Breathless (15 page)

S
tack arched off the bed at the first touch of her lips on the tip of his cock. He was hotter here than anywhere else on his body. The head of his cock was smooth, so velvety Tawny wanted to dally. Her fingers danced along his shaft, playing him like a flute while she rolled the head along the bridge of her nose and across both cheeks.

She drank in the scent of Stack, musky and male. With deliberate slowness, she slid her mouth over him and down, down, down, until she felt him flex. His belly jerked in response to her liquid softness as she swirled her tongue along his shaft.

“Tawny! Some mercy,” he pleaded.

She had none. And showed him the lash of her velvet tongue, the whip of her hair as she draped it around his balls and tugged. He arched again and cried out until she squeezed him at the base and held him in thrall.

In the palm of her hand.

The way he held her heart.

“If you want mercy, I’ll grant you some. Come for me, Stack.”

She mouthed him deeper, took him harder, wetter, sliding and moving over him, taking him to heights he’d never known. She surprised herself with how much she wanted to please him, how powerful it felt to tease him, how she eased him carefully along the path to ecstasy.

He flexed once, twice, a low moan escaping until he exploded in her mouth. He tasted hot and creamy, salty and male. He flipped her onto her back and wedged his still-throbbing cock between her legs, close, so close, but not quite inside. “I want inside. Fuck, I want to feel the heat of you, the wetness of your pussy all around me.”

He slid down her body and lifted her ass, splaying her cradle wide. He was so strong! Tawny was solidly built, and he pulled and lifted her like she was a featherweight. She loved the way he made her feel feminine and wanted. To be desired this much was heady stuff, especially for a woman who’d done her best to deny that she wanted to be wanted. His hair flowed wild, silky, and moved with a life of its own as he set his mouth to her and ate her into oblivion.

His expression focused totally on her. The way his eyes slid shut as his cheeks moved with every lick and suck, proved that he loved this kind of loving. His generosity and gentle attention to detail took her closer to the edge than the physical sensation.

She took everything he gave, every slick slide of his lips, tongue, and delving fingers, until she, too, roared through an orgasm. Her personal pinnacle of wild sensation swept her up, fueled by seeing him loving her.

His cock had responded to his enticements, and while she quieted, he slipped into a condom. He dragged her to his lap and drove into her still-pulsing pussy. She wrapped her legs around his waist and seated herself over him. “Harder, Stack! I’m yours.”

He rose to his knees, impaled her to the hilt, then grabbed her ass and lifted her up and down until they came together, soaring and grasping. Deeply entwined, their wracking orgasms began and ended with each other.

Three hours later, they held hands while they waited by the baggage claim for Pansy James. Stack saw her first and whistled low.

“If you ever dress like that in public, I’ll know you’re tired of me.” The woman walking toward them sure knew how to advertise! Pansy James hadn’t seen them yet, but then seeing anyone else was not on her agenda. For Pansy, it was all about
being seen
. There wasn’t a male head that didn’t turn her way. There wasn’t a woman who didn’t go on high alert. She was sex on two legs and knew it.

He clasped Tawny’s hand tighter and drew her close to his side, suddenly pleased by the whacked-out clothes Tawny wore. If he saw men look at Tawny the way every red-blooded male in the building ogled Pansy, he’d be in prison for murder in twenty minutes. Probably mass murder to boot.

“I love my mother, but sensible wardrobe is an oxymoron to her.”

“They’ll need to mop the floor of drool when we leave.”

“Hey, that’s my mom you’re gawking at.”

“I’m not gawking, I’m saying a hallelujah.” He’d heard that a man should look to the mother to see what was in store. His future with Tawny was coming straight for them. Sin in high heels.
Bring it on.
“The flight must’ve been on autopilot the whole time because the real pilot was back in the cabin trying to snag dinner with her.”

She nudged him hard with her elbow. When he looked at her, he read doubt and nerves. She wanted this meeting to go well. She wanted Pansy to like him.

He studied the woman moving through the crowd, smiling and chatting with total strangers. Tawny’s mother was a lightning rod for attention, both male and female. And she played it graciously. The woman was a natural fox. “I now understand why you’re so concerned with how the world sees you.”

