Chapter 9 #2
For a moment I wonder about her ex, Katie’s father.
Where does he fit in all this? I want to ask, but I figure she’ll tell me everything when she’s good and ready.
“Fair enough. In the highly unlikely event that anything happens to you, I’ll definitely keep her close.
I’m already getting attached to her, she’s a great kid. ”
She nods, forcing a smile. “Yeah, she likes you.”
Turning back to the book, I see lots of information sets that all look similar.
Names: Leung, Carver, Hale.
Contractors: REACH, Hydro Relief Inc., Silverline Security, Kestrel Logistics.
Explosion. Field hospital. Missing ledger. Three dead. Five wounded.
“What’s this all about? It looks like you were noting catastrophic events, the names of dead soldiers, and company names. Can you remember why you wrote this?”
“Yes, they were all deliveries, explosions, or other irregular events that were related to safety protocol failures and who died. I think I was looking for a pattern but could never find one.”
I nod at that.
She continues, “These symbols are important. I remember there was a man who cornered me outside the field hospital we were at. He had a tattoo on his neck of a triangle inside a circle. He told me this wasn’t my story to tell. I remember thinking it sounded like a warning.”
With every page I turn, my respect for her grows. She’s been threatened and stalked for years and somehow managed to survive with a baby clinging to her hip. She deserves peace of mind and security, and I’m gonna see that she gets it.
Here’s another cryptic sentence. We both read it together.
Triangle mark—company symbol? Not military. Private? Industrial?
Looking up at her, I ask, “What do you think that means?”
She responds, “Exactly what it says. I’ve been seeing that logo over the place, only it had different things in it.
The guy’s tattoo had a circle inside. Another had a three-dimensional square.
Another had the chemical structure for water inside the circle.
Somewhere along the line, I started to realize they might be subsidiaries of the same company. ”
“Damn, that makes a lot of sense. Here are two more.” I read out what she’s written, “Neal. Possible contact or alias. Rivera overheard name. Cross-check with Hydro Relief Inc. Explosion may have been cover for extraction, to target me or to get the flash drive?” I glance at her and shake my head in disbelief.
“It’s unbelievable to me that you made all this just from things you remember after waking up from a coma.
You’ve got to be the GOAT of investigative reporting. ”
She looks embarrassed. “I’m the greatest of all time at running and covering my six. That’s about it.”
Turning another page, I say, “Well, you’ve got me to cover your six from now on.”
“And I’m grateful for that Slate, I truly am,” she says.
There’s something so vulnerable about her right now, I just want to pull her into my arms and tell her I’ll keep her safe forever.
But I need to be realistic. If she started to uncover something big, then I need to know what we’re dealing with.
My eyes go back to her notepad. “Look here—you’ve circled that Neal guy’s name three times.
And then you wrote another cryptic message,” I point at the page:
Find him before he finds us.
She stares at the sentence for a long time without saying anything.
Finally, I ask quietly, “Do you remember why you wrote that?”
“I remember writing after I woke up from a strange dream of being chased through bombed-out town. I don’t think I put this name together with earlier entry about the information Rivera gave me.”
We both look at each other for a long, hard minute. This is something real and actionable. A first name at least. “Since you got the original tip from Rivera, we should ask if he remembers anything?”
“That’s a good idea,” she responds absently. “I can’t believe we actually made progress together on my notebook today.”
I reach up, brush a strand of hair from her face, and let my fingers linger for a second too long. “You’re safe here, Christina. I mean that.”
Her voice comes out small. “I don’t want you getting hurt because of me.”
“Too late for that,” I say quietly. “You’ve already got me interested with that kiss. I won’t ever let you go unless you really want to go.”
“Well, you know that was a standing offer, right?”
I immediately close the space between us and pull her close. When our lips touch, it’s as amazing as last time. She doesn’t pull away. Instead, she wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me closer.
“Tell me to stop,” I murmur between kisses.
She shakes her head. “Don’t stop. I’ve missed this, missed you.”
I tilt her chin up and kiss her again, more thoroughly this time.
It’s a claiming kiss meant to seal her to me.
My arousal spirals totally out of control because this is what I’ve been dreaming about for years—having Christina back in my arms. We were always good together, like two halves of the same whole.
She’s intelligent and educated, and I’ve got street smarts and military training.
It worked well for us before because she was so down to earth.
I want to recapture that in the worst way.
When her hand slides down to glide along my hard cock, I remember how soft and delicate her hands are and how fuckin’ good they feel on my naked cock. Her touching me through my jeans is just a tease, and we both know it.
“You know where the zipper is, darlin’. Use it if you dare,” I tell her playfully.
She chuckles and moves her hand down to unbutton my jeans, suddenly it feels just like old times. All our problems slip away when we’re like this.
Christina lays back and I cover her without a second thought. She slides my zipper down and then shoves my jeans over my hips. Pride surges in my chest that this beautiful woman is so eager for my cock. Her mouth urgent against mine.
