Don't Hate Me (Club Pétale), page 10
I hadn’t planned for her to call out the crowd like that, but as soon as the women’s lips tilted, I was glad she did. A violent shiver racked through my body.
If you won’t come in, then let strangers fuck me. The choice is yours. I hoped the words came across through our shared gaze.
The woman below me let out a gasp. I guessed she was being fucked, but I didn’t care. Not when she shrugged and turned to leave.
Or at least I thought she was leaving… until the door to our right opened and she walked right in.
Fire shot through me, licking up my spine and causing my breath to catch. The person below me had fused her lips back to my clit.
A hand tangled in my hair and jerked my head back, so I was forced to look at the stranger as she entered.
Fuck. I forgot how tall she was.
I was short, but she was a fucking giant compared to my small form. She crossed the room, her dress shoes muffled by the carpet below. When she stopped at the edge of the bed, all of the air left my lungs.
From afar she was captivating, but up close? Up close she was goddamn addicting. Her musky scent surrounded me, and those piercing blue eyes with broken pupils seemed like they were staring right into my soul.
Her fingers slipped into my collar, the warmth of them causing tingles to spread throughout my body.
Heat expanded in my belly, and before I could prepare myself, I was coming again. This time they were muffled by her mouth covering mine. I gripped her shirt with urgency. Pulling her closer to me as her hot tongue skillfully brushed across mine.
Kissing her was different than I imagined.
I imagined a pent-up lust spilling out into our kiss. I imagined rough hands and breathless moans.
Instead, I got controlled, yet heated. Calculated but messy. She took the lead with the kiss, exploring my mouth as if it were just her and me and not like I had a person licking up the cum that had leaked from my cunt.
The heat from her kiss caused another zap of pleasure to shoot up my spine, but she needed it far too soon.
When she pulled back, I hung onto her shirt.
“You rejected my match.” I was panting from the kiss and breathless because of the multiple orgasms, but the words came out strong.
There was that quirk of her lips again. I don’t know what it was about my words that caused her to give me that face, but I wanted to see more of it. I wanted her to look down on me like she was just then, acting as if she wasn’t affected, but inside, both of us knew just how much she wanted this.
The kiss made me more sure than ever before.
“I did,” she said.
“But you want me,” I said, gripping her shirt tighter. The action seemed to amuse her.
Her fingers brushed against the heated skin of my cheek. “I more than want you. I want to devour you. And when I do, I want you to be mine and mine only.”
I was getting desperate. She could tell me to do just about anything, and I would say yes.
A part of me wanted to mess with her for her rejection, but the other part wanted me to submit even more.
“Was that why you didn’t come to me?” I asked. “She won’t bother us anymore. I can fuck whoever I want.”
The quirk in her lips caused my entire body to shudder. Oh I know, was what her gaze told me.
“Stay,” I forced out through a moan. The person below me hadn’t yet stopped their assault on my clit even as their own groans filled the room. “Play awhile. I’ll be yours.”
She gently untangled my hands from her shirt and stood to her full height.
“I don’t play with a crowd, little one,” she said and brought my hand to her lips. She paused when she caught sight of the scabs that littered them. Then when her eyes met mine again, my breath was stolen from me. “Next time.”
Then she turned and left the room.
“Not everything you’d thought she’d be, huh?” the person said from behind me.
Her words spurred my actions, and suddenly I was pushing myself out of the bed and diving for my clothes.
“Blake, leave her. We got you,” the one that was between my legs whined.
“It was fun, friends,” I said as I hastily buttoned my pants and slipped on my shoes. I grabbed my shirt and put it on, skipping the bra for now. I sent them a smile. “I appreciate your help, but until next time!”
I didn’t let their whines stop me as I left the room in search of the stranger.
No—Quinn.
There was no sign of her in the hallway, but that didn’t sway me in the slightest. If she wanted a chase, then I would allow it.
Then, as if the gods were against this union, a pinging vibration went off in my pocket and caused me to freeze.
Of course it had to happen right now.
I pulled out the phone from my pocket. Ax had allowed me to keep it on me given the nature of my job, but it had only gone off once before. My heart stopped, and blood rushed through my ears.
The burrow is flooding. Report immediately.
Blake
I didn’t even have time to wash the stench of sex off of me before speeding to my assigned position.
Luckily I kept a spare suit in my trunk, but I prayed to God that no one looked twice at me.
As soon as I pulled up to the expensive upstate town house, I knew there was no one that would even look in my direction. Not with all that going on.
Police cars, both marked and unmarked, lined the streets. Red and blue lights were flashing. I had to squint my eyes to see through them. Men in suits and badges were all over the place, many of them murmuring to themselves. What was most surprising were the men and women in their jackets with a big “FBI” plastered on their backs.
What the hell?
The news cars weren’t here yet, but it was only a matter of time. I caught only a few people with the all-black Secret Service uniform on, guns at their sides. I parked haphazardly in the middle of the street and bound up the stairs.
