Molten Gold (8 page)

“No,” he whimpered. He pulled himself slowly out of her
mouth and turned away. Adelaide licked her lips, astounded. But he bent and
grabbed his jeans, withdrew a foil packet and sheathed himself quickly.

“I want to be inside you this time,” he said as he came back
to her. “I want to feel your walls close around me, suck me dry.”

“I want you, Jared,” she replied.

She lay on her back and opened her arms for him. They came
together as if it had been that way for years. Reaching down, Adelaide assisted
him inside her. She was wet and slick, more than ready for his possession.

Even so, she groaned as he penetrated her deeply. Jared was
thick and hard, the perfect fit. Had he been an inch or two longer, she didn’t
think her body could have completely received him. When their skin pressed
tightly together, his balls resting against her bottom, they paused. After a
few seconds Adelaide wriggled. She was eager for more friction.

He felt the same and soon thrust inside her. In and out with
quickly building speed and aggression. Adelaide raised her hands and threaded
her fingers through his silky hair. She’d never obsessed about this aspect of a
man before, but she loved the feel of it running through her fingers. She was
glad he’d been growing it out. They kissed, hard and passionately. Adelaide
nipped with her teeth, lightly biting his lips and trying to capture his tongue
with hers.

Their sex became playful, a give and take where each emerged
victorious.

“No,” Adelaide moaned in denial as Jared withdrew his cock
fully from her body.

“Hush,” he whispered.

Before she could question him, he grabbed her by the waist.
He lifted her and she moved as he directed. She found herself on her hands and
knees, her ass facing Jared. His hands were slick as he parted her labia again
and this time when he thrust his cock into her it went even deeper. Tilting her
pelvis farther, Adelaide arched her back and his cock ran over her G-spot.

She quivered, delicious arousal burning hotly in her once
again. This time neither of them lasted long. Jared thrust faster, gripping her
hips, able to pound harder into her. Adelaide grabbed at the carpet, her knees
burning a little but the pain only acting as a counterpoint to the pleasure
blossoming through her whole body.

Jared seemed to know exactly where that nub of nerves inside
her lay. He pressed over it and once again her world exploded. She squeezed her
inner muscles, contracting around his shaft and dragging him with her into
climax.

He shouted hoarsely and went wild. Slamming into her, he
rode her hard and fast. They came furiously together, each grappling to wring
the other dry.

Spent, exhausted, Adelaide’s legs shook and she sank to the
floor. Jared came down on top of her, his chest sweaty against her back. They
panted hard, completely winded. When Jared stirred, she grabbed his hand and
held on.

“No, stay here a little longer,” she pleaded. “I want to
enjoy the moment.”

“I don’t want to squash you,” he said. “I was just moving so
we could spoon.”

Jared slid down to the floor and pressed his chest against
her back. She was a little sad when his cock slipped out of her, but when he
twined their legs together and wrapped her in his arms she felt so happy and
comfortable she couldn’t mind the loss. She rested her head back against him
and had never felt so sated before.

He pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder and Adelaide sighed
happily.

She closed her eyes, wanting to bask in the precious moment,
and didn’t notice when she fell asleep.

Jared had just been daydreaming, relishing the smooth come-down
from an astounding sexual high. It took him a moment to realize the regular,
deep breathing from Adelaide signaled that she’d nodded off. He smiled against
the back of her shoulder. Usually it was the man being railed against for that,
but tonight he’d exhausted his lovely lady and he felt a certain amount of
pride in that.

He knew he was already far too attached to the blonde
beauty. She had her hands firmly wrapped around his heart and he suspected it
would be all too easy to fall headlong into love with her. Jared wanted to
protect her, to see that beautiful smile blossom over her face and to wake up
next to her each morning.

Part of his brain insisted this was all happening too fast,
but years of training and being a soldier had taught him different. He knew to
react within moments, not take days or weeks to pore over his decisions. Jared
understood how fleeting and fragile life could be. It needed to be embraced and
dived into. Second-guessing and holding himself back wasn’t in his nature
anymore.

He only hoped Adelaide didn’t feel he was rushing her.
Heaven knew she seemed willing, but he didn’t think it was the time just yet to
tell her of his love. There would be time.

