by Zara Chase
* * * *
“Are you crazy, coming up here at night?” Sabine asked, trying to look affronted and not scared shitless. The men had obviously been hiding on the blind side of the refuge. Rick had been watching it while he was here, but Leo couldn’t see it from his position. “Rick will be back any second.”
“The papers,” the second man said tersely. “There is not much time.”
“Are you taking me out with you?” Sabine winced, thinking she could have phrased that better. “What are your instructions?”
“The papers first.”
The man was still covering Sabine’s hand with his own sweaty palm, making her skin crawl.
“They are in that backpack,” she said, pointing to the one she had carried up. “Take them.”
The moment he released her hand, Sabine acted. She couldn’t call for help, and probably couldn’t take them both, but if she got to just one of them, that ought to give Rick the edge. She loved him passionately. Passionately enough to give up her own life for his. The refuge being so small acted in her favor. She moved her elbow sharply backward and caught the guy, not in the gut as she had hoped, but a glancing blow on his arm.
“Sorry,” she said meekly, as he looked at her with suspicion.
Without giving him time to figure out if the blow was accidental, she slid her right arm beneath his left, stepped in with her right foot until it was next to his and squatted. It was second nature to Sabine and she acted so fast that her opponent didn’t move a muscle. Before he could get his act together, she popped up from her squat, turning left in the same motion. Their entwined arms followed. Her left hand pulled the guy’s right arm, while her right simply lunged up and turned downwards in one smooth, fluid movement. The guy hit the concrete floor with a bone-crunching thud. His head stuck the edge of the bunk, knocking him out cold. The entire move had taken no more than five seconds.
“You shouldn’t have touched me, asshole,” she said, kicking his inert form.
Before she could turn to face the other guy, an arm encircled her neck, cutting off her air supply.
“And you should not have done that,” the guy now holding her said.
Sabine would have shrugged, but for the fact that she couldn’t move. “Had to try something. You were sent here to kill us both anyway.”
“Nothing personal. Orders are orders. But first I need to be sure you have those papers.”
“I already told you,” she gasped, feeling increasingly light-headed. “They’re in that bag.”
He loosened his hold on her just fractionally, sufficient for her to gulp some much-needed air into her lungs and for the stars that had been floating before her eyes to dissipate.
“Let’s go over there together and take a look. Nice and easy. Try any of that shit with me and it will be all over for you right now.”
Sabine refrained from pointing out it soon would be anyway. She shuffled slowly forward, making out she was woozier than she actually was, buying time so she could delve into her pocket for the small spray can of mace she had stowed there. Her fingers closed around it but there was a cap on it. If she could just ease it off, just possibly she could…
“Arghhh!”
The arm holding her throat fell away, and its owner crumpled to the floor, a husky firmly attached to his calf.
Chapter Thirteen
Rick stormed into the refuge, taking in the scene at a glance. Sabine was sagged against the bench seat, gasping for breath. He checked to ensure the guy she had tackled was really out cold, then lost no time in scooping her into his arms, leaving Ruben guarding the other guy.
“You okay, babe?” he asked anxiously, still calling himself all sorts of a fool for leaving her alone.
“Yeah, but a little breathless.”
“Let me get some help, then we can make sure no harm’s been done to you.”
He got on the radio to Leo and two minutes later the refuge was full of people.
“You did this?” one of the officers asked Sabine, looking down at the unconscious guy she’d thrown.
Sabine shrugged. “He touched me. I don’t like to be touched.”
Rick and Leo shared a look and both shook their heads, full of admiration. “Remind me not to piss you off, darlin’,” Rick said, kissing her. “How were you gonna deal with the other guy, just so we know.”
She grinned and extracted the mace from her pocket. “I never leave home without it.”
The radio crackled. It was Jack, reporting another helicopter wanting to use his landing space.
“Move away and let them,” Leo replied. “We’ve got the bad guys. The police will move in, impound the chopper and the pilot.”
