Unlocking Dreams (Special Forces: Operation Alpha): A Flipping Love Story, Book 1

by Linzi Baxter

  “I washed these for you last night.”

  She reached for the clothes in his hands. “Thank you.” She turned to walk down the hallway and dropped the towel. Her perfect ass was on display. Ian let out a groan. He knew what he would jack off to that night.

  “There’s a dead body in my chimney?” Bella screeched at Officer Anders. How the hell would she sell a house with a dead body? Fuck. Who would remove the dead body?

  “There was a dead body. A team removed it from the chimney, along with a million dollars.”

  Bella was happy that she’d decided not to remodel the chimney herself. She’d thought about asking Ian for help because he seemed interested in it. She would have had a heart attack if the body had come out when he was working on it.

  Ian squeezed her hand. “Do you know who the dead person is?”

  “Yes, it was the previous owner’s daughter. The man who broke into the house was the previous owner's son. His sister caught him trying to put the money in the chimney, and when she said she would tell their parents about it, he got pissed and hit her too hard. He said he hadn’t meant to kill her. After that, he stuck her body in the chimney along with the money.”

  Chills came over her. “Why did he wait until now?”

  “The day after he killed his sister, SAPD picked him up for having a hundred grams of cocaine with the intent to sell. He got sentenced to ten years in jail, but with the overcrowding, he got out early and wanted his money. You won’t have to worry about him anymore. With the attempted murder and breaking his parole, he’s looking at thirty years in jail.”

  Bella told Officer Anders her account of what had happened. The officer said she might need to show up to his trial, but he had a feeling they would cut a deal if the guy told them who the money belonged to and who’d helped him steal it. The judge could cut his sentence to twenty-five years. Either way, the guy was out of Bella’s life for good.

  After speaking with Officer Anders, Bella and Ian stopped by the diner to pick up food for Cole. Bella didn’t want her time with Ian to end. They’d originally set a date for that night, but she didn’t know whether he still planned on taking her out or if he’d decided she was too much to deal with.

  Ian was quiet after leaving the diner, and Bella didn’t know what he was thinking. He finally broke the tension in the cab. “What has you so lost in thought?”

  “Are we still going out tonight? I know what happened last night was a lot, but I still wanted to go out with you. I totally understand if you don’t. My life seems to be a little crazy at the moment—”

  Ian put a hand on her thigh and squeezed. “That was a lot of information at once. Yes, we are still going out tonight. Your life seems exciting, and it didn’t scare me away. I did almost have a heart attack when I saw your lifeless body. But none of it has scared me away.”

  “Okay.” Bella wanted to jump up and down, but she played it cool instead.

  When they arrived at her house, Cole's truck sat in the driveway. They walked into the living room and saw Cole halfway up the chimney.

  “Hey, Cole, it’s Bella and me. We brought you food.”

  He came out from the chimney, covered in dirt and grime. His blond hair was black, and his white shirt was full of soot.

  Bella rushed to the garage and brought back a wet cloth for him to run over his face.

  “Thank you, Bella. The fireplace should work now. After the detectives left with the body, I worked to remove the remaining debris and cleaned the chimney. It’s back in working order.”

  “Thank you.” She ran up and gave him a hug and heard Ian growl behind her. Cole wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tighter.

  Ian came up and pulled her from Cole’s embrace. “Fucker. Find your own woman.”

  Cole winked at her. “I like yours.”

  Over the next hour, as they ate lunch, the banter continued between Cole and Ian. Bella hadn’t laughed so hard in years. When they were done eating, Cole excused himself and headed home. After he left, the sexual tension between Ian and Bella filled the house. Ian helped her clean up the remaining mess from the chimney, and they kept accidentally touching.

  When they finished, Ian wrapped her in his arms. “Why don’t you go get ready? I’ll be back in an hour, and we can have our date.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “It’s a surprise. Wear a skirt.”