I pull my shirt off, kick my pants off, and lean over her, braced on my arms and cup her face with both hands.
She always feels soft and delicate when my fingers slide against her skin.
The passion flares fast and hot between us, making me think she’s had four years of her own pent-up need, just like I have.
If so, it is all breaking loose at once this evening.
Her hand wraps around my cock and she gives me a long, slow pump.
This woman of mine knows exactly what I like and has never left me wanting for anything in bed.
Her fingertips glide along my skin, and every muscle in my body reacts. I pull back and rest my forehead against hers. It’s all I can do to breathe in and out slowly, as her hands trace over all my new tattoos.
She meets my eyes, and I can see she’s aroused as I am. She murmurs, “Slate, I wasn’t kidding when I said I wanted you when we were in that liquor vault of yours.”
I let out a low sound that is half laugh, half arousal. “It’s not all mine. It belongs to my entire family. But turning you down that night was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.”
“You were trying to protect me from making a rash decision, one I might regret later,” she whispers.
Her eyes sweep over me, admiring my body in a way that makes heat rush straight to my cock.
She reaches up and touches one of the tattoos on my neck, tracing it the way she used to on quiet nights before everything went wrong, and something tightens in my chest.
“I missed being with you and I want to give it another try,” she murmurs.
“Same here,” I answer before I can stop myself. “You’re a little overdressed, darlin’. Are you gonna take it off or am I gonna rip it off?” I try to sound playful, but my words come out rough and needy.
Her breath catches and her nails dig into my neck ever so slightly.
That tiny bite of pain makes my cock surge against her.
As if it reminds her that I like a trace of pain with my sex, she gently scrapes her nails all the way down my neck and across my chest. That small, deliberate action causes my control to slip.
I roughly pull her clothing off, eager to feel the softness of her body rubbing against mine.
When she spreads her legs, I lower myself over her, resting my thick cock over her belly.
She’s shorter than me, so our bodies don’t align when we kiss.
So, I brush my lips along her jaw, lingering at the spot beneath her ear that always made her wet for me.
Pride and pleasure war for top spot in my emotions when I realize it still does.
Her hands slide over my back, pulling me closer, as her legs lock into place around my hips.
I love every damn thing about this moment.
I let my mouth move slowly down to her neck, leaving behind a trail of heated kisses. She arches into me, dragging her nails lightly over my shoulders. The soft, needy sound she makes leaves me fighting for control.
“You have no idea what you do to me, darlin’,” I say, voice rough.
I can hear the amusement in her voice when she responds. “You mean this,” she says using her nails on my chest.
Embarrassingly, I drip precum on her naked body and it’s all I can do to keep from groaning.
“Yeah, that and every damned thing else you do to me.”
“I’m already wet for you. Stop putting off the inevitable, babe.”
My resolve finally snaps and I capture her mouth again, pouring every second of missing her into it as I move into place and begin spearing her with my thick cock. She answers with the same desperate energy, tugging me closer as if she can pull my cock in faster that way.
She lifts her hips, meeting me, urging me to go deeper. I want to be a gentleman but she’s flipping all the right switches to get her sexy way with me. Being inside her is so damn familiar and bittersweet it almost hurts.
“Christina,” I breathe against her lips. “Tell me you’re okay, that you want this.”
Her eyes meet mine, steady and sure.
“I’ve wanted it since the second I saw you again.”
That is all the permission a man like me needs.
I pull out and roll my hips back into hers.
She gasps, wrapping her legs more firmly around my hips.
I take her harder, deeper, and she in turn rides my cock like there’s no tomorrow.
Her breath comes in quick little bursts against my neck as I use my hands to tease her nipples and run one down to rub her wet clit.
She meets me with the same urgent need, her body pressing up in a way that steals every shred of control I have left. Her lips brush my chest as she whispers my name, all soft and breathless.
I bury my face against her neck and breathe her in, letting the moment wrap around us completely.
In this moment, there is no stalker, no club business, no danger pressing in from all sides.
Right now, there is only me and the woman I’m falling for all over again.
She’s trusting me, choosing me, and doing everything she can to bring me pleasure.
And I realize that I have never wanted anything more. This is the thing that’s been missing from my life, a good woman to love, one who loves me back.
When she starts writhing beneath me, I know she’s close to coming all over my thick cock.
I rub her clit and hear her make a strangled cry, right before she clamps down on my cock so hard I almost pass out.
But I don’t stop moving in and out for anything because I know she doesn’t like that.
She likes to ride out her orgasm, almost as much as I love the feeling of her pussy spasming around me.
It feels so good that I end up losing control as well.
My release is hot and forceful, the best I’ve had in four years.
I now realize every other woman is a pale imitation of the one I want.
Her eyes flutter shut, and she lets out a soft sound that makes my heart melt for her. I kiss her neck again.
“Slate,” she whispers, voice a little shaky. “Please stay with me.”
I smile against her lips, thrilled that she’s finally asking for what she needs from me.
“I’m not going anywhere, darlin’.”