The Lady is a Thief Page 15

  I saw that Maegan’s new friend was fast at home on her lap when I walked through the door. “He looks to be in relatively good health. I don’t see any mange or fleas on him. He’s just skinny.”

  “You’ll have him right in no time,” I told her. “Hey, the previous owner left behind a cat litter pan, liners, and litter in the closet in the laundry room. I think there might even be some food. Hopefully it’s enough to tide the little guy over until you can get to the pet store to pick up more supplies.”

  “Oh! I’m not sure I’m keeping him. I bet someone would love to adopt a handsome boy like him from the county animal shelter.”

  The cat purred loud enough to be heard over Lulu’s snoring, which was pretty impressive. “Maegan, you might as well accept that the little rascal is all yours now.”

  “Rascal,” Maegan repeated like she was trying to see if the name fit her new pet. “I think that’s a perfect name for him.”

  Maegan’s cell phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket. “Everything is fine, Mama,” she said in way of greeting. “There’s no need to come over. Besides, I’m at Elijah’s house.”

  I went into the kitchen to grab us some drinks and noticed the bag of food that I’d forgot about when the cat darted out Maegan’s door. My stomach chose that moment to make its displeasure known. Luckily, the stew and dinner rolls would reheat nicely. I popped the containers in the microwave for a few minutes and looked in the refrigerator for something to drink. The options were pretty slim—Coke, beer, water, or milk. I had no idea what Maegan wanted, but I cracked a beer open for myself and took a long sip. What. A. Day.

  “I’ll take one of those too,” Maegan softly said when she entered the kitchen. “I hoped Miss Emma included a lot of cinnamon butter because it’s a two-roll kind of night.” Maegan pulled the box holding the bread out of the bag and flipped open the top. “Oh yeah, this will help.”

  I handed Maegan a beer and opened the microwave to give the stew a good stir before starting it back up again. “This smells like heaven.”

  “Tastes even better,” Maegan said. She wasn’t trying to be coy or sexy, but I couldn’t help but equate her words with the way I felt about her pussy.

  Down, boy! My dick had its own agenda, but I was mature enough to ignore it. The last thing Maegan probably wanted, or needed, was to be mauled by me. She needed comfort and care, not a douche bag who couldn’t wait to part her legs and slide into her hot, wet….

  “Do you mind if I take a shower?” she asked.

  I nearly moaned out loud just thinking about her standing naked in my shower, water streaming down her luscious body. “Of course not,” I managed to say even though my mouth suddenly felt as dry as the Sahara Desert.

  “Care to join me?”

  “I… uh…”

  Maegan smiled because she knew she had me by the balls. The lady was no shrinking violet. She knew what she wanted and went after it. She walked around me and turned off the microwave before she circled back around to hook my belt loop with her index finger. Maegan started walking backwards, but she didn’t have to pull me. In fact, I scooped her up in my arms and took the stairs two at a time.

  Maegan laughed gleefully over my exuberance until I flipped on the bathroom light. She gasped and covered her mouth in surprise. I looked around the room to see what caused her reaction and caught her staring at the huge clawfoot bathtub in the corner.

  “Oh, Elijah! It’s magnificent.”

  “I’ve been told that a time or two,” I told her.

  “Yes, your cock is amazing, but that bathtub is… just wow.”

  “Would you like to take a bath instead of a shower? I can go downstairs and wait for you.”

  “Or you can get in that tub with me,” she suggested.

  “I’m not much of a bath guy.”

  “Do you have any idea of the things I could do to you in that tub?”

  “Let me grab some clean towels,” I said, setting her feet on the bathroom tile.

  “And condoms!”

  “Oh, hell yeah.”

  Maegan had already stripped her clothes off and was running water in the tub when I returned from my bedroom. I stood in the doorway and raked my eyes over her toned legs and perky ass. My dick throbbed, demanding attention, but all I could do was stare. She looked over her shoulder and winked at me, and damn, it was all I could do to keep from mounting her right then.