Jared reluctantly pulled away from the warmth of her body.
He disposed of the condom and cleaned himself up in the small bathroom, then
returned to where Adelaide lay peacefully sleeping.

Kneeling, he gathered her in his arms and carried her into
his bedroom and placed her amongst his fresh sheets. She looked gorgeous and
rested, at peace. He climbed in and drew up the covers. Spooning her once more,
he felt himself relax as he hadn’t in years.

Adelaide was in his arms. It was exactly where she belonged.

When Adelaide woke up, the sun was trying to shine through
the curtains. She frowned, not recognizing the room. As she sat up, the
previous evening came back to her and she turned to find Jared lying next to
her in his bed.

“Good morning, sweetness,” he greeted her.

Adelaide bent and kissed his mouth. “It is a wonderful
morning, yes,” she agreed. “You could have woken me up. I didn’t mean to fall
asleep and I’m sorry if I made you carry me here.”

“You looked so peaceful,” Jared replied. He stroked his hand
down the length of her side. His palm felt glorious against her naked skin. She
snuggled in closer to him under the covers. “Besides, you murmured in your
sleep, said my name. How could a man wake his woman when she’s dreaming
something delicious about him?”

Adelaide smiled, then bent her head to kiss him softly. The
kiss was tender and slow. Neither of them was in any rush. She flicked her
tongue out and traced his lower lip, watching him as she did so. His eyes were
expressive, deep and fathomless. She felt as if he were opening up all his
secrets to her.

Her heart filled with love for this strong, dark man. It was
far too early to tell him, but he was winding his way inside her heart and she
knew very soon it would crush her if she was forced to let him go. Adelaide
wanted to learn everything about him and share all of herself in return. She
had an inkling he was attached to her, seriously attracted.

With some more time, she hoped that could blossom into
something more permanent than this working partnership. She rolled on top of
him, pressed her thigh between his legs, mimicking his movement from the previous
night. He groaned and his morning erection pressed against her flat belly.

“Hello,” she murmured huskily. Adelaide gently strung a slow
line of kisses down his neck and progressed lower through the midsection of his
chest. When her chin bumped against the slick head of his cock, she tilted her
head down and licked wetly around his flushed, hot glans.

“You don’t have to—”

Jared’s words cut off abruptly as she opened her jaw and
sucked him into her mouth. Adelaide fisted her hand around the base of his shaft
and bobbed her head, drawing down on his thick cock. She tickled his balls with
her free fingers and began to move at a faster pace. Jared tensed his body and
clutched at the sheets.

Watching him carefully, she read his motions and sped up
when she could see him climbing toward his peak. She licked at the salty
pre-cum and pressed the tip of her tongue just under his slit. There were loads
of nerves there and his sac tightened at her actions. Adelaide skillfully built
the pressure, alternating between the rough friction of her tongue, the tight
pressure of her hand pumping him and the sweet sensation of her fingers playing
with his sac below.

When he was close, she moved from his sac along the thin,
tender skin of his scrotum. She rubbed the pad of her finger over his tightly
puckered asshole, stimulating the nerves there.

“Don’t,” he panted. “Close. Damn, Adelaide. Holy—”

Adelaide stroked that naughty finger around his back
entrance again, then slowly meandered back along his perineum, igniting all the
male nerves and hot spots. She grazed her teeth lightly over the skin near the
tip of his cock and he shouted hoarsely. The words were completely
unintelligible, but she knew what they signified.

A flood of hot, salty seed filled her mouth as his cock spasmed.
Adelaide swallowed his essence, licked the tip of his cock and felt more then
more shoot into her. She continued to pump her hand, milking him as he
climaxed. All too soon he was finished. Jared fell back against the mattress,
drained.

Adelaide cleaned him, then sat up. She wiped her mouth where
a little had trickled out and swallowed a few extra times to empty her mouth
totally. Then she stretched out next to Jared on the bed and looked down at
him, feeling smug and powerful. He turned his head to her and she noticed his
eyes were glazed. They slowly came into focus and he smiled blissfully at her.

“That was amazing, thank you,” he said. “But what about
you?”

Adelaide kissed him slowly. She could tell that for a brief
moment Jared was hesitant, but she opened her mouth and touched her tongue to
his lips. He parted for her and hummed a little when he tasted himself mingled
with her. Satisfied, she pulled back.

