DoubleDilemma Read online

  “Glad you think so. Even though I’m quite content to stay in your arms, you need to let me go so I don’t burn your pancakes.”

  David laughed then planted a quick kiss to the tip of her nose before letting her go. He dug his car keys out of his jacket pocket, which hung on the kitchen stool. “I’ll be right back. Since we’ve being doing shifts on stakeout duty lately, I keep an overnight bag in the car. You think your neighbors will mind if I walk out like this?”

  He held his arms out as she inspected his stance. He was wrapped in nothing but an oversized bath towel. The arc of her eyebrow and the sensual smile on her face heated him to the core, making him wish he had more time this morning for another go-round in her bed.

  “If you didn’t notice last night, I have no close neighbors. You can streak naked around the house and no one will see you.”

  David left the kitchen, opened the front door and stood in amazement on her front porch for several moments. The only thing he remembered about finding her house last night was the long driveway. The white farmhouse sat several hundred yards from the main road. She was right about her neighbors. There were none visible in any direction. He bounded down the front steps off the porch into the yard. Rose bushes lined the railing and were well manicured, running up the posts and framing the porch in an array of colors. Off to the right, he noticed a barn in need of renovations.

  After retrieving his overnight bag from the trunk, he returned to the kitchen. Emma Jean held two plates piled with bacon and pancakes. A fresh cup of coffee was on the table, along with a tall glass of orange juice, butter and a heated maple syrup carafe. He dropped the bag by the doorway and took a seat at the table. She set a plate in front of him, and then sat across from him with her own.

  As he poured, the warm maple syrup cued a memory and he couldn’t help but smile. Before he took a bite, he said teasingly, “Thought you were going to teach me the nuances of heated syrup and sex.”

  “Honey, you and I are just getting started. There’s always time for hot syrup sex.”

  “Promises, promises,” he jested.

  “Oh,” she said breathlessly, right before she took a bite of the pancake dripping syrup from her fork, “that’s not a promise. That’s a prediction.”

  David swallowed hard. Not only was Emma Jean beautiful, she could cook and had the ability to keep him sexually charged with a simple turn of a phrase and an inviting look. He nearly choked on his bacon when her feet slipped under the towel and into his lap. While he tried to eat, the toes of one foot massaged his balls, while the other caressed his cock.

  “Woman if you keep that up—” His sentence was interrupted by her telephone ringing.

  “Hold that thought,” she replied as she stood and reached for the receiver, which lay on the counter. “Hello.”

  After a few seconds, she said, “I don’t see what business it is of yours who Earl Lightfoot works for.” Then she got silent and he could hear a woman’s voice, but couldn’t distinguish the words. “Fuck you,” she stated point-blank, then hung up and tossed the receiver onto the counter.

  Before Emma Jean could turn around, he was at her back and laid his hands on her shoulders. “You okay? What was that about?”

  When Emma Jean turned to face him, he noted the distress in her eyes that she valiantly attempted to hide. “Nothing. Just some nutcase who keeps calling me with horrible tidbits of information about Earl. I don’t believe a word of it.”

  She shrugged from his hold, returned to the table and flopped into her chair. He squatted in front of her and cupped her cheek. When she met his gaze, he asked, “How many times has she called you?”

  “Four.”

  “What does she say?”

  “The first three times she ranted horrible things about Earl that I ignored and hung up on her. But this time…” Her voice trailed off as if she didn’t want to finish.

  “What’d she say?” He encouraged her to continue.

  Emma Jean looked him square in the eye and answered reluctantly, “She said she can’t believe I’d employ a murderer.”

  * * * * *

  As he drove to work, David was still astounded a smart woman like Emma Jean never ran a background check on Earl Lightfoot before she hired him. Hell, she didn’t even have him fill out an application. The only personal information she got from him was a post office box for an address, his date of birth and his social security number so she could pay him properly. Getting that information out of her had been a task. She made him promise not to arrest Earl and to keep the information to himself if he found anything incriminating.

