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Story: The Inquisitor

“Come for me, Kiera.” He pounded into me and broke the dam. The ecstatic flood rushed through me, and bells rang in my ears. “Forrest!”

“That’s right. I’m the only one who can do this to you. You’re mine.” He kissed my cheek and added another mighty thrust that took my breath away.

I think he just sent an organ up to my lungs from that powerful thrust. Sex with him was raw and animalistic.

“Do you love having me inside you, Kitty K?”

“Yes,” I affirmed with a contraction in my muscles. There was no replacing him.

“Did you enjoy that wild night at the hotel when I ate every inch of you?” He nibbled my shoulder, lifted me up, and cupped my breasts while still inside me.

“Yes,” I moaned when he pinched my nipples delicately.

“That night changed me.” He pulled out of me, the crown kissing my entrance.

I didn’t like the void one bit.

“I didn’t know what my type was until you.” He plunged in again, pumping hard.

His body stiffened. Then he growled. A vicious orgasm that probably rearranged all my internal organs made me tremble from head to toe.

Holy shit.

Forrest banded his arms around me. “You’ll be the death of me, woman.” He kissed the top of my head. “But if I had to go, this would be the only way.”

A loud boom roared through the area, and the ground shook. The sexual energy dissolved, replaced by something chaotic. We exchanged worried glances.

“Fucking hell.” He pulled out, grabbed the roll of paper towels on the nearby table, and attempted to clean me.

“I can do it. Is that some kind of farm equipment being turned on?” I reached for my clothes and offered his to him.

“No. Something just exploded. Let’s hurry. I need to check it out.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN

FORREST

Rage threatened to swallow me as I stood staring at the damages to the gardens, delivery port, and storage facility. They needed major renovation. Fuck. This was a costly setback.

The police determined the explosion had come from one box that had been delivered today. Because of my visit, the deliveries were left in the storage instead of being moved to various parts of the farm to be unpacked. The employees didn’t want boxes cluttering the space for my review so they’d delayed moving the packages. They’d done this every time I visited. Thank God that hadn’t changed—someone could’ve gotten hurt or killed if they had opened the package.

I glanced around at the scattered debris while the firefighters and police officers combed the area for evidence. I wasn’t sure what they’d find, but I’d be doing my own investigation. The city often took longer to do things because of protocol. I didn’t have time for that shit.

I scanned the area looking for Kiera and found her sweeping the debris near the gardens. She was helping Hieu while the other workers reorganized as best they could. I couldn’t hear what she said to him, but he patted her shoulder and smiled. That man and his wife were critical to the success of the Holistic Farm. They knew their herbs, especially the green tea,Camellia sinensis, which was a huge seller for the farm.

From this plant, I could get green, black, and oolong tea—each benefited the body differently. Their difference was in the production. While green tea leaves were either steamed or pan fried at high temperatures to prevent oxidation, the black tea was withered and left to oxidize. The oolong tea possessed a partial oxidation, so it was in between its siblings.

Hieu and Trang had owned a tea farm in Vietnam before they escaped the war and immigrated to the United States. Years ago, he’d gotten sick from Hepatitis A and had entered a special program that offered new medication that boosted the immune system. I’d met him during the program because I’d been one of the participating doctors. The program benefited some patients, but it had been temporary because the insurance did not cover the entire duration. Hieu didn’t have money to continue, so I’d paid for the rest of his treatment. In exchange, he showed me how to harvest the green tea leaves.

The people who worked on my farms had families. I didn’t care about the damaged facilities; they could be rebuilt. My loyal employees couldn’t be replaced.

Who wanted to destroy my farm? I didn’t have a lot of competitors in this field. Holistic Farm supplied herbs for several online stores. The only local store I delivered to was Full Circle Apothecary.

Though the holistic industry was growing, it differed from other businesses I’d invested in. I’d never sensed a strong competition between other farms in the area. Everyone minded their businesses. I didn’t care about the guy harvesting his corn or potatoes. I wasn’t competing with anyone.

Who had sent that fucking bomb?

After speaking to the detectives and getting their reports, I told everyone to stay home for the next few days until I met with the management team.