GRIPPED (Romance Mystery & Suspense Box Set)

by Abbott, Alex

  He stepped closer to her. “I can’t wait to see what’s under that robe.” He was looking at her very intently, and she truly believed that he was interested, meaning that she was off to a good start.

  ***

  She walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge of it and folding her legs up on the mattress. “I think it would be better if I got to see a little more of you first.” This request was partly because she thought that him being naked would make her feel less exposed and partly because she wanted to keep up her sexually confident persona.

  He eyed her carefully, almost as if he didn’t trust her. A tiny bit of her was hurt by this before she realized he might have good reason not to trust her. His hazel eyes danced with gold from the candles as he locked eyes with her and slowly began to unbutton his shirt. If she had found him attractive the last time they had done this, it was nothing compared to how the sight of his naked chest now made her heart racing. The smirk on his face indicated to her that she might not have hidden how impressed she was as well as she might have hoped. When his shirt and tie fell to the floor, he moved to the buckle of his pants.

  As those too came off, Brooke realized that she was holding her breath. Somewhere in her mind she was scolding herself for being too into this, but that part of her brain was easy to ignore when Tom straightened up, nude but for his boxers, standing right in front of her.

  He was, in Brooke’s opinion, everything a man should aspire to be physically. He was tall, well-tanned and his musculature hinted at real strength while not being so overly defined as to make his arms or his chest too bulgy. She wished more than anything that she could be there with someone who looked like this man but was altogether another human being whom she didn’t hate so much. All the same, she was going to see this through, and it might not be as miserable of a time for her as she was afraid it might be.

  “I do believe it’s your turn now,” he said, and she realized he was right. She looked up at him and without needing to put as much effort into faking seduction her answer smoothly slid off her tongue.

  “I’d rather you do it for me,” she said, looking down at the tie to her bathrobe.

  He sat on the bed next to her, and she turned to face him, watching him as his hands deftly undid the knot keeping the silk robe closed around her in the front. She couldn’t keep herself from blushing as he pushed the robe off her shoulders, exposing her skin through the lace of her lingerie, which she still regretted. The regret soon faded as a look of awe spread across Tom’s face. She knew then that she had made the right call, at least in regards to attire.

  “You look-” but he trailed off, obviously unable to find the words.

  She took that as another good sign, and was so busy being smug with herself that it came as a complete surprise when he kissed her. It was a deep, passionate sort of kiss, like the kind that Brooke had seen in those movies Sara had made her sit through. It was a kiss far better than any she had shared with a lover, including Tom himself. If his kisses had improved this much over the years, she realized that his talent in the bedroom may have improved as well.

  His arms wrapped around her while she was still taken aback by the sudden passion they were sharing, one of his hands resting on the small of her back, the other just over her shoulder blade. As he kept her tongue busy with his own, he gently pulled her closer to him. With their sudden proximity, there were not a whole lot of options for Brooke on what to do with her arms, so it came almost naturally to her to wrap them around him, draping them over his shoulders, her hands resting on his back. His skin was warm, smooth, inviting, and she found herself leaning into him even more until her nipples were pressed against his chest, only the lace separating them.

  When the kiss ended, Brooke’s whole world was spinning. She couldn’t think of what to do or say. The revenge plot was already becoming lost in her conscious thought as she was so overwhelmed by what was happening and with all these feelings she had not expected to return so strongly. She certainly didn’t object when he picked her up as if she weighed nothing and set her back down toward the middle of the bed. He pushed her back onto the soft mattress, his hands on her shoulders pinning her down. The rush was incredible, and Brooke, in that moment, genuinely wanted more.

  For the moment, this had ceased being an act or a plot; this was something that she wanted for herself. It had been a long time since she had been with another man, and with as worked up as he had managed to get her through their chats, she had been missing male affection more than she normally would. She wanted sex, and she wanted it from him. It just felt right. She reached up to the elastic band of his boxers and pulled them down. He helped guide them off, discarding them on the floor with the rest of his clothes.

  The second he was completely naked, Brooke wanted him inside her. She wanted it more than she had ever wanted sex before, and the desire hit her hard. She strained to kiss him, though he was still holding her, and quickly her lips found his. He wrapped his arms around her again and she pressed her body against his. His fingers explored her back until they found the knot of her slip, which he managed to undo quickly. He pulled away from her long enough to peel the sexy undergarment away from her, followed by the tights, which left her completely naked for him. The kiss then resumed, but this time she felt more exposed and even closer to him.

  The wait was killing her; she wanted to have him inside her already. She clawed at his back and arched herself up off the mattress to bring herself closer to him. His right hand slid between her legs to discover that she was already soaking wet. She moaned softly as he rubbed his fingers over her moist pussy and then gasped as he pinched her clit.

  He stopped the kiss again to whisper in her ear. “That was adorable.”

  She felt her face blushing again, unable to stop herself. He kissed her neck, biting gently as she continued squirming, trying to get closer to him. “You certainly seem eager.”

