“Thanks, Jake, but I think we’ll go with Rafe. It looks like the women want to talk.” She could have kissed him for reading her thoughts, but she’d save it for later when they were alone.
This had become a colossal shit show and Cam didn’t like it. Yes, Jake was right, and they needed to give Tex a chance to dig up the information, or at least find a link back to Azfaar. If that didn’t happen, it wouldn’t matter how many of them they took out, they’d just keep coming.
The women whispered to each other during the short ride from the bar to the apartment building. When they pulled up in front of the building, he, Halo, and Rafe checked for threats before he helped Miranda from the back seat.
“Thanks for the ride.”
“Call me later,” Meghan said as she hugged Miranda then hopped into the passenger seat.
Halo led the way into the building as usual, always on alert. Cam couldn’t have asked for a better partner to help keep Miranda safe, even though they hadn’t been doing such a great job.
Back in the apartment, he braced himself for a battery of questions, but none came. Instead, Miranda went into the kitchen and made a pot of coffee.
“Won’t it keep you up all night?”
“Huh?”
“The coffee. Can you sleep after drinking this late? It’s after eight.”
“It won’t bother me. I think I’m immune to it.”
“I’m gonna grab a shower, be right back.”
“Okay,” she said but sounded distracted. What was she thinking about, or maybe what was she planning would be the better question?
Cam had just finished soaping up when the bathroom door opened. Normally, he’d have pulled back the curtain and reached for the gun, but he knew who it was. “Miranda? Everything okay?”
“It might have been Halo.”
“Last I checked he didn’t have opposable thumbs and can’t use a doorknob.”
“True,” she answered as she pulled back the curtain. “Mind if I join you?” That she needed to ask when all she had to do was look down at his hard-on, amazed him. He’d reacted instantly to the sight of her naked body in the steamy mist like some kind of forest nymph.
“Are you kidding? Anytime, fuck, every time.” She giggled. It was a perfect mixture of sweet and sexy, and it drove him crazy.
Not bothering to rinse the soap off, he pulled the shower head down and held it over her. Watching her move under the water was extremely erotic. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on her. Putting the shower head back, he grabbed the shampoo.
“Do you mind?”
“Not at all,” her voice was deeper, huskier and caused his throbbing dick to twitch even more. She was going to be the death of him.
Pouring shampoo onto her head, he massaged it into her hair until it was a mass of suds.
“I think you’d better let me rinse that out or we’ll be here for hours.”
“Would that be so bad?”
“No, as long as the hot water lasts.” Cam chuckled, he planned to have her so distracted she wouldn’t notice the water temperature. After she rinsed her hair, he grabbed the soap and got to touch her body at last.
Rubbing the bar between his hands, he started at her neck and worked his way down, until he’d covered every inch of her in soap. Then grabbed the shower head, and rinsed her off, following the same path.
“Spread your legs a little more, baby,” Cam asked as he twisted the shower head to give him a more focused spray. He knelt down and held rinsed her folds, working the spray up and down until she was soap free. Then he directed the spray on her clit, moving the shower head in circles as he slid two fingers into her core.
“Oh God. What…”
“Don’t you just love adjustable shower heads.”
“Mmm.”
“Sunshine, lean against the wall, I don’t want you to slip.” She didn’t answer him but did as he suggested. Her quivering increased and her muscles grasped and clenched his fingers. Watching her expression as she got closer to her orgasm, was a huge turn on. Her muscled grew taught and her skin flushed a deep pink. It was incredibly sexy. He wanted to draw it out, give her as much pleasure as he could, but he couldn’t refrain tasting her. Almost as soon as he touched her clit, she came, her juices pouring over his fingers and mixing with the water.
“Oh my God. I can barely stand.”
“Hold on, let me rinse off and you won’t have to.”
Making quick work of it, he turned the water off and wrapped her in a towel. Then he carried her to the bedroom and put her on the bed. He should dry off, but his cock was about to explode.