“Will do,” Jack replied.
“That’ll please Padron,” Rick said with a wry smile. “Another impounded chopper to add to his growing collection.”
“He can’t claim it, can he?” Sabine asked.
Leo shrugged. “Padron owns this valley. He can do just about anything he likes. He would have been furious if he’d known in advance what was happening up here tonight, but now it’s resolved and won’t reflect on him, he’ll be quite happy to accept the spoils. Trust me, double standards do not keep Senor Padron awake at night.”
“Come on, sweetheart, let’s get you back down to the village,” Rick said.
“What about the eagles? Someone has to watch them.”
“One of the officers will stay until the morning shift relieves him.”
“You guys certainly seem to have some sway around these parts,” Sabine said, accepting Rick’s proffered arm. Now the excitement was all over, Rick could see that reaction was setting in and her legs didn’t look too strong. “Good boy,” she said, passing Ruben who was still growling at the prostrate villain with the bleeding leg. Ruben thumped his tail against the floor but didn’t leave his post until Rick whistled to him.
“I’m awfully glad Ruben came when he did,” Sabine admitted. “I don’t know if I would have got to the mace in time. The guy was getting twitchy. He admitted he’d been sent here to kill us both, by the way.”
“I felt like such a goddamned fool when I realized I’d fallen for that ruse,” Rick said, squeezing her hand so tightly that she protested. “I knew they would have to act fast. I could only pray they wanted to check the documents before they hurt you. In the end I just told Ruben to finish what he’d started with that guy. I couldn’t guarantee getting back to you in time myself, otherwise—”
“Shush.” Sabine placed a finger against Rick’s lips. “It’s over, we survived, and that’s all that matters.”
Rick threw his leg over the saddle of a quad bike and Sabine got up behind him, cuddling up to his back. He drove cautiously down through the night, reaching the village without incident. Leo rode shotgun on a second bike and the three of them made their way back to Hadleigh’s.
“I think a stiff drink is called for,” Leo said, letting them in by the side door to avoid the crowd in the bar.
“Right,” Rick agreed as they climbed the stairs to their private lounge. “Then I need to talk to Ward about the next step.”
“I’ll give him a call.”
Ward and Tanya, Ross and Darcy all responded to Leo’s summons, just as Jack joined them.
“What’s going on?” Ward demanded to know. “You all disappeared, and I knew there was something up.”
Once they all had drinks in their hands, Rick sat beside Sabine, draped a possessive arm around her shoulders and told them the story.
“Shit, Rick!” Ward looked furious. “Why didn’t you say? We would have been there for you.”
“I know that, but Tanya and Darcy would have had something to say about that, I’m betting.”
“We would have encouraged them to go, and given ourselves a break from them,” Tanya replied, lightening the mood with her flippancy.
“You can help me now, Ward,” Rick replied. “I warned the jerks that if they tried to resurrect the building project I would go publi
c with what I know.”
“You want me to write it up for the press?”
“Yeah, if you’re willing.”
Ward had been a prize-winning journalist back in the States and, with Tanya’s encouragement, had started filing freelance stuff again. This was right up his alley.
“You bet I am.”
“You won’t get sued. I have a whole load of documents to back up my report, including threatening phone calls from the would-be developers that I recorded. They were too stupid to worry about making threats over the phone. Anyway, what you write will kill the project once and for all. It’s what I should have done in the first place, I guess.” He tightened his hold on Sabine. “But if I’d done that, this lovely lady wouldn’t have come to Nevella looking to kick ass.”
“That’s a pretty good reason not to have gone public,” Leo said.
“Yeah, I knew something was holding me back, but only just discovered what.” He tickled the back of Sabine’s neck. “I guess I was counting on them realizing they’d been beaten and was giving them a way to save face and look somewhere else to build without destroying their reputation.” Rick should his head. “I never would have put myself down as being that naïve. Anyway, the public will eat up this story. Greedy property developers trying to build when they knew it would wipe out a threatened species, bent councilors taking back-handers to push the planning consent through, assassins being sent to shut me up. It’s Pulitzer Prize stuff. ”
“I’ll get right on it first thing tomorrow,” Ward replied, rubbing his hands together in gleeful anticipation.