  She didn’t want to know one way or the other. That wasn’t how she chose to judge someone. It wasn’t a person’s past that interested her, but how they acted in the present. And in her opinion, Earl Lightfoot was a decent, hardworking soul. But David didn’t buy it. He thought he saw an odd look in her gaze as if she were hiding something and heard a tinge of doubt in her tone when she spoke.

  David gritted his teeth. At least she didn’t think to make him promise not to beat the shit out of Earl if he did find something that could have endangered Emma Jean. He desperately needed to find out if there was any truth to the caller’s statement. Or was she simply some rejected lover as Emma Jean proclaimed when he suggested there might be an ounce of truth to the claim? God, he hoped Emma Jean was right. But what if she were wrong?

  Was Earl some sort of serial killer? Had he killed more than once? The next question that flipped into his detective brain twisted his gut into a knot. Was Emma Jean his next target?

  He said a silent prayer of thanks the case he and Jack had been working on with another detective team finally ended. According to the message Jack left on his phone, last night the other team got lucky. Guess the tip about a prostitution ring being run out of the old folks’ home paid off. David snorted and shook that unwanted image from his thoughts.

  Once he finished his side of the paperwork, his slate would be clean and Earl Lightfoot didn’t stand a chance. Instinctively he floored the gas pedal. Researching Earl’s past and keeping Emma Jean safe was his number one priority.

  * * * * *

  It took every ounce of courage Earl could muster to walk into work. He knew she’d be there. How was he going to face her? All night, he thought of Emma Jean. Each time he tried to sleep, images of her feet massaging his cock filled his brain and turned him instantly hard. Guilt weighed his walk. He wanted her, but refused himself the right to be with her. The moment his hand touched the door, he took a second and prayed for strength.

  He tugged, but found it locked. Odd, she normally beat him here. Had something happened to her? Had she been in an accident? Panic rushed him. Horrific scenarios paraded through his brain. Maybe her car slid off the road and hit a tree. He knew the country road she lived on was desolate and there were few houses along the way. Earl took out his key then it hit him.

  An image speared him through the brain with the worst scenario yet. What if she hooked up with that hotshot cop after work last night? He did leave her hanging. She got him off and he did nothing for her, but walked out without so much as an explanation. An invisible band tightened around his heart at the thought she may have slept with Delaney. He swallowed hard against the lump in his throat.

  He shouldn’t care, but he did. It bothered him to think of her naked with another man. Earl desperately tried to refrain from thinking of Emma Jean and sex. It didn’t help his attempt to remain celibate. No matter how he tried, sex with Emma Jean seemed to remain on the forefront of his brain.

  Unlocking the door, he hurried inside with the plan to call and check on her. A light shone from the back room and he stilled. The sound of his heartbeat thudded in his ears. Step by step, he inched closer. A chair slid across the floor and he heard items being shuffled around. Someone was here.

  A burglar!

  Earl grabbed the first thing he reached as a weapon. Without looking at it, he lifted his hand high and rushed the room. He skid
ded to a halt when Emma Jean jumped, screamed and tossed the box in her hand at his head.

  “Earl, you scared the life out of me.” In a blink her whole attitude changed and she started to laugh then gasped as she pointed. “You planning to spank me to death, big boy?”

  He looked up at the fur-covered paddle and couldn’t help but laugh right along with her. The image he portrayed was definitely comedic. Of all the items on the wall he could have grabbed, it had to be a furry pink spanker. He dropped it onto the table where she sat packing internet orders. He should have known she was here. She was never late. It had to be the fact he didn’t get much sleep that his imagination overrode normal logical thought.

  “I’m sorry, Emma Jean.” Earl sat on the stool next to her, pinching the bridge of his nose as he spoke. “The door was locked. The store lights were off. I didn’t think you were here. When I saw a light from the storeroom, I stupidly thought someone had broken in.”

  Dropping his hand to his side, he shook his head knowing at any other time his first thought wouldn’t have been someone robbing the place. Common sense would have reminded him they were behind on yesterday’s internet orders and Emma Jean had to be the one in the storeroom. With what occurred between them last night, his lack of sleep and the array of strange events that had been happening to him lately, he understood the why behind his edginess.

