Friction (Red Hot Private Eye, Novella, Vol. 2) Read online

  Soon, she was breathing so hard, so fast, that she didn't think she would be able to stop this train of passion she was riding as it careened toward climax, even if she had wanted to.

  “Oh, Mateo, oh my God, I think I'm going to…come…again!” she cried as she felt the tension begin to build in her inner walls, each powerful stroke of Mateo's shaft edging her higher and higher.

  Her involuntary admission apparently had quite a powerful effect on Mateo, because she felt his muscles tense and bunch under her fingertips, and heard him grunt in her ear. The knowledge that he had been driven over the edge by her words, her body, crashed through her, and it was all she needed to send her soaring to new heights of ecstasy, as well.

  As Raiza and Mateo experienced their powerful climaxes together, Raiza threw her arms and her legs tightly around Mateo, clasping him mightily, as if she never wanted to let him go.

  Hmmm...she thought to herself. That's an interesting comparison to make.

  What if it's true? What if, in the scheme of things, I really don't want to let Mateo go?

  Ever?

  The thought should have scared her.

  Instead, it made her smile.

  Chapter Thirteen

  You are focused. You are capable. You are in control. No one can hurt you. You can handle anything.

  It’s going to be a great day!

  Raiza sat in the parking lot of Red Hot in her Audi repeating her daily mantra, smiling from ear to ear. Last night had been amazing. She couldn’t stop thinking about it. When they were together she felt like she had finally found her place in the world.

  They hadn’t talked about whether or not they were going to be together. And although Raiza would not normally classify herself as overly optimistic, she did have a pretty good feeling about Mateo, about them being together. She knew in her heart that she belonged with him. She just couldn’t believe how much time they had wasted.

  Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk. She grabbed her purse from beside her just as she heard a tap on her window. Turning her head she half expected to see the tall lanky police officer standing beside her car. Groundhog Day.

  Instead it was Cristal, and she had two cups of coffee and a bag from Cinnabon’s. Raiza's stomach growled at the sight.

  Opening the door quickly, Raiza grabbed for the bag, asking, “Have I told you how much I love you lately?”

  “Uh-huh,” Cristal held the bag out of Raiza’s reach, “not until you spill the beans, Chickadee. You know what they say about payback.”

  Raiza started laughing. She had done the exact same thing to Cristal when she and Dominic had been stuck on assignment, living in the same house together. She had brought over java and gooey cinnamon treats to ply her for information.

  It had worked then, and it was about to work again.

  “I’ll tell you anything you want,” Raiza held up her hands in mock surrender.

  “My office,” Cristal motioned her head for them to walk inside.

  As they made their way through the back of the building, Cristal asked about her aunt. Raiza had e-mailed both Cristal and Dominic to let them know that she would be heading out of town for a few days. Raiza told her that she had spoken to her uncle this morning and he had said that she was complaining about not having HBO in the hospital, so she figured she must be feeling better.

  As soon as the door was shut, Cristal put the goods on the desk and they both dug in. After several minutes of enjoying cinnamony goodness Cristal asked, “So, what’s the deal with you and Mateo?”

  Before Raiza had a chance to answer the door opened and Dominic came in, followed by Detective Pearson. Raiza stood to leave, figuring that they would need to speak privately.

  The detective raised his hand stopping her exit, “This will only take a minute. I just wanted to let you know that we have apprehended a suspect in the Thrive Therapy case and thank you all for your cooperation.”

  Cristal came out from behind her desk and shook the detective’s hand. “Let us know if there is anything else we can do.”

  The detective nodded at both Cristal and Dominic before turning to Raiza. “Miss Diaz, it was a pleasure meeting you. I hope to hear from you when you return from your trip.”

  “That won’t be happening,” Mateo announced from the doorway.

  The detective turned toward Mateo as Raiza rolled her eyes (great, now she would have to start the clock again!).

  Men.

