2. Slider
2
SLIDER
Panting hard, I rolled off the woman below me and grinned as I stared up at the ceiling. Fuck, she was crazy as hell in bed and drove me fucking insane. My heart was racing a mile a minute, and it would take more than a short break to recover from what she just put me through.
Vira got up, sashaying over to the chair where her robe was draped, pulling it over her gorgeous body. I rolled to my side and watched how the silk slid over her skin, highlighting her curves. Fucking hell, that woman knew how to jerk a man around.
“Tomorrow?” I asked, already knowing the answer before I asked.
She glanced at me over her shoulder, her hair falling in her face before she tucked it behind her ear. “We’ll see.”
I chuckled, tossing the covers off as I stood and grabbed my pants from where they were thrown on the ground. “Which means no.” I jerked them up over my hips and let them rest there without buttoning them while I went in search of my shirt.
Her eyes skimmed over my body, taking in every inch of muscle. I could still feel her fingers tracing over my abs as she rode me hard, taking my cock unlike any woman before her. She was a seductress, always in the mood for a good time, but would never stick around for more.
“So, how’s it going, living with Isabelle?”
“Not bad.” She slipped her feet into some fuzzy slippers and pulled her hair back in a clip. “She’s definitely got some issues, but don’t we all?”
I strode over to her, pulling her into my arms. She might not want a relationship or even a regular fuck, but she did let me hold her and kiss her whenever I wanted. “It was nice of you to offer to live with her.”
“Well, what else was I supposed to do? I couldn’t live in that massive house with the last of the stragglers forever.”
“No, but you don’t know her.”
“I recognize a fellow lost soul when I see one,” she smiled. “She didn’t want to be on her own yet, and I needed the company, whether I wanted to admit it or not.”
I hummed as I dipped my lips to her neck and ran my tongue along her throat, earning me a moan of approval. I slid my hands down to her ass, cupping those gorgeous cheeks in my palms. Damn, it was just too much sometimes, to know that we were so compatible in the bedroom, but didn’t really have anything else in common. That was okay, though. We gave each other what we needed at the moment, which was a release.
“You should get going,” she groaned. “You have that meeting.”
“Shit,” I muttered, pulling myself from her arms, though I desperately wanted to stay now that my cock was hard again. I let out a frustrated sigh as I stepped back and stared at her pebbled nipples through her robe. “Fuck, you should not walk around in that if you want me to leave.”
A gorgeous smile lit her face as she slowly undid the tie and let the robe fall open, giving me the most spectacular view. My eyes trailed over her breasts and down to the juncture between her thighs.
“Just a memory for the road,” she whispered before closing her robe.
“That’s just mean.”
“It could be worse.”
“In what way?” I asked.
She walked up to me, cupping my dick in her hands. “I could refuse to get you off before you leave,” she whispered.
I dropped my pants and groaned as she gripped my dick again, working me harder and faster. My fingers found her pussy instantly, sliding through her folds. Fuck, if only I could find a woman who wanted me longterm that I had this kind of chemistry with.
Before I knew it, I was shouting out my release and coming apart in her hands as she did the same. I had less than two minutes to clean up and run out of the house, and that was pushing it. With a wave goodbye, I backed out of her driveway, catching the smirk she tossed me as I drove away.
I rushed into the OPS building minutes later, cursing that my dick couldn’t control itself around that woman. Thumper smirked at me as I raced off the elevator and slid into my seat just as Lock started the meeting. There were no jobs for us this week, but we were still digging into Kavanaugh’s shooting.
“—no new leads.”
“What about the senator?” Kavanaugh asked, his eyes intently focused on the screen on the wall.
Lock shook his head. “The trail is dead. We’ve interviewed everyone within his campaign and everyone who worked with him as a senator. It’s a long fucking list, and we’ve come up empty.”
Kavanaugh’s jaw hardened as he stared at the table. “We need to draw them out.”
