Bound by the Red Thread

by Rose Nickol

  He had the phone up to his ear listening as he reached out a hand to pull her up. He gave a jerk and next thing she knew she was plastered against him.

  “Oh,” she said, her breath coming out with a gush.

  “Shit. I’m sorry.” He gazed down into her eyes. He took his focus off of her long enough to say, “Call you back,” into the phone.

  “I’m…” she started to say, but before she could finish, he’d leaned down taking her mouth in a hot kiss. He took advantage of her open mouth to thrust his tongue in and explore.

  Paul kept their lips locked as he backed them to the couch. When Nicole’s legs hit the seat, he continued moving forward until she was lying across the sofa with her head resting on the top of the back. He kept moving them until she was lying prone, not breaking contact at any time.

  He crawled over her, his body crouching over hers with one leg on the floor and the other leg between her body and the back of the couch. He lifted the loose top she was wearing over her head, leaving her lying there in her sports bra and a pair of form-fitting yoga pants, only breaking the kiss long enough to pull her shirt free.

  He threaded one hand in her hair, pulling it free of the messy bun she had put it in before they’d started their routine. “I’ve been wanting to do that for days. Your hair should always be loose and free.” He pulled back for a minute, staring at her with a deep intensity that had her toes curling.

  He adjusted their position so that his erection was rubbing against her pussy, the only thing preventing him from taking her being the clothing between them.

  He slid one hand down from where he had been holding her head and cupped her breast, his thumb stroking her nipple through the material of her sports bra. “I’ve been watching you, wanting to touch you for days. Tell me you feel the same. Being here with you and pretending I don’t want more is killing me.”

  Before she could answer, he took her mouth again, settling his big body over hers. One hand slid between them and into her yoga pants, sliding down to stroke her pussy over her panties.

  “We need these off,” he said, lifting and pulling her pants down and off her legs in one quick movement.

  He crawled back over her and lifted her arms above her head. “Leave them there,” he commanded, his eyes boring into hers.

  At her slight nod, he resumed kissing her his hands moving over her body, touching, feeling, stroking. His hands roamed back between her legs, rubbing her over the gusset of her panties.

  “Paul, I…” Nicole panted, not sure what she wanted to say.

  “Shh, let me take care of you,” he said against her mouth as he kissed his way down to her chest. He moved her sports bra so that her breast were free and the material was beneath them, lifting them up to his mouth.

  “Perfect,” he murmured, leaning down to take one tip in his mouth, sucking and pulling on her nipple as her body writhed beneath him.

  “Do you like that?” he whispered,

  “Yes,” she panted back.

  “Sir,” he said firmly.

  “Huh?” Nicole lifted her head.

  “Call me Sir. Yes, Sir. Say it.”

  “Yes, Sir?” Nicole said softly. Her body continuing to respond to what his mouth was doing to her body.

  The hand between her legs was pressing more firmly on her clit, and her mind was going offline with sensations.

  Paul adjusted their positions again, and started rubbing his erection against her, continuing to nip and tug at her nipples with his teeth.

  “Your breasts are perfect, lush and full. Just the right size for my hand,” he whispered, cupping her breast with one hand and holding it to his mouth, as he continued to rub against her panties with the other.

  She began to move her hands to grab his shoulders and pull him to her.

  “No. Keep them here. Next time I’ll tie them.” He lifted his head and one hand long enough to move her hands back over her head.

  “I want to touch you,” she said softly.

  “I know, not yet. Do what I say, and it will be so much better. Trust me.” He held her hands firmly above her head with one hand and used the other to work her panties down her legs and throw them to the floor, then he undid the ties for his sweatpants and pushed them down his hips.

  “Nicole, do you want this?” he asked, looming above her.

  “Yes,” she panted, staring at his huge erection. As a nurse, she’d seen lots of men, but none as beautiful as Paul.

  She licked her lips and nodded still staring at him. How would that monster feel inside of her? She hadn’t had a lot of men in her life, and none since Jin Peng, and it had been such a long time since she’d been with him.

  Paul stared into her eyes for a minute, before he nodded and leaned down to take her mouth with his again.

  When he broke the kiss, he lifted enough to gaze into her eyes. “Are you on the pill?”

  “Yes, I am, but we should still…” Nicole started to say.

  “You’re right. We will both see a doctor first. I have one in my pocket.” He moved away from her and fumbled in his sweatpants for a minute. “Shit my wallet’s in the other room. Don’t move!”

  He looked down at her and let out a long sigh, then kissed her again, before pushing off the couch and running down the hall.

  Nicole watched appreciatively, trying not to drool at the sight of his firm buttocks as he moved. The man was as yummy from the back as was in the front.

  When he came back his erection pointed straight at her like a divining rod searching for water.

  “Now. I think I was right here,” he said as he moved back over her on the sofa. He tore the packet open with his teeth and rolled the condom on before he moved back between her legs.

  He reached between them and fitted himself to her. “I want you to hold off your orgasm until I tell you to come. Wait for me. It will be so much better. Can you do that for me?”