  The two alpha wolves silently communicated something before Detective Pearson nodded and left the room. Raiza could not believe that she had just silently stood by and watched that little caveman interaction take place.

  Maybe it was the hot sex that was making her brain all mushy. Yep, that was probably it. Alright, well, moving on. She had work to do before she headed to LAX in a few hours.

  As she moved to leave, Dominic stopped her, “Raiza, we reviewed the footage you got yesterday. Good job.”

  Pride welled up inside of her. Dominic didn’t hand out compliments easily. They were earned.

  “Thanks,” she said as she felt herself getting emotional.

  Moving beside Cristal he added, “And let us know if we can do anything to help with your family stuff.”

  “I will. I should be back by Monday.”

  “Take your time,” Cristal said moving towards Raiza and pulling her into a hug, “and keep us updated.”

  “Okay,” Raiza hugged her friend back but then left the room quickly.

  She needed to be in the zone today. She had a lot of work to do before she left.

  ---~---

  Mateo left Raiza alone for a couple of hours. He knew that she needed to get things in order before she went to the airport. He knew that until she had gotten her world back into running order she wouldn’t be ready for what he needed to say. So he waited.

  When he heard the whooshing sound of her computer shutting down he turned just as she was gathering her things.

  “Raiza, I know we haven’t really talked about ‘us’-”

  “I really don’t have time right now, my flight's at four-”

  “Thirty,” he finished.

  She stopped and looked up at him. “How did you know that?”

  He figured it must be a rhetorical question, she of all people knew that any electronic ticket left a trail. It was not difficult to follow it.

  “Right,” she shook her head, then stood, “well, then, you know I have to go.”

  “We have to go,” he corrected her.

  “We?” her eyes narrowed.

  “I’m flying back with you.”

  Raiza’s eyes widened in disbelief.

  Mateo took a deep breath, he felt like he was doing this all wrong, “Look, I just want to be there. Even if it’s just as a friend. I don’t want you to fly - ”

  “Okay,” she agreed, the corners of her lips turning up.

  “Okay?” he asked. Normally when he got the answer he wanted, he just stopped talking, but he was caught completely off guard. He had really been expecting her to put up a fight.

  “Okay,” she repeated.

  His body immediately relaxed. He felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. For some reason the thought of her flying across the country, alone, had made him get a sick feeling in his stomach. Partly, because he wanted to be there for her but also just because he wanted to be with her.

  He pulled her into his arms and kissed her firmly. She melted against him and he wrapped his arms tighter around her. Soft moaning sounds escaped her mouth as he sucked her bottom lip between his and nipped it slightly.

  Slowly, reluctantly, knowing that they did, in fact, have to go he broke their kiss and rested his forehead against hers.

  “So I guess this means you’re not just going as my friend?” she asked with a little sparkle in her eye.

  “Hell no,” he said gruffly.

  A huge smile spread across her face, “Good.”

  Warmth welled up inside of him. It may
not be a declaration of love, but it was a start. A really good start.

  Sneak Peek: Untamed

  RED HOT PRIVATE EYE

  A Novella Series, Vol. 3

  Alyssa sat in the passenger seat of the non-descript sedan, every muscle taut with the tension of the situation. She had never been out in the field before. Hell, she still wasn't out in the field...officially. The stakeout that she and Ethan were currently on was most definitely not sanctioned by the Red Hot Private Eye powers that be. They were going rogue. They were out on a limb, if truth be told, and she was hoping against hope that this metaphorical limb that she was so precariously perched on wouldn't just snap underneath her, sending her tumbling to earth.

  She could barely stand it, this knowledge that she was breaking the rules. Alyssa had always been a rule follower, had never done anything so far outside of what was 'allowed' before. She wouldn't even go up the down escalator. She had once realized that she had accidentally put a pen into her purse that she used to sign a gas receipt when she was on a road trip, and had mailed 25 cents to the small, roadside establishment. It had cost her more in postage than the pen was worth. Still. It was the rule.

