French Kiss (Decadence Nights Book 2) (13 page)

She glanced up at him suspiciously. “What are you? A psychologist?”

“Hardly,” he chuckled, “but I have spent my life observing people, both in my career, and as a dominant. I’ve gained a bit of insight along the way.”

“What career would that be?”

“That conversation is for another day.” He lowered his head and as his mouth softly brushed over the fullness of her lips, she responded, opening for him eagerly, and he couldn’t resist tasting her again. The smoldering heat reignited with the touch of their tongues, her arms came up and wrapped around his neck, her fingers threading through his hair pulling it free from its band. Losing himself to the velvety warmth of her mouth, he commanded more and she gave it up freely, yielding to both the burning passion of the kiss and his demanding mastery.

The whimpers of surrender coming from her throat reminded him of how ragged her emotions were and he reluctantly ended the kiss. “You should get started home.”

“No! Please.” Her arms tightened around his neck, her fingers gripping so tight his scalp tingled. “I don’t want to go yet.”

“Mari…” Wanting her, but not at the risk of confusing her more, he pulled away his hand cupping her cheek, his thumb brushing over her trembling lips.

Blinking up at him, her azure eyes liquid pools of appeal, she cut at his heart with her plea. “I don’t want to be stagnant anymore.”

He made two decisions at that moment, he would fuck her as she obviously wanted, but not as she expected. It would be his way, or no way. Lifting her up, he turned her to face him.

“Straddle my thighs.”

She scrambled to obey, losing her blanket as she did. His hands dropped between them, first digging into a pocket to fish out a condom, then moving to his zipper and freeing himself. Her indrawn breath wasn’t an unusual response, but from her, it sent a tremor of hungry desire shooting through him. Hard from wanting her for so long, his cock jerked between them, brushing her belly. He bit back a groan, ready to spend himself already.

Act like the dom you are, Durand!

Her hands sliding up his chest and her hips arching to rub against his rampant erection weren’t helping. He needed to be inside her, now. Arturo pressed the condom into her hand.

“See to me.” His gruff order reflected the waning control on his patience. Hastily, she ripped the wrapper apart and rolled the latex down his cock. Fingers flexing on her waist, he lifted her. “Guide me inside,” he growled.

Fumbling only the slightest bit, she aligned the head with her drenched opening and settled her body weight onto him, sinking deep. Her head dropped back, exposing the vulnerable skin of her throat. He latched onto it as he crushed her breasts against his chest. With his hands holding the twin globes of her curvaceous ass, he lifted her, thrusting upward as he allowed her to glide back down.

Her hot, wet pussy rippled around him as she accepted him fully. Moans, breathless and wildly erotic, emerged from her throat at the same time a carnal groan rumbled in his chest. “
Mon dieu
, you feel amazing. Ride me,
ma petite
.”

As she moved upon him, he let go of her divine ass and cupped her breasts, which were bobbing up and down temptingly. His thumb rubbed across one nipple, flicking the hard tip with its edge as his mouth engulfed the other. Drawing hard, he suckled on it, as his finger joined his thumb, pinching the other firmly. Although he had vowed to keep it strictly straight, he couldn’t keep from giving her just a taste of the erotic pain she yearned for so much. His teeth and fingers increased the pressure. The arching of her back as she pushed her breasts out for more was his reward.

Held at bay too long, his need for her propelled upward, and he surged into her, meeting the downward slide of her clutching pussy over and over again. With a deliberate twist of his fingers, along with the sinking of his teeth firmly into the taut point in his mouth, he sent her spiraling out of control. Her cries filled the room as she spasmed and jerked above him, finding her ecstasy. That was all the impetus he needed as his body went rigid, his balls drew up tight, and with a shout of pleasure he poured his essence into her.

The taillights of her silver Mercedes coupe had long since faded into the darkness, yet he stood in the parking lot staring after her thoughtfully. It didn’t take a degree in human behavior to know he’d barely scratched the surface with the pretty, extremely cautious submissive. A car door slammed nearby. When he looked up, Cap, who had just settled a drowsy Megan into the passenger seat, was approaching.

“Early night,
mon ami
?”

“That’s the norm with a set of twins at home, I’m afraid.” He nodded his chin indicating the long empty driveway behind him. “But you know what they say about all work and no play. What about you?”

“The latter, I’m pleased to say.”

“With the lovely widow?” Cap seemed surprised. “Won’t that make things sticky? She’s in deep, unless that’s part of your plan, to get close and win her trust. If so, I have to say you go above and beyond in your service to the Crown.”

“What?”

He paused. “Jonas didn’t brief you?”

“I haven’t spoken with Jonas this evening.”

