Crime (11 page)

Alyshia had been quietly watching Melanie all day. When she made Melanie stop pacing earlier, it wasn't because it was interrupting her work; it was because watching Melanie's lean, lithe body prowl around the apartment was getting her all stirred up. Melanie reminded her of a panther who was just about to pounce, and Alyshia found it incredibly sexy. Plus, Melanie's well-worn jeans hugged every curve, and just made the room feel that much hotter. Alyshia pulled out of the kiss, before she lost all control.
Melanie watched, a little stunned, as Alyshia reopened her computer and started typing.
"I don't mind it if you bite," she typed.
"What else do you like?"
Grinning, Alyshia began clicking away on her laptop. Melanie slid in behind Alyshia on the couch so they were both sitting in front of Alyshia's laptop, Alyshia sitting between Melanie's legs. Melanie began reading over Alyshia's shoulder.
"I don't mind if you get a little rough. In fact, I'd love it if you tied me up and swallowed me whole. I'll be your midnight snack. ;)" Alyshia typed. She heard Melanie growl, felt her hands tighten their hold on her hips, and a mixture of nervousness and excitement rolled through her. Alyshia had only had a few lovers and didn't consider herself very experienced. Melanie, she thought, was another story. Alyshia just hoped she wasn't biting off more than she could chew, but all day she had sat here wondering what it would be like to just let Melanie take her and do whatever she wanted.
Melanie felt Alyshia's body quiver, and she scooted closer, pressing herself into Alyshia's back.
"How old are you?" she whispered.
"18," Alyshia typed.
"Thank God! At least she's legal," Melanie thought. Alyshia looked so young, she hadn't been entirely sure. Getting into the spirit of things, Melanie rubbed her hands over the top of Alyshia's legs, leaving her hands to rest on the top of Alyshia's thighs. Alyshia trembled again, and Melanie nipped at her neck.
"So, that's your fantasy? Having someone tie you up in bed?"
"No. My fantasy is to have you tie me up in bed."
Melanie smiled against Alyshia's neck. "Have you ever been tied up before?"
Alyshia shook her head no, then quickly typed the word.
Alyshia just confirmed what Melanie suspected. While she was certainly daring, she wasn't very experienced, and Melanie knew she should tread carefully. "I've been. Tied up in bed that is. Would you like to do that to me?"
Alyshia sucked in a breath and, with shaky fingers, typed, "Yes."
"And what would you do to me?"
"Eat you out."
Melanie laughed. "Is that all? Baby, you'll have to get me wet first. Tell me how you'd do that." Melanie slipped a hand up to cup one of Alyshia's small, but perky breasts. She felt Alyshia's body jerk and kept still, just holding her breast in her hand. When Alyshia leaned over to type, she inadvertently pushed her breast further into Melanie's hand, flattening her nipple against it, and decided she really liked the way that felt.
"I'd kiss you all over and suck on your breasts."
"Show me," Melanie whispered, her lips right against Alyshia's ear, her hand gently rubbing Alyshia's breast through her clothes.
Alyshia didn't need any more encouragement, and she quickly twisted around, shifting so she was straddling Melanie on the couch. She grabbed the hem of Melanie's shirt and whipped it off, Melanie laughing as she did so.
"You're an eager one, aren't you, Alyshia?"
Alyshia vigorously nodded her head yes as she undid Melanie's front hooked bra. Melanie leaned forward so Alyshia could get the bra completely off, and then sighed as Alyshia's mouth claimed one breast, lathering it with her tongue. While Alyshia worshipped her breasts, Melanie slipped one hand underneath Alyshia's shirt, gently stroking her back. She thought she heard Alyshia moan. Encouraged, she slipped her other hand into the back pocket of Alyshia's jeans. She couldn't help but smirk a little when she felt Alyshia's body jump.
She squeezed Alyshia's ass through the jeans, still stroking her back, and felt Alyshia heap even more attention on her breasts. "Oh man," Melanie thought, "I could stay like this all night." She always loved having her breasts sucked and teased, and Alyshia appeared to be very talented in that department. She let her head fall back against the couch, giving Alyshia free rein.
Alyshia could hear Melanie purr, felt the vibrations. Hearing how much Melanie was enjoying what she was doing to her breasts, added to Alyshia's excitement. She could feel how wet she was and briefly hoped she wasn't soaked through to the front of her jeans, as well. Using her body weight, she guided Melanie onto her back so they were both stretched out on the couch.
