Experimenting With Ed (14 page)

Their groans emerged in stereo. Claire was torn between watching the cock trapped in her grip and keeping her gaze on his ecstatic face. Both views were utterly arousing.

“Shit,” Ed muttered. “Pack’s in the bedroom.”

She gave him a smug grin. “You’re not the only prepared one around here.” Reaching into her back jeans pocket, she pulled out a wrapped condom.

He blinked at it and she smiled again, proud she’d managed to surprise him. Tearing the packet open with her teeth, she rolled it down the erect shaft in front of her. It was his turn to urgently unfasten her jeans. She stood up so he could shove her jeans and panties down over her hips.

Grasping her around the waist, he lifted her to sit on the edge of the table. She grabbed for a handhold as he yanked her jeans and panties down her legs and over her feet. Her shoes and socks slid off as well, caught by the denim, and Claire was left fully naked and clinging to the table.

Her heart racing, she watched with wide eyes as Ed lifted her again. He lowered her slowly onto his cock, the thick shaft impaling her, forging its way into her soaked and swollen pussy. When Claire sucked in a breath, he froze, his erection only halfway inside her.

“Sore?” he rasped.

“No,” she lied. His entry was causing a twinge or two, but it was the kind of hurt she liked, the intense sensation that lit her whole body until she couldn’t tell the difference between pleasure and pain. “It just hurts when you’re gone.”

“Claire,” he gritted out, his eyes silvered with heat. His hips surged up as he pulled her down, sinking the final inches of his cock into her, parting her swollen flesh with a ruthless thrust. She gasped, her head falling back as his fingers dug into her sides, lifting her up, almost off his erection, before dropping her back down again.

Her hands grasped his shoulders as she struggled to hold on, to find her balance, but he was merciless, driving deep with each thrust. She ached—with pleasure and need and desperation. She clung to him, gripping him as he withdrew, forcing him to drag his cock through the vice of her pussy with every stroke.

He slammed her down onto his cock again and she came, crying out as her body convulsed. His cock felt huge when it speared into her, rubbing against her sensitive tissues, driving the broad head deep within her body. Ed groaned as her pussy rippled around his erection and his thrusts became harder, faster.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Claire buried her face against the hard slope of his shoulder. Still flying on the tail end of her orgasm, she struggled to anchor herself, finally closing her teeth on his muscle, in the same place he’d bitten her that morning.

With a final, rough thrust, he came. Holding her hard enough for his fingers to bruise her hips, he groaned, his cock buried impossibly deep inside her. She clutched him tightly as he shuddered in climax.

Gradually, his tense muscles eased and he released her hips, wrapping his arms around her back instead and hugging her close. She squeezed him back, pressing a kiss into his neck.

“You know,” she said, stretching up to give him a kiss behind his ear in a spot she knew would make him shiver. “You shouldn’t believe everything I say.”

His eyebrow was amused. “Have you been lying to me?”

Claire laughed. “Of course not. I do tend to talk a lot, though…”

“Hadn’t noticed,” he interjected, grinning when she gave him a look.

She immediately forgot what she was saying, since full-on-happy Ed was distractingly gorgeous. “Wait, what?”

“You tend to talk a lot,” he prompted.

“Right.” She nodded. “And sometimes things come out that are…um, influenced by the moment. So when I say things like…oh, that I don’t ever want to have sex with you again, for example, I probably don’t really mean it.”

“When should I believe you, then?” Although the grin had disappeared, his eyes were positively
twinkling
.

Claire kissed him. She couldn’t resist. “When I give you this look,” she said, giving him her sternest glare. He laughed and she couldn’t hold the expression any longer.

“Got it,” he told her, mock-seriously.

“You’d better,” she warned. “There’ll be a test later.” With a sigh, she stood up, regretfully allowing his softening cock to slip free of her body. “Better get cleaned up and dressed before Darwin gets back.”

“Can I shower with you?” he asked, kissing her collarbone.

“You going to keep your hands to yourself?”

“No.”

“Okay then.”

