Chapter 9

Author's Note: Well, I was going to maybe take a hiatus, but then Jess Blue left a comment on the last chapter that immediately sparked a writing sprint. You have her to thank for this chapter. Warning: it gets a bit spicy at the end.

Maxine stepped out of Brooks’s office in a haze of general annoyance at being dismissed. Meeting Detective Gladstone had been a boost for her ego, from the woman’s positive regard to her slip about Enrico that confirmed Maxine’s intuition to be correct. She was, however, still irritated.

As soon as she was down on the street, Miles emerged from his car and called out to her.

“All good?”

“Yes and no,” she replied, then glanced up to see both Brooks and Gladstone watching them from the upper window.

Snapping her gaze quickly away from them, she said, “Come on, my nosey non-parents are watching.”

Maxine texted to let the crew know she was on her way. Since the grounds were gated, Derek said that they would need to be buzzed in, and it was too late for the staff to do so. 

They had staff!

When she pulled up to the front gate, she heard a familiar voice coming out of an intercom.

“Hello and welcome to Chez Derek, please state your name and business,” came Arden’s in a hoity toity tone.

Maxine rolled down her window and said, “Let us in, bish!”

“Wait, what?!” her friend said, now in her normal voice. “Is Miles with you?!”

“Yo, Mai Mai’s here? I told you, dude!” yelled Eashan in the background.

“Oh my god, stop calling him that; it’s horrid,” said Arden.

Then, a distant throat clearing could be heard, followed by Arden’s voice profusely apologizing in a high-pitched tone. Then, a loud beep sounded, and the wrought iron gates in front of Maxine creaked open. She chuckled as she put her car in gear and began rolling slowly down the path ahead, which was lit with lanterns all the way.

Since it was dark, it was impossible to see the full layout of the estate. Judging by how long it took them to make it to the end of the driveway, however, she guessed they had to be on at least twenty acres of land.

Maxine pulled up to the front of the formidable manor home, complete with columns in front, stone lions, and more windows than she could count. With three floors and a massive wrap-around porch, it looked more like a country club than a home. She was so in awe of what she was seeing that she didn’t notice Miles coming to stand next to her until he spoke.

“Yo, you sure Derek’s name isn’t actually Draco? This is some Malfoy shit.”

With a tinkling laugh, she said, “Don’t let him hear you say that.”

“Why?”

“Because the last time I did, he didn’t take it very well.”

Miles smirked at her. “Greats minds.”

Before she could feel too disarmed by that smile, the front doors opened, and all of her roommates piled out with a variety of greetings that were indiscernible in their cacophony.

Derek’s direct request for her keys rose above the din, and she handed them over so that he could move her car to a special garage.

“I’ll follow you, man; that way, you don’t have to make two trips,” Miles said.

When he got back to his car, he held Maxine’s gaze a beat too long before smiling again and opening the door to get in.

Once they’d driven away, Maxine turned to Arden and Eashan, who had been watching the exchange like toddlers at a really good magic show.

“What’s he doing here?!” cried Arden.

“We’re not complaining; we’re just nosey!” said Eashan.

Maxine smiled, shook her head, then spoke with an air of casualty she could not honestly say was authentic. “I invited him to hang, is that a problem?”

“No!” they both said in unison, then exchanged eager looks.

“Why don’t you show me inside, and maybe I’ll tell you about walking in on Brooks and his lady cop,” she said, feeling it would be safest to change the subject altogether.

Their gasps of intrigue made Maxine smile even more deeply.

𓂃🖊

Miles followed Derek around the side of the house, and was then surprised when Derek kept turning, seemingly about to drive right into the house, but instead, they went down.

The parking garage below the house was quite a sight to behold. Once inside, they pulled past a number of cards, all with covers over them. Miles wasn’t a big car guy, but the uncovered ones looked expensive and rare, so he could only imagine what was being housed under the cloths.

They finally reached an area with vehicles that were clearly used more frequently, including the Jeep he’d seen Derek leave the apartment in. He parked right next to it and hopped out.

“Are you staying the night?” was the first thing Derek said, his tone mainly curious, but with a hint of sugestiveness.

“Hadn’t planned on it,” said Miles.

“Well, regardless, I made up a room for you. I’ll give you the code so you can get in here whenever. Give me your phone.”

Miles unlocked his phone and handed it to Derek, who first added his number, then opened the notes app to leave instructions for accessing and exiting the garage.

“If you leave after 8 am, there will be staff around to let you out, but just in case,” he said, handing the phone back to Miles.

“Hey, thanks, man, I really appreciate it.”

