by S. R. Jones
I reach for him and pull him into me, pressing my core against him. Showing him in no uncertain terms what I want.
Hands roam my body as he hovers there, at my entrance. His fingers trail down my arms in featherlight touches, then back up again and over my chest and down my breasts.
He gives one hard flick to my right nipple and it makes my clit throb.
My legs fall farther open, displaying me in such a wanton manner, I should feel ashamed, but I only feel need. Burning, bright need.
“Christ, Abi,” he sighs into my neck. “I am trying here, I am trying to be a good man. I should walk away, I will if you say the word. I’m losing my last thread of control.”
Good. I want him to lose control, so I reached forward, untangling my fingers from where they’ve gotten wrapped in his hair and trail the back of my hand down that massive impressive chest of his. Down his hard, flat stomach, to finally brush over the tip of his cock. He sucks in a rush of air and I wrap my ankles around his back, guiding him to my entrance and pushing him in a little, letting him know in no uncertain terms what I want.
He curses under his breath and then he is there, right where I need him. Reaching down with his hand, he drags his dick through the sopping wetness at my core.
“Hold onto the counter, baby,” he orders.
So, I do. I drop my hands to my sides and grab the edge of the wood as he thrusts into me in one smooth, glorious push in. I cry out at the sensation of it. For a moment there’s a tiny bit of pain, a second where my confused, poor vagina doesn’t quite know what to do with the cock being pushed inside. It’s been so long.
He drags out on a slow retreat, then once more pushes in. This time it feels only good. I cry out and arch my hips up to meet his thrusts. I take him in deep, and he’s hitting all the right spots inside. I am one lucky woman because I can come from penetration, something I understand from my wide reading on this subject is not a given for a lot of women. My best orgasms are from intercourse, and the ones I get from playing with my clit are more focused, sharper, but nowhere near as good. And I’ve been denied this deeper, more encompassing release for long years.
This though, this feels so good. Better than it ever did with any of the men before Nick. My skin tingles all over and pebbles in response to the overwhelming stimulus. He pulls out, only to slam back in. Soon, he finds a brutal, beautiful rhythm.
I grip the edge of the counter until my knuckles hurt, he’s pounding me so hard. My toes curl and I realize with shock, I can feel an orgasm building. He’s not touched my clit, and he’s not been fucking me long enough for it to happen from past experience, but nonetheless it’s coiling deep inside me. Something about this situation is doing it. Maybe it’s the taboo aspect? I’m technically cheating on my husband with a stranger. Maybe it’s his big, beautiful body. Or maybe it’s how much he wants me? I don’t know, and then I stop caring as a violent orgasm slams into me.
“Fuck!” I cry in surprise. My head drops back and hits the cabinets behind me, but I barely feel it.
I pump my hips up to meet his thrusts, desperately chasing the last of my release.
Liam swears and stills deep inside me as his cock jerks and his hot seed fills the condom. We both stay this way a while. Panting, and clinging to one another with sweat slicked skin. Then, to my dismay, my eyes fill inexplicably with tears. I try to blink them away, but they won’t stop. They fall down my cheeks and I look up to see Liam watching me with a wary expression.
“Are you ok? Did I hurt you?”
I shake my head trying to get myself under control.
“It’s just the release. It’s been a while for me.”
Liam bends his head and kisses away one of my tears and I panic. The fucking I can do, but this? Softness. Intimacy.
I can’t deal.
I wipe the rest of my tears away brusquely and stand. I give him a smile I hope convinces. I need him to go, because if he stays, I’m going to want crazy things like him and me snuggling together in my bed. And we can’t. I cannot go there. Won’t let my emotional guard down that way because there’s a hole so deep in me, I think if I let anyone in, even for one night, I’ll start to cling to them. Then I’ll be simply another stupid girl falling for a man she hardly knows.
