“Here’s the deal,” Chance is saying to the men. “And it’s a one time offer, so listen up. I’m feeling generous. I don’t have to press charges against you. And I won’t – on the basis that you agree to testify against Martin King. Deal or no deal?”
“Christ, I’ll take it,” says Alan quickly. He looks terrified. “I don’t want to get done for murder. Come on, boys. Back to the bikes – let’s get out of this jungle and find somewhere to call an ambulance.”
“Wait,” says Chance. “Names. Contact numbers. Give them to Zara.” He stumbles into me and I lower him gently to the ground. “Don’t let those bastards get away,” he whispers to me as his eyes flutter closed. “I’m just… I’m just going to rest a moment.”
“Shit, Chance,” I shout, shaking his shoulders. “Stay awake! Stay with me!”
Two of the bikers rush off into the night, heading back to their motorbikes. I don’t even know if they’re going to call an ambulance or not. I don’t know if there’s anything I can do about it if they don’t.
One of them stays with me. The man who was holding the torch. He looks a bit younger than the other two.
“First aid kit,” he says, tugging it out of his black bag. “Shot of adrenalin. That should keep him going. Put pressure on the wound.”
Tears are pouring down my face. Now that I’m not afraid for my own life anymore, my hands are shaking uncontrollably. Chance is lying on the ground impossibly, horribly still.
“Pressure,” the man urges me. I do as he says.
“Why are you helping us?” I ask, my voice shaking. The man shrugs.
“Not being paid enough to get involved hiding bodies in the jungle. That sort of thing has a nasty habit of coming back to bite you in the ass. Don’t talk to me, now. Talk to him. Ask him questions. Keep him with you.”
“Chance,” I say, and my mind immediately goes blank. “Chance, I don’t know how to tell you this. I… I want to move in with you. I hope that’s ok? I don’t even mind living in London. I think I’d like that, Chance. I think I’d like to settle down somewhere for good. If I could do it with you.”
His eyelids flutter. I don’t know if he can hear me. But I keep talking, just in case.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Chance
Her voice calls to me across a sea of blackness.
I’m aware of a burning pain, but it feels distant now. Only seconds ago – or was it hours? – that pain was all I could think about. Now it’s fading in and out of focus like a bad picture on a television screen.
Zara’s telling me she loves me. More than that. She’s telling me such good things that I’m half-convinced I’m dreaming. The world certainly feels nightmarish right now. I can’t get my eyes open. But I can hear her. I can hold on to the promises she’s making.
I feel her hands pressed against me and I try to reach towards them, but the effort sends me dizzily spiralling down. I’m fading into black again.
I know she’s there. I know it. But I can no longer hear her voice.
There’s nothing now but this cool ocean of night.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Zara
Another hospital. I’ve spent far too much of my life in hospitals lately. I guess I really will have to give up on that old dream of nursing. I don’t like the look of the reality at all.
It’s probably long past time that I came up with a new dream, though. I’d like to do something with my life. Have something to nurture. Know what it’s like to have someone relying on me. I think I’d do well with that.
I’m kicking my legs under the chair, staring out of the window into the yellow Malaysian sunshine and idly thinking about my future, when Doctor Khan pops her head into the waiting room.
“He’s awake, and you’re not the only visitor. Go straight on through.”
Uh oh. I’m pretty sure that whoever else I find in here won’t be too pleased to see me. My own family were horrified when they heard about what I’d done. Chance’s family are going to be much, much worse.
“Oh, don’t you even think about it,” James growls the moment he sees me. He leaps forward to stand in the doorway, blocking my way in. “You’re nothing but trouble, Zara. You’re a spying, lying, conniving little she-devil. If you think for one minute I’m letting you through this door –”
“James!” That’s Chance’s voice! My heart leaps up. He sounds stronger and more cheerful than I could possibly have hoped. “You’re talking to someone who literally faced down three armed men for me. If that’s not proof of true love, bro, I have to say I think your standards are a little too high.”
