Catching the Bad Guy (Book Two) (Janet Maple Series) (29 page)

“Let them settle in first. They are just
shooting the breeze for now.” Dennis took a swallow of his beer. He handed
Janet her beer. “Here, let’s toast to success.”

“I don’t want to jinx it.” Janet took
the beer bottle from Dennis’s hand and placed it on the table. “And I don’t
drink on the job,” she added because that was all it was—a job. Even though it
was Saturday night, and a handsome man was sprawled out on her couch, drinking
beer, he was nothing more than a colleague. A colleague who also happened to
kiss her earlier but, as Dennis had made clear, that too had been part of the
job, and Janet had no intention of disappointing him.

“Fine, be boring.” Dennis shrugged,
reaching for the beer. “I on the other hand think that there’s nothing wrong
with combining business with a little bit of pleasure.”

Maybe it was the tone of Dennis’s voice,
or maybe it was the way his lithe, muscular body lay stretched out on Janet’s
couch only a few inches away from her, but she felt her face growing hot.
Actually, she sensed her entire body temperature rising. This will not do,
Janet thought, this will not do at all. There she was, on the brink of closing
what could easily turn out to be the biggest case of her career, and all she
could think about was the tantalizing scent of Dennis’s cologne and the sexy,
although admittedly smug, smile on his face. She forced herself not to think
about the glint in his blue eyes, the faint stubble on his cheeks, and the
hollow of his throat that, along with a bit of clavicle bone, was peeking
through the open collar of his shirt.

“I am not boring!” Janet snapped, still
struggling to tame her disheveled thoughts. “I am professional.”

“Hang on a second.” Dennis raised his
hand. “I think it’s starting.”

Janet focused her attention on the words
coming from the transmitter. “We’ll have steak for six, mashed potatoes, and
creamed spinach. Oh, and a bottle of 18-year-old Macallan. And we’ll have
smoked bacon to start with.”

Dennis whistled. “18-year-old Macallan.
Someone’s got expensive taste.”

“Shhhh,” Janet hissed. “We’ll miss the
whole thing.”

They listened intently for a few more
minutes, but the conversation did not mention anything of substance. “I think
we can relax for now,” said Dennis. “It sounds like Finnegan won’t be ready to
talk business until he’s stuffed his gut.”

Janet wrinkled her nose. “Steak for six
for four people. Can you imagine?”

“And I wouldn’t be surprised if Finnegan
ended up eating most of it. He sounds like a man with a big appetite.”

“That figures,” Janet nodded.

For the next half an hour, Janet and
Dennis ate pizza and nursed their beers while listening to Finnegan, Magee, and
Muller indulge in their prime steak and 18-year-old Macallan. Finally, there
was a sound of plates being carried away and coffee being brought in. “I bet
it’s going to start now.” Dennis leaned closer to the transmitter.

Janet followed his cue, but she leaned
in too quickly, brushing her knee against Dennis’s. “Sorry,” she blushed.

Dennis did not have time to accept her
apology because at this very moment they heard Finnegan’s voice coming through
the transmitter. “Gentlemen, I think now would be a good time for us to talk
about why we gathered here tonight. As you know, I always enjoy your company,
but I believe that tonight Kevan has some very interesting news that will make
this gathering even more pleasant than it already is.”

A screeching voice that Janet and Dennis
had identified as Kevan Magee’s carried through the transmitter. “Thank you,
Cornelius. Yes, indeed, I do have some important news that could be very
profitable for us all.” Magee coughed. “But before we proceed, I would like to
stress the importance of absolute discretion. We have to be very careful in our
conduct—”

“Yes, Kevan, we understand that,”
Finnegan interjected. “That’s why we have David here. He’s a pro at what he
does.”

“I just want to make sure that David
here does not get us into the same mess that he went through when he ran
Emperial.”

“With all due respect—” Muller began.

