Bourne to Love Emma (RED-Stone Operatives Book 1) (3 page)

“OHMYGOD.  Heather.  SHUT UP.”

I looked over at Mia and thank God
she’s still too little to know what the heck is coming out of Auntie Heather’s
mouth.  “Poor baby girl, you’re never going to be allowed alone with Auntie
Heather, are you?”

Heather frowned.  “I would never –“

“I know.  I’m mostly teasing.  But
you’re kind of being a bitch right now, so you deserved it.”

She rolled her eyes, spooned more
beans on Mia’s plate and changed the subject by asking about work and we eventually
discussed my plan to move Mia into a toddler bed soon.  I actually got to enjoy
my dinner – as long as we kept food on Mia’s plate and she got to hang onto the
dessert menu.

It wasn’t too long after we were
finished eating before Mia let the whole restaurant know she was tired and
ready to go home, though, so we packed up our stuff and said goodbye.

Mia fell asleep in the car and barely moved when I changed
her diaper, wiped her down quickly with a damp washcloth and wiggled her limp
body into her pajamas.  She was exhausted.

I tidied up the kitchen and put
detergent in the dishwasher and started it before checking on Mia one last
time.  She was down for the count, poor tired girl. 

As I was washing my face and getting
out my clothes for the next day, my gaze landed on the box that had been the
subject of all the dramatics at dinner.  THE box.  I walked over to it and
pulled out the package nestled in the little air pockets that kept it safe
during transportation.  After glancing over the information on the back of the
package, I wrestled with the packaging and finally managed to pull the package
apart and out flopped my very own, very pink vibrator. 

Hmm.  I went back to the kitchen to
find batteries for my new toy.  Might as well have it ready to go when the mood
struck, right?

After tucking it into the drawer in
the nightstand – under a magazine just in case someone, for God knows what
reason, opened that drawer – I grabbed my Kindle and crawled into bed.  I checked
in on my Facebook friends to see what was new in their lives, replied to a new
e-mail from my boss about an adjustment to a deadline, and discovered that the
new romance novel I had pre-ordered had been delivered.  What a great way to
end the day – I’ve been looking forward to this book for a while now.

After reading for about 20 minutes or
so, the main characters gave in to their urges for the first time and the heat
of their lust burned up the pages.  I could feel my own breathing speed up and my
heart beat faster as I read about them having scorching hot sex in a dark
corner at a party – within feet of other party goers who could have caught them
at any time.  By the time the couple was decent again and back to having drinks
with their friends, the tops of my own thighs were damp with arousal.  Wow.

I glanced at the clock and saw that
it was almost one in the morning.  Time to be a responsible adult and actually
get some sleep, I guess.  I shut off my Kindle, tossed it onto the night stand
and clicked off the lamp.  But I knew I wouldn’t be falling asleep anytime soon
as turned on as I am….

I ran my hand down my chest and belly
and tucked my fingers inside the top of my panties.  I was so wet and hot
already.  I skated my fingertips around my clit and down, swirling them through
my slick heat and sliding them back up to where my body was desperate for some
attention.  As I stirred my fingers around and around my clit, my left hand
drifted to my breast, teasing my tight nipple through the thin material of my
tank top.  I pinched my nipple gently as I finally rubbed my clit for the first
time – and I moaned.  Over and over, around and around, my hand moved inside my
panties.  I writhed on the bed as I got closer and closer to cumming. 

And then I remembered. 

I sat up in bed and yanked open the
drawer of my nightstand, pulling out my vibrator.  I smiled to myself in the
dark as I looked forward to finding what I’d been missing lately.

I slid my panties down my legs and kicked them off the side
of the bed.  I pulled my tank top off for good measure.  Naked and aroused, I
leaned back against my pillow and dragged the vibrator through the moisture
between my legs to get it ready for me.  It was colder than I expected, so I
repeated the movement a few times to warm it up and drench it completely.  I
clicked the button at the base and rubbed the vibrator around my engorged
clit.  I moaned at how good the new sensation really was.