  She nodded as Tom chuckled. The hand that had been teasing her helped him reposition himself so that he was perfectly lined up with her, and gently he slid himself in. It was much smoother than it had been last time, although he felt much bigger. Brooke realized that was probably just her imagination, but size or not, he had definitely matured from the boy that he had been into a man who knew his way around the body of a woman.

  His second stroke into her was less gentle, and she bit her lip to keep from crying out in pleasure. Soon, he was slamming into her hard and fast, his balls bouncing against her. She was no longer able to suppress her own passion, calling out his name and thrusting her hips up to meet each one of his thrusts until she practically exploded in orgasm. He continued for just a few more strokes before pulling out, his seed landing on her stomach.

  She was puzzled by this at first, and then she realized that in the heat of passion she had forgotten any kind of protection. She had been too wrapped up in what had just happened to fully acknowledge how unlike herself that was. He gently kissed her head, and left her on the bed to try and get control of herself enough to ponder everything that had happened so far that night.

  She had barely even registered he was gone before he returned, sitting next to her on the bed. She realized that at some point he had put his boxers on, which left her feeling exposed again, as she was still naked and spread out obscenely on the bed. She was just about to move when she felt something warm and wet on her stomach. Panicked, she looked down and saw that it was a washcloth. He gently cleaned her stomach and the insides of her legs. She watched him do this, and watched as he returned the washcloth to the bathroom. The gesture surprised her, and honestly she didn’t know what to make of it.

  While she was still in her confused, post-sex daze, he repositioned her again so that she was under the covers. After a couple minutes spent blowing out the candles, he slid into bed behind her, cradling her close to him. She realized that he was planning on going to sleep, on both of them sleeping, in a bed together. Though her plan had been to seduce him as quickly as possible, this s
eemed like a very couple thing to do; it was too fast. She had completely lost track of her plan during their sexual encounter, and she needed some time alone to sort out her feelings and get her revenge back on track. She was trying to figure out how she could sneak off when he spoke to her.

  “I’m sorry.”

  She twisted so that while she was still in his arms she was facing him. “Sorry about what? That was amazing.”

  “I wanted our first time, well, this first time, to be different.”

  “Different how?”

  “I was going to take it slower. I was going to be gentler with you, but once we started I just lost control. You’re so beautiful.”

  She blushed again and thought she really needed to quit that. In truth, she had enjoyed what had happened so much because he had not been gentle with her. She liked it hard and passionate, but it seemed embarrassing for her to admit that to him. Besides, she didn’t want to leave him with any real insight into what she did and didn’t like.

  Instead of sharing that detail with him, she kissed him lightly and told him, “You don’t have anything to apologize for.”

  He smiled and kissed her forehead. “I expect I’ll have some other tries to take it slower.”

  She smiled back. “I expect you will.”

  Her mind was still spinning. Things were happening way too fast and she definitely didn’t like the idea that her long-term revenge plan was spinning wildly out of control on the first day. She was trying to think about how best to play this situation, and more importantly, decide on how far she wanted to take things. No matter how hard she tried, though, she simply couldn’t focus on trying to take down a man who was, at that very moment, holding her in his arms.

  She couldn’t believe how badly being near Tom was clouding her judgment, nor could she believe how quickly being with him had made her forget all that he had done to her. It was becoming obvious to her that if she wanted to get things figured out, she would need to do it when she was alone, because otherwise she’d continue getting nowhere. He was a distraction, and before things went any further, she’d need to find some time to herself to figure out what to do.

  She decided finally, the finding alone time could wait until morning. She always thought things through better after a good night’s sleep, and that way she could avoid the suspicion that would accompany her sneaking off in the middle of the night. She decided to continue “pretending” to enjoy herself with him until she could get some time to herself to figure this whole mess out, and with that decided, she fell into one of the best sleeps she’d had in a long time.

  Unfortunately, she didn’t get any time to herself. She woke the next morning, groggily, and instinctively reached for her phone, only to realize it was not there. By the time she had recalled the events of last night and sorted through them mentally, Tom was awake. They had sweet morning sex, followed by room service and then sweet shower sex. There was lunch, serious conversations, dinner, drinks, a romantic evening on the beach, which landed them back in their hotel room where, once again, they had sweet sex. She looked for a time to excuse herself; she only needed about an hour or so, but she couldn’t do it.

  ***

  That one day turned into three, and then five, and before she knew it, the whole two week vacation they had planned together was gone. On the morning of their last day together on the island, Brooke awoke first. She slipped out from underneath Tom’s arm and the blanket and made herself a single cup of coffee with the little pot their hotel room offered. She slipped into one of Tom’s shirts and took her coffee out onto the balcony, making sure to do this quietly so as not to wake him up.

  As she looked at the beach, which was still painted in the colors of the early morning sunrise, she realized that this was the first block of time she’d really spent alone in the last two weeks. This made her feel warm inside. She was used to spending most of her time alone, and in all those years of being by herself, she’d forgotten what it was like to truly lose herself in another person. The warm feeling was all too soon replaced by panic.