“This morning was about you,” she said. “Last night was
special for me and now we’re even.”

Jared took her hand and twined their fingers together. He
shifted slightly to the side and Adelaide curled next to him, sharing his
pillow. They lay like that together for a few minutes, just enjoying the
moment.

Despite how wonderful she felt, Adelaide had something
niggling in the back of her head. She’d felt like she was missing something
ever since their discussion with Brett. Writing notes hadn’t helped her to work
out what it was, so it couldn’t have been something explicitly stated. More something
alluded to or that didn’t mesh with other knowledge she had.

Hard as she tried to uncover it, the thought wouldn’t budge.

“What are we missing?” she finally asked, wondering if Jared
felt the same way she did.

Jared turned to look at her. He rested a palm under his head
and gazed into her eyes. He seemed a little sleepy still, but was waking up.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve had this thought niggling in my head since we spoke to
Brett,” she explained. “My subconscious has picked up something. Something we
missed, or that doesn’t fit the puzzle we have. I can’t put my finger on it and
it’s driving me nuts.”

“I can’t think of anything,” Jared suggested gently.

Adelaide shook her head. “It might not be a case-breaker, or
even important, but there’s something and it’s going to keep annoying me until
I figure it out.”

“Well, I need to call my boss.” Jared looked at the clock
and groaned. “Soon. I’d better explain this field work will take a couple of
days, to sort out the stories and track the gold. He’ll understand, but will be
grumpy if I don’t check in or make some progress soon.”

Adelaide sat up and ran a hand through her hair. She’d bet
she looked like a wreck—she usually did first thing in the morning.

“Do you have a big water tank?”

Jared blinked, seemingly lost. Adelaide chuckled and added,
“I sometimes think in the shower. Writing down my mental notes from the chat
yesterday didn’t unlock this thing, so mulling in the shower might help. I just
don’t want to be a hot water hog. If it only lasts a limited time I want to
know up front so you’re not left with a cold shower.”

“Ah, no, go for it. The hot water is supposed to be endless.”
Jared waved a hand toward the bathroom. “If it starts to get lukewarm, though,
maybe wrap it up. But I can’t recall ever having run out previously.”

Adelaide pressed a quick, chaste kiss to his cheek and got
out of bed. “Thanks. Call your boss.”

“I could join you,” Jared suggested.

Adelaide threw a saucy smile over her shoulder as she headed
out of the room. “A girl needs some secrets. Maybe next time.”

She could feel Jared’s gaze on her as she left the room, so
she added a bit of extra wiggle to her walk. Might as well show him she wasn’t some
timid little miss. Adelaide found the bathroom easily and closed the door
behind her. She found some fresh towels, put out the bathmat and looked at
herself in the mirror.

Her blonde hair was mussed, but at least it didn’t look like
a bird’s nest. Her eyes seemed a little tired, but nothing a bit of care with
her makeup couldn’t fix. Adelaide turned on the faucets and waited for the
water to warm up. She adjusted them until she was happy, then climbed into the
stall.

Releasing a pent-up breath, she let the pounding of the
water soothe her muscles. The constant sound of the spray soon became background
noise and her brain could click into action. Adelaide used Jared’s shower gel
and the musky, masculine scent of him enveloped her. The distraction was
considerable, so she let herself daydream for a minute, then forced her mind
back on track.

Eyes closed, she went back to two days earlier when the
military-straight, perfectly pressed Lieutenant Jared Teague had knocked on her
door. Struggling not to gloss over anything, she went over everything that had
happened in the last two days. When she made it to the previous night and their
sensual encounter on the floor, she backtracked and tried it again, this time
looking at it from a different perspective, putting herself first in Jared’s
shoes, then later in Brett’s.

She needed to look at this from all angles and hopefully
shake loose whatever small point was bugging her.

Steam filled the room and time passed. The hot water
remained blissfully strong and Adelaide tried turning the case over and around
in her mind, determined to find out what she’d missed.

Finally, when she was trying to think from Brett’s
perspective, she hit upon what her brain had questioned. Adelaide was filled
with a sudden rush. Muttering to herself, she turned off the taps and opened
the shower door. She grabbed a towel and hastily dried herself. The air was
moist and warm, but she wrapped the fluffy towel around her body and raced out
of the bathroom.

