Feel the Heat (21 page)

Troy took the empty mug from her lax fingers and she closed her eyes, letting the feeling of sensuality spread through every muscle and nerve. He kneaded her breasts with his strong fingers and massaged the fragrant soap into her skin. One hand slid behind her, cradling her against his arm as the other moved down over her tummy. Pausing at her navel, he traced the whorls with the tip of his finger.

“I love to run my tongue over this.” His warm voice was deep and seductive. “Maybe when I lift you from the tub I’ll lick all the water from it before I dry you off.”

A delicious shiver raced over her skin.

His touch was light, feathery, as his busy fingers slipped lower to find her swollen cunt lips. Gently, he pinched her clit and it popped out of its hood, begging for his touch. He stroked back and forth across the tip, stopping now and then to squeeze it between his strong fingers. Lauren was sure her inner walls were slick with her juices by now. As Troy dipped his fingers into her inner channel, she almost felt as if she was separating from her body. She floated in a fog of eroticism while her body clenched with hot need.

Troy’s touch was so light she wanted to scream at him to press harder and deeper. She tightened her thighs around his wrist and hand and braced herself as she rode his fingers.

“Easy, baby,” he soothed. “Don’t rush it. Just let it happen. Just keep your eyes closed. Think of yourself naked in this tub, your nipples covered with bubbles, your skin warm from the water and my hand. Now visualize your legs spread wide open for me, your slick juices mixing with the water so your cunt is wetter than wet. Can you feel your hot little clit pulsing from my touch?”

As if to emphasize his words, he moved his hand and squeezed the little nub between two strong fingers. Lauren jerked, her hips lifting in response.

“Yeah, that’s it. Think of my mouth on this, sucking hard on it, grazing it with my teeth. Imagine my tongue stroking your slit the way my fingers are right now.”

He dragged his fingers the length of her slit and back then thrust them inside her again.

Lauren’s entire body was on fire now, writhing in the water, moans of pleasure bursting from her lips. Her hips jerked against Troy’s touch, his invading fingers rasping against her sensitive pussy walls.

One large hand cupped her head, turning it toward him, his mouth taking hers in a hot, greedy, possessive kiss. The tongue that could do such magical things to her cunt stroked into her mouth, touching every corner like a dancing flame. As the kiss deepened, his clever fingers moved faster inside her and his thumb worked her clit.

The orgasm bubbled up from deep inside her, gathering intensity until it burst throughout her body and she shook with the tremors. She rode his hand as the intensity of the spasms increased.

“That’s it,” he encouraged, tearing his mouth from hers. “Ride me, sugar. Pretend it’s my cock inside you. Let go. Yeah, just like that.”

Lauren had no idea how long the shudders racked her body. She was barely aware of Troy’s fingers stroking her inside and out as she slowly relaxed from the sensual whirlwind. At last she was still, every muscle lax and loose, the intense craving satisfied for the moment.

Troy nipped her shoulder. “I love watching you come. You’re just so responsive. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of making love with you.”

Languidly, she let her head drop back against the bath pillow, smiling. “I certainly hope not.”

“Feeling better?”

“If I felt any better, it would be illegal. I think you should prescribe this treatment every time I do a healing.”

His laugh was soft, rolling over her like a caress. “I can get on board with that.”

She frowned. “But you didn’t—”

“This wasn’t about me. And don’t you worry. You’ll have plenty of time to make it up to me. I promise.” He lifted her from the tub and stood her on the bath mat, reaching down to let the water out. “Let’s get you dried off and see what we want to do for dinner. I vote for pizza.”

“Sounds good to me.” She was boneless as he wrapped a towel around her and carried her back into the bedroom. “Also, I need about an hour to check my emails and pay some attention to the job that actually pays me.”

“Later,” he told her and winked. “Maybe much later.”

* * * * *

Kurt Olberman chewed on the end of his ever-present cigar, swiveled his chair and looked out through the big picture window at the grounds of his estate. It was a view he never tired of seeing. The vastness of the property, the quality of the security, the furnishings and other additions to the property were constant reminders of his extreme wealth and the power he controlled.