“My pleasure. Thanks for making sure she got here okay; she never lets any of us do that.”

Miles blinked rapidly in an attempt to process that statement, but Derek had already turned to lead him inside the house. The door they entered through was, on the other side, a bookshelf.

“My dad’s a bit eccentric,” he said with a shrug, but Miles was marveling at it. 

“This is some Bat Cave shit.”

Derek huffed out a laugh. “I’m so glad you said that instead of Harry Potter,” he said, and the way he emphasized the last name made Miles need to bite his lip to keep from laughing, as it was so wildly similar to the way Draco Malfoy had said it.

They then began their trek through the quiet, low-lit home and up a tall marble staircase in the entryway of the house. Cavernous was the main adjective his mind conjured. At the same time, there were lush carpets underfoot as they made their way into the upper halls and decor that made it feel far homier than Miles expected.

“My parents are asleep, but they’re also in a whole other wing, so we’ll be good,” Derek said once they passed through some double doors. Then, casually over his shoulder, he added, “You want an edible?”

Miles saw that Derek had pulled a small foil packet with a red, heart-shaped gummy out of his pocket.

“Sure, you’re cool if I end up staying? I’m not driving anytime soon after that.”

“I told you, you already have your own room,” he said with a small smile.

Miles had to update his mental model of this guy to include a core of kindness that his otherwise cold demeanor hadn’t revealed.

With that thought logged, he took the proffered now-legal drug and popped it out of its wrapper. It had been a while since he had the opportunity to chill like that, and he figured he should have at least one night of relaxation before he embarked upon his new undertaking with Brooks.

When they finally reached their destination —at the end of a hallway that seemed to grow longer as they made their way down it— it was a large room with white carpet on the floors and a huge horseshoe-shaped couch. On the wall was not a TV but a projection screen with some game’s menu screen sitting idle.

“They’re probably giving Maxine the tour,” Derek said. “You want a drink?”

Miles turned and saw that Derek was motioning to a full bar, complete with a glass-front mini fridge containing a huge assortment of sodas, seltzers, and energy drinks.

“I’ll take a seltzer.”

“Right on,” Derek said, grabbing a can and handing it to Miles. As he did so, he smiled and said, “So what’s the deal with you two, anyway?”

When Miles paused, unable to formulate a response, Derek held up both hands. “Sorry, you don’t need to tell me.”

“Nah, it’s alright, man. I mean, there’s not much to tell, honestly.”

Derek merely raised an eyebrow at this, causing Miles to snort out a laugh.

“Okay, fine, there’s something, but it’s not quite… solidified yet.”

“Yet,” Derek said, cracking open his own seltzer and holding it up in a cheers.

Miles tapped his can to Derek’s and they both took a sip.

“For what it’s worth,” Derek said, “I’ve known her for years, and I’ve never seen her like this.”

“Like what, exactly?” Miles asked, but before he could get an answer, voices out in the hall grabbed their attention, and soon, Arden, Eashan, and Maxine were walking through the doorway.

𓂃🖊

It wasn’t until halfway through the night that Maxine realized she shouldn’t have taken an edible.

Arden had offered it to her; a cute little red heart in a foil package. As a rule, she tended to lay off edibles, but especially when she was working a case. Since she was technically on hiatus from work, and in hiding, she decided it would be the perfect time to indulge.

It wasn’t until it hit an hour or so later that Maxine asked to see the package it came in.

The small red wrapper that had encased the foil package read, in brightest white letters, Love: For Arousal.

When she confronted Arden about this, her dear friend had waved her off. “They were just on sale! They get you high, but all that other package marketing is bullshit; I've never felt anything like that from these.”

Well, two-hours-later-Maxine had to beg to differ.

Maybe it was because she didn’t usually take edibles, or perhaps because everyone’s body chemistry was different, but she was suddenly, and very inconveniently, down bad.

To make matters worse, Miles was currently cuddled up on the pile of pillows behind her on the u-shaped couch as they all watched Arden demo a new game she was going to be reviewing for her YouTube channel.

Maxine, however, would have to catch the video later because nothing she was looking at on the screen was being committed to memory. From the moment they had landed in this position, Miles had begun quietly chatting to her at a volume the others didn’t register. From his position, the vibrations of his voice directly into her ear were sending small shockwaves through her with every word.

“You’re not a big gamer, I take it?” he said.

“No, are you?” she replied without looking at him. Their entire conversation had been playing out this way, and she couldn’t help but feel there was something erotic about it. Or maybe that was just the edible.

It must be the edible.

“I play with Zane and Leo, my nephews, but I never really have time otherwise.”