Nearly shaking in anticipation, I
slid the vibrator back down to my entrance and circled it once.  Twice.  Then I
slowly began to slide it inside my pussy.  Slowly I sunk it in – an inch at a
time – until all six inches of it were buzzing inside me.  It had been so long
since I had felt…full.  And it was wonderful.

I switched hands, sliding my left
hand away from the nipple I had been rubbing and down to the base of the
vibrator.  I brought my right hand back up to my clit.  It only took two
strokes of the vibrator dragging along my inner walls and two tiny circles
around my clit to bring me to the home stretch.  I moaned as I built a rhythm
with the vibrator and my fingers, in and out, around and over.  I increased the
pressure of my fingers passing over my clit and shortened my stroke as my leg
muscles began to quiver.  A few more passes and I hurtled over the finish
line. 

As I hit my peak, I moaned loud and
long.  “Oh my God!”  My abs and thighs clenched and my body electrified as I
had the best orgasm I could remember having in years.

After several moments, I pulled the
vibrator from my body, shivering as it passed over my now sensitive flesh.  I
switched it off and held it against my belly as my breathing returned to
normal.  My heart was beating ridiculously hard and I couldn’t wipe the huge
grin off my face if I tried.  Damn, I thought, why the heck did I wait so long
to get one of these?

After getting up to clean myself and
the vibrator off, I put my panties and tank top back on and checked in one
final time to be sure Mia was sleeping well.  Then, I got back in bed and fell
asleep feeling better about almost everything.  It was amazing what a good
orgasm could cure.

~Jason~

I swung the door to my apartment
closed and dropped my bags on the kitchen table.  I was exhausted.  The
stakeout tonight was the second wild goose chase in a fucking week and my team
was back at square one.  I should have demanded to do my own damned electronic
recon before I agreed to head out.  Instead, two of my guys and I spent almost
six hours sitting in the dark, sweating our asses off so we could do
surveillance on a building that had nothing more going on than a silk screening
business making shirts for fucking college football games.  Football games. 
Un-fucking-believable. 

It still surprises me how exhausting
it can be when you’re sitting completely still for so long.  The level of
mental awareness, your body being prepared to leap into action at any second,
running scenarios in your head, keeping your team alert…the fatigue when the
constant adrenaline wears off is incredible.

The new guy who was responsible for this
mess probably wouldn’t make it another week in the office.  In fact, I planned
to make that my own personal mission.  This was his second fuck up with me.  I
may not actually forgive one total fuck up, but I can put it behind us if you
figure your shit out.  But you don’t get to make two without some consequences. 
Since he’s not actually on my team, I didn’t get to dictate the consequences
this time, but I know John and he and I aren’t that different.  I can only hope
he fires the guy completely because that’s the only real solution as far as I
can see.

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed
a beer from the fridge and headed to the bedroom.  Once I got there, I stripped
down to my boxer briefs and sat down on the side of the bed.  I sat still,
absorbing the quiet of my apartment as I tried to organize my thoughts and
clear my head.  As I took a drink, I heard what sounded like a muffled moan.  I
sat completely still, waiting to pinpoint the sound.  Shortly, I heard it again
and realized it is coming from the other side of the wall – in Emma’s
apartment.  For a minute, I contemplated knocking on the wall and asking if she
was okay, but then I heard a longer, louder moan accompanied by “Oh my God!”  My
dick instantly grew hard at the sound.

Am I sitting here listening to her
have sex next door? Though the thought of some other man fucking her didn’t sit
well with me, that possibility didn’t do anything to rid me of the boner I got
as soon as I realized I just heard little Emma Parsons cum.  I hadn’t heard
anyone else – so maybe she was alone.  The idea of her pounding her tight pussy
with that hot pink vibrator turned my dick to stone.  Damn.

After a few minutes with no further
sound, I downed the rest of my beer and headed to the shower.  Once I got in the
shower, though, I couldn’t get the sweet sound of her moans out of my head.  I
stroked my hand down my chest and fisted my erection – my own moan bouncing off
the shower walls.  I stroked myself while I pictured Emma on her knees in the
shower with me and all the things she could probably do with that mouth of hers. 
I closed my eyes and stroked my heated flesh, pumping my dick over and over
again.

