Indulgence (337 page)

“Gina, you understand what you’re implying?”

“Yes, I do.”

“You’re accusing one of our own of obstructing justice,
tampering with evidence. That really what you’re saying? All because the guy
wouldn’t go out with you?”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Sam said you wanted to rekindle your
relationship and he thought it best not to do so and jeopardize the operation.
And now you’re angry with him. He warned me you’d be on the warpath when we
discovered the blank audio.”

“This is ridiculous. It’s the other way around. Sam’s—”

“Gina, I think you’re over your head. You need him. It isn’t
helpful to put your personal feelings ahead of the operation. You’re
jeopardizing the very thing we’re trying to protect.”

“That’s just not true.”

“I’ve known Sam for over fifteen years. I’ve only known you
two years. First thing when you get here, you’re hot and heavy with one of the
guys on the force, someone you’re supposed to learn from, breaking up his
marriage and putting his job at risk.”

Gina knew the truth of what Kozinski was saying. It had been
a horrible lack of judgment. She regretted it every day now.

“I’m so sorry about how my time here at the Department
started. You are right. It was totally inappropriate and showed my
inexperience. But Sam, he knew better. And, sir, he came after me, not the
other way around.”

“That may have been true before.”

“It’s the same now. He shows up everywhere Mia and I are.”

“He’s your backup. These are dangerous guys you’re dealing
with. He’s doing his job. You’re taking this all too personally. I told you to
bury the hatchet. I don’t want to have to tell you again, Gina.”

Gina couldn’t believe how Sam had worked his magic on the
sergeant. He was much better at the office politics than she was. She would
have to be very careful.

“So you won’t consider pulling him off the case?”

“Not in a million. But I could pull you.”

So that was it. Her job was at risk, not Sam’s. Good to
know. This changed how she was going to go about things.

“Sir. Just listen to this CD, and then you tell me who you
believe. I’ve got evidence here you can use. Not hearsay from a bookkeeper.
Real
evidence of crimes being admitted to.”

“Fair enough.” He took the CD from Gina’s fingers. “I’ll
listen to it tonight on the ride back home.”

“I’d keep it in a safe place, and I wouldn’t tell Sam about
it, either. Sir, I could be wrong, but I don’t trust him.”

“Your objection is noted. I think you’re wrong, of course,
but it’s noted. I’ll get back to you tomorrow. That agreeable? We’ll work on it
first thing next week. You go have a good weekend. Then we’ll talk.”

“Fine.”

Two hours later, Armando called Gina. They agreed to meet at
her place.

She’d bought some fresh whole wheat bread, smoked chicken,
and cherry tomatoes at the Farmer’s Market on her way home. She hoped he liked
her idea of a healthy, no-frills lunch. She was so distracted with the
anticipation of seeing him again she was having trouble concentrating.

In spite of the bright late-morning sun, she lit several
candles in her apartment, chilled a bottle of Chablis and jumped into the
shower again. She’d just dried her hair and put on lipstick when she heard her
doorbell ring. A quick check to the security peephole confirmed it was Armando.

The sight of him standing in front of her with a small
bouquet of flowers took her breath away. He seemed anxious to get them out of
his hands. She ignored the flowers and pulled him inside by the top of his tee.

“I missed you,” she whispered as she began peeling off his
shirt.

“Likewise,” he said. “Don’t you want these in water?” He
held the bouquet out between them, where it was in danger of being smashed by
their urgency.

“Why, Mr. big tough SEAL. Are you afraid of me?”

“Not a chance.” He tossed the flowers on the couch and began
pulling at her jeans. Within seconds they were completely naked, heading for
the bedroom.

She pushed Armando on the bed, then kneeled in front of the
hunky SEAL and held him, rubbing up and down his shaft. She licked the tip and
then slowly took the entire length of him in her mouth while she moved her
fingers up and down in a ring.

After several minutes, she could feel him trying to slow her
down. “My turn,” he whispered as he guided her up onto the bed and lay next to
her. He nibbled his way down from her breasts to her sex, and then licked her
nub until it began to vibrate and swell. His artful tongue made its way into
her opening, skirting the outside first and then plunging in deep. He added
fingers and pressed her clitoris with his thumb.