Inside was chaos. The small entrance that led to the foyer, connected living room, and kitchen were packed with bodies. Even the staircase to the right of the entrance had cops bustling up and down it, pushing past everyone who got in the way. People were yelling, and the Bennett family was all huddled in their living room.
I didn’t recognize many of the faces and paused when I realized just how lost I was. Then, as I pushed through the crowd, I saw a familiar figure standing near the foyer. The squad leader was there, his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face. When he saw me, he visibly relaxed. Ryan had been in the business for over twenty years. His black hair was speckled with gray, and his cold gaze seemed even harder than it usually did.
I hadn’t known him for long as I had only been on the senator’s team for a short while, and while he and I were friendly, I also knew that he was a no-business kind of man, and if he was there in person… there was something really wrong.
“Thank fucking god at least one of you showed,” he said, his voice carrying over the crowd. Some people even turned to look at me.
I pushed past the sea of uniforms, glaring at whoever tried to stop me. The town house was filled with more bodies than it could hold making it hotter than hell. As I got further in, I recognized a few of the cops and uniformed officers, but none of them were people dirty enough to trust.
As soon as I got close to Ryan, I looked up at him with a questioning gaze.
“Where are the other—”
I had my answer before the question was even out of my mouth. A few shouts rang throughout the room. I peered behind him to see something I never thought I’d see in my lifetime. Before my very eyes, three secret service agents were being arrested. The cops wrangled them, ignoring their curses as they forced their hands behind their backs and pushed them toward the exit.
My blood ran cold at the sight. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
Since when did the cops get to direct us? If anything, I thought they would be here—
“Where the hell is Mr. Bennett?” I asked, noting that my charge, and a presidential candidate, was missing. “This doesn’t seem right, Ryan.”
Ryan sighed and ran a hand over his tired face.
“In the back of a goddamn cop car,” he said. “Tonight you are in charge of the family. I have five other guys on their way. Direct them how you see fit, but I need to figure out why the fuck my men are in handcuffs.”
I swallowed thickly. Me? In charge?
Ryan stepped to the side and motioned behind him. I was too busy watching my teammates being cuffed and dragged outside to notice the family had been sitting behind him in the small foyer the entire time.
The two children were visibly upset, with tear stains marking their faces. The older girl was clutching the small boy in her arms while leaning on her mother’s side. I had worked with Mrs. Bennett many times, but my interaction with the children had been limited at best.
“I’ll take care of it,” I whispered to Ryan. “When the agents come, I’ll keep one with me and the rest will guard the perimeter. With this many people in and out, we can’t chance any unauthorized people getting in here.”
Ryan gave me a sharp nod before clapping me on the shoulder and disappearing into the sea of bodies.
Steeling myself, I looked over at Mrs. Bennett and the children with a small smile.
As much as you would rather be anywhere else, these people need you right now. You know what it’s like to need someone. Be nice.
“I’ll be looking after you for the time being. I work with Senator Bennett often. My name’s Tiffany.” I said it softly so as not to alarm the youngest. He was only five and his eyes were already bloodshot. No doubt the flood of people scared him half to death.
The older one, who I knew was about twelve years old, looked me over with a sharp eye. I could see she was trying to put on a tough facade, but the red that rimmed her eyes told me she too was scared.
“Thank you, Tiffany,” Mrs. Bennett said with a forced smile. “For this and… earlier. Sorry I didn’t have time to talk to you about it sooner. I know now is not the time with—”
Her voice cut off, and her cool mask fell. The emotion was thick in her voice and clogged her throat. She cleared her throat before whispering a “sorry” to me.
“Don’t worry about it, ma’am,” I said. “I am here to protect. Can you tell me what happened? Only if you are comfortable, that is.”
Her eyes shifted back to the children at her side before she let out a shaky breath.
“We were cleaning up dinner,” she said. “The children were in here, watching TV, when we heard a bang, and immediately I thought it was another one of those heinous men from the internet. I screamed for the agents, but before we knew it, policemen and FBI agents were storming the place. They forced us to this couch before taking him.”
I nodded and reached out to pat her shoulder as her eyes turned glassy.
“And the agents?” I asked. “Were they interfering?”
She shook her head.
“They complied for the most part, so I’m not entirely sure why they are being taken in,” she said.
Someone cleared their throat behind me. I turned to them with a scowl, but the weight on my shoulders lifted when I saw not one but three secret service agents waiting for my command. The other two looked relatively new, both looking toward one off to the side who looked like he hit the gym daily.
“Ryan sent us here,” the one in front said. “Ready for orders.”
I straightened my shoulders and pointed to the quiet one off to the side who looked like he knew more than the other two. “You stay with me and the family, guard the back. You take the back, near the kitchen. You take the front door. Cops and FBI agents are crawling around the place. If anyone wanted to sneak in, now would be the chance.”
The other two nodded and excused themselves without any fight.
I turned to the other secret service agent to ask exactly what the hell he saw out there, but the shuffling of feet and the low murmuring of voices caused me to look at the intruders.
