6. Justice For All - Неизвестный

“Someone’s trying to crack my system,” Sloan murmured, her eyes still closed. “But they’re playing games.”

“What does that mean?” Michael asked with a frown.

“They’re not really trying to hide what they’re doing. They’re letting me see them, like a game of hide and seek.” Sloan grasped Michael’s hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. “Or chess.”

“Really? Why would a hacker do that?”

Sloan shook her head. “Arrogance. Boredom. Maybe he hasn’t had anyone at his level to compete with. Because he’s good. Very good. I can’t find his trail.” She took a deep breath and let it out with a frustrated sigh. “He knows how to bait the hook.”

“Playing with you.” Michael caressed Sloan’s neck, then slid a hand under the top of her T-shirt and rubbed her chest. “Not very smart.”

Sloan arched in the chair, her hand drifting away from the keyboard for the first time in hours. “Michael. You’re cheating.”

“I never cheat,” Michael whispered softly in her ear. “I just play to win. Are you coming to bed?” She caught her breath as Sloan’s eyes opened and sought hers, unguarded arousal shimmering through the blue depths. “God, darling. Say yes.”

Sloan stood, shoved the desk chair away with her foot, and caught Michael against her chest. She kissed her, filling her hands with

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Michael’s hair and her senses with Michael’s scent. “Yes. Definitely, yes.”

v

Sandy sat up, instantly alert, at the quiet snick of the door lock catching. Dell looked even paler than usual in the gray early-morning light, her eyes shadowed and wary. The bedside clock said 6:30 a.m.

She’d been out all night. With Irina. Dell stood statue still as if awaiting judgment until Sandy flicked back the sheet, indicating the bed beside her.

Wordlessly, Dell stripped, then climbed into bed and lay on her back.

“Are you all right?” Sandy asked.

“Yeah.”

“Did something happen?”

“Not really.”

“How come you’re so late?”

Dell sighed. She’d wanted to come earlier, but she didn’t want to leave Irina until she was certain no one had followed them. She couldn’t leave her unprotected.

“Sorry.”

“I didn’t ask you to be sorry.” Sandy rolled onto her side and put her hand on Dell’s stomach. The muscles were hard as wood. Dell’s stomach felt that way when she was getting ready to come, or when she was really upset. Sandy rubbed up and down, slow steady sweeps, and Dell shivered. “You’re really wired, baby.”

“Things got a little tense for a few minutes. They sent muscle to collect Irina.”

“Did they take her?”

“No,” Dell said hoarsely.

“Did things get physical?”

“Almost.”

Sandy sucked in a breath. What Dell was doing was dangerous.

Dell knew it, and she knew it. Telling her to be careful wouldn’t do any good. Asking her not to do what she needed to do wasn’t an option. She shifted on top of Dell and wiggled her hips between Dell’s legs, forcing her to open. As soon as Dell parted her thighs, Sandy pushed her way

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down on the bed and pressed her cheek in the delta at the base of Dell’s belly. Dell’s clitoris was erect, a firm bulge against her face. She shifted and brushed her lips over it.

Dell dragged in a shaky breath.

“I’m going to take care of this so you can sleep,” Sandy whispered, her lips moving over the distended shaft. “You want?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Will you come for me, baby?”

“Will you do me really slow?” Dell’s voice broke. “So I can feel everything?”

“As slow as you want, for as long as you need.” Sandy dropped feather-light kisses over Dell’s clitoris, her inner lips, the insides of her thighs. She teased under the hood with just the tip of her tongue, sweeping round and round, until Dell’s hips bucked and twisted. She licked, she sucked, she stroked the flat of her tongue the length of Dell’s sex. When Dell’s legs trembled, Sandy held her down, closing her hands over Dell’s lean, taut thighs. When Dell gasped for breath, Sandy stilled, keeping her just on the edge of exploding, knowing the buildup would make the release all the sweeter. She knew what Dell needed.

She needed to go beyond thought, beyond fear, beyond uncertainty. She needed to drown in pleasure, to be held in safety.

“Sandy,” Dell groaned.

“You need to come now, baby?” Sandy crooned, sliding first one finger, then two, inside. With her other hand she pressed on the base of Dell’s stomach, forcing her clitoris to stand up straight. “Want to come in my mouth?”

“Please.” Dell’s voice was unsteady and low.

