Tragic Desires (16 page)

Wow. He cut through all
the bullshit.

“You don’t waste any time, do you?” I smile.

“Not when there’s something I want. I usually go after it. And I want you, Onyx.” He spreads his arms wide.

His
grin is too damn hard to resist and with his arms open as they are, I walk into them. “Well, I guess you could say you’ve got yourself a girlfriend, then.”

A half second later
, I’m naked and he has me against the wall. My hands are over my head and his knee is between my legs, hitting me just so. “Goddamn, babe, I didn’t think I could ever wait for this. You’ve had me so jacked up since the office, I can’t fucking think straight. I want in you. I want to feel you around me … I want to feel how tight you are.”

Oh
, hell
. He takes me from zero to sixty with just words.

“Tell me you want me, Gem. Tell me how. Tell me where.”

“Right here, Drex. Up against this wall. Hard and fast.”

He lets me go for a second and the cool air hits my hot skin. I hate to feel
his absence. But soon he’s back, holding a condom. He hands it to me and I tear it open with shaking hands. He groans as I roll it on him. God, how can something like putting a condom on someone feel so damn good? As my hand slides up and down his shaft, he makes that sound in the back of his throat that almost has me coming.

“Gem.” He
brushes my hand away and crushes his mouth on mine. I feel him spread my legs again as his hands move to my ass. Suddenly, he lifts and slides into me, all in one swift movement. I’m lost in the sensation of everything that’s Drex. And it feels so fucking good.

“
Ahhh, Gem.” He’s rough as he moves in and out of me. When I cry out, he stops and asks, “Are you okay? I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Don’t stop. You’re not hurting me.
This is definitely not hurt. It’s good. Or great. Yeah. Oh yeah. Right there, Drex.”

“Tell me. Tell me how you feel.”

“I love it when you fuck me, Drex.”

“You like this?” And he thrusts into me, hard
.

“Ah, yes! Like that.”

Next thing I know, he’s carrying me somewhere, and we end up in the kitchen. He puts me on the counter and I lean back and watch him. My legs are now over his shoulders and he’s still moving in and out but his thumb moves to my sex and I’m getting ready to climax.

“Come for me,
babe. I need to feel it. Now!”

His demands push me right where I want to be and then I hear his groans and know he’s right there with me. When things calm down, I realize I’ve dug my nails into his arms
. Blood seeps to the skin.

He hears me suck in my breath and follows my gaze. “Shit
, babe, it was worth every damn drop.”

G
emini sleeps as
I lie in bed, revisiting what we talked about last night. She’s a quirky one, all right. She’s asked to be in the thick of things and I don’t blame her for that. I suppose if decisions were being made regarding my situation, I’d want to be involved too. She started talking about finding a place to live, but I had to put my foot down. She needs to be here for the time being, until all this is settled and I can determine she’s safe. Yes, I can see her point about us not living together. But not right now. It’s simply too risky.

The funniest thing was when Jill showed up with the shopping bags full of clothes. She only stayed a few minutes, but after she left, Gemini insisted that
Jill looked at me like I was dessert.

“
I would prefer if she weren’t your admin. She makes me uncomfortable. Can she be moved?”

“
To where?”

“To a different job, that’s where. If we’re going to be
dating, I don’t like the way she looks at you … like she wants to … never mind.”

“Jesus, Gemini.”

“It’s true. I know I have no right to ask this of you, but I tell it like it is. There’s something about her that gives me a bad feeling and it’s probably because she wants you. In her bed.”

T
hinking over it, I guess she has a point. I’ve chosen to ignore it, but I know how Jill looks at me. I’ve never said anything because I’ve always known it would never amount to anything.

“What are you thinking about that
has your brow so furrowed?”

Turning to
Gemini, I tug her warm body on top of mine. I was so deep into my thoughts, I didn’t notice she’d awakened. “Just that you’re right.”

“About what?” Her fingers find their way into my hair. She says she loves my hair and I laugh when I think about it. It’s never been this long
before.

“What you said about Jill. I’m going to
transfer her to a different department. And then hire a new admin.”

She grins. “You have to hire someone named Gertrude or Myrtle or Ethel.”

