“Do you like that, Raleigh?” she asked as she kissed his jawline to his earlobe.
“I fuckin’ love it, baby, but I need to tell you something. I am allergic to strawberries.”
“What?” Samantha screamed, starting to panic, and all sight and sound went blank. She jumped off his lap before finally, the sound of Raleigh’s laughter pierced her ears. Then she realized he was teasing her, and she grabbed a pillow from the couch, tossing it at him.
“That’s not funny! Raleigh, you scared me to death.” She stood at the edge of the bed, looking down at him still tied to the bed. “I have half a mind to get dressed and leave you lying there.”
Raleigh was laughing and apologizing at the same time, begging Samantha to come back to bed.
“I’m sorry, baby, come back. I promise I will be good,” he pleaded.
“You’re damned right you’re gonna be good.” Samantha crawled onto the bed and over Raleigh, straddling his body. His cock lay right at the edge of her hole, the tip right on her clitoris. Not allowing him to enter her, she rubbed his tip on her clitoris, moving her body back and forth, rubbing his tip faster as her pussy got wetter. She could feel Raleigh’s cock twitch and fill as her motions quickened. She wanted him to see her climax as she used his cock to get herself off, so she pulled the scarf from Raleigh’s face as she rode him.
***
Raleigh
Samantha moaned as she got closer to orgasm, and for Raleigh, the movements were almost too much to take. He wanted to be inside her. He attempted to twist and pull at the restraints, but he couldn’t move; she had total control. All he could do was take in all the pleasure she was giving him and try to hold out until she let him inside her. As he lay watching her as she rubbed herself on his erection, he wanted so badly to suck on her breast and slip inside her. The warmth and wetness of her pussy was sure to send him over the edge.
He watched her as her long blonde hair flowed back and forth. As she pushed forward on his cock, her hair would flow over her breasts then backward, her breasts bouncing with every rhythmic movement she made. Her moans grew louder in his ears, and the sight of her biting her bottom lip sent waves of pleasure through him. Her wetness was finally enough for him to slide inside her. When he entered, they both gasped, and Samantha rode him faster.
As their movements became rhythmic, the heat between them was overwhelming. Their lips touched as their tongues melted together. Samantha paused for just a moment and pulled at the ties that bound Raleigh to the bed, freeing his hands and feet to move over her body.
Her back arched as his hands explored her. Sliding his hands up the inside of her arms, he pulled them above her head and interlaced their fingers. Raleigh took one arm and wrapped it around Samantha’s waist, rolling her over without missing a beat, his body covering hers.
“Now I am in control, baby,” he whispered in her ear as he nuzzled her neck, their movements in unison as they were both brought to the edge of uncontrollable pleasure. Their breaths hitched, and bursts of pleasure finally overtook them. In one orgasmic embrace, they climaxed together. Taking in each other’s kiss, they embraced and lay cuddling. Raleigh moved to Samantha’s side, cupped her chin in his hand, and turned her to face him, then asked, “Will you marry me?”
Samantha lay stunned at first and wasn’t sure she had heard what she thought she had heard. “Say that again.”
“I said, ‘Will you marry me?’ Samantha,” Raleigh repeated as he propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at her.
“I don’t know what to say.” Samantha smiled.
“Well, you could say yes.” Raleigh grinned then waited for her answer as he turned, bent down to the floor, and slipped the ring box out of his pants pocket. Sitting up on his knees, he turned and faced Samantha again, this time opening the ring box. “Samantha O’Hara, will you marry me?”
Samantha smiled and peered inside the box. Looking at Raleigh, she softly said, “Yes, Raleigh, I’ll marry you but on one condition.”
“And what’s that, darlin’?” he asked.
She paused for a moment, gathered herself, then she looked him in the eyes. Her face was soft, and her eyes became like pearls of glass as she said, “Promise me that you will never stop loving me and never leave my side. I fell in love with you the moment I set eyes on you, and with each passing day, my love for you grows stronger and stronger. I don’t want it to ever end.”
