Agatha Read online

  “Yeah?” His voice is husky and deep.

  “You’ve got too many clothes on.”

  I think that’s the cue he needed. Chuckling, he steps back. I take a moment to gawk at the man’s upper body. He’s muscled for sure, but he’s lean too. There are indentations showing me where his abdominals are but he’s no gym rat. When he lets the towel drop to the floor, I look lower at a completely nude, amazingly hard and erect, Ian Burke. The man is beautiful. There are no other words for it. His penis is big. Not porn star big but bigger than I’ve ever seen. Or felt.

  He has to know I’m staring at it because he moves his hand to it and begins to rub up and down the shaft. “Take your panties off, babe.”

  Ooh, he broke out the ‘babe’. This is getting serious. And fun. “Make me.”

  He smirks, or at least I think he does, since I’m still staring, like a pervert, at his dick. “Is it going to be like that? You going to be a naughty girl?”

  Oh, shit. I just came.

  “Uh, huh,” I say, all Marilyn Monroe-like.

  “Babe.”

  I finally look up at his face. I had to tear my eyes away from it just as it started to leak. “Yeah?”

  “Lay back.”

  I move up onto the bed, placing my head on a pillow, I watch him place one knee on the edge. “I hope to play that game with you sometime when we’ve got more time, but tonight I just want to be inside you.”

  “Oh.” I’m for that.

  Using his fingers, he slides them into the edge of my underwear, and his short fingernails drag against my skin as they move down over my center. When he pulls the panel away from me, seeing me, down there, he growls, “Beautiful. So pretty, honey.”

  Yay! He likes my hoo-ha. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t think down there was going to scare him or anything since I keep myself lady-scaped. Keely is a big proponent of Brazilians for all of her sisters, but I can’t go there. I can shave myself, thankyouverymuch. I do not need the skin of my privates peeled off by hot wax and a stranger.

  When his hand slides further into my undies, I refocus my attention on him. God, it feels good. His hands are magic. He knows just where to touch me, and how to use his fingers. For example, when he circles them around my clit and then deep inside, it makes me open my legs wider to encourage him. “Feels so good.”

  “Are you achy for me, Agatha?”

  God, yes. “So achy, Ian.”

  It happens so fast. One minute I’m on my back, legs wide open, his hands in all the right places. The next minute, my panties are flying through the air and Ian’s on his back and my, err, center is above his face. “Lower yourself down. Hold on to the headboard, Agatha.”

  “I’ve never…”

  “No one’s ever tasted you?”

  I can’t speak. I shake my head because no one has ever gone down on me. “Oh, my God.” His tongue. Hell, his entire mouth is over me. I feel his lips down there. It’s like a kiss only better. Waaayyy better. His tongue slides up and down through my crease stopping at my clit on each pass, paying special attention to the little pack of nerves. He licks. He sucks, and I swear, he nibbles. “Oh, my God.”

  His palms slide up behind me onto my ass, squeezing and pulling me down at the same time. I’m stiffening up. I don’t want to kill the man. I’m no skinny-mini.

  “Get out of your head, Agatha. You look beautiful from here. Let me.” He sucks on my clit and I squeak.

  Growling into me he repeats, “Just relax, honey. Let me do this.”

  I nod frantically. “Do it.” Please.

  His hands are magic, but his tongue and mouth are intergalactic. I feel the orgasm start in my belly. I clench around his fingers that are now moving in and out of me. The combination of his mouth and fingers is pushing me higher. The tingles start, and I release a low, guttural moan. I feel myself pulsing or vibrating around his fingers. In my entire adult life, I’ve never come that hard. Ever.

  In a daze, I feel his hands nudge me backwards until I’m straddling his waist. His face is shining with me, uh, my essence. I lean down and kiss his lips gently. He takes it further, bringing his hand behind my head to bring me closer. We kiss, and I taste myself. I have no idea who I’ve become because I like it. I deepen the kiss sweeping my tongue into his mouth. I want him. Inside.

  When I’m directly over him, he looks into my eyes. “Are you on birth control, Agatha?”

  I nod. “The pill.”

  “Do you trust me when I tell you I’m clean? I’ve only ever gone without with my ex-wife and that was a long time ago.”