  She picked up the empty packing box she’d thrown at him and returned to the table. “It’s okay, Earl. I’m just glad to see you’re such a loyal employee. But next time, if you think someone’s broken in, either leave and call the cops or,” she paused as she cut him a sideways glance full of mischief, “remember to grab the baseball bat from under the register. It’s a bit more intimidating than a sex toy.”

  A grin he couldn’t stop emerged as he spun on the stool to face the table and work on the orders. Words he meant for no one to hear whispered under his breath. “But what a way to go, being spanked to death by you.”

  The sudden heat of her lips near his ear surprised him but it was the words spoken that hardened his cock. “Did I hear you right, Earl Lightfoot? You like to be spanked? I can handle that task for you right now.”

  He didn’t budge. Nor did he look her way. He couldn’t. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her hand wrapped around the handle of the paddle and he choked. Though he tried to control it, every ounce of him tingled in anticipation of her next move. He knew he should get up and walk out before things got out of hand, but he couldn’t. The sound of the paddle smacking her palm lightly as she maneuvered to stand behind him ignited a hunger he fought desperately to bury and keep hidden. When she ran the edge of the paddle down his spine, nothing he did could stop the low moan from escaping his lips.

  He felt her heat against his back. The tip of her tongue rimmed his ear and his balls knotted with need. A domineering tone laced her words when she spoke, which commanded his attention.

  “You didn’t answer me, Earl. Do you like to be spanked?”

  He couldn’t speak past the lump in his throat so he simply nodded. The paddle came under his chin and forced him to look over his shoulder at her. Pure heat shone in her gaze. Her stern authoritative expression made him shiver inwardly. It’d been so long since he’d been sexually dominated, his insides sizzled with need from just her firm tone. He closed his eyes and prayed for strength to resist this sexual perversion, but the moment the paddle whacked his thigh and she demanded he open his eyes, he lost the battle.

  “Stand up, Earl.”

  On autopilot, he did as she commanded. He slid from the stool, kept his gaze lowered to the floor and his arms at his sides. Though he dug deep for an ounce of resistance, he received none. His body and desires betrayed him. He needed this. When she raised the paddle and stroked his cheek, his cock twitched as if begging to be released from his jeans.

  “Lower your pants, Earl. From the bulge I see in your jeans, you’re in need of discipline.”

  Both hands shook, but he managed to comply with her wishes. He lowered his jeans to his ankles and stood before her. She slid the soft fuzzy paddle up and down his protruding cock. Each swipe increased the pain in his already tight balls.

  “Emma Jean, we shouldn’t—” The smack of the paddle to the outer side of his left buttock shut him up instantly.

  “I didn’t give you permission to speak. Now turn around, bend over and spread your legs. You’ve been a bad, bad boy and I’m gonna reprimand you.” The moment his legs spread, she ran the paddle between his thighs and roughly rubbed his balls. Earl’s knees weakened from the thrill that shot straight to the tip of his cock.

  She grabbed his ponytail and tugged his head backward until her lips were level with his ear. “I give you permission to hold onto the stool. You’re going to need it for support.”

  Instantly, she released his hair. The first smack came before his hands made contact with the stool and he gasped. The second, third and the fourth she rapid-fired, switching from cheek to cheek and it was all he could do to breathe. His balls twisted into an overexcited mass of swollen flesh with each connection until his cock wept tiny droplets of cum. Earl felt as if he’d exploded, but wanted more. He desperately wanted to fuck Emma Jean. Closing his eyes, he struggled not to come. Not before she allowed him too.

  The heat of her hand wrapped around his cock nearly brought him to his knees. Her fingertip spread the pre-cum on the thick head of his cock. Her words sounded graveled and hoarse as she gave her next command.

  “Open your eyes, Earl. I want your aim to be precise when you fuck me.”

