by Dahlia Rose
“Oh God . . . Mac . . .” She was silenced by his hard kiss, and the pressure against her clit increased.
His whisper was fierce with arousal. “I love how you tremble in my arms, so hold on to me tight, love, I’m going to make you come.”
Mac slipped his fingers inside her, and she bit her lip, praying that her legs didn’t give out completely. There was no control over her reaction he slid the two digits deeper then slowly withdrew. The muscles of her abdomen clenched and so did the walls of her pussy as she felt the band of her release tighten. Each time Mac’s fingers went a little deeper, she undulated her hips wantonly, parting her legs wider under his ministrations.
The wet sound of her sex at each pleasure invasion only heightened her pleasure. Nina came with a frantic moan of his name and a gush of sexual fluid that escaped her core. She slipped her hand inside his pants and rubbed his cock, loving the velvet over steel sensation of his shaft. He sucked her nipple back into his mouth with renewed fervor at her touch. Her moans were wild and frantic, and they blended with the primal sounds at escaped him as he greedily tasted her. Mac’s touch played a merciless game with her pussy, spurring her on until she was sent a second time over that pleasurable edge.
“I want you inside me now,” Nina demanded with lust filling her voice. “Fuck me hard until I come all over your cock.”
“You have such a dirty mouth, I adore it.” His voice was deep with desire.
Nina climbed eagerly onto the bed, and as soon as Mac undressed, the apron she wore was trapped between them. She had barely wrapped her legs eagerly around him before he thrust upward and filled her supple, wet sex.
An agonized groan escaped Mac. “Damn, I love how feel wrapped around me—you’re so hot and wet.”
Delicious sensations ran through her body at the friction created by his every thrust. There was no sweet lovemaking about this act, the rhythm was a fierce pounding as he buried his cock deep into her, grabbing her hips and anchoring her for his penetration.
“Spread your legs, take it all,” the words grated out from between his lips, and when Nina looked at him the mask of primal need was on his face.
Nina wrapped her arms around her thighs, holding them apart for Mac. He had more access to move, and the pressure of his cock entering, stretching, and filling her made her bite her lip. Nina cried out when a harsh sound escaped him. It was like he was pulled into the moment and the world around them had fallen away. He bent his head and sucked her nipple deep into his mouth. Nina returned the action by pinching his nipples, and he grunted in satisfaction. The waves of heat started to pulse over her body. The fullness of his cock within her drove Nina to the brink of the abyss. His groans mixed with hers in response to his rhythm that increased and seemed to match the racing beast of her heart in her chest.
Wild with the pleasure of their copulation, she cried out, “Let go, baby, fuck me like there is no tomorrow.”
“Damn Nina, oh my God, fuck!” He made a feverish sound, and it was he who lifted her legs higher over his shoulders before pounding his cock within her sex once more.
“Come with me,” she heard the rise in her voice as she chanted the words.
“Ah, fuck, yes!”
She heard his harsh cry as her orgasm took hold—with her leg on his shoulder she was pinned under his onslaught. Nina cried out his name, and Mac’s loud, primal groan blended with the low music that was still playing in the apartment. The thickness of his cock pulsed inside her pussy as he let go of his thick come and filled her wet crevice as she felt it run down the crack of her ass. Her leg slipped weakly to the bed, and Mac kept moving, prolonging his release, until he finally heaved out a sigh of pure contentment.
“I’m so dirty,” she murmured.
“Yeah, you are,” Mac chuckled.
She slapped at his bare shoulders. “I mean I have flour in my hair, and I’m sticky.”
“Mmm, me, too,” he laughed. “You make this too easy.”
“How about a shower, nightcap, and bed?” Nina asked.
Mac kissed her gently. “I can get behind that.”
“You were tonight,” it was her turn to tease.
