“Problem?” Antony asks, looking up from his magazine.
“Why are you here?”
“To help.”
“Help with what? All you do is sit there and read.”
“No, I don’t. I went and got lunch for us both.”
“Thanks.” I shake my head, punching one of my boxing bags. “You know, you should let me teach you some fighting techniques since you’re here.”
“Will that help with all your pent-up sexual frustration?”
“I don’t have pent-up sexual frustration. Now, come on. I need a good workout so I can clear my head.”
“You need a good fuck,” he murmurs.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing, just excited to get our fight on,” he says sarcastically. “What? I am. I really am.”
I roll my eyes and point him to an area of the room that is clear for us to fight. Antony is okay to win a regular bar brawl, but to deal with real killers, he is nowhere near ready. I prepare him so well he sheds his shirt, wipes his brow, and stares back at me with intensity. “You almost look as if you want to kill me.”
“You’re pissing me off!” he snaps much the same way I did when Peter was teaching me.
“Good,” I laugh and begin again. When we finish, I feel refreshed and able to think again, so much so that I devise a plan to take back control over that woman.
Chapter 11
Austin
It’s been a long day searching for a runaway in between doing more “important work” as my captain calls it. I am so tense and ready to relax that I can hardly wait to jump into a hot bath. Preston is out, and the place is quiet except for some great relaxing music, a hot bubble bath, and then … there’s a knock at the door. I peak through the peep hole and see Dace. I argue with myself, trying to decide if I should let him in or not. I am liable to give in to him tonight. I’m too tired to be hard to get, and I really want to kiss him again. I open the door a crack. “Hey Dace.”
“Are you going to let me in?”
“I don’t know,” I say a little too honestly.
He laughs. “You don’t know? Why is that?” I shake my head and open the door, motioning for him to come in. “I only wanted to see if you would like to go get something to eat or go for a ride?”
“I had a rough day and really wanted to have a quiet night here.”
“Does that mean you want me to go?” he asks, looking oh so good.
“No, of course not. If you want to stay here and be really bored, then you can.”
“I doubt I’d be bored unless we play another one of those horrible board games,” he laughs. “We can stay here together and watch a movie if you want?”
“Okay and maybe we can talk and get to know each other better. We really haven’t done a lot of that yet.”
“Yeah… I was kind of enjoying the no talking thing,” I sigh, and he laughs. “Okay fine, we can talk.”
He makes himself at home while I make us some popcorn for the movie he selected. I do my best innocent look before offering him some popcorn, and he takes some, seeming impressed with the snack. “Did you make this or was this out of a microwave.”
“Microwave, but I add my own special ingredients that my mother taught me about.”
“It’s pretty good.”
“Better than sex good?” I laugh, but he doesn’t. It’s been a long time since I liked a man so much that I would give up my peaceful night alone. My last boyfriend was wonderful, until I caught him in bed with another woman. Being a cop doesn’t always make things easier, especially when you get an unexpected night off and decide to surprise your boyfriend by tracking him all the way to another woman’s house. I look Dace over and shake my head, thinking he would be the type to do the same thing, only I doubt he would bother to even chase after me to apologize. I shouldn’t get involved with him. Why do I keep letting him in? “So, Dace Coleman, you don’t look Irish.”
He looks over at me oddly, “What?”
“Dace Coleman; that is your name, isn’t it? I assume your last name is the same as Antony’s, right?”
“Oh, um, yeah, our … father is a mix of many things.”
Nodding, I try to think of something else to ask him, anything to get him talking and, hopefully, giving up enough information so I can find out who he is and why I can’t locate him on any database. “So, what do you do?”
“I work in the family business, handling the company’s technology framework and making sure we are keeping up with our competitors. And you?”
“Oh, um …” I never know what to say to this question. Being a cop, a detective even, usually scares people, especially men with a suspicious background. I need him to feel comfortable with me so he will keep talking, “… I basically do a lot of filing and paperwork for the city.”
“Hmmm, exciting,” he says cynically, pissing me off.
“It is actually. I learn a lot about what’s going on in the city, and I am usually the first to know.” He nods, sighing as if I am bothering him with conversation. “I know a lot about computers too. I have a double degree in computer science and criminology.”
“Oh yeah, criminology,” he laughs.
“That’s funny?”
“Um no, not really. Interesting that we have similar degrees though.”
“You went to college?” I ask in shock.
He sits back and turns completely towards me. “Yeah, I went to college, a big one with books and everything.”
“Good for you … jackass,” I say to his amusement. I try to think of something else to ask, something simple, and he answers simply, so I ask another question and another until he sits back, sighing.
“I feel like I am being interrogated,” he says, causing me to laugh.
“Sorry. I just thought since you’re here we could get to know each other better. I know you’re not really interested in this movie.”
“No, I would prefer to be enjoying getting to know you in a different way, but you keep putting me off, playing hard to get. So, if we aren’t going to make out or have sex, then I guess I am stuck playing twenty questions with you, or rather a thousand questions, considering we passed twenty a while ago. I could be going out with Scarlett, you know, and having sex with a hot model, but I chose to be here.” He winks at me, reminding me of our previous argument.
