by Rena Marks
For a moment, she thought she saw sorrow in her kidnapper’s eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but then stared down at her lips. Hunger roved over his features.
For her.
Tom had feelings for her.
How the hell could a criminal have real feelings? Not just lust. Not just power. Perhaps she’d read him wrong.
But she hadn’t.
“One kiss, Ava. Please?” His voice had a thread of need in the begging tone. “Just one. I promise.”
Her head gave one, jerky nod. What choice did she really have? She was their prisoner, one without memories. She had no idea where home was. Who she really was.
He reached out with his large hands to cup her jaw. His head dropped down to her level as her eyes fluttered shut. His lips were firm and soft. So very soft. So delicious, but she expected that.
Somehow, she also expected the way he kissed to be perfect. His hands shifted a little directing her to tilt her head so he could deepen the kiss. Probably taking advantage and make it the best ever since she’d just agreed to one kiss. He took long, languid sips of her mouth. She sighed happily, feeling as if her bones were melting.
His tongue continued its onslaught, even sweeping across her lips. Her mouth automatically opened—welcoming him as if they’d kissed a thousand times.
The stroke of his tongue stoked an inner fire, one that had lain dormant for so many years.
When he finally pulled back, he looked as dazed as she felt. And then he did something amazing. He sighed deeply. He closed his eyes like she’d given him a precious gift, brought his forehead to hers and rested against her.
There were so many things she wanted to ask him, but she didn’t know what they were, or where to start. A hundred things fluttered around in her mind. Why did kissing him feel so right when it should have been so wrong? Why did it feel like a thousand kisses were shared when it was just the first? Why did he even ask for just one kiss?
They broke apart when the doorknob turned and the door was pushed. Of course, it was locked and held tight. The person on the other end banged on the door when they discovered it was locked on their side.
Tom was back to the hardened criminal. He got up from the chair and turned his back to her, leaving her feeling chilled in the thick robe. She heard the click as he unlocked the door.
The other man barged in, his eyes landing on her. “Why the fuck is the door locked?”
Tom raised his brows. “Because I wanted it locked.”
The newcomer was a mess. His face was covered in healing bruises. One hand was bandaged. His hair hadn’t been washed in days and stuck up in lumpy messes on his head. And he glared at her with undisguised hatred. “I thought she was a fucking prisoner.”
“She is,” Tom said mildly. “There’s no TV.” His voice was mocking.
“Fuck you, man! That was fucking uncalled for!” The man blew up like a ticking time bomb.
“Back the fuck off!” Tom said, his face hard. “What do you fucking want?”
“To see the bitch that did this to us!” His hand was clumsy with the heavy bandage as he swept it along his body.
“She didn’t do it.”
“She knows the people who did.”
“Not right now, she doesn’t. I told you along with the others. She has amnesia.”
“She’s making it up.”
Tom sighed. “Of course she isn’t. I took the scans myself.”
There was silence for a minute as they stared each other down. Then the other one spoke.
“You think you’re so much better than me because you get to babysit the girl? With your pretty looks? While her people did this to me?”
“They tortured me, too,” Tom said, his voice low.
“Not where it shows! They cut off my fucking finger, man!”
Ava felt sick. Had she lived with the Xeno Sapiens? Monsters who would cut off a man’s finger just to torture him? She shook her head. Wait a minute, she reminded herself. Don’t get twisted. These guys were the kidnappers. The bad guys. But what if the Xeno Sapiens were?
“Ava,” Tom called out. “This is Keith. The one who was captured with me. He’s just leaving, aren’t you, man? Before you say something you regret?”
It took a minute for Keith to respond. “Yeah, I’m leaving. I have files to scroll through, anyway.” He flipped his hand up, waving his wrist a certain way to show an embedded phone in his palm. The holographic screen projected right above his raised hand. From her distance, she couldn’t see the image, but it looked like medical records.