Raleigh leaned down and lifted Samantha to her knees. Holding her face lightly in his hand, he stared back at her and said, “I hear ya, Sammie, and you never have to worry about that. I will always be by your side no matter what, I promise you.”
Samantha wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled her head to his neck, then whispered, “I trust you, and I love you more than anything in this world.”
Lifting from her embrace, Raleigh took the ring from the box. “Let’s make this official then. Hold out your hand so I can slip this ring on your finger.”
Samantha smiled, lifted her hand to his, and he slipped the ring on her finger. “Now there’s proof you belong to me, darlin’, but it’s getting late, and I have an early flight back to Bama, so why don’t we get some sleep and we will give everyone the good news when I get back? Deal?” Raleigh said as he smacked her on the backside.
“Deal!” she replied.
Chapter 20
A sound in the hotel room stirred Raleigh awake, and he leaned over to Samantha, who was still asleep. “Did you hear that?” he asked.
Samantha’s eyes peeked open, and she smiled when she was finally able to focus and see Raleigh’s face. “What going on?” she replied.
“Did you hear that?” he questioned again.
“I don’t hear anything, babe. Lie back down and go to sleep. It’s probably outside in the hallway. You are too paranoid, Raleigh.” As she spoke the words, she finally heard it—someone was in the hotel suite.
“Okay, I heard that.” She sat up and fumbled on the side of the bed for her Glock. Raleigh was already on his knees in the bed with his sidearm poised and ready.
“There’s someone in the living room.” Raleigh got up quietly. He was completely naked, but so was Samantha, who was also already standing on the side of the bed, her Glock pointed toward the ceiling as they both moved toward the doorway into the living room. It was pitch black in the suite, and Samantha struggled to get her bearings as Raleigh was already in the living room.
Samantha made her way into the kitchenette area, and as she rounded the corner, Kristen lunged at her with a butcher’s knife, missing Samantha and embedding it into the wall behind her. As Samantha struggled again with Kristen, Raleigh came toward them and ordered Kristen to stop. Kristen pushed Samantha against the wall, grabbed her pistol, and headed toward Raleigh, the gun pointed at him.
Raleigh then fired at Kristen, making sure to only wing the pregnant woman. He grabbed her wrists and held them behind her as Samantha searched for her cuffs in her bag on the couch.
Handcuffing Kristen to her chair at the small dining table, Raleigh and Samantha got dressed, and Samantha called the police. Kristen fought at the cuffs, screaming and threatening Raleigh and Samantha, vowing to kill them both. Raleigh sat down across from Kristen as Samantha stood at the door, waiting for the police to arrive.
Raleigh’s face turned soft, and an air of caring was expressed in his voice as he asked, “Kristen, honey, I don’t understand what is going on with you. Can you please try to explain to me why you’re doing this?”
Samantha could tell by the expressions on Raleigh’s face that it genuinely did hurt him to see another person suffer, even if she had mistreated him when they were together. Kristen’s demeanor seemed to change as Raleigh placed his hand on her thigh.
When he did, she said calmly, softly, and with love in her voice, “Because we belong together, Raleigh. We can raise our child together as a family.”
He thought for a moment on how exactly he should handle the situation. He didn’
t want to get her riled up again and didn’t want to lie, either. “Kristen, you need to get some help. If not for yourself, do it for the baby. Will you do that, darlin’? Once you do that, then we can discuss what will happen next.” Raleigh waited for her reply.
“All right. I will do it for our baby and for us,” she replied.
Samantha made herself scarce and went out into the hallway to head off the police before they broke down the door. As the officers approached, she recognized Raleigh’s friend Roberts, who in turn recognized Samantha immediately.
“Seems you’re making a habit of getting into life-threatening situations,” Roberts exclaimed as he walked closer to Samantha.
