Chapter 32

Renee lay with Declan on top of her. They were sweaty and sticky and totally relaxed. His face was nestled in the crook of her neck, his breath fluttering over her skin.

"You doing okay?" he asked.

"Mmm-hmm. Don't know that I can move."

"Then I guess I did my job."

She felt his lips curve into a smile against her skin. She would definitely miss this when he moved on. But she knew now she was ready for more. He'd taught her it was okay to carve out time for herself. She took a deep breath.

"Uh-oh. I know that sound. You're about to shove me off you."

"Not that I wouldn't like to stay like this. You made me very sweaty and sticky. I think I need a shower."

"Is that an invitation?"

She laughed. "Are you serious? How do you have the energy?"

He rose on his forearm and brushed her hair away from her face. "I can't get enough of you."

She rolled her eyes even as she blushed. He pulled away and sat up. She giggled at the sight of him.

"What's so funny?"

"You didn't even take off your pants."

"I had more important things on my mind. Plus, my boots are a pain in the ass to take off."

"Points for expediency." She climbed off the bed and gathered her clothes. She left him sitting on his bed as she strode through the house to get to her bathroom. After starting the water to warm up, she put her hair in a high ponytail to keep it dry. Catching the sight of her face in the mirror, she had to admit she looked like she'd been well fucked.

She stepped under the warm spray of the water and closed her eyes. A minute later, Declan came into the bathroom. Her heart bumped a little harder.

"Can I come in?"

"As long as you don't hog all the hot water."

He stepped into the tub and pressed his body against her back. She turned in the circle of his arms. So much for her hair staying dry.

"I think we should pencil this into your schedule every day after dropping off Sadie." He lowered his mouth and kissed her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I have to admit it was one of my better ideas."

Taking her loofah from the hook, she squirted some body wash on it and rubbed it gently across his shoulders and chest. Then down his torso. With her other hand, she used the bubbles and stroked his dick, which grew with the movement. It throbbed against her palm. She continued to stroke while washing his arms and reaching around to his back.

He closed his eyes and fisted his right hand. She stepped away from the spray so the water rinsed away the soap. His dick was fully hard again.

"Seems as though you have a bit of an issue here." She squeezed a little on the upward stroke. "What are we going to do about it?"

"I could bend you over and take you right here."

"Or..." She looked up at him and winked. Then she lowered to her knees and took him in her mouth.

He slapped his left hand against the tile wall and groaned when she took him deep. His right hand settled on the back of her head where her ponytail sat. She cradled his balls and ran her thumb gently between them while she created a rhythm with her mouth and tongue.

"Fuck, babe. Yes."

She didn't realize how much she enjoyed that encouragement. She increased her pace and took him deeper. His grip on her hair tightened and she felt all of his muscles flex.

Suddenly, he pulled her away, grabbed his cock, and directed his stream all over her chest.

She stood. "Really?"

With a cocky grin, he said, "Now I get to clean you up."

Just like she had, he took the loofah, squirted body wash on it, and began to clean her up. His movements were slow and sensual. Even if she hadn't already been turned on by giving him a blowjob, she'd be there now.

He spun her around to face the water. Using both hands, he rinsed her, paying special attention to her nipples, which were hard peaks begging for that attention. He rolled one between his thumb and forefinger while his other hand skated down her body.

The slow circles he made on her clit almost made her knees buckle. He tightened an arm around her waist and she rested her head against his shoulder. He kissed her neck and bit her shoulder when she rocked her hips to follow his hand.

He pressed and pinched her clit while pinching her nipple and biting her shoulder. All three pain points skyrocketed her pleasure and she came hard, gripping the back of his neck to keep her balance. With his hand gently covering her pussy, he held her until her trembling stopped.

They stayed like that until the water ran cold. Renee knew if they kept this up, Declan was going to ruin her for other guys. Meeting on her schedule, in her timeframe without question, and putting her pleasure first would be tough to beat.

He was almost too good to be true. And that worried her.

By the time she was dressed again, Renee wanted a nap, but then she would have no time to get back into Chloe's books. Declan went back to his room to get dressed, and she took a blow dryer to her hair to get it somewhat presentable.

She still had some time before picking up Sadie, so she went to Chloe's books. She just had to find the one little thread to pull, the one hint that she knew was lurking in the old ledgers. She opened up five different books and spread them across the table, opening each one to the first page.

Week by week, month by month, she slowly turned the pages and scanned the entries. She knew how men hid money from their wives. But money laundering was something she hadn't had to search for in a long time.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and took a step back. Declan's noise while he worked was a surprisingly good soundtrack for her thoughts.

