by Harper Steen
Gray’s smile deepened, giving him a mischievous look. He took a step closer to the chair. Quick as a flash, Liz jumped up and ran over the terra cotta tile patio, toward the house. Gray sprinted around the pool after her and caught her just as she was about to disappear through the glass door. He wrapped his arms around her upper body like steel bands and pressed her arms tightly against her side, where they became useless. She tried to immobilize Gray with a well-placed kick against his knee, but he pulled his knee away just in time and she missed. Feeling frustrated, she cursed and struggled, kicking her legs in the air so fiercely it looked like she was doing dry training for cycling. Her vain attempts to free herself elicited a deep booming laugh from Gray as he carried her closer and closer to the edge of the pool. When they were a few steps away, Liz hissed furiously, “Put me down!”
“You bet!” She flew into the water and Gray jumped in after her, still laughing.
Liz and Jennifer swam toward the side of the pool, sputtering curses that would have made a sailor blush. When they tried to get out of the water, they were grabbed by the ankles, pulled back and dunked. They resurfaced, spitting out water, and neither Gray nor Chris would have been surprised if the water had started to boil. They looked like pissed off furies. Their eyes practically gave off sparks.
“What’s the matter with you? Are you crazy?” hissed Jennifer. She and Liz began to make their way slowly back toward the side of the pool. This time they kept their eyes on the men. When Chris reached for Jennifer to pull her back, Liz dove and dunked him underwater with all of her strength.
“Go, Jenny!”
Jennifer didn’t have to be told twice. Quickly she climbed out of the water and took off without a glance backward. Liz followed on her heels, grabbing the ladder railings and pulling herself up out of the pool. The water glistened as it ran down her body. Only four more shiny rungs and this will be over, she thought as she climbed. Next: Only two. Then for a brief moment Liz felt a hand on her back before she was pulled backwards. She flailed about, took a gulp of air and disappeared under water. When she reemerged seconds later, Liz was startled to find that the top of her bikini was no longer in place. She pressed one arm over her exposed breasts and looked around. Liz spat out a curse through clenched teeth when she saw it dangling from Gray’s fingers.
“Get Jennifer!” Gray told his friend, keeping his half-naked quarry in his sight.
Chris didn’t need any prompting; he was already pulling himself out of the water to go hunt down his prey.
“Would you like to have this back?” Wearing a broad grin, Gray waved the tiny piece of material back and forth in front of Liz.
“What do you think?” She treaded water and grabbed for her top with her free hand. But Gray pulled his arm back quickly.
“What will I get if I give it back to you?” He tried to negotiate with a businesslike air. She gave him a look of wide-eyed disbelief.
“You’ll get absolutely nothing. It’s mine, after all. Now give it here!”
“Well, well, well! Be a little nicer to me, and maybe I’ll give it back.” Again he waved the top in the air. When she tried to reach it, he grabbed her wrist and pulled Liz slowly toward him. She didn’t have any choice but to use her other arm now, even though that meant having to expose herself to him. Swiftly she reached for the top and ripped it out of his hand. But he had obviously expected that. Gray grabbed her other wrist, held it tightly and pulled her slowly toward him until their bodies touched below the surface of the water.
“Let me go!” Liz demanded furiously. But he just shook his head and smiled as he moved smoothly through the water, forcing her backward until her back pressed against the tiled wall of the pool. With one hand he held onto the edge of the pool and with the other, he trapped her arms behind her back. Slowly Gray lowered his head and touched her mouth softly with his lips.
Christ in Heaven... The words flashed through her mind. That feels so good. Crazily good. Way too good!
His hard, muscular body was pressed against her, and his firm yet gentle lips were on hers and tenderly urging hers to part. Everything about Gray was a temptation to which Liz wanted to yield. Right here. Right now.
Liz knew that if she let him keep going, she would throw herself at him, tear down his bathing suit and demand that he finish what he’d started. She sighed softly and her eyelids closed. She was ready to let herself go. The promise of the indescribable rapture that lay beyond this harmless kiss was just too tempting.
