Free to move Merrick without tripping her, Katlin walked her to the chair she’d been occupying, stopping when Merrick’s hands were on the back of it. Katlin mapped out Merrick’s body with her soft yet strong hands, staring at her stomach, then moving around to her back, never stopping and going nowhere near where she knew Merrick really wanted her.
“Who’s teasing now?” Merrick asked, having to look behind her to get a glimpse of her torturer.
“Teasing is arousal without the promise of release,” Katlin said as her hands slid down until she was at the last barrier between her and Merrick’s skin. But instead of removing the navy striped bikinis, Katlin slid her fingers just under the elastic. “I can promise you won’t go wanting.”
“That sure of yourself, baby?” Merrick laughed softly and turned her head even more, so she could see Katlin’s face.
“You’re telling me you’re not turned on?” Katlin squeezed Merrick’s nipple until it felt like a small stone between her fingers. At the same time her other hand went down between Merrick’s legs, finding her wet and hot. “Something tells me you believe my promise.”
Merrick parted her lips to accept a kiss, groaning into Katlin’s mouth as her fingers started to move. Every sweep downward coated her fingers so that they slid easily over Merrick’s diamond-hard clitoris. Katlin never broke their kiss as she stroked faster, enjoying the way Merrick’s ass pumped into her groin. As her excitement built, Merrick brought one hand up to cover the one Katlin had on her chest, making Katlin squeeze harder.
“Uh…don’t stop,” Merrick panted as she tightened when her orgasm started. “Don’t stop.” With one final push back into Katlin, Merrick came on her hand, glad for the strong arms holding her up.
When the spasms finally stopped, she went willingly when Katlin turned around and sat down with Merrick on her lap. She reached for Katlin’s still-wet hand and linked their fingers together.
“What is it you think no one’s bothered to show me in a long time?” Merrick asked, remembering something Katlin had said earlier.
“You’re very good at your job, which takes strength and a certain attitude to pull off.” Katlin stopped to kiss her again. “People respect your strength, but they sometimes forget to look past it and see how beautiful you are.” Another kiss made Merrick move closer. “My job is going to be to remind you of just how stunning you are when it’s just the two of us.”
“Such sweet words”—Merrick stood with the grace of a cat—“make me want to make good on my promise.” She unfastened Katlin’s pants and with help threw them over her shoulder.
“What promise was that?”
Merrick dropped to her knees and spread Katlin’s sex open for her pleasure. “I believe I promised to go slow enough to make you beg.” She sucked Katlin’s clitoris into her mouth, making the meaning of “slow” rather dubious, but then just as quickly she stopped. “And only when you beg am I going to give you what you want.”
When she sucked on Katlin again, she had to laugh at the pained “please” that leaked from Katlin’s mouth. It was then that she stopped teasing and gave them both what they wanted.
Chapter Forty-One
The next two weeks were quiet. No one had spotted the Casey children yet, but the watchers saw their parents almost every night sharing quiet dinners at some of their favorite spots. Lou and Merrick were never too far away, and Katlin was barely a blip on the FBI’s radar.
Muriel’s offices and Emerald’s were almost complete, and the club would open soon. Shelby and her team figured Cain would make whatever move she’d been planning then.
The one team of agents assigned to the Bracato family was working overtime to piece together what was happening and why they were missing so many players. After hours on the street and monitoring their wiretaps, they had concluded that Giovanni had sent three of his sons out of town to finalize whatever business they had with Rodolfo Luis.
“There’s nothing new with Casey?” Annabel asked. After one too many embarrassing moments, she’d taken a more active role in all their ongoing investigations.
“No, ma’am,” Joe answered. He opened the file in front of him in case Agent Hicks wanted a more detailed account. “Since they’re set to open in a couple of days, we’ve added a few more guys at the warehouses and other places she might not think we’re watching.”
“You’re delusional if you think she’s not aware,” Anthony interjected.
“Agent Curtis, do you have anything constructive to add to what your fellow agent is saying?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Then why are you talking? I suggest you stay quiet and listen from now on, or I’ll reassign you to desk duty. Are we clear?”
He lowered his eyelids a little, but merely answered, “Crystal, ma’am.” He was convinced that he hadn’t been transferred or bounced out of the agency because no one had found out about his illegal wiretap operation when Cain was in the hospital.
“You were saying, Joseph.”
“We’ll be ready if something happens. The shooting at her home, along with the two bombings, won’t go unanswered. We predict a turf war between the Casey and Bracato families.
“But we don’t know how the other families will react or if they’ll get involved. If they want to gain more territory, they’d be smart to let the two families battle it out, then divide the city once they’re done. That leaves us with one good scenario. Once the dust settles, we can put two of the four families out of business.”
The agent assigned to Giovanni’s family opened his file next. “Gino was bragging about both jobs, so we concur. If Casey moves, it’s going to be against him first.”
Agent Hicks nodded and placed her hands flat on the table. “Then let’s keep our eyes open, people. I don’t need to remind you how ill-advised another fiasco like the warehouse incident would be.”
*
Cain led Emma to the new bar and helped her onto a stool. Emerald’s was set to open the following night, so they wanted to enjoy the quiet before the state-of-the-art sound system cranked up. Cain pulled a new bottle of their best whiskey off the shelf, picked up two glasses, and poured a finger of liquor in each.
“Here’s to our success, darling girl.” The clink of their glasses echoed in the empty space.
“That’s a given, honey. This place is beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as the woman who shares my life, but if the lady doesn’t mind, it’ll be more beautiful because it’ll share her name.” With a quick tug Cain removed the paper taped up to the mirror behind the bar and revealed the name “Emma’s” etched across the middle. “It isn’t much, but I have a lot of birthdays and such to make up for, so it’s a start.”
Emma held her hands over her mouth and gasped as she studied Cain’s offering. “Thank you, love, but it wasn’t necessary.”
“I wanted to do it. Do you know why?”
Emma shook her head and reached for Cain’s hand.
“Because I want to come in here for years and dance with you pressed against me. Because I want everyone who enters this place to know who my heart belongs to.”
“I belong to you as well, and I will for the rest of my life.”
“Thank you.” Cain lifted the delicate hand off the bar and kissed the back of it. “Tonight we finish what we started. The Bracato family will pay for every sin they’ve ever committed against us.”
“Do you need anything from me?”
“An alibi later on tonight,” Cain joked.
“Honey, I’ll be happy to. You never have to ask.”
“Merrick and some of the others will take you home. Go in through the garage like we’ve been doing, and no matter what, don’t leave the house. I’ll be there by ten at the latest, and I won’t be calling. We can’t afford any lucky intercepts now if I’m supposed to be in the house with you.”