by KB Winters
A GPS tracking device. In the bottom of my freaking purse!
Chapter Eleven
Chase
“Chase! Chase!” Melissa’s voice cut into my sleepy, sun soaked mind.
I bolted upright from lounging back in my deck chair at Melissa’s frantic call and spun around to find her running out onto the deck. “What’s wrong?”
She raced over to my chair and thrust a large, black leather purse into my hands. “There’s another one of those tracker things! That’s how he found us! It’s in my purse!”
“Who found us?” Jackson asked, racing over to see what all the commotion was about.
Melissa’s face went white, realizing how loud she’d been.
“Nothing, buddy. Can you give your mom and me a minute?”
Jackson pursed his lips at my stern expression, but he took the hint and ran back to where he’d been hanging over the side of the boat, using a pair of dinky plastic binoculars to scan the water for any signs of whales.
“Okay, stay calm. Take a deep breath for me,” I said, holding her stare until she sucked in a shaky breath. When she nodded, indicating she was okay, I dropped my eyes to the purse.
“That mother fucker sewed it right into the lining,” she hissed, keeping her voice low.
Damn. That was some messed up shit. I dug into the bottom of the purse, struggling to see inside the dark interior. I traced a finger along the bottom and my finger hit a small, dime sized nub.
Shit. It was just like the one I’d found inside the bag that had all the cash.
“Hold on,” I told her, standing from my chair. I went to the bridge and grabbed a pocket knife and a flashlight from one of the drawers under the consul. I took everything back to Melissa and handed her the flashlight. “Here, hold this up so I can see.”
She did as I asked but I could see it was almost physically painful for her to watch me cut into her expensive designer purse. It wasn’t a feeling I could relate to, but she was upset about it. Even if in my eyes, it was just like any other bag.
I got the device free, with a neat square of fabric around it from the lining, and held it up. “Son of a bitch.”
“You can say that again,” Melissa said through gritted teeth. She clicked off her flashlight.
“Shit. I’m sorry, Melissa. I should have caught this sooner. I wasn’t—I mean—tracking money was one thing, it’s a given, but a purse?”
She nodded slowly, still processing everything that had happened. “Well at least we know how he found us.”
“Yeah.” I clutched my fingers around the device, wishing there was a way to melt it with the sheer force of my hatred and anger. He’d been tracking her like a damn animal the entire time. Maybe for months—years even!
I glanced up at her. “Melissa, how many purses do you own? Back at your home I mean.”
She sighed. “I know! I know. It’s a stupid habit, but I didn’t have anything else to do but shop for years there.”
“No, you’re misunderstanding me. You don’t have to defend yourself. I was just thinking…” I trailed off, the idea almost too sick to voice. “I was thinking that maybe…this isn’t the only purse with a tracking device. If you have a closet full of purses at home, he wouldn’t have known which one you’d take to deliver the money. So, he put a tracker in that bag to make sure. I don’t think this tracker had anything to do with that plan.”
Melissa narrowed her eyes. “I don’t get it. What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that O’Keefe was tracking you, probably for a long time, and that if we were back in your closet right now, I’d be willing to put down some serious cash that every other purse and bag in there would be bugged as well.”
“No…” she shook her head, her face horror filled and pale. “That would be, I mean, that’s insane!”
I didn’t say anything. She knew O’Keefe fell smack-dab in the middle of the insane category just as well as I did. Probably more so, in fact.
“Holy crap,” she whimpered, flinging a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound.
I grabbed her and pulled her against me. My hand went to cradle the back of her head and I let my fingers get lost in the soft strands of her hair as they cascaded down her neck and shoulders. “It’s okay. We’re going to get rid of it and he’ll never find you again. He’ll never have that kind of power over you ever again. I won’t let him.”
She sagged into me and I clung to her even tighter.
“Did you bring any other purses with you?” I asked, letting her go once she stopped shaking.
“No. Just this one. What about Jackson though? He has his school backpack.”