Imagining her sucking my dick and
loving every second of it was enough to bring me to the edge.  I felt my balls
draw up and the electric buzz shot up my spine.  When I came, I slapped a palm
against the wall to hold myself up as the force of it threatened to knock me
over.  As my cum ran down the shower wall, I decided that it was about time for
me to get to know my neighbor.

~Emma~

“Hi, Carla.  How was my big girl
today?”  I had just walked in the door from a day in a client’s office and was
thankful to be home.  Mia turned toward me as soon as she heard my voice and
ran to me.  I picked her up and squeezed until she squeaked and laughed.  Sometimes
being away from her for just a few hours can seem like forever.  She’s growing
so fast these days.  I worry I’m going to miss the important moments if I’m not
paying attention.

Mia put her hands on my cheeks,
looked deep into my eyes and pressed a big, fat, WET kiss on my mouth,
proclaiming, “MAMA!  Hi!”

“Emma, she is growing like a weed. 
She ate all day long and refused to take her nap.  Hopefully that means she
will sleep for her mama tonight.”  Carla laughed as I set Mia down and she ran
back to her mess in the living room floor.  Board books and blocks and toy cars
were strewn everywhere.  Every surface had something on it and I could see a
few cars hiding under the edge of the sofa and love seat, too.

            Carla Martinez and her husband Miguel lived one
floor below my apartment.  When I first moved in, Heather’s fiancé, John,
recommended her when I needed to find someone to keep Mia every now and then
when I needed to really focus on writing or had to travel, like today.  Miguel
had worked for John for many years and, now that their own kids were grown and
living on their own, Carla was overjoyed at the prospect of having a baby in
her arms again. 

“Well, I’m going to take her to the
park for a little while before dinner – so maybe the extra dose of fresh air
will tire her out.”  I can’t help but smile at my daughter.  She is the best
thing that has ever happened to me.

“Okay, Miss Mia,” Carla said.  Mia
looked up at her and smiled her biggest smile.  “Let’s clean up this mess and
you can go play at the park!”

Mia looked at me and said, “Pah?” 
Uh-huh.  She knew that word. 

“Yes, ma’am!  We can go to the park
as soon as we pick up all of your toys!  Gotta clean up, baby.”  All three of
us soon had the toys picked up and put away.  I grabbed her diaper bag and
strapped her into the stroller in the hallway. 

“Tell Mrs. Martinez bye-bye,” I told
her.  We laughed as Mia waved with one hand and tried to blow kisses with her
other hand.  In no time, we were out of the building and soaking up the
sunshine.  I always made plans to get outside more with Mia when we do this –
but my job keeps me inside most of the time and it’s so easy to get caught up
in our routine. 

We spent an hour at the park.  Mia
and another little boy, Billy, took turns dumping sand on each other, laughing
and squealing.  His mother, Sandra, and I had to remind them not to dump it
over their heads, knowing the dumpee would end up leaving the park screaming
when it got in their mouth or eyes.  Fortunately, they felt like listening this
time.

Sandra and I had met before at this
park.  She’s a single mother, too, so we both enjoyed the interaction and the
small break of being able to sit and chat while our kids were safe just a few
feet away but entertaining themselves.  Sandra is a kindergarten teacher. 
Fortunately, her ex-husband pays his child support on time and actually tries
to stay involved in his life.  That’s something Mia will never have.

When I told Mia it was time to go,
she cried.  And told me ‘no.’  Because, yeah, she’s my daughter.  She learned
that word early on and it was the third word she mastered after Mama and Hi. 
Lovely, isn’t it? 

I was able to distract her with some
goldfish crackers from the diaper bag (thank you, Carla!) and got her back into
the stroller for our trek back to the apartment building. 

