Withholding Evidence (19 page)

Tears burned against her eyes. This amazing man was hers. He could forgive her. She’d give anything to be alone so they could revel in this moment, but an insistent police officer wasn’t in the mood to be ignored any longer.

“Sir, we have questions.”

Keith released her with encouraging reluctance and faced the young uniformed officer. “We may as well wait for the FBI. This is going to fall under their jurisdiction.”

The officer frowned and insisted on separating Keith and Trina so they could begin questioning, but as expected, minutes later FBI agents arrived, and the DC police were not very gently nudged from the investigation.

Questioning took hours. She was checked out by a paramedic early on, then again after Keith must have reported she’d appeared unconscious in the car.

She explained that she’d only pretended to be knocked out by the impact. Her favorite pair of glasses had cracked, but she could still wear them. She’d have a fair number of bruises and was sure to be sore tomorrow, but that pain hadn’t settled in yet, and she felt fine. Exhausted but fine.

Derrick Vole had been whisked away, and many of the questions the FBI agents asked now centered on her association with him.

Vole. Well, of course, that must be where the rodent theme came from, his real last name. He must be the type who believed in his superiority to the degree that he planted his true identity in the name of his website and dared Homeland Security to find him.

What would Alec Ravissant do? Vole had been a key member of his campaign team. This would be a devastating blow, especially given the congressional investigation into Raptor’s Alaska military training ground. A month ago, Alec had been a shoo-in to win the Maryland senate race, but when word got out that one of his campaign aides was Mouse, a government data leaker at RATinformant.com, poll numbers would plummet.

Finally, they were done with the preliminary questions, and Curt called and told Trina that he wanted Keith and her to be at the DOJ at noon the following day. They weren’t going to question Vole until they’d finished searching both his and Ruby’s apartments. Relieved to know she didn’t need to sit through another grilling by Curt—at least not tonight—she found Keith conferring with Sean on the edge of the crowd of roadside investigators.

“You’ve been released?” Sean asked.

She nodded.

Keith patted him on the back. “I’ll take over guarding Trina from here.”

Sean chuckled. “Yeah. I figured. Rav said it’s okay to cut me loose. We think she’s out of danger now, but Rav wants you to take her back to the safe house tonight to be certain. Take a surveillance detection route to make sure the location remains secure. I’ll watch the choke point.”

Sean had explained those terms during his week of babysitting. All that mattered to her now was it meant it would take forever to reach the safe house, but Trina didn’t care so long as she was with Keith.

She gave Sean a hug, then followed Keith down the road to his car, which had been moved during cleanup of the accident. Keith draped an arm around her shoulder, and she felt safe, comfortable, and like she was already home.

She was strangely wired on the long drive. It was after midnight, and the day had been brutal. By all rights, she should be passed out in the seat. But anticipation had a way of keeping her alert.

Keith parked in the safe-house garage, and the door rolled down behind them. They were alone. At last. She’d jump him in the car, except he’d already opened his door.

She began unbuttoning her blouse as she followed him to the interior door. Inside, she kicked off her shoes and dropped her blouse on the floor, then unzipped her slacks.

“Are you hungry?” Keith turned and startled at seeing her in only her bra and panties as she stepped out of her slacks. He slowly, deliciously, smiled.

“Yes. Very,” she said and grabbed his shirt, pulling him toward her. Instead of kissing him, though, she pulled his shirt up, revealing his to-die-for abs, then his incredible pecs. He helped her by pulling the shirt over his head, exposing those wide shoulders and muscular biceps.

The guy had the most amazing body she’d ever seen, let alone touched. And he was all hers.

“I can see that,” he said, his voice husky. She’d caught him off guard, but he was quick to catch up. She could tell because she felt his thickening erection as she worked his fly open. She slid her hand inside his pants and stroked the length. He let out a guttural groan that made her wet and ready.

They stood in a small hallway that connected the garage to the living room, and she nudged him toward the wall.

She
needed
to taste him. To hold him in her mouth. To feel his thickness on her tongue. To make him pulse with pleasure. She’d traveled a million emotional miles today, and this was where she wanted the journey to end, with her showing him how she felt with her hands, her mouth, her body.

