“I’ll handle that when we all meet up here once we have the other chick.”
Gwen winced as she realized she’d been so wrong about Arsen and Allen. Now she and Steele would meet their end with some type of drug and somehow Arsen would be made to strangle them.
I have to get free and get to Steele before it’s too late!
ARSEN
With Steele wrapped tight in his arms, Arsen inhaled the scent of lilacs on her soft skin. Without thinking, he pressed his lips to her bare shoulder. His heart was full.
With the information Sinclair had given him, he was nearly home free. Allen might be a crazy killer, but he was nowhere near as hard as Arsen could be. It shouldn’t take him much to get the little freak to confess.
The police may have wanted his ass out of the courtroom and on the side of the accused, but with a confession they would have no real choice.
Arsen nuzzled Steele’s neck and pushed her hair away and saw the purple mark he’d left on her neck. He grinned and kissed the spot.
Soon he’d no longer have to hide their relationship. Once he was out of the mess he was in she and he could move forward. He had big plans for her and he hoped she’d agree with him about them.
Steele groaned and rolled over to look at him as she rubbed her eyes. “What time is it?”
“I’m not sure,” he said then kissed her cheek.
“I’m sorry, I must’ve overslept. I see the light coming in through the curtain. I know your breakfast is supposed to be ready by six each morning.” She tried to get up, but he held her in place.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked with a naughty grin.
“Your breakfast. I have to get it ready. It’s in the book.” She looked puzzled.
“Steele, do you really want that?” he asked as he gazed down at her.
“Arsen, we’ve discussed this in depth. You know I do. So much is changing in you so quickly. I don’t want to sabotage anything and make you break. I can be what you need.” She ran her hand over his cheek.
He kissed her softly. “You already are.”
One of his hands ran over her soft stomach and he ran it until it touched her hip bone. He pulled it gently as he moved her body over his. Arsen settled her on his hard erection.
She sat up and smiled. “Look who’s up!”
He placed his hands on her breasts and gave them a squeeze. “Ride me, Baby.”
Steele moved her body up and down his as he watched her. Her dark hair was just the right amount of messy. The blue in her eyes was bright from rest and happiness filled them.
She was happy just to be there with him, he could tell. Steele moved to lie on his wide chest as she moved her body up and down his. Her mouth moved over his neck and she bit him playfully.
“Feeling like playing a little rough this morning, Steele?” He chuckled.
Steele sat back up and wiggled her eyebrows at him. “Want to show me who I belong to?”
Arsen smiled and rolled her over quickly, pulling her arms up over her head. He slammed into her hard. “Who do you belong to?”
With a moan she said, “You. I belong to you, Arsen.”
Pulling out and pushing back into her hard enough a little air was pushed out of her lungs, he said, “Damn right you do. You don’t make a move or I’ll smack that sweet little ass of yours, understand me?”
She giggled. “I won’t move.”
He knew she liked a little of the rough stuff. Arsen took both her wrists in one hand and took a handful of her thick dark hair in the other, pulling it back a bit, making her lips part.
Arsen kissed her hard. His tongue moved through her mouth, claiming every last bit of it as his. Arsen could be whatever it was Steele wanted. He was going to prove to her she was what his world revolved around.
Deep strokes had her breathing hard as her body struggled not to move. Her legs wound around his waist and for a second he forgot he’d told her not to move.
He smacked the side of her ass and she quickly moved them. “Sorry.” She giggled, and he knew she’d done it on purpose.
Arsen drove into her deeper and harder. The animal in him took over, and he pulled out and spun her around, drawing her back to him by her hips until their bodies collided.
Almost instantly she began to climax. “Arsen! God!” Her body shook as it pulsed around his hard dick.
He slammed into her harder and faster as her orgasm continued to make his cock feel as if he was about to explode. Arsen held it back until he no longer could and he erupted into her.
Arsen gave her hair one last tug then let her body fall to the mattress as she caught her breath. She lay on the bed spent and looking prettier than she had minutes before.
He moved off the bed and stood at the side of it. Her ass was begging for a quick swat, so he gave her one and she erupted into a fit of giggles.
She rolled over and her gorgeous face nearly brought him to his knees. He loved that girl with every single thing in him. He knew it without a doubt. “Get your fine ass up and let’s shower then I want you to teach me how to ride your horse.”
Steele sat up quickly. “Really! You want to go ride, Tripper? Arsen, that would be fantastic!”
“I don’t have any cowboy boots,” he said with an exaggerated drawl. “Will sneakers do?”
“They sure will!” she hopped out of the bed and he picked her up into his strong arms. “I can’t wait to introduce you to him. He’s such a sweet horse.”
“I can’t wait to meet him,” he said then kissed her cheek.
How much longer can I hold out before I ask her?
STEELE
The afternoon was going by much too quickly for Steele. She leaned back against Arsen’s broad chest as he sat behind her, holding her horse’s reins. He’d caught on quickly, and she was enjoying the day with her two favorite males.
His thickly muscled legs were on either side of her and she rested her hands on them. They moved with each step the horse took and she loved how they felt as they did.
