Fatal Dose (17 page)

“I thought you would take longer. The food’s not quite ready. It will be about ten more minutes.”

“That’s quite a collection you have. I think I picked one we will both enjoy watching,” he said as he returned to the great room. He sniffed the air and added, “I don’t know what you’re cooking, but it sure smells good.”

He sat down on the couch and scanned through a
TIME
magazine. It was an old issue. There is nothing as stale as yesterday’s news, but he read a few articles anyway.

Finally, Wendy called out, “Dinner is ready.”

Mark picked up his empty glass and returned to the kitchen. She was ready with a refill.

“Have a seat.”

She brought in a large serving dish with thin scallops of Veal Piccata in the center, surrounded by roasted potatoes. This was followed by a bowl of mixed veggies. She sat down opposite him. She removed the apron and was displaying a fuller bust than he had noticed on previous occasions.
There is nothing like a tight sweater to accentuate the positive.
He caught himself staring at her breasts and quickly diverted his eyes, recalling an incident that occurred during his college days.
He was at a bar and couldn’t take his eyes off the largest pair of breasts he had ever seen; at least forty-four inches. Their owner caught him ogling and walked across the room to confront him. “What’s the problem, sonny, haven’t you ever seen a pair of breasts before?” she asked. Without a moment’s hesitation he blurted out, “Not as nice as those.”
He got a smile, a phone number and the opportunity to attest that they were the real thing.

Wendy picked up her glass to make a toast. “Here’s to a great evening.”

Mark looked into her eyes and replied, “I’ll drink to that” He was intent on maintaining eye contact as much as possible, but found himself sneaking a glance at her figure every once in awhile. He just couldn’t help himself.

“Go ahead and take some,” she said, handing him the plate. “I hope you like veal.”

“It’s right up there on my list with lamb and prime rib.”

The food was delicious, the Riesling superb and the cheesecake outstanding; so good that he ate two pieces. Vive a France! and some little French woman somewhere with an old family recipe.

“By the way, what did you do for Thanksgiving, Mark?”

“Oh, I just went to Barry’s for some turkey. They served a great Thanksgiving meal complete with pecan pie. How about you?”

“A neighbor invited me over. Her husband is in Iraq and she didn’t want to be alone. I know what that’s like.”

“That’s sad. I feel for all those families, especially around the holidays.”

“She did get to speak to him for a few minutes. They’ve got some kind of a Skype hookup that he is able to use a few times a month. It really made her day.”

“That’s good. By the way, you’re quite the cook.”

“Thanks Mark. All I did was follow my mother’s recipe. This is the first time I made Veal Piccata. That cheesecake was really delicious, too. It topped the meal off. Why don’t you go inside and set up the video? It will take me a minute to put away everything and set up the dishwasher and then I’ll bring in another bottle of wine. I’m anxious to see which movie you chose.”

About five minutes later, Wendy appeared with the bottle and fresh glasses. She brought an ice bucket and placed it on the floor. She poured the wine and they settled back on the leather couch. It had four cushions; they occupied the middle two. Mark pressed the “play” button on the remote and the screen lit up.

“
LOVE STORY
…
it’s one of my all time favorites,” she said excitably. “First the outfits, now the movie. Wow! We seem to be in-sync tonight.”

“It just so happens that it’s one of my favorites, too.”

Wendy got quieter as the movie progressed. When Oliver climbed into Jennifer’s bed in the hospital, she trembled and he could see tears streaming down her cheeks. Mark put his arm around her and she snuggled her head against his chest. She didn’t move right away when the film was over. She seemed to be content in his arms. Heaven knows he was.

Finally, after a few minutes, she turned her head upwards and kissed him. He kissed her back, passionately flicking his tongue against hers. His hand instinctively moved to a breast, gently squeezing it with his fingers as his thumb probed for the nipple. He was aroused instantly. He moved his body around trying to lower her to the cushions.

“Not here, let’s go inside.” She got up, took his hand and led him to her bedroom. She quickly pulled the comforter off the bed and tossed it on the floor. She undressed Mark first, her eyes revealing that she liked what she saw. She asked him to undress her. He removed her jeans and panties first, wanting to save the best for last. Then he slowly slipped the sweater over her head, reached behind her and unhooked the bra. As it fell, he feasted his eyes on the most perfectly shaped breasts that he had ever seen; in person or in pictures. She pulled him down on the bed, then grabbed his head and placed it between them. Mark felt like a teenage boy getting to play with boobs for the first time.

As he was having his way with her breasts, she was doing likewise with his member. Up until now he never thought that anything could top the passion that he shared with Susan. He was wrong and it wasn’t just because he had not been with a woman since Susan’s death. This was an altogether different feeling a very special one.

After their initial groping of one another was sated, they joined together for less feverish coitus. When they finished they just lay in the bed for awhile, occasionally kissing lips and other parts. They enjoyed the teasing for awhile, until the realization that it was time to go at it again. This time she got on top, giving him the chance to grasp her beautiful, full breasts and hang on for the ride. After Mark climaxed, she continued to ride him until she was fully satisfied. This time there was no post-teasing just kissing and holding.

Mark didn’t want to break the spell by speaking. Eventually, Wendy did.

“Wow! That sure was surprising. I must have bottled up a lot of passion. It sure felt good letting it out.”

“I feel the same way,” he responded. “I guess I buried a lot of my needs for too long a time. Making love with you feels so right.” He looked into her eyes, “Wendy, I hope that this isn’t just a rebound kind of thing for us. I sure don’t want it to be.”

“I don’t think that that’s where all those feelings came from. I’m really attracted to you. I felt something that night we went to the Wellington Lounge, but I didn’t know how you felt at the time.”