The mention of his nephews should have tones down the tension, but instead his status as a loving uncle did nothing whatsoever to help. She steered the conversation again towards the more unsexy topic at hand: video games.

“What would you play if you had time?”

When he didn’t answer right away, she turned her head.

This was a grave error.

He was far too close, and her movement brought their lips within inches. Quickly turning back, she took an inconspicuous deep breath and scolded herself internally, resolving to get it together.

She couldn’t let this turn into something other than a casual friendship; the distraction would be too costly.

Luckily, Miles seemed to want to break the tension as well, because she felt him shift to sit up, and when he answered her, he did so at a higher volume, and not directly into her ear.

“Roller Coaster Tycoon, obviously.”

“Oh man, I got so into that game!” came Eashan’s voice from the other corner of the couch.

Maxine was an odd mixture of annoyed and relieved when Eashan scooted over to insert himself into the conversation. He began talking Miles’s ear off about the different iterations of the theme park building game and how fun it was to design coasters that made the guests vomit. This eventually led to them discussing real coasters that had the same effect and sharing their experiences at various theme parks.

After about five minutes, Maxine could feel her heartbeat returning to normal, and focused in on the game Arden was playing, grateful to be out of the magnetic pull that always seemed to form between her and Miles.

Her attention was grabbed again, however, when she heard Miles respond to a question from Eashan.

“Not in the next few weeks; I’m gonna have my hands full with something, but I’d definitely do a Six Flags trip with you, bro.”

While her ears perked up, Maxine was careful not to show any outward sign that she’d heard this or Eashan’s follow-up question.

“That’s cool, man, no rush. So, what are you gonna be up to?”

“Oh, just a job that came up, nothing really,” he said in a tone that, to Maxine’s ear, felt inauthentic. Almost as if he was inventing it in the moment.

It could be that he simply didn’t want to go to Six Flags with Eashan, but she didn't think that was the case. They seemed to get along well, apart from the whole Mai Mai fiasco, which had been officially quashed shortly after their arrival, thank goodness. He would be Mai Mai no more.

Suddenly, the projection screen Maxine was pretending to watch blinked off, and she looked over at Arden with her brows scrunched in confusion.

Her roommate smirked back, lowered the remote she’d just used, and then glanced over to where Miles and Eashan were talking before looking back. When she spoke, she kept her eyes suggestively pinned to Maxine. 

“Hey, Eash, can you come help me with that Substack thing now?” she said, and Maxine recalled their earlier conversation in which Arden had requested tech support for something connected to her YouTube channel.

“Now?” Eashan said, clearly annoyed at being interrupted mid-conversation.

“Pleeeease, Eash? I need it fixed before my video with the link goes live tomorrow.”

“Ugh, fine,” Eashan replied, standing from the couch. “We’ll continue this later,” he then said to Miles, exchanging a fist bump.

“More like tomorrow, it’s late. Whenever you guys are done, I’d like to go to bed,” said Derek. 

They all began to walk toward the door when Arden spun around and said, “Oh, by the way, Max, can you show Miles to his room?”

Then, before Maxine could respond either way, Arden added, “Thanks! Have a good night, you two!” before ushering Eashan out of the room.

“Oww, what was that for?!” Eashan’s voice exclaimed from the hall.

Maxine was left staring at the empty doorway, mouth agape. Miles just chuckled.

“I think your friends just did a thing there.”

She snapped her mouth shut and turned to him. “I think they did.”

They stared at one another a beat too long before Maxine shook herself and said, “Uh, the rooms are amazing. Come on, I’ll show you yours; it’s right next to mine.”

Even though she was moving as she said this, the energy between them seemed to shift into slow motion. She brushed past it as if it wasn’t happening, but even though she was certain he could feel it, too.

She tried not to focus not on the palpable growing tension between them but rather on the detail that was still niggling at her brain. Something about the way Miles had described being busy over the next few weeks had grabbed her attention, and was not letting go. What could he be doing?

She was going to get answers, she decided.

His room was complete with a fireplace, huge four poster bed, and private en suite. Miles walked straight over to the bedside table where a variety of phone chargers were available, and plugged his in.

Derek had left a pair of folded pajamas, toothbrush, and towel on the mattress, which she pointed out, but Miles had already stepped into the bathroom.

“Yooo, there’s a whole ass rain shower in here!” he said, his voice echoing off the marble walls.

Maxine had to laugh at the way he sounded like some of the kids they’d seen at Six Flags when the gates opened.

“Is this a bidet?!” he cried, and she chuckled to herself, but did not respond due to her attention being drawn to his lit up phone screen.