* * * * *

“I’m not comfortable with this,” she said, squeezing her eyes closed. “No offense, but I just don’t think you know what you’re doing.”

“Quit flinching,” Ed told her, a trace of exasperation in his voice. “I can’t do it right if you keep jerking away.”

“He’s right,” Darwin chimed in. “You should trust him. He did a good job on the color.”

“Fine.” Keeping her eyes closed, Claire gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the sound of the scissors snipping away at her hair.

“Besides,” Darwin added, “It’s just hair. It grows back. Now, if he took off your
ear
by accident…”

She opened one eye to glare at him. “Darwin. Not helping.”

“Not really trying to help,” he told her with an unrepentant shrug and amused tilt to his mouth. Muttering under her breath, Claire closed her eye again.

A few minutes later, the snipping sound ceased and Ed announced. “Done.”

She shook her head. Her hair felt lighter, although it still swung to her shoulders. “Can I go look?”

“Sure,” he told her. “D can do me.”

“Definitely.” Darwin grinned wickedly, holding up the clippers.

“Hang on,” Ed caught her arm as she darted toward the bathroom door. “You’re covered in hair bits.” He brushed at her shoulders, knocking the tiny pieces of cut hair to the floor. When his hand moved to sweep at her shirt where it covered her breasts, his fingers lingered.

“Think you got it,” she told him drily.

He looked at her with wide, innocent eyes. “Missed a piece.” His fingers pinched her nipple and she yelped, jumping away.

“Evil man,” she accused, trying not to laugh as she headed for the bathroom. Her trepidation returned as she approached the mirror. She peeked at it, only allowing the side by one ear to show in the reflection. The little she could see looked…blonde.

Taking a deep breath, Claire stepped directly in front of the mirror.

“Huh,” she said, turning her head back and forth. Even though it was still damp, the haircut actually looked…nice. She’d never colored her hair before but the dark blonde color with the lighter streaks suited her, brightened her features from mousey to softly pretty. The cut framed her face, giving it a better shape and making her eyes appear even larger.

She walked back into the main room where Ed was sitting in the kitchen chair she’d just vacated and Darwin was shaving all his hair off. Ed flicked a glance toward Claire without moving his head.

“You like it?” he asked.

Bending down in front of him, she kissed him. Pulling back a little, she said, “Nope. I
love
it. If you get tired of being a bouncer, you could have a career as a hairdresser.”

He gave her a quick smile. “Glad you like it.”

Sitting in the chair next to him, she watched as Darwin ran the clippers across Ed’s scalp, only leaving the barest stubble behind.

“Is that where they inserted the microprocessor?” Claire asked, gesturing toward a scar now visible on his head.

He lifted a hand but caught himself before he touched the mark. “Guess so.”

She frowned. “They didn’t do a very neat job of it.”

His hand jerked up again and then dropped into his lap. “Guess they figured hair would cover it.” He stared straight ahead, his impassive expression firmly in place.

“Sorry,” she told him, reaching over to put her hand on his knee. “I wasn’t very tactful, was I? It doesn’t look bad or anything. It’s just…a reminder, I guess. That they did things without your consent. To your
brain
, especially. Just pisses me off.”

Darwin huffed a laugh and Ed’s mouth twitched up as he covered her hand with his. “We get that. Being pissed off.”

Claire wanted to climb in his lap but hesitated to put herself under the shower of hair tumbling from the path of the clippers. She flipped her hand over so she could squeeze his instead.

* * * * *

Claire couldn’t believe they were actually planning on retracing their steps. She and Ed had just finished their grueling motorcycle ride six hours earlier and here they were, ready to hop back in the truck and do it all over again. She sighed. The worst part was she couldn’t blame anyone else, since it’d been her idea.

Besides Claire’s hair color, Darwin had also gotten her a stocking hat and a pair of glasses with plastic lenses. She tried them on.

“How do I look?” she asked the guys.

“Nice,” Ed grunted, giving her a quick kiss as he jammed the restocked pack under the pickup seat.

“Smarter,” was Darwin’s comment. “The blonde hair dumbed you down a few notches. This brings you back up a little.”