“We better check it.”
“Okay. I’ll go put it on the table and come back up to keep him busy while you look. I don’t want him to know what’s going on. Not any of this.”
I nodded. “I understand, Melissa. He won’t know.”
“What are we going to do with that one,” she asked, dropping her eyes to my fisted hand.
“It’ll look weird if we just drop it here or try to break it. He’ll know we found it.”
“So?”
“So, we want to throw him off. And the best way to do that is to make him think we went in a different direction.” I jerked my chin at the small port that was coming into focus as we got closer to shore. “There are a lot of boats coming in and out of Manzanilla. We’ll send the tracker with one of them and throw him off. That should buy us some time.”
A slow smile spread across her face. “Brains and brawn. I like it.”
I chuckled at her compliment. My hands ached to touch her and pull her close again but with Jackson only a few feet away, it wasn’t a good idea.
“I’ll go get the backpack.”
“Okay.” I ran a hand down her shoulder and arm before leaving her and going over to entertain Jackson.
* * * *
By nightfall, we reached the port in Manzanilla. Melissa and I had both gone through Jackson’s backpack as well as both of their suitcases and hadn’t found any other tracking devices. It appeared that the only one Henry had been interested in following around was Melissa. Although, I still hadn’t quite figured out why. Did he suspect she’d been cheating? Or was he worried she’d take Jackson and run off, long before he’d all but pushed her into doing just that.
After we’d searched everything, we both sat down and relaxed knowing there were no more devices and even though we were still being tracked, it would be over soon. And if we played our cards right, not only would Henry no longer be able to track us, but he’d send his goons off on a wild goose chase.
When we were secured in the port, I left Melissa and Jackson on board to have dinner while I went down to the dock, to see about getting refueled. While I wandered back up the dock, I ran across two men talking in front of a cargo ship docked a little way from our boat. They were speaking in Spanish, but I knew enough Spanish to catch the gist of what they were saying. The first man was preparing to set off with a load of fresh fruit back up the coast to Los Angeles. As they continued chatting, I wandered up the dock, before doubling back. I ducked out of sight and found a small hidey hole in one of the boxes of produce.
“Perfect,” I whispered to myself. Grinning, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the tracker. I slipped it into the hole and then hurried away. “That should keep your dogs off our trail.”
With that gone, I jogged back up the gangplank and went down below to join Melissa and Jackson as they were finishing up dinner. Jackson had a fork in his hand but his head was dipping lower and lower towards his plate. He’d had a full day of running around the deck with his newfound binoculars and had worn himself down. I nudged Melissa at the stove as she prepared a serving of the casserole she’d baked. At my prompt, she turned to follow my line of sight and stifled a laugh with her fingertips. “Oh no. Poor sweetheart.”
“Here,” I took the plate from her hands. “I got this. Go put him to bed.”
She nodded and
wiped her fingers on her jeans. She went to Jackson and shook his shoulders to stir him. He jolted upright but his eyes were stuck at half-mast. “Sweetheart, come on, let’s get you tucked in.”
I smiled after them as they started down the hall. I heard the sink turn on a little while later as Melissa got him ready for bed.
The casserole was simple, but tasted amazing, and I chowed down two servings by the time Melissa slipped from the bedroom and shut the door behind her. “Wow, I haven’t seen him that exhausted since he was a baby.”
I was momentarily stunned to silence as she stepped into the soft light of the galley and I noticed that she’d changed from the outfit she’d been wearing most of the afternoon into a black, silk robe that reached just to mid-thigh. The belt was pulled tight around her waist, showing off her curvy ass to perfection. My hands ached to be holding her—touching her. “Just wait until tomorrow. He’ll have a whole new city to explore.”
Melissa smiled and sat down beside me at the table, her bared leg brushed against mine and electricity shot out over every nerve. I pushed aside my plate, but was waiting to digest a few more minutes before getting up. “He’ll love it.”