I’m laughing before I know it. “What? I’ll never find someone with names like those. I would think you rather have a Sam or a David.”

“Well
, there’s a thought.”

“Nix that. I was only joking.”
Hell will freeze over before I’d hire Sam or David so they can eye-fuck her. “But I’ll never find a Gertrude or Ethel.”

“Yes
, you will. I want you to hire someone who’ll take care of you. And bring you chicken soup to work or a casserole or something. And who’ll make sure you have proper food to eat for dinner because you’re working late.”

When I brush the hair back from her face,
one glance at her tells me she’s serious. All humor has been replaced with concern. Her sincerity touches a place I’ve never felt before. “You really want someone to cook for me?”

“Yes, I do.”

Grabbing her hand, I kiss her palm and my throat tightens. “Okay. I’ll look for those qualities in my next hire.”

“
Good. At least I’ll know you’ll be eating right. Then I won’t have to worry.”

That takes me by surprise. “
You don’t have to worry about that. I’m fine. I know what I’m doing.”

“
That’s not all I worry about. I’m scared about these crazy people that are after me. These are terrorists for God’s sake. And there’s always that one possibility. For all the precautions my mom took, look what happened to her?”

“
But I’m trained in this stuff. I know things your mom didn’t or couldn’t know. Remember how I told you that story when I was in the Special Forces? I was in the most dangerous place in the world at the time. But look, I’m here now. And that night I rescued you in Austin. I had six armed men chasing me down, but I got away. I know how to handle this. I’ve dealt with IEDs, snipers and all sorts of nasty things.”

“Maybe, but you don’t know how to cook.” She winks.

“Well, you should be happy for that because there’s much less likelihood of me killing either one of us, then.”

“
I guess that’s a good thing.” Her palm massages my cheek. “I think I have some clothes I need to try on.”

“Model them for me?
”

“Okay.”

She hops off and digs through the bag. Then she grimaces. “I think Jill bought these for Gertrude or Ethel.” She holds up some jeans with an elasticized waistband that look like something my grandmother might wear.

“
Fuck. She’s trying to pull a number on you. Well, she just nailed her own coffin. I’m not only moving her to a different department, I may be moving her out of the company. What else is in there?”

Everything she pulls out is ridiculous.

“Tell you what. Trust me?”

“Well
, yeah. Why?”

“
Because I’m taking this shit back and buying you some different things. The stores don’t open for another hour so that give us some time for, oh, I don’t know …”

Her
giggle delivers the response I’d hoped for.

My phone rings
as I’m walking out the door. It’s Huff, calling to let me know Gemini’s phony IDs are ready to go.

“Excellent. Can you call Brady and let him know he can call in her prescriptions? And tell him to use that pharmacy
DWInvestigations uses. Have them call me when they’re ready. And can you get Dr. Davis in to implant a chip? I want to make sure if anything happens to her, we can find her. Thanks, Huff.”

“We’re getting you back in business, babe,” I call out. She’s got the TV on so I have to shout.

“What?”

I walk into the living area and let her know the good news. “I should be back soon and then we’ll grab some lunch
on the way to the office.”

“See you in a bit.”

It only takes a few minutes to get to the shopping area in town. I head straight to the main department store where we maintain a personal shopper. She’s expecting me, and I’ve given her a heads-up of what I need. By the time I arrive, the shopper has jeans, a few tops, a dress, and shoes for each outfit. She’s also picked out some lingerie. I hand over the bag filled with items that need to be returned and I’m back out the door.

When I get home, Gemini is on the computer.

“What are you doing?”

She jumps up and her hand flies to her chest. “Shit, Drex, you scared me.”

“Sorry. You’re not checking your email are you?”

“No, I thought about it but then I figured someone would be spying
on it or whatever you call it.”

“Damn. It’s a good thing you didn’t. They’re probably tracking the IP address. Mine is untraceable, but once they saw your account had been hit, they
’d know it was from you.”

“I was
looking up Panama City, thinking about how weird it was that we went there all the time. Out of all the places to go, why there? There has to be some connection with that, don’t you think?”

She may have something. “The storage unit in Austin may open that clue for us.”

“When can we go?”

“I think we need to wait a few more days.”

