Passionate Investigations (6 page)

A lump of emotion stuck in Zahra’s throat. Hearing Rob say
that meant a lot to her. She battled the tears that threatened to fall once
again. It took her a second to get a hold of herself, but when she did she
tilted his helmet down so she could reach his mouth. Angling her head, she
leaned forward to kiss Rob deeply. His arms came around her waist, drawing her
flush against the large bike.

When Rob cupped her ass and lifted her slightly she threw
her head back and laughed, wriggled out of his grasp. Returned to the curb, she
grinned as she pulled on her helmet.

“Come on,” she urged him as she lowered the visor and
climbed up behind him on the monstrous beast. Relieved she’d worn pants, Zahra
needed to sit flush against Rob so her feet could rest on the stands. Her short
legs only barely could reach them, her thighs spread wide and her crotch
nestled comfortably in the warm curve of Rob’s ass.

He started the engine, a loud roar that turned into a
throaty rumbling. Vibrations trembled up her thighs, causing her nipples to
point and starting a slow, sensual ache in her pussy. She shifted restlessly,
looking for a position that wouldn’t have her coming halfway to Tanya’s
apartment. No matter how she positioned herself though, the wideness of her
open thighs and the heat penetrating from Rob’s body mingled with the
vibrations of the motorcycle and had her heart pounding with rising arousal.

Rob checked the street and with a loud roar they pulled out.
Shouting to be heard, she pointed the direction they needed to take. As they
rode she found the steady hum kept her heart pounding, her breath quick.
Leaning into the turns, she felt practically as if they flew through the crowded
streets.

Zahra had never felt so free. With a shout of laughter she
leaned farther into the next corner.

“Faster!” she shouted, filled with glee.

* * * * *

Rob knew that any second now he would either go out of his
mind or explode. Zahra, the minx, continually writhed behind him like a woman
in the midst of being pleasured. Her petite body cuddled him, cupping his ass
with her warm curves. Even though the thickness of his black jeans he could
feel her heat radiating toward him as she moved provocatively against him.

He could not believe he’d waited so long for her to be his.
How he’d managed to keep his hands to himself and his honor intact was beyond
him. No way could he restrain himself after their interlude in the gardens
earlier.

Initially he’d kept his distance from Zahra as he’d
instinctively known she was special, not just a quick fuck or a random affair
that would be easily begin and just as casually ended. As he’d come to know her
better, however, learned more about her unusual style and warm heart, he’d
learned she was actually worth the effort of opening his heart and soul to her.

Unfortunately by then she’d also been beyond his reach,
wooed and then committed to that asshole Lancaster. When she’d finally become
free for the taking after that fatal party months ago, Rob had planned to give
her some time to adjust and slowly insert himself further into her life. That
plan had been ruined by the debacle and allegations against him.

All in all, it had been a long, painful road for them both.
Yet here they were now, riding his bike in tandem and Rob grew more certain if
they didn’t arrive at Tanya’s apartment soon he’d be coming in his pants like a
callow youth from her backwards, unknowing lap dance.

When he’d approached her earlier in the garden Rob had tried
to remind himself to take this slow, to ease into things. That plan had been
shot to hell after their first touch. Never had he experienced his magic rise
so greedily to claim someone, to possess them in every manner possible. He
couldn’t turn his back on that. Not now. He’d had a taste and like the worst of
addicts he craved more.

More of the special brand of sunshine and life only Zahra
could give to him.

A few kisses and a bit of heavy foreplay and already he
desired her more than ever. Who knew how deeply he might fall when they
actually made it behind a closed door and could really go wild.

He grinned wolfishly, a wicked smile bursting over his face
beneath his helmet. Ten kinds of naughty fantasies played behind his eyes.
Zahra on her hands and knees in front of him while he plunged into her from
behind, his hands kneading her breasts while she screamed her climax. Zahra
riding him hard, thrusting down onto him while he strung kisses down her
slender belly and thrust up into her clenching pussy.

Zahra lying over his lap while he spanked her ass to a
bright, cherry red and then moaning as he greased then thoroughly fucked her
ass.