Out in the hallway, she dug in her tote and pulled out
clothes, then rummaged for her cell phone. The smell of bacon, sausage, hash and
eggs wafted in from the kitchen. She hadn’t noticed until that moment, but she
was starving. She got dressed quickly, returned the damp towel to the bathroom
and hung it up.

She hurried into the kitchen, cell phone still in hand.

“What’s Steve’s widow’s name, Jared?” she asked without any
preamble.

Jared looked up from the skillet and blinked at her, clearly
lost in his own thoughts. “Moira,” he replied after a moment. “Moira Graves.
Why?”

“It’s probably nothing,” she assured him. She connected to
the internet then did a telephone directory search for Moira Graves. “But I’ve
found that when people tell a story, it will usually be mostly the truth. It’s
the tiny, insignificant things they lie about that are the most telling.”

“Okay, and you think Moira lied? About what?” Jared seemed
willing to go along but still puzzled.

Adelaide shook her head. “No, I think Brett lied. Both he
and you’ve stated categorically how being over there, fighting together as a
team, living and breathing each other for weeks, months on end, creates a bond.
I can understand men losing touch, falling out of contact. But do you really
think Moira wouldn’t have contacted Brett when Steve died?”

Jared paused in his cooking, his arm frozen in mid-air as he
turned the eggs over. She seemed to have struck a nerve with him.

“She certainly would have known about his teammates,” he
agreed. “And they all had contact details for one another. No way would she
have overlooked informing Steve’s closest buddies about his death. But why lie
about it? And how can it possibly be important?”

“I don’t know either of those answers,” Adelaide said. “But
if it’s important enough for Brett to lie about, then it obviously means
something.”

“But he was so upset when we told him,” Jared pointed out.
“It clearly hit him hard.”

“I’m sure he does feel horrible about being the last man
alive from his team,” Adelaide guessed. “And the grief he tapped into is probably
real. But again, why lie and say he didn’t know? It makes no sense. And it’s
small enough that I almost overlooked it entirely.”

The eggs started smoking. Jared cursed and flipped them
over. Adelaide hoped he’d saved them. When he didn’t throw them out, she
figured they might be a little hard but she was hungry enough to not care. She
tapped out the number listed for Moira Graves and checked the clock.

It was early, but not enough to be rude to call.

“Hello?” a woman answered.

“Good morning, this is Adelaide Baker. I’m Mark Baker’s
niece. I’m hoping I can speak to Mrs. Moira Graves, please?”

“This is she.”

“Mrs. Graves, I’m sorry to bother you so early in the
morning.” Adelaide stared out the window and tried to word herself carefully.
“I’m especially sorry to have heard about Steven’s passing. I hate to intrude on
your grief, but I have just a few questions to ask, if I may?”

“Of course,” Moira replied. There was a shake in her tone,
but Adelaide could sense the genteel steel lying beneath it. This was a strong
woman. “Steve never spoke anything but the highest praise for Mark. I’m sure I
can answer a few questions for his niece.”

“It meant a lot to have you both at my uncle’s memorial,”
Adelaide said, remembering her manners. “That time is a bit of a blur for me,
you understand. But I recall the introduction.”

“You’re very kind.”

“Mrs. Graves, I was wondering if you recall whether you let
Brett McLean know of Steve’s passing when it occurred?” Adelaide asked. She
held her breath, anticipating the answer. She still didn’t know what it meant,
but there was no use guessing until she knew for sure one way or the other.

“Why yes, of course I let Brett know,” Moira replied,
sounding surprised. “Steve and Brett were close. Obviously not inseparable like
they were when on duty, but they remained in touch. I’d never have failed to
inform Brett of Steve’s accident.”

Adelaide looked up and found Jared staring at her. He’d
lifted the skillet from the element so the food didn’t burn. She nodded at him.

“And did Brett attend the memorial, when you gave him those
details?” Adelaide asked. Jared raised his eyebrows, clearly getting her
meaning. Brett had known about Steve. He’d lied to them.

“Sadly, no,” Moira replied. “Brett was deeply apologetic and
sent flowers, of course, but he was out of town when we held the service.”