In Too Deep: A Romantic Suspense Novel (17 page)

“Oh don’t worry, I plan on exploring all of you," I said when I could speak again, cupping her breast through her blouse. I ran my thumb over the nipple area, Melina's groan encouraging me. She pouted when I let go, but her smile reappeared when I reached for the first button on her blouse, slipping it through the hole and revealing a bit more of her remarkable cleavage.

We kissed again, my hands working blindly to unbutton her blouse while our lips tasted and caressed each other. I finally got the last button free after an almost frustrating struggle, sliding the nylon from her shoulders and leaving her in just her skirt and her bra. Pulling her into my lap, I kissed my way down her throat to her breasts, which were high and proud in their bra on her chest. Kissing the swells that spilled over the top of her cups, Melina pulled me in closer, plunging my face between the soft pillows. "Oh Cam, yes . . . so nice . . .”

We stayed there, her in my lap and my mouth feasting on her breasts, sucking and tasting the exquisite softness of her skin. Reaching behind her, I unclasped her bra and took it off, capturing her nipples as soon as they came into view. Melina groaned and squealed at the same time as I rolled the hard small bit in my mouth, running my tongue over the small protrusion. Suddenly she started to shake, her hips twitching uncontrollably in my lap, her still panty-covered mound rubbing over my shorts. Clutching me close she came softly, crying out her happiness as her skin flushed the delicious coral pink I'd come to associate with her orgasms.

"How . . . how the hell do you do it?" she asked when she could think again, grinning down at me. “You play me like a violin. Which, by the way, I assume you play like a virtuoso."

"Not the violin, but I do play the piano," I admitted. “But not too well.”

She looked around, surprised, then back at me. "Well, in any case, I want to do something special for such a special man. Hold on right here."

Getting up from the couch, my eyes were glued to her as she disappeared to the back of the house, reappearing a minute later with her hands behind her back. "Now, tell me, my love," she said, getting on her knees in front of me, her breasts dangling on my thighs, "do you like hat you see?”

"Of course I do," I said, trying not to laugh. I knew she was up to something, but I didn't know what, and I wanted to see where she was going with this.

"What do you like best?" she asked, setting something down between her feet and bringing her hands up to tug at my shorts. Easing my shorts down, she grinned as my cock popped into the open.

"I love your eyes and your smile best," I said, "but the rest of the package isn't that far behind."

Melina grinned and took my cock in her hand, pumping it slowly.

Before I knew it, she wrapped her lips around the head of my cock, sucking it deep into her mouth and bobbing up and down. My groan started deep in my chest and my eyes rolled back as she worked my cock in and out of her mouth, until I was gasping, trembling on the edge of coming. She pulled back, grinning. "Yep, you like this too. But I have an idea that you might like a little better."

Getting up, Melina undid her skirt, and I saw that she was bare underneath, having taken off her panties in the back. Her amazing hips were at my eye level from where I was sitting, and I could smell the arousal wafting from her, my cock twitching in desire.

She turned around, and at first I couldn't tell what I was looking at, other than her normally amazing ass. But it wasn't just her ass that she wanted me to look at, I could tell. Instead, as she wiggled back and forth, I saw the sheen from between her legs. I reached out and smacked her on the right butt cheek. "Ah, so that's what you want. I like it."

Melina turned her head back and nodded, handing me the small tube of lubricant. "I know we don't do this often, but tonight . . . let’s make tonight special.”

I nodded in understanding, taking the bottle of lube and smearing it over my cock. Just the thought of what we were going to do had me rock hard, and the sight of Melina's ass swaying back and forth added to my arousal. Soon, I was ready. "Did you prepare yourself?"

She shook her head. "I didn't have time. But it’s enough.”

I stood up and took her into my arms, pulling her tight to me, taking away her control. She didn't want it that night, she wanted me in charge. And I was more than man enough to do what needed to be done. "On the couch, Melina.”

She purred at the way I said her name, thick and commanding. Nodding, she stepped from my arms and bent over the couch, putting her forearms on the back cushions. Spreading her legs, she displayed herself for me.

