Stolen to Remember

by Alexa Riley

  “I’m so close,” she breathes, rocking her hips, and the length of my shaft glides over her clit. She grips me tighter and cries out again.

  “Shhh.” I put my hand over her mouth and lean in close but don’t stop moving inside her. “Those sounds are only for me.”

  She screams into my hand, arching her back, and her pussy creams my cock. I bury my face in her neck and allow the pulses of her release to milk my own from me. It’s hot and fast just like our love, but as I slowly come down from the high, I place kisses gently along her bare skin.

  “I don’t know if my legs are going to work,” she laughs.

  “You never have to walk again if you don’t want to, love.”

  “This really is heaven.”

  “As long as I’m inside of you, everywhere is heaven.” I look into her eyes and then smile at her. “I love you, Collins.”

  “I love you, too.” She kisses me sweetly before I rest my forehead to hers.

  “Want to go back on the dance floor or go to bed?”

  She pretends to think on it for a second before her eyes light up. “Let’s get some cake to go!”

  “Anything you want.” I kiss her one last time before we put our clothes back in place and walk out of the closet hand in hand.

  Even though both of us are a little wobbly on our legs.

  Epilogue

  Collins

  Five years later …

  I sit up, still sleepy from my nap but my stomach gets the better of me. With our daughter, I couldn't keep anything down for months but with our son I’m always hungry. After Maryjane, Kade swore we were never doing this again because the pregnancy was too much. I giggle thinking back on it. You would have thought he’d been the one throwing up and going through labor because the man worried himself sick. God, I love that husband of mine.

  Even when I was bent over the toilet with morning sickness I knew I would do it again and I’ve been lucky so far this time. My baby boy wants me to eat everything and doesn’t have any desire for me to throw anything up. I’m not even that far along, but still a small bump has popped out a lot quicker than the first time.

  I knew before my eyes opened from my nap I needed icing, and not the whipped kind either. I need the kind that’s thick and creamy and so rich it makes my teeth ache.

  “You’re right. We should dip the chocolate chip cookies in the icing.” I rub my baby bump as I swing my legs over the side of the bed. I look at the clock to see I only napped for thirty minutes and not my usual two hours.

  Kade kissed me goodbye this morning when he took Maryjane to preschool. He and his brother went back to the office together since they normally meet a few times a week to go over things. I came back to our house and passed out since my little bun wants all the sleep and sugar.

  I see from the glass of water and prenatal pills next to the bed Kade came in search of me. He’s likely back in his office counting down the time until I wake up or it’s time to get Maryjane from preschool. I still have another few hours until it’s time to pick her up. I yawn and down the water and the pills.

  This first week of preschool has been rough. I don’t know why it’s been so hard on Kade and me but our little MJ could care less about us. She’s a social butterfly, though everyone on the island knows each other already. I know she’s growing up and it makes my heart ache. The house is too quiet, which is another reason that after we have this little precious boy we will go on to have more. Kade shouldn’t have made a house with so many rooms if he didn’t want me to fill them. Besides, with how easy this pregnancy is going, I know he’s going to be down for another. It’s not like he can say no. The man can’t keep his hands off me and there’s no way he’s about to start. He just worries over me and I get it since he almost lost me once.

  I yawn as I walk into the bathroom and make myself look human as I brush my hair. I find a light dress and slip on some sandals as my stomach growls. “You act like you didn't eat a few hours ago.” I pat my stomach.

  Meals around here are mini feasts with a family as big as ours. I still can’t believe how many pancakes I ate this morning and I’m not going to think about how much bacon I’d chased it with.

  I make my way down the stairs, calling out for Kade in case he’s home. I go straight for the pantry, only finding the chocolate chip cookies and sprinkles. Oh God, I could mix the sprinkles into the icing and make a cookie sandwich, but I can’t find any freaking icing. How could we be out?

  If I go to the main house to look for some, Kade will leave whatever he’s working on to hunt down icing for me and I can get it on my own. I go to the front door and grab the keys to the golf cart off the hook. I’ll go to the main warehouse and get some myself. I could stock up on a few other things while I’m out.

  I go out to the cart and take off toward the warehouse, waving to a few people as I drive down the road. They wave back but I see a few people give me a weird look.

  “Don’t be a snitch!” I shout to Papa Mick when I see him pulling out his phone. I know he’s calling or texting Kade. I love this island but you can’t do anything without everyone knowing.

  I push the gas pedal harder, trying to beat Kade there. The main warehouse holds most things we need for the island and is right next to the airport. It’s easy to store things there when they come in and we use it like a grocery store to go in and stock up.

  “Mrs. Warsaw?” Jim says as I pull my cart to a stop in front of the warehouse. He says my name like he’s shocked to see me alone.

  “Icing,” I tell him as I walk past him. It actually looks like a new order has just arrived when I start roaming around the crates.

  I’m a woman on a mission and not paying attention to anything else when I run right into someone.

  “Can I help you find something?”