Tawny came from a line of spectacular females: great bones; long limbs; flowing hair; wide, friendly smiles; and great teeth. Holy Mother of God, these women were to die for.

Maybe even worth killing for, he thought, as he remembered the mysterious Lenny and the vile Frank LaMotta. Had there been a love triangle gone wrong? With a woman who looked like these two James women involved, he could easily imagine two lovers fighting to the death.

When Pansy caught sight of her daughter, she moved like a lioness toward a wayward cub. No one would question the woman’s love for her child. Her face turned fierce, protective, and worried.

He hoped Tawny recognized the love in her mother’s gaze. He wasn’t sure if she saw it, though, not the way he did.

The women hugged and kissed each other, murmuring their hellos privately. He stood back and basked in the glory of knowing them. He was the man here to take them home, much to the chagrin of several men who rushed to grab Pansy’s luggage off the belt.

Dressed in a pair of low-slung short shorts that sat atop a pair of shapely legs that began with stilettoes, she wore a halter top that made it clear her breasts were all hers. Wildly tousled hair fell to her shoulders and gleamed with health and vitality, even in the harsh lighting of the airport baggage claim area.

When she spied Stack, her face lit into a smile that rose from her wide, mobile lips to her eyes. In that moment, he saw Tawny’s charm, humor, and intelligence shine out of her. “You must be Stack Hamilton,” she said with genuine warmth. He felt like the only man in the room.

He prayed not to be tongue-tied. Tawny would hate that, take it all wrong. “Yes, ma’am. That would be me.”

Tawny hung back, a cautious look filling her gaze. He reached for her hand and tugged her close again. “I’m seeing Tawny now, even though she worked for me a while back. I had a hard road to convince her I was worth the time.” He felt Tawny relax at his side and eased out a breath.

“I know,” she responded with an assessing glance, “it’s about time too. I knew—”

“Mom,” Tawny interrupted, “we need to get moving.” But relief filled her glance before she bent to pick up Pansy’s carry-on bag. “There’s a lot to do tonight.”

A man in uniform hovered in the corner of Stack’s eye. Not the pilot but a full-bird colonel. Stack went on alert, not sure why the guy lurked on the fringes of their personal space.

Tawny’s gaze caught sight of him at the same time. He felt her stiffen at his side.

“Yes, we have a lot to deal with,” Pansy agreed. “We’ll talk in the car; then I’d like to freshen up, if that’s okay. I’ve brought a suitcase with enough clothes for a week.” She tilted her head as if to test her welcome.

“That’s great, Mom!” Tawny’s happiness was genuine. He knew her well enough to know when she faked enthusiasm.

Tawny finally acknowledged the colonel standing three feet behind her mother. “You have a date,” she said with a warm smile. She held out her hand to shake and the colonel looked happy enough to piss himself.

“Let me introduce you,” Pansy said, every bit the ingenuous beauty.

They left the colonel at the car rental desk, then headed for the short-term parking lot. When they reached the Escalade, Tawny gave her mother the front passenger seat. Pansy sat sideways to make it easier for a three-way conversation.

“I visited my mother in the home for the aged every Wednesday and Saturday,” she began. “With her confused state of mind, it’s possible she wouldn’t have told me about other visitors.”

Stack nodded. “If she had mentioned someone, would you have dismissed the information?”

Pansy sighed. “Likely. When she first moved into the home, a couple of her girlfriends would stop by, but when she started to forget who they were, it became too difficult. The visits dropped off, and eventually I was all she had. So, yes, I would have put down the news about someone else visiting as the meanderings of a lost mind.”

“What about the visitor’s log?” Stack asked.

“I had no reason to ask about it at the time. It’s been six months, do you think they’ll have the old sign-in sheets?”

“If they were in a three-ring binder, the staff likely tossed the old pages when they put the new pages in. Doesn’t sound like the kind of place to have high-tech security.”

“You’re right. The home had friendly, helpful staff, but no one worried about visitors. They focused on keeping track of their patients. Some of them would wander off,” Pansy explained.

Tawny reached from the back seat to pat her mother’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I didn’t come visit more often to help you out. I don’t think I understood how hard it all must have been.” A stab of guilt shot through her as Pansy patted her hand.