  “I trust you,” I whisper. I wish he hadn’t brought her up, but it had to be said, I guess. “I’m clean, I’ve never done it without a condom either.” Not that I’ve done it enough to worry about but once is enough, I guess.

  “Okay. You ready for me?” He asks as he presses me down until I feel him at my entrance.

  “I’m ready.”

  I feel his palms press down on my waist at the same time I lower myself onto him. We both moan in unison. It’s a tight fit made tighter by the orgasm I just had. It feels like it takes me forever to get fully seated but once we do, I lean forward, running my palms over his chest. I just want to stay right here forever. God, he’s deep. So damn deep. “Ian. Oh, wow.”

  “Come on, fuck me, Agatha.”

  I lift myself up using his chest for balance. I move up until he says, “Fuck. So sweet. So wet.” It’s hot that he’s only using one-or two-word phrases.

  When he grips my waist, plunging up into me it’s my turn to speak cavewoman. “Don’t stop, Ian.” I want to move too but he’s holding me steady, thrusting, pounding in and out. In and out. I’ve never been on top before. If I’d known it was going to be like this, I’d have tried it once or twice, or a million times.

  Swiping at his hands, I urge him to let go so I can move on my own. Placing my hands behind his head, gripping the top of the headboard, I lift up when he’s down and press down when he moves up. In no time, we’ve got a rhythm that’s fast and so, so good. He wraps his arms around me pulling my chest down. Taking one of my hard peaks into his mouth, he sucks on my nipple. I feel him running a finger over and around my clit all while we’re still moving. The man is talented. I’m in sensation overload. Throwing my head back, I orgasm so hard it makes my body tremble.

  Ian picks up the pace, his thrusts growing more and more frantic. Pressing in one last, hard time, he releases a growl. A sound that could rival mine.

  Panting, he wraps his arms around me, pulling me down until we’re chest to chest. “Jesus, Agatha,” he whispers, kissing my shoulder, then my neck, my chin, and up to my lips. “That was…”

  “Yeah.” My body is a rubbery blob. I can barely move let alone speak more than one word, but I try. “It was…”

  “Everything,” he says sweetly.

  I blink, taking in his word choice. Looking into to his eyes, all I see is sincerity. So, I say the only thing that feels right. “Yeah.”

  “So, what’re you hungry for?” I say, looking over at Ian. When he gives me a sexy smirk, I roll my eyes. “Later. I’m starving. I had to work three hours with a growling stomach since we didn’t have time to eat before work.”

  “Whose fault is that?” he says with a chuckle.

  “Yours.”

  “Ah, I see. That’s how you want to play it?” He reaches out, squeezing my thigh.

  “Nah. It’s both of our faults.” I hesitate, adding, “It was worth it, right?”

  He turns to look at me, and his eyes have grown soft, as does his smile. “Well worth it.” I watch as Ian pulls into a restaurant I’ve never heard of. “This place is great. Lots of variety so you can pick something that sounds good to you.”

  “I’m ravenous. I could eat anything.”

  When I get his sexy look again, I giggle. “Later.”

  “Promise?”

  Giving him my own sexy look back, I start to open my car door just as I spot Camille exiting the restaurant. �
��Hey, there’s Camille,” I say excitedly. “I haven’t talked to her in forever.”

  As I’m about to push open the door and yell for her, Ian grasps my arm. “Shush. Shut the door.”

  “Why?”

  “The light,” he says pointing up to the inside dome light.

  I quickly shut my door just as we see two other people exit the restaurant. Two people I recognize. “What are they doing here?” I look over at Ian. “Why are they with Camille?”

  We stare in silence as all three get into the same vehicle.

  “I don’t know, but we’re going to find out.”

  I re-buckle my seat as Ian eases out of our parking spot.

  “Keep your eye on the vehicle. We’ll need to stay back a few cars.”

  “We’re following them?”

  “Yep.”

  If I wasn’t completely confused about what I just saw, I’d be excited I was playing detective with Ian right now. But I am, so I’m not.

  We follow them south all the way through Flagstaff until Ian mumbles, “Wow, Mountainaire.”

  “What about it?”