  But this was a very special situation. She knew something was going on here. The numbers she had been asked to analyze just didn't add up. They just didn't! Something fishy was going on with their clients, and she had not gotten any traction when she tried to report her findings up the chain of command.

  She had tried to follow the rules in this situation, but the rules just weren't working.

  So, as much as it made her supremely nervous and uncomfortable, she was out here on her own. On a stakeout, of all things! She was doing something that was not only outside of her job description, but that she had been told explicitly not to do.

  Holy Mama Cow!

  Then, of course, there was Ethan, sitting next to her. The other forbidden thing that this stakeout entailed. God. She knew she shouldn't be feeling what she was feeling for him. He was her co-worker, and she wanted to be taken seriously at this job. Not to mention...for a girl that liked order and rules as much as Alyssa did, her feelings for Ethan were dangerously chaotic.

  Her thoughts about Ethan made her glance in his direction. She felt herself flush as she took in his strong jawline, his lush hair, his muscles straining at the tight, black t-shirt he wore. Her breath caught. Damn, but he was sexy!

  Apparently sensing her eyes on him, he turned his rakish smile toward her.

  “I know what you're thinking,” he said confidently.

  Alyssa felt her cheeks burning. She certainly hoped not.

  “Oh, really?” she teased, happy that her voice came out sounding much stronger and more confident than she had anticipated that it might, “Care to enlighten me?”

  “You're thinking that stakeouts are a hell of a lot more boring than they are made out to be on TV.”

  Boring! Ha! That was the furthest thing in the world from the way that she had just been categorizing the experience of sitting next to Ethan for hours.

  “You got me,” she smiled playfully.

  “Unfortunately, when you need to know where a suspect is headed or who they're meeting with, it's often the only way. Much less sexy than it looks in the movies, but highly effective.”

  Hmmm...again, she wouldn't classify Ethan as 'less sexy' than anything, even a movie star. But she could see how sitting in a car for going on (she glanced at her watch) six hours now could be boring with a different companion.

  She shrugged. “I don't know. I kind of like it. It's like the calm before the storm. Sure, it might be boring for a long time, but there's still that underlying anticipation – you know the adrenaline rush is coming as soon as you see your target step out of the door.”

  Ethan grinned at her, and looked right into her eyes.

  Oh, Lordy! Talk about an adrenaline rush! Alyssa felt it down to her core, and everywhere in between. She felt electric shocks pulse through her as his fingers brushed her shiny blonde hair back from her forehead.

  “So, you're an adrenaline junky, huh?” he whispered, leaning in closer.

  Oh, God! Alyssa couldn't believe it. He was going to kiss her. It was really happening. His lips were moving steadily and sensuously closer to hers. Closer, closer...the electricity crackling in the air between them danced on her skin and set every nerve ending on edge. She wanted nothing more than to feel his lips on hers, his tongue probing her mouth, his hands on her hot skin.

  She felt his fingers trailing slowly up her inner thigh, and she ached with burgeoning wetness. Her breathing became shallow. Arousal slammed through her like a lightning bolt.

  She had waited for this moment. She had dreamed of this moment. She would never do anything in the world to derail this moment.

  Except...

  “Ethan?” she whispered hoarsely.

  “Yes, baby?” he whispered back, his mouth mere millimeters from hers, his voice equally ragged.

  “There he is,” she said, inclining her chin to the place where she had just spotted, out of the corner of her eye, their suspect's car pulling out of his driveway.

  In a rush of movement, Ethan snapped back to his previous all-business demeanor, pulled the car out into traffic three or four car lengths behind the target, and they were off. Where to? Fate, and the target, only knew. All Alyssa knew was that, come hell or high water, she and Ethan were not going to lose him.

  Oh, and she knew one more thing. Ethan had almost kissed her. And, even though his lips had never even gotten the chance to touch hers, it was already the single most erotic experience she had ever had.

