EasterSpice Read online

  Eastern Spice

  Cynnamon Foster

  69 Degrees Series, Book One

  Desiree Compton has a sexy new job as a secret agent. It’s filled with excitement, intrigue, drama and travel to exotic locales. Best of all, she gets to do it all with her lover, Sam, by her side. His hotness regularly leaves her breathless and things promise to be wonderful, until a dead woman is discovered in a hotel pool in India. Now they have to find out who is responsible—and their contact is Desiree’s ex-best friend, a woman who never met trouble she didn’t like.

  Going undercover in India is a challenge to say the least, as Sam and Desiree, both tall, black Texans, try to infiltrate the sex parlor linked to the case, straining their relationship to the utmost. But sometimes love and desire manage to flourish against great odds, even in the midst of intrigue and danger.

  Inside Scoop: Being undercover in a sex parlor can lead to all sorts of fun, including a brief but hot m/f/m scene.

  A Romantica® contemporary erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

  EASTERN SPICE

  Cynnamon Foster

  Dedication

  For Barry Jennings. Thank you for helping me to see the world. Six down, one more to go.

  Chapter One

  Desiree

  The sweat rolled across my forehead and down into my eyes. I blinked to try to stop the sting, but didn’t dare take the time to try to wipe the moisture away. Just one second of inattention and I would end up on the floor with the shit kicked out of me for sure.

  No sooner had I thought it than it was so. Sam swept his right leg around so quickly, I didn’t realize what had hit me until I was flying through the air horizontally. In one swift move, he’d knocked both of my legs out from under me. I hovered, Matrix-like, about three feet off the ground for few seconds, just long enough to see him standing there with a smirk on his face, watching me as I went down. I imagined myself in a Tom and Jerry cartoon scrambling in vain to stay upright, although I knew it was impossible. I had just enough time to brace myself for the impact. After a few seconds of weightlessness, I hit the ground with a thud. I groaned internally, just low enough so that Sam or the ever-present observer couldn’t hear it.

  In my head, I wanted to move but couldn’t. Every bit of me was aware of how hard I’d slammed into the floor. For the past six months, this had been the story of my life. I thought the agency wanted me because of my technology skills. When I’d agreed to join, I’d never thought about the rest. I didn’t think about what being an agent really meant—stuff like learning how to fight or having to hide my feelings all the time. There was a lot more to being a secret agent than I’d thought, and it was nothing like television. So far, I’d experienced no glamour or fast cars. It was certainly more painful than it looked. Over the past few months, I’d been bruised and battered from tip to tail.

  Sam stood over me and looked down at my face. The scowl on his face felt as if he was blaming me for being knocked on my butt. He tried to look grim, but I could see a smirk underneath that hard exterior. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was getting some joy from beating me up every day.

  I tried not to look too pitiful. I could do this job as well as anyone and refused to let anyone think or see otherwise. I paused a minute, letting my breath come in heavy pants. Even in these circumstances, Sam was one fine brother, and outside this room, he was all mine.

  He took a minute, then finally extended a hand to help me up. When we first met, he was undercover as a Southern gentleman who worked in the mailroom of the company where I worked. I’d soon discovered that was not who he was. He wasn’t from the South. And he certainly was no mailroom clerk, but Sam was a gentleman from head to toe.

  He tried to be stern. “You won’t get a helping hand in the field,” he said.

  I grunted. For weeks, I’d been hearing the same thing. “You have to admit I’ve come a long way.”

  “I don’t have to admit anything.” A smile flickered across his face and I knew I had him. Not one to let a window close, I pulled down on his arm, at the same time using his weight as leverage to pull myself up. Surprised, Sam grunted as he tumbled onto the floor, falling right next to where I no longer lay. I sprang to my feet, immediately going into the ready stance that Sam had worked so hard to teach me a few months before.

  He lay there for a second. “It’s like that, huh?”

  I winked at him. “And then some.”

  Sam jumped to his feet. “Okay then.”

  “What you got for me?”

  Sam spun around and tried to come at me with a roundhouse kick. He jumped in the air as he spun, his leg making a whistling sound as I ducked and moved out of the way. If I’d stayed in one place, he would’ve kicked me in the ear.

  He was being all fancy and, sure, it looked pretty as he flew through the air, but the fact remained that with both legs off the ground he was tremendously unstable, a great time to take advantage of his imbalance. I pushed forward and punched, my fist landing in Sam’s core just as he was coming down. My hand made contact with his washboard abs and he grunted, saying goodbye to the air I’d just knocked out of him. Sam flew backward as if he were in a karate movie, then landed on the floor on his butt, sliding toward the door.

  “You haven’t quite learned not to underestimate me,” I said. The surprise in Sam’s face was replaced by a flash of anger that fizzled out no quicker than it started. He rolled over and jumped to his feet, quickly spinning around so as not to have his back toward me. That was like rule number three in the book. Never turn your back toward your enemy.

  He put his head down and charged toward me. I was a quick study. He was giving me the advantage. Anger would always get the best of you. Rule number four. I might not be as strong or as big as Sam, but my incredible memory and quickness made up for a lot.