I give him another bright smile and start picking my clothes up and pulling them on. Knickers, then nightdress. I can’t quite bring myself to throw him out, but I need to end this, now. I tell him I want to take a shower and use the toilet. A lie, but one calculated to get him to leave. For a moment something akin to hurt flashes across his face, but it’s gone to be replaced with a studied nonchalance. He nods and gathers his own clothes, stepping into his jeans and fastening the buckle on his thick belt, the act so masculine it makes my mouth water all over again.
To be fair, now I’ve broken the spell between us, he gets with the program real quick. Probably can’t wait to get away from the crazy chick who cries after sex. When he’s dressed and at the door, he turns to me and kisses me once, slow and gentle, and then he steps out into the night with a nod before turning and walking away.
I watch him all the way to his rental and he doesn’t glance back once. He’s as done with me as I’m pretending to myself I am with him. I tell myself I should be grateful.
I take a quick pee and then crawl into bed. I pull the covers over my head and curl into a foetal position. It’s been so long since I’ve felt such pleasure, but now all sorts of negative feelings are bombarding me. Guilt because I think I’ve used Liam. Fear, because I’m scared I’ll never crave anyone else as much again and I sent him away. Mild disgust at myself for giving into my libido so easily. And terror that Nick will find out and kill me, or Liam in some sort of jealous rage.
Unable to sleep, I eventually close my eyes and simply let myself relive the most delicious sexual encounter I’ve ever experienced.
Chapter Nine
Liam
I don’t see Abi for two days. Purposefully keeping my distance, I follow her when she goes anywhere, and she hasn’t done much except go to the local store, for a few walks, and once round to Nancy’s where I thought she’d head on out after, as she came out without Boo, but she simply went back home and collected him a few hours later.
I also listen to the monitor while I read or doze, making sure she’s safe. From many years in the field of battle, I can sleep soundly while bombs are falling around me, yet wake from the slightest footfall if I need to. It’s as if my body is attuned to certain sounds. In this situation, my mind jerks me awake if Abi moves around at night. It always takes me a few heart pounding moments to realize it’s only her going to the loo, or making a drink, which she seems to do a lot in the early hours. Girl’s a damn insomniac. I know a good cure for that, but no way am I going there again.
Not because I don’t want to, but because I want to entirely too much. Girl’s got some sort of magic pussy or something just like Jill said, because I can’t stop thinking about her, or what it was like to sink into her balls deep. The greedy way she met everything I gave her and wanted more.
Her skin is so soft, her short hair, too.
Most of all, though, I want to hear her sounds again. To rip those huffed little moans and whimpers from her all over again.
She’s beautiful when she falls apart. So in the moment and free of pretense or artifice. She doesn’t scream or act as if she’s riding out an earthquake. No, she quietly shook, and moaned, and stared at me as her chest and cheeks flushed and her pussy milked me dry.
Shit. I’m in trouble because Reece has found some more crap out about Nick, and is finally digging into his digital life after being given permission to begin tightening the noose. It seems like in a day or two, Howard is going to move in and maybe end this, which means I’ll need to go see Abi and come clean.
She’ll be relieved because I can tell her she’s safe and that Nick is in custody, but she’ll know I’ve lied to her and I expect she’ll hate me.
My dick stirs at t
he thought of her. I have to admit she’s fucking beautiful. Much more so than I’d first thought. With her short hair, those big blue-blue eyes stand out against skin that has already gained some color.
Her features are more delicate than her longer hair gave any indication of, and the thing about her that called to me from the start is still there.
The fear, the sadness, the tinge of self-hate she wears like other women wear make-up. I like it because I identify with it. I want to drown in her sadness and take it all on board, until it washes away my own sins. Of which there are many.
I shouldn’t like the vulnerability in her the way I do. It probably makes me sick or something.
I’d wanted her with a ferocity powerful enough to scare me the other night, and still do, which is why I’m staying away.
I get any further in with her and all bets are off.
I’m a man that takes what I want, and now I want her. And she wants me right back. Instead of tamping down the spark between us, part of me wants to throw another match on the fire and burn both of us to the ground.
