What a joke. This wasn’t a relationship. This was an assignment. He wasn’t dating her, for Christ’s sake. Once Grange found Elena’s mother, he was outta here. So what the fuck did he think he was doing? He was supposed to stick close. Sleeping with her was as close as he could get, even if it wasn’t part of the assignment.
He got out of bed and stared at the laptop, watching Elena in bed.
What a sick voyeur he was. She was asleep, the covers pulled up over her.
He could be in bed with her right now. And she wouldn’t be sleeping.
He didn’t need to be a nice guy. He hadn’t been a nice guy earlier when he’d had his fingers inside her.
God, she’d been hot and wet and smelled so damn good. His dick had been pounding so hard he was surprised he hadn’t come in his pants. He wanted to be inside her so bad he’d ached with it.
He still wanted it. His cock was hard, throbbing, demanding release.
He walked away from the image of her sleeping and lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and thought about Elena, her sweet body writhing on top of his as she came.
He fisted his cock and squeezed, stroked it slow and easy, imagining her delicate hands surrounding the shaft as she sat next to him, her lips parted as they’d been earlier tonight when she’d been so hot and turned on. She’d kept the connection between them, left her eyes open while he’d slid his fingers inside her and made her come.
He brought his hand up, let his thumb slide over the crest of his cock. Fluid spilled from the tip and he swept it over the head. He ached, his balls tightening. He was so primed, so pumped with the need to let go that he could come right now. Images of Elena arching against him pummeled his senses as he got a stranglehold on his cock and pumped it up and down, wondering what it would feel like to have Elena’s hot, sweet mouth sliding over the head of his dick.
He groaned, arched his hips and propelled his cock into his fist. Her mouth would suction over the head, tight and wet, her tongue swirling over him as she took him in, inch by inch, sucking him deeper until she had a mouthful of him.
He wanted to grab her by the back of the head and feed her his cock, pump against her tongue, feel the soft velvet rasp of it as she squeezed his dick with her mouth until he couldn’t take it anymore, until he was ready to shoot his load right into her willing mouth.
“Fuck!” He let go, thoughts of Elena sucking him prominent in his mind as he shot come all over his stomach.
He went to the bathroom to clean up and came back, doing one more check on her. She had rolled over and kicked off the blanket, showing off her fine ass covered only by a pair of black panties.
Dammit, he was going to have to stop looking at her or he’d get hard again.
And then he’d never get any sleep tonight.
SEVEN
It was a joy to reopen the store the next day. Elena’s regular customers came in by the droves to check on her and make sure she was all right and that the store hadn’t suffered too much damage after the burglary. Really, they came to gawk and gossip, which was fine by her. She loved her clients, and she and Marco enjoyed catering to them, because they typically bought a lot.
They didn’t disappoint today, either, obviously thinking she’d been robbed blind and would be out of business within a week if they didn’t help her out. Who was she to tell them otherwise? She couldn’t think of a single client who hadn’t left the store with something.
Business was booming today. She should get burglarized more often.
Okay, maybe not.
She hadn’t seen Jed today, or heard from him. Not that she missed him—much. But after last night’s incendiary interlude in her car, followed by his quick exit, she wasn’t sure what the next step was going to be.
Then again, he did give her a hot kiss good-bye. But he hadn’t called her last night. Or this morning. Or showed up.
She rolled her eyes. He had a job, a new business that he was trying to get off the ground, and a pocket full of business cards from the meeting last night. He was probably on the phone or in person marketing those contacts today, like he should be. And since when was she so interested in a guy?
She’d always vowed never to let a man become front and center in her life. That was her mother, not her. Her mother chased men, chased dreams like they were wisps of smoke. Elena’s life was her business and staying grounded in reality.
She was never going to follow love. She would never become her mother.
Work settled down after three. Marco had a doctor’s appointment, so she sent him off for the day. The shop stayed fairly busy until about an hour before closing when she finally grabbed something to eat and had a chance to sit down behind the counter. She nibbled on some fruit and cheese, then went to work on the day’s receipts while she had a few quiet moments.
She figured it was going to be a slow last hour, unlike the rest of the day, giving her time to catch up, when the door chime signaled. She looked up and two men came in. Biker types in leather chaps and jackets. She came around the counter and headed toward them.
“Hi, can I help you?”
They split the counters, one going one way, the other the opposite direction. Neither said anything, or even looked at her, just observed the art on the walls and the sculptures s