  “You’re about to become a bath guy, Elijah. A big fan.”

  “Okay.”

  “Take off your clothes and bring that box of condoms with you. I like your preparedness. Let me guess; you were a Boy Scout.”

  I laid the towels on the closed toilet lid and brought my right hand up to salute her. I confess my eyes didn’t stay locked on hers, but how could they with her beautiful body on display. I whipped my shirt off at the same time I toed out of my shoes.

  “Let me help,” she said when I reached for my belt. Maegan closed the distance between us and knocked my hands out of the way. She sank down to her knees, unfastened my jeans, and pulled them down to midthigh along with my underwear. “You are magnificent,” she said when my cock sprang forward.

  “I just want you to know that I wasn’t expecting sex when I invited you to stay here tonight.”

  “I know.” Maegan slowly licked her lips like my cock was a treat she couldn’t wait to devour.

  “Just because I have a dick doesn’t mean I am one,” I said, trying not to push said appendage toward her parted lips. “We don’t need sex tonight.”

  “Your cock doesn’t agree.” She wrapped her fist around the base of my dick and pumped it a few times.

  I groaned in ecstasy then said, “You’re naked, Maegan. Of course, he’s hard and eager to have you. If this doesn’t feel right then we won’t do it.”

  “I’m eager for him to have me.” She looked up into my eyes and I saw certainty in her green irises. “Nothing has ever felt so right.”

  I cupped the back of her head in my head and said, “Then let me love you.”

  I KNEW BETTER THAN TO read too much into Elijah’s words. He wanted to physically love me, not emotionally. There was a big difference, but not enough that I gave a fuck at that precise moment. My breasts were swollen and my clit throbbed hard enough to tip the balance in favor of pain over pleasure. I was every cliché I’d ever read in a romance novel from my aching nipples to my wet pussy, and I wasn’t about to let my brain ruin this for me.

  As badly as I wanted to ride Elijah’s cock, I didn’t want to waste the opportunity my current position afforded me. I felt his gaze on my mouth and the way his grip tightened on my skull when I licked my lips in anticipation of sliding them down the length of his erection. Elijah’s eagerness radiated off his body as I leaned forward and captured the bead of pre-cum gathering at his slit with my tongue, swirling it around the velvety head, then retracting it back inside my mouth.

  Elijah’s eyes snapped up to meet mine as a moan rumbled low in his throat. His cupped my chin with his free hand, applying enough pressure to open my jaw, but not enough to hurt me. I released his cock and placed both of my hands on the back of his thighs. Elijah stepped forward until his cock jutted against my parted lips, painting them with his essence. His upper body looked like cut marble and the muscles in his legs tensed beneath my hands from the restraint he exuded over himself.

  He removed his hand from the back of my head and firmly gripped his shaft, feeding his cock to me slowly. I curled my tongue up slightly at the tip to tease that vein that ran from base to crown.

  “Maegan,” Elijah said huskily. “You feel so good.” He hadn’t seen anything yet. I channeled every gay porn video I’d ever watched and worked his cock like a champ, savoring every grunt and groan I elicited from him. Looking at us, one would think that Elijah was the powerful one in our dynamic, but I ruled him from my knees and had the power to bring him to his. That knowledge was a heady thing and I laved, licked, sucked, and savored every second that
he was in my mouth and every response I garnered from him spurred me on.

  It was easy to lose myself in him because every single thing about the man, from the natural, masculine scent of his skin to his ripped body, drove me wild. It felt like our bodies communicated in their own special language when he was inside me. It was thrilling in both beautiful and terrifying ways; like he could either heal or destroy me if I let him.

  Lust and need glittered in his dark gaze as Elijah approached the point of no return. He pulled his cock from my mouth and pushed his jeans down to his knees and gravity took it from there. He stepped out of his jeans and kicked them out of the way leaving him in nothing but a pair of black socks. Not even Elijah could pull off that look, so I slid my hands down his legs and removed his socks so that we were both naked.

  I turned off the water and said, “Our bath is ready.”