Mac didn’t end up staying the night because it was his turn to stay with Donnie, and they needed some time alone to work out their issues. With a few more kisses at the door she watched him leave and run down the stairs to the pub that was closed for the night. Nina went back to her baking and decorated her cookies until she was too sleepy to continue. They can be finished in the morning, she thought, and walked by the windows in the living room. She noted a dark car parked outside opposite the Celtic Cross.
There was a man leaning up against the car, and he was looking up at her window. Fear leached its way into her heart, and she went quickly to the bedroom to get her phone, turning off the lights on the way. Nina pressed Mac’s number and waited for him to answer as she went out of the apartment to check the foyer locks. They were secure, and she went back inside and locked her own door again just as he answered the phone.
“Hey, baby, miss me already?” Mac said sleepily.
Nina was back at the window and looking out, but the car was gone.
“Nina?” His voice was more alert. “What is it?”
Probably someone out for a night walk and a smoke. She took a deep breath and made her voice light as she spoke. “Yes, I did miss you, very much.”
There was relief in his tone. “I’ll stay tomorrow, or, even better, you come home with me.”
“That sounds perfect,” Nina answered. “Goodnight, honey bun.”
He laughed. “Sweet dreams, sugar plum.”
You’re probably making something out of nothing, Nina told herself as she made sure the flat was secure again and went to bed. She had very secure doors keeping her safe, and one of Mac’s security systems protected both the outside and inside of the Celtic Cross. It was more than likely anxiety because in the next few days they would be dealing with very traumatized women. Nina put the car and the man out of her head and went to sleep with a contented sigh. Her body was deliciously satisfied, and her man was on her mind. Yes, Mackenzie Black was her man—even if he didn’t understand that yet. But Nina knew by the way he touched her and looked in her eyes that he considered her as his woman as well. His head just had to catch up to what his heart knew already.
* * * *
It was horrific. Nina looked at the women sitting on cots covered in thick blankets, and she was disgusted at what they’d been forced to do at the hands of Bouchey. There were ten of then and the tiniest was Britt, the little blonde waif that Donnie was enamored with. Nina swore the girl had to be a hundred pounds soaking wet, but she had a soft, beautiful face that could only be called elf-like. The upstairs of a safe house had been set up quickly to house the women. Haile had done a good job of getting supplies, from clothes to food and medicine.
They were all undernourished, Nina noted. She'd checked each of them out in a separate bedroom after they'd taken hot showers and were clean. She’d gotten one of her nurse friends involved, and together she and Melissa were able to make sure all the girls were in reasonable health and that none needed immediate hospitalization. They all got at least one banana bag or rally pack to give them a boost of vitamins and minerals to correct any chemical imbalances in the body. Nina could tell that more than half of them were using drugs—probably to help numb themselves to what they'd endured. Treatment options would be necessary, and Nina knew Zeva and her charity would be there to help them all. So that was at least some good news there.
Mac and Haile had just dispatched the women to the safe house, leaving two policemen to keep guard before going again. Nina wondered where he was and if he was okay. Bouchey was to be taken down that night as well, so it was safe to assume they were a part of it.
“They’ll be coming for us,” one of the girls trembled as she sipped hot cocoa. She kept glancing at the door as if she expected her captors to burst in. “Bouchey doesn’t let go that easi
ly.”
Nina took her hand. “My guy is taking care of that, I promise. You won’t ever have to go back.”
The girl shrugged her shoulders and faced the wall. Nina saw her quickly swipe at tears on her cheeks. She had been taught not to show weakness, Nina sighed sadly wondering how many more women were out in this world being exploited? It was hours before she and Melissa got all the women settled and resting comfortably. It was only then they were able to enjoy some of the cocoa, which was still hot in the thermos, and sandwiches. Melissa was an older nurse who'd worked the emergency room for the last fifteen years. She was known as no- nonsense and brisk, but with a caring heart. Somehow she'd taken to Nina and they’d become friends.
“This is a bloody mess,” Melissa tucked her brown hair behind her ear. “I would never think this was going on in our little area.”