  “It’s posh. A very exclusive suburb of Flagstaff.”

  Posh? Did he just say posh? I want to laugh but all of this is freaking me out. Why would Camille get into the car with them? I’m afraid to ask what he thinks. My gut tells me this isn’t a good sign for me and my bestie. Unless… “Do you think they kidnapped her?”

  Giving me the side-eye again, Ian shakes his head. “No.”

  No? That’s it? “You have a theory then?”

  “I don’t. Not yet. I’m working on it.” He reaches out and squeezes my knee. “But what I do know is that I’m about to make your dreams come true.”

  “We’re not having sex in the car, Ian.” Okay, maybe we could have sex in the car.

  Chuckling, he leans over the center console to kiss my cheek. “No, a different dream of yours.”

  I wait. I want to hear what dream he thinks he’s going to fulfill.

  “We’re going on a stake out.”

  I watch as the car Camille’s in pulls into a long driveway that leads to a huge house. “We are?” I say excitedly. “Now?” OMG, I’ve always wanted to do a stake out.

  “Now.”

  “Oh, shit, Ian. I wish we’d gotten some food. I’m starving.”

  Reaching behind him, Ian grasps a white, plastic grocery bag. “I’ve got snacks.”

  I peek inside and see a plethora of treats. Some sweet, some salty. Leaning over to the glove box, he pops it open, retrieving a bottle of water. “You come prepared.”

  “I do.”

  “So, how long do we need to sit here?”

  “As long as it takes.”

  As long as it takes. There’s a life lesson in there somewhere but right now, I’m too hungry to figure it out. Stuffing my face with the first thing I grab, I nod. “M’okay.”

  Chapter 30

  Ian

  One week later

  “Thank you all for taking time out of your busy day to meet with me.” I look around the room at Drake, Kim, Miriam, Trent, and Monica. I’ve asked them all to meet me in conference room 3, where it all began.

  “What’s this about? Did you find the money? Did you get that bitch to tell you where she hid it?” spits Drake.

  “Cutting right to the chase, Drake. I like that.” I stand up from my chair so that I’m looking down at all of them. It’s a psychological play, one I’ve used before. “First, let me tell you that this case has been particularly complicated.” I turn toward the floor to ceiling windows. “One that’s had its twists and turns.” I’m prolonging this, attempting to see how impatient they become. One person in particular.

  “Drake? Is this really necessary?”

  Bingo.

  Turning to face them, I state matter-of-factly, “Let me cut to the chase. Agatha Palmer didn’t take that money.”

  Drake snorts while the others look shocked, “You’re fucking her. Of course you’d say that.”

  Jesus, Drake is crass. That’s extremely inappropriate to say in this context. Ignoring it for the time being, I add, “Here’s what we know.” I tell them what we discovered, well, most of what we discovered. That whoever took the money, controlled Agatha’s computer remotely and only paid the invoices in question when she was away from her desk. I tell them about the nanny-cam and about the obvious use of names any idiot would find if they were looking for it.

  “She wasn’t very bright. What do you expect?” mutters Miriam.

  Kim looks surprised, which gives me pause. “You don’t agree, Kim?”

  “No. Agatha is whip-smart.”

  Drake scoffs again. “That’s not what I heard. I heard she barely passed her CPA exam. The rumor is that she cheated.”

  Leaning forward in her seat, Kim turns to Drake, but he’s not looking back. “Drake, she scored a ninety-eight.”

  Drake’s head slowly rotates toward Kim. “A ninety-eight?”

  “Out of ninety-nine. And she didn’t cheat. I was with her.”

  “You took your exam at the same time?” This time it’s Monica asking.

  “Yes. And in case you were curious, I got an eighty-one.”

  “Well, you’ve got to be mistaken,” Drake blusters. “I have it on good authority…”

  “Who’s good authority?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

  “I’d rather not say,” he says gruffly.

  “No matter. That little tidbit of information only hurts your theory. She was trying to outsmart us by using those silly business names.” Miriam has decided jump in feet first––to put in her two-cents.

  Ignoring her, I look at Drake. “May I continue?” No one attempts to stop me, so I say, “We found the remote access coding on Miss Palmer’s computer. We searched servers and the cloud for any activity that would link the other party involved but to no avail.”