I reached over and brushed her hair to the side, tucking it gently behind her ear. “It’ll be a good day for all of us. The first day without fear.”
She smiled softly at me. “We should celebrate.”
“What did you have in mind?”
She pushed up from her chair and crossed over to the counter. She pulled a bottle of wine from the fridge. “I slipped this baby into the fridge before I put dinner in the oven.”
“Smart woman,” I replied, grinning at her.
“Do you think Matt’ll hate me for drinking all his expensive wine?”
I laughed. “I doubt it. But I’ll take the fall just in case.”
She smiled and then turned away to open the bottle. “Should we take this topside?”
“Sounds good to me. You know how I like watching you under the moon.”
She ducked her chin and I smiled all the more. I loved watching her get flustered over my compliments.
We went upstairs and I poured two glasses of wine for us as we settled into our normal spots at the table. “So, you said tomorrow will be our first day without fear. Does that mean you found a way to get rid of the tracker?”
I pointed at the cargo ship, just as it started to pull away from the dock. “See that boat there? The one with all the cartons.”
Melissa nodded. “You put the tracker on there?”
I grinned at her. “Yes, ma’am. You’ll be in Los Angeles by the weekend.”
“Ma’am? That sounds a little stuffy.”
I chuckled. “Apologies.”
“I think we’re a little more familiar than all that,” she purred, leaning into me.
“You’re absolutely right. Although, there are still a lot of things I’d like to explore…”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Oh really? Starting with what?”
“Maybe we should go down to my room and I’ll tell you…”
Chapter Twelve
Melissa
We barely made it to the bottom of the steps without slipping and falling down. Once we decided to take things to Chase’s room, we’d jumped at each other like tigers freed from their cages. My hands couldn’t touch enough of his muscles, my lips and tongue couldn’t drink in enough of his taste, and every fiber in my body wanted to collide with his. With pants and soft moans, we fell through the flimsy wood door of his room. Chase pressed it closed behind us as softly as he could and when he turned back around, I’d already stripped off my robe, leaving me before him without a stitch of clothing on my body.
Chase made me feel incredibly sexy and I wanted his eyes on me.
My plan had worked like a charm.
“Damn, Melissa. Laundry day again?” Chase grinned, referring to the last time we’d made love and how he’d been surprised to find me commando under my pretty summer dress.
“No. This time it was just for you.” I smirked and took a step forward, trying to strut in a sultry way.
“I liked the robe too, but I gotta say…this is better.” He grinned at me and it sent my heart and stomach flip-flopping like we were back in the middle of the hurricane.
“Well, you did say you wanted to explore. So, explore away.” I waved my hand to gesture at my body, letting him know I was all his.
To my surprise, Chase didn’t step in to close the space between us. Instead, he let his eyes rake over me, and when they reached mine again, he smiled deeply. “I think I’d rather watch you explore yourself. Show me what you like to do.”
A flare of heat ran over my skin at his suggestion.
“Touch yourself, Melissa. Pretend it’s my fingers working that sweet little clit. Rub your titties and show me what you like.”
His words and prompts took me to a whole new level of confidence and boosted the sexy feeling he’d already given me. I dragged a hand down between my breasts and then glanced up to make sure he was watching. His eyes were locked on my hand and he licked his lips like a starving man seeing a hot meal.
“Like this?”
“Does that feel good?”
I ran my hand over my hard nipples and nodded. “Uh huh. But only because you’re watching me.”
“Good.”
I continued down my body, running my fingers over my stomach and then down to my pussy. My lips were plump and swollen with excitement, and I barely dipped between them before warmth soaked my fingertips. I dragged them back up and locked eyes with Chase as I sucked my fingertips into my mouth, tasting my own sweet juices.
Chase groaned and tore at his hair. I smiled to myself, happy to be making him so crazy. “Get on the bed, on all fours. Show me.”
I did as he said, lowering to my forearms and knees, my ass high in the air. I reached between my legs and gave him a show, stroking and teasing myself until I was so close to release that I had to stop touching myself. I wanted Chase to be the one to take me over the edge.