“You know, Arsen. You haven’t told me what she said.”
He moved her braid and kissed the back of her ear where she found out he had left a good sized hickey. “You know what? You just reminded me that I need to find that little fucker and deal with him. Thanks for reminding me. I’ve been kind of drunk on your love since last night.”
Her heart fluttered. “Drunk on my love? That sounds so sweet.”
“Yeah, you’re making me all sweet, you little hot temptress.” He squeezed her in his strong arms.
“So,” Steele said as she waited to hear what Anne Sinclair had said to him that had him in the best spirits she’d ever seen him in.
“Allen White has been impersonating an anesthesiologist, and he was able to procure a drug that leaves little trace it was given. It also causes the body’s muscles to stop working. The victim dies of asphyxiation. Sinclair found out from a friend who’s an intern at the place they’re doing the autopsies at. She said they weren’t looking for any needle marks and that we needed to get Allen White to admit what he’s done.”
“Well, how the hell is that, Arsen?” Steele felt agitated the woman was poking her nose into Arsen’s affairs. “I mean, she had to have been asking and investigating on her own. Why would she do that?”
Her body had stiffened in his arms and he handed her the reins and massaged her tense shoulders. “Relax, Baby. She’s just that type of person. A real nosy woman. But in this case, I’m damn glad she’s that way.”
“I don’t like it. I smell a rat, Arsen. A scrawny, old, blonde rat with crow’s feet.”
“You sound like a jealous woman, Steele. You aren’t insecure enough to be jealous, are you?” He snickered a little as he deepened the massage.
“I’d like to call it concerned. And here’s another thing I’d like to know. Did the old bat ask you to get back together with her?”
His silence told her the answer and her body went hard as a rock. “Now, Steele,
don’t go getting your panties in a wad. You have a man who will be propositioned from time to time. You have to….”
She interrupted him. “Trust you! I know! Dang it, Arsen, I knew she was going to do that.” She looked back at him with horror on her face. “You didn’t kiss her or anything, did you?”
He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. “Baby, you should know me better than that. My lips will never touch another’s now I know what a real kiss feels like.”
She smiled and turned back around, finding his words and actions comforting. “I can’t believe you like me so much. I’m so plain and dull.”
“I don’t like you, Baby. I love the shit out of you.” He turned her back to look at him. “Nothing about you is plain or dull. Please stop saying that. I want you to feel every bit as special and perfect as you truly are.”
She shook her head as she looked into his dark eyes. “I have no idea how I got so lucky. You’re perfect, Arsen. You are the man of my dreams. I held out for you, I knew you’d come along one day. I saved my heart just for you.”
The horse slowed to a stop as he kissed her. When he eased his kiss she giggled as she said, “Arsen, have you ever done it in a barn?”
“Looks like I’m about to,” he said as he took the reins from her and tapped them, making the horse start back up, headed to the barn as the sun began to set behind them.
GWEN
“Please, Allen. Please,” Gwen begged him.
Allen looked at her long and hard then took the key out of his pocket and unlocked the lock which held the chains. He quickly grabbed her by the wrist and hoisted her off the small bed.
Gwen’s legs were weak, and she stumbled as he pulled her along behind him. “Thank you, Allen. I really didn’t want to spoil the bed.”
“Just try to make it quick,” he said as he took her to the bathroom. Just before he let her go in he looked up at a small window at the top of the wall. “Take all your clothes off.”
“What? Why?” she asked.
“Just do it!” he snapped at her.
She began taking off her clothes. Gwen knew he thought she wouldn’t try to escape if she was naked. But he was dead wrong.
After she was undressed she asked, “Can I go in now. I’ll be as fast as I can.”
Allen’s eyes traveled over her body. He smiled as he looked up at her. “Tell you what, Gwen. Take a shower while you’re in there. I think I’d like a taste of what you have before, well, never mind about that. Just take a shower and I’ll be here waiting when you get out.”
She nodded and went inside the small bathroom. She turned the water on in the shower right away and after relieving herself she started figuring out how she could climb up and get out the window.
A few old towels were laid out on the counter top and she wrapped one around her. Climbing on top of the toilet, she jumped and was able to grab the window ledge.
She was weak from lack of food, water, and the time stuck in that bed, but she managed to pull her body up and pushed the screen out. The drop was probably ten feet, and she knew she could really hurt herself.
Gwen let her body fall out the small window, moving her body so she’d hit shoulder first. As her shoulder hit the cement, she rolled with the fall.
Once she’d stopped rolling, she took a breath which she didn’t realize she’d been holding and found her shoulder hurt some, but her adrenaline had kicked in and the pain was bearable.
Her towel had come loose, and she had to wrap it back around her and she began to run. It was dark, and she had no real idea where she was, but a woman running down the street wearing only a towel would be easily noticed.
“Gwen!” Allen shouted as he ran out of the metal building. “Stop!”
Gwen didn’t even look back. She just ran faster towards the lights she figured must be a street. A couple of cars’ headlights moved along the road and she nearly cried with relief.
A hill separated her from the road and as she came over the hill she nearly fell down with disappointment. A tall fence with razor wire at the top of it kept her from getting to the road.