“No.” Lock immediately shook his head. “There’s not a fucking chance in hell we’re using you as bait.”
“And what would you suggest?” Kavanaugh asked, his head whipping up. “You think I should just sit back and let them get away with this?”
“As long as they think you’re dead, we have time on our side.”
Kavanaugh shoved back in his chair, getting to his feet. “There’s no fucking time left. My mother is a walking fucking zombie. She deserves some closure.”
“What are you gonna do? Run off like Cash and get yourself killed? Is that gonna help your mom? She’s already buried your father, and she thinks she buried you. What more do you want to put her through?”
The whole room was silent as Kavanaugh sighed and sat back down, slumping in his chair. He hadn’t even recovered yet. He still wore his bandage and couldn’t work out. If he didn’t take it easy, he was gonna end up in the hospital again.
“We’ll keep digging,” Lock promised. “We’re not giving up yet. But you’re not ready for the field anyway. When you are, we’ll revisit how we’re gonna handle this. Until then, get yourself squared away.”
Kavanaugh nodded, leaning back in his chair.
“As for the rest of you?—”
That was all but Eli’s team.
“Knight had a few requests before he ran off to hunt down Cash. As I’m sure you know, one of those was that we keep an eye on Eva and the kids. That’s a given and has already been taken care of. But there’s another assignment we haven’t addressed yet. He asked that we not only keep an eye on Isabelle, but we get her trained when she’s ready.”
His eyes flicked to mine. I glanced around in confusion. “Me?”
“I’m not asking you to train her, but you’ve been…seeing Vira.”
Thumper snorted. “That’s one way to put it.”
“You’ve been around Isabelle. How is she?”
“Adjusting,” I answered. “She puts on a good front. But I’m not sure I’m the best person to ask. I only see what she wants me to see.”
His head swiveled to Jack. “What about you?”
“Same.”
“Alright,” Lock sighed. “Let’s get some training sessions for the women set up. The less it looks like we’re doing this for Isabelle, the easier it’ll be to get her to go to them.”
“Have Bree contact her,” I told Thumper. “She hates this shit. She’ll fit right in with her.”
He nodded, smirking slightly. “Can’t wait to tell her.”
“And Slider,” Lock called out. “I need you to be my eyes on the inside from now on.”
Spy on Isabelle. That was fucking fantastic.
I strode up the steps to Isabelle and Vira’s house, uncomfortable as fuck with my assignment. I had pizza and beer, which should be fine for a night with Vira, but I wasn’t sure if Isabelle would stick around or even want me there. She usually kept to herself or pretended I wasn’t there.
“You can do this,” I muttered. “Just get an idea of how she is.”
I rang the doorbell and waited for Vira to answer. Unfortunately, it was Isabelle who answered, leaving me with a woman who instantly tensed at the sight of me.
“Hey, is Vira here?”
“Yes. Please, come in.”
She was always so formal, so stiff around men. I wanted to tell her that I wouldn’t hurt her, that she didn’t have to act like I was anything like that piece of shit husband of hers. But I wasn’t sure she would believe me if I told her a thousand times.
She stepped aside and I walked inside, heading back to the kitchen to set down the pizza and beer. Vira came in from the back, quirking her eyebrow when she saw me standing there.
“I didn’t know we were getting together.”
“I brought pizza and beer,” I said, waving at the counter.
“I can see that.” She cocked her head to the side, staring at me with questioning eyes.
“I brought enough for everyone.” I rubbed the back of my neck, uncomfortable as hell. Fuck, it shouldn’t be this hard. It wasn’t like I was actually spying on Isabelle. I just needed to make sure she was okay. This was for Knight.
“Sure,” Vira nodded, glancing behind me. “Do you want some pizza, Izzy?”
“Izzy?” I asked, turning around and looking at her with a smile. “I can see it. Much more informal.”
Izzy tucked a slip of hair behind her ear and cleared her throat. “Thank you for bringing dinner.”