I was tempted to plunge into her tight hole immediately. After all, she'd asked for it. But I knew better. Instead, I reached between her legs, rubbing the silky soft lips of her folds. I slipped a finger inside her, marveling at the texture inside. Supple, soft, warm and slippery while still clinging, even to my finger. She gasped before pushing back into me, not even giving me a chance to move my finger in and out. I let her pleasure herself for a minute then withdrew, taking my cock in my hand. "Are you ready?"

I placed my cock at the puckered entrance to her ass and pushed, slow and inexorable. I didn't want to hurt her, while at the same time, I wanted her to feel exactly
who
was in charge. I reached up with my right hand and grabbed her hair, holding her firmly as I eased inside. "That's it, that's it . . . ” I hissed. "Just a bit more."

My cockhead finally pushed past her tight sphincter, popping through with almost liquid ease. I stopped, making sure that I could hold myself back, not hurting her. It was with infinitesimal slowness that I continued, pulling back and pushing forward until I was nestled fully inside her. "There we are."

"That feels so good," Melina gasped, her fingers clutching at the couch's upholstery. "God I feel so fucking full."

I pulled back and pushed in again, stroking my cock in and out of her almost impossibly tight ass. It was dark heaven, a vise-like constriction around the base of my cock while the rest of it was surrounded by a hot, pillowy caress that felt amazing. We had only ever done it one other time, both of us drunk not on alcohol, but on the erotic energy of the activity. We’d agreed that it was something we would only indulge in occasionally, something that we could look forward to.

I tugged on her hair again, pushing into Melina's ass once more. It felt so good, and I loved it. We fell into a hot, passionate rhythm, my cock filling her over and over. I pushed a little harder and faster, my hips smacking into the perfect combination of soft flesh and firm muscle, each impact causing both of us to cry out, me in a deep grunt and Melina in a squeal that carried in it both pain and pleasure. She loved it, I knew, and we didn't have to say a word to know what each other was thinking.

Pausing, I pulled Melina back, letting her hair go and cupping her breasts. I pulled her around, taking a seat on the edge of the couch and leaning back, Melina's ass still impaled on my cock.

Melina rode up and down on, giving herself into her passions while I held myself still beneath her. It was supposed to give me the opportunity to hold back a little bit, to prolong our pleasure, but it didn't matter much. She rode me so hard and so fast, I could feel my balls tighten and my orgasm rise within me.

I reached around her hip, finding her clit and rubbing it quickly. She lost control, her legs nearly going into convulsions as she was hammered on both sides with pleasure. I felt her ass clench around my cock, and her second orgasm leaving her tossing her head from side to side as wetness flooded my fingers. It pushed me over the edge, and I moaned as my orgasm blasted through me hard and powerful.

I
felt blown away
as I looked at the network Cam had displayed on the screen. He’d at first tried to arrange it in a simple box-to-box network, but as the connections grew and multiplied, he'd had to re-arrange it, creating what in the end looked more like a spider's web than anything else.

"There are this many people involved in this?" I finally asked when my count reached fifty-nine boxes. "Really?"

Cam shook his head. "No. Like this branch that sort of hangs out on its own, that's Pinzetti's wife and her family," he said. "I didn't focus any attention on them at first because I wanted details on the other more likely culprits, but it was a secondary search item that the computers did after the other networks are complete. Here, let's take that out for now."

He clicked his mouse, and the screen simplified. "You know, that thing's already a few years old," I said, looking at it. "What are you going to do when the hardware starts to break down?"

"The hard drive clones itself to an external system once a week," Cam said, "so if something does go wrong, there’s a full backup. The weakest links in the perpetuation of the safety net are you and me.”

Humming, I gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I don't know about that. Last night I felt ready to take on a lion barehanded afterward."

Cam laughed softly and gave me a light swat on my backside, making me yelp. I didn't want to sit down, but at the same time, I relished in the ache, feeling stronger and more powerful than I'd ever felt before. While my 'inner workings' felt fine that morning, my actual butt cheeks were deliciously bruised from the pounding of Cam's hips into mine the night before. "Okay, point taken. Still mortal. So back to the nefarious network of nasty nincompoops."