  Bella couldn’t hold her excitement as Ian turned into the parking lot at Travis Park. The far end of the park had a huge movie screen. She would get to experience an outdoor movie. She’d always wanted to do something like that.

  Ian turned off the car and told her to stay put. He hurried to the other side, helped her down from the truck, and grabbed a picnic basket from the back. They picked a spot close to the back, and he laid out a blanket on the grass.

  She didn’t care what movie was on. As long as Ian put his arms around her, she was happy. Her date pulled out her favorite movie snacks—Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and popcorn. The best way to her heart was with chocolate and salt.

  The movie started at dusk. Bella wrapped herself around Ian. She felt so comfortable in his arms. Halfway through the movie, he pulled her head back and pressed his lips to hers. He tossed the corner of the blanket over her lower body.

  Ian worked his hand up her leg and traced the outside of her thong. He deepened the kiss to capture the moans coming from her mouth. He slipped his hands under her thong. When he pressed his fingers to her clit, she was close to coming. Ian dipped his fingers lower, and when he went inside her, she couldn’t hold back the moan. He worked his fingers inside her and brushed her clit, and she had the most powerful orgasm.

  Bella blushed hotly. She couldn’t believe she’d come in public. When she looked around, no one appeared to be watching them.

  “Don’t worry, Bella. Nobody saw you come on my hand.”

  She cuddled in closer for the rest of the movie.

  Later, when he escorted her to her door, she thought he would come in. Instead, he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. “Good night, Bella.”

  “You don’t want to come in?”

  “Oh, I want to come in, but if I do, you’ll end up naked. I want a few more dates before that.”

  He leaned in one more time and kissed her before heading toward his truck.

  When Bella closed the door, she heard her phone chime. It was a message from Ian: When you touch yourself tonight, think about me. I will be thinking about you and how you came apart in my hands.

  Chapter 8

  “What time are you coming over tonight?” Ian asked.

  For the past two weeks, they’d tried to see each other each day. When they couldn’t find time to meet, they would talk on the phone. The night before, they’d talked until two in the morning. The conversation had flowed, and she hadn’t realized how late it was until she heard Ian yawn.

  Bella looked around the flip. She was almost done. She would make her deadline of Friday and schedule an open house for Sunday. “I think I’ll be done around five. Is that too early?”

  “No. Cole is about to finish the cabinet install. After lunch, we were going to drive by a couple of houses.”

  Bella knew one of the houses he planned to look at. She’d seen it hit the county courthouse website that morning. She wanted to drive by and see if it could be her next flip. If everything went according to her plan, she would sell her current house next week. Ava had said a couple of people were already interested.

  “Are you driving by the house on Lake Circle?”

  Ian hummed on the other end. “Do you want to look at it with me? We could maybe do the next flip together.”

  In theory, it sounded like a good idea, but Bella wanted to make it on her own. She’d worked with someone before, and it hadn’t turned out well. Oh, she knew Ian wouldn’t betray her as Mr. Ainsworth had, but she also loved to talk about her day with him. She didn’t know how it would be to work with someone and date him too. Espe
cially when flipping houses was stressful.

  “Nope. May the best woman win the bid.”

  Ian’s rich laughter boomed through the phone. “If you say so.”

  “I will distract you with my body during the bidding.” A whole outfit popped into her mind. She would wear a pair of booty shorts and a white tight tank top with no bra. It would distract Ian from the auction, and she’d get the bid. Too bad she hadn’t thought of that idea twenty houses before.

  “Whenever you are near me, I’m distracted. You are the most beautiful woman.”

  Bella swooned at his words. “You’re not too bad yourself. What did you have planned for tonight?”

  A loud crash echoed through the phone. “Sorry, let me step outside. Have you ever watched the bats fly out from under the bridge in Austin?”

  “Nope.” She’d heard about the bats. When the sun set, two million of them flew out from under the bridge. The only thing Bella could think about was that the first thing she did when she woke up was go potty. Wouldn’t the bats do the same thing? "Will they poop on me? Because driving an hour and a half to get pooped on doesn’t sound like fun.”

