“Business.”
“Your client didn’t mind that I distracted you from your work?”
“My client”—he paused oddly on the last word—“doesn’t have any objections with how I get the job done.”
“Good,” I sighed, feeling relieved. “I’d hate to cause you any problems.”
“I have no doubt you’ll be worth any trouble you bring my way.”
“I only hope you’ll be worth the difficulties I’m going to face,” I mumbled under my breath. Only I wasn’t as quiet as I thought I’d been because Vaughn heard exactly what I’d said.
“You don’t face anything on your own because of me, beautiful,” he told me as he helped me to my feet.
“My parents being mad at me because of this date isn’t your fault, though,” I insisted. “It isn’t even mine. The blame rests totally with them.”
Dropping down on his knees to slide my strappy sandals back on my feet, he glared up at me. “I mean it, Carissa. I’m damn good at fixing problems. If you find yourself in trouble of any kind, you call me to take care of it.”
“How can I call you when I don’t even have your phone number?” I grumbled.
As soon as he had his shoes on, he yanked his cell from his pants pocket. After a couple of quick jabs of his finger against the screen, my cell started ringing in my purse. When he jerked his head towards my bag, I pulled out my phone and a number I didn’t recognize flashed across the screen.
“Problem solved,” he declared. “For now at least. Until I can get you a phone from me.”
“I already have one.” I shook it at him. “Why would I need another?”
“Whose name is on that account?” he asked. “Yours or your parents?”
“My parents.”
“Exactly. I’m not about to leave my only form of communication with you to the same people who could very well be the reason you need to call me in the first place.”
I considered what he’d said as he led me out of the restaurant to his car. “I guess that makes sense,” I told him after he’d slid into the driver’s seat and the car had pulled away from the curb. “Except for the fact that we’ve only been out on one date.”
“Your first date,” he reminded me. “Plus, your first kiss.”
“And my second.”
“I’ve been in enough life and death situations to learn not to take the good things for granted. You’ve been on my mind every minute since I met you.”
“I’ve been thinking about you, too,” I admitted softly.
“I’ll give you a couple days to think about what you want, but you need to know I’m not looking for a one-time thing with you, Carissa. If you give yourself to me, then you’re mine, and I’m not letting you go.”
Chapter 7
Vaughn
Part of me wished I could turn back the clock and take back my declaration. Not because I didn’t mean what I’d said, but because Carissa wasn’t at the same point I was. Even though I’d only just resolved to make her mine, I’d already come to terms with my decision. I just hadn’t meant to act on it quite so soon.
I’d planned to take my time with her. To give her a chance to get used to me. To come to want me even half as much as I wanted her. But my gut was telling me time wasn’t on my side. That I needed to act sooner rather than later. To tie Carissa to me as quickly as possible, using any means necessary.
With that thought in mind, I headed to my rental house before dropping her back at her parents. She’d been quiet ever since my warning. I needed to reinforce our connection before letting her go again.
“Where are we?” she asked when I pulled into the drive.
I didn’t answer right away, not until I’d gotten her through the front door. “Welcome to my home.”
Her head swiveled from right to left as she took in the living room, dining area and kitchen. The house had an open floor plan, with one wall with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the lake just past the back yard. The furnishings were comfortable, mostly beige with light green accents.
“It’s hard to picture you living here.”
“It’s a furnished rental, and I only moved in a couple weeks ago. It’s very different from my home in Atlanta.”
Her startled gaze flew to my face. “You don’t live here permanently? It’s only a temporary thing because of the business that brought you to the gala?”
“I hadn’t planned on staying here forever, but my work is such that I could live just about anywhere I wanted.” I stalked towards her, and pulled her body against mine as soon as I got close enough. “As long as you’re here, I don’t see myself wanting to leave.”
She wrapped her arms around me, locked her hands at the base of my back, but leaned back so she could look up at me. “You had me scared there for a minute. I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but I was worried that maybe you hadn’t meant all that ‘mine’ stuff you spouted off in the car.”
Staring down at her, I couldn’t resist anymore. “Let me show you how much I meant it.” Running my hand down her hips and around, I tugged her closer. Every part of my body was telling me to take what I wanted, damn the consequences. But I couldn’t bring myself to take her this quickly, not until I was absolutely certain it was exactly what she wanted. Until then, I was only going to allow myself a little taste of what was to come—while focusing wholly on her pleasure and showing her that her needs came first for me.
Sliding my tongue across her lips, I loved how she gasped, giving me full access to her mouth. Plunging inside, I deepened the kiss. At the same time, I moved her backwards until she was pressed against the wall of windows.
“Let me make you feel good,” I whispered into her ear, enjoying the feel of her body shivering at my words. I leaned forward, my nose brushing along her jawline. “Tell me I can show you what it will be like when you’re mine.”
“Vaughn,” she gasped as I fell to my knees in front of her.
“Say yes,” I urged, gliding my hands up her legs and under her skirt.
“Yes,” she moaned when my fingers reached the edge of her panties.