Rob’s erection threatened to burst behind the zipper of his
jeans. Tiny sparks shot out of his fingers and for a moment his beautiful cycle
stuttered. They wove before he could regain control of the machine.

“You right there?” Zahra shouted at him.

Rob blinked and reined his rampant lust back under control.
He’d never get to indulge in any fantasy if he killed them by losing focus. He
nodded and cast a quick look back at her. Most of her face and those gorgeous
pale-blonde curls were hidden under the enormous helmet. He could barely make
out her eyes and the petite bridge of her nose behind the visor. She didn’t
appear unduly concerned, but it was hard to tell.

“It’s the third street on the left,” she indicated with one
hand while yelling roughly near his ear.

Rob followed her directions, indicating before making the
turn. The thought of anything happening to Zahra caused his blood to freeze.
Rob knew with absolute certainty he’d lose part of his soul should harm come to
the witch.

Focusing far more carefully now, forcing himself to ignore
the unconscious, sensual gyrations against his ass, he followed Zahra’s lead. Minutes
later he parked up around the side of a middle-class, neat series of apartment
units. The comparative silence after he switched the engine off was blissful.
It took a moment for Zahra to climb off the large machine. He pulled his helmet
off and stowed it. Taking Zahra’s from her, he locked them both in the
sidesaddles.

Casting a curious eye over the complex, he decided it meshed
with what he would have imagined had he thought about the place Tanya would
call home. Patting the pockets of his leather jacket, he checked he had the
small kit he always carried when he might need to do a bit of B-and-E.

Satisfied, he climbed off the bike. Zahra had tilted her
head to the side and stared at him. He grinned wickedly at her.

“Like something you see?” he murmured as he wrapped an arm
around her waist and drew her up against his body.

She laughed and lifted her head to gaze at him with those
beautiful blue eyes.

“You’ve got a small bulge in your pocket,” she teased. “Initially
I thought it might be a small man-purse, but then I realized you’re not even
close to the kind for that.”

Rob threw his head back and laughed as they began to walk
toward the complex.

“Fuck no. It’s my toolkit. Some lock picks, a few tuned
quartz crystals, some hard plastic, bits and pieces like that,” he answered,
still chuckling.

Zahra stopped on the footpath, stared at him with her mouth
open for a minute then dissolved into the most enticing fit of laughter he’d
ever witnessed. She dug a hand into the pocket of her slacks and withdrew a
small key ring with a half-dozen keys on it.

“I’ve got keys,” she snickered, clearly amused.

Rob huffed out a wry laugh before taking her free hand in
his and twining their fingers together.

“Very funny,” he said with a smile.

She replaced her keys and they continued walking down the
path. Enjoying the late afternoon, Rob followed Zahra, feeling far more content
than he had in many months.

* * * * *

Zahra couldn’t help but feel lighter, happier in Rob’s
company. Something about his energy, the magical chemistry that flickered
between them buoyed her spirits the longer she hung around him. The loss of her
sister still hung over her like a dark cloud, but Rob was like the sunshine
sparkling around the edges, giving her hope and showing her a way forward.

A stupidly large grin tilted her mouth each time she thought
about that lock pick set of his. She got a kick out of the casual ease with
which he so plainly stated his intent to break the law. She’d always known he
was a wizard who would do what needed to achieve his goals. Coming face-to-face
with it like this was something else.

“Have you broken into many places?” she asked, genuinely
curious. “And do you think maybe you could teach me how to pick a lock. Is it
as simple as they say in books and movies?”

Rob chuckled, tugged her closer and pressed a light kiss
into her curls. He seemed evidently amused by her eager questions.

“Robert Padden’s B-and-E course 101,” he began in a mockery
of a serious lecturer before lightening to his more natural tone. “Has a kind
of catchy ring to it. Who knows, maybe I could start up a few seminars.”

Zahra pointed to a unit three boxes down from where they
were.

“That one is Tanya’s, unit 1904.”