“Yeah, I suppose it sure does seem like it.” She smiled then explained the situation. “Well right now, Raleigh has his ex-girlfriend Kristen handcuffed to a chair. She broke into the room and tried to kill me. Raleigh has her calm now, but you need to get her to a psych evaluation. So can you call an ambulance to transport her?”
“Of course. I would have to agree with you. I’ve known Kristen about as long as I have known Chief, and she may be a lot of things, but this isn’t like her. She’s definitely off the rails.” Roberts grabbed his radio and asked dispatch to send an ambulance then softly knocked on the door of the hotel room. Raleigh stood and opened the door.
“Glad it’s you, man. At least seeing you instead of uniformed officers won’t freak her out too much.”
“I had them stay downstairs, and I have an ambulance on its way. Your companion told me what’s going on, so we can make this as smooth as possible,” Roberts replied as he walked over to Kristen, who was still cuffed to the chair but now seemed calmer than what he had expected.
Roberts sat down in the chair in front of her and asked, “Kristen, do you remember me?”
“Oh yes, I remember you!” she acknowledged then asked, “Why are you here? Are you taking me to the hospital? I won’t go without Raleigh. He promised he wouldn’t leave me.”
Roberts looked Raleigh’s way, and Raleigh replied with a shake of his head, answering in the negative that he didn’t agree to that, but then walked over to Kristen, placing his hand on her shoulder. “Kristen, I’ll go downstairs with you, and I’ll see you at the hospital. It is important that you go with Roberts for now. Okay?”
She groaned in agreement then Roberts uncuffed her and helped her stand, then helped her out the door of the hotel room and to the waiting ambulance. Raleigh, good to his word, accompanied them. “Kristen, honey, you need to do what the doctors tell you, and I will see you at the hospital.” The paramedic closed the door, and Raleigh turned to Roberts, who waited for him a few feet away.
“I have to fly out in the morning to Alabama to meet with Jared’s parents. His daddy is in the hospital, and it doesn’t sound good. I don’t know how I am gonna tell them their only child is dead. I can get you my statement once I get back. Is that okay?”
“Oh yeah, it’s cool, Chief. Safe travels, and I will see you when you return,” Roberts replied.
“I have to get ahold of the guys to let them know they won’t need to watch the hotel since Kristen is on her way to the hospital. But can you do me a favor and keep an eye on Samantha? I would have the guys do it, but they are getting ready to deploy again, and I know they got things to do,” Raleigh asked.
“Of course, Chief. I will have a squad car keep an eye out. I gotta head back to the station, but call me when you get back, and I will get your statement. Can you ask your girl to come by tomorrow and I’ll get hers then?”
“Yep, Samantha is gonna drop me off at the airport in the morning; she can stop by on the way back. Well, I best go back and try and get some sleep before the trip, but keep me informed if you find out anything on Kristen. I feel bad for her, not sure why.”
“Well, Chief, dare I say you just got a good heart and a soft spot for strays?” Roberts laughed as he held his hand out to shake. “I best get back myself. I got a ton of paperwork to get done before my shift ends. I’ll see ya when you get back.”
“All right brother. Be safe out there.”
***
It was eight a.m. when Raleigh and Samantha arrived at the airport, pulling into the departures terminal drop-off and parking. Raleigh got out, pulled the tail gate down, and lifted his bag from the bed of the truck before quickly closing the gate as Samantha reached her arm around his waist and pulled him close to her.
Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her closer and kissed her. When their lips parted, he looked at Samantha. “Shouldn’t be gone but a day or so. Jared’s daddy is in intensive care, but I don’t have a choice. I have to tell them about Jared. Once I break the news, I will see if Macalister or Bryant can come and help with the planning. I don’t just wanna break the news and leave, but they will understand. I want you to stay safe and don’t get into trouble while I am gone,” he said, winking at her.
Samantha grinned and shrugged her shoulders. “Now what kinda trouble can I possibly get into in just a day or so?”
“I don’t know, darlin’, but I know you well enough to know that trouble finds you,” he said, smiling with a half laugh. “But I know you can take care of yourself. Just know the guys will be checking up on you. Just giving you a warno.”