  Ian let out a chuckle. “We’ll stand so they won’t fly over us. You will be poop free.”

  “Sure, but if they poop on me, I’ll be mad. Will we make it in time if we don’t leave until five?”

  “Yes, sunset is around eight. I promise to protect you from the guano. And Bella, don’t forget to pack a bag.”

  A wave of excitement coursed through her. “Are we staying in Austin, or am I sleeping at your house?” It didn’t really matter where they stayed. Over the past two weeks, the sexual tension had increased. Ian had wanted to wait to make sure she was ready. The man didn’t understand that she’d wanted him the first day she laid eyes on him.

  “I rented us a hotel room in downtown, so we could walk to the bridge and then go to a jazz bar and listen to music.”

  “A girl could get used to this.”

  “I can’t wait to get my hands on you tonight.”

  “Me too,” she said. “You’ve been driving me crazy.”

  “Just wait until I’ve got you spread out on the bed, panting my name. I will spend hours feasting on that pussy. Just thinking about you has me hard. I don’t think I’ve ever taken so many cold showers since I met you.”

  Ian’s deep voice, with the added talk about sex, turned her on. She wanted to climb through the phone. “That’s a lot of talk and no action yet.”

  Ian huffed. “I’ll be at your house at five. Bye, Bella.”

  Bella had a hard time concentrating on hanging the new bathroom towel fixture. Her mind kept wandering back to Ian and his muscles and his lips.

  Ian and Bella were back in the hotel. The latest episode of The Profit was on TV. Ian yelled at the business owners for all the financial mistakes they’d made. Bella should have been tired from the long day, but excitement about what might come next coursed through her.

  They’d arrived in Austin a little before eight o’clock. Bella and Ian worked their way through the crowd and got a spot right on the edge. At almost exactly eight o’clock, Bella heard a few squeaks coming from below. Before she had time to ask Ian what was about to happen, a black stream flowed from underneath the bridge. She’d read on her way up to Austin that approximately two million bats would fly out. It was one thing to read it, but seeing it was amazing and a little creepy. Bella didn’t know whether it was from her years of watching scary shows or the books she’d read, but for a second, she thought the cloud of bats would turn into a vampire.

  The stream of bats took about forty-five minutes. Bella watched the people below. She couldn’t believe people paid to sit in canoes so the bats could fly over them. For her, the thought of getting crapped on or bitten by a bat would have stopped any idea of sitting in a canoe underneath the bridge.

  After watching the stream of bats, Ian and Bella walked to a local jazz restaurant. They ordered wine and dinner. When the waiter asked if she wanted dessert, she said no.

  Bella had butterflies in her stomach. She was ready to get back to the room. When she and Ian had made it back to the hotel, Bella had grabbed his hand and led him to the bedroom.

  Ian couldn’t wait to see Bella’s naked body. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen glimpses of her. He really liked Bella. A lot. And that night, they would take their relationship to the next level. He’d followed her into the bedroom and couldn’t wait to run his hands over her body.

  He stalked to where Bella stood next to the bed in her flowing white dress. He reached his hands around her neck and unclasped her dress. It fell from her shoulders, exposing her beautiful body. Bella held her lip between her teeth. He reached up with his thumb to pull her lip free, and she nipped him, sending a jolt straight to his groin.

  Her delicate hands grabbed the bottom of his T-shirt and slowly worked it up to his chest as she dragged her fingers along his skin and took the shirt off his body. Her touch alone almost made him lose control.

  He stepped back to gaze at the woman in front of him. She was breathtaking. He ran his finger along the red lace strap of her bra and worked it over the edge of her shoulder. Goose bumps formed on her skin. He unhooked the bra behind her back, and when her bra fell to the floor, he leaned in and took one of her nipples in his mouth. He heard a wisp of a whimper, and when he sucked harder, she rested her dainty hands on his shoulder to keep herself up.

