Taken By Choice (Taken Trilogy Book 3)

by Jessica Frances

  “Rose mentioned he was there when you guys tried to rescue us and that she left him with you. Did that asshole actually just abandon you?” His arm around me tenses in anger.

  “No, I sent him away. Oh, God, I need to speak to Rose.” I pull out of his grip and stand, making it halfway to the door before his arms wrap around my middle and hold me against him.

  “Wait, what’s wrong?”

  “It’s Dean, he’s in trouble,” I whisper, afraid to say the words too loudly in case I remind the world that he is important to us. What if Blake didn’t make it in time? What if he’s dead?

  “Tell me what happened.” His tone leaves no room for argument, so I explain the conversation Blake and I overheard from Stan and Martha, and that I had sent him after Dean.

  “I have to tell Rose.” I have no idea what to say, though, or how to say it. This will devastate her, but I know I can’t lie to her about it. She deserves to know.

  “Right now? Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

  “Charlie…” I sigh, letting him turn me around to face him. I have a feeling this might be something he’ll tell me every day to avoid me having this conversation with her.

  “Rose has had it rough the last few days and it’s late. Can’t you give her one more night to rest before you tell her? Is it really important she know this very second?”

  He makes a good point. I’m also reminded that Martha told me I wasn’t to leave this room tonight. Do I really want to risk being taken away from everyone, just so I can give Rose some horrible news?

  “You’re right,” I admit, feeling the tension release from his body. “But tomorrow I’m telling her. I don’t think it’s fair to hide something like this from her.”

  “It might help fuel her determination to get away from here.” Charlie smiles, although I can tell it’s forced. He’s worried about Dean, too.

  I lean into him, letting his presence soak into me. I’ve wanted this moment between us since he was taken away from me, and now it’s here. My mind is scattered off into a million other places, but I have to believe Dean has made it. I saw Rose in that wedding dress after all; which I can only hope isn’t part of my fake dream world. I have to assume that means that Rose gets out of here, and hopefully we all get out with her.

  “She told me about Joel,” he says, his hand lifting my chin up so he can see my expression.

  A shudder racks my body. “Martha shot him in cold blood. It was awful. He saved my life, you know. He died lying to her about where I was,” I admit, feeling fresh tears falling down my face. I think these might be the first tears I’ve allowed myself to cry for Joel.

  “I’m sorry you had to see that. I can’t remember much about that day. I remember being at the cabin and seeing the cars pulling up. I know we were outside running downhill to get away when I looked back for you. My heart stampeding in my chest when I couldn’t see you. Then I remember you running towards me with someone behind you.”

  I rest my hand over his chest, feeling his heart rate accelerating. His eyes are glazed over, recalling what he can, no longer seeing me or this room. I lift my free hand to slide it through his hair, hoping to offer him some support; maybe to offer myself some comfort as well.

  “I can see him grabbing you, knocking you to the ground, and then I can’t remember anything. Will can’t even remember making it back to the cabin with Joel, but I think they might have given him too many sedatives. He took days to recover from it.”

  “As you ran to get to me, someone attacked you. You fought together, but Joel saved us both. Then I saw Will being taken away, so we ran to help him. Dean was there, too. We managed to fight them away from Will, but then Dean heard Rose calling out; she was in trouble so he left us to go to her. They took Will away and then it was just the two of us. They shot a dart into you, and you lost consciousness,” I explain to him, my voice shaky as I recall what happened after that. “I was ready to give up. I didn’t want to leave you. Joel had to carry me away. I yelled at him to let me be taken. I was ready to give myself up, but then I think I knew what was coming. I think my instincts were warning me that Martha was coming for us. We ran until Joel fell and hurt himself. That’s when I hid and Martha killed him. It’s also when Blake found me.”

  “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you.” He leads me back over to sit on the bed. I think he’s beginning to feel as emotionally drained as I am. “Rose wasn’t able to explain much about Blake. She said by the time you found her, you were already saying he was all right.”

