Strip Tease (17 page)

Her stomach clenched and she took him into
her mouth once again, sucking hard. His taste, the pull of his lips
on her clit overwhelmed her and she couldn’t take it any
longer.

She came with a ferocity that scared her.
Her entire body quaked and she moaned around his big cock.
Shuddering again and again, she couldn’t control herself, was too
lost to the sensation of her overwhelming orgasm.

“Suck me baby,” he muttered against her.
“Make me come.”

Exhausted, she continued on, wanting him to
experience as much pleasure as she just did. She sucked him, pumped
him with her hand, working him into a frenzy encouraging him with
little moans, anxious to taste him when he exploded.

He arched his hips, his cock thrusting down
her throat and she felt the first hot spurt. With a hoarse shout,
he came, filling her mouth with his semen and she swallowed it all,
licking her lips.

Janelle slumped in a heap on top of him, so
spent she could barely function. Nate smoothed his hands over her
butt in a soothing motion, making her sigh with pleasure.

She could hardly believe it, but she wanted
him again. All from his simple touch, as if he cherished her.

This was dangerous stuff. She was moving
into scary territory.

And there was nothing she could do to stop
it.

She’d been avoiding him again and he didn’t
like it.

Nate climbed out of his car, slamming the
door with such force, the sound reverberated throughout the quiet
parking lot. Glancing about, he spotted the tail car, parked
discreetly in the corner of the lot beneath a large willow tree. He
nodded in the driver’s direction who nodded back.

He rubbed a hand along his unshaven jaw, not
relishing the conversation that was about to happen. Earlier he
received word Ginger had been spotted at Temptations last night.
Greg had found a contact there, some doorman who’d called him at
one in the morning, saying Ginger was wandering around looking a
little worse for wear.

Of course, the moment Greg showed up, Ginger
was long gone, though the doorman had tried to keep her there. Nate
chose not to tell Janelle. No use getting her hopes up for
nothing.

But would she tell him if Ginger contacted
her? Maybe he should tell Janelle…

Would they ever find Ginger? Would he ever
stop worrying about Billy Diaz’s thugs following Janelle? His boss
was growing impatient, had threatened to pull the tail car more
than once, calling it unnecessary and expensive. Nate requested one
more week, hoping it would be enough.

He’d gone to see Billy at his club two days
ago, ready to confront him all over again but he was nowhere to be
found. Though that jackass bartender had been there, ready to kick
Nate’s ass at any given moment.

The case was making him crazy. It shouldn’t
such a challenge to find Ginger. If things had gone according to
plan, Diaz would already be in jail. Instead, he chased a ghost.
Spinning his wheels and dealing with Billy’s constant taunts. Not
to mention, he was fooling around with the ghost’s sister.

And now her sister played hard to get.

His cock twitched, remembering last night.
He’d stopped by her place around midnight, waking her with his
impatient knocking. One look at her standing in the doorway, sleepy
and mussed, clad in only a thin cotton nightshirt and he’d gone as
hard as stone.

He’d pushed into her apartment, stripped her
bare and buried himself inside her within two minutes of arrival.
No finesse, no foreplay, no sweet words. Just intense, primal
fucking.

She’d relished it. So responsive, her moans
for him loud and needy, her legs wrapped tight around his hips.
She’d clung to him as if she never wanted to let him go.

And then she’d kicked him out once they’d
finished. As if he meant nothing to her, though she claimed she
couldn’t concentrate with him around.

What the hell did that mean?

Now he was back for more shitty treatment.
Official business first and foremost, he needed to ask about
Ginger. Of course, he was silently asking for her to toss him out
on his ass again too. And damn it, he wasn’t a glutton for
punishment. If a woman wasn’t interested, he moved on. Eventually
found another one to fool around with for a while.

Not with this woman. It pissed him off, how
they’d agreed they weren’t going to play games. She was proving to
be the biggest game player of them all.

He snorted, shaking his head. Women.

Nate walked up the stairs that led to her
door, dread filling his gut. The real reason he was here? It wasn’t
about her sister. He wanted to know what was going on inside her
head. This back and forth bullshit was getting to him, fucking with
his brain.