Now he looked forward to controlling even more. And to accumulating more wealth than he had ever been able to imagine. Turning back to his desk, he clicked on an icon on his computer screen and opened the file Reid McFadden had sent. He had already watched it several times, but he never tired of seeing it. Here was an opportunity that didn’t come along too often—the chance to sell a rare commodity for any price he set.

The trick would be in convincing the woman to use her gift as he wished once he had her under his control. Well, no matter. If she refused he’d simply get rid of her and look for another one. Only he’d heard so much about this one, how extensive her gift was, he didn’t want to settle for second best.

Picking up his cell phone, he punched the speed dial for McFadden.

The man answered at once. “I’m here, boss. You’ve got the proof you wanted. She’s the real deal.”

“Are you sure that Hauser woman will follow your orders?” he asked. “It would throw a hell of a monkey wrench into things if she got greedy and tried to transfer all the money at once. The bank would insist on recording it for the IRS, they’d come in asking a lot of questions and this whole operation would be fucked.”

“So where do we go from here?”

“You need to bring her here, of course. But taking her won’t be as easy as I’d hoped,” Olberman said. “At least not based on your reports. They are accurate, right?”

“Completely.”

“And you’re sure Troy Arsenault is still with her?”

“Glued to her like a barnacle.”

“Any regular visitors I should know about?” Olberman asked.

“Two couples that they both know. They don’t show up too often, but I‘ll check them out the next time. If I can get pictures of them I’ll send them off to you.”

“That situation will need to be scouted very carefully, Reid. And you can’t afford to raise any suspicions.”

“I know,” McFadden assured him. “This isn’t my first rodeo, remember?”

Olberman grunted. “It’s possible that now the media’s lost interest in her, for the time being, and her stalker’s been dealt with, she may be at home by herself now and then. We don’t know how long this Arsenault is staying, but in case she’s there alone at any time, I’ve arranged for some equipment to help you. I promise you she’s now got a state-of-the-art security system you’ll have to bypass. I’ve reached out to a local contact for this.”

“Okay. I’ll notify the front desk I’m expecting a delivery.”

“All right. Here’s what I want you to do next. First of all, you need to scout out the situation with her in great detail. But do it carefully. You can’t afford to raise suspicion.”

Reid snorted. “Those two things almost cancel each other out.”

“Not if you do this right. You and Bonner rent a couple more cars at different agencies and alternate using them. And mix it up. A van, an SUV, you know.”

He could almost see Reid frowning. “Why do that?”

“Because now that the media has dispersed, any strange car in the neighborhood will stick out like a sore thumb if it’s seen too many times. Right?”

“Yeah.” Olberman heard the grudging tone in the answer. “Okay. Then what?”

“You need to track a pattern. If Arsenault is still staying there, it’s important to learn when they leave the house. If they do it together. How often. Don’t troll the area on any regular schedule. I wouldn’t put it past Arsenault to still be keeping a lookout for strangers, even though the media and the mob it drags along have moved on to something else.”

“We could even pull into a driveway down the block or the street now and then,” McFadden suggested. “Knock on the door and ask directions to some nearby street. Throw them off the track. Obviously, we can’t just hang out until she comes outside alone and snatch her.”

“I’m glad you see that.” He paused a moment, studying the cigar in his hand. “I’m leaving a lot of the decision on this up to you, Reid. You’re my eyes and ears on site, so I have to rely on you.”

“I won’t let you down.”

“Good, good. All right, check in tonight and let me know how it’s going.”

Olberman disconnected the call. He had his own work to do for this little project. The first thing he’d do was get an in-depth report on The Phoenix Agency and Troy Arsenault in particular. His earlier reports on the woman hadn’t indicated any relationship that would include a man staying with her. Everything told him she was a loner, not even that close to her family. When the first report came in about Arsenault, he’d assumed the man was staying with her as protection against the most recent mob and media uprising.

