Got the Life (A Nicki Sosebee Novel) (6 page)

He squeezed her hand and smiled, then picked up his beer. 
He asked her to tell him about her other jobs
, but she said she would later.  She didn’t feel like talking about herself, so she asked what he was doing in
Winchester
.  He
told her he was on his way to
New Mexico
but that he had a friend in
Winchester
he’d wanted to see on his way through
Colorado
.
  Jake and Eddie were old friends from
Colorado Springs
as well.  He mentioned that he was going to
New Mexico
“on business” but left it at that.

Both of them finished their drinks at the same time
,
and Nicki knew the awkward moment of truth was nearing.  But there was nothing awkward about it.  Carlos simply leaned close to Nicki and
said
, “I have a room here.  Would you like to stay a while?”

And by the time the door clicked shut to his second-floor room, he had Nicki in a tight embrace, his tongue
dancing in
her mouth. 
Mmmm
…he was good.  His lips were
then down on her neck and
her collarbone
next
, as he took his leather jacket off, tos
sing it onto the chair just past
the doorway.  Nicki felt her hands moving up the back of Carlos’s red t-shirt.  His back was nothing but muscle, but she could barely concentrate
on it
.  His hands were on her waist and then her ass, and he picked her up
, holding her close, her legs wrapped around his midsection.

He pressed her back up against the wall, and all that was between her
flesh and him
was a thin pair of lacy black panties.  She could feel him growing hard and hot, pressed up against his jeans, and she felt her loins respond in kind.  His mouth was back on hers and she finished pulling his shirt up.  He started grinding up against her until she let out a weak sigh, her fingernails digging in his back.

He picked her up
again
, but instead of laying her on the bed, he sat her on the round table next to the chair.  With one swoop of his forearm, he slid a thick notebook off the table, probably one
of those
that listed all the hotel’s amenities.  He leaned down and his hands held her face.  He kissed her again, then brushed her hair back with a hand, exposing her neck.  He kissed it, lots of small kisses, down the length of her neck, then to her collarbone.  His hands moved to her breasts, reined in by her tight
dress
.  But he found the hard, pointed nipples through the fabric and teased them with his touch, rubbing them in a circular motion
with his thumbs
.  Her fingers wound through his hair.
  He laid her back on the table, kissing her on the lips again, and then got down on his knees.  He kissed inside her thighs while his hands pushed up on the dress at her hips.  She felt his thumb on top of her wet panties and he massaged until a guttural moan escaped her lips.  He then grabbed the panties on either side and slid them down
past
her knees.  She thought he wasn’t going to waste his time—he knew she was ready and he was too, so he was goin
g to fuck her right here on the
table.

Only he didn’t stand up.  Instead, he placed his thumbs on either side of her labia and spread them apart and then she could feel his breath.  His tongue, warm and soft, began stroking her clitoris.  Her hands found his
head
again and coiled around his short hair.  “Oh…”  His tongu
e started moving faster, faster
as her breathing grew deeper and deeper and then the dam broke.  Her legs quivered as deep moans rushed out of her throat
.  His hands
pressed into
her thighs as his tongue continued to work its magic.

She was still breathing heavily, a quivering mass on the table, as he stood.  He unbuckled his belt and unzipped his jeans, then pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and retrieved a condom.  She sat up as he unwrapped the condom and pulled his jeans down past his ass.  She pulled down his boxers and found the beast inside.  She stroked it until he slid the condom on.  Her breath was jagged as he made his way inside her pussy and stood, holding her under her bottom
,
and fucked her standing up.  She wrapped her arms aro
und his neck and kissed under his ear
.  She moved her lips
up
to his ear and said, “
Harder
, Carlos.”  He grunted
in response
and she felt another orgasm swell.  She moaned again and sensed that he was coming to
o
as he pushed her against the wall again, hammering it home.

He stood there a few moments, still holding Nicki, hot breath against her neck.  Then he lifted her and laid her on the bed.  He lay next to her and dozed off, his jeans still wrapped around his knees, the condom slowly shriveling.

He’d fucked her
hard
, all right, and good, but he was almost gentlemanly about it.  What made her think of that was half an hour later when he awoke and stripped down to nothing, tossing the used rubber in the trash.  “Would you stay the night with me,
mi dulzura
?” he asked.

Either he was confusing her with another girl or muttering more Spanish.  It
sounded
Spanish and Carlos didn’t seem like a dummy, so she figured it was the latter. 
She wasn’t quite sure what he was saying, but it didn’t sound like a word she knew. 
She nodded, smiling, and asked if she could use the facilities first.  She splashed a little water on her face and stripped her clothes off, then curled up next to her temporary Latin lover.

Chapter Seven

CARLOS HAD ASKED Nicki to stay for room service breakfast the next morning
(“Order w
hatever you want”)
, but she had overslept and knew she had to get something done for the paper before returning to
Napoli
.  They fucked in the shower before she left, but she did have to skip breakfast.  And Carlos confessed that
mi dulzura
, loosely translated,
meant
something like
my sweet thing
in English
, so she didn’t have to worry that he was calling her by someone else’s name.  Not that she could ever hold that against anyone…

“Farewell,
mi dulzura
Nicki, until we meet again.”  She knew a guy like Carlos would never be back in her little town to rock her world again, but it was sweet of him to imply it just the same.