James twists his handsome mouth into something between a snarl and a smile and stands aside. I run towards the bed, where Chance is sitting up and looking tired and pale but happy. He’s gorgeously shirtless, and somehow the white bandage around his waist only sets off the tanned lines of his muscles even more. I jump up carefully onto the bed next to him and throw my arms around his neck.
“I’ve been worried about you!”
“Now, why would you need to bother your pretty head about me?” he asks, with that sunlit smile. He lifts my chin with a finger and kisses me, softly at first, then with deep and unrelenting longing that drives every thought, every care, every worry of the past days from my mind.
“You’re mine, Zara,” he whispers, looking into my eyes. “Every part of you belongs to me. Completely and forever. Don’t forget it.”
All I can do is nod. I don’t have the words to answer him. My mind is filled with the taste of his tongue, the hot pressure of his lips on mine. I kiss him again, not caring that James is still in the room and disapproving. I’ve been heartsick with fear for Chance. There were times after he was shot that I thought I’d never be able to kiss him again. This is a heaven I thought I might have lost forever.
James clears his throat loudly. “I’ll go and call up the lawyers. We may as well find out where we’re at with Martin King’s prosecution.”
I reluctantly stand up, brushing off my skirt. “James, I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for my family. King would never have been arrested so quickly if you hadn’t taken charge of things. I’m so grateful.”
Underneath his customary scowl, I think he almost looks pleased. “Don’t mention it.”
He steps outside and shuts the door. Chance gives me a wink. “I think that means we’re alone.”
I snuggle down beside him on the hospital bed. “I was so scared. I thought – for just a few moments back there, I thought I might lose you.”
Chance clenches his hand through my hair and kisses my head. “Never. We fit together, you and me. We’re two halves of a whole. That’s how it’s going to be now – forever. For the rest of our lives.”
I sit up. “Do you promise that?”
“I swear it.”
I lay my hand carefully down on the warm surface of his smooth, hard chest. “How are you feeling?” I ask tenderly. “Does it hurt?”
“Not anymore.” Chance gives me a look which I’m beginning to recognise intimately. A look which bypasses my mind and shoots directly to my core, where heat tingles through me in response. “I feel…”
I press a finger to his lips. “No way. You’re injured! We might hurt you.”
Chance sits up and pulls me close against him, running his hands up inside my top and teasing at the edges of my bra. “I feel like licking your sweet pussy until you come all over my face, princess.” He gently bites my nipple through the fabric of my shirt. Instant pleasure spasms through me. “Don’t argue. I took a bullet for you, remember? That means you have to give me exactly what I want.”
I have a feeling I’ll be paying for that one for a long, long time. But somehow I don’t feel like complaining. I glance quickly behind me to check that the door’s definitely closed, and mentally cross my fingers for luck that Dr Khan won’t be coming in to check on her patient any time soon. “Tell me what you want me to do.”
Chance lies back on the bed
. His hands explore my body, running all over me underneath my clothes. I’m wearing a short denim skirt. I shift my legs apart to give him a view of my dark pink panties and he lets out a happy groan.
“Straddle me.”
I obey, kneeling over him with my ass sticking up in the air and my boobs positioned low and close to his face. Chance kisses my breasts as his hands stroke up the inside of my thighs. I start rocking my hips slowly towards him. I want to feel those strong fingers inside me. I can feel myself already getting soaking wet.
He grabs me by the hips and pulls me up the bed so that my pussy is directly above his face. I hang on to the headboard for balance. His hot breath tingles against my clit. One, two, three strokes of his fingers through my panties, and I’m shuddering. I toss my head back and squeeze my thighs against his wide shoulders. I’m completely spread out before him, ready to be licked and sucked and completely taken by his hungry mouth.
Chance eases my panties to the side and licks one slow, torturous, incredible trail from the base of my pussy all the way to my clit. I hear myself gasp loudly and bite on my bottom lip to stop myself making any more noise. It won’t do to bring a team of doctors running in here with my screams.