  Nicole bit her lip before nodding. She didn’t think about why he was giving so many instructions. Most guys were just wham, bang, and not even thank you, ma’am.

  Paul drew her attention back to him as he slowly began pushing inside her, one hand holding him from pushing in too fast and using the thumb from that hand to slowly work her clit.

  As her body began to hum again, Nicole wrapped her legs around his hips pulling him closer. Without thinking her hands snaked around his neck bringing his face down to hers.

  Just before he took her mouth again, he whispered against her lips, “I’m going to have to punish you for that.” Then he kissed her as he sank fully into her, moving his hand from around him and letting his full length take her.

  He gave her a minute to adjust, then started moving, slowly at first, easing his way in and out until her body began to move with his.

  As he started moving, he braced one hand beside her head and reached the other around her body, separating her ass cheeks and grazing her round hole with his fingers.

  “Oh! What are you doing?” Nicole moaned as his finger pushed gently into her.

  “Just playing a little.” He moved his fingers up enough to gather some moisture from her weeping pussy to use as lube on his fingers.

  “Do you like that?” he asked as he pushed a little further pressing the tips of two fingers inside her.

  “I d-don’t know…” Nicole panted, her body becoming overwhelmed with the sensations he was creating.

  Paul leaned down and kissed her again, moving his hand to hold her thigh up higher as his hips started propelling faster.

  He angled his body so that every time he moved his pelvis stroked her clit.

  “I can’t hold back,” Nicole cried, and started panting his name.

  “Then don’t. Come with me!” His hips moved faster, and then her world exploded.

  Everything detonated in a world of color and sparkles as Paul’s hips jerked and she felt the spasms as he emptied himself into the condom.

  He collapsed onto her for a minute before turning them so that he
was lying on the couch with her on top of him.

  10

  They lay like that, letting their breathing and bodies calm down. After a few minutes, Paul stood and lifted her into his arms. “Where are you taking me?” Nicole asked against his neck.

  “Shower, then bed,” Paul said, kicking the door to the bedroom she’d been using open, and carrying her into the ensuite there.

  He set her down on the vanity.

  “Oh,” she cried as her ass hit the cold countertop.

  He grinned and started the shower warming.

  “Cold?” he asked as he turned back and picked her up again, depositing her in the shower and moving in with her.

  Nicole didn’t answer, she just gave him a dirty look as he pushed her under the warm water.

  He smirked down at her as he swatted her bottom. “Giving dirty looks will get naughty girls spanked, and you’ve already earned one punishment.”

  She felt a shudder run through her body at the thought of being put over his knee and having him spank her.

  She’d tried to get Jin to play with her like that, but he was always appalled at the thought of doing anything remotely kinky.

  She’d been reading erotic books for years, and when Kristen Anders, her favorite author, had started writing about BDSM, she’d become intrigued. She’d done research and read every book she could find on the subject, but when she’d tried to bring it up to her husband, he’d told her she was sick and forbade her to read any more books about it—not that he’d stopped her.

  She and Jin had already started to drift apart at that point, and she’d been trying anything to save her failing marriage. What a mistake that had been.

  “Hey, baby, why the sad face?” Paul asked, turning her to face the spray of water with her back to him.

  He reached around her and applied her body wash to his hands and starting with her shoulders slowly spread the lather down her arms to her fingertips. Threading his fingers with hers, he brought her hands behind her back. “Hold your hands there for me,” he said against her neck.

  “Okay,” Nicole answered softly, and did what he said.

  Paul added more soap to his hands and starting with her neck, began applying the lather to her front. He slowly moved his hands down her body, spending extra time on her breasts and nipples, until she felt her body beginning to hum.

  Applying more soap, he continued down her body, over her hips until he reached the vee of her thighs. “Spread for me,” he said huskily into her ear as he slipped his fingers between her legs.

  He slid his fingers up and down her folds, spreading the soap and water over her. He slid two fingers into her channel and began thrusting them in and out, then moved the other hand up to her neck and tilted her head back onto his shoulder.

  “Don’t come. Wait. Wait. For me.” His deep husky voice sent shivers down her back.

  “Yes,” she said on a breath out.

  “Good girl.” He continued moving his fingers in and out, her body writhing with want as he did.

  Her ears caught the ring of her phone over the sound of the water. “Wait! Wait,” she said, stopping him.

  “My phone. I should…” Nicole pushed away from him and started rinsing the soap from her body.

  “Yes. You should,” Paul answered with a sigh as he stepped out of the shower quickly wrapping a towel around his waist before wrapping her in one as she followed him.

  Nicole tucked the towel around herself and headed for her phone which was beside the bed.

  “Hello,” she said, swiping to answer as she glanced at the caller ID. “Who is this?” she asked, after a few seconds of listening. “What do you want? Hello?” she asked, pulling the phone away from her ear and turning the speaker on.

  Paul came to stand beside her and looked over her shoulder at the phone.