“My mother and I had some great talks, and I learned a lot about her. She was stronger than I ever knew. Quite a woman.” She chuckled. “But after a while, we had the same talks over and over again.” She turned and caught Tawny’s eye. “I’ll give you one piece of advice, honey bun.”

“What’s that?”

“Keep your sense of humor if I start to lose it.” She tapped her temple. “And don’t believe half of what I say. Heaven only knows what I’ll tell you.” She rolled her eyes. “But believe me when I say I had a blast doing it.”

Stack coughed.

Pansy reached into her leather satchel bag and pulled out a plain manila envelope. She passed it back to Tawny, then proceeded to ask Stack pointed questions about how he planned to keep her daughter safe.

With only half an ear on the conversation, it sounded promising. Pansy liked Stack.

Tawny had made the mistake of e-mailing her a picture of him when she’d first hired on with Stack. Pansy had never stopped encouraging Tawny to pursue him. If she thought too hard about
that
, it might make her mad. Hearing her mother dismiss things like employee/employer standards and pitfalls for three years had probably encouraged Tawny’s standoffish behavior. As much as Tawny wanted to believe she was an adult and mature enough to think for herself, she still harbored a rebellious daughter deep inside.

Society’s standards about not messing where you live meant nothing to her mother. It was all about the man, and Pansy had taken one look at Stack and decided he was the man for Tawny.

She pulled the letter out of the envelope and tuned out the front-seat conversation.

What she read brought a tear to her eye. Loretta loved Lenny to the depths of her soul, in spite of his sleazy connections. It sounded like the feeling was mutual. Her grandparents were two people who’d found each other in a city full of sex and sin and easy money. What were the odds?

Loretta knew a lot about Lenny’s business. They were ready to sneak out of Vegas with a cache of diamonds when Lenny got a call from longtime associate Frank LaMotta. Frank had just bought a new car and wanted Lenny to see it. Lenny figured he had to go, because if he didn’t, Frank would guess Lenny planned to run off. Trapped, Lenny decided the safest bet was to go and play along. Frank had been evilly jealous of Lenny and loved it when he could rub Lenny’s face in his success.

Lenny looked at Loretta and she knew that it might be the last time she’d see that look of love. Lenny told her to hide the diamonds and to protect their unborn child at all costs.

He left to see Frank’s new Chevy and never came back.

Pregnant and terrified, Loretta took Lenny’s advice. She sewed the diamonds into the bodice of her showgirl costume, praying they’d never be noticed amongst the rhinestones.

When Frank LaMotta showed up at her door a few hours later, she knew her fate was sealed with his. She tolerated his lust, hated his touch, and pretended to be glad Lenny had ditched her. If Frank ever learned about the diamonds she’d hidden, he’d kill her for including him in the plot against
the boss
, whoever that was. Loretta didn’t say.

She lived out her married life with Frank, a lust-filled man who saw only Loretta’s body. A man only too willing to kill to have her. A man from whom she was forced to shield her innocent daughter.

There were a few photos in the envelope, of Pansy as a baby, another of her first day of school, a picnic with family. A large square black boat of a car sat in the background.

There were no pictures of Frank.

“So you sent me the costume not knowing what was sewn into the bodice because Loretta never mentioned any of this?”

“That’s right. Even in her delirium, she held on to the notion of protecting me.” Pansy’s voice softened. “She kept her secrets to keep me safe. There’s so much that went unsaid between us. I’m sorry I was such a pain-in-the-ass kid.” Pansy’s sorrowful eyes connected with her daughter’s.

“If the diamonds were hot before Lenny got hold of them,” Stack broke in before the women washed the Escalade in tears, “and it’s likely they were, then the statute of limitations ran out years ago. Not to mention we have no way of knowing where the original theft took place.”

Leave it to him to stay on the investigative trail and dismiss the family angst. The man had focus.

Pansy nodded. “Which is why someone else must have visited her at the home and got some of this story from her while she was confused. They knew enough of the details to lead her toward sharing some of her secrets. Whoever it is must have decided, or been told, the costume would be left to Tawny. She’s one generation removed from Frank, the source of all Loretta’s troubles, so in an effort to still protect me, she left the costume to her granddaughter.”