A few minutes later, Alyshia urged her to roll over so she was lying on her stomach. Melanie felt Alyshia grab her wrists and gently pull her arms back. She could feel Alyshia straddling her ass and she pushed back a little, bumping against Alyshia's crotch. Suddenly, she felt something cold and hard circling here wrists. Seconds later she heard clicking, then realized Alyshia had just handcuffed her with a real pair of cuffs.
"Oh, baby. You came prepared," Melanie moaned. She felt Alyshia leave the couch and twisted her head around. She was just able to look over her shoulder in time to watch Alyshia strip naked. Alyshia returned to the couch and started trailing soft kisses all along the length of Melanie's spine.
Melanie trembled, moaning a little. Then she felt Alyshia's teeth nip her shoulder. "Now who bites," she chuckled. She went silent, though, as she felt Alyshia's hands on her stomach, then slide down to unfasten her jeans. Moments later, she was naked, face down on the couch with her hands cuffed behind her.
Alyshia tossed Melanie's jeans and panties aside and stopped to admire the view. Reaching out a hand, she traced Melanie's phoenix tattoo, then leaned down to plant a kiss at the heart shape the vines formed at the small of her back. Alyshia marveled at how much of a rush it was to have a strong woman like Melanie, tied up and completely at her mercy. She straddled Melanie's ass and leaned down so her chest was pressing into Melanie's back.

Melanie could tell her hands were pinned just above Alyshia's mound. Stretching out her arms, she was just able to flick the top of Alyshia's slit. Alyshia grunted, then slid up Melanie's body to give her fingers better access to her pussy. Melanie blindly reached out with her fingers and, after a little probing, found Alyshia's clit, and she began flicking her fingers over it the best she could. She could feel Alyshia's face pressed against her back, felt her rubbing her body against her, trying to help Melanie's fingers stroke her clit. Melanie could feel Alyshia's girl honey leaking out over her ass and lower back, and felt a thrill race through her. God, this woman was hot!
Minutes later, Alyshia pushed up and settled down over Melanie's ass. Melanie could feel her shifting around and knew Alyshia was getting herself into position to ride her butt. She felt some of Alyshia's juices drip against her, then spill down in between her butt cheeks and she wiggled against Alyshia, moaning.
Alyshia could feel herself dripping all over Melanie. Something about it seemed so erotic, and when she heard Melanie moaning with pleasure, she felt her pussy quiver. Finally, she found the spot she wanted and pushed a hand between her legs, spreading her lips open so her clit and entrance were tight against Melanie's beautifully rounded ass. Happy with her new position, she slowly started to rock against Melanie.
Melanie felt Alyshia riding her, and felt her own juices sliding out to wet the couch. She bucked back against Alyshia, helping her along. Alyshia grabbed the chain connecting the cuffs and started using it like reins on a horse, holding on to it for leverage as her body bowed back, pushing her tighter against Melanie as she picked up speed. She could feel Melanie bucking against her and, feeling her orgasm building, started bouncing up and down on Melanie's ass, loving the sound of their skin slapping together. Seconds later, she clamped her thighs against Melanie as tight as she could and rode her ass as her orgasm crashed through her.
Underneath her, Melanie was going nuts. She was dripping wet and every time she bucked against Alyshia, trying to help, when she fell back down against the couch, it put this teasing pressure against her mound. At this point, she was so horny, she was ready to fling a leg over the side of the couch and ride the edge.
The last few waves of her orgasm pulsed through her and Alyshia started to clam down a little. She finally noticed Melanie jerking and twisting under her, and knew she was close to cumming. Grabbing her legs, she helped Melanie turn over to lie on her back. Alyshia looked down on Melanie's face, now contorted from the growing tension in her body. Alyshia pushed Melanie's legs up and back, then lowered her face to Melanie's pussy, breathing in the musky scent. She would have liked to lick and tease Melanie a bit, but didn't think she could take it, so she pushed two fingers inside her tunnel and started pumping them in and out as fast as she could while she leaned over to suck Melanie's clit into her mouth.
