Claiming What's His (28 page)

             
She nodded again.

             
Sam knew that she was overreacting a little.  She made assumptions.  Well, how could she not?  She
was
in a strip club so she shouldn’t expect anything less other than stripped bare.

             
But what Hon wore caught her by surprise.

             
Yes, for the most part, she was naked.  She had on a nude-colored G-string and no bra.  But over her breasts were the coolest ninja stars Sam had ever seen (not that she had seen many) attached over her nipple.  It was a dark red, eight-bladed star that almost looked like a flower with what seemed like deadly thorns poking out.  The diameter was same as a tennis ball and Sam was pretty sure that Hon had chosen this particular one due to its size.  She wouldn’t want anything heavier hanging on her boobs to weigh them down and accidentally flying off and stabbing customers.  And Sam didn’t have any doubt that Hon was just as deadly as the ninja star.

             
Fascinated by them, Sam kept her eyes to the stars and moved in for a closer look.

             
“Those are cool ninja stars, Hon.  Are those real?”

             
“Yah, yah.  Velly light, plitty, and shaup.” 

             
And with that, she whooshed again, laughing loudly and making Sam jump back a step (or two).

             
And whoosh it was.

             
Oh Hon.

*******

              It was nearly three in the morning when they arrived home and she was exhausted.

             
Being in high heels for more than an hour, even if she had been sitting majority of the time, nearly killed her.

             
When she returned to join the party after her identity discovery of Dallas Dae, Alex pulled her back down to his lap and whispered in her ear, “You’ve been gone for thirty minutes.  Where did you go?”

             
Sam tipped her head and looked into his eyes.  “Are you checking up on me now?”

             
“Sam” was all he said which meant she was to answer him.

             
“Does it kill you, for once, to not know where I’ve been?  I could’ve been humping one of the huge bouncers in the broom closet or giving Ty a blow job in his office.”

             
His hands left her waist and slid into her give, viciously tugging her face down.  “Sam,” he growled.

             
Sam should’ve been scared, but she wasn’t.  She was more annoyed with the fact that he thought he had the right to know where she had been.  She could opt tell him the truth, but what fun would that be.

             
“Waiting in line for the ladies room.   Have you seen that line?  I’m surprise it didn’t stretch out all the way to the parking lot!”

             
He released her hair and returned them to her hips.

             
It wasn’t a bad lie, but it was plausible.

             
“You’re lying.  There’s hardly any women in here,” he stated.

             
“Did you forget the strippers, and waitresses, and hostesses, and the other women that are customers?”

             
Damn, she was on a roll.  If she wasn’t lying, she would’ve believe that lie herself!

             
When Sam opened her mouth to resume her fib of an explanation, one of the waitresses (her tag said her name was Gigi) stopped by and handed her what looked like a lace material and told Sam only one thing, “From Dallas.” 

             
But, before Sam could say anything, Gigi turned around and left.

             
From Dallas.

             
From Hon.

             
One in the same.

             
Sam inspected the fabric between her fingers.  It was the lace mask that Dallas Dae wore while she was onstage.  The delicate mask was one of the most beautiful item anyone had ever given her.  It screamed sexy, dangerous, mysterious, lust… sex. 

             
Sam never imagined that she would be turned on by a mask.

             
A really sexy mask.

             
“Sam.”

             
The sound of Alex’s rumbled voice brought her out of her thought, having her look to his eyes.  It wasn’t angry.  It was a choked-up, rumbly voice and something she hadn’t heard before.

             
He had been watching her since the mask was given to her.

             
Moisture pooled between her legs, making her shift in his lap with her rubbing against him.  She felt the bulge of his pants beneath her, begging to be released from its confinement. 

             
She gasped.

             
His hands that rested on her hips tightened, firmly holding her in place, his eyes seeing deeply into hers filled with lust and hunger.  The way his smoldering eyes silently connected with hers told her that he wanted to go home and strip down naked to have hot, wild, monkey sex with her wearing nothing but the sexy, delicate lace mask.

