23. Saint
The police were very inspired by the rattlesnake too, as it turned out. Animal control appeared only moments after the first officer, and just after that came Detective Parker. She looked physically tired but mentally energized, and I wondered if she was enjoying the excitement. She could have it, I was sick of it myself.
After we all talked to everyone, I got a call from the repair shop saying my car was ready. Detective Parker was still there, and she arranged for a ride to go pick it up. She knew we were leaving town, and even she thought that was probably for the best. She double-checked all contact information and promised that they would continue to work on the matter, and then Rio and I loaded the car and wasted no more time in leaving.
We didn’t have a room booked, and as we got onto the freeway about twenty miles from the little piece of hell we had stayed in the past week, we began to debate our next move. I wanted to go back to LA, since no matter where we went, they found us anyway. Rio was worried about that, but he couldn’t come up with a counterargument. Finally, he threw up one hand, the other still firmly on the wheel. “Fine, but not to your apartment. They’re going to be watching it. Might as well go back and ask to pet the rattlesnake.”
Rio was probably right about that. “Okay, you have a point there. Maybe a room with Mr. Alden’s card on the other side of LA?”
Rio nodded. “Acceptable. Maybe we should take a long way around, make it look like we’re heading for Arizona first?”
That would be a long detour, but if it appeased Rio, I was willing. “Good idea. You drive part of it, then once it’s dark I’ll take over and we’ll head to LA. Do you want me to book a room?”
Rio nodded, pulled out his wallet, and handed me the company card. I got us a decent little room and handed it back, then took his hand. “I’m sorry about this morning,” I said quietly.
Rio shook his head, giving me a crooked grin. “No te preocupes está bien. It’s good for the heart to work it out sometimes.”
I laughed disbelievingly. “You’re right, but I can think of much better ways to do it than that.”
Rio tipped his head in agreement. “Sí,” he said. “This all does kind of put me off exotic pets, though…”
“I don’t blame you,” I said.
We made it to the room I had booked for us at nearly 3 AM the next morning, having looped almost to the California/Arizona border and back. I hated Cajon Pass at night but needs must. When I parked I stretched, groaning, and Rio opened his eyes. “All good?” he asked.
“All good. We’re here. Now let’s go get checked in and get some sleep. They won’t look for us here at least for tonight, take advantage of it. In the morning I’ll give you something special to make up for the snake.”
Rio’s dark eyes, though still tired-looking, went warm and he eyed me. “It’s a date, Sexy.”
Rio’s phone ringing woke us both up the next morning. “They caught him! He’s currently being interrogated. The fool used the same car to come back with the snake.” Lee sounded utterly delighted.
“Wonder if he was the spider guy too. Specialty.” I murmured.
“Wouldn’t be surprised. Fernandez is fairly big in the animal black market racquet,” Rio replied.
“Ding ding, give the man a nice kiss,” Lee said, and I looked sideways at Rio before I leaned over and did just that, loud enough so Lee could hear. Lee began to laugh and in a minute so did Rio.
“We’re in LA again,” Rio said. “How’s the investigation into the drive-by?”
“Stalled– OH! Holy shit, yes. The transcript of the interrogation just came in!” If Lee had been delighted before, he was positively giddy now.
“What did he say?” I asked impatiently as Rio sat up, the phone on his palm.
“He sang like a canary once they asked him about the drive-by! They insinuated that they knew who had done it and they’d struck a plea deal naming him. ‘That was Marco and Greene’s man Tembro. And the sister, Christ the sister.’ HA yeah, the sister,” Lee said.
“The sister,” I muttered.
“They now have reason to look harder at Greene,” Lee said gleefully. “News is Officer Hallie’s direct superiors are NOT pleased that the leads that have any connection to Greene are going dead above them. He’s a well-liked officer who was in line for a promotion within the next year.”
I cut my eyes at Rio. “We could maybe have a little talk with him,” I murmured. “We could see if Lee’s help would be appreciated.”
Rio hummed thoughtfully as Lee laughed evilly through the phone. “I do like to be useful…” he said and Rio chuckled.
“I’ll reach out to Cas,” I said, glancing at Rio. “Should your boss talk to his superior about that?”
Rio nodded. “I’ll call John in a while,” he said.
“Beautiful,” Lee said. “Now I’m going to get to work on this Tembro character. I haven’t seen that name before and I have a file to compile. Call me later if you need me.” He blew a kiss and hung up the phone.
Rio and I looked at each other, and I took a deep breath and blew it out. “How are you doing?” I asked quietly.
Rio assessed himself, his expression going inward for a minute. “I’m okay. Better than I was yesterday morning,” he answered. “How are you doing? Glad to be back in LA, even if it’s not quite home yet?”
I nodded. “Yeah… This is a nice room too.” It wasn’t huge, but it was quite luxe after the room we had been in last. And there were no rattlesnakes, which I’m sure raised it even more in Rio’s estimation. “I’d like to suggest a shared shower, but…”
“But you’re a little wary now?” Rio asked.
“I mean…” I said. “Are you?”
Rio sighed. “No? Maybe. Well. I’m not going to relish opening a closed shower curtain for a while, I think, but no.”
“Come here?” I asked, holding my arm out to Rio, asking if he wanted to lay down and cuddle for a little while. He tucked himself up into me immediately and I sighed, running my fingers over his shoulders. “I’ll text Cas a little later,” I said. “Since we’re in town again, maybe I can visit him soon. I still feel bad that all of that happened because they were after me.”