"Alyshiaaaaa. Oh God, baby! That's it! That's it! Faster, please faster. Fuck meeeeeee," Melanie was pumping her mound against Alyshia as fast as she could as she felt her orgasm break. She came, her juices flooding out, and felt Alyshia's tongue busily licking her clean. This stretched out the last few waves of pleasure and Melanie trembled, and then sank down into the couch, gasping for air. Alyshia glided up, over her body, and Melanie licked her juices from Alyshia's face. Alyshia kissed her, letting Melanie get a good taste of herself on her tongue.
Melanie let her head fall back and saw Alyshia looking down at her, grinning. She leaned up and gave her a quick kiss. "As soon as I get my breath back, it's your turn for the cuffs," Melanie gasped.

Chapter 3

It had been almost a week since Melanie had picked Alyshia up at the airport. Alyshia had made some progress; she'd found Felicia's new address, which had enabled Melanie to get a copy of the lease agreement. Funny thing was, Felicia hadn't signed the lease, neither as Felicia Matthews or Lee Anne St. Clair. The signature on the lease wasn't even in Felicia's handwriting. There was another woman's signature on the lease, a Lonna Tassin, and she'd done an excellent job of burying her information.
Actually, Melanie figured Alyshia would have been done several days ago, but they kept getting distracted. In fact, Melanie was stretched out on the bed thinking about distracting Alyshia for the third time that day, while she sat on hold on the phone. Alyshia had found Felicia's address three days ago and Melanie had a copy of the lease by nightfall that same day. Since then, the two of them had been picking away at the mysterious Lonna, but details were scarce. Alyshia seemed to think that Ms. Tassin had hired a pro to bury her information. If it had been your average person, Alyshia had told Melanie, she'd have mountains of information by now, but this woman's was too well buried. Finally, David's secretary Linda came on the line.
"I'm so sorry, Melanie. Mr. Matthews is in the middle of a contract negotiation with a company we're trying to acquire, and my phone's been lit up like a Christmas tree all morning," Linda said with a laugh.
"That's ok, Linda. I know David's a busy man, but I'm calling in the hopes that he might be able to squeeze me in for a few minutes today. Any chance of that?"
"From the looks of his appointment book, I'd say no, but let me buzz him and see what he wants to do. I know he has you looking for Felicia, so this is pretty important. Would you mind holding a few more minutes?"
"Not at all. I appreciate it, Linda." Once again, Melanie found herself listening to Muszac, and considered suggesting to David, next time they talked, that he find something that wouldn't put his callers to sleep while they sat on hold. Thankfully, Linda was true to her word and quickly returned to the phone.
"If you can get here within the next twenty minutes, he can give you about half an hour. Will that work for you?"
"Perfect. I'll be right there." Melanie hung up the phone and leaped from the bed in the direction of her dresser. She was only wearing panties and an old t-shirt. She discovered a good pair of jeans and a nice button down shirt to wear and quickly dressed. Heading for the door, she told Alyshia where she was heading, and scooped up her keys and wallet on her way out.
Soon, she was riding the elevator to David's office, right on time. The doors opened on David's floor and Melanie jumped out, running right into Jessica who was on her way out of her uncle's office.
"Shit," was all Melanie could think as she felt butterflies in her stomach. She and Jessica hadn't seen each other since that day at Trish's when Jessica had coldly walked out on her. Suddenly, she felt irritated that this woman still had any affect on her, and her face turned hard.
Jessica came to an abrupt halt as she almost bumped into someone on her rush back to her own office. Looking up, she saw Melanie and felt her heart rate speed up. This last week, she'd done little but replay that morning at Trish's apartment through her mind. She wanted to give Melanie a taste of her own medicine that morning, wanted to show her how it felt to be left behind without a second glance. She thought Melanie would eventually call her, or show up at her house in a temper, but nothing happened, and now she regretted what she'd done. She saw Melanie's face turn cold and felt her heart sink. Mustering up some courage, she tried to be as nice as possible.
"Hi, Melanie. How are you today?" Jessica cheerfully asked.
"Late," came Melanie's flat response, and she pushed past Jessica, hurrying into David's outer office.
Jessica heard the door close behind her with a dull thud and she hung her head to stare at the floor. She'd really done it this time and she had no one to blame but herself. She knew Melanie had to be here because of Felicia, who was her sister, after all, and considered marching back in and demanding to be included, but she was afraid that would only anger Melanie all the more. Now might be a good time to back off a little, maybe try a different tactic. A new idea beginning to take shape, Jessica started walking towards her office, wheels spinning.