She blinked a few times to make sure she wasn’t seeing things, but sure enough, there it was: Brooks’s name on an incoming text, the contents of which were not displayed. Her mind went in a variety of directions all at once as she continued to stare at the phone.

Thankfully, her detective instincts kicked in just in time for Miles to emerge from the bathroom. Promptly pretending she hadn’t seen a thing, she plastered a smile on her face and said in a voice far more chipper than she was truly feeling, “Thinking about an extended stay?”

The question was designed as an opener to get him to talk about his schedule, but it did not do the trick in the least.

Miles merely smiled back and said, “If only.”

She maintained her smile but was inwardly annoyed.

Sure, was probably foolish to hope that it could be that simple to get him to talk, but she wasn’t beat yet. Not even close.

Going in direct wasn’t the worst tactic, particularly when pressed for time, which she was; there was no real reason for her to linger in his room after showing him to it.

Feigning a move to leave, she took a few steps toward the door, then turned back and said, “You told Eash you’re gonna have your hands full for a while. What with?”

To her surprise, his smile didn’t falter.

“Oh, just some family stuff,” he said dismissively, then looked over to his phone, which lit again. Moving quickly over to it, he clicked the side button and flipped it over. Then he cleared his throat and looked around, spotting the things Derek had left for him and moving to grab the towel.

“I think I’m gonna try out that dope shower.”

Maxine didn’t panic, she’d learned how to turn that reaction off in situations like these. She therefore maintained an air of complete calm as she said, in an authoritative tone, “How much is Brooks paying you?”

𓂃🖊

Miles froze, kicking himself internally. Why had he left his phone like that? Of course, she had seen! Damn weed. It was starting to wear off, but he was definitely still affected by it, particularly in certain areas of his body… and mind.

He had to pull himself together. He was supposed to be keeping Maxine completely in the dark. If she found out, the deal was off. It wasn’t about the money, either. Brooks was extremely desperate to agree to bring him into this in the first place; if he didn’t help, they might not catch these creeps, and Maxine would almost certainly be in danger.

Steeling himself, he turned to her and, without a trace of playfulness, said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh yeah?” she shot back with a small smile and a raise of her eyebrow. “Then, why is my boss texting you right now?”

Hoping that his nonchalance was anywhere near passable, he shrugged. “I met him on the street, and he asked me to keep him posted. To make sure you got here safe.”

She pursed her lips, still smiling, and he knew he was not being nearly convincing enough, but what could he do? He would just have to hold out and keep refusing her. 

“And you agreed to that?”

“Honestly, I was just happy he didn’t think I worked for those assholes anymore.”

“Oh, right. He said you were on the phone with your abuela, so he decided you must not be evil.”

Mile felt his face heat. How much had Brooks told her of what he’d overheard?

He tried for a casual chuckle, but it came out very forced, and he ended up turning it into a throat clearing instead.

“You know,” she said, stepping towards him, “you’re gonna have to get a lot better at this if he’s sending you in undercover.”

“What? He’s not— that’s—”

“Uh-huh,” she said, and he averted his eyes from her shit-eating grin but still didn’t break.

“Miles,” she said. He felt goosebumps erupt on his skin at her tone, and once he noticed it, her proximity, too. She had stepped right into his personal space. 

Then, she reached up a hand to lay gently on his chest just below the shoulder and said, “Whatever it is, you can tell me; I can help you.”

Even if he hadn’t had the edible, his body would be responding the same way. “Arousal” was an understatement. The fact that he had taken the edible merely meant that said arousal was elevated to a level that made him feel slightly dizzy. He wasn’t about to swoon like a lady in a Regency romance, though. He could do this, he told himself.

The best defense is a good offense. That was what his peewee football coach had always said, and while he hadn’t fully understood it then, the words had always served him well.

Shifting gears, he said, “Is it that you wanna help me? Or is it that you wanna know what Brooks is up to so you can insert yourself back into the case?”

“What?” she said, pulling back and flashing a look of scorn his way.

It didn’t phase him, however. Even though she didn’t seem like she was acting (read: she was a great actress), he knew that she was.

“You said it yourself: ‘There are many ways to get information out of people,’” he said in a decent imitation of her tone and cadence. He knew it was decent because she scowled at him, offended, so went on to say, “That’s it, huh? I’m just your next mark?”

They stood there, locked in each other’s gaze for a few long moments. 

Then, suddenly, her expression softened, but he wasn’t immediately sure what to make of it. Eventually, her eyes left his and instead traced a trail up and down his body, seemingly taking his measure.