They continued down the sidewalk and turned up the small
footpath through a postage-stamp-sized front lawn. A few plants lined either
side of the entrance, bushes Zahra recalled helping Tanya plant a number of
years ago when her sister first settled here. A small pain twisted in her
chest. Zahra focused on the plants and waited for the grief to pass.

From her experience with their mother’s passing, Zahra knew
these moments where she was caught missing Tanya terribly would occur for
months or even years into the future. They would become less intense and also
less frequent, but she needed to roll with them, not fight it.

So focused had she become on her own reflections and her
gaze staring at the green shrubbery, Zahra walked into Rob when she had
unconsciously tried to step up onto the front doorstep.

“Umph,” she muttered. Peering around Rob, she tried to see
why he had stopped. Assuming he waited for her to unlock the door, she
automatically dug her hand once again into her pocket to withdraw the spare key
she had to her sister’s front door.

Rob half turned, his hands enclosing both of hers to make
her stop.

“Wait,” he hissed very softly. With Rob’s wide shoulders no
longer blocking her view, she could see the wood around Tanya’s front door had
big, ugly scars around the lock.

Gasping in outrage, she instinctively stepped forward,
wanting to push through the cracked open door and immediately inspect her
sister’s home. Feeling violated, angry and sick only Rob’s firm but gentle hold
on her hands made her wait. Swallowing, Zahra reminded herself the assholes who
had broken in might still remain within the small apartment. Raising her gaze
to catch Rob’s, she silently waited for him to tell her the best course of
action for them to do.

Trusting him was not merely instinctive, it felt natural to
her. Zahra neither questioned it nor did she second-guess where her intuition
led her. Rob led her a short way back down the path, squeezing her hands gently
to indicate when she could stop.

“Wait out here for me,” he whispered. Zahra frowned.

“I don’t want you going in there alone,” she spoke as low as
she could and still have him hear her words. “If there’s someone in there it’s
too dangerous for you to not have backup. I want to go with you.”

Rob chuckled, though the look in his eye was not unkind and
she sensed he was not laughing at her.

“Oh sunshine, I do love your fiery spirit. But this time I
must insist. This is the sort of thing I do, enter into the unknown, follow
leads and find answers. I’ll be fine. Promise me if you hear me whistle sharply
you’ll turn tail and run as far away as you can. Call your Dad, or someone whom
you can trust to come pick you up.”

Zahra sucked her bottom lip for a moment as she weighed what
Rob said. In her heart she wanted to deny him this, insist she should come with
him and help protect him. But she worried how it might backfire.

“Inexperience can often lend people false bravado,” Tanya
had told her once. “The worst of rookie mistakes is to believe oneself in
charge of a situation and the next thing you know you’re being held hostage or
worse—you’re dead.”

Zahra did not want to be used against Rob. She didn’t feel
it a broad leap of the imagination to believe if she bulldozed her way in and
forced him to take her, he’d be far more focused on her and watching both their
asses. He’d be safer and far more likely to succeed if he went in stealthily
and alone.

Reluctantly she nodded her agreement.

“Okay, go in. But please hurry. I’ll be waiting right here,
worrying like crazy.”

Rob drew her into his arms. Zahra stepped up on her tiptoes
and pressed herself against him so every inch of her body melted against his.
Their lips fused together, a heated, desperate kiss that burned everything else
away. Zahra threaded her fingers through his hair, lifting herself even closer
to him as if she could crawl inside his skin.

With a soft moan Rob strung a series of biting, licking
kisses down the curve of her neck. Zahra shivered with delicious abandon, all
thoughts having flown from her brain. When he found the sweetly sensitive
juncture of her shoulder and neck, her entire body shook with a small, sensual
convulsion. A low sound emitted from his lips and Rob pounced on this new
knowledge.

He suckled the tender spot, causing her to shiver with
heightened arousal. Arching up hungrily to him, Zahra let her eyes fall shut in
abandon. They were both panting for breath when he finally pulled back, the
sweet spot on her neck aching deliciously. Her body had come to life under his
ministrations, her need for him razor sharp once again.

“You better keep that promise,” she muttered huskily, her voice
thick with lust and her tone low. Rob winked cheekily at her.