Covert Exposure (14 page)

“Shannon, you need to hang up this phone
right now and go to him,” Anna said firmly and she disconnected the
call so quickly once she made her demand Spinelli was sure it was
so Shannon could not reply to her.

“Thank you Anna Fontaine,” Spinelli whispered
to himself.

Spinelli saw the door to Shannon’s room begin
to open so he quickly retreated, back into his office and took a
seat on his office chair. He faced the computer and began to click
through some websites involving organized crime. Within seconds, he
could feel the warmth of her body behind him. She leaned forward
and looked at the computer screen, her soft milky white cheek just
centimeters from his cheek.

Spinelli flashed his eyes toward the clock on
the bottom right-hand corner of his computer monitor. The time read
3:30. Their shift at the mall didn’t start until 5:00. He wished
for more time.

In one swift movement, he spun in his chair
and swept her onto his lap. Her green eyes widened but she didn’t
resist. He leaned his head forward and brushed his lips lightly
across hers. His heart leaped into his throat. He hadn’t fully
expected the incalculable depth of intensity that swept through his
veins the second her soft moist lips touched his. He needed a
second. He pulled his head back and looked at her, his stomach
trembled. Never in his life had a woman had such an effect on him.
He could hardly breathe and he hadn’t really even touched her yet.
Her beauty mesmerized him. Her eyes darkened. She leaned forward
and pressed her plump sweet lips to his again. She wrapped her arms
around him and bound him closer. Her fingers wove through his hair.
Every nerve ending in his body tingled and a rush of urgency flowed
through him.

Slowly, he demanded himself, but the
intensity of her touch nearly drove him insane. He met her demand
for more pulling her body even tighter to his. She parted her lips
slightly to let his tongue pass through. He caressed her tongue
with his, tasting her sweet flavor. His head spun and he fought for
control, but lost. Raw need spurted through him at the speed of
sound. He feasted on her mouth as if there were going to be no
tomorrow.

Shannon’s breath hitched and she pulled away
from him and lifted herself from his lap. She stood before him
wearing her soft short red velvet Santa helper outfit. Was that it,
as far as this was going? Did his untamed urgency scare her? Desire
and need filled him. He’d had a taste of her and desperately needed
more. Her mouth, not a second ago cried for more. He slowly scanned
her from top to bottom with his hungry eyes. He wondered what she
wore under that sexy dress. He wondered if her bra and panties
matched her conservative nature he’d often witnessed at work or if
they validated the way he saw her in that sexy red dress.

Spinelli looked up and caught her gaze. Her
eyes spoke to him, telling him she wanted more. He leaned forward
in his chair and placed his right hand slightly above and to the
side of her left knee. Without breaking his gaze, he began to
slowly slide his hand up her leg and under her dress. The furry
white trim of her dress tickled his forearm. His hand paused at the
top of her thigh-high silk stocking. His breath caught. Never did
he imagine that her conservative nature would allow her to wear
something so sexy. He figured her for a full pantyhose gal. He
couldn’t help wonder what other surprises she held. The desire to
know what kind of panties covered her sweet treasure unleashed the
rabid beast within him again. He fought the beast, tucking the
urgency aside. He wanted to take it slowly and savor every second
of being with her, but her shear sexiness made it difficult.

Still with his gaze fixed on her he reached
up with his other hand and slid it up her leg until it too rested
at the top of her thigh-high silk stocking. He used his thumbs to
flip the edge of her stocking over and began rolling it downward.
She placed her hands on his shoulders for support, bent her knee,
and lifted her leg so he could roll the stocking all the way down
and completely off her foot. He tossed the stocking aside and
reached for the other one using the same slow pace. He tossed that
stocking aside.

He quickened his pace just a bit as he
reached up under her dress to quench his curiosity. His fingers
tingled as he skimmed them over her soft smooth skin. His breath
caught at the feel of the small patch of silky material that rested
between his hand and heaven. His blood pounded in his ears.

Shannon widened her stance and instinctively
he placed his hand on her lower abdomen and gently slid it under
the thin waistband of her panties. He caressed her with his fingers
as he slid her skimpy red silk panties off her.