  “See?” Drake again. “It’s her. It’s Palmer.”

  Is he even listening? Ignoring him, I continue. “We determined that whoever did it most likely used a cell phone. That’s why I’ve put a call in to a buddy of mine at the Bureau to get access to the cell phone records of any person or persons who would have means, motive, and opportunity to steal from H&S.”

  “How many people are on that list?” asks Trent.

  “I’m not at liberty to say. What I do know is we’ve narrowed down the pool significantly.”

  “How long will that take? They’re breathing down my neck about this shit.” Drake’s face has gotten red and sweat is starting to drip down his forehead.

  “As soon as he gets back to me, I’ll be able to give you a timeline, but I’m comfortable saying two days, three at the most.”

  “Holy fuck. Why does this shit take so long?” Drake is visibly panting. He doesn’t look well, especially now that he’s clutching his chest.

  “Drake? Honey?” Monica rushes to Drake’s side.

  Honey? She called him honey? That’s just great. Jesus, I hate fucking cheaters. They sure as hell did a good job keeping that under wraps. I look over at Kim again who’s staring back at me knowingly. I guess it wasn’t as under wraps as I thought. It explains the fancy shoes and clothes. Gifts, most likely, from Drake to Monica.

  “I’m fine, Mon. This whole thing is just stressful.”

  “I know, baby.” Her hand is on his head. She’s petting him. “Let Ian finish what he’s got to say then we’ll let you have a lie-down. Mm-kay?”

  “Okay,” he whimpers, sounding like a little boy.

  Monica turns to me, never taking her hands off of her boss. “So, we’ll know something in a few days.”

  “I’ll see if I can expedite this. Three days tops. Let me add that we should also be able to track the other accounts from that same phone. We suspect they did everything from the one device. Cleaner that way. Less chance of screw ups.”

  “Fine. Go. Do it. I want to know the second you know anything,” snaps Drake.

  “I will.
Before I go, does anyone have any other questions?”

  Trent raises his hand like he’s in high school. “Are any of them in this room?” asks Trent again.

  “The suspects? I can’t say.”

  “Can’t you give us a hint?” Trent is starting to annoy the fuck out of me.

  However, it does help lead me to something I was hoping I could say. “I can’t give you a name, but I will tell you that my lead suspect is someone close to Agatha.”

  “Close to her?” asks Kim. “Logistically or emotionally?”

  Excellent. That was exactly the kind of question I was hoping for. “Both.”

  “No way,” whispers Trent.

  Now they know I’m talking about Camille. They have to. The trap has been set. Now, let’s see how the head-rat reacts to that.

  Chapter 31

  Agatha

  It took us a week to get our ducks in a row. Enough time for Ian to find the needed evidence, attempt to locate the money, and plan the sting operation. Ooh, I love the sound of that: sting operation. I get shivers from just saying it. In order to accomplish all that, he first had to go over Drake’s head to the H&S CEO, Brad Mills, since he believed strongly that Drake wouldn’t be impartial or rational. The other reason was so he could get law enforcement involved and that had to be approved by Brad.

  I’ve been working right alongside Ian in this process. Since my expertise is in accounting, I have been acting as more of a forensic accountant to help in the search for the rest of the money. Unfortunately, we found a trail but no accounts. According to Ian’s friend with the Bureau, that most likely means the money is off-shore, out of the country. If that’s the case, that would bring the FBI into the fold. Apparently, the U.S. government doesn’t like it when you hide money in other countries. Go figure.

  I can’t lie. Working on the investigation has been exhilarating. Not just working side-by-side with Ian because that has been amazingly fun (and sexy at times), but with Jason, a tech guy named Basil, and Brad, the company CEO. Fun fact: Mr. Mills had no idea I’d been fired. I’m not sure if that lack of knowledge was his fault or Drake’s. If I had to guess, though, based on the expression on Brad Mills’ face when he heard the entire story, I’d say Drake kept him in the dark about the majority of the embezzlement information. I’d also bet Drake’s days at H&S are numbered. But who knows? Corporate America doesn’t always play like the rest of us. Only time will tell.