Keith chuckled. “Uh-uh.”

“No?” She took a step back. He couldn’t be rejecting her. He was locked and loaded. This was
mutual
, dammit.

“No. Not here. Let’s at least make it to the living room. And I want to go down on you first. I called dibs.”

The sudden tension released as quickly as it had coiled. “You did not.”

“I did. Silent dibs, in the car.”

“Yeah, well, I called silent dibs when we kissed right after you tied up Vole.”

“Yeah, well, I promised God when I dropped off Owen that if I found you tonight, I was going to tell you I’m crazy about you and make you come against my tongue at least four times. You can’t make me break my promise to God.”

“But your promise to God didn’t define who gets to go down on whom first.” She stroked his erection, determined to convince him she was right with whatever means necessary. “And did you really promise God that?”

“That’s between me and God. And I think I just got harder with your use of the word ‘whom’ in a sexual context.”

“Wait until you find out how else I can use my tongue in a sexual context.”

Keith laughed and scooped her up. He carried her to the living room and set her on her feet. “First person naked gets to go down first.”

Trina had a decent head start, but she’d miscalculated, because Keith only needed to kick off his shoes before removing jeans and briefs with one sweep, and she’d already opened his jeans for him, while she had to unhook her bra
and
slide down her underwear.

Keith won.

Which really wasn’t such a tragedy when he positioned her on the couch and spread her thighs, then traced her opening with his finger, brushing over her clit with just the right amount of pressure to make every nerve in her body sing with heat and anticipation.

He leaned in and flicked his tongue across her clit, then slid a finger inside. She was slick and ready and fought the urge to demand he put his cock inside her immediately. She wanted to rush this, but Keith was showing no signs of being in a hurry.

Then he purred with pleasure. “God, you’re beautiful. Sexy.” He smiled. “And mine.” On the final word, his tongue again stroked her clit, and the jolt of pleasure caused her to buck in response.

He continued to rub her with tongue and fingers, alternately sliding each inside her until she was in a frenzy, on the cusp and needing either his cock inside her or his tongue to push her over the edge.

But she was determined to turn the tables and rocked her hips back, breaking contact. “My turn.” She tugged at his shoulders, encouraging him to stand before her. She took his cock into her hand and stroked the shaft, then slid to the floor to kneel before him and took him into her mouth.

His thick erection firm against her tongue, she sucked on the head then slid downward. She started slowly, inching down the shaft, then holding him deep before easing back with tight lips and stroking tongue, only to ease forward and take him deep all over again. She stroked his testicles as she sucked.

He groaned in response. “Trina. Babe. Oh God. You are—damn. Amazing. I can’t—” The words came out in a slow tumble, arousing her as much as his mouth had moments before. She wanted to bring him to orgasm. To finish him with her lips and tongue. To feel his cock pulse in her mouth in a way she wouldn’t feel if he were encased in a condom inside her.

From the sounds he made, he was right on the edge when he pulled back. “Babe—”

“Shut up and come.” She took him deep again, sucking harder and faster, and his back arched as he came in hot bursts that made her feel sexy and powerful as she swallowed his ejaculate.

He dropped to his knees, bringing them chest to chest. “Babe. That was—” He kissed her neck and shoulder before dropping lower to take her hard nipple into his mouth. He rolled the tip with his tongue, then said, “Amazing.” He grinned and kissed her. “I’m nuts about you, babe.”

She kissed him back, loving the feel of his skin against hers, hot and ready after the pleasure of bringing him to orgasm with nothing but lips and tongue. His fingers found her opening and slid deep inside as his thumb stroked her clit.

She panted with the sudden pleasure. “I think you’re pretty damn amazing too,” she said against his lips as he quickly brought her to the edge of orgasm.

He pushed her backward so she lay on the floor. “My turn.” His mouth trailed downward, across her skin, stopping at her breasts, then continuing onward, toward her belly button. Then lower still, until he reached the juncture of her thighs and again slid his tongue inside. He grazed her sensitive clit with his teeth, then sucked on it, causing her to thrash and suck in a deep panting breath.