“You’re welcome. So, what are you guys doing tonight?”
“Movie night,” Vira answered. “Why? Do you want to stay and watch chick flicks with us?”
“Sure,” I answered a little too quickly.
Vira instantly narrowed her eyes at me. Shit, that was too fast. I grabbed a slice of pizza and shoved it in my mouth, hoping I could salvage this somehow. But the way Vira was watching me, I knew we were about to have a come-to-Jesus moment.
“Can I talk to you?” she asked. “Outside.”
Right. That moment was now. “Sure,” I said, swallowing the last of my pizza. I smiled at Izzy and followed Vira out back. I already knew what was coming before she spun around to face me.
“Vira—”
“Don’t,” she snapped. “What the hell are you doing?”
I sighed, shoving my hands in my pockets. “I just?—”
“Slider, either you’re here to try and build something out of nothing, or you’re here to check up on Izzy in some weird bonding way, which I know you wouldn’t do because that would make you a major asshole.”
I had nothing to say, so I stared at her, letting her come to her own conclusions.
“God, Slider. Why the hell would you do this?” she asked, pacing away from me.
“That depends. Which one do you think I’m doing?”
She spun and nailed me with a death glare. “Are you making jokes?”
Yeah, that wasn’t helping me any. “No, of course not.”
“Because if you think for one second you can come into my house and use me to get to Izzy, you are sadly mistaken.”
“That’s not what’s happening here,” I argued.
“Really? Because it sure looks like what’s happening. Beer and pizza? Showing up out of the blue? That’s not what we do. So, you tell me what this is.”
There was no point in lying to her. I’d already fucked it all up. “Look, Knight asked us to look out for her. I just wanted to make sure she was okay.”
“You’ve already seen her,” she snapped.
“I know, but…that’s not the same thing as spending time with her and making sure she’s?—”
“Watch your words,” she threatened. “That woman has had men bearing down on her for far too long. The last thing she needs is another man coming over here and lying to her. If you want to check on her, you come here with the best of intentions and flat out ask her. You do not use me as an excuse to worm your way in here and pretend to hang out with her.”
She was right. Of course she was. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to be an asshole. I just—Lock made me do it.”
She scoffed at that. “Slider, it was great. It really was, but this is over.”
“What? It was a mistake,” I argued. “I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone!”
“And I’m glad your intentions were good, but I don’t let anyone use me, and part of my job as her roommate is to make sure that no one tries any bullshit with her. She’s trying to get out on her own after years of abuse and?—”
“Now hang on a minute,” I said, my anger pushing to the surface. “I may not have come about this in the best way, but I would never hurt her. I’m looking out for her. We all are. We all want to see her get back on her feet and start living again. This is just as much for Knight as it is for Eva and Cash. Don’t ever fucking imply that I would in any way take advantage of her or?—”
“I know, I know,” she interrupted, closing her eyes with a sigh. “I’m sorry. I know that.” She took a deep breath and blew it out. “Slider, I really do appreciate your intentions toward her, but this is not the way to do it. How do you think she would feel if she knew you were pretending to be friends with her? Coming over here with pizza to hang out, but the only reason you were doing it was out of some sort of obligation?”
She was right. Hell, it was a shitty thing to do. If I wanted to get to know her, I should have just tried that. “Yeah, I see that now,” I answered quietly.
“Just…”
I nodded, understanding what she wanted before she said it. I walked forward, slipping my fingers between hers for a moment, then leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Sorry I fucked it all up.”
“I know.”
I headed around the side of the house, not bothering to go inside and make my excuses to Izzy. The last thing she needed was to see my face again. I knew Lock would be pissed at me for screwing that up so quickly, but honestly, I was more angry with myself that I hadn’t just gone about it differently. Fox would have known what to do. Lock should have sent him.
Then again, maybe he was trying to spare her from a never-ending night of show tunes.