As Linda escorted Melanie into David's office, Melanie tried to get herself under control. Oh, she knew no one looking at her right now would suspect anything was wrong, but she was a wreck on the inside. Seeing Jessica had stirred up so much. And where did she get off pretending to be so pleasant, when they both knew Jessica thought she was the biggest jerk on the planet. Melanie shook David's outstretched hand and pushed all thoughts of Jessica aside. She had business to attend to.
Melanie sat in one of the two chairs positioned in front of David's desk and updated him. Now, she had a few questions for him. Ever since she'd seen another woman's name on Felicia's lease, she'd had a few scenarios stewing in the back of her mind, but she needed more information before she decided just how plausible they were.
"The woman who signed Felicia's lease, this Lonna Tassin, does that name sound at all familiar to you, David?"
"I'm afraid it does." David had been reclining in his chair while Melanie outlined the new information she had. Now, he leaned forward to rest his forearms on top of his desk. "You see, at the time the girls' parents died, I was engaged to a woman by that name."
When David didn't elaborate, Melanie pressed on. "What happened?"
"I took custody of my nieces, since I was listed in their parents' will as legal guardian, should anything happen to them, and Lonna didn't approve. Well, it's not that she didn't approve of me taking the girls in, she just didn't like the idea of becoming an instant mother to two girls she barely knew."
"And why didn't she know them?"
"I guess Lonna was never much into kids. Most of the time I went to my brother's house to visit Felicia and Jessica, Lonna stayed behind, begged off for whatever reason. She'd only go with me on special occasions. You know, birthday parties and Christmas, events like that. When their parents died, I took custody of my nieces that very night. I had an awful time trying to get them to go asleep, they were so upset, and then, in the middle of the night, Jessica woke up screaming from a nightmare and got sick. The next morning, Lonna said it was all too much for me to expect her to take on, that it wasn't fair, and she demanded that I send the girls away, or hire a nanny." David paused to take a breath and Melanie noticed that David suddenly looked very much his age, and then some.
Taking a deep breath, David continued. "I couldn't believe she'd ask me for such a thing. I got angry and, literally, threw her out of the house. She left town a few days later and I've never heard from her, or of her, since."
Melanie just sat for a minute while she processed everything David had just told her. She tried to choose her next words carefully. "David, do you think Lonna holds any ill will towards you for what happened?"
David gave a hearty sigh and sank back into his chair. "Probably. She was livid when I tossed her out. I heard through the grape vine that she left town because I had humiliated her, so yes, I'm sure I'm her least favorite person. Why? What are you thinking?"
"Well, it's just that, the day Felicia made her confession to you about the embezzlement, you seemed truly shocked. In all these years, you never suspected Felicia held any resentment towards Jessica, did you?"
David winced, and then sighed again before answering Melanie's question. "No, I had no idea. Felicia was very good about keeping her true feelings hidden, I guess."
"Did she?"
David's eyes narrowed and he leaned forward to prop his arms on the desk again. "What, exactly, are you hinting at, Melanie?"
"I spent a good bit of time with Felicia when I was first here, and I never noticed any bad feelings either. Well, not the kind that indicated any long-term resentment. In fact, Jessica and I didn't hit it off very well, in the beginning, and Felicia went to great lengths to defend her sister to me. So, what I'm getting at David, is that I don't think Felicia's embezzlement of company funds was really her idea. In fact, I always wondered how Felicia managed it. She never struck me as having enough knowledge of computers to pull it off. I know she explained it all, but it never sat right with me. And now Felicia's disappeared, relocating to Baton Rouge with a new identity, which isn't easy to do. I'm curious as to how she managed to recreate herself under her mother's name with all the required paper work."
"So, you think that this Lonna Tassin who signed Felicia's lease is the same Lonna Tassin that I was once engaged to? What, you suspect that the embezzlement was her idea as well, that she somehow convinced Felicia to go along with it as a way to get back at me, after all these years?"
Melanie sighed and leaned forward a little. "Listen, David, I know this must all sound very far fetched to you, but it's entirely plausible, and would answer a lot of questions. Sometimes people get hurt, and they spend the rest of their lives wrapped up in that 'I was wronged' feeling. And that feeling of betrayal tends to eat at a person, warps them in some way. Besides, we both know that old adage of 'A woman scorned' and all that. So yes, to answer your question, I think this Lonna Tassin is the same woman you tossed out so many years ago."