Cap scowled. “Shit. That means you have extraordinarily bad timing, my friend. It seems Marilee was married to Derek Hoffman, the engineer at BSE. She may have been involved in her husband’s scheme after all.”

The news stopped his heart in his chest. He stared at Cap for a long, painful moment before it lurched, and started beating again. “Impossible! I can’t believe she is involved. She seems so…”

“Innocent. Don’t they all?”

“But her last name is Pierson. It’s on her file here.”

“Yeah, we’ll have to ask Dex about that, but I suspect she was using her maiden name or an alias for confidentiality, many of our members do, but there is usually a notation in their private file.”

“Fucking hell!” His mind reeled at the thought of Mari being involved in the selling of weapons to terrorists. Not possible! “I’ll have to see the evidence to believe it.”

“It is damning against Hoffman, I’m afraid. Her guilt is by association, so far, but I don’t have all the details. There are also suspicions about Hoffman’s death; with his wealth amassing so quickly and it all passing to her after his death, compounded by a lucrative life insurance policy, she had motive.”

“Are you suggesting she killed her husband as well as being involved in espionage?”

“No, but something doesn’t add up. Hoffman was an aerospace engineer, which doesn’t equate to a three-quarter million-dollar residence and $100K cars with two kids in college. That lifestyle is well beyond his income bracket and the modest revenue from her boutique. This couldn’t have gone on without her notice.”

Arturo speared his fingers through his hair. How could this be? Strange and disquieting thoughts raced through his head as he tried to add up all that Mari had revealed tonight, about the control Derek had over her. Was it possible for a husband to hide such wealth from his wife? No, but perhaps, a master could keep it from his slave. A chill shot up his spine.

His phone buzzed. He dug it out of his pocket, the display showing three missed calls and voice messages, all from the same number.
Merde
!

“Jonas tried to reach me.”

“But you were tied up with the lovely widow.” Cap winced at the look shot his way. “Sorry, poor choice of words.”

“But accurate, which compounds the situation further.”

“That is what we in the States call a cluster-fuck.”

“An apt term.” Cap’s look of sympathy wasn’t helping matters.

“Jonas told me he’s ready to present his findings to the team in the morning. 10 AM, Rossi offices downtown. Does that work for you?”

He nodded, lost in thought, staring at the spot where he’d last seen Mari. If she was involved, he’d just become their prime suspect’s dom. Cap clapped him on the shoulder, a sign of support he’d learned was common amongst Texas men. From such a big man, it jarred his body, but no delicate flower himself, Arturo didn’t budge, the tension in his body making him rigid as steel.

“Maybe it’s not as bleak as it seems,” were Cap’s parting words. He was gone the next minute, the rumble of his classic Mustang echoing in the night.

“Bleak,” he murmured. Mari had used the same word for her situation. Coincidence or fate? Whichever the case, to have to expose his new lover and submissive for her role in an international weapons plot would put quite a damper on his plans for the beautiful redhead.
Putain
!

* * *

The following morning, sitting in the Rossi conference room as Jonas gave a rundown of Derek Hoffman’s assets, which now belonged solely to his widow, he decided bleak wasn’t a dismal enough term.

“Five million in life insurance death benefits, added to the estate, which included a five thousand square foot house in an elite area of Houston, three luxury sports cars, her boutique, and liquid assets bringing her net worth to a total of seventeen million dollars. Enough for her and her two kids to be living the good life for years to come.” Jonas paused, glancing up as the pen Arturo was holding snapped in his clenched fist. “With a little digging, I also found more. There are three offshore accounts in the Caymans. Untouched in over three years, except for accumulating interest. I doubt she even knows they’re there.”

“Or else she’s laying low, waiting for the heat to die down before tapping into them.” This offhand comment was made by Rick Sinclair, one of the other Rossi owners, but he quickly raised his hands in a defensive gesture when his comment drew several cool glares, not the least of them from Arturo. “Sorry—devil’s advocate here. I haven’t had the chance to get to know Marilee, but it’s a possibility we have to consider.”

“There’s more,” Jonas put in quietly.

“Nom de dieu, homme, donnez-le moi.”

“Um…” Jonas looked at Dex for help.

“Don’t look at me,” he replied, “fluent in Spanish, not French. But I believe the gist of it is that he wants you to get on with it.”

Arturo grunted his agreement. “
G
ive it all to me at once, man, and stop dragging it out.”

“On a hunch, I tracked the IP address of his funds transfers. He was smart, using a VPN proxy to cover his tracks. But I cross checked all deposits in the nine months leading up to his death with his emails.”

“Obviously he wasn’t smart enough to outwit you,” Cap interjected.