“Did you really throw a guy over your shoulder, Sabine?” Darcy asked, awed.
“Yeah, it’s what I do. I can teach you, if you’d like. It’s not hard.”
Darcy’s eyes sparkled. “You mean you can teach me to throw Ross when he gets out of line?”
“Sure. It’s just a matter of technique.”
“It’ll earn you a real good hiding if you try it, darlin’,” Ross warned.
“I’m counting on that.”
Everyone laughed. Rick quit talking and luxuriated in the relief he felt now it was all over. He had been living under this threat for so long that he hadn’t realized how much of a strain it had become. He stood up, yawned, and pulled Sabine to her feet.
“Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get some sleep.”
“Sleep?” several male voices asked in unison, flexing brows and exchanging knowing smiles.
“Well, away from you guys anyway.”
Back in his rooms, Rick pulled Sabine into his arms and kissed her witless.
“I am so sorry I fell for that stupid ruse and left you exposed,” he said, brushing a strand of pink hair away from her face. “I’ll never forgive myself for that.”
“It’s okay. It all worked out, thanks to Ruben.”
“How could I have put the eagles’ welfare before your own?”
“Because they matter to you so much.”
“Yeah, but you matter way more.”
“I do?” She blinked at him. “Really? You don’t have to be nice.”
“Really. I love you, darlin’. How do you feel about giving up what you do and staying here with me full time? I want you to marry me.”
“Marry you?”
“I know it’s sudden, but I realized the moment I saw you that you were the one for me.”
“Even if I don’t want to go into the dungeon.”
“Fuck the dungeon.”
She giggled. “That’s rather the point of it, isn’t it?”
“Sabine, my timing sucks, I realize that. You’ve just had a brush with the grim reaper, you’re tired and overwrought, and you still have to get over Mike, the one man you thought you could trust, shafting you.”
“Not the one man, Rick. I trust you way more, and I don’t give a shit about Mike.”
“You don’t?”
“Nope. Somehow revenge doesn’t seem important.” She smiled up at him. “Now, you were talking about marriage. Sorry I interrupted.”
“I shouldn’t spring this on you now. It’s not fair.”
“Go right ahead.” She smiled. “I’ll decide what’s fair.”
“Good, because I can’t risk you taking yourself off without at least hearing how I feel.”
“Well no, but I am unemployed, so I suppose—”
“Just say you’ll consider it, is all I ask.”
“What’s to consider?”
“So you’re saying no?” Rick couldn’t keep the desolation out of his tone.
“No, big guy, that’s not what I’m saying.” She playfully thumped his shoulder. “Do you really love me? I’m not an easy person to love.”
“What I feel for you goes way beyond love,” Rick replied, pulling her even closer and kissing the top of her head. “It feels like we’re soul mates. That I’ve been waiting my whole life to meet you. No one else has come close to engendering these feelings in me. I’d slay dragons for you, darlin’, just so long as they’re not endangered ones.” Rick grasped her shoulders and sent her an ardent look. “I can’t lose you, Sabine, I just can’t. I don’t expect you to feel the same way, but please say you’ll stay, at least for now—”
“But I do feel the same way.” A glorious smile graced her features. “I love you, Rick.”
He inhaled sharply. “You do?”
“Sure I do. I let you touch me, don’t I?”
“Only because you wanna get laid.”
“Well, there is that.” Her laughter faded and her voice became more serious. “I never expected to fall in love, but the moment I saw you, something unlocked inside of me.” She reached up and touched his face. “I’m just having trouble believing you feel it, too. I thought it was just me getting all needy.”