Neither of us have our heads on straight though so how can I even be thinking of something more than the cut-and-run fuck we shared? She’s a walking bag of emotions, and she needs a lot of time and probably a shit load of therapy to do what my American friends call processing. And as for me? I’m the weirdo who must get into fights every so often as the only way to feel anything and release the pressure inside. Maybe it’s why I like her so much, she can feel for the both of us.
Christ. I scrub a hand over my heavy stubble and attempt to focus. I should be concentrating on keeping her safe and getting hold of that damn USB because Reece is doing his stuff, but some of the files have already been scrubbed. I think Nick cleaned house when Abi bolted and is waiting so as not to spook him by rummaging around in his digital shit proved to be the wrong move. Still, she’s got that USB stick somewhere, and I might have to outright ask her for it before this is over.
The screen on my phone lights up and I look to see Cara’s face in the small window by the FaceTime request. I grin and press answer.
There are a whole lot of reasons I like Cara. She’s brave. Opinionated, but in a good way because she cares about shit. She’s sorted Luka out and helped him become something I never thought I’d see: happy. But most of all I like her for selfish reasons. Cara simply treats me like another person in her life, not some scary dude. Even my forces brothers have a certain degree of wary respect that creeps into their dealings with me. Partly, it’s to be expected. I was in charge a lot of the time out there. It goes deeper though. I know there’s a distance between me and the other guys. Out of the team, I’m closest to Reece, and he’ll take the piss out of me, but he isn’t as laid back and free as he is if he gets together with Luka or Ethan.
Cara doesn’t treat me warily at all, the woman even tries to boss me about regarding my hair, appearance, and dating life, or lack of. She had an idea that growing my hair out of its usual buzz cut would help me with the ladies, and maybe it has. Who knows if anything would have happened between me and Abi if I didn’t have an extra inch of hair. I roll my eyes at the stupidity of my train of thought.
“Hey there,” she trills as the connection goes through.
“I need your help,” she continues. “I’m getting a present for Luka and I’m not sure which to go with. A track day or a flying lesson?”
I chuckle and think it over for a moment. "Honey, I think he’ll love either one, but knowing Luka like I do, then I'd say go for the track day and let him have the choice of two or three cars to thrash around the track. Oh, and make sure you pay for the extra cover in case of damage.”
Her eyes widen and she pulls a grimace. “Crap, I might get the flying lesson instead.”
“Nah, go for the track day. He’s flown enough in his life during our military days.”
She gives a nod and small smile. “Okay. I’ll make sure to get the bells and whistles insurance in place though.”
“Be careful, he might end up falling in love with one of the cars, and then you will have a supercar parked on your driveway, and I know that won't tie in with your, erm, green beliefs.” I laugh at her face as I tease.
She laughs back, pats her rounded belly, and shakes her head. "No, he's too much in daddy mode to go polluting the planet that way these days, Liam.”
I bet he isn’t but that’s for them to sort out.
“How are you doing out there?” she asks. “It looks sunny behind you, is the weather good?"
"Yeah, it's great actually. I'd forgotten how much I like it out here. I am staying on a floating home as well. You'd absolutely love it, I swear. This is your idea of heaven. The place is crawling with artists and hippies and eco-types. It’s your people here, Cara, you need to come for a holiday at some point.”
“Maybe I can persuade Luka to bring me after the baby is born,” she says.
A loud sound; a dull thump, comes from the monitor hooked up to the bugs I have in Abi’s boat. I freeze and listen but hear nothing more. Still, it has me on alert and I turn to Cara.
“Got to go, sweetheart. Speak soon.”
I end the call, knowing she won’t be pissed off with me for being rude, cutting her off that way. She knows I’m working out here.
Listening carefully, I’m starting to relax as no more noise comes when, thump, thump, thump. The distinctive sound of footsteps on wood rings out, and they’re not Abi’s. No, this is a much heavier tread.