My breath caught in my throat, and my heart pounded in my chest. Panic seized my entire body, and as soon as I met those familiar brown eyes and scowl, I forced my eyes to the ground.
FBI… What the fuck was he doing here? Our paths shouldn’t have crossed ever again. He was supposed to make sure of that.
For one of the first times in my new life, I froze. Froze because seeing someone associated with the life I left was too jarring to keep me rooted to this charter. Frozen because the man that was in front of me was someone I had wanted to see for years but knew it would never be possible.
But if he was here, it meant that something was going on with this family. Something that should scare me. Because Jonson never got involved in something that wasn’t filthy. He was somehow the most and least trustworthy FBI agent I had ever met… but he sure did stick up for those he believed in.
Unlike the cops at his sides, the ones glaring at us and whispering God knows what under their breaths, he had a moral code. One that was a bit twisted, but one that existed nonetheless.
I snapped out of it quickly, remembering exactly why the fuck I was here.
Look at him. Because if you don’t, people will notice. Ryan put you in charge, so act like it.
“We don’t need any more FBI agents here,” I said to them in a low voice. Finally, my eyes met those brown ones. I couldn’t help but notice how the years apart had aged him. How the stress from the job had worn on his face and grayed his hair.
The man behind him scowled, but Agent Jonson’s face stayed still.
“I have some questions for Mrs. Bennett about her husband,” Agent Jonson said, venom seeping into his tone. He nodded toward the agent at my side. “Take the kids. This isn’t for them to hear.”
When the agent began to move, my grip shot out to hold on to his wrist.
“We don’t report to the FBI,” I reminded. “Whatever this is, needs to—”
“Are you infringing upon our investigation, agent?” Jonson said with a raised brow. “I want to remind you that I have the power to throw you in jail with the rest of your team.”
“I am just saying—”
“You should be assisting with the investigation, and it is perfectly legal and in no way harming Mr. Bennett’s family,” he said, as if scolding me. His tone was not missed by the people around us.
I hated when he used that tone on me. I almost forgot what it felt like to be around him. I had to suppress my pout.
“Take the kids to the kitchen, make them some warm milk or something,” I said to the agent next to me, letting go of his wrist.
“I’m not a babysitter,” he huffed under his breath.
“Care to repeat that?” Ryan’s voice caused us both to jump. I hadn’t heard him approach. He stood taller than Jonson, but the FBI agent didn’t seem to be bothered by it. He just looked up at him with a small smile.
“Oh, Ryan, nice to see you again,” he said with mock politeness.
The agent at my side used that as his cue to escape with the children. I maneuvered myself closer to Mrs. Bennett, acting as a sort of shield for her. She gave me a grateful smile, but it only caused my suspicion to grow.
What did she do?
“I wish I could say the same, but your cop buddies have my men arrested for aiding and abetting? Care to tell me what that’s about?”
Jonson smiled and turned to Mrs. Bennett.
“Maybe Mrs. Bennett would be able to help? Want to share what you know about the jewel we found in your husband’s office? The story in the news was that it was stolen, but it looks more like a bribe to me.”
Her eyes widened.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said in a scandalized gasp.
Jonson fished out a bag from his pocket, one that contained the brightest emerald I had ever seen.
“It was placed really prettily in his safe,” he said. “Along with a few others. And loads of cash. We received intel that your husband and his entourage were seen leaving the same hotel as Julian Otero with a suspiciously heavy bag. The arts dealer reported the emerald missing the same night. But why have this and so many others in his safe? My guess is Otero wasn’t happy with the cards your husband dealt.”
What is he going on about?
I wouldn’t put it against the senator to do something like accept a bribe, but this all seemed too convoluted and circumstantial at best, unless…
My eyes traveled Jonson’s face. He seemed so sure. Was there some actual bribery going on that he can attest to once he has the senator in custody?
“Hotel?” Mrs. Bennett asked with her eyebrows pulled together. “What hotel? He has been at home. I can attest to that.”
“Ah,” Jonson said as he exhaled. “Don’t act like you haven’t benefited from it as well. I could have sworn I saw a brand-new Mercedes parked outside. One which isn’t on your or your husbands bank statement.”
“What are you on about? It was a gift.” Mrs. Bennett said, standing. I moved to her side, placing my hands on her shoulders. She sent me a pleading look.
“Sit,” I whispered. “You don’t want to make this worse than it is.”
“But they are insinuating—”
“There is no insinuation here. Just a completely normal, non-suspicious meeting between your husband and a few people who have a deep pockets and something to gain by bribing your husband,” Jonson said. “So Ryan, that is why your agents are under arrest. Even if it is stolen, as the dealer says. They saw him take it, and one already confessed to seeing him order another agent to commit the crime while he watched. No whether that crime is bribery or robbery, we can see find that out in trial, hm?”
Ryan straightened his suit, then nodded. It was obvious on his face how much he didn’t like this. The whole situation didn’t sit right with me.
“Understood,” he said. “We hope to have eyes on your report in the morning.”
Shock ran through me at how easily he accepted it. That was it? He was just going to accept that they had taken them and let them go?