  “He resisted at first, but Stan told him lies about us. He said we killed his family. Once he realized that wasn’t the case, it was easy for me to convince him of the deceptions he’d been told.” I leave out the part where Blake held a knife to my throat and threatened to kill me. Somehow I don’t think that would help make the case that Blake is to be trusted.

  “I’m glad he was able to help, and I’m sure he’s helping Dean, too.”

  I wish I could believe that.

  “Come on, it’s late. We should try to get some sleep. I haven’t been able to sleep a wink without you next to me and you look exhausted,” he points out as he moves over to the dresser and opens up the top drawer. “They wouldn’t tell me if you were okay or if I’d see you again, but I noticed my room was the only one with a double bed and then there were clothes in here that definitely aren’t meant for me.”

  He passes me some sweats as I notice a lot more clothes in there for me. He takes out a clean shirt for himself and, in front of me, lifts up his arms as he takes off his shirt, baring his chest to me. After the initial flare of heat zapping my body at seeing more of his exposed skin in front of me, I then notice the bruises littering his chest and arms. I reach out gently, touching a few of them. “What happened to you?”

  “This? This is just training. We all look like this.” He shrugs nonchalantly, but I see the heat in his eyes that flares as I touch him. It’s the same heat that is building higher inside me except concern is keeping me from acting on it.

  “What is this training?” I fear the ‘training’ he’s talking about is more about learning to take a beating than anything else.

  “It’s a lot like we were already doing ourselves, but more strict and full on. Don’t worry, I’ve gotten pretty good at fighting, I’ll look out for you.” Charlie rests a hand on one side of my face as I look into his eyes. I still can’t believe he’s really standing right in front of me.

  “I hate that Stan hurt you.” He touches the bruise over my left cheek.

  “Is he the one training everyone?” I ask, fear tinting my voice.

  “Yeah, he is, with two other men. I haven’t really seen much of him lately.” He runs his fingers down over my chin and lifts it upwards. “What happened here?” He traces the small scar from when I hit the rock after Blake pushed me.

  “I fell and hit a rock running through the woods.” I feel his warm breath hitting my neck as he leans closer to me and my heart speeds up.

  As a frown filters over his face, I see dark circles under his eyes. “I hate that I wasn’t there for you. I hate myself for putting us all in danger in the first place. If I hadn’t set off that blackout in D.C., then we never would have been caught.”

  “Don’t say that; you have no idea what would have happened to us. We were only six people up against P.A.G.E.; the odds were never with us. Besides, they have someone who can track us. They would have found us regardless.”

  “But I promised I’d keep you safe, and instead I got myself taken. I left you to have to witness Joel’s murder and then you broke into The Core alone. I’ve completely failed you.”

  “You didn’t fail me, you didn’t do anything wrong,” I try to assure him as he gazes down at me. I lift myself up onto my tiptoes and match my lips to his, needing him to forgive himself and see that I’m okay.

  Our kiss quickly deepens, my tears mixing in with the taste of Charlie. I welcome his familiar touch and scent, loving the feeling of his ha
rd body against mine. His hands wrap tightly around me, bringing me completely flush against him before his hands move under my sweater then over my naked back; my skin burns under his touch. I run my hands over his arms, loving the muscles I feel tensing under my fingertips.

  His hands drift between us, still under my sweater, moving them up and over my stomach. I know where he is leading them to, and I’m desperate for him to touch my breasts. So when he suddenly pulls away completely from me, I actually groan aloud.

  “You feel even skinnier than before,” he accuses me. “Were you eating at all these past few weeks?”

  I feel myself redden under his scrutiny. “We didn’t have a lot of money for food, and I was mostly too worried to eat, but I did. Rose made sure I did. I haven’t kept much food down since being here, though, because the drugs they were feeding me made me bring most of it back up.”

  “I hate them. We have to get away from here,” he says fiercely.

  “I know, but right now I need to do something else.” I step back from him, taking hold of my sweater and pulling it off me. I’m not wearing a shirt or bra underneath it.