“How the hell did you get those? I just took them upstairs!”
Ahh, apparently they were her scans.
But more surprising was the look Keith gave Tom. “I’m the only one here with an implanted phone. Of course I keep the vids.” He narrowed his eyes at Tom. “You know this.”
Tom didn’t waver. “I know that. I just meant that it hasn’t even been ten minutes since I gave them to the guards to take them upstairs.”
Keith shrugged but still looked thoughtful. “It doesn’t take long to upload. Like I said, I’ll go look for any discrepancies.”
Tom shrugged. “Feel free.”
Keith turned and left and Tom deliberately re-locked the door, slamming it shut and flipping the lock with a loud click. Keith responded by slamming the wall on his way up the stairs.
Tom looked frustrated. A far cry from the mood they’d been in earlier. It was for the best.
He turned his darkened gaze on her. “I’m sorry, Ava. Things are taking a turn for the worse. We have to move quicker than I anticipated. Just trust me, okay?”
She nodded, feeling his sense of urgency. Still feeling the animosity from Keith. No matter what, she didn’t feel that animosity—the pure, unbridled hatred—from Tom. It certainly showed her who was who.
A small step was achieved between them. She trusted him that much more. They sat on the small sofa together, their thighs touching. He explained to her that whenever he left, the two guards would enter her room to watch her because someone had to be with her at all times. He would hurry, knowing they were untrustworthy.
He was called away later that day, leaving the guards at her door. There was nothing to do but wait. She had no idea what time it was, but she was bored out of her mind. When he returned, she heaved a sigh of relief.
“It’s late,” he murmured, locking the door with an audible click again. Locking the world out, like he had earlier with Keith. “Let’s try to get some sleep.”
“Did everything go all right?”
He nodded. “Keith tried to turn everyone upstairs against me. He’s jealous. Says you don’t need a babysitter 24/7 and it’s time for me to join them upstairs. So far, no one is listening to him. They want him to just rest up and heal. They think he’s distraught from his captivity.”
She smoothed the frown line away from his beautiful forehead. “You’re just as injured, aren’t you? Even though your injuries aren’t visible. The Xeno Sapiens tortured you, too.” She hated them. What horrible, nasty people, to take a beautiful man and hook him up to electricity like the Frankenstein monster.
He gave a small nod, just one shake of his head. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is I keep the rest of them from you. So far, none of the higher-ups have been interested in paying for a human. It was a Xeno they wanted.”
“If they don’t agree to give them a contract on me, will they kill me?” She was blunt. She knew they couldn’t allow her to live.
“We’ll be out of here before that could ever happen.”
“But that’s the plan.”
“Yes, Ava. They’ll order me to do it. In the past, I wouldn’t have hesitated. They will expect the same. Which is why we need to be long gone. I’ll never, ever, allow anyone to harm you.”
His voice was so definite. So sure, it actually made her feel a tad bit safe. Which was ridiculous, considering who he was, the fact that he was one man against who knows how many, and th
e fact that they were locked in some godforsaken basement of a house where she didn’t even know was located.
Chapter Four
IT WASN’T THE FIRST time she slept with Tom. She’d shared many nights with him in the lone bed of the basement. He always gave her respective space, sleeping on top of the covers. So she was surprised this time when he slipped under the covers with her. He’d propped himself against the pillows, bare-chested as always, and pulled her to him, tucking her head beneath his chin.
She froze at the contact.
“Shh, sweet,” he murmured. “I’m just going to hold you. That’s all. I want to keep you safe.”
She held as still as she could and after a while felt her body relax. The warm scent of his skin was beneath her nostrils where her cheek lay on his chest, the hair tickling her nose.
As she relaxed, she realized she wasn’t worried about him groping her. She was more worried about her body’s reaction to him. Her mind was telling her to keep a part of her on her toes because he was a bad guy—her body was telling her not to listen. It was an internal war she fought between mind and body. Until her body won out.
