Page 53 of Smoldering Nights
They hung up, but Izzy didn’t move for a long time.Her heart pounded, but something had shifted.The fog of confusion was thinning.Pieces were falling into place.
And if Sadie could prove Travis was dealing, they might finally have the leverage they needed to stop all of this, for good.But she still didn't know why Travis would focus on her.Unless he was actually sleeping with Delilah, and also dealing drugs.Izzy wasn't stupid; she knew Delilah would love nothing more than for her to need to sell her business at a huge discount.
Izzy stood and took a deep cleansing breath.She squared her shoulders and decided she was finished feeling scared and sorry for herself.It was time she got active with her own security and stopped behaving like a frightened little girl.
The door opened, and she swung around as Mitch stepped inside the condo.He was a sight.Those broad shoulders of his nearly made her swoon.But when he turned toward her after securing the locks, those deep brown eyes and his soft lips, that's where her eyes rested.And all she wanted to do was hug him close.
She stepped toward him, and he met her halfway.The instant his arms were around her body and she was pulled tightly to his, she closed her eyes and held him for a long time.She pulled back, their lips locked together, and their tongues danced a sensual dance.She tasted him, and he tasted like coffee, and he smelled like spice and the woods.Clean and fresh and so manly.
His lips kissed a path down the side of her neck to the crook where her shoulders began.He kissed back up to her ear, and his whisper so soft, yet so powerful, rocked her world."I want you, Izzy Payton."
A shiver ran the length of her body."I want you too, Mitch DeMario."
Without hesitation, he lifted her off her feet and walked them to the bedroom.Inside, he set her down and began pulling off his clothing, but his eyes never left hers.She began undressing, letting her clothing fall into a pile on the floor.She'd clean it up later.She was eager to make love to Mitch.She was excited to feel like this.It had been years since she'd felt like this about anyone, and he was like a drug she couldn’t get enough of.
She'd barely stepped from her panties when his arms wrapped around her once more, and their bodies, now naked and warm, were pressed tightly together.His skin was soft and without his clothes on, she could feel his muscles bunch and move under her touch.His hands dropped down and cupped her ass, lifting her off the floor once more, and she immediately wrapped her legs around him.He grunted slightly and she froze.
“Mitch, your ribs…”
"Fuck, Izzy.You're sexy."He growled between kisses.
She smiled as she allowed her hands to touch him everywhere.He laid her on the bed, his body hovered over hers, their eyes locked for a long time."You've gotten into my blood, Izzy.I don't know when that happened."
She smiled at him, her heart felt full.She felt safe and protected and sexy."Ditto Mitch."
He chuckled and rose slightly above her.She reached between them and curled her fingers around his cock, and pumped him a few times before seating him at her entrance.He smiled as he slowly entered her; the feeling was stunning.He filled her with his body.They were connected now.It was more than just sex.He'd sort of admitted it just now.As he moved in and out, she felt his love pouring into her.It was in his eyes.He never looked away.They spoke volumes to each other.
He moved slightly faster and she felt her body heat up.That tingling zinged through her, the precursor to her climax.It felt so good.Her cheeks heated as her hips met his thrust for thrust.
"You're the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met."
Her heart fluttered, her breathing was hard to control, and she didn’t know what to say.That was a first for her.She swallowed to moisten her throat as she felt her body become ready to explode.Her emotions were so frazzled.
"Mitch."
He moved faster, his thrusts becoming more urgent.Their skin heated as they moved to bring each other pleasure.And just like an inferno rushing down a hallway, her orgasm raced through her body, and she cried out his name as she gripped him tightly.Two thrusts later, he joined her in pleasure with a groan.As he lowered himself to his elbows, his lips kissed her ear gently, and he whispered."Izzy."
She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of it all.All of it.She wanted this feeling to last forever.
Chapter27
The morning light streamed in soft and golden, filtering through the blinds and casting lines across Izzy’s bare shoulder as she lay curled beside him.Mitch watched her for a long moment, her breath even, her face finally relaxed.It was the first time in days she looked peaceful.
Last night had changed something.Not just between them, but inside him.
He slipped out of bed carefully, not wanting to wake her.Padding into the kitchen, he started the coffee pot and checked his phone.Two texts waited, one from Jayson and one from Chief Fielding.
Jayson: Sadie texted me some photos.You need to see these.They match known packaging from two prior cases in Lexington.
Fielding: We’ve confirmed the powder from Delilah’s matches a fentanyl-laced compound.High risk.High distribution value.We’re getting a warrant for a full search.
Mitch exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through his hair.
Sadie had come through.That duffel bag in her closet wasn’t just damning, it was dangerous.Combined with what he found in Delilah’s salon and Noah’s increasingly erratic behavior, this was shaping into something bigger than he’d first thought.A network.A local operation with multiple points of contact.Travis might be the low-level mover, but someone had to be supplying him.
And then there was Noah.
The man gave Mitch the creeps.The way he hovered near Petal Pushers, his fixation on Izzy, the delivery she hadn’t ordered.Mitch couldn’t shake the thought that Noah wasn’t just watching her, he was studying her.Like she was his and didn’t even know it yet.