  “Ladies first,” Elijah said.

  “Huh uh,” I replied. “You sink down in there and I’m going to sink down on your cock.”

  “Jesus, Freckles.” Elijah reached for a condom and quickly suited up before he eased into the water.

  I sounded confident, but the truth was I had never attempted bathtub sex before and wasn’t one hundred percent sure it would work. I’d be damned if I showed Elijah that though. Luckily the tub was deep enough so that it came up to his mid-torso, leaving his carved upper chest on display. I couldn’t wait to run my hands over his pecs, tease his nipples, and grip those massive shoulders while I… Stop daydreaming and get to living.

  Elijah held out his hand, and I accepted it as I stepped into the tub. Not only was the tub deep, it was wide enough to accommodate me comfortably when I straddled his thick thighs. It wasn’t exactly where I wanted to be, but I felt the need to draw out our pleasure even more. I took the hand that held mine and placed it against my upper chest near my collarbone.

  “Touch me, Elijah.”

  I expected him to go straight for one of my breasts since he was so fond of them, but he surprised me by gliding it slowly down the center of my body beneath the water line until he reached my bare pussy. He turned his wrists and slid two fingers inside me, hooking them while covering my mound with his palm. He pulled his arm back slightly, tugging me toward him playfully.

  “You’re too far away, Freckles. Come a little closer.”

  “Says the Big Bad Wolf,” I replied coyly, but slid up his legs until I felt his hard-on brush my inner thigh.

  “Let’s not pretend it isn’t exactly where your greedy cunt wants to be,” Elijah told me. “Fuck me like you mean it.” Elijah released my pussy and leaned back against the tub, propping his arms on the sides. “Take what you want, baby.”

  I gripped his cock at the base and lowered myself on his turgid rod. My head felt too heavy to hold up so I let it fall back, closing my eyes and just savoring the way he made me feel. I braced my hands on his shoulders and began to move, slowly at first because it was too amazing to rush. The water lapped against the sides from the waves my undulating hips made, going higher and coming faster as I gave in to the passion rising through me.

  “You are so beautiful.” Elijah’s words snapped me out of my sensual trance and I opened my eyes to meet his hot gaze. He touched me then, and not just with his hands. I felt him in my soul. I was in so much trouble, but it had never sounded or felt so fucking good. Elijah took a breast in each of his hands, flicking his thumbs over the tips of my nipples. His jaw tightened as arousal threatened to pull him beneath the current with me. God, I wanted to make him lose control with me. I placed my hand over his and moved them down to hold my hips beneath the water line. I pressed my breasts against his chest and rocked up and down his length faster. Elijah captured my mouth in a hot, hungry kiss, catching my gasps of pleasure on his tongue. The friction created by rubbing my sensitive nipples against his chest hair and grinding my swollen clit against his washboard abs sent me spiraling into a hard orgasm. My pussy contracted around his cock, milking his orgasm from him at the same time.

  My body shook and trembled as pleasure rippled through me. Elijah kissed me through it, never taking his mouth from mine until I collapsed against his chest in exhaustion. He rubbed his hand up and down my back, and maybe it was wishful thinking, but he seemed content to hold me tight against him. All the emotions from earlier in the evening, the ones I could ignore while my body demanded satisfaction, flooded my brain causing me to shiver hard. I wasn’t cold, in fact, I was the furthest thing from it; I was frightened.

  “I got you, Freckles. Please believe me.” I lifted my head and looked into his eyes. “Let me feed you and tuck you into a warm bed so we can say goodbye to this day. Tomorrow is a new day, and I’ll move heaven and earth to solve this case and eliminate the danger to you. Say you believe me.”

  I could tell how much he wanted me to trust him, and I suspected there was a clue somewhere in his words that explained the aloofness I saw in his eyes at times. I hoped to unravel all his mysteries, but it would need to happen another day because it would require more energy than I had to give after a trying day and an earth-shattering climax.

  “I believe you, Elijah.”

  “Atta girl, Freckles.”