On the backs of her eyelids, she saw numbers, but none of them made sense. She went back to the books. She didn't know why she had the idea that there was money laundering happening here. Maybe her imagination had run away. Lord knew she'd been bored with her current jobs. It was possible this was her subconscious giving her some adventure.

"How do criminals use a bar to money launder?"

"Is that a question for me?" Declan asked from the doorway.

"No. I'm thinking aloud. I don't know if I'm trying to convince myself there's something here or if there really is."

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"How would you use a bar to launder money?"

"Phony invoices for services. Something inflated. That's the most common."

He pointed at the books. "So find the fake invoices." Then he disappeared back to work.

Could it be that simple? Using her index finger, she ran down pages in one of the older ledgers. Nothing. Nothing. Noth— She stopped and picked the book up for a closer look. A supplier invoice. She couldn't make out the whole name. A.C. something.

She dropped the book and began searching for others. The task would've been so much faster if everything was in a spreadsheet. Then again, having it handwritten helped with hiding money. Only the bottom line was officially used and seen. She scanned through three more books before her alarm went off to remind her to pick up Sadie. She scribbled dates and amounts on a list before heading out the door.

The pickup line was hectic as usual, but today it irritated Renee more because her mind was racing with possibilities for what was going on at The Black Rose. Sadie jumped in the car and began her running commentary on what happened during school. Once they got home, Sadie raced to find Declan.

"Homework," Renee called, even though she thought homework in kindergarten was dumb.

"Declan said I can watch him do another window."

Renee sighed. "Let's see how busy he is. I have work to do, so I can't sit with you."

"Declan's here."

"But if he's working, too, he can't pay attention to you."

"I wanna watch."

"Hmm-mmm. I think he's in your room."

Together they walked to Sadie's room. He had moved furniture and toys out of the way again, but he wasn't there. "He might be in my room."

Just as they stepped in the hall, Declan was walking toward them.

"Ready for work, Sadie, my lady?"

"Yes! Told you, Mom."

Renee bit her lip and inhaled deeply. "Are you sure she can hang with you? I'm in the middle of something."

"Of course she can hang with me. Best helper ever."

"I'm serious."

He looked her dead in the eye. "So am I."

The certainty he answered with made her insides flutter again. Looking at Sadie, she said, "One hour. Then homework. Even if Declan's not done."

"Okay."

Declan skirted around her and took Sadie's hand. Sadie immediately launched into telling him about her day, just as she had in the car.

Renee let them get to work and she returned to her list and pile of books. With each passing page, she had the realization she was on to something. She wasn't quite sure what she was onto, but it was something. The hour she'd given Sadie passed quickly and Renee had a hard time pulling away to make her daughter do her homework before dinner.

Rather than move the piles on the dining room table, she called Sadie to the kitchen and had her pull out the coloring pages she had to do. It was simple tracing and coloring, so she didn't need help. Renee looked through the fridge to figure out a plan for dinner. She really needed to get better at meal planning. This last-minute scramble made her miserable.

"Did you have fun watching Declan?"

"Yeah. Did you know there's pink and yellow itchy stuff inside the walls?"

"The insulation?"

Sadie shrugged. "It keeps it warm."

"Yes, it does." Giving up on anything that would take effort, she said, "How about breakfast for dinner?"

"Yes!" Sadie said, executing a fist pump.

Renee chuckled and shook her head. To be so easily excited.

Declan finished up Sadie's room while Renee made sausage and eggs for Sadie. He got the trim re-installed and grabbed the vacuum cleaner.

As soon as he started vacuuming, Renee was in the doorway, yelling, "What are you doing?"

He turned off the vacuum. "Cleaning the mess so Sadie can have her room."

She stepped forward and put a hand on the vacuum. "This is the kind of thing you tell me to do."

"Why? Do you think I don't know how to vacuum?"

"I can't imagine you would struggle with it. But you're installing the windows. I can clean up."

"You were feeding Sadie. It's not a big deal."

"It is."

"Renee, it doesn't make you weak to let someone help."

"I'm not weak."

"I fucking know that," he said in a low growl. "And I'm not incompetent. So let me vacuum."

She pulled her hand away, but he reached out and grabbed it.

If he was going to make this work, he needed her to believe he could be a partner. "We help each other. That's the way things are supposed to work. Sometimes it's more on you; other times, it's more on me. It's just vacuuming."

"I know. But I've been doing it all on my own for a long time. Help always came with strings."

"No strings here, babe." He grinned. "But I will be collecting payment at a later date. Like around one-thirty tomorrow."

She laughed, which was what he wanted. "Go do your work or play with Sadie. I'll be done in here soon."

She glanced at the door and then leaned in and kissed his cheek. It wasn't sexual, but it was definitely progress.