“No! We need that information.”

“Come here.”
I walk her into the living area and sit. “Austin is filled with people we need to avoid. I want to throw them off. If we run back there, they’re going to know that we know something. That’s the last thing we want.”

“But everything we need is there.”

“Not true. I still want you to focus on things your mom did, things she said. Anything you can think of. It can be the tiniest thing. I also want you to start the meds Brady prescribed. I want to kick those migraines in the ass.”

“But I haven’t had one all day.”

“And that’s great. But Gemini, let’s do this my way. And before you say anything else, all I want to do is help you. Got that? I have no ulterior motives.” She rubs her hands together and I know something’s not sitting well with her. “Talk to me, babe.”

“It’s just that I want this to be over. I’m afraid you’re going to get hurt. Or someone else will.”

“That makes us even then, ’cuz it scares the hell out of me that you’re going to get hurt … that you won’t listen to me and you’ll do something impulsive, like maybe go to Austin on your own.” When her eyes widen, I know I’ve hit on something. “And if that were to happen, that would be the worst thing ever. Do you wanna know why?”

She looks at
me, those wide black orbs, and nods.

I take her hands in mine
. “You won’t like what you hear, but I’ve been trained to kill, Gemini. To take out the enemy. I’m the expert here, not you. I was trained by the best. I’m not your everyday, run-of-the-mill agent or street cop. I’m specialized in mixed martial arts. I’m a trained sniper. I can tell by the dilation of someone’s pupils if they’re lying. I know how to read people, interrogate them. You should’ve figured that out when I had you handcuffed to the bed back in Austin. My expertise is well beyond yours, so don’t even think of doing this on your own. You have to put your faith and trust in me.

“Let me tell you a story. It’s about a former client of mine.
His girlfriend was abducted by her ex and he was a crazy fucker. Used to beat the shit out of her. We didn’t know where he took her because he left no clues. We didn’t even know the asswipe’s name. My guys tracked him down and Shan, my client and I went in after Riviera. We got to her in time. But it was because we used the proper methods. Shan wanted to drop and go, but I wouldn’t let him. I forced him to follow my rules. Put your trust in me, Gemini, and my team will get this solved.”

She launches herself at me and says against my neck, “Okay. I will. But I’m still scared for you, for me
, and for everyone else involved. Because these guys are bad. And if they’re like the terrorists I’ve read about, they don’t use guns. They use bombs, Drex. Suicide bombs, even. And then no one will be safe around them.”

My arms wind around her and I hold her tight, but I don’t dare confirm her fears. The truth is
, she’s hit closer to home than I want to let on. What she doesn’t know is that I’m already monitoring this place and the office for that kind of activity. I don’t take anything for granted.

I kiss her head
. “Do you want to try on your new clothes? I thought we were going to lunch? And I know you haven’t had a headache, but don’t forget to keep up with your Lortabs.”

“Yeah, sorry. I got sidetracked. And I did take a pill already.”

She rummages through the bag and pulls out the clothes. “Damn, you really know how to pick things out!”

I laugh at her. “I didn’t do it. Heather, the personal shopper
, did. If it doesn’t work, her card is in the bag. You can take it all back and she’ll help you.”

“Hey, what’s the dress for?”

“Our dinner date.”

“
When’s that?” She smiles.

“
This weekend.”

The
look of pure joy on her face almost brings me to my knees. If she asked me there and then to give her the world, I’d find a way to do it. No questions asked.

“You’re a sneak,” she says. But she’s happy with my plans because
her grin isn’t going anywhere.

She holds up the dress
, a deep blue that looks stunning next to her dark hair. God, can she be any more gorgeous? “We also need to get you to a salon to have your hair evened out.”

“Oh, I forgot.”
She bunches her hair and twists it into a bun.

“Okay, start trying on.”

She pulls out the jeans first and they fit just right.

“Too tight?”
she asks.

“They were made for you.” I swallow and lick my suddenly dry lips.
The next pair fits perfectly too.

“Are you sure these aren’t too tight?”

“No, they fit you like they should.” Her ass couldn’t possibly look any better. It’s all I can do not to grab her and strip them off and fuck the hell out of her.