“I figured you would have them do that. I will behave. I just wish I could go with you, but I know this is something you should do alone,” she replied as she kissed him on the cheek and gave him a swat on the ass. “Now get before I change my mind and stowaway in your carry on.” She grinned as he picked up his bag and headed to the curb side baggage handler.
***
Raleigh looked down at his boarding pass as he scanned the overheads for his seat number. 21A, aisle seat, right near the escape hatch. Perfect. Sammie, you are definitely a keeper. He finally found his seat and got comfortable, which meant dipping his hat over his eyes and waiting until the pilot gave the all clear to push the seat back and doze for the ninety-minute flight to Birmingham. When he arrived, he needed to quickly retrieve his rental vehicle and drive to the University of Alabama at Birmingham hospital and check on Jared’s daddy. He was dreading this flight and everything that came after it.
He was close to Jared’s family; they were like a second family to him. His heart ached at the thought of breaking theirs. As he laid back in the seat, a million words and phrases seemed to jumble in his head; Raleigh had always been a man with a way with words, but this trip and what lay ahead was emerging as his kryptonite.
Breaking people’s hearts was not something Raleigh Fitzgerald was good at, and these people were family. Finding the right words just wasn’t coming as easily as he thought they would, and neither was the nap he had so desperately wanted before he landed. The jolt of the plane indicated he had arrived in Birmingham. He would have to search his heart for the right words quickly and pray that they gave Jared’s parents some comfort.
He had already planned to keep the information about Jared’s involvement with the terrorists to himself. It would just cause them more pain, and they didn’t deserve that. They had always been so great to Raleigh, and he wanted to protect them at least until the time came that he had no choice but to tell them. Raleigh hoped that day would never come.
As he prepared to deplane, he grabbed his bag and waited as the other passengers did the same. Once off the plane, Raleigh slung the bag over his shoulder and made his way to baggage claim where the rental car counter was to pick up his car and drive to the hospital. Once Raleigh got into his vehicle, the grumbling of his stomach told him it was time to eat. It was eleven o’clock, close enough to lunchtime for him, so when he spotted a Chick-fil-A food was goal number one.
Maybe stopping to grab a bite first will clear my mind.
Pulling into the drive-thru of the restaurant, he ordered his food then parked. As he ate his sandwich, he tried to think of the right words to say to Jared’s parents that might bring them some sort of comfort. Raleigh didn’t want to lie to them, but he also d
idn’t want to tell them the complete truth. Finally devising a story that wouldn’t cause them more pain than they deserved, he quickly finished his sandwich.
His plan was to tell them Jared died serving his country and the circumstances of his death were still being investigated. This way Raleigh would not have to lie to them and they would also have the knowledge that their son was no longer with them.
The sight of Jared hanging in his jail cell still haunted Raleigh’s dreams. He never imagined it would all end this way. Sure, his best friend had betrayed him and others, but he didn’t deserve to die the way he did.
Thinking back to the good times they had together as brothers and brothers in arms was all he could do to keep the bad from overtaking the good, and there had been a lot of good. Although Raleigh hated that Jared had turned his back on all of them, he had found it in his heart to forgive him, too. It wasn’t his way to hold a grudge, and he sure wouldn’t start now.
Jumping into his rental and heading to UAB Hospital was what he needed to do now before the press got hold of the story that Jared and Semeana were dead. It would be devastating to the Thompsons if they saw the report on the news and not from Raleigh. The drive would be short; he was just down the road from the hospital, and now that he had a plan and the right words, he needed to get there as quickly as possible. The roads weren’t as busy as he thought they might be. There was still the usual construction, but he hit the interstate just at the right time. The usual stop and go was light, so he got lucky and had successfully avoided rush hour traffic. Coming off the interstate and navigating through the streets, he finally turned the corner into the parking garage of UAB Hospital then pulled into the first parking spot he found.
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