Sandy pulled on Dell’s length with long strokes of her pursed lips. She kept it up, stroke after stroke, as Dell arched and mumbled incoherent pleas, then looked up to see Dell propped on her elbows, staring down at her with a dazed, delirious expression. She felt Dell’s clitoris expand, saw her face twist in an agony of pleasure, and curled her fingers forward to massage the spot that made Dell’s clitoris leap between her lips.

“Uh.” Dell jerked. Once. Twice. Then her arms gave way and she fell back with a cry, writhing as her muscles tightened and convulsed.

“Keep sucking. Just suck. Jesus!”

Sandy lost count of how many times she coaxed Dell’s clitoris to

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stiffen and explode, but she kept working it until Dell whimpered for her to stop. She was so high on the power she couldn’t. She wanted to make Dell come again. She wanted Dell to be hers, and only hers, forever. She teased the swollen head with her tongue and Dell twisted away.

“Babe, please,” Dell whispered weakly. “Hold me. San?”

“I’m here, baby,” Sandy said instantly, clambering up to pull Dell into her arms. Dell was nearly twice her size, but it didn’t matter. Right now, she felt like a giant. She tightened her grip on Dell’s shoulders and rocked her. “I love you, baby.”

“I need you, San.”

“Shh.” Sandy kissed Dell’s sweaty brow and stroked her face.

“You go to sleep now, baby.”

“Play with your clit,” Dell murmured, cradled in Sandy’s arms.

“Know you need to.”

“I’m okay, baby.”

Dell nuzzled Sandy’s breast and drew her nipple into her mouth.

When she bit down, Sandy felt as if she’d been electrocuted. Her legs jerked and her clit twitched like crazy. She reached for it, moaning when she discovered how wet and hard she was. She hadn’t been aware of her own excitement until then. All she’d known was Dell. Fingers squeezing, she closed her eyes and rested her cheek against the top of Dell’s head.

“Good?” Dell muttered.

“Uh-huh,” Sandy whispered, twisting and tugging her aching clit. A huge balloon filled her insides until she couldn’t breathe. She squeezed and pulled until the balloon burst open and she was coming.

“God, baby. God!”

Dell sighed with pleasure and relaxed in her arms. Sandy stroked her until she heard her breathing slow and knew she was falling asleep.

She knew that if anyone came through that door wanting to hurt Dell, she would kill them. She only wished she could always be there to protect her.

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ChAPTER SEvENTEEN

Kratos folded the Wall Street Journal and set it aside as his driver pulled the Town Car to a stop in a parking lot in the shadows of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. A blustery wind was coming off the Delaware River, but he did not button his topcoat when his bodyguard opened the door. Bareheaded, he stepped out and approached a black Mercedes SUV with darkened windows, his bodyguard and Vincent on either side of him. The two Russians standing next to the vehicle watched him, their broad, heavy features expressionless. He stopped a few yards away and waited. The rear door opened and a thin, blond man in a cashmere coat similar to his own stepped out.

“Stay here,” Kratos said to his companions.

“Boss,” Vincent muttered, clearly unhappy.

“I shouldn’t be too long.”

Kratos walked to the edge of the pier, ignoring the two Russian bodyguards, deliberately giving them his back as if they were of no consequence to him at all. He wanted to reinforce that they were on his turf, where he held the power, and that he did not fear them. Mind games. The kind he loved.

A few seconds later, the Russian boss stepped up beside him.

Kratos did not turn his head to acknowledge the other man. “Winter is coming,” he said, staring out at the muddy river.

“Good,” the Russian said. “Cold weather is good for business.

Men want to be inside with a warm woman.”

Kratos laughed briefly. “Are you going to be able to supply what we need?”

“There are always girls.”

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“Yes, but not ones as beautiful and easy to manage as yours.”

Kratos disliked discussing the specifics of business with anyone because the only thing he was certain of was that no one could be trusted. Still, a discussion outdoors in the wind in an open parking lot was as safe as any could be, unless the Russian was wired. To counter the possibility, Vincent carried a radio frequency jammer in his pocket that would distort audio transmissions enough to make the recording inadmissible in court. “I understand that you have lost a substantial amount of your inventory.”

The Russian shrugged. “When your authorities lose interest in us, I will bring more. Until then, the American product will do.”

“My clients are used to quality,” Kratos said.