She began to feel a slow-rolling orgasm building, as he
tasted her.

“You have something?” he asked. The words came out of the
erotic fog she’d lost herself in. Of course they had to use protection. What
was she thinking?

“Yes,” she said as she turned over on her stomach and
reached for the bedside table. Inside she’d stashed some purple foil packets
with ribbed condoms.

“Nice,” he said as she placed one on his tip and spread it
down the length of him. “I like your forward planning, Gina.”

“I like to be prepared, sir.”

“I can see.”

In one slow thrust he was inside her to the hilt. She
wrapped her legs around his waist and moved up and down as he angled in and
out, picking up speed as he did so. Her body opened to him, needing him to fill
all the places in her soul that hurt, pushing off all the cares of the day.

He held her wrists together above her head with one huge
hand. His fingers massaged her palms. She threaded her fingers through his. His
thrusting got more and more urgent until they both started to lose control. She
could feel him jerking inside her and that put her over the edge. She arched up
and felt her muscles tense around him, squeezing and begging for more.

Afterwards, he collapsed on her chest. His dark, curly hair
was wet around his ears and at the back of his neck. She fingered through the
silky strands as she felt the glory of his breath on her upper chest.

She faded in and out of a dream state where somewhere in the
background she heard the sounds of an ordinary life that was forming in a
future very different than the trajectory she’d had just two weeks before. She
could see herself in this man’s bed, in his arms, at his side, no matter what.

She’d begun to feel as if she’d been created just to love
him.

Mia had heard some of Gina’s conversation with Sam, and she
was annoyed the two of them had something going on behind her back. And the
reference to the threesome? She’d never asked that. But she knew Sam still had
a major flame for Gina. In fact, he’d even called her Gina last night during
one of the multiple sexual encounters.

The guy
was
exciting, like all men were at first. He
was the oldest man she’d ever dated, if that’s what this could be called.
Somehow she didn’t see any future in it, but then there wasn’t usually a future
with any of the guys she’d dated lately. His body was muscular, not as lean as
some of her recent boyfriends, but she kinda liked his size. Size did matter in
lots of ways.

But she knew he had secrets, and she suspected they were
dark. He’d asked her what she liked and she was forced to tell him about the
rape she’d suffered at the hands of the priest. And then he asked the guy’s
name for some reason, and said he’d met the shrink.

How did that happen? How did he know about their little
circle of sickness?

He was clearly on her side, and asked if she ever wanted to
exact revenge for the crimes perpetrated against her. That odd question really
set her off. Her life wasn’t about getting even, but getting away from her
past.

Sam also had a thing for her brother. When she complained
Armando wouldn’t leave her alone, he asked her if she wanted protection.

Protection from Armando? One of the Navy’s finest? She’d
been angry with him plenty, but to fear her brother? That didn’t fit.

She had to clarify that one. She loved her brother, she told
him. He was doing what he thought was the right thing, because he didn’t have a
life of his own outside the Teams.

“So why don’t you get yourself one of the Team guys, then?
You could all be one happy family.” A sneer had crossed his face, as if the
idea should be disgusting to her. But when she shook her head and tried to
shrug it off, he added the one thing that made her blood run cold.

“I could have him arrested and ruin his career. Say the word
and he’ll not bother you anymore.”

Ricardo was eating baby cereal in his high chair when Sam
sauntered into the room barefoot after a long shower she’d begged out of. He
smelled of lemons and was bare chested, packed in jeans that hung lower than he
had a right to wear, even as a man ten years older than she was used to. She
couldn’t help but stare. He smiled and walked around to pour himself a cup of
brewed coffee. She’d not noticed the obvious scars from two bullet holes above
his right hip.

“You have plans for today?” he asked as he looked out the
kitchen window. The way his muscles rippled underneath smooth tanned skin was
designed to give her just the reaction she was having. So why did she have this
terrible feeling she was being played?

