Irrevocable (Evan Arden 5)

“Ha! Why doesn’t that surprise me? That magazine is like a manual for hookers.”

“There’s a lot of good information in there.” Alina shrugs. “You don’t seem to have any complaints.

I hum in response as I reach up and run my hands through her hair. It’s soft from the shower we shared before going to bed, and I can still smell my shampoo in it. I gather her hair in one hand and hold it out of the way as I lean forward and press my lips to the side of her neck.

I make my way up to her ear, kissing and sucking at her skin. Releasing her hair, I wrap my arms around her back and pull her closer.

“I don’t want to keep you from your work,” Alina says.

I pause, kissing her twice more before pulling back. I should continue my investigation—I feel like I’m close—but my dick disagrees.

“Your work is more fun.” I pull her down against my anxious cock and run one hand up to cup her breast. “Maybe we should just go back to bed.”

“If that’s what you want.” She tilts her head and smiles at me, but it doesn’t meet her eyes.

“What is it?” I ask as I run my hand up to her cheek. “You want to just go to sleep?”

“It’s nothing.” She shakes her head dismissively, but she isn’t convincing.

“Tell me.”

“I was just remembering something,” she says. “That’s all.”

“What were you remembering?”

“A friend from a long time ago.” She looks away for a moment.

I raise an eyebrow.

“You remind me of him,” she says softly. She licks her lips and then trails her fingers down from my temple to my jawline. She scratches at the stubble on my face, which is far more than I usually have. I’ve been busy and bad about keeping up with shaving.

“He always needed a shave?”

Alina chuckles and shakes her head. She tilts her head the other direction before leaning in and kissing me, deeper this time. I lean back, letting her take the lead as her tongue slides between my lips. She reaches down and slips her hands under my shirt, running them up my sides and making my skin tingle.

Without breaking the kiss, I stand, carrying her with me. She wraps her arms and legs around my body and holds on as I take her back into the bedroom and lay her down in the center of the bed.

Work can wait. I want her now.

*****

“This is exactly what we’ve been looking for.” I drop a thumb drive next to Jonathan’s laptop and fold my arms across my chest as he inserts it and starts checking over the contents.

Despite the lack of sleep, my mind is alert and active. Maybe the multiple rounds of sex with Alina last night contributed to how good I feel right now, but it mostly has to do with finally making a breakthrough.

“These are the accounts we were checking out,” Jonathan says as he browses, “the ones that had all the discrepancies.”

“Correct.”

“We found these accounts before. We were trying to tie them back to Landon Stark.”

“Right, but we couldn’t figure out where the money was landing in the end and couldn’t find a trace of Stark anywhere on them. Keep looking.”

I tap my foot in nervous anticipation. I can see his eyes light up when he sees what I found.

“Movement,” Jonathan mutters. “Over to the Caymans, then to China, UK, then wired back to the Caymans.” He taps on the keyboard for a minute. “Wow, that’s a lot of dough. What’s Greyter Sailor Incorporated?”

“Agriculture and fishing company,” I tell him. “Lots of land owned in Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and Vancouver.”