She placed her palm low on his abdomen, feeling the rigid lines of an eight-pack. Lord, what kind of dedication did it take to have muscles like that?
His breath caught and his body froze. Well, except for the rising tent of the sheet.
“Do you want me?” His husky voice wrought wetness from her core.
She barely heard her own whisper. “I do.” She sounded wistful—and confused.
“I’ll please you like you’ve never felt pleasure before,” he promised, swiftly flipping them so he was on top of her. His thighs inserted themselves between hers—hard, rigid tree trunks of hair-roughened muscle.
She gasped as he ground his erection right against her heated core, the thin barrier of her gown and his boxers almost no protection.
“Tom!”
For a brief second his eyes flickered, and she wondered what she did wrong. But then he kissed her.
“Ava, please. I’ve waited so long for this. To be able to touch you, to know you. Let’s forget about everything tonight and just enjoy us.” His voice rang with need.
She slipped her hands beneath the waistband of his boxers and cupped his strong buttocks, pressing him down to her. The bulge between his legs pressed into her. She shivered at the feeling of it, so full of promise. So full of beauty.
“I want this, too,” she breathed. And she did.
He seemed to know exactly how to please her. Like maybe he could read her mind. He twisted his hips, a small, subtle movement, grinding into her and then releasing. It taunted her senses, teasing her libido. Her thin gown rode up and she wanted nothing more than to rip it over her head. But instead, he grabbed her hands and held them above her head so she couldn’t move.
His breath was hot where it trailed over the side of her neck. She twisted her head to give him better access. He nipped the outstretched tendon and then sucked on the sweetest spot. She moaned, the sound breathy and feminine.
His voice was in her ear. “I’d like to taste you, Ava. May I?”
“Oh, yes, please do.”
He crawled down her body, releasing her hands. Only when his head lined up with her pelvis did he inch her gown up just the barest bit. He clenched the fabric in his hands, holding it over her body and clamped his mouth onto her pussy.
Wet, liquid heat poured over her center.
“Tom,” she gasped, suddenly unable to form words.
He nibbled at her labia for a moment, separating her folds with his tongue, running alongside one edge and then the other.
“Oh,” she said, her breath catching in her throat.
Her body arched at the first touch, clit aching in the moment before his breath washed over her. A second later his tongue swept her. A warm brush of rough wetness that made her cry out and arch off the bed. Ruthlessly, he held her down, a big hand letting go of the bunched nightgown to spread over her stomach to keep her in place as he licked her again. And again.
He found her clit easily, circling around and around in maddening circles that did nothing to ease the tension within her body. Trying not to wriggle, she reached down to the thick, dark hair of his head, letting it run through her fingers. He didn’t let up, alternating licking in circles with sliding his tongue down to the entrance of her pussy and circling until she was ready to scream with need.
“Tom! I need you.”
He moved back up and found her clit, but this time he licked over it finally. Bringing a hand up, he slid one, and then a second finger deep within her. He pumped them ever so slowly. Goddess, who knew it would feel so pleasurable? So magnificent? A plea, his name, something, broke from her lips as she begged for more before she could stop it. Latching his lips around her clit, he rumbled in the back of his throat, the sound of approval. His approval of her actions pleased her for some odd reason.
The sensation brought her hips off the bed again, liquid heat leaving her in a rush. He groaned, finger-fucking her faster, then curling his digits back to press against her G-spot. She whimpered and writhed, torn between pleasure and the need to get away from the overstimulation. He wouldn’t let her. He held her down and tormented her until she teetered on the very brink of her climax.
He clamped onto her clit, sucking it fiercely, taking her to the edge and sweeping her over the side. At the last minute, she shoved her own hand over her mouth to avoid screaming her pleasure as the orgasm broke over her body. Pleasure cascaded through her and hard-edged shards of endless want and need crashing together in an endless loop of sensation. He didn’t let her go, pulling his fingers from her pussy to replace them with his tongue. With a groan, he gathered the juices of her release, his strong agile tongue fucking her as she came over and over again.