Unable to help himself, he allowed his eyes to do a similar scan of her. She had on jeans, but no shoes, and her silver toenails poked out from under the wide-legged denim pants. His eyes lingered there before moving up the rest of her body. He’d gotten far too good a view of her cleavage when they’d been on the couch earlier and had taken pains to avert his eyes out of respect, but he wasn’t being respectful now.

When she opened her mouth to answer his question, he was nearly thrown off balance again.

“Are you my next mark? Seems like you wanna be.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out but a small, singular choked sound. This was probably because he’d stopped breathing. So much for a good offense.

She saw her opening and swooped in, bringing her mouth close enough to whisper into his ear.

“I just wanna help you, Miles,” she said, her mouth spreading into a grin as she noticed the way his skin erupted in goosebumps once again.

Placing her hand below his shoulder as before, she squeezed lightly as she brought her lips back to his ear.

“Will you let me?” were her whispered words.

Those words hung there as she shifted her body to press lightly against his. Then her breath was on his neck, and her hand on his chest moved slightly up, then down, and he realized she was feeling for his heartbeat.

His instinct was to pull away upon realizing this, but just before he was able to, she added, “Please?”

Then, she grazed the skin behind his earlobe with the tip of her nose, and he let out a shuddering breath. She must have taken this as encouragement because before he knew it, her tongue was licking the spot below his ear, moving up to suck his earlobe between her pillowy lips.

Her tits were pressed against his chest, and her hand slid up to the back of his head while he felt her rub up against the hardness between his legs before taking his earlobe into her mouth again.

He wanted to feign unaffectedness. To say something cutting about her technique or otherwise snap her out of this mode and into safer territory, but he couldn’t form words. Fuck, she was right; he needed to get better at this.

Then again, he didn’t think anyone at the catering hall was going to attempt to seduce him, particularly not after many days of building tension and some horny weed.

All of these thoughts, however, were jumbled blobs in his mind. All he could focus on was the feel of her. Her body against his. Her soft skin as he let his hand stroke up the side of her arm. The way she moaned into his ear at the contact.

Faintly, this made him realize that she wasn’t totally in control of herself either.

It would be damn near impossible to stop her from what she was doing, but…

The best defense…

Allowing instinct to take over, he dipped his head to her neck and kissed her there, sucking at her skin. When he reached her collarbone, he gave it a nip and was assured that this had been the right move when she made a little moan of approval. It was the first of many, as he then backed her up against the nearby wall and moved his mouth to her ear.

“You’re right,” he said through shortened breaths, “I do wanna be your mark.” While sucking her earlobe into his mouth in retaliation, he began pressing his thigh gently between her legs.

He might have worried that this was too much, that is if she hadn’t started bucking into him instantly.

Pulling back to look at her, he brought his hand up to the back of her head and laced his fingers into her hair. Their lips were so close, but they had yet to actually kiss. Something about that was entirely too erotic. Instinct told him to keep it that way.

“Seems like you could use some help, too,” he said, gratified to be regaining some semblance of an upper hand.

𓂃🖊 

Maxine was losing it. Her purpose. Her mind. Her sense of control. It was like the roller coasters all over again, taken away by overwhelming forces. Thrusting her hips forward, she could feel his erection against her own thigh. There was a small amount of pain there from pressing against him, which indicated something that made her arousal even deeper.

One moment, she was in control, intent on getting him to confess about Brooks. The next, she could hardly remember what it was she’d been so incensed about.

Seems like you could use some help, too, he’d said.

She did need help: she suddenly and inconveniently needed to get off more than she ever had in her life.

In retrospect, this entire endeavor had been incredibly short-sighted, and she was finding it difficult to remember why she had thought this a good idea in the first place. She blamed the weed. For everything, but especially for the way she was currently rubbing herself against his thigh like a horny teenager.

She found, however, that she didn’t care how juvenile it was; it felt amazing. Even more so when his hand finally cupped her breasts, thumbs grazing over her hard nipples. Thank god for built-in bra tank tops.

When he dipped his head lower and pulled back the lace at the edges of her top, she moaned loudly as she felt his tongue swirl around her nipple, then suck her into his mouth, taking care to repeat the motion on the other side.

He spoke, then, and it took her a moment to register what he had said because his fingers had moved down to tug on the band of her jeans.

Eventually, the words he’d spoken rematerialized in her brain.

“Will you let me help you?”

She let out a long, involuntary sigh and said in a quiet whimper, “Yes, please.”


NEXT CHAPTER

A/N: thank you for reading!!! I love you!!!

Bets on what happens next?!