  He opened his eyes to find Emma Jean’s sundress on the floor at his feet. He turned. She stood naked beside him. Oh God, she must have had nothing on but the sundress. He swallowed hard at that revelation. Her hot little hand grabbed his cock and tugged him toward her. With a condom she gathered from the pile on the table to be shipped, she coated his cock with the tight layer of protection.

  “I plan to bend over that stool in front of you and you’d better not let me down.”

  Emma Jean pushed between him and the stool, leaned forward and spread her legs. Her pink pussy glistened with moisture and he knew the spanking had turned her on almost as much as it did him. Any last strand of decency he had left dissipated at the sight. Unable to stop, Earl shoved in to the hilt and Emma Jean groaned her pleasure.

  “Again, do it again like that. Rough, deep and hard,” she demanded and he complied.

  Over and over, he shoved in deep. Fucking Emma Jean from behind added to his pleasure. He kneaded her ass cheeks with both hands. With each thrust, he spread her open and watched her orifice pucker as if it begged to be filled. The way its sexy wink teased his senses nearly drove him wild. Earl couldn’t stop. He reached for one of the scented tubes of lube on the table that was supposed to be packed to fulfill customer orders.

  Instead, he popped it open, coated her ass and anus then slipped a finger inside. Her erotic groan only fueled his desire. His finger matched the strokes of his cock to her pussy. After several seconds, he inserted a second finger, then a third, stretching her, making her ready. He couldn’t stop now if he wanted. The sexually driven side of his soul had taken command of his system.

  After one last inward stroke, he pulled out of her pussy, removed his fingers then positioned the head of his cock at her anus. Every ounce of him shook as he leaned over her and gasped.

  “Emma Jean, I’m going to fuck your beautiful ass.” Without waiting for her reply, he pushed the head in through her perfect orifice then inched in, making sure it stayed in place. “Oh God, you’re so tight.”

  “I’ve never had a real cock in my ass. Only dildos,” she admitted breathlessly as she tilted her chin and met his gaze over her shoulder.

  Her admission hit him like a brick. As he attempted to back out, he stammered, “I-I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt you.”

  She squeezed her bottom tight, not letting him pull out as she switched back into her authoritative tone. “I didn’t
tell you to stop.” She leveled a gaze on him that rocked him to the core. “Fuck my ass, Earl Lightfoot. That’s an order.”

  The dam broke in his chest. He pushed in slow giving her only a few thick inches then pulled back. Over and over, he worshiped her ass, gaining another inch with each inward thrust. Her loud moans urged him on.

  “Deeper,” she gasped, “go deeper.”

  When he complied, she screamed, “Yes, oh yes. Earl… Earl I’m so close.”

  In, out, slow then deep, he relished the tight-gloved sensation of her around him. It was all he could do to concentrate on not coming until she reached orgasm. Unable to take much more, on a balls-deep final thrust he reached around and pinched her clit. Emma Jean’s orgasm shook her body beneath him and he lost it. He collapsed around her and held onto the stool, keeping his weight off her as his cock emptied into her ass. He felt every inner muscle of hers contract around him, draining him dry.

  This was heaven.

  Emma Jean couldn’t believe what just happened. First, she hated to admit it, but he did scare her half to death when he arrived in the manner he did. She’d been so preoccupied packing orders and thinking about that woman’s claim on the phone earlier, she never heard the bell over the front door ring. The sight of Earl holding a fuzzy pink spanking paddle over his head as a weapon had been a defining moment for her.

  No way was he a murderer. The look on his face had been priceless. He was as scared as she. A killer wouldn’t be scared. They’d be excited at the prospect of what opportunity they might find in the back room.

  And last night, his claim of sex with him might get her killed, well now, obviously, that wasn’t the truth either. She’d just survived, albeit a bit sore in the rectal area, but she had survived a phenomenal sexual experience with him. She pushed off the stool causing him to stand. His cock slipped slightly, but the head remained snug inside her anus. She liked the full sensation and instantly an image of Earl behind her and David in front of her sparked to life in her brain. The pop his cock made when Earl tugged the head out made her smile.