“
That’s really funny. I felt the same way. I bet that without much effort we can make our own
LOVE STORY,
but
with a much happier ending.”

“I’m game if you are.”

They decided that they didn’t want to separate for the night. They showered together, drank the rest of the Riesling and fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Early the next morning, Mark took her to Barry’s for breakfast. He ordered his usual breakfast and she settled on a three-egg omelet. They discussed the job for the first time. He told her about his breakfast meeting with Paul Snyder.

“He may be able to provide some distribution schedules that you could track.”

“I sure hope so. I’m getting the feeling that we’re very close with Atronen. We just need one big break. This could be it. What’s your next step?”

“I just need to put a plan together to confront him with what we know. I hope to work it all out this afternoon and run it by Dennis on Monday morning. This is the stage where we can only guess what the suspect is going to do. I’ll have to have a number of options so I can react accordingly.”

After breakfast they spent several minutes kissing and groping each other in the foyer of her condo. Mark almost didn’t make it out the door, but he knew that he needed to get back to his place to do some careful planning. It was difficult turning off the hormones so suddenly, but it was comforting to know that he was welcome to come back.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Marco was concerned. First, Sarah, following instructions from Clifford Melbourne, called about two men, probably FBI agents, visiting Mitchell Turner, as Marcia said they probably would do. He wondered what was in the folder Sarah said they left with. Marco had no way of knowing that Sarah was lying about these men visiting her boss. That call came in an hour ago. Now the phone rang again. He could see that it was Sarah calling.
What
now
?

“Yes, Sarah,” he said abruptly.

“This is weird, Marco. Two other men just went into Mister Turner’s office. The security desk called me a minute before they got here and said that they flashed FBI ID’s. Mister Turner agreed to see them right away. What should I do?”

“Don’t do anything until they leave. Then ask Turner what they wanted. It’s natural for you to question visitors that didn’t have appointments. If they’re real FBI agents, then who were the other two guys? I’ll check with the security desk. Keep your cool. My informant told me the FBI guys might show up here for routine questioning. It may not have anything to do with you.”

“But they know about me.”

“I told you before that it’s not their style to go around outing people for no reason, especially since they haven’t even spoken with you. Anyway, they may be from a different section. Just remain calm.”

“All right, if you say so. I guess I’m getting paranoid for no reason. I’ll let you know what I find out. Where can I reach you?”

“No phones. Let’s get together again tonight. You can tell me about it then.”

Marco got hard just thinking about being with her again.

“How about coming over to my place?”

“I don’t think so. I prefer my own. Anyway, I’m expecting a few calls. Bring along some night things and plan to stay over. I’ve got some new stuff to show you.”

“I’m getting wet just thinking about it.”

“You’re not alone. Tonight, then?”

Sarah called Melbourne to update him. He didn’t seem too concerned about the FBI visit. There was a lot going on and pharmaceutical companies were always in the limelight. She, on the other hand, was nervous about lying to Marco about the first two men. Sarah believed what Marco said, that the visit by the FBI probably had nothing to do with her. She needed to concoct a story about why they were there, though, before her date with Marco.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Marco met her at the door of his apartment. He was wearing a short silk robe. As soon as the door closed they went at each other like animals in heat. Her clothes and the robe were on the floor in less than a minute. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the bedroom.

Sarah spoke first “I was concerned when you mentioned that you had something new to show me. I thought maybe you were going to have another man or woman join us.”

“To hell with that ménage stuff. There’s no way that’ll ever happen. I want you strictly to myself. I’m not sharing you with anyone.”

They embraced each other. Sarah was happier than she had ever been in her life. She was without any cares when she was with Marco. She believed that he would always be there to protect her. She hoped that Clifford Melbourne didn’t do anything to mess it up for her. She would have to be careful about the information she passed on to him. Being grateful for past favors wasn’t the same thing as living in the now, not when the now included having Marco Vennuti inside her.

On the way back to the bedroom, he asked, “What did you find out about all the traffic going in and out of Turner’s office?” he asked.

“Not a lot. He said the first two men were architects; something to do with some work he was having done on his house. I guess they used his private entrance.”

“That makes sense. There’s no other way they could have avoided security. I thought that they might be Cleveland Police Department plainclothes cops checking on that accident that happened in the warehouse, but I don’t know why Turner would lie about that. If you see the men again, ask them for some ID and call downstairs so security can check them out. I don’t like people running around in my building without me knowing about it. That private entrance is a weak spot. I think I should install some secret security cameras there. What did he tell you about the FBI agents?”

“Not too much. He said that it was a routine call. They asked him if he knew about any production or delivery irregularities that could have been used by thieves to make off with prescription drugs we manufacture or distribute. They updated him on some new programs that the FBI has and that was it. He said it was all very routine. I guess you were right. I was nervous for no reason.”

“Remember that, Sarah. I’ve got your back. I’ve dealt with the FBI and they’ve regretted it every time. Just keep your eyes open and let me know whenever they show up. I’ll do the rest.”

He opened a drawer in the end table and removed two jars. “Now, I have a surprise to titillate you. I have this balm that I’m going to rub all over your body and I have one for you to use on me. I got them over the web from one of those erotic sites. They’re something new. The stuff is supposed to gently warm up your body to start. Then, in a matter of a few minutes, pheromones are released that are supposed to turn members of the opposite gender into sex-craving animals. I thought it might be fun. Are you game?”

“Sure, what the hell, but I can’t imagine the two of us getting wilder than we already are. Aren’t you afraid to mix this stuff with our already raging hormones? It may turn us into raging sex maniacs.”