She got home and dressed, feeling top of the world.  Nothing like a good lay to take your mind off everything that mattered.  She knew she had to at the very least go to the police station today to get some info on Edwards, enough, she hoped, to be an article’s worth.

So she sat in the lobby at the police station, waiting to talk to Detective Nathan Wright.
  After waiting almost an hour, Detective Wright asked Nicki to come to his office.  She showed him her “press” card but he seemed unimpressed.

They sat in his small white plain office, Nicki in a chair next to his desk.  The office was cramped.  Nicki was glad she’d worn a sundress that came to her knees today, but she was wishing she’d worn a jacket.
  T
he dress only had thin straps, so she was braless.
  Somehow, with a cop, she felt like she was indecent.  No doubt the steamy morning sex contributed to her feelings of guilt.  Must have been that Lutheran background she’d never quite been able to shake…

“What can I do for you, Ms. Sosebee?”
  She tried not to cringe
(or glare)
visibly.  The police officer pronounced her name “Soh-suh-bee” like many stupid asses before him instead of the correct pronunciation, “Sohs-bee.”  Two syllables.  It was as dumb as when people said “ath-uh-lete.”  Puh-lease.

Nicki opened the cover on her steno pad.  “
Please call me Nicki. 
I’m writing an article on the Jason Edwards case and wanted to ask some questions.”

Wright shook his head.  “That case is still under investigation, so there’s not much I can tell you.”

Nicki’s pen wilted in her hand.  “Well, what
can
you tell me?”

“He’s out on bail as of eight o’clock this morning.”  Nicki jotted it down.  “Anything other than that, you need to talk to the District Attorney’s Office.”

She felt a sigh escape her lips.  She wanted to tell him it would have been nice if he could have told her that
before
making her wait an inordinate amount of time, but the last thing she wanted to do was piss off a policeman.  Someday he might be able to give her info, so she needed to keep relations smooth.
  She jotted a note to talk to the DA in her pad and looked up, catching his eyes on the bare skin above her dress.  Maybe she
didn’t
regret wearing the dress after all…

* * *

After striking out with the DA’s office as well, Nicki decided to go cry on Sean’s shoulder a little bit.  Part of her missed the days when she could call one of her
female
friends, especially Brandy.  But Brandy just got married last month, and Brandy—a goodie two shoes—hadn’t lived with Kevin before they got married.  So Nicki knew they were probably christening every nook and cranny of their new house.  Even if they weren’t, Brandy just wasn’t as available as she used to be, and when she was, she was
with
Kevin.  It just didn’t feel right anymore.  Maybe after some time passed, things would change.  And
Jillian
was even worse.  She loved
Jillian
, but
Jillian
had three kids now, all under the age of five.  So there was no such thing as conversation with her anymore.  They were cute kids, great in fact, but they demanded Mommy’s attention, and Nicki couldn’t blame them.  And the last time she’d visited, she’d said
fuck
more than once and got lectured by both
Jillian
and
her husband
Nate
.  Tense and so not worth it.

So Sean it was.  It wa
s bright out.  It was only ten-thirty
, but Nicki could tell today was probably going to be even hotter than yesterday.  She had her windows all the way down in the car, and only the breeze kept her from breaking out into a serious sweat.

Sean’s blue truck was parked out front, so she k
new he was there, but she hadn’t ever
known a
time, Monday through Friday, that he wasn’t there.
  He would be a boss’s dream.
  She walked in
the shop
and her eyes had to take a moment to adjust. 
Finally, she saw Sean’s outline standing over a bike.  He was holding a small notepad and pencil.  The bike
looked
pretty sweet—it couldn’t have been older than a year or two.  “Hey, Sean!”

He turned around.  “
Nicki.  How’s it going?”

Her eyes were still adjusting
to being out of the sun
, and as they were, she noticed someone else behind Sean on the other side of the bike.  Someone tall…someone named Carlos.

He smiled at her and walked over.  “
Nicki,
mi dulzura
.
What a
welcome surprise to see you here.  What a
re you doing
in a place like this
?”  He held out his hands as he got near and she thrust hers out in return.  He held one, but the right hand he bro
ught up to his mouth and kissed
.

She grinned.  “I should ask you the same question.”

“I went to leave this morning as planned
but
my bike had other ideas.  I called around and found out that Mr. Ramsey here is the best in town, so here I am.”  He released her hand.  “Your turn.”

“Sean just so happens to be a very good friend of mine.”  She lowered her voice.  “Probably my best friend, but don’t tell him that.  I don’t want it to go to his head.”

Carlos flashed a white smile.  “Well, if it takes your best friend more than a day to fix my bike, it looks like I’m going to be looking for companionship again this evening.  Are you free,
mi dulzura
?”

She was really starting to like the way this guy treated her, calling her
sweet
in an exotic
tongue
, drinking her in with his eyes every moment.  It made her instantly horny.  “I think I can be.  It’s another night like last night, only Wednesdays are busier.  But I’m free
after
I’m done
there
.
  Sometime after eleven.
”

“
What do you say? 
Are you game?” 
Hell, yeah, she was game
, but his cell phone rang.  “Excuse me a moment.”
  Carlos walked out of the garage into the hot sun.  She checked out his ass.  Mmm…nice.