He needed to keep his head on straight.

Knocking on the door, he waited, rested his
hands on his hips. He hadn’t changed, was still wearing the suit
he’d donned this morning for a court appointment. It felt like a
suit of armor, giving him strength to hash it out with her.

Never in his life had he been so twisted up
over a woman. It made him feel weak, out of control.

He didn’t like it.

The door swung open and there she stood, her
face clearly showing her shock at seeing him. He set his mouth into
a grim line and he nodded toward her.

“Can I come in?”

Janelle opened the door wider, concern
etching her features. “Of course. Is something wrong? Did you find
my sister?”

“No.” He grimaced as he walked inside, guilt
assaulting him at the little lie. Should he tell her she was
spotted? That Greg came this close to capturing her?

Turning to face Janelle, he watched as she
shut the door. “Have you talked to her in the last few days? Don’t
hold out on me. I need to know.”

Her expression tightened. “Why do we keep
having this conversation? No, I haven’t talked to her. And yes, you
would be the first person I’d tell if I did,” she practically
yelled.

The guilt doubled, feeling like solid steel
weights on his shoulders. “I don’t understand why she wouldn’t call
you by now.” Especially if she was out, roaming the streets. Where
did she crash at night?

“She always goes into hiding when she’s in
trouble. That’s just Ginger.” Janelle’s posture was stiff, her arms
folded in front of her chest. The frost in her expression would
freeze the sun. “If you’re here to badger me, you can go. I’m not
in the mood.”

He offered a curt nod and moved deeper into
the room, sitting on the arm of the overstuffed couch so he could
watch her. “I can’t believe Ginger has survived this long without
calling you and asking for help.”

She arched a brow. “Are you saying you don’t
believe me? That you don’t trust me, Nate?”

“I don’t know. You tell me.” Well, shit. He
hadn’t meant to approach her like this, but she got his ire up.
“You kicked me out of here so fast last night, it made my head
spin. Are you hiding something from me?”

“Oh, my God!” The three words exploded out
of her and her arms dropped to her sides, hands clutched into tight
fists. “What are you accusing me of? Go ahead and say it, get it
over with.”

Now it was his turn to cross his arms in
front of his chest. “I hated how you kicked me out.”

Pacing about the small living room, she
halted at his admission, turning her head sharply to study him.
“What?”

“You know, when you kicked me out last
night. This morning. Whatever.” He ran a hand through his hair,
frustrated. He’d wanted to sweet talk her. Instead, he sounded like
an ass. “We had sex, then you pushed me out the door like I had a
disease.”

Her eyes narrowed and she exhaled, the sound
more frustrated than anything. “Listen, if you’re here to get into
my panties again, you can leave. I’m not in the mood, especially
after you call me a liar.”

Her remark stung. “I didn’t come here to
fuck you. I wanted to talk.”

She flinched at his harsh wording. “About
why I kicked you out after you treated me like a common slut? Hmm,
maybe it’s you who needs to catch a clue.” She turned, started to
walk away but he darted after her, grabbing her by the arm.

Whipping around, she glared daggers at him.
The intensity of her stare so strong, he almost backed away.

“What the hell are you talking about?” he
asked.

Janelle jerked out of his grip. “We have
some big revealing discussion about spending more time together.
And then you sneak over here late at night after work, looking to
get laid.”

Nate grimaced. She made what they shared
sound cheap. “I thought we had an agreement.”

“What, an agreement to get it on and that’s
it? We didn’t need to have that stupid talk. I don’t like being
used, Nate. So get out.”

“You want me to leave?”

“If you’re here to bug me about Ginger, then
yes, we’re so done with that conversation. And if you’re here to
fuck
me, then most
definitely
.” Her eyes flared, her
full lips drawn into a tight line. She was angry, her body
practically vibrated with it.

“Look, it’s never been just about fucking,”
he started but her laugh stopped him.