I slid the silky material to the side and breathed in the musky scent of her desire. I wanted to pound my chest in triumph at the glistening proof of her need. The feel of her fingers in my hair and the sound of her whispering “please” had me burying my face between her legs.
“Vaughn,” she cried out, her legs trembling.
I gripped her thighs in my hands, my fingers digging into her smooth skin as I spread her wider for my mouth. The first long lick of her pussy had me addicted to her sweet taste. I nibbled and sucked, determined to drive her crazy with need. To get her hooked on the feel of my mouth working her into a frenzy.
“I can’t—oh!”
Deciding I’d teased her enough, I sucked her clit into my mouth, making her moan as her hips jerked with her orgasm. Licking at her softly, I waited for her shaking to stop as she came down from her high.
Her shy eyes met mine when I looked up at her, and she looked even more beautiful with her cheeks flushed and her eyelids at half-mast. I grinned at her before kissing each of her thighs and then placing one final, soft kiss between her legs.
“I can’t believe I let you do that,” Carissa whispered, burying her face in my shoulder when I rose to my feet.
“I can’t believe I’m going to take you home when all I want is to feast on you over and over again.”
If only I’d gone with what I wanted to do instead of what I thought was the right thing to do for Carissa, I would have saved both of us a lot of torment. Had I known three days would pass without a single word from Carissa, I never would have taken her back to her parents’ home at all. My texts and calls went unanswered. If it weren’t for the fact that Whit and his team had eyes on her house, I would have been out of my mind with worry over her.
Even with them there to watch over her, I was getting close to the end of my patience. She’d been shy about me going down on her when sh
e’d left me, but I didn’t believe she would deliberately ignore me because of it.
I’d tried to use the time away from her wisely, digging further into Bellamy’s life in an attempt to confirm that the trafficking ring would end with him if I killed him. There wasn’t anything indicating otherwise in the financial records Gaige had managed to get his hands on, but there were a few payments to accounts owned by Carissa’s father which concerned me. Not because I thought he was tangled up in the trafficking ring, the timing of the payments didn’t line up with any of the ring’s activity. But the amounts were enough for me to take action.
Just that morning, I’d instructed Whit to find a way to bug the house since he’d been unsuccessful in picking up any useful intel using long-range directional microphones. I knew sending someone inside was a risk, but he’d assured me that Sera, the lone woman on his team, would be able to get in and out without anyone being the wiser. It wasn’t until I received a text from him two hours later confirming the bugs were in place that I finally relaxed, as much as I could until I spoke with Carissa myself.
When my phone rang four hours later, my hope that the wait was over was quickly dashed when I recognized Whit’s number. My entire body froze when he skipped the greeting and went straight into the matter at hand.
“I haven’t caught your girl’s voice yet, but I did pick up a call between her father and Bellamy.”
“How long ago?”
“They just hung up.”
I was up and out of my seat, heading to the stash of weapons I kept in the basement, since I knew damn well that he had to have heard something bad if he didn’t wait to give me an update.
“Bellamy called to confirm dinner plans for tomorrow night. It didn’t sound like a business dinner to me, not with your girl’s name coming up in conversation. Bellamy was very specific about the fact that she’d better be there. He said he didn’t want anything to interfere like it did last week and that he was nearing the end of his patience.”
It was all starting to add up in my head, and I didn’t like the picture which was building.
“Hold on a second,” Whit said, just before I heard muffled voices over the line like he’d placed his hand over the phone. “It’s a good thing you had us bug the house today because it looks like your girl is going to need to be extracted, and soon.”
“What happened?” I asked as I slipped on shoulder, thigh and ankle harnesses.
“Sera was monitoring the feed while I called you. The mother kept quiet during the call, but she had quite a bit to say once they hung up. She wanted to know how much longer Bellamy would wait and what they would tell people if Carissa didn’t go along with the plan and he just took her.”
“That fucking bitch,” I hissed.
“It gets worse,” Whit warned. “Her father already has a cover story prepped. Something about sending her back to Switzerland because she missed her friends after spending so many years there.”
“The only reason you prep a cover story is because you think you’re going to need it,” I bit out.
“I don’t see good things in your girl’s future if she stays in that house.”
“She’s not staying in there,” I growled. “We’re going in to get her tonight.”
Chapter 8
Carissa
“When Alexander comes to dinner tomorrow evening, I expect you to be warm and welcoming to him. He’s an important business connection for your father.”
“I would never be rude to a guest, Mother.” Although, after hearing about Alexander Bellamy non-stop for the last three days, I was sorely tempted to do whatever it took to deflect his attention away from me.
“We’re lucky he’s still interested in you after the fiasco at the charity gala. You’d do well to remember that he’s quite the catch.”
I barely restrained myself from picking up the priceless vase off the fireplace mantel and throwing it at her head. “I’ve no desire to catch anyone, Mother. Especially not after my date with Vaughn.”
“Oh, please,” my mother sighed. “We know absolutely nothing about the man, except that he’s new to town and gauche enough to bid a ridiculous amount at the auction. I’m sure your little date with him was entertaining, but he’s hardly the kind of man who your father and I would allow you to marry.”