David looked a little chagrinned. "Well, if you put it that way...Ok, I see your point."
"Good, because here's another question for you. Did Felicia know Lonna well enough to recognize her, or her name, after all this time?"
David seemed thoughtful for a few minutes, while he considered Melanie's question. "The girls saw very little of Lonna, and when they did, she kept her distance from them. Jessica was so young at the time, I doubt she'd remember Lonna at all, or even recognize the name. I'm not sure about Felicia, I mean she was twelve when their parents died and I threw Lonna out. I suspect that would be old enough to remember, especially as traumatic as those first few weeks were, after their parents died."
Melanie frowned. If David was right, it just blew some of her theory out of the water, but there was also a small chance that Felicia didn't remember her, or maybe Ms. Tassin wasn't using her real name in public. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. No, that wasn't right either, because even if Tassin was dealing with Felicia under a different name, wouldn't Felicia recognize her face? Then again, it was a traumatic time for the sisters, so maybe Felicia had blocked out the whole thing, or just had so much going on at the time, that the quick exit of a woman who was practically a stranger to her, didn't linger in her memory. Melanie rose out of the chair on a sigh and thanked David for his time. She started heading for the door when the sound of David's voice had her turning back around.
"Before you leave, Melanie, I have a question for you."
"Oh. Ok. What is it?"
"What, exactly, is going on with you and my girls? Let's start with Jessica."
Melanie just stared at David for a minute. Actually, she really wasn't all that surprised by his question. If anything, she was surprised he hadn't asked her sooner. David struck her as an old fashioned gentleman, which is one of things she liked and respected about him. She could be old fashioned herself when it came to certain things.
"Between myself and Jessica, nothing at all. Your niece, David, has made it pain-stakingly clear that she considers me the equivalent of pond scum." Melanie maintained eye contact with David. If he wanted to run her out of town because she'd slept with his girls, so be it. At this point, there wasn't much reason for her to stay, anyway. But she'd be damned if she'd slink out with her tail between her legs. Yes, she'd slept with both of his girls, but there was more to it than just that. She was in love with Jessica, God help her, and she cared very deeply for Felicia. She knew she and Felicia weren't in love with each other, but Felicia was now an old lover who, in the course of their emails, had become a very close friend, and hell would freeze over before she apologized to anyone for that.
David sat, studying the defiant look on Melanie's face. He liked the feisty P.I., even respected her, and God knew she was doing great work for him. Some how, instinctively he guessed, he knew his beloved nieces were safe with her, but recently he had started to suspect that something had happened between Melanie and his girls. A few days after Felicia's confession, he had sat down with Felicia and Jessica, trying to work out their family problems. Melanie's name had inadvertently popped up during the course of conversation, and he hadn't missed the weird looks that had appeared on their faces, or the looks they gave each other. And ever since Melanie had returned to New Orleans, at his request, Jessica had been acting strangely, but he hadn't quite put two and two together until this conversation with Melanie about old relationships.
Now he studied the woman who stood in front of him, tall and proud, hands on her hips, almost spoiling for a fight. He chuckled to himself. If she was getting involved with either one of his girls, she'd need that fighting spirit, otherwise his nieces would just chew her up and spit her out. Knowing that they hadn't managed to do that to this woman, he suddenly saw her in a new light. He was careful with his next words.
"Felicia and Jessica are grown women, and more than capable of making their own decisions, very capable of taking care of themselves." David almost laughed out loud at the 'No kidding!' look that spread over Melanie's face, but he stifled the laugh and went on. "I'll be honest here, Melanie, and admit that I always pictured them both finding some nice young man and settling down with families of their own while they helped me run this company. When they both finally confessed to me that they just weren't interested in men, I was a little upset at first. I suppose I felt like I had done something wrong, somewhere along the line, when I was raising them." He held up a hand, as Melanie was about to interrupt him. "No, I realize know that how I raised them wasn't the deciding factor, but I like to think it's natural for a parent to feel that way, at first. Now, I'm ok with their decisions for their personal lives. I just want them happy, and to find someone decent to spend their lives with, but because I'm old fashioned, I tend to treat their female suitors the same way I would if they were men."