He squeezes my ass and buries his tongue in my pussy. I moan softly, grinding against his mouth. He licks me expertly, starting slow, soft but unyielding and oh so hot. He knows every place to suck that sends me squirming in aching delight. Before long I’m helplessly thrusting against him, lost to the pleasure of his tongue, unable to contain the small moans that escape from my lips.
He pulls back for just one second to tell me, “I love eating your pussy so fucking much, Zara.” And then he’s back. Hot rivers of lava are rippling through me. It’s all I can do to hold on.
Then Chance thrusts a finger inside me and starts pumping my pussy while he licks, and I completely lose my mind. It’s a twin explosion of total pleasure. I rock up and down on him so hard the bed starts shaking. My clit and my pussy are both on fire, burning, building up and up higher than I thought I could go. I come with an explosive force that billows out from deep in my centre, my pussy throbbing against his finger, his tongue still working over my clit and drawing it out for wave after wave. I bite down hard on my hand but I can’t stop the noises. It feels too good, too intense, goes on too long, and I’m completely overwhelmed.
When I’m finally spent, panting and exhausted, Chance still isn’t done with me.
“Take off your panties,” he says. “Give my cock a squeeze. See how hard you’ve made me.”
I can see the hard bulge rising up under the bedsheets. I tug them aside to see he’s only wearing his boxers and his dick looks ready to burst through the fabric. I quickly remove both of our underwear and look down at the impossibly sexy body of the naked man in front of me. His dick is smooth, thick, and throbbing. I bend down to lick it and gently suck the tip. Chance growls.
“Sit on top of me and fuck me like you mean it.”
I obey. I’d do anything for him right now. I straddle him and slowly lower myself over his dick. It slides into my slick pussy easily, but the stretching feeling is so intense that I need to take it slow. He feels even bigger than he looks. I close my eyes to take in the sensation.
Chance digs his fingers into my thighs. “Ride me, Zara.”
I start moving slowly, making circles with my hips. His dick is filling me in so many places that still aren’t used to the sensation. My pussy responds with lightning bursts of pleasure. My eyes are shocked open.
“Oh, fuck, yes,” Chance says as I find my rhythm. His dick slams into my pussy again and again. The bed is shaking and rocking against the wall. I don’t even care about the noise anymore. If someone came in right now, I’d have to keep on fucking him. I’m a slave to the power of his cock.
My clit grinds against his pelvis as my pussy clenches around his powerful girth. Chance is moving with me now. Our bodies rock together in the perfect rhythm. We gasp into each other’s mouths. I look into his eyes and see total pleasure take him over from the inside out. The same pleasure that’s rocketing up inside of me with every thrust. It’s too much. I’m coming again. Shaking and screaming as my orgasm pounds over his cock.
Chance starts coming the moment he feels me. His body jerks forward, his mouth fastens over mine. He kisses me and moans into my mouth as his dick spasms inside me. As if he’s pouring his whole soul into mine. It’s the most beautiful moment I’ve ever had.
We both collapse onto the bed together, tangled around each other’s bodies. Chance presses a hand into the bandage on his side and breathes deep.
“Are you in pain?” I ask. I suddenly feel incredibly guilty. He’s not nearly healed enough for what we just did.
“The good kind of pain,” he says, grinning. “I think I’ve been fucked into heaven and back again.”
We kiss languorously. Both of us too exhausted to move much.
“I love you, Chance,” I say. He gives me a funny look. As if there’s something on his mind.
“Did you mean it?”
“That I love you? Of course!” I prop myself up on my elbow, drawing lazy circles along his chest with my fingers. It feels like such a privilege to be able to touch him again. I know I’ll never lose sight of that feeling as long as I live.
“No,’ says Chance. ‘I mean – what you said to me in the jungle. I’ve almost been wondering whether it was some kind of hallucination. But I’m pretty sure it must have been real.”
I blush. “I told you I wanted to move in with you.”
“Yeah.” He laces his fingers through mine. “I’d like that. But I understand if… Listen, you were frightened, and I was hurt. I know you didn’t necessarily mean –”
“I would love to,” I blurt out. “I would love to live with you in London. If that’s ok with you. If you’ll have me.”