  I held my ground until Sam was almost upon me, then quickly stepped to the side, sticking my foot out in the process. Sam tripped over my foot and went barreling forward this time. He landed facedown on his stomach, sliding again, this time in the other direction.

  I didn’t wait for him to finish moving, instead I ran toward him. I reached Sam just as he was about to stop. By now, both feet were in the air and he was sliding forward on his stomach, trying to shield himself with his arms to avoid hitting the wall headfirst. I grabbed his foot in the crook of one of my elbows and kept moving forward until I straddled his back. I used my other elbow and hooked it with his, pulling the two ends together as if he were some sort of broken wishbone that I was trying to push back in one piece. I think deep down I have some unsettled anger issues, but whatever was motivating me, it sure felt good to be in control. Sam bellowed as I held him in the wrestling hold, slamming the wooden floor with his other hand. “Desiree!”

  “What?” It was hard not to smirk. “Am I not being a good student?”

  He didn’t have a chance to answer. The voice of our observer came over the intercom. “That’s enough for today.”

  I relaxed a little, then released my hold on Sam. “Why is it they always stop right when I’m starting to have fun?”

  “Was that fun?” Sam asked. He stood up and brushed himself off. “You never know when to stop.” He tried his best to have an annoyed look on his face, but it was obvious that he was aroused. His sweatpants were almost soaked through, and even though they were black, they concealed little. I tore my eyes away. Sam had a great package.

  “I don’t? Didn’t you just say that my enemy won’t give me a hand up? I’m guessing that they won’t know when to stop either.”

  He extended a hand, expecting me to shake.

  I nodded. “I’m good.” I wasn’t about to fall for the same trick I’d just played on him.

  We walked toward the back
of the room together, past the clear observation room window. From the corner of my eye, I noted that there were three people in the booth now. They no longer appeared to be paying attention to us, instead conferring over what I knew to be a video of our sparring session. Eventually, we’d get feedback on how far I’d progressed. No matter what they said, I was proud of myself.

  Training was over for the day. Sam nodded at the agents behind the glass. One buzzed us out, and we passed the stainless steel sign that read “Agency for Clandestine Operations and Investigation” and headed toward the locker rooms. I was the newest recruit.

  Just a few short months ago, I’d worked in data entry at a credit card clearing company. I’d never before heard of the agency, and they’d never heard of me. Since joining, I’d gotten a crash course in what it meant to operate just outside the law. My new employer was the go-to agency when all else failed. Since I’d started, I’d learned that there were lots of things the average American would never know or believe.

  Our athletic shoes made a scuffing sound as we made our way down the deserted hallway. We were quiet, and the only other sound was the shushing of the surveillance cameras as they followed our progress. We didn’t talk in the hallways. This was the most secure place I’d ever experienced. Everywhere you went in the complex, you got the profound sense that someone was watching you, no matter what you were doing. It had bugged me the first few days, but it was something I’d quickly gotten used to.

  For the past six months, I’ve been ignoring the pain in my head, the bruise on my side, and an almost daily bloody lip as I learned to do what I knew I might need to do one day—kick some ass. Today, my face smarted and I touched my cheek.

  “You okay?” Sam asked. “You might benefit from a hot bath.”

  We’d reached the locker rooms. “I’ll be okay. Nothing I can’t handle.” I didn’t want him, or anyone else, to think I was weak, even though it was amusing that he felt sorry for me now, after not pulling any punches when we were sparring.

  For the first time today, Sam smiled at me. “You are one sexy woman.”

  “Really? Me kicking your ass made you think that?” My insides warmed just talking to him. I’d been angry with him for a while after I’d discovered he’d lied, but as I came to understand what he did, I also came to understand that it had probably been better that way. Over the past few months, I’d come to respect him for a whole lot more than his prowess in the bedroom. I’d also come to learn that our daily sparring sessions were the best foreplay ever created. “I think I’m going to spend some time in the hot tub.”

  I raised my eyebrows. I didn’t have to speak the invitation. Sam looked over his shoulder at the cameras and blew them a kiss.

  A smile spread across my face and I took his hand, leading him into the locker room behind me, both of us ignoring the skirted stick figure painted on the door. Even at ACOI, Big Brother averted his eyes where people walked around naked.

  We were barely inside the locker room before Sam grabbed me. He pulled me close and backed me into the wall, pressing his body against mine. His kiss was slow, forceful and deep, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I loved having Sam so close to me. Most of the time, we had to behave as if we were just colleagues, so I relished moments like these. I loved his scent, even when it was accompanied by the sweat of a good workout.

  “We’re going to get in trouble,” I said.

  “No, we’re not. I’m still the golden child after the last case. No one cares what we do in here.” He slipped his fingers down the back of my exercise pants, pulling me closer again. The hardness of his manhood pressed into me. Sam pushed my sweatpants down and I pulled one leg out of them.

  “I thought we were going to the hot tub.” I could barely manage a gasp as I enjoyed being even closer to Sam. His own sweatpants could barely contain him.

  “Here, first,” he said.