He provided women to some of the most powerful men in the state, in several states, and they expected beauty, compliance, and skill. They also expected anonymity. He couldn’t send common prostitutes or even high-class escorts who might recognize the men or who might be under surveillance themselves. The only reason he had allowed the Russians to move in on a corner of his prostitution business was because they could provide him with young, attractive, healthy girls who were no threat to his high-powered clients. The Russian girls wouldn’t recognize the men, and even if they did, they didn’t speak enough English to be able to betray anyone. Many of his clients preferred the young Russians for another reason, even if their expertise was sometimes lacking. For these men, power was more erotic than flesh, and the combination of fear and innocence was more appealing in a woman than a talented mouth.

“Do not concern yourself,” the Russian boss said. “Your clients will have everything they want.” He looked at Kratos for the first time.

“How is it that your police interfere with my business, but not yours?”

Kratos shook his head. “I am sorry for your misfortune. I’ll do what I can to interest them elsewhere.” He didn’t add for a price, but it was understood. If he used his influence to divert the investigation, the Russian would be in his debt. It was also understood that when he called in the debt, he would collect many-fold. He waited.

The Russian nodded. “I would be grateful.”

“Think nothing of it, my friend.” Satisfied, Kratos turned to go.

“I will need another house. Two would be better.”

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“Someone will call you with the addresses,” Kratos said without looking back. He nodded to Vincent, who stepped behind him to protect his back until he slid inside the car once more. As they moved off, he called Talia. With his supply lines secured, he could accelerate his plans to disrupt the investigation.

v

“You know, we could just skip this thing,” Sloan said, wiping water from her eyes and groping at a nearby counter.

“Looking for this?” Michael teased, holding up a large white terry-cloth towel. She wore a pale blue silk robe tied at the waist.

At the sight of her breasts moving gently beneath the thin material, Sloan cared even less about the benefit they were supposed to attend.

She was also tired. And frustrated. After being lured to bed the night before, she’d actually fallen asleep for a few hours, then worked all day trying to discover who was attempting to breach her system. She’d made little progress tracing the source of the cyberattacks and was increasingly worried that Michael would be drawn into danger because of the new investigation.

“Couldn’t you find anything to wear?” she asked. Michael had been choosing a dress for the benefit when Sloan got home.

“I got distracted.” At Sloan’s look of confusion, Michael laughed.

In slow, succinct bites, she explained, “You. Naked. Taking a shower.”

“Sorry.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.”

Sloan heard the words, but it was the invitation in Michael’s voice that held her attention. “How are you feeling?”

“Wonderful.” Michael hooked a finger around the top of the towel and pulled it loose. When it dropped to the floor, she wrapped her arms around Sloan’s neck and kissed her, moving from her mouth over her jaw, and then down her neck.

“I’m going to get you all wet,” Sloan murmured.

“Done,” Michael whispered. She licked a bead of water from the hollow at the base of Sloan’s throat as she caressed the muscles in Sloan’s shoulders and back. “You snuck out of bed this morning before I had a chance to say good morning.”

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Sloan reached back and grasped the edge of the counter on either side of her body. She let her head fall back as Michael cupped her breasts and squeezed gently. “I’m sorry. Again.”

“Really?” Michael murmured, drawing a nipple between her lips.

“Not so much right now.” Sloan closed her eyes. “Michael. The time.”

“Don’t worry.” Michael dropped to her knees and slid both hands around to Sloan’s ass. “We have plenty.”

Sloan looked down, mesmerized as Michael kissed her belly, then the angle of her thighs, then the sensitive cleft between. She hissed between her teeth. “If you’re just teasing…”

Michael glanced up, her lids heavy, her mouth curved into a hungry smile. “Oh, I’m teasing. In fact, I think you should see just how much.”

She dragged her nails lightly over the crest of Sloan’s hipbones and down her stomach. Then she used both thumbs to part Sloan’s swollen flesh. She held Sloan’s eyes for another few seconds before extending her tongue and flicking at Sloan’s clitoris.

Sloan tightened her thighs, which suddenly felt like jelly, and leaned forward to watch Michael play with her. Her clit had already plumped up to its full size at the first touch of Michael’s tongue, and now it twitched with each lick. “Do you want me to come in your mouth?”

“Try not to right away,” Michael murmured, sucking Sloan’s clitoris delicately between her lips.

“I really really want to,” Sloan warned, her voice catching in her throat.

Laughing softly, Michael released her clitoris and stroked her tongue deeper into Sloan’s center. When Sloan groaned, Michael traced Sloan’s inner lips with a fingertip down to the muscled ring between her buttocks. She massaged the tight opening and took Sloan’s clitoris into her mouth again.