  Ian stepped back to look at Bella. She was even more breathtaking than he could imagine. “You’re so beautiful, Bella.”

  She ran her hands over his chest. “Why am I the only naked one?”

  Before he had time to respond, Bella's hands went to his belt, and she slowly worked his pants down. Instead of standing back up, she pulled his boxers down and wrapped her hands around his length. Her hands were like velvet.

  He closed his eyes for a second to control his body, but when Bella wrapped her warm lips around him, he almost lost it. He twined his hands through her hair and pulled her head back for a second. Ian didn’t want to embarrass himself in the first few seconds.

  Bella leaned back on her heels and turned her crystal-blue eyes on him. “Did I do something wrong?”

  “No, it felt so good.” She leaned forward again and captured his length back in her mouth. Her warm, velvety tongue had his body on fire. Ian kept a hand wound in her hair to control her pace. When she cupped his balls, he rested his free hand on the bed. Bella raised her crystal-blue eyes and took his length deeper.

  That image would be engraved forever in his mind. Bella on her knees in front of him was more beautiful than he could ever have imagined. He couldn’t take his eyes off her while she worked his length in and out of her mouth.

  When she took him deep into her throat, he couldn’t take it any longer. He pulled her from her knees and tossed her on the bed. Her hands went to her breasts to cover herself.

  “Don’t, Bella. You are beautiful, and I want to see every last inch of you.”

  A light blush appeared on Bella’s chest. “I feel exposed.”

  “Bella, it’s only me…” Ian crawled up her body and placed a kiss on her hip bone. “And you.” He worked his hand up the side of her body and cupped her breast with his left hand. Ian slowly ran his finger over her hard nipple. When her body arched into his touch, he worked his way closer until he’d wrapped his lips around her nipple.

  Bella ran her hands through Ian’s hair, tugging him closer. She moaned when his lips went around her right nipple. He dragged the breast-free hand down her body and slipped his fingers into her wet channel. Bella was ready for him. Her clit was hard, and when he brushed it with his thumb, her body arched off the bed and tried to get more contact.

  “More,” she whispered.

  “More what?”

  Bella let out a frustrated breath. “Please, Ian. I need you.”

  Ian was close to losing control, but he wanted to taste her. He grabbed Bella’s ankles and threw them over h
is shoulders. When he reached her velvety fold, Ian licked her. Bella’s hips came off the bed, but he grabbed her slim hip bones and held her in place. When she stopped moving, he used his hands to stroke her folds.

  The moan that left her lips came out as a whimper. She reached down and pulled him up. “I need you, Ian. My body is on fire.”

  Ian nibbled on her ear as he pushed forward and was rewarded with her tight channel. It felt so good that his vision almost went black. Once he was fully in her, he stopped.

  “Move, Ian.”

  Ian slowly worked his length in and out of her. One arm, stretched above Bella’s head, braced him, and he used his other hand to cup her breast. As soon as he ran his thumb over her nipple, her eyes rolled back in her head.

  “Ian, I’m close,” she whispered.

  He reached down between them and pinched her clit. Her body exploded the second he touched her, and her channel clenched Ian so tightly he couldn’t hold back any longer. He continued to move until both of their orgasms had stopped.

  They lay in silence. The only sound was their heavy breathing. After a minute, Ian rolled to the side and pulled Bella back to his chest. What they’d done was magical, and he would never let her go.

  Ian pulled her hair to the side and kissed her neck.

  “I like you, Ian,” she said, but he knew what she really meant.

  “I like you too, Bella. Now, get some sleep because I will wake you up in an hour.”

  And he did. Ian woke Bella up many times throughout the night, and each time was better than the last.

  Chapter 9

  Bella couldn’t help but smile as she sat out on the balcony of their room and watched the traffic go by. Austin was one of her favorite cities. Everyone around her was friendly and inviting. Ian was in the shower. She insisted on him taking a shower alone. He’d woken her up three times during the night. If she went into the shower with him, they would never leave the hotel.