Chance is looking at my fingertips and smiling as if he’s the luckiest man alive. He brings my little finger up to his mouth and gives it a soft bite. “Oh, I’ll have you, Zara. Don’t you worry about that.”
I squeal with delight and kiss him, kiss him over and over, only stopping to tell him about the plans I’ve dreamed up for our life together, the hopes I’ve got for the future, the years we’re going to spend doing exactly this – kissing and holding each other and daydreaming in perfect happiness in each other’s arms. I only stop when Chance looks tired from the painkillers and the exertion – it hasn’t been long since his operation, after all – and he rests his head against my chest while he falls asleep.
I’m so happy. I’m so unbelievably happy. It’s not just Chance – or at least, not just the sex or the loved-up feelings. We had all those before. No, this is different.
I finally feel like I’m home.
My Dad, Chancell Madison Senior, has six champagne flutes standing ready. But the clock’s ticking, and the half of our ever-growing family that we’re waiting on still hasn’t arrived.
“Do you think Mum was the best person to send with the car?” I ask. I’m trying to sound as tactful as possible. Dad subscribes to the honour thy mother and father school of parenting.
“What do mean?” he asks gruffly. “The Aston Martin’s got the biggest, most comfortable seats. And you know your mother won’t let anyone else touch it.”
Zara catches my eye and we both grin, sharing a mental image of my little mother hunched up at the wheel, terrorising the citizens of Mayhew with her dangerous driving. If I’d known the monster I’d unleash I would never have bought her that car.
“What’s funny?” Dad demands.
“We’re just so excited, Chancell,” says Zara smoothly. She’s sitting on the floor, playing pat-a-cake with Annie. It’s astonishing how quickly Annie’s morphed from a chubby-cheeked baby into a little girl of almost two, complete with her own strident personality.
“No, Aunty Zara! You’re doing it wrong!”
She stamps her little foot on the floor. Yes, no-one could deny that this is James
’s child. Zara tosses her hair, laughing, and lets Annie teach her the game again.
My heart rises like the sun, seeing how good Zara is with James and Clarissa’s little girl. It gives me a sense of security. Lets me know that my own dreams are all coming true, one day at a time.
God, I love that woman so much I want to live my whole future at once.
There’s the sound of a key in the front door. Finally! Zara scrambles to her feet, gathering up Annie despite her protests, and beats both myself and my Dad to the door.
“Ssh, don’t be grumpy,” she tells Annie soothingly. “We’re going to welcome your little brother.”
James comes in first, holding a baby-carrier from which the tiniest little man is staring out at the world with wide eyes. He lifts it up and shows it around, giving the baby a good view of his surroundings.
“Here we are, Michael. This is your grandparents’ house.”
Annie peeps forwards out of Zara’s arms. “Little,” she sniffs, disappointed.
“That’s right,” says Zara fondly. “He’ll take a while to grow as big and strong as you.”
Clarissa comes in next. She looks tired, faintly carsick, but radiantly happy.
“Remind me never to accept Peggy’s offer of a lift again,” she whispers in my ear as I give her a hug.
“Congratulations!” I say loudly, feeling my Dad’s eyes on me. “He’s a beautiful baby!”
Clarissa smiles sleepily. “Thanks. Your turn next,” she says, squeezing Zara’s arm. Zara’s eyebrows hit the roof.
“Not sure about that. It looks like a lot of hard work to me.”
I’m pretty sure she’s joking. While we all pile into my parents’ sitting room, I keep my eyes on Zara and note the way her eyes glow as she bends over baby Michael in his crib.
Definitely joking.
Still. One thing at a time. There’s a small square box burning a hole in my pocket to get rid of first.
We sip on champagne, toast to James and Clarissa and to Michael’s future, and talk happily for a few hours about whether he’ll grow up to be a Premier League footballer or a businessman like his Dad. I’ve never seen my brother looking so calm and contented. My heart tugs me in two directions watching him. I’m not exactly jealous, but…
Taking His Own Page 17
