Page 47 of The Criminal

“I like you right there.” He growled and delivered another smack.

I giggled and moaned, nearly breathless. That hurt so good.

In my room, he made a production of tossing me up in the air and onto my bed. I bounced, wrinkling the thick comforter, and beckoned him down into my arms.

His weight pushed me into the mattress. It was heaven. I was delighted to have him in my house… in my bed.

I hadn’t been this happy in years.

The only distraction was a nagging feeling that, at any moment, all this would vaporize. Something would change, and what we had would cease to exist. I’d learned long ago that something this good couldn’t last. Until then, I would fight the powers of the universe to keep the status quo.

“Fuck me, Derek.”

“Anything you say.”

Chapter 24

Derek

“Mrs.Mills,astheFBI has taken over the investigation into the robbery and subsequent murders, The Smith Agency will stop our parallel investigation.” John’s tone brooked no disagreement. He slid a case file bulging at the seams across the office conference table to her.

We all were on the edge of our seats, waiting to see Gigi Mills’s reaction to the bombshell John had dropped. Gigi had been micromanaging our investigation, coming to bi-weekly meetings for updates and reading and replying to all case-related emails. It was exhausting.

I had five bucks riding on Gigi losing her shit and firing us as her family’s security company when we pulled off the case. Before the meeting, Quinn had put her cash on our boss and said the smart money always backed John Smith. Steel had seconded Quinn’s opinion but kept his money in his wallet. Noah and Sydney missed their chance to lay bets, arriving late from their morning workout. But they knew what was going on. The tension in the room was palpable.

“I don’t understand. I’m paying you. As long as I keep paying, do the work.” Gigi looked around the table, hoping one of us would break ranks with our boss and champion her. Her eyes lingered the longest on me. I kept my expression mild and shifted my gaze to the tabletop.

In the months since Lee and I started our arrangement, Gigi’s blatant flirting had bothered me less. Gigi was an unhappy socialite. Lee was a goddess.

“This agency has an uncomfortable relationship with the FBI’s Miami office,” John replied. “We cannot work with them effectively.”

“My stolen donations?” Gigi’s voice rose in pitch and volume.

“Are the concern of your insurance company and the FBI.”

“What about that man with the fancy-sounding name you said was a lead? Did you ever re-interview him?” Gigi looked between John and me.

John steepled his hands on the table and sighed. “We did.”

“And?” She tapped a manicured nail on the tabletop. The tic-tic made my eye twitch.

“He had nothing new to tell us.” John shook his head. She had received multiple emails on this matter already.

A week ago, John and Quinn had re-questioned Charles De Wispelaere. He had been all smiles. Even offered to sell John another Fabergé picture frame, one he claimed was neither stolen nor fake. John had wisely not made a purchase, and we decided that De Wispelaere was a dead end.

I wondered at the fence’s change in attitude. It made me think we missed an important development. The man I’d talked with after the robbery had been caught up in some deep shit. I worried his improved attitude came from the successful liquidation of the watches. I’d wisely kept my concerns out of the Gigi Mills email chain.

“And what about your secret contact, the woman fence?” Gigi skewered me with a sharp look.

My gaze shot to John. He hadn’t asked me anything about Lee since the week after the robbery. I’d hoped everyone had forgotten all about her. A wave of protectiveness rose in my chest, making it hard to find my voice.

John gave me an encouraging nod, but the coolness in his expression clarified that he hadn’t forgotten about Lee for a moment. I cleared my tight throat before I answered.

“That was a dead end, too.” My turn of phrase made me cringe internally.

Dead end was a poor choice of words to describe what was going on between myself and Lee. It was very much alive. Memories of last night, her screaming my name as she rode my cock, filled my head. Totally not dead.

“It’s just over.” Gigi threw up her hands. She was going to scream or cry.

---