  Sam practically picked me up and guided my thigh up around his waist and simultaneously pushed me back into the wall. I wanted his cock inside me. Sam cupped my behind with one hand and pushed his own pants partially down with the other. I gasped as he pressed his body into mine. In one motion, he pushed his jockstrap to the side and rendered my own underwear useless. Both of our skins were clammy with sweat, but I was ready.

  Sam and I had both tested clean and, with no one else in our lives, we’d done away with condoms. Skin felt so much better and he thrust deep inside me. I gasped as he filled me up. He covered his mouth with mine and kissed me, moving cautiously at first. I enjoyed the way his skin rubbed against my freshly waxed mound. Shocks of pleasure radiated through my body as he increased his pace, moving in and out so that I could feel the full length of his dick. I wrapped my legs around him tighter and held on and threw my head back. My pussy was soaking wet and I wanted to scream almost immediately, but knew I shouldn’t. Instead, I gasped loudly and Sam put his mouth over mine again, moving his tongue expertly in and out to the rhythm of his thrusts.

  He cupped both of my butt cheeks with his massive hands, pulling me into him from behind just as forcefully as he moved forward. There was something about sparring with him that made us hungrier for each other. It was almost as if he had to fuck me as hard as he’d thrown me across the room in order to make up for the damage he’d done and atone for his transgressions in the ring.

  I was so deeply and completely engrossed in enjoying the feel of Sam moving in and out of me that I forgot to be concerned about anyone else seeing us. I wanted to savor the feel of his rock-hard dick from tip to base and didn’t plan on letting anyone interrupt that. Hell, if they wanted to watch, that was their business. I wrapped my arms around Sam’s neck tighter and enjoyed the ride. He began to grunt. He would come soon, and by the tingly heat building in my belly, I knew I wasn’t far behind him.

  Chapter Two

  Sam

  I was just about to bust a nut when I heard the door slam in the locker room. I paused, but didn��t move away from Desiree. Even though I felt that someone was watching or listening, I was still hard as a rock. No other women had ever been able to affect me the way Dez could, and it was taking everything I was made of to even think of pulling away.

  She was right with me, and even though I stopped moving, she kept moving her hips, pulling me closer to her with her powerfully muscular legs still securely wrapped around my waist. I tried to listen, but her movement made it hard for me to concentrate, not to mention that I loved it when she tried her best to get hers. There was something strongly sexy about a woman who was not afraid to ask for what she wanted and take what she needed.

  I closed my eyes and inhaled her scent. “We gotta stop,” I said. “There’s someone in here.”

  She panted in my ear. “They know what we’re doing.”

  “They also know that we ain’t supposed to be doing it here.” I sighed. “We can continue later.”

  Desiree whimpered, and I felt her pain. There was nothing in the world more frustrating than stopping your shit in mid-stride. I would surely be irritable the rest of the day.

  She released me and dropped her legs to the floor. I tried to keep her in my arms, but Desiree slithered down until her head was even with my waist and took my cock in her mouth. I moaned against my will, bracing myself on her shoulders. She immediately fell into a rhythm, her hands and her mouth massaging me to some unknown beat.

  Whoever was at the door knocked this time, then cleared their throat. They weren’t going away, no matter how hard I willed it.

  “Dez,” I said. “We gotta go.” She stopped moving and I gently pushed her shoulders away and stepped back. Someone was going to pay for this one. Desiree rose to her feet and stomped away toward the rear of the locker room, and I tried my best to put myself back together. She was upset, but I wasn’t going to be the same the rest of the day. It would be difficult to concentrate on anything else now.

  The smell of the sex and the sweat hit me in the face as I pulled my pants back up. I was way past ripe and neede
d a shower. The heavy, metal locker room door slammed behind me as I stepped outside into the hallway, almost running into one of the agents from the observation room. He jumped back, practically cowering in a corner. He was newer, but was destined for a desk job for his entire career. A bean counter more than anything. I scowled.

  “I thought you motherfuckers were supposed to have my back. What’s up with that?”

  “You know I got your back, Sam. I made sure no one went in there, just like you said, and I certainly didn’t want to interrupt, but the boss wants to see you right away.”

  The boss he was referring to was Reed, and I knew that motherfucker was holed up in his office somewhere laughing. He absolutely knew what time it was, but I wasn’t surprised. He was just degenerate enough to be sitting in a corner, getting his own rocks off watching us from some unauthorized camera. I’d worked with Reed a long time, and he had no regard or love for anyone but himself. He had no attachments, and I’d never known him to have a woman in his life that he hadn’t paid.

  The agent shifted back and forth from foot to foot. “He wants Desiree too.”

  I glared at him for his familiarity and he corrected himself, stumbling over his words. “He’d like to see Ms. Compton too. Both of you.”

  I paused, rubbing my hand over my face. “Right now?”

  The man shook his head. “I’m supposed to tell you to shower first. He said he didn’t want all that funk up in his office.”

  If I didn’t know better, I’d say he ducked after he said that. I was all pent up and wanted to hit something or someone, but violence outside the fighting room was grounds for termination. I took a deep breath, then headed toward the other side of the complex, in the direction of the men’s locker room, to find out what it was that was so urgent it couldn’t wait another few moments.