Ripples of orgasm hit again, relentless as her body strummed in a constant, endless wave.
She arched her back, her nipples pointing outward and brushing against the fabric of her gown. For heaven’s sake, she was still dressed. But he rose above her body, shoving his boxers down over his hips as her legs spread around him.
“I’m so hard I feel like I could come the second I sink into your wet heat,” he growled. She squirmed, ready to feel his shaft buried inside her. The head of his cock lay right at her labia. He just had to push a bit more.
Everything was slick and wet, and oh, so hot.
Parting her lips, she caught her breath as he surged forward and up at the same time, thrusting his tongue in to explore the soft recesses of her mouth. At the same time, he gathered her closer, pulling her from the bed and into his embrace where he knelt on the floor. Her knees ended up either side of his parted thighs, her weight supported by his arm as she nearly, but not quite, sat in his lap. All it would take was for her to wriggle forward, or for him to pull her closer so that their hips were flush. But he didn’t, and neither did she as he slowly slid his tongue against hers. Stroking and teasing her to join him in a primal dance. The hand at the nape of her neck moved up to tangle in her hair. Not to control but just to touch. To explore. He slid his fingers through the soft strands over and again. He broke the kiss to feather his lips over hers, to nuzzle her nose with his, before claiming her mouth again, deeper and harder this time.
He was settled fully against her. She gasped as she felt the thick bar of his cock pressed right between her thighs. He was...holy crap...thick and long and wonderful.
The weight of his body held her in place as he took control of the kiss, ravishing her mouth with an expertise and finesse that stole her ability to think. She’d thought she was a woman of the world. She’d thought she had more than enough sexual experience and knowledge gleaned from this simple thing called life, but his kiss told her otherwise.
He knew her. Somehow he knew exactly what made her tick. What she craved.
There was nothing gentle in his movements, the rough touch exciting her beyond measure despite the fact she’d already come
harder than she could remember coming before. Ever.
Hands on either side of her head bracing him over her and his cock pressed to the swollen curtain of her labia. She bit her lip, saw the flare of his nostrils in reaction, and did it again.
She rocked her hips to tempt him with her entrance.
“Fuck, Ava!”
His reaction was instant and feral. His eyes widened and a growl trickled from his throat that was far more animal than any sound she’d ever heard him make. Confusion clouded her for an instant. He almost didn’t sound human in his lust. But hell, she didn’t feel human in hers.
He pushed past her swollen pussy lips and breached the entrance to her body. He grunted.
“More.”
One word was all she could get out as he pushed forward. Her breathing caught, and her hands on his upper arms tensed. Not to push him away, but just for something to hold onto. Straining biceps that were slick with sweat. Her nails bit into the flesh and he groaned.
“Fuck, you’re so tight. You feel so good, baby.”
Baby. For the briefest moment, an odd sensation swept through her, but was gone before she could give it any more thought.
Dropping his head to the spot near her shoulder, he pulled his hips back and pressed forward again. This time, her body gave easier and the lips of her sex wrapped around the head of his cock. They both groaned at the rapturous feeling between them.
He let up the pressure, pushing harder and filling her inch by inch until she didn’t think she could take any more. But with a last shove of his hips, she did.
He paused above her and his gaze bored into hers. Everything was open on his face. Need, lust, desire, longing, tenderness. The last took her by surprise, but she held onto him as he pulled his hips back and thrust into her again. Then again.
It was no gentle lovemaking. He took her body in rough pleasure, hard and fast, with no compromises. As if this might be the last time between them as well as the first.
“You’re so fucking sexy,” he murmured into her ear, moving to grab one of her knees and looping it up over his arm. He slid deeper on the next thrust, making her moan and arch against him. Then he did the same with the other arm, opening her further, and deepening his possession.