She laughed, tugging off the glasses as she climbed into the truck. Ed swung into the passenger seat next to her and Darwin took the driver’s seat. “This is great. Not that I don’t like your bike,” she gave Ed a conciliatory pat on the knee, “but there’s something to be said about a heater.” A horrible thought occurred to her and she turned toward Darwin. “The heater works, right?”

He gave her a scornful look and slid his hand caressingly over the steering wheel. “Of course it works,” he told her. “The truck’s perfect.”

Claire hid her laugh in a cough. “Right.”

They rolled down the driveway in silence.

As Darwin stopped at the intersection with the main road through town, Claire asked, “Anyone want a sandwich?”

“We just left,” Ed told her.

“So?”

“It’s a thirteen-hour drive.”

“So?”

He shrugged. “Okay, hand one over.”

“Me too,” Darwin said.

After the sandwiches were eaten, Ed tucked his arm around her and she leaned against him, more relaxed than she’d been in days. So far, this trip heading back was much better, in Claire’s opinion, than their journey to Darwin’s house had been. The truck was warm and the vibrations were minimal—enough to make her sleepy but not enough to numb her entire body, like the bike had done.

The setting sun lit the clouds out Darwin’s side window to a pinkish orange. Smiling a little, Claire let her head rest on Ed’s chest and closed her eyes.

Better sleep while I can
, she decided.
It’ll be a busy day tomorrow—lots of felonies to commit.
A snort of laughter escaped and Ed’s arm tightened against her. Claire let the just-right vibrations of the truck rock her to sleep while she marveled at how content she felt.

Chapter Ten

Darwin’s muttered curse woke her.

She opened her eyes, confused by the darkened truck for a moment. Ed pulled his arm from around her shoulders and reached beneath the seat for his pack. He unzipped a front pocket and yanked a cell phone out.

“What’s going on?” Claire asked as Ed turned on the phone.

“Cop,” Darwin growled. “Just pulled out behind us.”

Ed didn’t say anything. He just started pushing buttons on the phone.

“Who’re you texting?” Claire blinked, trying to shake off her just-awake disorientation.

“Cal,” Ed told her, hitting the send button. “We need a social for you.”

“Right,” she said, although she was still confused. Glancing at her watch, she hit the backlight button and saw it was almost five thirty in the morning.

“We’re heading to work at NorTech,” Darwin snapped out as red and blue lights flickered behind them, lighting up the truck cab. “The six-to-two shift. It’s twenty minutes away in Harriston, got it?” Pulling off onto the shoulder, he brought the truck to a halt.

He seemed to be waiting for a response from Claire, so she said, “Yes.”

“We’re car-pooling. The three of us live in Moose River, which is fifteen miles north. We just moved there three weeks ago. Ed and I are stepbrothers. You’re his girlfriend.”

The phone in Ed’s hand beeped. “You’re Delia Marie Snow, birth date December 19, 1985. Your driver’s license is out of Georgia. Here’s your social security number.” He rattled it off as Claire grabbed his hand and pulled the phone over so she could see the screen.

“Let me read it—I memorize numbers better that way,” she told him, muttering the nine digits over and over. “Got it,” she announced with much more confidence than she actually felt. Ed turned off the phone, dropping it between the seat and passenger-side door as a flashlight flickered through the cab.

Darwin rolled down his window. “Morning, Officer,” he said, sounding completely relaxed. Claire gulped in a breath as she turned to look at the cop, hoping desperately she didn’t look as terrified as she felt.

The cop flicked his light over their faces and Claire squinted into the brightness for several endless seconds before he redirected his attention to Darwin. “Do you know the speed limit along here?”

“Fifty-five?” Darwin guessed.

“Yes it is. Do you know what you were going?”

“Fifty-five?”

The cop didn’t crack a smile. “No. Sixty-one. License, proof of insurance and registration, please.”

“‘Course,” Darwin told him, leaning forward and pulling his wallet from his back jeans pocket. Tugging out his license and insurance card, he handed it to the officer before leaning over Claire to open the glove box. She assumed the slip he pulled out was his registration. She watched the cop examine the license while repeating her fake social security number and birthday over and over in her head.