He repeated the action, then stroked her with his tongue while sliding two fingers inside. She was so aroused—from his touch, from his smell, from the feel of his cock on her tongue—that it only took a moment for him to bring her to a hard, intense orgasm. She rocked from the repeated waves of pleasure as he applied pressure to her clit with his tongue, drawing out the orgasm from merely blockbuster to full epic.

Afterward, they lay entwined on the carpet, drenched in sweat as she caught her breath and came back to earth. “Wow.”

His lips pressed to her shoulder. “Good word for it.” He kissed her. “But we’re not done tonight until you come when I’m buried deep inside you.”

“Five minutes,” she said. “That’s all I need.”

He chuckled. “Deal.”

She idly traced his chest muscles as her breathing returned to normal. Contentment settled in, but with it, the barriers in her mind relaxed, and fears that she’d been squelching slipped past. She snuggled closer to Keith, as if being pressed against him could ward off the worries.

He turned toward her, and stroked her cheek. “You’re thinking again, aren’t you?”

She nodded. “Trying not to. Trying to just think about you and enjoy the moment.”

“It’s hard to compartmentalize. Hell, the navy spent years trying to teach me, and I’m pretty good at it. But being here, with you. Now. Feeling this way—relaxed, crazy about you—it’s harder to block the rest out. Plus, we have a lot going on.”

“Vole,” she said. “He works for your friend. For Alec. That’s going to be bad for the campaign.”

“Yeah.” His mouth twisted in a wry grin. “Could seriously mess up the job offer—he’s offered me the CEO position, if he wins the election.”

Trina bolted upright. “Seriously? CEO? Isn’t that like…a big deal?”

“Yeah. I’m scared as hell, but I have to take it. I mean, aside from the crap ton of money and health insurance, it’s in a field I know. And it’s not just what I know, it’s what I’m good at. What I’m best at. I can train military personnel; teach them readiness that could save their lives. Plus…while I’ll have to travel for work a fair amount, the headquarters are in DC—only a few blocks from the White House. And…you’re here.”

“If Alec loses, will there still be a job?”

“Yeah, but something smaller. Which would be fine. Frankly, I wouldn’t mind starting on a lower floor.”

“Curt is vetting you.” She paused. “Somalia shouldn’t be a problem.” Damn, she didn’t say that right. “You should know, I didn’t tell him anything. I would never—I just meant…he knows
something
happened and you were involved, but he didn’t seem to be concerned.”

“Even if he were, I’ll still pass the vetting. There’s no record of anything, and the Pentagon will back me to the end of time. The only time they wouldn’t protect me would be if the cover-up fell apart, word got out, and they needed to use me as a scapegoat. But with Gopher dead and Mouse in custody, that isn’t going to happen.” He brushed her hair off her forehead, his thumb gently grazing the bandaged cut on her brow. “With no record or eyewitness account of what happened in Somalia, I’m in the clear. Dominick can’t hold something that never happened against me.”

She snuggled back against him.

Keith cleared his throat. “I’m going to tell you what happened in Somalia, but we’ll never be able to speak of it again.”

“You don’t have to—”

“I know. And I appreciate that. But you already know the worst part—the secret. What you don’t know is why, and I want you to know the reason I did it.” He pulled back. “But the floor isn’t the most comfortable… Mind if we move to the bed?”

She rose and then reached out a hand. He took it and stood, then led her to the bedroom.

Under the covers of the bed, he lay on his back, and she curled against his side with her head on his chest. His heart beat a steady cadence. When the silence continued, she stroked the wiry hairs on his chest. “You don’t need to tell me. It’s okay.”

“No. I’m just trying to figure out where to start.” He paused. “Somalia was slowly emerging from civil war, but was still a mess of interwarlord, interclan violence. As you know, my SEAL team was there because of a rising al Qaeda leader. It was a reconnaissance mission to determine if the leader could be taken out without triggering further clan warfare. We were based at a camp set up by the UN to protect refugees, displaced by years of civil war. An East African major general named Kassa was the UN force commander. He was in charge of the camp under the UN charter. That was the UN’s first mistake. Kassa and his troops were from a neighboring country. Too close, too many unresolved ethnic conflicts.”