Then the memory of Gray’s overly confident appearance at her family’s dinner party pushed itself into her lust-clouded thoughts. He seemed to have been pretty sure of his chances with her way back then. That thought tempered Liz’s swooning enough that she was at least able to turn her head abruptly to the side. But that simple move didn’t stop him.
“If I hold on to your head, we’ll both go under,” he whispered. “All I want is a kiss—a real one, nothing more. Take your pick: shall we do it above water, or under it? Either way, I will get a kiss.” His voice sounded ragged, yet quite clear in her ear. She turned her face toward him again and looked at him with wide eyes. Fierce determination showed in his face. He planned on getting exactly what he wanted. It didn’t matter how.
Gray had her with her back to the wall—literally. No man had ever managed to catch her off-guard before. Some had tried, but none had succeeded; Liz was much too clever. The situation she found herself in now was unusual, and she couldn’t say with absolute certainty that she didn’t like it. Quite the opposite. Her heart was beating wildly, as if she had just run a marathon. Liz’s stomach contracted, not from fear but out of gleeful anticipation of his kiss. She wanted him to kiss her. Wanted him. Denial was pointless.
Wordlessly Gray bent his head and lowered his lips to hers. He kissed her gently at first and then more passionately, until with a soft sigh she allowed his tongue admittance and began to respond with abandon. Gray let go of her wrists and with his arm around her, pressed her tightly against his hard, muscular body. Almost of their own accord, her arms wrapped around his neck and she pulled him as close as possible.
Despite the fact that Gray was domineering, chauvinistic, and too much the type of man her father hoped would woo and tame her, Liz found herself reacting to him with an intensity that left her almost breathless. With a throaty groan, she wrapped her legs around Gray’s hips, clutched him tightly and rubbed her body seductively against his while she reveled in his kiss. Carelessly she shoved back the thought that she really didn’t want to get involved with him because of his personality, which was too strong for her tastes.
Gray was completely different from every other man in her past. There was no comparison. Like the alpha-male in a pack of animals, he was decisive and authoritative. He possessed characteristics that were either completely foreign, or at least very weak, in the men Liz was usually involved with. She preferred men who were easier to handle, easier to influence, which meant that Liz had always held the reins in her short relationships.
Gray, on the other hand, had a strong personality that carried over into everything that he did, which is why Liz wasn’t surprised at the intensity of his kiss and touch. She’d anticipated that any physical interaction with him would be more intense than anything she’d experienced before, but her premonition didn’t even come close to warning her how intense. If Gray changed his mind and demanded more than just a kiss, Liz wouldn’t refuse him.
Her body felt energized. One shudder after another ran down her spine. Her skin prickled, as if an army of ants were walking over her. The muscles at her core tightened involuntarily, almost expectantly, as if they had developed a will of their own. Overcome by the powerful reaction of her body, Liz moaned softly. Gray’s controlled restraint was driving her so crazy, she wanted to cry out in frustration. More. She wanted more of him and wished he would stop holding himself back.
***
The way Liz was rubbing against him invitingly almost drove Gray out of his mind. H
e was nearly driven insane by her marvelous, firm, naked breasts, which were pressed tightly against his chest, just waiting for him to touch and caress them. Her body was perfect, like it was made for him. It was only with difficulty that he managed not to lose control. The temptation to strip off Liz’s tiny bikini bottom and lose himself in the moment was overwhelming. It took almost superhuman strength for him to break away from her. His body screamed for him to join with this woman in a way that would give him relief. It was tremendously difficult for him to exercise restraint, but he forced himself not give into the temptation; he didn’t want to go too far and to take more from her than she’d agreed to give. If Gray didn’t stick to the bargain and take only a kiss, she might not trust him later. Even worse, she might decide to take off, regardless of Townsend’s orders. And he didn’t plan on letting her go. At least, not yet; maybe later. Right now, he wanted to enjoy Liz as often, and for as long, as he could.