“Oh, so she’s a model? And where did you meet her?”
He throws up his hands, exasperated. “Again with the questions?”
“Okay. If you won’t answer that question, then answer this— why did you do what you did to me after we first met?”
“Do what to you?” he asks as if he has no idea what I am talking about.
“You know, with your hands and tongue … all over me. You know what I am talking about.”
He smiles, shaking his head. “I was only trying to get you riled up, and I guess it worked if you are still stewing over it.”
“I am not stewing. I just don’t understand why anyone would do that?”
“You obviously liked it,” he retorts, knowing it to be true whether I admit it or not. I scoot away from the obnoxious ego. “Why are you scooting away from me? You keep moving away. Did I bite you and not realize it? I don’t usually bite, although sometimes, if I have the right ass in front of me, I do like to take a little taste and move from there to …” he looks me over with a smile. “Turn around let me see your ass. Maybe I left a mark.” He pulls me up before I have a chance to realize what he is doing.
I smack his hands away. “Don’t look at my ass!”
He holds his hands out as if he is confused by my actions. “How else am I to know if I bit your ass or not?”
“You didn’t bite my ass or any other part of me, I know it.”
“Oh, do you want me to? Is that why you are throwing such a fuss?”
“I’m not throwing a fuss.”
“Oh, I think you are. You are standing up and all flustered and upset. Your nipples are even poking out of y
our shirt. Look.” I look down and quickly cross my arms in front of my breasts.
“You’re a jackass. Have you ever had a girlfriend? And before you point out all the girls you have been with, I mean an actual girlfriend, someone you have been with for longer than one night.”
“Do I need one for longer than one night?” he asks, unashamed.
“Wow, so you’re not able to keep a woman. That says a lot,” I say, returning the frustration back to him.
“I can keep a woman, if I want to. Trust me. I have no problem with that. In fact, I have a hard time getting rid of them. Women always want to be clingy and know everything I am doing. I prefer to come and go as I please.”
“Lonely are you?” I say with a sympathetic tone.
“I am not fucking lonely. I just told you I don’t like to be tied down is all.”
“That’s what lonely people say.” I bite my lip, trying not to laugh at his frustrated sighs.
“Are you enjoying yourself?” I nod happily. “Oh, well good for you. You pissed me off. Now I know why you’re single.”
“I am single because I work a lot and don’t have a lot of free time to date.”
“Uh-huh, spending a lot of late nights filing and wearing men’s shoes. I am sure men all over the city are crying about their loss.”
“My shoes are perfectly suited for the job duties I have to perform.”
“My shoes are perfectly suited,” he mocks me, “… who the hell talks like that?”
“I do, and I am good with my life. At least I have relationships for more than one night.”
“Oh yeah, where is he?” He stands up, looking around.
“I told you, I work a lot.”
He crashes back down next to me. “Bullshit! You’re too much of a tight ass to get a man. I seriously doubt you can hold onto one, if you do manage to stumble into one,” he says, getting ready to stuff some popcorn into his mouth while I steam. I reach over and knock the popcorn out of his hand. “Hey!” he yells before I slug him in the mouth. “Motherfucker!” he growls with tense lips. I become determined to take him down and force him to apologize, but my intentions suddenly turn into a wrestling match. My military training has always served me well, but he is, for some reason, not easy to take down. “What the fuck is your problem woman?”
“I am going to make you apologize,” I say, taking my socks off and getting down to my bare feet, readying myself to take him on.
“Oh this is way better than board games,” he laughs just before he dodges my right hook. He strips down to his bare feet and prepares himself to clash with me. “You want to do this? Let’s do it then, Baby.”
“Where did you learn how to fight?” I ask, fascinated by his moves.
“Where did you? I thought you were a filing clerk for the city?” I fall to the floor and sweep his leg, and he follows by flipping backwards and pinning me to a wall. I break free from him and smack him in his face, really pissing him off. We push the furniture out of the way, roll up our sleeves, and I tie my hair up. “Come here, Sweetheart. I have something I want to show you.” He grabs me and forces me on the ground, hovering over top of me and feeling very proud of himself until I twist and break free of him again.
“Sorry, I don’t need anything you have. Maybe you should try online dating. I hear it works well for repeat lonely daters.”
“Ha ha, now come here.” Dace chases me while I grab the tieback from the draperies. He grabs me, and I wrap his wrist and spin around him, taking his other and pushing him up against the wall, face forward.
My smile is so wide it’s glowing. “You owe me an apology.”
“I apologize. Now that I have gotten to know you better, I am sure you tie up men all the time and keep them in your bedroom. Am I next? You going to take advantage of me?” He grimaces.
“Please, you would love every second with me, so much so that you would never want to leave me.”
He spins around, ties up my wrists, and holds me against the wall. “Oh yeah? Prove it,” he says with his blue eyes beaming. His heart is pounding in rhythm with mine; his manly essence wraps around me, and I begin to realize why I can’t get him out of my head. He lets me go and holds his hands out from his side. “I apologize and surrender.”