  I turn around and see a man I don’t recognize. I’m guessing he’s with the people doing the delivery drop. He must be new because I know most of them, too. He looks to be about my age and is shirtless. It’s not that hot out today so I don’t know why, and then I see his badge clipped to his jeans. His eyes roam over me. I know he’s checking me out and I swear I think I see him flex his chest muscles. I fight a laugh as I rest my hand over my small baby bump, letting my wedding ring show.

  “I’m good, Brent, but thanks.” I give him a small smile and resume my search.

  Did they move crap around? Maybe it’s my pregnancy brain and I do actually need help finding something, but how would the new guy know where it was? The warehouse is pretty big so I decide to go find Jim because he knows this place inside and out.

  I come up short when I see the shirtless Brent still standing there staring at me.

  “You sure I can’t help? Because I think there are all kinds of ways I can help you.” His eyes linger on my breasts and I feel like the dress is a little snug there. It’s giving me extra cleavage since they got bigger after Maryjane was born. They never went down, not even when I stopped breastfeeding. I love this dress and I couldn't bring myself to part with it so I never cared if it was a little snug.

  “I think you should probably go,” I suggest. I lean in a little so my hair falls over my shoulder. “Maybe even run,” I warn him.

  He reaches out to touch my hair, but before I can pull back out of his reach he’s gone. I let out a long sigh as my husband takes Brent to the ground.

  “If I can’t wrestle with shirtless men, neither can you.” I put my hands on my hips and stare down at my husband, who has helpless Brent pinned to the concrete.

  “Not funny,” my husband growls.

  “Jim!” I call out, but he’s already there with a few others to help pull Kade off of Brent.

  “Make sure he doesn't come back here. Yada yada, you know the drill,” I say before Kade can start in. “I need icing.” I turn to my husband, wanting to get down to business. The business of finding my icing and the good sex I’m about to get because my man is all worked up with jealousy.

  He gives me a h
ard look and stomps off. Two seconds later he comes back with my icing and grabs my hand, leading me back toward our cart.

  I hop in and bite my bottom lip to try and hide my smile.

  “Don’t think you’re eating this off cookies,” he says as he takes off back toward our place, and I lick my lips.

  “Well I guess it’s good you grabbed two cans.” One for me to eat off him and one for later because we both know I’ll be having my cookie sandwich.

  He pulls up to our place and he hands me the two cans before he comes around the cart and lifts me from it. “We have an hour,” he says. We enter our house and head up the stairs straight to our room.

  He’s right. We have an hour before we go pick up our little girl, but we also have forever too. Kade made sure of that when he brought me to this island. When he stole me away from the rest of the world and made me remember our love.

  Now I’ll never forget.

  * * *

  THE END… for now

  Stolen to Keep

  by Alexa Riley

  Berkley Tramble has had her life turned upside down since her sister was kidnapped and taken to a deserted island. It can’t possibly get any crazier, but when she runs from the man who doesn’t want to let her go, she’s the one being taken this time.

  Vaughn Warsaw will have Berkley by any means necessary. Flying across the world and making her his shouldn’t be too difficult. Right? Luckily for him she likes the chase, because the hunt is on for the woman he loves.

  Warning: Those Warsaw men are back at it with taking what they want and asking questions later. This over-the-top love has all the dirty sweetness you want while keeping the hero on his toes.

  Prologue

  Berkley

  I peek over my shoulder as I grip my backpack tighter. It’s so full of books it weighs almost as much as I do, but I forget about it because I swear someone is watching me. It’s a weird feeling that has the hair on my arms standing up. It's happened more than once and the knot in my stomach grows bigger with worry. I should’ve left the library before it got dark but I lost track of time. I’m not sure how that’s possible when I swear I’ve been counting the seconds since I last heard from my sister.

  I pick up the pace since I’m not far from my small flat. I had to get out for the day and the library is the only place I could think to go that’s cheap and I can focus. Too bad I didn’t get any studying done because my mind kept going back to my sister. Maybe no one is actually following me and I’m going crazy because I can’t get in contact with her. My mind keeps telling me she’s been kidnapped or something, which is nuts.

  I really need to stop listening to those true crime podcasts. I’ve convinced myself some psycho killer has her and there’s absolutely nothing I can do but obsess over her not answering my texts or phone calls or emails. But the thing is, this isn’t like her. We’re always in contact, except when I’m in super-study mode and even then when I reach out to her she always picks up. Last I heard from her, she was going to an interview. I called a million times and finally got out of the company that she did show up to the interview but they couldn’t give me any more information. Since then I can’t find anyone else who’s seen her. I’m still waiting to hear back from her landlord and I’m hoping he can give me something because the police have been no help. I couldn’t even get them to do a safety check for me. They said if I wanted to file a missing persons report I needed to come into the station and do it. That’s not so easy because I’m a whole continent away. It’s not like I can hop on the next flight out of London. I can’t pull thousands of dollars out of my ass, but I’m getting worried.