             
A devious smile crept up his face.  If that dark smirk didn’t make such sweet promises for later in the night, then she would’ve punched him in the gut.  And, with that promise of that, the tingle between her legs nearly went into full spasm.

             
Luckily, none of the girls noticed what was given to her and the look that was shared between them, at least Sam hoped they didn’t.

             
After Matt returned with a pitcher of beer and Gigi with non-stop trays of shots for the girls, Sam was officially hammered.  It had been continuous fun of shots and dancing. 

             
Just what Sam needed after she almost died.

             
How she made it out of that club was a mystery to her, although she was sure that Alex had a lot to do with it.  Knowing how drunk she was, she was sure the girls were the same way and had hoped that none of them drove.  She’d be giving them a call first thing in the morning.

             
Her eyes drooped heavily and she knew she wouldn’t be able to stay awake much longer.  She needed a bed (or the couch or the floor or wherever her body may hit first) and she needed it now.

             
The second they walked through the doors, and with that little will-power she had left, she kicked off her shoes, pulled down the zipper on the side of her dress, pulled the dress off before tossing it aside, walked straight into the bedroom and landed face down onto the bed.

             
Forget showering and the fact that she smelled like liquor and smoke, she was dog tired and she wanted to sleep into next week where she’d be able to catch up on her sleep.

             
Sam felt hands on her back, working on her bra clasp.  Then she was turned to her back, not of her own volition.  Then her panties were whipped off her legs.  Then her legs were pushed apart.

             
“Alex –”              

             
That was all she got out before she was a goner.

             
His mouth clamped down on her, sucking and licking and fingering, having her writhe beneath him until she came again and again.

             
Sam didn’t realize that her fingers were in his hair, holding him in place as he flicked his tongue on her clit, sending her to oblivion.  He released her and pulled her further up into the bed.

             
“I take it you’re not tired,” she whispered.

             
His nose nuzzled her neck as his talented tongue stroked against her column.

             
“Fuck no.  But we needed to work out to burn the alcohol from our bodies so we don’t get hangovers in the morning.”

             
“It is the morning,” she told him the obvious.

             
“Then I need to make sure all the alcohol dissolves before we wake up in a few hours.”

             
And he thrust into her with one long, steady stroke that made her body arch, humming in sweet, toe-curling pleasure.  He thrust in again and again and again until she cried out her climax, this time with him right after her. 

             
His face was still in her neck as he continued gliding in and out with their combined wetness.  When his stroking stopped (which luckily was an inward glide), he lifted his face and stared down at her with soft, lazy eyes.  Her eyes slowly grew more and more heavy, threatening to fall asleep in their current position (which wouldn’t be a complete loss).

             
“We didn’t get to use the mask,” he told her as he pressed a soft kiss to where her shoulders met her neck.  “Next time I’m tying you to the bed with the mask on you and taking my time with you.”

             
She shut her eyes completely and she sighed.  “Yeah, sure, like I’m going to let you tie me up and let you have your wicked way with me.  Keep dreaming because that’ll never happen.”

             
“Oh, baby, I do love a challenge.  Never say never, and trust me, I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”

             
They settled into their positions and before she fell asleep, she swore she heard Alex murmuring the sweet words, “I love you.”

             
Sam stared out the window, gazing at the moon’s bright light.  Sleep evaded her and she couldn’t call on it when she needed it.  Her mind had been occupied with what Corey found from surveillance tapes from Teasers. 

             
Two days of wild goose chases and they had nothing.  The two days had lead to nothing but dead ends.

             
From the tape they recorded from Teasers, they were able to catch bits and pieces of information.  For some reason, when Corey tried isolating the conversation in the room, the audio feed didn’t result in much luck.  He was able to isolate out the sound of the music and the cheering of the crowd, but no luck with the crackling noise that was apparently in the same room with them.  Corey explained that the only reason this was possible was if they had a special device, used specifically by the government, to prevent other governments to hack into their system and listening to confidential information.

             
From what they did gather, the clues lead them to three different Party City locations, the bank, and the grocery store.  All of which lead to nothing.

             
And, all Sam could think of what how much of a waste that had been.