“Yeah, right. That’s all we’ve ever done,
Nate. You come over here in the cover of night, put your hands on
me and the next thing I know, we’re naked.”

“You never protest.”

“I’m protesting now! I can’t deny the sex is
good between us. But that’s not all I want. I want more. At the
very least, I want to go on a date or something. Order in and watch
a movie—you know, normal stuff couples do together.” She stopped
and drew in a deep breath, her gaze meeting his. “I’m not asking
for a marriage proposal or even a committed relationship. But I
don’t want to be treated like a sex toy you take out when you need
to use it.”

Her words hit him like a physical blow. They
made him feel like a moron who didn’t know how to properly treat a
woman.

It had been a while since he’d been in a
relationship, and he botched them all anyway. Ever since he lost
A.J., he’d thrown himself into his work. Seeking vengeance for his
partner’s death, seeking solace for the pain and guilt he felt that
A.J. died and he hadn’t.

“You’re freaking out. I can see it written
all over your face.” She shook her head, taking a step closer to
him. “I like you, but I can’t go on with this if you won’t
acknowledge I’m something beyond a fuck buddy.”

“I’m not very good at this.” Nate waved his
hand between them. “Relationships, whatever you want to call it. I
never meant to make you feel like shit.”

“Well, I do. I feel like you’re using me.
Are you? Screwing me until you get a hold of Ginger, and then
you’ll screw me over?”

“Hell, no,” he said, shaking his head.
Reaching out, he drew his fingers down her upper arm, savoring her
soft skin. “You know how this started out...”

“I do.” She sighed. “I’m afraid how it’s
going to end.”

He didn’t answer, he couldn’t. She looked at
him as if he hung the moon. As if she might care of him.

“I want to help you find my sister,” she
murmured. “Not only for your investigation, but I want to make sure
she’s safe. I’ll help you as much as I can, but I have my own life
to live and the two can’t meet.”

“You don’t want your employer to find out
about Ginger.” He totally understood why. The entire situation was
a mess.

“Well yes, but my past isn’t so squeaky
clean either. It’s best if we keep everything separate.” Now she
was so close, she wrapped her arms around his waist, gazing up at
him with those big blue eyes.

Only minutes ago, she was furious and now
she pressed herself against him.

How could he resist? How could he not give
her everything she wanted? He’d be a fool to let her go, after all
they’d shared. Not just the sex, which was fucking unbelievable,
but they’d grown closer these last few weeks.

“Want to order in Chinese?” Damn, he wanted
to please her. He’d concentrated so hard on giving her body
pleasure, he’d forgotten everything else. If she was brave enough
to take the leap, then he needed to as well.

“I would love to.” She smiled and the sight
of it made his head spin. “I’m hungry.”

When she withdrew to head toward the
kitchen, he called out her name, making her stop and turn.

“When I said I’m not good at this, I meant
it. I need reminders. Like what you said just now.” He shrugged,
shoving his hands in his pockets. “I get so focused on one thing, I
lose sight of the little stuff.”

A tiny smile teased the gentle curve of her
mouth. “Women like the little stuff. It’s important.”

“I think I’m starting to get that.” He
smiled in return.

Janelle pulled a menu out of a drawer in the
kitchen and opened it, gesturing for him to come over. “Trust me,
when you’re clueless, I’ll remind you. It takes two to make
something like…this work.”

He nodded, an unknown emotion threatening to
overwhelm him and he turned away.

Her last remark scared him the most.

* * * *

Men. They drove her crazy. They always
had.

Janelle had been ready to give Nate an
earful, tell him to leave her alone and never, ever come back.

He treated her like a no-name sex object.
The sex between them was good, she couldn’t deny it, but the
aftermath was what nearly broke her. The moment he left, she always
felt cheap.

She hated that.

She’d been so ready to tell him to fuck off
when she found him on her front door, especially when he’d alluded
she was a liar, the jerk. But one look into his soulful eyes, his
sorry expression, and she caved. His admission took her by
surprise, and his easy agreement to do what she wanted even more of
a shock.

The man was so complex, it made her want to
scream. If only their circumstances were different...