  “What do you feel like watching?” Elijah asked as he scrolled through the cable guide on his screen.

  “I’m not picky.” I blew softly on the spoonful of savory stew in front of my lips. “I’m mostly interested in the food.”

  “Since you already had your way with me,” Elijah teased. “How about this?”

  I glanced up and saw The Notebook highlighted. I set my spoon back in the carton, placed it on the coffee table, and pinned him with a menacing glare. “Are you asking because I’m a woman?”

  “Um…”

  “Are you assuming because I have tits that I want to watch a chick flick?” I asked.

  “Uh, no…”

  “What did you base your decision on then?”

  “Well, my mom and my ex loved this movie. They talked about it all the time,” Elijah said, managing to sound both defensive and fearful.

  “Don’t lump me in the category with any of your exes,” I warned him. “I’m sure your mom is really sweet, but chick flicks aren’t for me. I had to suffer through hours of them with my mom last night to make her feel better about me nearly discovering a dead body last night. Just be glad I talked her down from coming over here tonight.”

  “I’m sure your mom is a lovely person,” Elijah countered.

  “She is, but she would’ve crimped our style.” I tipped my head toward the second story where the magic had happened.

  “So, what would you like to watch?” Elijah asked, holding the remote toward me. He picked up his stew and started eating it while I took over surfing duties.

  “This!” I announced when I came to one of the movies I had loved watching with my dad.

  “Lethal Weapon?”

  “What’s wrong with it?” I asked him.

  “Nothing; it’s a great movie. I’m just surprised you think so.”

  “Because I’m a woman?”

  “No, not really. Well, maybe. I guess I’m basing it on my universe where women don’t care for action movies.”

  “Perhaps you need to expand your universe.” I thought about what I said and how awkward it sounded. I basically encouraged Elijah to go out and meet more women.

  “Nah,” Elijah said, hooking his free arm around my shoulders and pulling me to him. He kissed my temple then dropped his arm from my shoulders. “I like my universe the way it is right now.”

  I wasn’t convinced that he truly meant what his words implied. Elijah owed me nothing, but I hoped I wouldn’t have to see a parade of women coming and going from his house anytime soon. In fact, my churning stomach at the mere thought of another woman curling up next to him on the couch told me that I was more invested than I had realized. I tried to mentally put some distance between us when I straightened away from him, but it didn’t work. I felt his pull like a huge
invisible magnet.

  We settled into comfortable silence while we ate our savory stew and watched the shenanigans of Riggs and Murtaugh. I expected Elijah to interject and tell me which parts were not how real cops did things, but he just laughed along with me.

  “Ready for dessert?” Elijah asked halfway through the movie.

  “Dessert?” Hell, I thought we already had dessert before dinner.

  “Miss Emma said that you love pecan pie and added two pieces in the bag. She said it won’t make up for the rough couple of days you’ve had, but she hoped to put a smile on your face.”

  “That was so sweet of her,” I said, rubbing my hands together gleefully. “Emma makes the best pies.”

  “This is a very nice town,” Elijah said. “You look out for one another here.”

  “You mean when we’re not killing each other?”

  “Thom Renzo hasn’t lived here in several years, Maegan. Maybe his trouble followed him here from Kentucky.”

  I wanted it to be true, but I wasn’t holding my breath. Wouldn’t the killer flee back to where they came from instead of hanging around and risk getting caught? I hated wondering if the person that stood across me at the counter or was on the other end of the phone line was the person who ended Thom’s life. That person apparently wanted to pull me into the murder investigation by dropping off evidence behind my building and putting the only witness inside my house. It wouldn’t be the first time that our town was shocked when one of our citizens turned out to be a killer, which meant my negligence was unacceptable.

  “I know why there was no forced entry at my house tonight,” I said guiltily.

  “Let me guess,” Elijah said dryly, “you had a key hidden beneath the doormat.”

  “No, but just as stupid. It was under the planter on my porch.”

  “Stay here,” Elijah said, jumping to his feet. He ran out the front door without even stopping to put shoes on.