“I’m just going to stay home with Ricardo.”

“Your boyfriend ever see the kid?” he asked as he turned
around to face her.

“No. And I’m going to keep it that way.”

“He has a right, you know. When he gets out, he’ll come
looking for you and your boy there.” He glanced down at Ricardo, but his blue
eyes were cold and unfeeling. “You have someone who could watch him for you
today?”

Mia thought about that. The obvious answer was yes, her
mother could do so. But she wasn’t sure she wanted to be alone with Sam today.
Something was bothering her.

“Can I ask you a question?” she asked.

“Shoot.” He took another sip of coffee and leaned against
the sink.

“What were you and Gina talking about this morning?”

He frowned and looked down, like he was considering whether
or not he was going to answer her. “Suppose you tell me what you heard.”

“Is that a way of saying you only want to tell me what you
think you have to?”

His eyes sparkled with some kind of dark admiration. She’d
hit the mark with that comment. “I’m a pretty much an open book. But I admit
I’m an acquired taste, Mia. Not everyone can handle what I’m interested in.”

“As in sharing my bed with you and my best friend?”

He nodded very slowly. “I think you’d kinda like it.”

Ricardo had started to complain because Mia had been
ignoring his efforts to eat. She focused her energy on filling him up and then
wiping down his chubby cheeks, his hands, and later his high-chair tray. She
set him in a walker in the living room and stood in the doorway watching him.
Her back was to Sam.

Sam came up behind her and began nuzzling her neck, sliding
his hands under her shirt and snaking them down the backside of her pants.

“Why did you tell her I wanted to do it?” Mia could not
figure that one out.

“Because, baby.” He bit her earlobe and reached around to
put his fingers down her front until he came to the space between her legs. His
knees forced the backs of her thighs apart. He moaned as he inserted his
fingers into her quivering sex. “I think you’d dig it. I can show you things
about yourself you never knew existed.”

“But what about what
I
need, Sam?” She pulled his
hand out of her pants and turned to face him. “Where is
my
will in this
whole little plan of yours?”

“If you just let me show you, I’ll expose your inner demon.”
He pulled her head to his, devouring her mouth, sucking and pulling her tongue
onto his. He placed one hand under her chin and turned her face away so her
left ear was exposed to his lips and whispered, “Here, kitty-kitty-kitty.”

The little slut wouldn’t put out for him this morning,
saying her motherly duties came first in the mornings. What a bundle of joy
this one would be. He’d be tired of her in no time. Not like Gina. Gina was the
one he wanted. He’d chase her till the oceans dried up, track her down and have
her on his terms once and for all.

He remembered Gina’s little surprised expressions when he’d
handcuffed her to the bed, when he brought out the riding crop and slapped her
perfect pink little derriere. He’d massaged oil into her welts and loved
fondling them as he pumped her from behind. She was the perfect shape and size
for him, and her channel tightened so deliciously around him. He had to work
hard not to spill all over her just looking at her sex before he could get
inside. Just thinking about her now made his package uncomfortable.

It was okay with him that she was being a little hard to
get. He didn’t mind working hard. It was part of the game, after all. Made her
submission to his maleness all the sweeter when she finally did realize there
was no way out. That’s when the magic happened.

That’s probably what the SEAL was doing to Gina. He was a
well-trained machine. A sex machine on steroids, to be sure. But he couldn’t do
the things to her Sam had done. He doubted the guy would ever make videos and
watch them at home in private as he lay naked on the bed. Jerking off at the
sight of her objections, the fear in her eyes, the red marks caused by his
mouth, his fingertips and the riding crop. He could be gentle, tickling her
with the tip of it. And just when she thought perhaps they’d have slow,
beautiful sex, he’d shove his cock up her so fast she’d scream. He loved that
on camera.

Yea, she loved it. Every bit of it. She was enjoying the
caramel swirl and vanilla ice cream of the Puerto Rican SEAL, but she’d be back
for the rich chocolate his twisted dark side could provide. Because he owned
her. She just didn’t know it yet.