As I was waiting for the light to
turn so we could cross at the crosswalk, a shiver ran up my spine and that
creepy feeling that you’re being watched kind of freaked me out.  I looked
around and noticed a dark blue car a few parking spaces down with someone in
the drivers’ seat.  The glare of the late afternoon sun kept me from seeing if
it was a man or woman – or if they were even looking at me at all – but the
icky feeling didn’t go away until after we hustled across the intersection and
had turned onto the street where our building was located. 

Our last apartment was in a pretty
bad neighborhood – since that was all I could afford at the time – and Heather
had made me promise to carry pepper spray when I was out with Mia.  It made me
feel better back then, but I never felt like it was necessary here.  We had
good security in our building and there were always so many people out and
about on the nearby streets that I stopped carrying without even really consciously
making the decision.  But maybe now’s a good time to figure out where I put it
when we moved here. 

When the doorman at our apartment
building greeted us with a smile, I felt so much better that I actually laughed
at myself for getting so worked up over a shiver and someone sitting in a car
at the park.  How often did I sit in my car checking e-mail or replying to a
text?  I shook my head at myself as we stopped to check the mail before heading
to the elevator. 

Seriously, when did I become so
paranoid?

~Jason~

            I always end my run at the park around the corner
from the apartment building.  Number one, because it had a misting station and
a water fountain that actually gets cleaned by the city often enough to trust
it… for the most part.  Number two, because there is peace sitting on the grass
under a tree in the middle of a green space that you don’t get often in a big
city.  I miss wide open spaces.  I miss hammocks slung between two trees and
barbecue cookouts with neighbors who have to drive to your house.  But life
hasn’t ended there for me – at least not yet.

            As I walked slowly, winding my way through the
trees and toward the intersection to cross the street, my heart rate slows and
my breathing steadies.  I checked my stats on my Garmin and gave myself a
mental pat on the back.  I’m not as young as I used to be – and I spend way too
much sedentary time in front of my computer screens – but I kept my 8 mile run
under 58 minutes.  And that included having to wait at a handful of intersections
for traffic.  My smile stuck with me as I made my way down the street. 

As I was about to cross the street in
front of the apartment entrance, I notice a guy sitting in a parked car a few
car lengths up the street.  I take a step toward the street to see his plate
number, make a mental note of the make and model.  On the off chance that he’s
hanging around for a reason and I see him again, I’ll be able to run his plates
and figure out if someone else needs to know about him. 

I said hello to the doorman, Jim, as
I walk inside.  Jim has worked here for a long time.  Knowing he’s keeping an
eye on things when I’m not here makes me feel better about things.  He was
hand-picked by John.  He and Frank, the head of security, are the only ones who
are aware of how many RED-Stone operatives call this building home at least
part-time.  At this point, I’d guess maybe a dozen men and women under his
umbrella live here – at least when they’re stateside.  There are twelve
apartments per floor with the elevator bank in the center.  Ten floors total
less the ground floor which is office space and the lobby; there are 108
apartments here.  The 90% of the tenants who aren’t RED-Stone just get to enjoy
living in a building where they are safer than almost anywhere else and they
have no idea how deep that background check actually went before they were
cleared to move in.

I saw a woman pushing a stroller into
the elevator and yell “hold the elevator” as I jogged across the lobby.  I
raised a hand to Frank, our security head, as I stepped inside and found myself
face to face with Emma.  All I can say is:  thank god part of my training is
keeping my thoughts from showing on my face – because I had no idea she had a
kid.

“Hey, Emma.  Nice to see you again,”
I said as she pushed the button for our floor.  I smiled down at the kid in the
stroller since she was staring up at me as she shoved a yellow fish-shaped
cracker in her mouth.

Emma smiled nervously, her cheeks
turning rosy red, and replied, “Hi, Jason.  Nice to see you, too.” 

Even though I now have to label her
as off-limits because of the kid, I can’t help but smile a little bigger when I
caught her taking a good look at my sweaty chest.  I work hard to stay in
shape, so it really isn’t just me being cocky when I say the ladies generally like
what I’ve got to offer. 