“Calm down, David,” Finnegan’s voice
boomed. “Kevan, I know you’re worried, but that whole Emperial / Bostoff
Securities mess happened before I knew David, and trust me, I’ve made sure that
those snoops over at the Treasury have been muzzled. Nobody is going to mess in
David’s affairs now.”

“Very well. The instructions are in this
envelope,” said Magee. “David, please review them once you get home.”

“Give it to me,” Finnegan snapped with
irritation. “Really, Kevan, what do you think this is, some crazy thriller
movie?” There was the sound of paper being torn. “Ah, so we have our winners.
Rover Enterprises is to acquire Valley Metals. David, I think you know what to
do next. The acquisition decision will be announced Tuesday at noon, so be sure
to act before then.”

“You can be sure of that, Cornelius. The
payment will be delivered to the accounts that I have previously indicated.
Same goes for you, Kevan.”

“Thank you, David,” Magee droned. “I
suppose this concludes our meeting.”

“Not before we drink to our success,”
said Finnegan.

There was a sound of clinking glasses,
and the next thing Janet knew, Dennis’s face was only a few inches away from
hers, and then he was kissing her with the same deep passion she remembered
from a few hours ago.

“Shouldn’t we listen until it’s over?”
she murmured.

“It is over. Besides, it’s all being
recorded,” Dennis whispered as his lips travelled up Janet’s neck. “Finnegan
should have listened to his friend Magee.” Dennis nibbled Janet’s earlobe. “Now
we’ve got them all by their balls.”

“Yes.” Janet barely contained a groan.
“We should tell Laskin to run market watch reports on Rover and Valley Metals.”

“I’m already on top of that.” Dennis
began to undo the buttons of Janet’s shirt. “We’ll call him tomorrow morning.”

This was hardly erotic talk, but Janet
felt a jolt of ecstasy rushing through her. Dennis Walker was in her apartment,
about to make love to her, and he was going to stay until the morning. She had
wanted this for so long that she thought it would never happen, and now that it
was happening she could scarcely believe it was true. There was no need for
false modesty. She wanted him right there and now. She had waited long enough,
and she was not going to wait a moment longer.

She ran her hands through his hair,
traced her fingers across his face and his neck, reaching for the taut, strong
muscles of his chest and arms. She tugged at his shirt, helping him pull it
over his head and toss it onto the floor. His lips were kissing her lips, her
face, and her neck while his hands were caressing her breasts and her hips. He
pulled her blouse off and did the same with her pants, leaving her in nothing
but her lacey underwear. A smile spread on her lips as she thought of her
decision to wear pretty underwear for his arrival. One never knew. Indeed, one
never did. The heat in his eyes showed that he appreciated the gesture.  He
began to kiss her shoulder, tugging at the strap of her bra with his teeth. She
arched her back so that he could undo the hook closure on her back. He pulled
off her bra, and she gasped as his lips closed over her nipple. His lips
switched to her other breast and then followed the outline of her ribs, as he
alternated kisses with gentle nibs. Then he moved down to her stomach, and his
hands reached for her lacey thong, pulling it off. Her lips parted with
anticipation. She wanted him so much it hurt, but he was taking his time,
caressing and teasing, his touch growing from tender to passionate and vice
versa.

And then he was inside her, making her groan
with a pleasure she did not know existed. She wrapped her legs around his
waist, clinging to him, heeding the rhythm of his movement.

“My turn to be on top,” she whispered,
biting his ear.

“Your wish is my command, my lady.” His
strong hands held on to her as their bodies turned in unison.

He was on his back looking up at her,
and she was on top of him. She gasped with the intense sensation of the new
angle, feeling him pressing against her. She began to rock, slowly at first,
eager to savor the pleasure he was bringing her. She caught his glance, wild
with ecstasy, torn between the desire to prolong the pleasure or taste the
climax. Now it was her turn to tease as she alternated her movements from slow
and gentle to fast and intense. As she began to rock faster and harder, his
grip on her tightened, and their ecstasy rose even higher and finally cascaded
into culmination. She collapsed on top of him, their bodies linked in blissful
pleasure.