He plunged his finger into her soft swollen
wetness. Her breath hitched and she tightened her grip on his
shoulders. He watched her as her eyes began to glaze over. She
placed her hand over his and gave it a slight squeeze. She tore her
gaze from his and flashed her eyes in the direction of his bedroom.
“Nick, I want you in me.”

The sound of his name rolling off her sweet
tongue nearly drove him insane. Not once since they met did she
call him by his first name. She always referred to him as Detective
or Detective Spinelli, never Nick. In his mind, he begged her to
say it again and almost as if she’d heard him she leaned forward
placing her mouth to his ear and whispered, “Come with me,
Nick.”

She gave his hand a slight tug and he rose
from his chair, and followed her to his bedroom. She tugged at his
shirt and slid her hands under it. She caressed his stomach. The
feel of her small soft hands on his stomach felt like gold. His
urgency grew. He pulled his shirt over his head and kicked off his
jeans. He reached toward her and pulled her dress up over her head
giving him a first-hand glance at her small partially covered round
pale-skinned breasts. With one quick smooth motion of his thumb and
forefinger, he undid the small single clasp that held her bra on
and her breasts in place. The second the clasp came undone her
perky breasts pushed the silky red material off to the sides and
bounced slightly. He could hear her taut nipples begging for his
mouth.

Shannon stepped backwards until the back of
her legs found the bed then she lowered herself onto it and scooted
over to make room for him. Her hair spilled like fire over the
pillow. He scanned her naked body.

“God, you’re beautiful.”

He crawled in beside her and lay next to her
leaning up on one elbow gazing deeply into the sea of green that
stared back at him. Desire filled them.

He leaned toward her and skimmed his mouth
over hers. Then he took her mouth swallowing her soft sigh. He
slowly stroked her smooth flat stomach with his hand while his lips
trailed down to her neck. He slid his hand up and cupped her small
breast. It fit so perfectly into his palm it nearly undid him.
Unable to resist, he lowered his kisses down from her neck to her
chest and then to her breasts. He needed a taste. He massaged her
taut nipples with his tongue, giving each one their due attention.
His hand drifted lower. He found her wet, swollen and ready for
him. He pressed his hand to her wetness. She gasped and let out a
deep, throaty moan, music to his ears. His own pleasure grew from
hers and the movements of her body told him she was ready for
him.

Spinelli reached back toward his nightstand
and opened the drawer. He retrieved a condom. Shannon sat up and
took the small square package from his hand, opened it and slid the
condom on him. Her small hands sheathing him was the most erotic
experience. His heart nearly leaped out of his chest. His body
begged for release.

Shannon eased her body down. Spinelli gazed
into her eyes as he positioned his body on top of hers then he
gently slid himself inside her. He stroked slow and deep, and she
felt just as he had imagined in his fantasy, warm and soft as
velvet. Her hands skimmed his hips and flowed over his back to his
shoulders leaving a path of heat trailing behind, as if he wasn’t
hot enough already. She seemed to meld to him, matching his every
thrust, driving him closer to the edge. Her intensified breathing
nearly drove him crazy. He knew she was almost there, teetering at
the edge. He greedily drove deeper into her. She was so hot. Her
grip tightened on his shoulders. She moaned and called out his name
as her muscles clenched around him. He drove one last time and with
his release, he was sure he had died and gone to heaven.

Chapter
Nineteen

Spinelli struggled to drive himself and
Shannon to the mall because the fat suit he wore under his Santa
costume pushed up against the steering wheel making it difficult to
maneuver turns. He should have just changed into it when he got to
the mall, but he figured he wouldn’t have enough time. He’d spent
too much time in bed with Shannon. Yet more time would have been
nice. Thoughts of their afternoon delight made him grin like a
kid.

His thoughts shifted to Shannon’s safety. He
simply didn’t want her at the mall, so close to the action, so
close to Loukas the Greek the mastermind behind everything. Yet he,
Walker and Marsh agreed that the appearance of keeping things
normal would allow for a better chance of catching a break in the
case.