With no shoes on, the rocks along the fence hurt her feet. But she kept running along the fence. There had to be an opening somewhere along it.
“Gwen!” Allen shouted, and she looked back to see he was still pretty far behind her.
She turned and gathered speed to stay away from him. If she couldn’t get out, she would hide from him.
Abandoning the fence, she cut back up the hill and ran to the closest empty building. The whole place had been abandoned. It was a series of old metal buildings.
She found this one had open rafters and there was a ladder. She propped it up against the wall and climbed until she got to the long steel beam which ran the length of the large building.
It was wide enough if she laid down on the top of it, he wouldn’t be able to see her. The ladder would give her away though and she heaved it up and laid it on the beam as well.
Her position was secure, and all she had to do was wait. She’d left the prison of the bed for the prison of a beam high up in the air, but this prison was one she could eventually make an escape from and the other one led to certain death.
Just like she knew it would, the door squeaked open. Allen’s face peered into the darkness. “I know you’re in here. Just come on out and I won’t hurt you. I’ll even set you free, Gwen. I promise. Just come on out and let me help you.”
He moved around the room making clicking sounds with his shoes as he did. Gwen lay perfectly still on top of the beam, not even daring to glance down at him.
His loud shout rang out and made her body clench, “Gwen! God damn it! Get out here or so help me!”
After a few more steps she heard him mumbling to himself as he left the building and she could hear him going into the next one.
She had no idea what she should do. Gwen just laid there and cried silently. Helplessness flowed through her and she was left with doubt she’d ever really be able to get herself free from this man.
How am I supposed to get out of here and make sure he doesn’t get Steele?
ARSEN
The day had been perfect in Arsen’s mind. He and Steele were riding back to his apartment in his Jag. He looked over at her and found a piece of hay had lingered in her hair after their tumble in it back at the barn.
He chuckled as he pulled it out and handed it to her. “Here you go. A little memento of our time in the barn, Baby.”
She giggled as she took it from him. “Thanks, I’ll put it in our book.”
Arsen groaned with the mention of the book. He had thought she would take one look at all those rules and toss it away. Instead she acted as if he’d written her a love story in it.
But the day had been too perfect to start an argument over the damn rules she seemed so determined to learn how to live by. Arsen reached over and gave her cheek a stroke with the back of his hand.
“I thought we might spend the night cuddled up on the sofa watching a movie and eating popcorn. What do you think about that, Steele?”
Her eyebrows shot up. “I think that’s really normal, Arsen. It sounds great, but I thought we were going to go see Allen. You seem to keep forgetting about him.”
“He isn’t going anywhere and I can’t seem to get my mind off you. Tomorrow I can deal with him.” Arsen ran his hand down her arm and took her hand in his.
Steele laid her head back on the leather headrest and closed her eyes. “This seems a little too surreal, Arsen. Like the calm before the storm or something. You’re too laid back and nothing like yourself.” She opened her eyes and looked at him. “I mean, I’m absolutely loving it, don’t get me wrong. It’s just not like you to deal with this business of knowing about Allen and doing nothing about it.”
“You’re really all I can think about. I can’t explain it. I know I have a huge undertaking with getting Allen to confess and maybe I’m not in a hurry to get into that.” He pulled her hand to his lips and
kissed it softly. “I can’t seem to get enough of you, Baby. Sue me.”
Steele shook her head and sighed. “Tonight then it can just be us, but first thing in the morning you have to deal with it.”
“I will. Now what movie do you want to watch? And what’s the best popcorn. I haven’t eaten the stuff in so many years I have no idea what kind to buy.” He pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store and smiled. “It’s been forever since I’ve actually went into one of these things. I have Paul pick things up for me.”
He parked and got out to open Steele’s door. She placed her hand in his as they walked into the store. “Paul’s pretty much your right-hand man, isn’t he?” she asked.
Arsen pulled out a shopping cart and grinned. “He is. Wow, this is so odd. I’m grocery shopping.”
Steele’s eyes rolled. “Yep, just like any normal person, Arsen. I really need to get you out more. It’s like you’re from another planet or something.”
He chuckled and pulled her to him, his arm wrapped around her shoulders and the other pushed the basket. “We should make some s’mores in the fireplace and roast hotdogs too. What do you think about that?”
Steele grabbed a pack of hotdogs out of the refrigerated bin and tossed them into the basket. “I think you and I should do a camp out soon.”
“I can get a tent!” His eyes went wide. “That’s what we can do when we get back home. We can get online and buy a tent and a bunch of camping supplies and go to Big Bear maybe next weekend.”
“Or just rent a cabin up there,” she said with a smile. “Arsen, camping can be rough. A lot of work.”
“I don’t care. I want to have you all alone in a tent in the woods. Now that sounds romantic.” He kissed the side of her head and an old woman who was passing them in the aisle looked at them.
“How sweet you are, young man,” she commented as she passed them.
Steele smiled back at the woman. “He is very sweet, mam.”
Quartet Complete Series: Billionaire Romance Box Set (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) Page 48