“Marry?” I repeated incredulously. “I didn’t say anything about marriage, and I certainly hope neither you or Father have told Mr. Bellamy I’m interested in marrying him. I barely know the man. The only time I’ve ever spoken with him, I wasn’t even eighteen yet and barely a dozen words were exchanged.”
“Of course we didn’t say any such thing to Alexander. To do so would have been terribly ill-mannered.” My deep sigh of relief was cut-off when she continued. “But your father and I are well versed in how these things work. Alexander’s intentions towards you are quite clear, and meet with our approval.”
“I’m nineteen, Mother. You can’t force me to date, or heaven forbid marry, the man of your choice.”
She pinned me with a hard stare. “Might I remind you under whose roof you live?
“No reminder is needed,” I bit out before turning on my heel and marching out of her office. “But I won’t remain here for long if you keep this up.”
Once I reached my bedroom, I slammed the door and locked it. The gesture made me feel slightly better, but it didn’t help with my frustration at my parents. Pressuring your daughter into a relationship with a stranger wasn’t supposed to happen in this day and age. Romance authors managed to make arranged marriages seem romantic, but the reality of what my parents were trying to force me into was quite the opposite.
I was scared.
Terrified, really.
Back when I’d met Alexander Bellamy, I hadn’t said much because there was something about him that made my skin crawl. The idea of sitting down to dinner with him tomorrow night, knowing my parents fully expected me to actually consider marriage to a man like him, filled me with horror.
Pacing my room, I tried to think of a way out of this mess, but none of the options I came up with were feasible. They all required money I didn’t have. Glancing at my phone, tears filled my eyes.
If only Vaughn had called or texted me, even once, during the last three days. After what had happened between us at his home, I’d been certain he’d contact me the next day. When he hadn’t, I’d started to wonder if he’d changed his mind about me. It had taken all my courage to send him a text after two days had passed, but he hadn’t replied.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” I mumbled to myself, pulling his number up again. He’d told me to contact him if I was in trouble. This situation certainly qualified.
Me: I need your help. Please call.
I went to bed with my phone clutched in my hand, waiting to see if he’d reply. Hoping he hadn’t been just giving me a line and he’d really meant what he’d said. When I woke up to a noise several hours later, I searched the blankets for my phone, assuming that’s what I’d heard. I didn’t get far in my search before a strong hand wrapped around my mouth, scaring the crap out of me.
My mind blanked, and the fight or flight response kicked in. I twisted and turned, doing whatever I could think of to try to break the hold on me. Kicking out wildly and struggling with all my might. It wasn’t until my chest was heaving and tears were rolling down my cheeks that the words from the man holding me registered.
“Shh, Carissa. I’ve got you. It’s Vaughn.”
I stilled, and his hand moved away from my mouth. His thumbs swept my tears away as I crawled to my knees and turned to him.
“You’re here,” I gasped. “You really meant it. You came when I needed you.”
“I protect what’s mine, beautiful. And you became mine the moment you let me lift up your skirt to get a taste of your tight, little pussy.”
I blushed wildly at the reminder of how our date ended, but then my back stiffened as I remembered how he’d ignored me ever since.
“You sure have a funny way of showing it,” I hissed. “Not a single word from you since then. You didn’t even bother replying to either of the messages I sent.”
“Fuck,” he groaned. “You called? Texted?”
I gulped at the odd mixture of anger and relief in his tone, nodding in confirmation.
“I didn’t get any of your messages, Carissa.”
“You didn’t?” I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. “Then how did you know I needed you?”
“I’ll explain later, and I’ll figure out what happened to your messages,” he promised. “After I get you out of here and to somewhere safe.”
“This is crazy,” I breathed out. “Do you really expect me to run away with you in the middle of the night?”
“I know I’m asking a lot of you, beautiful. But can you show me the same trust you did back at my house?” He slid off my mattress to stand next to my bed, one hand held out to me. “I don’t know what your message said, but I have to assume you were asking me for help. You’ve got it, but I need you to come with me.”
He looked lethal, standing there dressed in dark clothes with a gun tucked into a harness strapped around his thigh. The only things I knew about him were what he’d told me—and the feel of his mouth on my body. But my instincts told me to trust him, while they screamed at me to get as far away from Alexander Bellamy as I could. Which meant getting away from my parents as well since they’d squarely put themselves on his side.
Taking a deep breath, I made my decision. Putting my hand in Vaughn’s, I went with my heart and chose him.
“That’s my beautiful girl,” he murmured approvingly, helping me to my feet. “Is there anything you don’t want to leave behind?”
I hurried into my walk-in closet and packed a small bag with a few changes of clothes, jewelry my grandmother had given me, my birth certificate and passport, along with some personal items. I also changed out of the flannel pajamas I’d been wearing—trying not to cringe at exactly how unattractive they were—and into dark, warm clothes and shoes.
Sell Your Soul (Body & Soul Book 3) Page 4