             
To top it off, that same night they went to Teasers happened to have been Big Bang Theory night and she missed it!  She had been so caught up in the hoopla of going to a strip club for surveillance that she had forgotten about it.  And Maggie had given her attitude about it as well (one that lasted about three minutes before she got over it).  So to make it up to her, she promised to have a sleepover, Big Bang Theory marathon next weekend where all the girls (and Danny, if Char came) could spend all weekend lounging in pajamas at Maggie’s place, eating nothing but junk food (and maybe a few carrot sticks for veggies).

             
Other than the tapes, that wasn’t the only reason why she couldn’t sleep.

             
Learning that Alex was moving back to Comfort on a temporary basis should have made Sam feel a little happy and giddy.  Maybe it did for the brief moment when she heard it.  She had managed to move on for six years of not having him in her life and she managed just fine.  Each day was just like any other day, except without him in it.  But now, it was different.

             
Now with him in her life
and
with her in a relationship with him, it was really difficult for her to have to sort out her personal and business thoughts, especially with him working her first big case as her partner.  How exactly was she supposed to keep the two separate?  And with him hovering over her all day, how was she supposed to get some alone time to think on her own?

             
And that scared her.

The whole relationship was moving a lot faster than she had realized.  First, she hadn’t seen him for six years.  Then he arrived back into town and he somehow ended up as her boss and partner on a case that George had them work on together.  He then stopped by her apartment and complimented her taste in furniture and left with the brush of his lips against hers.  They then shared that scorching hot moment where they almost had sex if Maggie, Nat, and Char hadn’t shown up.  But, they finally had sex in her bed, against the bathroom shower, on her office couch and his bed, which was hot and wrong, wrong in so many ways. 

The sex had been great, the best that Sam’s ever had.  But, other than that, there didn’t seem to be anything else significant.                And that scared the hell out of her, only because if that was what they had, she knew the relationship wouldn’t last.

             
She sighed, not sure of her uncertainty at the moment.  This whole ordeal was confusing to her, but one small touch from him each time and it made her forget everything.  And, that was one thing she didn’t need right now.  Not when she had the most important case that could make or break her career still active.

             
Sam hadn’t realized it until now, but the night of the fundraiser after he kissed her and made his announcement, it was then that he claimed her as his.  It was that moment that things happened between them.  All of the things she was afraid of with any of her past boyfriends.

             
Commitment.

             
She had never been able to keep her relationships longer than a few months.

             
But, she shouldn’t feel this way.   

             
Panic struck her.  Everything was practically moving warp speed and she couldn’t handle it.  Panic consumed her.  She needed to get out.  She needed to get away, far away and just calm down.

             
But, she couldn’t make any sudden jerk movements to avoid waking Alex up.

             
She gently pulled his arm off her from her waist, sliding slowly across and off the bed.  She got dressed as quietly as she could, stopping every few seconds to shuffling movements. 

             
Her hands went to the door knob and she slowly turned it, a soft click sounded and she stopped to look back to bed.

             
He hadn’t moved.

             
Sam pulled the door open and tiptoed out with her shoes held to her chest.  She turned around to close the door as quietly as she could which had resulted the same when she opened the door with the soft click.

             
She maintained her tiptoe all the way out to the living room.  When she reached the front door, she stopped.  She glanced at the alarm system and noticed that it was on. 

             
Shit.

             
She didn’t know the combination to turn it off so she couldn’t leave.

             
He didn’t turn it on the first time she was here.  It would probably be why he turned it on this time.

             
Even if she knew, where would she go?  She no longer had an apartment to go back to.  She could go to her dad’s, but then she would have to explain why she left Alex’s place in the middle of the night and she didn’t want to do that, with him or Alex. 

             
Maggie’s place was the best option.  In fact, it was the
only
option to avoid questions in the middle of the night.

             
Sam picked up her cell phone and dialed Maggie’s number.  It had rung four times before she picked up.

             
“‘Lo?” Maggie mumbled into the phone then slurping her saliva.

             
That sudden image of her drooling crossed Sam’s mind and her lips twitched.