The little girl pointed her finger at
me and said, around a mouthful of orange mush, “what dat?”

Emma laughed and said, “This is my
daughter, Mia.” 

“Hi, Mia.  It’s nice to meet you,” I
said as I squatted down and offered my hand to her.  She smiled big, drool
dribbling down her chin.  She reached out and grabbed my hand and, faster than
I would have thought the little monkey could move, she had the side of my hand
in her mouth, covering me in partially chewed cracker and baby drool.  When I
jerked my hand back from her mouth, she immediately started to cry.

Emma began apologizing, nearly in a
panic as she dug in the huge bag over her shoulder.  I can’t help it.  It was
seriously the funniest thing that had happened to me all day and Mia was still
crying like I kicked her puppy.  I started laughing.  I laughed so hard my eyes
watered and Mia and Emma both stared at me like I’d lost my mind.

Emma went back to digging in her bag
and Mia started laughing with me – which just made me laugh more.  The elevator
doors opened while Emma was still digging, so I used my clean hand to push the
stroller off the elevator and down the hallway toward her apartment.

“Emma.  It’s fine.  I promise this is
not the grossest thing that gets on my hands most days.”

“I thought you did I.T. for a
living,” she said as she handed me a wet wipe.

“I do a lot of computer work, yes. 
But I do other stuff, too.  And sometimes it gets dirty.”  I smiled at her. 
“What do you do?”

“I’m a technical writer for
Emerson-Days publishing.  I do a lot of writing for pharmaceutical companies
and some different equipment manufacturers.  I’ve worked on a few high-level
textbooks and I write a lot of research procedure manuals.  It’s not always the
most interesting work, but it lets me keep my own hours most of the time and
work from home, so I’m close to Mia.  The pay’s good, too.”  Emma actually put
her own hand over her mouth and turned bright red.  “Sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?  I asked you what
you did for a living and you answered me.  I’m glad you have a job that works
for you.  Being close to Mia is important to you and that makes your job
important, too.”

At that, Mia started fussing again. 

“I better let you girls get dinner. 
It really was nice to see you again.”

Emma smiled up at me again – she
really is a gorgeous woman – and turned to unlock her door.  “It was nice to
see you, too, Jason.”

I stood there as she pushed Mia
inside and winked when she glanced back at me.

“Don’t forget to lock up,” I said. 
As if a grown adult female needed me to tell her that.  Idiot.

Emma smiled again and said
“goodnight” as she shut the door.  Once I heard the locks engage I headed back
to my apartment.

            I grabbed two bottles of water and an orange and
sat down in front of my computer.  I’ve got new footage to review – about 45
minutes of it needs to be torn down and reviewed under higher resolution with a
different contrast.  I peeled my orange and got down to work.

            Part of my job at RED-Stone is making all of the
available tools out there for possible reconnaissance actually usable for our
teams.  In layman terms, I’m a hacker.  And I’m damn good at my job.  I can
find a camera that is installed and monitored for a business and divert and
split the feed so I can see it, too.  What this means for my team is that I can
access any electronic surveillance equipment out there without us having to go
install it ourselves.  The real trick to being a master at my job is being able
to find the holes in a system so that I can access what I want without being
caught.  Anyone can hard hack a system if they aren’t worried about who knows
they were there.  The real finesse comes in being completely invisible, even
when they’re looking for you.

            Almost two hours later, after sending the updated
footage back to the office, I stripped and hopped in the shower.  Physically, I
was beat.  Mentally, I wasn’t ready to sleep just yet.  For me, that
automatically meant it was time for SportsCenter. 

I crawled into bed, plumped the
pillow behind my back and grabbed the remote.  But, as I was about to turn on
the television, I heard her.  Her moans might have been muffled, but I would
recognize them anywhere now. 

            The next moan had me hard as a spike.  I reached
down and wrapped my hand around my cock, slowly pulling up as I listened
intently for her.  I dragged my fist back down and slowly slid up again, pre-cum
leaking from my head smoothing the way. 

And there she was again.  It sounded
like she was already close.