  Damn.

  She was in trouble!

  Excerpt: My First

  THE CROSSROADS SERIES

  Book One

  Chapter One

  “Welcome home!” Katie said sardonically to herself as she sat, eyes closed, in her rental car on the side of Highway 90. She had a paper bag pressed tightly against her mouth and a mantra running through her brain on repeat.

  You can breathe. Just breathe. Breathe in and out slowly. You can breathe.

  Katie had been back in Illinois for less than an hour and here she was, smack dab in the middle of her first panic attack in five years. She gripped the steering wheel hard, trying to soothe her racing heart to anchor herself to reality. She forced her movements to be slow and deliberate.

  This seems to be working, albeit slowly, she assured herself. When the overpriced therapist who taught her the breathing exercise and mantra had laid out his plan, Katie had wanted to roll her eyes. She had wanted to tell him that he clearly had no flipping idea what a panic attack really felt like if he thought that repeating a little magic spell in her mind about breathing was going to have any effect at all. She had wanted to tell him that panic attacks didn't feel like nervousness or butterflies you could just calm with the power of your mind. They felt like you were having a heart attack, like you were dying. Have you ever heard of someone having a heart attack curing themselves by simply telling themselves to breathe?

  Of course, Katie hadn't said any of those things. She had smiled politely, practiced with the bag, and kept her judgment of his professional aptitude (i.e., that he was a total quack!) entirely to herself.

  Still, since she hadn't had a panic attack in the past five years. She hadn't ever been able to test out the technique and prove his quackitude with rock-solid evidence. Now that she was in the middle of one and the exercise actually seemed to be working?

  Well, I'll move his status down to 'Jury's Still Out on the Level of His Quackosity' but I'm not nominating him for the Nobel Prize just yet, Katie thought. Of course, this wasn’t even close to a bad attack. This one was fairly mild.

  But, that’s exactly how they had started ten years ago. They had begun as hyperventilating episodes and over time had developed into severe attacks resulting in her being rushed to the emergency room—twice—having truly believed she was having a heart attack. Which had not been the case.
/>   The E.R. docs were the reason she had ended up lying on the overpriced therapist couch (metaphorically speaking; in reality she had sat in a plush leather chair). Once the doctors at the hospital had ruled out the possibility that anything was physically wrong with her, they had strongly recommended that she delve into the possibility that it was her psyche, not her body, that needed medical attention.

  Even now, as the panic attack was subsiding, Katie was still feeling some of the physical symptoms. Her head felt as if it were floating away, her fingers were tingling as if they were being stabbed by a thousand tiny needles, and she was being bombarded by an obnoxiously loud ringing sound. She forced herself to anchor to the sensation of the paper bag digging into her lips to ground her in reality and repeated the mantra (which, she had to admit, was kind of growing on her.)

  You can breathe. Just breathe. Breathe in and out slowly. You can breathe.

  Slowly, bit by bit, she drifted back to the present and into her body. She closed her eyes to appreciate the little sensations she was now aware of—the leather of the seat pressed cold against her back, the icy breeze from the air conditioning blowing refreshingly on her face.

  Leaning her head back against the headrest, she felt the weight of her chest rising and falling. Her arms felt heavy. Lowering them to her sides, Katie was vaguely aware that the paper bag had slipped from her hand and landed on the console beside her.

  After several minutes, her breathing returned to normal and the ringing sound in her head grew sporadic. Katie searched her memory in an attempt to identify if ‘sporadic ringing in the head’ was a normal side effect post-panic attack. She hated that these horrible attacks used to occur with such frequency that she actually had a personal database of experiences to check her symptoms against.

  Nope, she concluded, the sporadic ringing is new.

  Turning her head to take in her surroundings, she saw cars whizzing by on the interstate. She squinted against the glare of the sun, which was shining brightly down on the pavement and bouncing off the car windshields speeding by.