Sliding his wet body over hers, he pushed her thighs apart with his leg. “You are fucking amazing.”
As she reached for him, he slid his throbbing shaft deep into her soaking wet core. Even after all the sex the night before, she was still so damn tight. Hot, wet, tight, it just didn’t get any better.
Grabbing him around the neck and pulling him to her, she kissed him, biting his lips and then sucking his tongue into her mouth. When she bit down on his tongue, it was like a jolt of electricity traveled straight to his cock. Thrusting into her harder and faster, his balls slapped against her ass. When he couldn’t hold back any longer he exploded inside her.
Breathless, he pulled her with him so she could rest on top of him as he rolled onto his back. It was freakin’ amazing, but like last night, he was still hard. He hadn’t been able to stay hard after an orgasm since he was in his early twenties.
Looking down on his Sunshine, she hadn’t moved. Her hair was spread across his chest as her cheek was over his heart. He wished they could stay like that forever.
“That was incredible,” she whispered.
“It’s you, Sunshine. You have stolen my heart. You’re so brave, sexy, funny, and just fucking amazing. You take my breath away. I love you.” He hadn’t intended for it to pop out like that, but every word was true, and he wasn’t sorry. He wasn’t sure how she would react, but he didn’t have to wait long for his answer.
When she lifted her head to look at him, a huge bright smile lit her face making her glow bright as the sun. “I love you, Cam. You take my breath away too.” Then she moved up his body, leaned over his face until her hair covered them like a curtain and kissed him.
“You’re mine now, forever and always,” he said against her lips.
“And you’re mine.”
Chapter 16
They needed another shower when they got out of bed a few hours later. If this was making love with the man of your dreams, Miranda never wanted it to stop. Sex had never come close to the mind-blowing experience she’d had with Cam. And he promised it was just the beginning. She wondered if she’d be able to walk in the morning.
This time she jumped into the shower alone. Halo needed a walk, but Cam promised he’d stay near the front of the building and would be back before she finished her shower. He still made her promise not to leave the apartment for any reason. He had to be crazy if he thought she had the energy for anything other than the shower. Her legs felt like rubber and she was a bit sore, but she’d do it again in a heartbeat, as long as she didn’t have to stand up.
Giggling, she dragged the comb through her hair, which had turned into a ton of knots. Even washing and conditioning it again didn’t help much. Maybe she should go shorter, like Meghan. It was an idea and would be easier to care for. Turning on the blow dryer, she never heard the gunshot that blew out the lock on the door, and it wasn’t until the bathroom door was thrown open that she realized she was in trouble.
It was like a scene from a movie playing out in her head. A woman is naked in the bathroom when a maniacal killer breaks into her house and stabs her a million times. Except it wasn’t a movie, and it wasn’t a knife he was pointing at her it was a semi-automatic gun.
“You’re coming with me.”
“No.”
“Alive or dead, you’re coming. Your choice,” he said in heavily accented English. Miranda could
n’t tell if it was Pashto like her abductors in Afghanistan or something different. Either way, she couldn’t speak more than a few words of Pashto so it wouldn’t help much.
If he’d gotten into the apartment, where were Cam and Halo? Had they ambushed them outside? Killed them and then come for her? She prayed that he was still alive to come for her because she’d rather die than be a captive again. Then she remembered the tracker in her phone and had to figure out a way to bring it with her.
“I’ll come. But I need to put clothes on.” She’d almost forgotten she was naked with just the brush and a hairdryer for protection. Not helpful unless he was standing in a puddle of water.
Dressed in a traditional Al-Qaeda headdress, his face was mostly covered, and all she could see were his cold dark eyes. As those cruel eyes slowly traveled down her naked body, she doubted he’d let her get dressed. But she refused to move or show weakness. Instead, she gritted her teeth and wished for a miracle.
