from Eli. Otherwise, she was only torturing herself. With a deep breath, she sent Eli a text.
***
“Hey, little brother, you want to tell me what the hell Jessica is so pissed about?” Eli strode into Samson’s studio as he was staring at his latest work.
“If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times, I don't understand women, big brother. All I u
nderstand is how to pleasure them. Beyond that, I got nothing. You’ll have to elaborate.”
“I got a text from her earlier asking about some daisies or something. You have any idea what that means?”
Sam frowned then his eyes went wide. “Dang, bro, that chick of yours really is Colombo. How did she even know about them?”
Eli's patience pulled tight like the cords of a violin. “Explain.”
“I took Jocelyn to the Grove today to cheer her up after she broke up with her boyfriend. I bought her some daisies. Jessica must have seen us there.”
The pounding in Eli’s head increased until it sounded like a herd of elephants doing the bachata in his skull. “See, this is why I didn’t want to do this. I don’t want to lie to her and have to keep stories straight and figure out where the hell you've been that I’ve been. Hell, I can’t even tell her about my job or talk to her about any real shit because I’m too busy pretending to be you.”
Samson spread his arms wide. “Is it so bad being me, big brother?”
“I have no problem being you, except I happen to like being myself, and I hate lying. And right now, Jessica’s pretty pissed.”
Samson had the grace to look chagrined. “I guess we should coordinate better.”
“Wrong answer. Right answer would have been, ‘Eli, why don’t you go ahead and tell the truth like you wanted to from the start.’” But now Vince had him in even deeper.
Samson’s eyes went wide. “Dude, you can’t until after this opening. You promised. Jessica made it clear that if I step a toe out of line she’s gone. I need this, and Jessica is the one. She's the only one who can get me there. I thought you were going to help me?”
The desperation in his brother's eyes sliced deep. Eli had given Sam his word that he'd help. And Jessica was the fast track ticket to doing that. After these two exhibitions, and if she could convince the board of the Stanton Endowment for the Arts to make Sam their featured artist of the year, then his brother would be set for life. Sam would never have to spiral out of control like he'd done before. Eli would finally be taking care of him like he was supposed to. But what the hell would it cost him?