“I know, Saint. It wasn’t your fault, though,” Rio answered. He drew his fingertip down my sternum, tracing my chest idly. “I liked him,” he said contemplatively.
I smiled. “I do too. He’s a good guy. I’m worried about what he’s going to do once he’s healed. I don’t know many cops who run around on prosthetic legs.”
Rio hummed. “I don’t know. There are some. I know a few people who lost more than one limb who are living their best life.”
I hoped that Cas would adjust well. I rubbed Rio’s back as I thought about it briefly, then shook it off. Rio needed my attention more. I ran my fingers through his hair and down the side of his neck, making him purr and stretch his neck to give me more room.
“You helped yesterday morning,” Rio said, eyes closed. “I couldn’t move until you were behind me talking to me. I wanted to but I couldn’t. So I guess the question about calling me Osito has been answered,” he added with a self-deprecating smile.
I felt like I had been dipped in warmth. “Really?” I had thought he looked frozen, and I truly didn’t really know what to do, but when I called him Osito it seemed to help. After that I just kept talking and once he was far enough out of the room all I wanted to do was get that door closed.
“Really,” he said. He shimmied higher and kissed me, then pulled me over on top of him. “Nobody knows where we are yet,” he said.
I blinked, rapidly processing what he was asking for, then took his hands and pressed them into the pillow. “No they don’t,” I said. “You’re here in bed with me though, so sexy and willing, aren’t you?”
I watched Rio’s eyes dilate as he looked at me. “Yes,” he said, squeezing my hands. I had interlaced our fingers when I took his hands, and the way he looked at me was pure invitation. I kissed Rio lingeringly, inviting him to dance with me, and he responded beautifully. The world narrowed to our lips and tongues together, and Rio’s hands flexing in mine now and again. I wasn’t dominating him, but it seemed he liked to have his hands held down while he was kissed anyway. This slow build was definitely doing it for me and I was in no hurry to move on to the next step, so I returned his little jerks with more pressure and soft suction to his lower lip that had him moaning into my mouth.
The kissing turned to light frotting after a while, Rio’s legs parting as he hooked his calves over mine. “Sometime I’m taking you to bed and we’re staying there all fucking day,” he promised after a particularly pointed suck to my lip. “I’m going to do everything you like three times, and then we’ll do some things I like too.”
“What do you like?” I asked, grinding slowly. The last three brain cells not currently drowning in hormones were intrigued by there being more things Rio liked that I didn’t know about.
Rio chuckled roughly. “I like to be fucked when I’m oversensitive,” he said. “I’m going to ride you till I come, then let you hold me down while you take as long as you want to finish.”
Rio’s dirty talk felt like it short circuited me nearly every time, and this was no exception. I moaned into his mouth and bit his throat sharply. “Christ yes,” I breathed into his skin. “We need lube right now.”
Rio’s laugh followed me to my shower bag where one of the bottles of lube was. I stripped on the way there and back while Rio watched me with hungry eyes. “You’re wearing too fucking many clothes,” I growled as I reached the bed, and the next second his pajama bottoms were on the floor and he was inviting me back between his spread legs. I got one hand slick and closed it around his hot, thick length, pumping slowly. “Do you want to feel like you’re going to burst out of your skin?” I asked, deepening my Tennessee accent to get him to shudder even harder.
“Fuck, yes,” he replied in a tone that I could only call needy. It sounded fucking good on him. His eyes searched me, his hands up by his head still. “I want you to wreck me, Sexy.”
I groaned with the mental picture that gave me combined with how he looked right now. “I want to,” I said, my hand going lower to tease. “Can I?”
Rio nodded frantically and the next moment I was sinking a finger into his body while his back arched prettily. He rocked with me, one hand flexing in mine and the other holding the pillow. He wasn’t white-knuckle… but I’d get him there.
By the time I was up to three fingers, Rio was panting harshly. “Ride me,” I said, rolling over and rubbing my cock with a well-lubed hand. The touch was the first I had indulged in and pleasure shivered through me from head to toe. Rio was up and over me in a second, hissing in delight as I held myself upright for him to sink down onto.
Hot tightness around me bowed my back and I put my hands up in momentary surrender, making Rio grin down at me. “My pretty boy wants held down and ridden?” he asked, undulating slowly. I shivered and nodded and a moment later his strong hands pinned my wrists to the bed as he began to move. He chased his pleasure on my cock, finding the angle that worked for him and made his erection drool precome onto my pubic hair.
Rio rode me until he began to make the sounds that meant he was close, then released one of my hands and put it on his cock. I jerked him roughly as he growled in pleasure and then exploded over my hand and belly. He curled down over me for a moment, panting, and kissed me messily. “Fuck me, Sexy, use me.”
I moaned and rolled us, hiking his legs up around my waist and pinning his hands to the bed. “As you wish, my Osito.”
When I came a few minutes later, it was to the sound of Rio pleading for more while he shuddered with oversensitivity. He was white knuckle now, gripping the pillow with both hands while I held his wrists down. I convulsed, filling his body, then released him and wrapped him up in a tight hug. “I love you,” I crooned and he shivered again, curling up as small as he could into my chest with a contented purr.