He and Shannon reached the Santa display to
find Officer Miller in place as an elf with one of the usual elves
at his side. Walker and Marsh watched and listened attentively.

Spinelli glanced at the long line of children
who waited for his arrival. But on this particular night he didn’t
seem to mind the hours of listening to whiny kids that lay ahead of
him.

As he saw to each and every child he couldn’t
help but notice the intense exchange taking place between Miller
and Elf Tyler. He could only make out bits and pieces of their
conversation from time to time through his earpiece. The background
noise from the children rambling on and on about what they wanted
for Christmas seemed to block out the key components of their
discussion. He hoped Walker and Marsh could hear it all.

Finally, 9:00 p.m. arrived and the Santa
display closed for the evening. Spinelli watched as Elf Tyler took
off toward the locker room and motioned for Miller to follow. “I’ll
be right there,” Miller yelled as Tyler stepped onto the
escalator.

“Okay, but we don’t have much time,” Tyler
yelled back.

Miller started to fill Spinelli in on what he
and Tyler talked about while Spinelli had attended to the kids but
Tyler interrupted as he leaned over the second floor railing and
flashed an anxious glance toward them. “You have fifteen minutes.
They don’t like it when we’re late.”

“Okay, okay,” Miller yelled up to Tyler, and
then he looked at Spinelli. ”Tyler is a nervous wreck, something
more must be going down other than the card game he invited me to
join.”

Shannon pointed down the hall of one of the
first floor exits. “While you guys work on figuring out what you’re
going to do I’m going to the ladies room.”

“Okay,” Spinelli said absently but it took
all of two seconds for him to realize what she had said. “No wait.”
He couldn’t let her go off by herself.

Spinelli looked at Miller. “You go with her
while I talk with Walker and Marsh. And don’t you dare let her out
of your sight. Understood?”

“Yes sir.”

“When you’re done just head toward the locker
rooms and I’ll catch up to you.”

Miller and Shannon headed in the direction of
the restrooms and Spinelli found a quiet uninhabited corner in
which to talk with Walker and Marsh on his cell and make their game
plan.

Several minutes later Spinelli found himself
standing by the base of the escalators by the Santa display with no
Miller or Shannon in sight. He thought that maybe they went
upstairs already. He stepped onto the escalator but it moved too
slowly. He used his long stride to capture two steps at a time
until he reached the top.

He entered the dark locker room and flipped
on the lights. The room was empty. Still wired he asked Marsh and
Walker if they could see Shannon or Miller on any of the monitors.
Both answered no. “I’m in route to the restrooms,” Walker
added.

Spinelli too headed in that direction. Walker
came back on. “They’re not there. Both bathrooms are empty.
Shit.”

Spinelli’s feet moved faster and he could
feel his heart rise up into his throat. “Shit what?”

A pause fell over the air.

“I’m just about there. Walker, what’s going
on?” Spinelli asked as he pushed his way through the ladies room
door to find Walker standing there with Shannon’s small handbag
hanging from his pen dangling next to Miller’s wire.

Every bit of air in Spinelli’s lungs drained
out and he fought to refill them.

“Marsh, you got anything?” Walker asked as
Spinelli fought for air and imagined the worst.

“No nothing. The only thing I saw was Tyler
enter the restaurant and the last thing I heard was Miller telling
Shannon that he’d be right outside the bathroom door waiting for
her. Everything seemed okay at that point. My eyes are fixed to the
computer screens. Nothing’s happening.”

Chapter
Twenty

“I’ll wait right here,” Miller said to
Shannon as he leaned against the wall, inches away from the door
leading into the women’s restroom.

Shannon smiled and nodded then pushed her way
through the doorway. She walked past the first two empty stalls and
entered the third stall, the last in the row. There was no one else
in the bathroom.

Through the noise of the automatic flush,
Shannon heard the bathroom door open and the sound of footsteps.
She didn’t think much of it until a muffled groan echoed within the
bathroom walls. Fear instantly penetrated her body; she didn’t know
why.