“You two have ID on you?” the cop asked, directing his flashlight at them again.

As Ed reached for his wallet, Claire quavered, “No, sir.”

“What’s your name?”

She had a split-second panic. She’d been concentrating so hard on the numbers, what if she biffed the name? Even as her stomach clenched, the name popped into her head. “Delia Snow,” she told him, even remembering to add a Southern drawl to her words. “Delia Marie Snow.”

The cop was young. Although he maintained his expressionless mien, Claire was pretty sure she saw a spark of interest. For some crazy reason, this calmed her down more than remembering her fake name. She gave him a shy smile.

“Your social security number?”

No problem.
She rattled off the numbers and then her birthday when he asked. “Just a month away,” she added, giving the cop a flirty look. Ed cleared his throat as he leaned across her to hand the officer his driver’s license.

“You have a driver’s license?” the cop asked Claire.

“Yes, sir. From Georgia.”

He made a note on the pad he’d been scribbling on. “Sit tight,” he told them before walking back to his car.

“Watch it,” Ed muttered, giving Claire a nudge.

“What?”

Even in the dim light, she could see his scowl. “Don’t get too friendly with the cop.”

“Hey, I almost forgot my freaking name, okay?” she hissed back. “I was
relieved
, that’s all.” She shrugged. “And if a little flirting helps…”

“It
doesn’t
help,” he growled. “We don’t want him to remember you. Quit being memorable.”

“Fine!”

“Shut it, you two,” Darwin ordered, low-voiced. Claire craned her neck to see the cop approaching their truck again.

“So where’re you headed so early?” the cop asked.

With an amused grimace, Darwin told him, “Work. We all do the six-to-two at NorTech. Since we’re all living in Moose River now, we drive together. You know, split the cost of gas.”

The cop moved the light to Claire and her heart hiccupped. “What about you?”

“Me?” Her voice was just a squeak.

“It’s a long way from Georgia.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, thankful for the drawl that slowed down her words, giving her a tiny amount of time to think. Darwin hadn’t covered this in his rapid-fire background invention. “I…I needed to make a change.”

“Why Moose River?” The cop’s gaze was a little too probing for her comfort.

“These two told me about NorTech,” she improvised. “They said I could stay with them until I found a place.”

“How’d you all meet?”

“Church.” She almost cringed but caught herself in time. “It’s an online chapter. I…um, I can’t lie to you, Officer.” She racked her brain to come up with a believable story. “In Georgia, I was a…a stripper.” She ducked her head in pretend shame. “I knew I had to leave or I’d just keep going back…because of the money.” She peeked up to see whether he was buying the story but his face was impassive. “But I knew Jesus hated to see me up there on stage, naked except for that tiny G-string.”

The cop cleared his throat.

“I’d been chatting online with these two for a while.” She gestured at Darwin and Ed, realizing she didn’t even know their pretend names. “They’d been so supportive, praying with me, helping me come to the decision to leave the stripping life and Georgia for good. I got a bus ticket to Moose River and haven’t looked back.”

“So you…live with both of them?” the officer asked.

She nodded. “But it’s not like we…
live
-live together. There’s no sex. I’ve rededicated my life to Jesus. I won’t have sex again until I’m married.” She bit her lip and shot him another quick look. “Well, maybe I will if I really, really love someone. I’d hate to marry someone and then find out too late he’s,” she waved a hand, searching for a word, “um…you know. He’s not very…
proficient
.”

He coughed. “Um, good luck with that.” Handing Darwin and Ed their cards back, he told them, “Better get going so you’re not all late for work. Watch you keep your speed down, though.”

“Thank you, Officer,” Darwin said, tucking his ID back in his wallet.

Pulling a business card from his pocket, the cop scribbled something on the back and then held it out to Claire. “If you need anyone to,” he cleared his throat again, “show you around, here’s my cell phone number.”

Taking the card, she smiled at him. “I’ll do that, sir. Thank you. You’ve been very kind.”

He nodded seriously. “Drive safe.”