Jonas inclined his head. “He slipped up a week before he was killed.”

“The heat was on and he got sloppy,” Rick put in.

“No doubt, but it allowed me to track his unsecured communications,” he glanced grimly at Arturo before he added, “right to Marilee’s computer at her store.”

Unable to sit still any longer, he shoved to his feet, his body vibrating with frustration as he began to pace. They needed more than circumstantial evidence to lay blame at her feet. Although after last night, having held her trembling body in his arms both when she recounted her loss after her husband’s death and as she climaxed, he’d need a whole lot more, irrefutable evidence or an admission of guilt from Mari herself, before he’d believe she had anything to do with this. He raised a hand to his brow and rubbed, as though he could ease the pressure building behind it. Maybe he was too close to see what was staring him in the face.

“I need surveillance set up in her shop, her home, trackers on her car, her purse, ears on every call.”

“Done,” Cap stated succinctly. “What else do you need from us besides monitoring?”

“Some other fucking leads that don’t point directly to Marilee Hoffman.”

“Get closer, Arturo,” Sean suggested. “Your gut is going to tell you to do the opposite, to stay away while it plays out, but if you care for her as it appears that you do, your first priority has got to be proving her innocence, and for that you have to be on top of this, in her house, her shop, her life. You said since Hoffman’s death there have been several mistakes made, which is what led you to Texas to begin with. I’ve seen your girl; my instincts scream she’s no arms dealer. A guileless pawn is more like it, but if I’m wrong, if we both are, she’ll trip up again. And if she’s innocent, you’ll be there to attest to it when the real guilty party fucks up. Of that I’m sure, believe me.”

He cocked his head as he considered Sean. He’d heard the story of how his wife, Mara, had been involved with the Cartel take down a few months back. She’d been embroiled in the middle of it all, even going to the extremes of attempting to take out the kingpin alone. Everyone, including Sean, had been convinced she was involved, as guilty as sin, but in the end, she’d been proven to be an innocent victim caught in the crossfire. It gave him a glimmer of hope.

“Stick with it, man,” Lil T urged in support. “I’m with Sean. Go with your gut. You wouldn’t have lasted this long with MI6 if your instincts were off.”

Except where his heart and his cock were involved. He kept that to himself.

“Get her to the club more often. Introduce her to the girls. A few Wednesday nights and numerous pitchers of margaritas will have her pouring out her heart, and her story to the other subs,” T added.

“And knowing our women,” Cap nodded in agreement, “they’ll have the case solved before you can bat an eye.”

“Oh shit,” Rick groaned. “Just when we had things calmed down.”

Dex laughed humorlessly. “It seems to be our penance, bud.”

“Do you have the capabilities to run this surveillance outside of San Antonio?”

Jonas chuckled and the others joined in. Arturo looked at Cap for explanation.

“We’ve expanded to another office in LA and on occasion have done foreign ops,” Cap explained. “But we got our start here and have an established network of trusted associates and sub-contractors across Texas, so a few hours away is no problem, including Houston.”

Arturo nodded, feeling assured they had him covered.

“Jonas will head up your team. They’ll manage your surveillance and assist in any other capacity that you need. The rest of us are available to step in at any time. It’s not far by plane.”

“Bring Mari to the beach,” Jonas suggested. “My wife has family in nearby Galveston and loves having weekend guests. Lexie will work her charm and her lemon drops and you won’t need to wait for Wednesday LBD night to have her baring her soul and spilling her guts.”

Arturo stood, ready to get the op underway. “With that settled, I’m heading to Houston.”

“I’ll be leaving shortly too,” Jonas replied. “We’ll need two to three hours this evening to wire her house.”

A glimmer of foreboding set up like a rock in the pit of his stomach as Arturo nodded his agreement. Sean was correct, he had to prove her innocent before anything else, then he’d beg her forgiveness after the fact, in his case, the means would have to justify the end.

At the door, he turned back, his eyes seeking Jonas. “The cameras, about the placement...”

“Everywhere except the bathrooms will be monitored.”

Upon seeing his frown, Cap cut in. “Our men know to turn off the cameras when the dom is at home.”

Jonas added a caveat. “They’ll see when you leave and turn them back on. You may want to firmly restrict any solo activities that might be otherwise picked up.”

There were a few chuckles from others around the table.

“Give the lovely widow our regards,” Dex said with a grin. “Or a sound paddling, whichever is most appropriate.”

“Both are appropriate, but I’ll pass on the first to avoid raising her suspicions until we have this case closed. The second goes without saying.”

More chuckles followed him out the door, although he didn’t find anything the least bit amusing about what lay ahead.