Soon. Very soon, he promised himself. Carefully he disengaged his mouth from hers, looked in her eyes and noticed her rosy cheeks. Her eyes were a dark, passionate blue that betrayed her intense arousal, and her breathing was just as rapid as his. Further proof that the kiss affected her, too.
“Was that too high a price for your top?” Gray chuckled as he stroked her back with his palm. With the other hand he still held on to the edge of the pool, keeping both of their heads above water.
The confident shine in Gray’s eyes brought Liz back to reality with lightning speed. She couldn’t believe it. Did this conceited guy really think a kiss, no matter how great that kiss had been, was enough to disarm her? If that’s what Gray thought, then he was deluding himself. Liz promised herself that he would find that out soon enough.
“I paid for that suit ages ago,” she said. “If I had known that I’d have to pay for it twice, I never would have bought it.” Liz slipped away from Gray and looked around. Spotting her bikini top floating in the water, she dove under his arm and swam to it. She slipped on the small piece of material, tied the straps behind her back and swam over to the ladder.
Gray leaned his back against the sides of the pool, laying both arms along the edge, and watched Liz’s hasty exit. She grabbed the towel from her lounge chair, dried herself off quickly and, giving the pool a wide berth, walked around it and disappeared inside the house.
He grinned as he watched her flight, a grin that grew even broader when Chris showed up looking like he had just won a million dollar lottery. Gray climbed out of the water and walked over to his friend who lay down again on his own lounge chair and took a sip of his Coke.
“So? Did you catch Jennifer?” Gray asked as he dried off.
“I almost didn’t, but I was able to get ahold of her thanks to Furball. He ran right in front of her and she tripped over him.” Chris leaned back in contentment and crossed his hands behind his head. “Did Liz get the top of her suit back?”
“Yes, but she had to pay for it.”
“You mean she had a purse hidden under that little bit of material?” Chris asked mischievously. He got a resounding laugh for an answer.
***
“Next they’ll try to get us into bed!” Jennifer paced back and forth in her room, twisting her towel in her hands. She felt extremely jumpy and was having a hard time standing in one place, an annoying behavior leftover from her teenage years. Jennifer had thought she’d outgrown this annoying habit long ago, but obviously that wasn’t the case.
Her nervousness wasn’t just Chris’s fault. Admittedly, the man got under her skin. On one hand, she didn’t like this at all, but on the other hand, she liked it very much. The inner conflict was driving her crazy. She’d never been good at handling inner tension. The only thing that had ever helped in this area was the training she’d undergone to be a Special Forces agent, and this had changed her in just a few weeks. When she was on a mission she was able to block out every emotion and concentrate only on the job at hand.
Jennifer knew the jokes and games she and Liz played were a release valve for the huge amount of pressure they were under. They both needed some way to relieve the pressure, partly because of their boss’s expectations and partly to deal with the violence and death that came with the job. As a matter of self-preservation, she hid behind an emotional barrier at work that, she had to admit, conveniently helped her to avoid making commitments or having relationships in her personal life. But this barrier had developed a slight crack in it when it came to Chris. Within a relatively short period of time, this man had succeeded in stirring up an emotional chaos in her. She needed to sort out what she was feeling, and in order to do that she needed to distance herself from Chris as quickly as possible.
“Did you hear me? I said they’re going to get us into bed.” Jennifer continued to walk back and forth.
“So you didn’t like what Chris did?”
“The problem is I liked it too much! You know how I feel about these things. Sex, yes; relationship, no! But I can tell Chris isn’t the kind of man who’ll be satisfied with just an affair.”
“What makes you so sure?” Liz cocked her head and tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. “The majority of the male population has the same attitude you and I do, just for different reasons. Neither of us wants to get involved with someone because of our jobs.” Liz shrugged from where she lay on her stomach on the bed, watching her friend pace like a caged lion.
“I can tell he wouldn’t go for that. And neither would Gray!” Jennifer didn’t have any idea how she knew that with such certainty. Maybe it was her sixth sense? At any rate, she was convinced she was right.