  In those two weeks she had done nothing at all. She hadn’t figured out where this was going, she hadn’t sorted through her very confusing feelings for the man whose bed she’d been sharing, and worst of all, she hadn’t texted Sara. At first she hadn’t been texting her just because she didn’t know what to say, but now it went beyond that. There was no way she’d ever be able to explain this situation she found herself in, not over text.

  Brooke took a few deep breaths of the refreshing island air and a sip of her bad coffee before focusing on her revenge. She still had no concept of how far she wanted to push him, or how long she wanted to keep it up. She started with trying to figure out when the best time to break things off would be, but her mind filled with other ideas. She wondered if all the things he’d said to her over the past couple of weeks were true. She had been playing him, at least at first, but she soon realized that she would be sad to see this end.

  Revenge no longer held the same appeal for her as it had when she had started this. In an abstract way, she felt like it might still be satisfying to her, and a tiny piece of her still wanted to follow through, but she wasn’t sure that it would really make her happy. If she sabotaged this relationship just to get even with someone who hurt her back in high school, she knew that no amount of satisfaction would replace the feeling of being genuinely cared for that she had experienced on this vacation.

  It made her sad that she was giving up, but she knew that it felt right. The cynical Brooke who had rushed her into this relationship was not there anymore. She heard the door open behind her, but she was too wrapped up in her thoughts about what the future might hold if she really did stay with Tom.

  “You look sad.”

  She turned and looked up at him as he wrapped his arms around her. She knew then that she would stay. Something that felt this good should not be walked away from. “I was just thinking.”

  “It’s okay. I know what you were thinking about.” She certainly hoped he didn’t know.

  “What was I thinking about then?”

  “That it’s our last day of vacation. It makes me sad too.”

  “Yeah,” she replied, though that was not what she had been thinking. It made her sad to realize that just as she was starting to be happy with her situation it would come to an end.

  “It’s okay. I have a plan.”

  “You do?” She rested her head on his chest, looking up at him hopefully.

  “Yeah. We’ll just stay here.”

  She giggled. “I don’t think that’s much of a plan.”

  “It is,” he said very matter-of-factly. “You don’t have a job you need to get back to, and I’ve got tons of vacation days saved up. We’ll stay here a while longer. What do you think?”

  Normally Brooke would have called him insane and explained how irrational it was. Nothing about this situation was normal, though, and the idea made her a lot happier than the idea of returning home.

  “Let’s do it.” She said, smiling up at him.

  “Good, okay. I just need to make a few calls, and maybe make one appointment.”

  “Can you do those things after breakfast?” she asked.

  “I wouldn’t dream of doing anything before I got you a decent cup of coffee,” he said, gesturing to the hotel coffee in her hands. She laughed, hopped down from the balcony railing, and followed him into the room.

  During breakfast she noticed that he was texting a lot, which just reminded her that she also had some messages to send. She pulled out her phone and scrolled once more through the two weeks’ worth of messages she’d been ignoring. Considering how much Sara texted on a regular basis, she knew there would be a lot to go through. She was not disappointed.

  That was the quietest meal the two of them had shared since that first dinner where Brooke had been too mad to talk. She didn’t finish going through all of Sara’s texts before responding. She was nervous about responding to her friend. She k
new Sara was going to assume that she hadn’t responded because she had been swept off of her feet by her mysterious internet lover, which was true in a way. Brooke decided she could leave a lot of the middle part out, about who he was and why she had found him so distracting. There would be plenty of time for that later. Right now all she was concerned about was letting Sara know she was okay and they could talk about the rest of it as it came up.

  Brooke: Hey.

  Before Brooke could even put her phone down Sara had responded.

  Sara: Hey?!! What do u mean Hey, uve been gone 4ever. What happened 2u?

  Brooke had been dreading this. Sara would get upset if she forgot to check her phone for a few hours, but this had been a lot longer than that. She supposed that her friend had the right to be more than a little irate with her. She had started typing out her long apology text when she got another message from her friend.

  Sara: Or were u 2 busy getting laid 2 answer ur phone?

  She couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

  Brooke: Yeah, I sort of was actually.

  Sara: Bout time girl, tell me everything.

  ***

  Brooke carried on the conversation through breakfast and a good portion of the day after, explaining to Tom that she was just catching up on correspondence. He didn’t seem to care because he understood or because he himself seemed to be pretty preoccupied with texting as well.

  During lunch, Brooke’s conversation with Sara ended. Sara apparently had a doctor’s appointment or something, said they would continue their conversation tomorrow. Brooke thought it was a bit strange; it was not like Sara to postpone a conversation for a whole day, but she shrugged it off, happy to be off the phone for a bit. To her delight, Tom also seemed to be wrapping up his conversation, and the two fell back into their normal rhythm of conversation.