"Alliteration? Maybe you should be teaching English and not me," Cam chuckled, turning back. "Okay, so with Pinzetti's family taken out of the loop, we're left with a couple of other networks. I looked at his call log after I'd shut down his system before to make my next choice, and eliminated this particular network. It's his EPA branch, and while there are some inevitable connections to the other parts of the web, I don't consider them a major player, except for a few people who show up in other branches multiple times. So here."

Another two clicks of his mouse and another branch disappeared. We were left with one main branch that then split off and made up most of the rest of the screen. "That's still over half the names on the screen. Who are these guys?"

"They're dark matter," Cam said simply. "They're the people that I've been trying to stop, and trying to protect Albertine against. I'll be honest, this is a bigger network than even I imagined. Some of these people, I've known about them for years, and they almost never work together."

"Wars and politics make strange bedfellows," I commented. "I read that once."

"Mid 19th century, but it's been repeated by a lot of people since," Cam said, "and in this case, it's pretty accurate. So the question to determine is, which branch of this tree needs pruning?"

"Why not spank them all?" I asked. "They all were involved on some level."

Cam thought about it, shaking his head. "I'm worried that if we do, they're going to fight back without restraint."

I thought about it, then shook my head. "Then crush them. Any sort of sick asshole who would be willing to even do business with a man like Pinzetti, they deserve it.”

Cam looked like he was about to object, and I held up my hand. "I know what you're going to say. These people have power, and while they may not have the public faces of power, they are, what did you call them? The puppet masters? But people aren't puppets. You've been involved with these people for too long, and as wonderful a man as you are, you still have taken on a bit of their cynicism. But let me ask you, am I capable of taking care of myself?"
"Of course," Cam said immediately. "You're just as smart and capable as I am. You didn't have any training, but you have good instincts. You reacted perfectly when Pinzetti attacked. You secured the laptop and trusted me to do what I needed to do."

"And I'm no different than anyone else," I said softly, sitting on his lap and stroking his face. "Yet you've trusted me with not only your love but your secrets and your mission. If I can be trusted with this, then the rest of the world can at least be trusted enough to not destroy itself if these people are taken out.”

I didn’t give him a chance to reply, continuing with my preaching. “Look at the state of the world over the past fifty years. Call them puppet masters, call them dark matter, whatever you want to call them, but they haven't made the world better, certainly not in my lifetime. The world's tearing itself apart. And this dark matter hasn't helped. By being in the shadows all the time, they've escaped real consequences. That's why Albertine is so scary and dangerous to them, it's the first time they've faced any sort of real threat."

"So you think that they should be dragged out of the darkness and into the light," Cam said. He thought about it, a small smile creeping out on his face. He was warming to my idea, and he nodded. "On one condition, and one condition only."

"What's that?" I asked, curious. I doubt any woman has ever been given such a statement.

"I want you with me," Cam said softly. "You're right, I've been hiding in the darkness for too much of my life. You've redeemed me, and you gave me love. But I need someone to guide me, to make sure that my decisions are the right ones."

"You want this to be a partnership," I said. "But I don't know how much help I can be.”

Cam nodded. "I obviously don't need advice on tactics. I'll give you options on how we can move against them, and you help me decide which to choose. Help me make sure that my decisions are the right ones."

"You want me to be your conscience," I laughed. "I've been offered a lot of things in my life. But to be offered the keys to the entire world . . . that's a lot for a girl to accept."

"And you're the only woman who I would make such an offer to," Cam said, deep meaning in his eyes. "Even more than the love of marrying me, I'm making this offer because you’re more than just the love of my life, but the true mate to my soul."

I brushed his hair out of his eyes and kissed him softly. "Take me to bed and show me. Then we can discuss the next step to take."

I
was doing
my first shift at the pharmacy since my unexpected short vacation. I walked in and found Jay waiting for me. "Hold on," he said, waving me into his office. We walked in, and he closed the door behind us. "Have a seat."

"If it's okay, I'd like to stand," I said, laughing ruefully. "Bruised my backside, kind of hurts to sit right now."