“Show me what I do to you,” I begged, my voice so low and thick it was foreign to my own ears. I swiveled my ass in the air and watched as Chase stared at me, his eyes dark and entranced. “Show me your hard cock.”
Chase stripped for me, slowly peeling away his shorts and t-shirt until he stood before me, naked and fully erect. He looked like something that had been carved from marble, every muscle cut and segmented, but not overly so. He was perfect. The way the light filtered in through the slatted blinds and cast strange shadows made him look even more mysterious.
He dropped his eyes to his cock and wrapped one of his large hands over the shaft. “This is what you do to me, Melissa. I crave you. I need you.”
“You do?” I breathed, just wanting to hear him say it again.
He stepped to the edge of the bed. “Desperately. I want to bury myself so deep inside that sweet pussy that all you see is stars.”
I spread my legs wider, showing him my aching pussy. “Take me, Chase. Fuck me…anyway you want.”
Chase knelt on the bed behind me. I watched as his eyes dropped to my dripping wet pussy and I gasped when he lowered his head down between my thighs, burying his face in my ass. My hands fisted the covers before his lips even made contact.
“Oh fuck!” I muttered, my eyes rolling back as his tongue slid down my slit. He parted my lips with the firm edge of his tongue and then dipped down to taste me. He lapped at my opening, his tongue dipping inside and swirling around until I was cursing like a sailor at the flood of sensations that wracked my body.
When his lips wrapped around my clit and gave a pull, I slammed my face against the bed, using the mattress and covers to muffle my loud moans. “Oh my gosh, Chase. Shit!”
He blew cool air across the wet surface of my skin and I moaned all the more. He could drive me to the brink and then let me fall away again over and over, each layer building on the last, until I was pleading with him to let me find relief from the
pressure he’d built deep inside me.
How on earth was he doing that? He sucked and teased me until I was bucking like a bronco at the county rodeo. Chase gripped my hips with his hands and continued licking and sucking until he had me hovering right on the edge, teetering between sanity and oblivion.
Then he lightly slapped my pussy lips with two fingers and I lost my mind.
My eyes rolled back and I seized for a moment before shivers of hot and cold rushed over my skin and I shuddered down to the bed again. Chase didn’t let me rest long. He gripped my hips and pulled me down to the edge of the bed. My legs slid off the side but I barely touched the ground with my toes. He teased me with the tip of his cock and all my senses rebounded like a rubber band, snapping back from relief and relish to urgent and needy once again.
“Fuck me, Chase. Fuck me hard like you did before.”
At my demand, Chase pulled back, and I couldn’t feel him against me anymore. I twisted around and met his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
He pulled me from the bed and spun me around to face him, our bodies melding together. “I don’t want to fuck you, Melissa. Not tonight.”
“Oh…” My cheeks went hot.
“No, no. That’s not what I mean.” He tipped my chin up so that I was forced to meet his eyes. “I want to make love to you. I got carried away before. I don’t want to rush this.”
I smiled up at him, relieved and intimidated all at once. For whatever reason, it was easier for me to give myself to him in a primal, fiery explosion of heat. The idea of taking our time and lingering made me shiver with a different kind of expectation, but also with a hint of anxiety. Chase kissed me soft and slow, setting a new pace. His lips moved on mine with an enticing new rhythm. He backed me up to the bed and lay me down softly. Then, he lay on top of me, bracing his weight on his hands until we were centered and comfortable on the bed and then he lowered to his forearm and ran his fingers over my lips and cheeks.
With his eyes locked on mine, he slid inside of me and I shuddered as I felt my tight walls gripping him, pulling him in deep. He was so thick it was a stretch to get him inside but once he was there, I loved the way he filled me so completely. He rocked in and out of me slowly building the pleasure between us. Our eyes remained locked together and I got hotter watching the array of expressions on his face as the waves of pleasure overtook us.