             
Sam tried not to laugh at her friend on the phone (especially since she really needed her at the moment) and softly begged her, “I need you to come and get me, please.  I’m at Alex’s condo.  Do you know his alarm code?”

             
“Why do you want to leave?  You’re safe there.  No bad guys could get to you there,” she muttered.

             
“I just do, Maggs.  I need to go, now!  Now can you come get me or not?”

             
“Yeah, yeah, I could.  But, why did you ask about his alarm code?”

             
“He turned the alarm on and I don’t know the code to turn it off,” she told her as she stared at the keypad.

             
“Well, I don’t know it either.  I guess you’re stuck there.”

             
And then the phone went dead.

             
Sam growled and scowled at the phone before tossing it to the couch.

             
Sam was mentally exhausted.  She didn’t know what to do.  Her only option now was to stay.

             
She placed her shoes on the floor by the door and went to the couch.  She figured if she couldn’t be by herself at some other place then she could at least be by herself here on the couch away from Alex.

             
She grabbed the throw blanket and covered herself as she lay on her side and thought about everything and what she was going to do.

             
Sometime later when her brain was worn out from all of the escape activity, she fell asleep.

*******

              Sam was having a dream.

             
A weird dream. 

             
She was a superheroine. 

             
But not just
any
superheroine. 

             
She was
Catwoman
in a tight, black, leather suit and she was kicking the villains’ asses, tossing them in to the dumpsters and littering the alley with their unconscious bodies.  One guy threw a punch towards her and she ducked his advances as his fist landed in other guy’s face.

             
Right when she was about to throw her fist into the bad guy’s face and break his nose, her fist froze, she was suspended mid-air and she was airborne backwards, away from the alley, away from the bad guys.

             
What the heck was happening?  Why was she going away from the bad guys when she was winning?  She needed to finish kicking their asses and make sure that they don’t terrorize anyone again. 

             
And then she realized she was dreaming.

             
She was not Catwoman. 

             
She was not a superheroine. 

             
Only in her dreams she was.

             
Sam wasn’t sure how long she had been asleep, but she was being shifted in a pair of familiar arms.  She peeked her eyes open and saw why she was airlifted.

             
Alex.

             
“Put me down,” she whispered, shifting in his arm in preparation to be on her feet, pushing off against his shoulders.

             
“Quiet, Sam,” his voice growled low as he readjusted her again.

             
He was angry.

             
Why was he angry?  She hadn’t done anything to him.

             
“Are you angry?” she asked.

             
“Fuck yeah,” he clipped.

             
“Why?”

             
“
Why?
”

             
“Yeah, why?”

             
“Because you left my bed in the middle of the fuckin’ night
again
and tried to leave but couldn’t when I turned the alarm on.”

             
Well, at least he confirmed her suspicion. 

             
So he did turn the alarm on because of her and apparently he was pissed because she left his bed.

             
She was dead on!

             
“Alex –”

             
“For fuck’s sake, Sam, if you don’t shut it, I’ll find other ways to do it for you.”

             
Shit
.

             
Sam didn’t think there was anything to be angry about.  So yeah, she got out of bed, got dressed, and was going to go… but where exactly?  She didn’t have a place anymore.  Her landlord kicked her out.  Her dad was probably out on the lake with the kids again and she couldn’t explain to him why she had left Alex’s place in the middle of the night.  Maggie could be anywhere but Sam didn’t want to go to George’s house. 

             
She would’ve thought of something once she got out.  She always did.

             
But at the moment, she was stuck.

             
Alex dropped her unceremoniously on the bed causing her to bounce.  His hands went to the buttons of her pants and she slapped his hand away.

             
“What are you doing?”

             
“Getting you ready for bed, again,” he said as his hands went back to her pants.

             
“I can do it myself.” She was nearly shouting as she continued to slap his hands away.

             
Then he grabbed both wrists, moved them above her head where he held them down with one hand as he continued to work her jeans with the other.

             
Sam wriggled her entire body from wrist to feet, trying to get something, anything, free.

             
It didn’t work.

             
“Sam, stop.”

             
“No!  I’ll do it myself.  I don’t need you to take my clothes off for me.”