Vivian had procured a basic report on Phoenix, but they didn’t appear at first glance to be anything more than your average ex-military security agency. Now he’d have to rethink the entire situation and dig deeper. If they turned out to be more complex, he’d have to rethink the entire situation. And probably have to send in a special team to grab the woman. Reid was good, but stealth and subtlety weren’t in his vocabulary and Bonner was just good for scut work.

He pressed the button on his intercom. Vivian answered him at once.

“Yes, Mr. Olberman?”

“Could you please come in here for a few minutes? I have a chore for you that’s going to require a lot of detail work.”

“Of course. Right away.”

Olberman sat back in his chair, his master plan already swirling through his brain. On his cell phone, he had a list of outrageously wealthy sheikhs, kings and global executives who had someone in their family in great need of a healer. All other forms of medicine had failed. When Olberman had contacted them, they eagerly agreed to pay any price if this woman could accomplish a miracle.

Olberman smiled. There was nothing he couldn’t accomplish. This would be one more feather in his very large cap.

* * * * *

Lauren leaned back in the kitchen chair and licked a dab of pizza sauce from her lip. When Faith had called to see how she was and ask if it was okay if they came by and brought pizza, she wasn’t sure if she really wanted the company. But thanks to Troy and his magical ministrations, she felt much better than she usually did. Besides, he told her, the Romeos asked to tag along. There was some agency business they all needed to review and this seemed to be the best way to do it.

Now she looked around the table and a pleasant feeling of warmth blossomed at the presence of friends. Yes, friends. She had known Faith for what seemed forever, and Mark had simply accepted her as part of Faith’s life. But now she also had Dan and Mia.

And Troy.

Wonderful, amazing, incredible, sexy, caring Troy. The relationship she’d been so sure she’d never find had just dropped in her lap and totally enriched her life.

“So what’s the update?” Troy asked Dan. “You talked to Mike and Rick?”

The other man nodded. “Kelly’s training four security dogs for corporate bigwigs and Rick’s checking their security systems.” He scrolled through the tablet in front of him for his notes. “Two of them have business in Venezuela, one in Argentina and one in Greece. With the current instability in those countries, our clients want to be sure they are well protected.”

“The dogs will go with them?” Lauren was curious about that.

Dan nodded. “They’re trained to sniff out bombs and arms and to attack on command. Some of these countries may look warm and welcoming but beneath the surface it’s a different story.”

Mark leaned forward in his chair. “What about Mike?”

Dan continued scrolling through his notes. “He and Kat are in Canada. Kidnapping of a high-profile oil exec’s daughter. With Kat’s remote viewing skill, they’ve narrowed the place where she’d been hidden to a five-square-mile area. Now they’re working on pinpointing the exact spot and scoping out the situation.”

“Does he need help?” Mark asked.

Dan shook his head. “Not yet, but he’s asked for us to be on standby. I also called Ed and told him to be ready if and when we needed him.”

“Ed is Dan’s brother,” Troy explained to Lauren. “The two of them are the agency flyboys. When Kat’s sister and her boss were kidnapped in Mexico, Kat used her remote viewing to pinpoint where they were, and Ed flew us to the spot in a stealth helicopter.”

“Were you able to get them out safely?” Lauren wanted to know.

Dan gave her a lopsided grin. “We always do.”

It was interesting for her to let the conversation flow around her and pick out bits and pieces of it. She certainly had more than a nodding acquaintance with the local police, especially in the form of Sergeant Frank Hurley. But what Phoenix did reached a level of sophistication far beyond anything she had knowledge of. She was still amazed at how quickly they’d identified her stalker, at the security they’d set up for her and the speed with which it was accomplished.

She stole a glance at Troy. There was something so solid, so secure about him. For the first time in years, despite the chaos her life had been in recently, she felt safe. Settled. And cared for.

Her reverie was interrupted by Dan’s next words.

“So, Troy? What do you recommend? Leave someone here? More than one someone?”

Leave someone? Here?

Lauren cleared her throat. “Excuse me. Did I hear you say—“

Troy interrupted her, his hand closing over hers. “That’s not gonna fly, guys. I’m staying. Period.”

Mia and Faith smiled as Dan and Mark exchanged looks.

“So,” Dan said at last. “It’s like that?”