Finally, he nodded. “Go. Be quick.” The asshat didn’t even move out of the doorway and forced her to slide past him to get to the bedroom. When she’d joined Cam in the shower earlier she’d just tossed her clothes on the side of the bed, they were still there and so was her phone. Thank God she’d put it in her pocket when they walked Halo earlier. She looked up at the ceiling and said a little thank you. She’d been given her miracle.
Quickly getting dressed she slid the phone underneath her breast inside her bra, it seemed to be the best chance of her captors not finding it. If he’d followed her into the bedroom she’d never have gotten away with it, but she heard him talking and by the time he came into the doorway she was dressed.
Stepping into the room, he grabbed her and dragged her toward the door. It brought back all the horrors of Afghanistan and she kicked and fought. “Stop fighting. I was told to bring you. It can be dead or alive. If I have to kill you I will make it slow and as painful as possible. You will scream for me to let you die.”
Of course, he would. He was just like the others who’d taken her. They hated her because she was an American and a woman. In their eyes, she wasn’t sure which was worse. Not that it mattered. But she stopped struggling. She had to give Cam a chance to find her.
“You will not fight me.” It wasn’t a question. It was an order. She wanted to kick him in the balls. Damn, she was so tempted. But as he walked her down the hallway to the elevator an older woman with a little boy passed them. She knew without a doubt if she made any trouble he’d kill them both. Instead, she cooperated, as the hand on her back directed her down the stairwell instead of the elevator.
Again she contemplated an escape, if she shoved him would he fall and give her a chance to get away? It was possible, but then she had no idea how many ‘friends’ he had waiting for them outside.
“Don’t try it. You think I am an amateur?” The ass could read minds. Wonderful, adrenaline raced through her, but how long it would last was another story. If they got her alone, she’d never survive a second time.
Before he pushed open the stairwell door, he looked through the window. He must have had a communications device like the SEALs because he spoke to someone without pulling out a phone, or maybe it was just Bluetooth. Why it mattered she had no idea, except that it gave her something to think about instead of what he’d do to her.
As soon as he pushed open the door, another man grabbed her, also covered in black. He put a black sack over her head so she couldn’t see. Then each of them grabbed an arm and dragged her outside and shoved her into the back of some kind of vehicle. They zip-tied her wrists and ankles and slammed the door.
Alone. Restrained. Blindfolded. This was her nightmare. Except this time she wasn’t asleep.
Hope that the tracker was on was all that kept her from losing it. If Tex could track her, Cam could find her, as long as he was alive. He had to be. The alternative was not an option. Somehow, she’d managed to hold it together. The roads were rough, and she was banged into the side of the vehicle so many times she’d have bruises. But they were nothing compared to what she imagined was coming.
At some point during the trip, memories she had blocked, came back in living color. For the first time, she remembered every minute of her captivity, every minute of their torture, and she curled into a ball on the floor. Silent tears soaked the hood, as she tried to deal with the memories, knowing the same was waiting for her.
The last few hours were amazing. Cam couldn’t remember the last time he’d come so many times in one evening. It didn’t seem possible at his age, but damn if that woman didn’t bewitch him. With his mind full of Miranda, he wasn’t watching his surroundings like he should have been. So when he went, he didn’t notice the two men off to the left near a white delivery truck.
The truck should have triggered alarm bells, it was Saturday night, and much too late for deliveries. Halo growled, but Cam was so focused on having him do his business so he could get back upstairs to Miranda, he didn’t listen.
The distinctive sound of a bullet shot through a silencer was his first indication of trouble. It whizzed past him and hit Halo. The dog went down. Cam went for his gun, but he was too slow. A second shot struck his shoulder and the force knocked him to his knees. Halo whimpered and tried to get up, as a pool of blood spread across the concrete.
Fuck. He’d put them all in danger. How could he have been so careless? He didn’t have a chance to answer his question. One of the men hit him on the back of the head and the world went black.