  “Who is it?” he asked quietly, so the caller couldn’t hear him.

  “I don’t know,” Nicole said, staring at the phone. “Who is this? What do you want?” she asked again.

  “You’re mine. Mine, mine.” A raspy voice came out of the phone with an evil laugh.

  “Who. Is. This?” she screamed into the phone.

  Paul took the phone away from her. “Who is this?” he growled into the phone.

  There was more laughter and the phone disconnected. Paul pulled Nicole into his arms. “Get dressed. I’m going to call Neptune and see if he can trace the call. If it rings again let it go to voice mail. We’ll figure this out.”

  Nicole nodded and went to get some clothes out of the dresser she had been using. After she got dressed, she sat on the bed, trying to think of anyone who might be doing this.

  Paul walked back into the bedroom after he had dressed and finished making his phone call. “Monty is tracing the call. He’ll let us know as soon as he finds anything.”

  Nicole nodded. “I need to try and call Cliff. I haven’t talked to him since this all started. I need to know he’s okay.”

  Paul glanced down at his watch. “It’s evening there. This would probably be a good time. I’ll leave you to it while I make some calls myself.” He left the room and closed the door softly behind him, giving her some much-needed space.

  Paul detoured by the bedroom he had been using on his way back to the living room. He grabbed his cell phone and his laptop, hoping for some good news to give to Nicole. He knew she needed it now.

  He looked at the couch and shook his head. If he sat there he’d want to go back into the bedroom and finish what he’d started in the shower, moving on to a repeat of what had just happened, and he wasn’t sure that was a good idea for either of them right now.

  He opened his laptop and connected to his email program. Before opening his email, he sat back to think over everything that was happening.

  He shouldn’t have made love to Nicole. Nothing good could happen. When the case was over and her son had been returned, she would go back to her life and he would move on to the next case, which could send him anywhere in the world.

  The kind of life he lived wasn’t for men with a family. One of the founding partners, Jason Elder, had found his happy forever on one of the first cases the agency had accepted, rescuing a woman from human traffickers. Not only did Jason end up marrying the woman that had hired them, but they were also now expecting their first child.

  Paul was realistic enough to know that it didn’t work out that way for everyone. He had no expectations that what he and Nicole had, could or would become anything more. They were just two people who needed each other in this time and place. If nothing else, they could comfort each other, and the sex was outstanding. That’s all it could be.

  Paul opened his email, quickly scanning the list looking for the message he had been waiting for.

  His contact in the Chinese embassy had replied to his inquiry. They had no record of the law firm Jin had used being registered to practice anywhere in the country. That meant that the paperwork Jin has sent Nicole wasn’t legal in China. Her visa had been restored.

  Monty had done some further digging and found out the paperwork had never been filed properly in the United States. It seemed that the lawyers Jin has hired hadn’t done a very good job. Nicole could now hire her own attorney and file for full custody and divorce should she choose.

  His contact had been able to restore her visa and there were no restrictions on her travel. That didn’t mean that Huang Peng couldn’t or wouldn’t try to restrict her entry into his province by paying off the officials there, but with his contacts in the embassy, they should be able to by-pass anything he tried.

  Finally, the good news they had been waiting for. With her travel rights restored, they could now travel legally to China when arrangements could be made to retrieve Clifton.

  It would still take some time. The paperwork could be expedited and with any luck, they should have the documentation needed to fly to China and retrieve Clifton within the month.

  That meant he had a month left with her, approximate
ly. The smart thing would be to leave her alone, tell her it had been a mistake and break things off now, before it became more than it could be.

  They were both adults. They knew how life worked. He didn’t want to have just a one-night stand with her though. He wanted more. He wanted to spend time with her and find out more about her. He wanted to see where this could go. What could possibly happen?

  At the end of the month, then he’d decide. He’d give them until then. He could do that. One month.

  11

  “He’s pinging his IP all over the place. This guy gave me and Egghead a merry chase. We finally traced him. Not that it helped us. He’s using a burner phone and public Wi-Fi.” Monty told them at the daily briefing Darrall has set up in the safe house.

  Nicole had been in the safe house close to ten days, and they were no closer to finding out who was stalking her. In addition to the phone calls, she now had emails, gifts, and letters. The emails had been delivered to her work and personal email accounts. The letters had shown up in her mailbox at the apartment complex. There had also been gifts left outside her apartment door.

  The cameras Monty had installed captured perfect pictures. Pictures of a figure dressed head to toe in black, including the covering over their face.

  Paul and the guys had tried to convince her that it was good everything was happening so fast. That would make the person easier to catch.

  Nicole just wanted it over. She missed her home. She wanted Cliff, and she wanted to go back to her house. She missed her work, and she missed her old life.

  She kept herself busy making plans for her future. A future for her and her son. She tried to be realistic, but was sure some things would be different than what she planned.

  When—if—she got Clifton home, he would want to see his father and she didn’t want to deny that, but how could she work that out? She would be scared to send the boy back to China. No way she was going to go through that again.