  His breath catches and the look in his eyes sets me alight. He reaches out and moves my hair away from my shoulders, his eyes staying locked onto mine before he gazes down at my exposed neck. Holding me close to him, his lips come down over my sensitive area below my ear.

  I try to remain still and soak up the pleasure his actions bring me, but I feel an urgency that I can’t ignore. I wrap my arms around his back, moving my head to break his lips from me and dip my head. My lips find his hungrily and I’m lightheaded when our hands begin to roam each other. We move backwards until I feel my legs touch something soft and then Charlie gently pushes me down onto the bed. I fall at first, but quickly sit up, so I’m eye level with the bulge in his pants.

  I reach out and touch him through his sweats, loving his quick intake of breath and how he moans my name. I move my hand along him before I can no longer wait. I pull down his pants, then his boxers, and I’m finally free to see all of him. I stare at his length, my thoughts racing to what I want to do with him from this position, but then he steps out of his clothes and bends down in front of me, his hands moving to my hips. With one solid tug, he releases me of my own pants and underwear.

  I hold out my arms to him as he climbs over me, resting his body over mine. I welcome the weight of him. Even though we’re completely naked, neither of us moves. We stare into each other’s eyes, my heart beating a million miles in my chest before he kisses me. Not on the lips, but my nose then each cheek, careful to be gentle with my bruised side. When he kisses my earlobes, sucking on them lightly, that gets a reaction out of me. I shift under him, and feel his length shift in a delicious way, one that makes him groan my name again.

  Then all bets are off. My legs wrap around his middle as he kisses me passionately at the same time that his mouth demands control of me. His hands expertly squeeze and tug my nipples, the sensations from his length teasing me as his hands drive me to the edge and his mouth consumes me, pushing me to the brink of sanity.

  I push him until he rolls over and I’m on top of him. Our kiss isn’t even disrupted, but my hands are free to move wherever I want, and I move them over his length, hoping to drive him as crazy as he’s making me. He jerks away from me in shock. My hands continue moving over him and he tries to roll us again except we’ve run out of bed. We both laugh as we topple over the edge, taking the now messed up sheets with us. As he leans over me, I smile up at him, feeling him at my entrance.

  “Are you sure?” he asks, giving me an out if I need it.

  I don’t bother answering him verbally. Instead, I shift forward, bringing him into me and gasp as he fills me completely.

  We both groan in pleasure, waiting before we begin to move. When we do move, wow, pure ecstasy. I’m not a virgin, and neither is he. We know what we’re doing. I move my hips in a circle, a move I’m aware drives men crazy. Or at least, it used to drive my old high school boyfriend crazy. I smile, loving how Charlie gasps my name and stills. I know I almost made him finish with that one move, so I do it again.

  “Zoe…” he groans my name, and it’s the sexiest voice I’ve ever heard. He tortures me with kisses down my neck then over the tops of my breasts, leaving me begging for him to touch the oversensitive nipples.

  It’s not long before we both reach our climaxes. And then we begin again.

  And again.

  By the time we’re spent, I’m sprawled out on top of his chest as we both breathe heavily, unable to move a muscle.

  “That was…” Charlie tries gasping out, but he groans instead of answering.

  “I know,” I agree. What happened between us just then, there isn’t a word good enough to describe it.

  We’re both covered in sweat, tangled amongst the sheets on the ground, and that is when I realize we’re on the ground.

  “How did we end up here?” I murmur, my eyes drifting closed. I listen to his heart beating fast under my ear.

  “I have no idea. I suppose it’s fitting, though. Our first night together was spent on the floor back at The Windmill, and now our first time is on the floor.”

  Neither of us make a move to get back onto the bed. I let the peace between us settle my worries. I feel whole. I’m not an idiot; I know I’m only feeling this way because I’m wrapped up in Charlie’s arms, but I’m happy to enjoy this moment and savor it.

  “I want you to know that I’m not only saying this because of what we just did, I felt it a long time ago, but I didn’t know how to say it. I love you, Zoe.”