She gave him a small wave before he turned to walk back to his car. Darwin cranked his window back up and eased the truck back into the southbound lane. They were quiet for a solid minute.

“So, Delia,” Darwin said casually. “How’s your buddy Jesus doing? Haven’t heard from him in ages.”

“He’s good,” Claire told him, a little giddy with relief. “He asked about you, actually.”

“He’s going to show you around Moose Lake?” Ed said in disgust. “Moose Lake? What the fuck’s he going to show you in Moose-fucking-Lake?”

Claire blinked at him. “Who’s going to show me Moose Lake? Jesus?”

Darwin apparently thought that was hilarious. “I know what Officer Hard-On wants to show Delia in Moose Lake. I’ll give you a hint—it lives in his pants.”

“Why’d you have to say you’d sleep with him?” Ed demanded.

“I didn’t say I’d sleep with him specifically!” she protested. “I was just talking about waiting until I was married and thought that didn’t seem very practical and since Delia’s not a total idiot, I just wanted to qualify the whole no-sex-before-marriage rule.”

“Delia
is
an idiot if she calls up Officer Asshole for a date,” Ed scoffed.

“She’s lonely, okay?” Claire fired back. “She doesn’t know anyone in Moose Lake except the two of you, it’s freaking freezing here, plus she has to get up at four every morning to go to a job she hates. The cop was nice and kind of cute.”

Ed sounded offended when he asked, “Lonely? What’s wrong with me or D? We gave you a place to live, helped you find a job, talked to you about Jesus—what’s the problem? What does Officer Fuckwad have that we don’t?”

“Um, guys,” Darwin interrupted. “Did you just have simultaneous psychotic breaks? You do know you’re arguing about imaginary people, right?”

“Of course,” Claire told him quickly.

“Yeah,” Ed snapped.

Silence filled the truck cab until Claire giggled. “Oh Jesus.”

“Him again?” Darwin asked, grinning.

Feeling around for Ed’s hand, Claire found it and linked her fingers with his. “That was scary. I didn’t even know what names you two were going by.”

Giving her hand a squeeze, Ed bent his head to give her a glancing kiss on her temple. “You did great, mouse.”

“Yeah?” Claire grinned. “Do you take back that whole thing about me being a terrible spy?”

“I never said that,” he protested.

“Did too!” she protested. “In the supply closet. Or maybe it was at the coffee shop.”

Darwin glanced at them. “What were you two doing in a supply closet? Like I even need to ask.”

“Never mind.” The steel in Ed’s voice ended that subject. “Listen, Claire…”

His hesitant tone immediately piqued her interest. “Yes?”

“What were you hoping to do after we got the laptop?” he asked.

“Bring down my bastard of an ex-boss,” she said. If both her hands had been free, she would’ve rubbed them together like an evil genius. “I thought I’d put together my own presentation for the board of the foundation. Send them all their very own CDs a few days before he’s supposed to present his research proposal. Thought I’d send a few extra copies to other people who might be interested—the police, some people in the media—and I might even blog about it. It’ll be fun.”

“And after that?”

“Well…” She trailed off, sneaking a glance at his face. From what she could see from the dim light of the truck’s control panel, his jaw was set, his face tight. Claire chewed on her lip. What she really wanted was to stay with him but that seemed pretty ballsy to announce after only knowing a guy for what? Three and a half days? She took the chicken’s way out. “Why? What were you thinking?”

“One of the other guys—one of us, I mean—has been doing some research of his own, trying to figure out exactly what they did to us. He’s hoping to get some of our memories back, maybe even…” He paused and Claire didn’t dare move, not wanting to distract Ed from whatever fascinating thing he was going to say next. “Maybe figure out who we were. Before, I mean.”

“Is he having any success?” she asked when Ed fell silent.

He shook his head. “It’s early still. I was just thinking you might be able to help, if you’re interested.”

“Definitely!” She bounced up and down on the seat in excitement. She hadn’t expected to get a job offer on the truck ride back to her former place of employment where she was going to steal her ex-boss’s research findings. “Where is he?”