Nina sat across from her and chewed a bite of her sandwich. “My mom used to always warn us how men came from Europe and America to steal young women away to sell them. This is all too real for me—man, she could’ve been right.”
Melissa nodded. “The girl in the far corner, she says her name is Raine. She has to be from the Caribbean, and she’s no more than eighteen. She said they had her for two years, so anything is possible. All of the animals that prostituted them should be put in barrels, set on fire, and rolled into the moors.”
“I agree completely,” Nina looked at the sleeping women, some with IVs still dripping into their arms. “My guess is that Zeva will have to go international to find Raine’s parents.”
“She has no one,” Melissa said. “They took her on the way to school from an orphanage. I’m going to take her in.”
Nina gave her friend a surprised look. “Really?”
Melissa shrugged. “I’ve got no one at the house since Brad passed and the kids are grown and gone. I can mother her and get her some classes and a decent job somewhere until she has finished school. After talking to her . . . she needs someone on her side.”
“Look at you and your big heart,” Nina gushed.
Melissa narrowed her eyes at her. “Don’t make me put you on bedpans for a month.”
“Yes ma’am,” Nina said, but she saw Melissa was grinning.
“So any more weird things happen?” Melissa asked bluntly.
“I think I was scaring myself,” Nina gave a laugh. “Why would anyone be watching me?”
“Your new Mister, maybe,” Melissa pointed out. “He had a reputation, and him and Bouchey had no love lost between them.”
“Mac won’t talk about his past,” Nina picked at the remnants of her sandwich.
“Mackenzie was always a good boy, he did what he had to do after his Pa left,” Melissa explained. “Working the docks, he would never be able to take care of a brother and his mum. So, he fought in backroom fight, did some dirty work for the men in charge at that time. He had some pride, that he did. Haile’s mother tried to take him in, and so did Jasper’s family. Cornelia, his aunt, put a nix on that real quick, and Mac would never take a handout.”
“So, he and Bouchey were rivals from way back,” Nina surmised.
Melissa shook her head. “No, they were friends, joined at the hips until Bouchey got a taste for hurting people and running drugs. Mac fought his way out of that group just like he fought his way in. I should know, Jasper and Haile brought him to emergency all broken up. When he got better, he joined the Royal Army with Haile, and from there he went to America. Bouchey always hated that Mac got out and made something of himself.”
Nina finally understood some of the backstory and the past between him and Bouchey. By the time they'd finished their simple meal it was around midnight. Nina encouraged Melissa to go home, but she refused immediately.
“They’ll need us when they wake up,” Melissa said. “Besides there is nothing to go home to but an empty house. I’ll stay.”
Mac and Haile showed up around two in the morning, and Zeva and Jasper were with them. Nina led them quietly to the kitchen where she and Melissa could update them on the women’s overall health.
“I’ll let Nina take the lead,” Melissa said and gave her a nod.
“How are they?” Zeva asked looking out into the room. “My God, ten women right under our noses being pimped out.”
Nina picked up the legal pad where they were keeping notes and looked it over. “Physically, they are dehydrated from the alcohol and not much else for liquids, malnutritional because they all are way below the recommended weight for their height index. They’ve got some drug use, we can tell by their noses, thank God none showed heroin tracks.”
“Bouchey and his partners would want to keep their skin flawless,” Mac said grimly.
Nina continued. “They all are going to need major therapy from being abused this way. Rehab for the girls who were dosed with cocaine. We gave them rally packs to get their metabolism started back on the right track. They all ate because they were literally starving, some threw up because their stomachs couldn’t handle a big meal, but then they kept soup down. They’re resting comfortably, and Melissa wants to take custody of Raine in the corner. We feel she was taken from the islands and trafficked here.”
“Wow, just wow,” Zeva sat down at the table. “How could anyone . . .”
“Monsters, they are fucking monsters,” Haile’s voice held restrained anger.
“What about Bouchey?” Nina asked.