When he opened his eyes, his first thought was Miranda. Had they gotten to her? As he struggled to get up, he realized he wasn’t on the sidewalk, he was in the hospital. Fuck.
Then it all came back, Halo, the gunshots, Miranda. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He must have said the last fuck out loud.
“It’s okay, well not okay, but you have a smart woman. I don’t know how she did it, but she kept her phone with her. Tex has been tracking her. And if one of those fucks was for Halo, he’s going to be fine, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it looked,” Jake said.
“Thank God.”
“You’ve got a nasty knot on your head and you lost a lot of blood, but it was a through and through. Another nice scar to show the lady. They’re keeping you overnight for observation. You know how it goes with the concussion thing.”
“Yeah and I don’t give a fuck. How long was I out?
“About an hour. It’s been about two since they took her as best we can tell.”
“I’m not staying in here while Miranda is being tortured or worse.”
“Easy, kid. That’s why the others aren’t here. They’re following the tracker. The fuckers got about an hour’s head start before the police called me. But we’ll get them.”
“Yeah, we will. Help me get out of here.” Jake was just as stubborn as Cam, but he didn’t care. Jake wouldn’t stay put if it was his woman, and he wasn’t about to either. He’d been shot, stabbed, taken shrapnel, and concussed more times than he could remember. He was a fucking SEAL and he was going to rescue his woman.
Cam pushed the bell for the nurse. When she came in, he was already sitting on the edge of the bed. Either she was going to remove the IV or he would.
“What are you doing, Chief Petty Officer?”
“Discharging myself. Can you please remove this IV?”
“But the doctor…”
“Yes, my CO told me. But I need to get out of here. I promise I’ll be careful.” Like hell, he would, but at that point, he’d say anything to get out of there. He’d pay for it later, but if he lost Miranda it wouldn’t matter.
She glanced at Jake and then back and Cam. “He means it. He’ll pull it out himself and then probably bleed to death.”
“Fine, but you have to sign an AMA before you can leave.”
“I’ll sign whatever I need to, as long as it happens now. We have a woman to save.” He’d struggled to keep his voice calm and not curse a blue streak, but it was wearing on him. Thankfully, she grabbed her car
t and removed the IV and bandaged him up.
“Let me check your shoulder too.” He wanted to say don’t bother, but she was doing her job.
He nodded and let her check the dressing. “I should change it before you go.”
“Will it take long.”
“I’ll be quick.”
“Fine, thank you. Jake, can you see if my clothes are here?”
“You need a new shirt, they cut it off in the ER.”
“Fu…dge.” He stopped himself when the nurse raised her eyebrows. “Can you try to find a new one?”
“We can get you a set of scrubs.”
“Just the shirt will work. Thank you.” Jake hunted it down while Cam got his bandage changed. As soon as she was done, he signed the paper at the nurse’s station, and they were out the door.
“You should have stayed overnight. But I wouldn’t have either.”
“Where is Halo?”
“At the Vet on base. They told me he’d be fine.”
“It’s all my fault.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“I should have been more focused. They never should have gotten the drop on me.”
“From what the guy saw who called the police, there were three of them, and they were waiting.”
“But if I hadn’t been distracted…”
“Shut the fuck up and listen to me. It doesn’t matter. It’s done. You can beat yourself up later, but I’m telling you, it would have been the same outcome for any of us. You were alone.”
“I had Halo.”
“Yes but you still couldn’t have taken out three with a handgun against three machine guns.”
Cam calmed a little as Jake’s words sank in. Maybe he couldn’t but he’d have gone down fighting, instead of being taken out the way he was. But he was right about one thing, it didn’t matter now. Only Miranda mattered.
“Did Tex ever find out where Azfaar is hiding out?”
“Yeah. He called just before I got the call from the police. He’s in Syria.”
“What the fuck is he doing there?”
SEAL's Sunshine - Lynne St Jame Page 13