Taking a deep breath, I drop the tieback and race into his arms, taking hold of his lips with pleasure. His kiss is so powerful and strong and with the softest lips I have ever known. My head begins to float as I step back to think.
“Anyone ever tell you that you think too much Austin?” he questions.
“I …” I don’t get another word out before he picks me up and carries me to my room. I am in my bed, grasping his shirt tight as he holds my body oh so close to his. His lips along my neck, his hands moving down my pants and gripping my bare ass.
He stops just long enough to pull his shirt off. “I am pretty sure you don’t need yours either.” He watches me as I raise my arms above my head. He kisses along my side and up my ribs, pulling my shirt off, and within a single breath, his face is buried in between my breasts. I look down on him, watching him, running my fingers through his waves of dark hair and fisting it when I feel his hand slip down from my ass and in between my legs. He doesn’t hold back when he touches me and seeks out what he wants from me. His lips move to mine, maneuvering with such skill that my breathing becomes difficult. “You’re so wet …” he says with a kiss and a sweep of his tongue, “… I love when it’s wet,” he continues, licking his finger with a smile. He sits up and rips my pants off to the floor. He smiles suddenly, and I become nervous. He spins me over and pulls down my panties to show my bare ass. “Nope, no bite mark here.” He turns me back over, removing my panties and pushing my legs apart as he leans down in between them. “How about a mark here instead…” He kisses my inner thigh and feels inside of me with fingers that are clearly made from the devil’s hands because nothing else could feel so good. Dace sucks on my skin with a bite and a teasing trail of his tongue. He slides one hand under my ass and lifts me up to his mouth. I cry out, fisting his hair and begging for control, but the tip of his tongue knows no bounds. I am so hungry for him that I begin to whimper. He sits up, grasping my breast as he leans down to kiss my lips. “That’s it. You’re mine now. You’re marked with my mouth.” I nod for some reason; I don’t know why, maybe because I want to believe that I am only his and he’s only mine. Vulnerable, I lie, completely exposed, in front of him, unable to deny him as I watch him undo his pants and pull out his already brimming cock. I take hold of it, rubbing my hand all over it as he moans against my neck. I want it. I have never craved anything more in my life, and when he finally looks me in the eyes and adjusts his throbbing erection against my pussy, I gasp, feeling the hardened pressure against me. Then, he thrusts, and he thrusts again. I beg out loud for more, so he thrusts again, forcing himself deep inside me. Every motion, every touch, is a pointed fire rushing through my veins to the stirring inferno at my core. He never lets me go, holding my legs around him, caressing my lips with his. My body begins to tremble, and I can hold on no longer. Dace hovers over me, watching attentively. I drop my head back and only regain my composure when he leans in to kiss my lips.
“You are really beautiful. Do you know that? I will admit to you that I have wanted you since you first challenged me, but I be damned if I knew you would feel this goooood.” He comes with a roar, and all I can do is hold on as his hips swing down and in, over and over again. I am not sure if I passed out from the pleasure of it all or from exhaustion, but I wake up in the middle of the night cradled in his arms and fall back asleep peacefully.
Chapter 12
Dace
“Dace, where have you been?” Ettore asks as I step into his office.
“Working, like you asked. I got all the information you needed, even set up bugs in your enemy’s house,” I say, falling into a chair.
“Oh yeah? And how did you do that without being caught, or without any assistance from anyone?” Etto
re asks in disbelief.
I laugh, throw a speaker onto his desk, and turn it on. Instantly, he begins to hear every movement within the house, “You can switch the channels to change rooms.” He does so and sits back in amazement when he hears Aksakov discussing business.
Ettore stiffens as he listens in. “What was it that your friends called you?”
“Ghost,” I say proudly.
Ettore nods. “Yes, that’s it.”
The Aksakovs have a problem with some of their own, a small outfit of drug dealers they are trying to rid themselves of. They are constantly causing more chaos than they are worth. The Aksakovs plan to finish them off today. Ettore wants me and Antony to go and watch how they work. We need not get involved, only watch. It is easy and simple to do. The lowlifes hangout at a corner market, and we sit and wait down the street for the melee to begin. As we wait though, Austin walks up out of nowhere and begins talking to one of the lowlifes.
“What the hell is she doing here?” Antony asks.
“I have no idea, but she is going to get herself killed,” I say as she walks inside. Antony looks at me as I quickly try to think of what to do. “Meet me on the other side of the building.” I get out of the car and walk up to the market, meeting instant disapproval. None of them scare me; I have battled much worse. Their attacks on me barely knock me off my direct path as I walk right in and find her. I grab her, throw her over my shoulder, and walk out the back, straight to where Antony is waiting for me. I put her in the car and drive away as the market is attacked from all sides. The place is leveled, a complete blood bath, and Austin is pissed off. She screams at me the whole way back home, and I say nothing even though I have a million questions for her.
I escort her back to her place to make sure she stays put, hoping the Aksakovs don’t know she was there. She pushes me back from her still steaming figure as soon as we step inside. “What were you doing there? Why did you carry me out of there? Who are you? Who do you work for?”