  I grab my keys out of my pocket and move quickly as the feeling of someone following me lurks. Just as I do, I run into a body and almost knock my keys out of my hand. I mumble an apology as I dart into my building and bypass the elevator. I take the stairs quickly to my floor, then open my door as fast as I can and lock it behind me. I drop my bag and keys and then lean up against the door to catch my breath, feeling momentarily safe. My eyes close as I try and pull it together. My shoulder hurts from whoever I ran into and I feel guilty for not watching where I was going. I have too much other crap to worry about so I’m sure he’s fine. I don’t think he even noticed or moved when I bounced off him and kept going without bothering to look up.

  “You’re not going to cry,” I tell myself, because I don’t ever cry. I might be the younger one between Collins and me, but I tend to have a stronger backbone. I can keep it together better. We were born less than a year apart so people call us Irish twins. We’ve always been close and that bond only grew when we lost our parents.

  This separation has been tough though. We both kept saying that my going off to college in London was a no-brainer decision. I was offered a full ride and given grants that helped pay for my tiny flat. I thought it was the correct decision, but it was hard leaving Collins, and even now being so close to the finish line I’m questioning if I made the right choice. I can’t find my sister, and if I’d been back home I’d know where she was.

  I reach down and grab my backpack and dig out my phone. I check for the millionth time that I have no missed calls or texts from her and it doesn't show that she’s even seen any of my messages. When I track her location nothing comes up and it’s as if the phone is destroyed. That could have happened but I still think she would’ve sent me an email or something to let me know she didn’t have her phone. I pray it’s something simple like she broke her phone and her laptop isn’t working and that she’s not worried about it because she knows I’m getting ready for finals. I’m supposed to be wrapping up my last few research papers and not stressing over where she could be.

  I sit down on the sofa and hold my phone tightly in my hand, willing it to ring. I don’t know how long I stay like that but I jolt awake when I hear my ringtone. I realize I must have dozed off for a second but I grab it up quickly and answer the unfamiliar number.

  “Hello.”

  “Berkley.” I know the growly tone of Collins’s landlord immediately. And I’m relieved he’s finally calling me back. I’ve been on him for days about checking on her and he’s just now calling me. How hard is it to knock on the door of one of your tenants’ homes and do a simple check-in?

  “Was she there?” I blurt out.

  “Hi to you too,” he scoffs. I clench my jaw, reminding myself he has information I want and if I get snippy he’ll hang up on me.

  “Sorry. Hi, Mr. Jones.” I’m gripping my phone so tightly my fingers start to ache.

  “Hello to you too, Berkley.” I’m going to punch this man if I ever meet him.

  “My sister?” I push as I rub the sleep out of my eyes.

  “Gone.”

  All the air is sucked out of my lungs as the one word tries to find logic in my mind. Gone? What does that even mean? I drop my hand from my face, feeling numb.

  “Is she—”

  “She broke her lease. It was paid off and her place has been cleaned out.”

  “What?” That doesn't make any sense. “Why did she break her lease?”

  “She didn't, her lawyer did.”

  “My sister doesn't have a lawyer.” Now I know he’s lying. Oh my God, what if he did something with her and he’s trying to cover it up?

  “She not only has a lawyer but she had a whole moving crew and a few men in suits roaming around. Y’all win the lottery or something?” He clicks his tongue like he’s the one trying to put the pieces together.

  What is this man talking about? “I. Can’t. Find. My. Sister.” I yell each word through the phone so he can get on my level. He’s not understanding the severity of what’s going on here. No one is because I can’t get anyone to listen to me.

  “Maybe she doesn't want to be found. I don’t know what to tell you.” With that, he hangs up on me.

  My eyes fill with tears. He was my last hope. I’m more confused than before and a small spark of hope lights in my chest that maybe something crazy did hap
pen. What if she did have a lawyer and moving crew? Did she get a kickass job that let her move and she’s been too busy getting it together to tell me? Either way, I know I have to go find out for myself.

  I grab my backpack and pull out my laptop. I search through flights, thinking a last-minute one probably isn’t going to be possible. I don’t have the money for this. I have an emergency credit card but it wouldn't be enough to cover the flight.

  I find a pen and do the math because there’s no choice. If I don't find out she’s okay, I’ll fail all my classes anyway. There’s no way I’ll be able to think about anything else until I know what’s going on.

  I jump when a loud knock sounds at my door. I sit there for a second thinking it must be for my neighbor since no one comes to my place. The knock sounds again and this time it’s louder.

  My adrenaline spikes when I wonder if maybe it’s Collins. I jump off the sofa and run to the door.

  “Collins?” I call out as I yank it open. I should’ve looked through the peephole, because this is very much not Collins.

  I go to slam the door in the big man's face. His hand swings out and catches it before I get it shut.

  “I know where Collins is,” he says, his eyes roaming up and down my body. He looks me over and his lips twitch in an annoyingly handsome way.

  “Why should I believe you?” I ask.

  He sticks his foot out so I can’t close the door as his hand drops away. Now it’s my turn to take in my fill of him while he fishes his phone out of his pocket. He’s tall and solid with short hair on the sides and shaggy hair on top. He seems relaxed, which puts me a little at ease but something about him says money. Could this be one of the suits Mr. Jones was talking about? My impatience grows as I wait, even though it’s only been a second or two.