“Well, I don’t know about that! Gray seems to be the kind of guy who wouldn’t miss out on anything. What bothers me the most is his attitude. You’ve seen this everything-at-Gray’s-command-thing he has going.” Liz waved one hand gently through the air, indicating how casually people were supposed to respond to Gray. “That’s not for me. I want to be the one who decides where things will go. If he was the kind to go along with that, he’d be the perfect guy to have a fling with.”
“Don’t kid yourself. He gives you some pretty interesting looks.”
“Yeah, so?” Liz raised her eyebrows and shook her head, not understanding what she was saying. “Men look at women like that when they want to get them into bed.” But Jennifer wasn’t convinced.
She continued pacing from one side of the room to the other, glancing from Liz to the door, then to the crumpled towel in her hand, and then back to Liz again. Liz sighed softly, pushed herself up and then sat onto the mattress, cross-legged. “Settle down! Have you forgotten what we have planned? If it works—and I’m sure it will—they’ll get rid of us as quickly as possible and we’ll be out of prison again before you know it.” She nodded toward the door, indicating the men who were somewhere on the other side. Jennifer stopped and looked directly at her.
“Can we do it today? We could be on our way home tomorrow.”
“You’re really worried about this, aren’t you?” Liz looked at her more seriously now.
“Yes. The problem is, you’re not.”
“We’ll pull it together tonight. Okay?”
“Thank you.” Relieved, Jennifer sank onto the bed.
Chapter 8
“Do you have them?” whispered Jennifer from the front door. Liz lifted her hand and the keys dangling between her fingers jingled softly. She threw Jennifer a defiant grin and followed her outside on tiptoes. Carefully, they closed the door behind them without a noise. Then they ran as quietly as they could to the SUV, which was parked right in front of the house on the gravel, being careful not to wake the sleeping men. With a click of the button on the key fob, Liz unlocked the car door and then stopped and listened to see if she could hear any sound coming from the house. She nodded to Jennifer and then both climbed in, gently closed the doors and buckled up.
“I hope the sound of the engine doesn’t wake them,” Jennifer said.
“So what if it does! Before they’re ev
en outside, we’ll be on our way and having fun.”
“We might need to pick up some earplugs somewhere. Gray’s yelling will probably deafen us.”
“Did you hear him screaming when he discovered the note we scribbled on the countertop?” Liz asked dryly. “Well, I didn’t.”
“That was nothing compared to what we’re doing now. We’ve gotten our hands on his temple. Every man worships his car,” said Jennifer.
“There are casualties in every war.” Liz patted the Mercedes’s dashboard almost lovingly. “And this little beauty is just one of them. If we don’t do this, we’ll have to stay here until we’re completely healed. If we just try to make a run for it, they’ll drag us back by our hair—with Townsend’s blessing, no less. There’s only one thing we can do. Or have you changed your mind?” Liz asked.
“No, I definitively have to get away from here.”
“Then let’s go and give this car a makeover!” Liz put the key in the ignition and the car started with a soft hum. She and Jennifer glanced at the house one more time but everything was quiet. Liz quickly put the car in reverse and accelerated, backing it away from the house before putting it in drive. She kept looking in the rearview mirror to see whether lights were going on, but the house remained dark. Once they were far enough away, she switched on the headlights and pressed harder on the gas pedal, and the car shot down the gravel road that led away from the house and toward the highway.
“What should we do first?” Jennifer asked.
“This is an off-road vehicle, isn’t it? So let’s go off-road!” Liz pressed the pedal to the floor. She passed the speed limit without worrying about getting ticketed, and tore down the nearly abandoned highway.
“We have to turn off up there.” Jennifer leaned forward in her seat and pointed to a sign that indicated an upcoming exit to an abandoned strip mine. “If I remember right, they sometimes put on illegal car races near there. Maybe we’ll get lucky and there’ll be one today that we can enter.”