  My breath catches and I lift my head off his chest, looking deeply into his eyes. This is different to his exhausted confession in D.C. This is real. He continues talking when I don’t immediately respond.

  “I know it’s crazy, but I think I felt this way at The Windmill. I knew there was something special about you, and that first night you stayed in my bed, I couldn’t sleep at all. All I could think about was that you were lying next to me. This beautiful girl was lying next to me, in my bed. Then, when I hurt you with the door, I knew I needed to keep you safe, to protect you. I’ve never felt so much so quickly for someone before. It scared me a lot because I didn’t know if you felt the same way,” he admits, his eyes searching mine.

  I sit up, moving my hips and making him groan as I begin to reignite his desire. I smile suggestively, but don’t move again, wanting to say what I need before I lose myself to him again.

  “I did feel something for you then, too. I mean, I had a lot going on, but I knew there was something special about you. I’ve never felt this way about someone before, ever.”

  He smiles back at me, his hands moving to rest on either side of my hips. “I want to hate P.A.G.E., I want to hate Stan and Martha, and a big part of me does, but another part of me thinks that it all led me to you. How can I fully hate something that brought me so much love?”

  My legs tighten around him at his words, eliciting another groan. I haven’t meant to do that, yet I laugh at seeing his self-restraint crumbling under me. “I know. I wouldn’t be able to function right now if it weren’t for you. You’re the only thing that kept me going when I was stuck in Florida. Knowing I would see you again meant everything to me.” I lean back down over him, resting my front to his. His arms wrap around me tightly, holding me close. “When I lost you, I was so worried. I can’t go through that again. Out there on the run, or stuck in P.A.G.E.’s clutches, let’s make sure we stay together.”

  “There is nothing in this world that will keep me from you, I promise.”

  We lie in silence then. I focus on his breathing and the feel of his hard body under me. I’ve never had sex more than twice in the same night. Am I really ready for orgasm number four? As if reading my mind or, maybe more accurately, reading my body, Charlie breaks our silence.

  “Well, if there is going to be a positive to getting caught together, I guess it’s going to be that I don’t h
ave to worry about if I cause a blackout. We can repeat this as much as we want.” I hear the smile and excitement in his voice.

  I glance around us now and notice nothing electrical is working in our room. The lights are out and the only light source we have is the moon shining brightly outside.

  “When did that happen?”

  “I think right about the time you grabbed hold of my dick,” he says crudely. I find myself blushing at his words. I’m blushing after three earth shattering orgasms?

  “Well, I guess we should make the most of the blackout, don’t you think?”

  “Absolutely!” He sits up, causing me to sit up with him, and then lifts me up as he stands, throwing me unceremoniously on top of the bed. “Let’s try it up here.”

  “Kinky, I like that,” I joke, laughing when he grabs hold of my leg and slides me over to him as he crawls over the bed.

  “I can show you kinky if that’s what you like,” he growls at me, pinning my hands over my head and eliciting a shiver all over my body.

  I look into his eyes; behind the desire I see the love he has for me. It’s so obvious to me that it reminds me of the Charlie from my fake dreams as he looks at fake me with that same love. It makes me crave him more.

  “I love you.” The words slip out of my mouth easily. When I then lift my head up as far as I can go with my arms restrained, he leans down to meet me and our lips meet for a deep kiss, both of us knowing that neither will be getting much sleep tonight.

  Chapter 7 – The Other Man

  February 27th

  Charlie and I do manage a little sleep, but I try to resist. There is something that feels magical being in his arms and I don’t want to waste any time sleeping through it. Eventually we have to get up, though, and both of us are in need of showers. Our bodies haven’t done much else other than sweat through our endeavors last night and I think for sure we must smell like sex. I’m not sure if that is really something you can smell like, but I’m paranoid enough to not want to risk smelling like that through my first training session. So after a kiss that almost leads to more, I say goodbye to Charlie and walk alone to the girls’ bathrooms.