He uses his thumb to wipe away the tears that roll down my cheek. “My brave, brave Princess. There are no more monsters coming for you.”
“What if he comes back?”
“He’s a bit too dead to come back.” His voice is hard.
My eyes widen. “What? You killed him?”
“I did.”
I stare at him, horrified.
“To be perfectly honest I actually took great satisfaction doing it.”
I cover my mouth with my hand. “Oh, Jack. What will happen to you now?”
He shrugs. “Nothing.”
“Nothing? How can that be?”
“Trust me. I know what I’m doing.”
“I really thought I’d never see you again.”
“That was never going to happen, Princess. I would have gone to the end of the earth to find you.”
“I was so afraid he would hurt you.”
“Hurt me? I was willing to sell my soul to the devil for you.”
“You do know that you’re the most amazing man on earth, don’t you?”
“I do,” he says gravely, but his eyes are twinkling.
I put the chocolate down. “Jack?”
“What?”
“I’d like to have a shower. I feel grimy and my skin smells. I need to wash.”
He helps me out of bed. My legs feel a bit shaky, but I’m all right. Before I can take the first step though, he sweeps me into his arms. I look up at him. “Oh, Jack. Not even in my dreams did I dare imagine I’d have a man like you.”
“That’s good because I never dreamed I’d get a beauty like you.”
In the bathroom he runs the shower to fill it with steam, then sits at the edge of the bathtub and watches me brush my teeth and use the toilet. I turn to him. It is as if it’s the first time I’m with him.
“Do you want to come in with me?” I ask, blushing.
He springs up and immediately begins to strip. “You won’t believe how much, but I was trying to be patient,” he says with a grin.
I pull my nightgown over my head and step into the shower.
The sensation of the water hitting my body, washing away the feel of Valdislav’s hands on me as I lay on that dirty brothel floor, is wonderful. Jack shampoos my hair. He washes my body. When I am completely clean his mouth starts exploring me, starting at my ears.
Jack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL4UGSbeFg
(Save The Last Dance For Me)
Her scent intoxicates me and I experience a sudden and urgent need to take her forcefully. Prove to her and me that she is mine and only mine, but I don’t indulge in that primitive craving.
No, I will savor every part of her slowly.
This whole night will not be enough for the kind of relishing I intend to do. I’m gonna lavish every inch of her body with Jack Irish. I linger at her breast, the soft flesh filling my hands, then my mouth. The nipples are little stones between my tongue and the roof of my mouth. Warm water beats down on my head. My resolve weakens. Fuck this woman has me in knots.
She is panting. Driving me insane. We both need it. I trail my mouth down to her stomach, her hips, her secret place. My tongue parts her and slips into that familiar sweet taste.
She cries out. I eat her out until her body shudders and quakes with an orgasm. I rest my head on her stomach.
“You came too quickly,” I whisper.
Sofia
He stands. Looking down at me, he wraps his big, manly hands under my thighs, lifts me up, and enters me. I breathe a sigh of contentment. I’m home.
Finally.
Fifty
Jack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43RCsADGE1Q
-Don’t you know you’re riding with kings?-
They come two days later. A middle-aged man with brilliantly green eyes, and two beefy officers in uniform. They keep their expressions carefully neutral.
“Jack Irish?” he says when I open the door.
“That’s what they call me,” I say calmly.
“Detective Chief Inspector Bradley. We need to ask you a few questions.”
I step back and allow them into my home. I show them to the living room and stand with my arms crossed.
“Well?” I prompt.
Sofia walks into the room, her eyes darting from the men to me. I smile and wink at her. Her eyebrows rise with surprise.
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave the room, Madam, while we speak to Mr. Irish,” the DCI says to her.
“She stays if she wants to,” I say.
The DCI eyes me coldly. “I’m afraid this is a very serious matter, Mr. Irish. We are investigating a murder.”
“Am I a suspect?”
He doesn’t even have the grace to look uncomfortable. The way those in power seek to bully people that don’t know their rights. “Your fingerprints were found at the murder scene and on what we believe is the murder weapon. If you cannot give me satisfactory answers to my questions I’m going to have to haul you in for questioning at the station.”
I think of the champagne bottle. Probably with minute traces of the cockroach’s skin and blood. Fortunately, I’m already prepared for this scenario. Of course, they have my prints on their database from the time they hauled all of us off to the station after that massive fight outside The King’s Maid Pub and fingerprinted us all.
“Do you mind if I make a quick phone call, DCI?” I say taking my phone out of my pocket.
He frowns, thinking I’m calling my lawyer.
I dial Blake’s number. “His name is DCI Bradley,” I say and end the call.
DCI Bradley’s eyes narrow. Both his impassive escorts look at each other with surprise.
“I’m getting myself a drink. Anybody else want one?” I offer with a friendly smile.
DCI looks irritated. This interview is getting away from him. “No thank you,” he says stiffly. “I don’t drink on the job.”
“Suit yourself. Do you want one, Princess?” I ask turning to Sofia.
“Okay,” she says softly. I can see it’s the last thing she wants, but she’s just playing along.
I pour out a measure of sherry, and the silence is shattered by the sound of a cellphone ringing. It’s quite an irritating bleep, actually. I put the bottle down. “You might want to take that, DCI,” I say.
DCI Bradley gives me an odd look then he reaches into his jacket and pulls his phone out. He looks at the screen and his eyes widen. Turning his back on me he answers his phone.
“Yes, Sir … No, Sir … Right, Sir … Perfectly clear, Sir. Thank you, Sir. Goodbye.”
He turns around. His face is a picture. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Irish. I hope we haven’t inconvenienced you too much.”
“I’ll show you out,” I say with a smile.
“Let’s go,” he tells his men.
He nods politely at Sofia and we make our way to the front door. As he exits I call to him. He turns around. He’s a good man, trying to do his job well.
“You can lay your head on the pillow tonight safe in the knowledge that for once the corruption in high places actually worked the way it should.”
He nods and turns away. I close the door and Sofia is standing there. “What just happened?” she asks.
I take the three steps that separate us. “Blake is a member of the old Black Nobility. One phone call from him is all it takes to move mountains.”
“So he made a call to the DCI’s boss?”
“No, sweet darling, he made a call to someone who called the boss of the boss of the DCI.”
She widens her eyes. “I didn’t realize he was so powerful.”
One day I’ll tell her all about the secretive Blake Law Barrington. Today is not the day. “I’ve got a question I want to ask you.”
“What?” she asks, looking unbearably fuckable.
“Will you fucking marry me already?”