Page 42 of Ms. Fortune

He sheaths himself swiftly and makes quick work of my underwear, and then he’s sinking into me completely, and I melt underneath him. Every single muscle in my body becomes pliant and taut at the same time under his gossamer touch, driving my hunger for him to levels I’ve never known. The throbbing that starts at my core sings through my blood, and I cling to him as he kisses and licks the spot where my neck and shoulder meet.

Our breathing becomes ragged even though we’re moving so slowly as the intensity between us becomes overpowering. The craving for more of him echoes in my bones as I rise to meet every one of his gentle thrusts, and it finally builds and builds until I can feel the euphoria about to crest.

I dig my nails into his back as I arch against him, letting the thundering vibration spike and flow throughout my body. I can’t help but bite down on his shoulder to stifle my release. My bliss erupts around him as he plunges into me with searing shudders of his own. We lay simmering in each other’s heat silently for a minute while we recover our breath.

Eventually, he lifts his head to gaze at me, stroking my hair. His eyes are bright and almost look like they’re full of wonder.

“You are stunning in every fucking way.” He kisses me so sweetly and tenderly that I feel tears prick at the backs of my eyes, but I force them away. “Simply stunning.”

That does it. I can’t hold the tears back, and I try to turn my head to hide them because I don’t want him to think what we just did is making me cry. It isn’t that at all.

“I’m sorry….” I choke out a half laugh, mostly out of embarrassment. God, what a mess I am. What we just shared was so much more than just sex, and the mere knowledge of it is crisscrossing my wires. I should be elated, but instead, I’m full of a mixture of fear of leaving myself exposed to him and a desire to give him every part of me.

He gently grabs my chin and turns me to him, his brows furrowed with concern but edged with empathy.

“I get it.” He meets my gaze, and I can tell he’s telling the truth instantly. It was more for him too. He nods to reinforce his words. “Believe me, I get it.” He brushes my shoulder with a kiss as he gets up to go to the bathroom.

While he’s gone, I let my mind go blank of anything else other than what just happened between us. Things are different now. We’ve crossed some invisible relationship threshold of trust, and I’ve never been here before. I’m still unsure what I’m doing or if everything I do is wrong, but I need to learn to trust myself for a change. I have to believe that I can choose a man correctly for once in my life. Not every man is only out for themselves. Statistically, that’s impossible. Maybe I can allow myself to hope my trust is earned in Brandon’s case. Maybe.

Chapter 29

WHAT WENT DOWN

BRANDON

As much as I would love nothing more than to lay in bed with Normandy all day and repeat what happened this morning until fatigue sets in, there is way too much happening outside of us to lose focus on any of it. I need to remind myself every other minute to keep my mind on the matters at hand and not my hands on Normandy, let alone what any of it means.

Normandy still hasn’t heard from her mother and is convinced she’s dead in a ditch or the desert by now. I need to get my ass in gear.

After a quick shower, I have to attend a few corporate meetings that really could have been emails, and then I call Taylor for an update on his multiple investigations. It still strikes me as insane that the simple act of me attending a friend’s funeral would lead to all this.

“I’ve got my men split into teams for each problem, one for Ms. Blake’s mother and one for Calnetta’s involvement with Victor’s death. I’ve even called in some favors with a friend’s security company here in the southwest to help with the extra load.” Taylor is being as efficient as ever.

“Okay, that’s great, but what is happening? Have you found out anything at all on either problem?” While I’m happy to know things are in motion, I need answers. Yesterday. Seeing Normandy so worried rips my soul to shreds every time I see it.

“We may have a lead on the Frank Santangelo involvement, but it’s looking like it’s a red herring.”

I sigh. More rabbit holes. “Taylor. Tell me what you have.” I wait for a beat and go on when he doesn’t speak right away. “Even if it’s just preliminary.” I can feel myself turning into an asshole, and I hate being that guy.

“Yes, sir.” He pauses, and I wait him out this time. “We think that he might be a plant, but we’re not sure for who yet. It could be another family using him as an informant, or it could be government. Just like people ghost and disappear without a trace, he did the opposite and ghosted in out of nowhere.”

“No record of him from anywhere?” That can’t be right. Something is definitely off about that.

“No, there are records of him, but they’re too clean. Too neat. To the untrained eye, they probably look fine, but I can just tell they’re not right. I can prove nothing, so I need to confirm some things before making judgments.”

Now that makes sense to me. I’ve almost always trusted Taylor’s gut instinct on things in the short time I’ve known him, and it has yet to disappoint. The only thing I disagreed with him on was Normandy, and I know he was just being careful there.

“So, what’s next then?”

“We keep digging. We’re getting pressure from Clark County to move on Louie, but even they know they’ll need something more solid to act on before doing anything. Right now, it’s all just suspicion and finger-pointing.”

“And Normandy’s mother?”

Again, a pause, but this one feels weighted. “Unfortunately, nothing. She hasn’t been at her house since we started monitoring it, so we have no idea how long she’s not been there.”

“You’re positive she’s not in the house at all?” I try not to imagine her dead inside all this time.

“Yes, sir. We ran a recon sweep late last night so as not to draw attention and didn’t find anything. Doors and windows were locked, nothing seemed in disarray, and there was no sign of struggle. Also, her vehicle is gone from the garage.”

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