Mac answered. “The police hit all his little haunts at the same time, even the underground fighting down at the docks. He got shot, so I expect he’ll show up at a hospital or one of his henchmen will get him to an off-the-books clinic. Either way he’ll be found soon.”
“Stands to reason there will be a press conference tomorrow and the police will announce they are looking for him,” Jasper spoke up. “We wanted to see the women for ourselves. When I speak, I can say they are being cared for and with Zeva’s charity and our resources we’ll get them the help they need.”
“I want to talk to them individually to see what they need, when they wake up,” Zeva’s voice was somber. “I want everyone involved in this to be prosecuted at the full extent of the law. I have two of my social workers coming in the morning, and I’ll be here when they wake up.”
“Well, we caught ‘the Russian,' ” Haile said. “He’s small- time trying to be a player at the table, but he undercut his boss, so that won’t go over well with them when they see he was arrested and in jail. He has two options: spill his guts and get into protective custody or stay silent and die. The people he works for don’t take kindly to being stolen from.”
“Who is with Abigail?” Nina asked.
“Mrs. H. came to the manor, she’ll babysit gladly until we get back home,” Jasper replied with a smile. “It wasn’t a chore to get her to come out to the house.”
“We should settle in, going to be a long night,” Nina said with a sigh.
Melissa held up the thermos. “Cocoa anyone?”
Night turned into day, and they spoke to each woman individually, learning their stories and taking as much information as they could. Jasper left to be a part of the press conference while Zeva and her social workers stayed on. Nina and Melissa kept up the medical care, watching for nausea and other signs of withdrawal in the women.
“Where’s Donnie—can I see him?” That was from Britt, and it was the only time she spoke.
Nina smiled at her gently. “Would you like to go see him?”
When she nodded, Nina took her downstairs and witnessed the very sweet and emotional reunion between them. By the time she left with Mac for home, she had been gone for forty-eight hours straight and it was Christmas Eve.
“I am bone-tired,” Nina said with a sigh and leaned her head back against the headrest of her seat.
“Zeva has set up for the ladies to have a nice Christmas dinner and some gifts,” Mac said.
“Melissa said she’d be staying, her kids are half-away across the world for the holiday and she’s kind of go
t attached to Raine,” Nina said. “I’ll go back and check on them after I get some sleep.”
“Well, not so soon,” Mac took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles. “Spend Christmas with me.”
Nina smiled even as her eyes were closed. “You have no decorations, so how about my place?”
“As long as you let me make dinner,” Mac replied.
She laughed in shock. “You can cook?”
Mac chuckled. “Just you wait and see.”
Nina let the gentle way he stroked her lull her into doze as they drove to her flat over the Celtic Cross. It had been so hard to watch women too terrified to even eat until they relaxed and finally understood they were safe. Nina wanted to wipe the fear and the bruises on their bodies out of her mind at least for a little while. She remembered how Melissa had said if she ever got numb to the horror that they saw, it was time to stop being a nurse. Nina didn’t think she could ever get such a thick scar over her psyche. But she wanted to spend Christmas with Mac and pretend the world outside didn’t exist for a while. That was how she would heal herself and put some happiness in the midst of such a dark place. Immersing herself in the holiday spirit and the man who seemed to make her world just a bit better.
Chapter Eight
Nina faced Christmas morning with the excitement of a child as they opened gifts that neither of them knew the other had bought. She bought Mac some argyle socks and a silver man’s bracelet that had Celtic crosses embedded into onyx.
“Nina, this is beautiful,” Mac marveled softly and looked at her. “I didn’t expect anything like this.”
“Well, socks are socks, even if they are argyle,” she teased.
He laughed and kissed her. “Those are wonderful as well. I’ll wear them often. Now open mine.”
She gently pulled the silver foil open on the small box and inside was a long, velvet box. It held diamond studs and a necklace to match. The jewelry caught the lights of her tree, and she gasped at the beautiful gift.