“Miss Maple, I always knew that you are
one tough investigator, but I had no idea that you are such an ace in the
sack,” Dennis whispered.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Janet
replied.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“And do you still think that my
investigative techniques are unethical?”

Janet bit her tongue. She had been so
hard on Dennis, but he had turned out to be right in the end. Thanks to him
they now had the evidence they needed to nail Muller, Finnegan and their
cronies. Not that case evidence was on her mind at this very moment; in fact,
it was the last thing she wanted to talk about at the moment. “Shut up, Walker.
Just make love to me instead.”

“Yes, ma’am. With pleasure.”

She was still savoring the pleasure of
her last orgasm and had been half-kidding, but he surprised her by being ready
again.

This is going to be a very long night,
Janet thought. And the best part was that she was not afraid of it ending
because there was the morning to look forward to.

The first thing Janet thought of when
she woke up the next morning was that she had had sex with Dennis Walker. And
not just any sex, but hot, wild, steamy, passionate sex. It was almost too good
to be true, but Dennis’s face on the pillow next to hers proved that it was
true.

She watched him through her lowered
eyelashes, not wanting him to wake up. What was going to happen now? Did last
night mean as much to Dennis as it did to her, or was he going to just stroll
out of her apartment with nothing more than a casual peck on the lips? She did
not know, and she was afraid to find out. Instead, she wanted to relish last
night’s memory for as long as she could. At least while he was asleep in her
bed she could pretend that Dennis Walker was her man.

She noticed Dennis’s eyelashes moving
and promptly closed her eyes. “Good morning,” she heard Dennis’s voice.

“You’re awake?”

“I felt you watching me.”

“Did you?” It was useless to pretend.
Janet sensed her blush giving her away.

“Yes.” Dennis placed his arm around her.
“Last night was wonderful.”

Janet’s heart quickened with delight.
“Yes, it was.”

“And you know what the best part is?”
Dennis asked.

“What?”

“We’ve got the whole Sunday to repeat
it.”

Janet was too happy to speak.

“Unless you have other plans, of
course.”

“Your plan suits me just fine.” Janet
ran her hand across Dennis’s chiseled chest. “Now, where did we leave off?”

“I think I remember.” Dennis wrapped his
arms around her and rolled on top of her. “Yes, I think this was it.” He traced
the outline of her neck with his lips.

“Yes, that’s right,” Janet whispered, as
Dennis’s hands caressed her, making her body sing with the ecstasy of last
night.

An hour later, freshly showered, Janet
was rummaging through her kitchen in search of breakfast ingredients. Luckily,
she had stopped by the supermarket a few days ago, and there was a carton of
eggs and a pack of bacon in the fridge.

Baxter sat on the floor, eyeing her
reproachfully. Janet had cut their morning walk short, and apparently Baxter
was still mad at her for that. At first he had been too busy gobbling up his
breakfast, but now that he was finished he was back to making her feel guilty.

“Sorry, buddy.” Janet rubbed Baxter
behind his ear. “I promise to make it up to you. But right now I’ve got to make
breakfast for Dennis.”

She could hear the sound of water in the
shower, and an image of Dennis lathering up his hot, lean, muscular body
materialized in her mind. The memory of all the things they did last night and
this morning flashed before her eyes, making her hot. “Concentrate,” she told
herself, as she placed the bacon into the frying pan. The sound of the water
stopped, and she heard footsteps approaching the kitchen.

Dennis had a towel tied around his
waist, and his wet hair was slicked back. “I’m starving.” Dennis wrapped his
arms around her.

“You’re in luck. I’m going to make an
omelet.”

“Mmm, smells delicious. How about some
pancakes?”

“Pancakes?”

“Yes, pancakes. I make killer pancakes,
and I’d love to make some for you.”