“What the hell?” Abi’s startled voice has me moving.
I grab my gun and shove it in the waistband of my jeans, pulling my shirt down to cover it and jumping from the deck onto the wooden dock. I try to land lightly.
My heart is pounding as I run to her boat and climb up onto the deck. I stop by the jimmied open doors and listen.
I hear scuffling sounds. A struggle. Immediately, I slide through the door, keeping as quiet as possible. Abi is up against the wall, some big bastard up in her face, his hands wrapped around her throat, squeezing.
Her eyes cut to me and of course, big bastard turns around too. Abi, the beautiful crazy woman, takes advantage of his momentary distraction to kick him hard in the balls.
He bends over with an agonized howl and I’m on him in two. I punch him in the side of the face, wanting him disoriented, but he’s so big and hard it’s like hitting concrete. My knuckles scream, and I’m used to bare knuckle fighting for fucks sake. I wouldn’t be shocked to learn he’s got a steel plated head or something.
With a grunt he swings at me wildly and I jump back, pulling Abi with me and pushing her behind me, hard enough she stumbles a little. I want her out of the way, so I motion for her to back up farther.
The assailant lifts his head and his eyes are murderous. He reaches under his open denim shirt and I see the holster. I have my gun out and aimed before he gets a chance to finish the movement. I squeeze off two shots, and even with the silencer it makes more noise than I’d like. I hit him in the chest, central mass, and he goes down.
Walking over to him, I aim the gun at his head, but he’s done for. He makes a horrible gurgling sound and stops breathing.
Fuck and shit. I turn to look at Abi who is watching me with wide, terrified eyes. She’s been abused and treated like dirt for far too long, but she’s never seen anyone killed as far as I am aware.
“Abi.” I holster my gun back into my waistband and take a step toward her, but she shakes her head and stumbles backward, butting up against the steps to the deck doors, and going down to land heavily on her ass.
“Abi, listen to me. I can explain, but right now you are in danger. Serious danger.”
She’s still staring at me, open mouthed. She looks to the dead man and I snap my fingers at her, garnering her attention. “Look at me, baby, not him.”
“I’m not your baby,” she snaps. And I smile because her spirit is a good indicator she’s going to be okay. “Who the hell are you? What the fuck is going on?”
“I’m a private contractor investigating your husband. I’m working alongside someone else who brought me in to help. When I saw you leaving the New York apartment, I followed you to the airport. I followed you all the way here in the end because we had to keep eyes on you.”
I can’t bring myself to tell her we were spying on her every intimate moment. The trust dying in her eyes is bad enough. I’ve got bigger issues to deal with right now, though.
I take out my cell and dial Howard. “How much do these guys you are working for want this whole thing sorted off the radar?” I ask when he picks up.
“A whole lot,” he growls.
“Well then you’d better get someone proficient in wet work to the docks because I’ve just made a mess.”
“Shit.” He drawls the word out.
“I need it fast,” I tell him. “Abi and me are out of here. This guy was big, and he was carrying.”
“You thinking our Russian friends?” he asks.
“Yep. More than likely. Which means Nick has lost control of the situation entirely. You might need to bring him in, sooner rather than later.”
Abi makes a small gasp and I swear she curls in on herself.
“One small issue with that plan, things have changed at this end again. From what Reece has been able to gather, we still don’t have enough evidence, or enough of a trail to the guys behind this. Nick has obviously cleared his computer and he’s wiped it well. Reece will be able to recover it, eventually, but it’s going to take more time. So, you need the flash drive off the lovely Mrs. Madison.”
“How the hell did they find her, Howard?” I’m at a loss. Nick didn’t follow her here, no one did but me, and I’ve followed her everywhere she’s gone, and she hasn’t done anything to give her whereabouts away. Unless she snuck out at some point when I was asleep.
I turn to her. “Abi, have you been anywhere the last couple of days where you’ve paid for anything with a card, or done anything at all that could have alerted anyone to your whereabouts.”