“Oh, sweet thing, you have no idea how strongly I feel, but I intend to make you understand, if you’ll stay.”
“Sure I’ll stay, if you plan to. You don’t get rid of me that easily, buster. I have nowhere else I need to be, but there’s nothing stopping you going anywhere you like now.”
“I have to stay here for now for my projects, unless you’d rather be somewhere else.”
“No, I like it here, but I must find something to do.”
“You could help me, you could give self-defense classes, all sorts of stuff.” He engulfed her in a fierce hug. “We’ll work something out.”
“Okay.” She sent him a dazzling smile. “But there is just one other thing I’d like to know.”
“Name it.”
“How soon can you buy me those thigh-length boots so I can make my debut in the dungeon?”
He gaped at her. “Are you serious?”
“I would never joke about such a thing.”
“Okay, if you’re sure, who needs boots? I guess we can figure something else out.”
“What, now?” She suddenly looked a little less sure of herself.
Rick sent her a smoldering smile. “No time like the present. Take your clothes off, babe, and get yourself into that cute little PVC number.”
She did as he asked, eyes downcast, her excitement palpable. When she was dressed as instructed, Rick fixed on the nipple clamps and her collar, and then slapped her backside hard. He threw off his own clothing, allowing Sabine to see the extent of his excitement at this unexpected gift she was offering him. Right now he was so fucking huge, he felt he could give Leo a run for his money. He had figured it would be weeks before she would be ready for the dungeon. Once again he had underestimated her.
“Come on, sugar,” he said. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
She was breathing hard, her face flushed with excitement, by the time they reached the door to the dungeon.
“Hands and knees, darlin’. I’m gonna lead you on a leash, just like Ross did with Tanya the first time.”
“Is…is it busy in there?”
Rick peered around the door. “Yep, full house tonight. All of our guys are in there, and a load of others. You’ll
be a sensation.”
He thought she might baulk at the idea of being the star of the show. Instead she swallowed a couple of times, then obediently got down on all fours.
“Lead on, Master.”
Action paused when Rick led Sabine in, her lovely tits dangling beneath her, her bare ass visible beneath her skimpy dress. Rick took her into the thick of the action, then unfastened the leash. Leaving her on her hands and knees, he reached for a flogger and brought it down over her backside. Hard. Without telling her to expect it. She cried out but held her position, and Rick knew she was aroused, not distressed. He already knew the different noises she made well enough to be sure of that. She was a natural at this−loved having an audience. So did Rick.
He repeated the punishment several times, then ordered her to lay on her back and spread her legs. Her eyes glistened with anticipation as he raised the flogger again. She must have realized he planned to do what she had seen done to Tanya earlier in the week, and made no objection. He cracked the flogger across her pussy, and she shuddered.
“You okay?” he asked softly, wondering if he had gone too far.
“Wonderful, Sir.”
Damn, she was remarkable! “Get back on your hands and knees, sweet thing. I’m gonna let these people see me fuck your ass.”
She wiggled into position, the ass in question now striped a pretty pink following her flogging. Rick reached for lube and ran it between her buttocks, circling her anus with a slick finger. And then he was on her, and in her, fucking her hard. For once, his control had left him and he couldn’t wait. Action around him paused and everyone watched, as was the tradition when a new slave got fucked at Hadleigh’s for the first time. The owner of Hadleigh’s was suddenly beneath Sabine, kissing her, just as he had welcomed Tanya and Darcy with kisses.
“You just love what Rick’s doing to you, don’t you, Sabine?” he asked when he broke the kiss.
“Yes, sir,” she said breathlessly. “It’s a real turn on, doing it in here.”
Leo chuckled. “That’s kinda the idea. Enjoy, babe.”
He moved away to stand with Ross and Ward, watching as Sabine tried and fail to contain her orgasm. Rick pummeled her ass and tugged on the nipple chain, causing her body to shudder with a series of increasingly desperate trembles. As soon as they ceased, he let himself go.