Jay didn't probe any deeper, which I was grateful for. I was sporting a wonderfully pink and bruised butt, and was wearing loose jeans because I wanted as little contact between my skin and anything else as possible. Still, telling your boss that you don't want to sit down because you've had multiple bouts of epic, athletic sex with your fiancée in the past fourteen hours isn’t an appropriate conversation.

“All right,” he said, sitting behind his desk. "I just wanted to tell you that your sacrifice over the past few days has been appreciated by everyone. I went ahead and did what you asked, so while the hours works out the same for the state boys, the pay rate is going to show them doing the overtime. So thank you again on that."

"You're welcome," I said. "I just thought other people deserved the chance to do what they needed to do."

"Actually, that's the other thing I wanted to talk with you about," he said. “Betty Cruddup turned in her two week's notice this morning."

I winced but nodded in understanding. Over the days since the incident, people were really starting to think about their lives and the lives of their children. Betty was a single mother, and in order to make ends meet, she did day shifts at the hospital while picking up night and weekend shifts with Jay. "Where's she going?"

"She said she's going to take a job in Santa Fe," Jay said. "I wouldn't be surprised if she left New Mexico actually. She came here back when her husband was doing work for the State, but she doesn't have any other family in the area. Now that they’re no longer together, I think she’s been wanting to get away for a while now. I don’t blame her.”

"I hope she does well for herself, she seemed like a good worker," I said. "What can I do to help?"

Jay gave me a small smile. "How'd you like to be a pharmacy manager? I know that you'd have to do more weekend shifts, but if you're willing, I can promise you that during the week there'd be no closing shifts at all, at least while school's in session.”

I thought about it. It was an attractive offer, but I also knew that by committing to a manager's role, even a shift manager, meant that I would have obligations that I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep. Despite Cam's assurances that he'd try to keep things stable with our actions involving Albertine, the fact of the matter was, we both knew we might have to disappear at some point. Thankfully, changing identities was about as easy as updating a Facebook status with Albertine, but that didn't mean I wanted to ditch my entire identity and leave people in a lurch.

"Let me talk with Cam about it, Jay," I said after a moment's reflection. "It's not that I'm not blown away by your offer and consider it an honor, but I need to know his long-term plans and such before I say yes to something like this. Would you mind if I give you a call on it maybe tomorrow?"

"Just wait until your next shift," Jay said. "It's not going to blow up before then."

As my shift progressed, I let my mind think about our next steps. I was certain that I wanted the job, not because of the money but because I wanted to have something in my life outside of Albertine. I'd heard Cam refer to it as the bitch goddess, and I understood the phrase perfectly. Sure, there was a lot to say to being the guardian of the world, but at the same time, it was a role that was truly thankless. If Cam and I did our job with Albertine properly, nobody would ever know what we’d done. While I'm not someone who needs public adulation, I couldn't go my entire life knowing that most of my energy was chained to a doomsday laptop.

When work was over, I went home, and found Cam in our spare bedroom, sweat glistening on his torso as he pedaled at a furious pace. "Sorry, had some extra energy that I just had to burn off," he said, slowing his pace when I came in. "How was work?"

"Jay offered me a pharmacy manager's position," I said, appreciating the view. He was wearing just some basketball shorts, his lightly tanned skin glowing as his muscles stood out on his torso. While I couldn't see the muscles of his thighs as they were hidden by his shorts, his calves were swollen and flushed with blood from his workout, and I could feel the familiar flush of desire go through me. Maybe it was just a side effect of the tragedy, maybe it was the fact we were spending nearly as much time together now as when we were on the island together, but I was always in the mood, and I never tired of it. Sadly, my hips were still aching, and I had to turn around. "Can you put a shirt on? I’m still a bit sore, but looking at you like that makes me want to drag you into the bedroom and ride you cowgirl style for a couple of hours."

Cam's gulp at least caused me to smile a bit, and he stopped pedaling. "Um, yeah," he replied after a moment. "Sorry. Was just trying to save on the laundry, not overly arouse you."

He came up behind me and gave me a quick hug and peck on the cheek, letting go before we went further. "Come on, let's get some dinner and then we can discuss our options. I made some plans, and I'd like to run them by you before we go to bed. I want it all set up before school starts back on Monday."