by Naomi West
“Open it.”
She didn’t want to, but not because Tank was there. Piper just didn’t want to see that she had been fired over something like this. Granted, once everything came to light, she could probably get her job back, but still. She clicked on the subject and quickly skimmed the message. “He’s pissed that I didn’t call in this morning. I guess he tried to call my phone, but it didn’t go through. It’s probably dead by now.” She laughed a little.
Tank looked away from the screen and to her. “What’s so funny?”
“It’s just that I’ve never missed a day of work since I started working there, and he never seemed to notice. I’m a no-call, no-show one day, and he’s acting like it’s the end of the world. Look, it says right here that if this sort of behavior continues, he’ll have to let me go. I didn’t think he gave much of a shit if I was there or not.”
While the situation amused her, Tank looked like he was seriously contemplating it. “You think this is the sort of guy who would call the police if you didn’t show up?”
Piper had thought about that right after she had been taken from the warehouse, but her ordeal in Tank’s basement had been enough to make her forget it. “I don’t know. Maybe. Probably only because he would be angry, though, not because he cared.” She suddenly realized just what that would mean. The cops would come looking for her. Unless Tank had already had his men take care of it, they would eventually find her car. Traffic surveillance cameras would probably show her heading toward the docks on that fateful night. And even though she had lied to Tank about it, Piper had told Alexa a little bit about the story she was working on. How long before they put it all together and found Tank?
Despite what her instincts should have been telling her, she didn’t want him to get caught. “I can email him back, tell him the same story I told my neighbor about going out of town. One of my work friends might be concerned, too.”
He nodded at the computer. “Go ahead.”
She was a fast typist, but it was difficult to get the job done with him there looking over her shoulder. Piper was nervous that he would think she was sending a secret message encoded within the email. Even though she was beginning to soften toward him, she was still afraid of him. After fixing her errors, she managed to get the emails sent. She concocted a story about having to go see a very sick relative out in the country, claiming that her cell didn’t work out there. It was the best she could do on a moment’s notice, and it had to be enough. When she was finished, she looked up at her captor. “Now what?”
Piper recognized that look in his eyes. Her breath left her chest when she saw it, her core tightening a little.
He was looking down at her with a fierce hunger, and he didn’t wait to act on it. “I told you before that I never agreed to exactly when I would be done with you.” He pulled her out of the chair and yanked her close to his body, kissing her with ferocity as he ran his hands down her body.
Piper had told herself after their last encounter that she would never do this with him again. She’d only had sex with him before because she had been foolish enough to think she was purchasing her freedom, and since that obviously wasn’t the case, she would no longer cooperate. But Tank had a certain power over her and over her body, and she found herself kissing him back. She liked the way his tongue slid against hers, and her breasts tingled at being pressed against his chest. A small moan escaped from her throat, and it was enough to keep Tank going.
With a quick efficiency, he turned her around and bent her over the desk. Several folders fell to the floor, but neither one of them paid much attention. He had her pants off with expert ease, and he plunged himself inside her.
Piper gasped. He was so damn big, and she hadn’t quite been ready for him. But she knew better than to fight him on this. She didn’t want to anger him, not when they had made so much progress, and deep down she knew she wanted this just as badly as he did. The way he filled her up made her realize that she had been keeping their tryst in the back of her mind, and she didn’t mind reliving it.
It was different here in her own apartment though. The cool surface of the desk pressed against her breasts as he pumped at her, and she braced herself against the edge. His fingers dug into the curve of her hips, keeping her in place as he thrust. Despite herself, she moaned again.
“You like that, don’t you?” he challenged as his right hand slid down her lower abdomen to the slick spot between her legs. He teased her clit with the tip of his finger, moving it in slow circles that sent shivers down her spine.
“Yes,” she gasped. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. He was keeping her prisoner, and she should be fighting him every step of the way. But she couldn’t, not when it felt this good.
His finger tapped her now, the speed increasing. “Tell me how much you like it.” Tank slammed his hips a little harder into her ass.
Her body wanted him even if her mind knew she shouldn’t, and she arched her back to give him better access. “I need that big, hard cock inside me,” she gasped, finding herself even more turned on as she said the words.
Tank’s left hand moved away from her hips, running up her back to her neck. He grabbed her hair, twisting it into a ponytail and pulling back so that she was bowed for him. “Tell me more. I want to hear it. I want to know how much you want me.”
White light crept into the edges of her vision as his finger massaged her, bringing her a pleasure that made her clutch at her breasts. “I want you to fuck me,” she breathed. “I want you to fuck me hard!”
He did as she said, pounding into her so hard that the desk was knocking against the wall. The pen stand slid off onto the windowsill, and several more papers fell to the floor. His finger moved even faster and harder against her, demanding that she come.
And she wanted to so badly. With a scream that probably alerted her neighbors, Piper felt her body convulse around him.
Tank felt it, too. “Oh yeah. Come all over me. I want that juice to run down my balls.”
She had never realized that she liked it dirty like this, and she was all too happy to oblige. Her walls rippled and clamped, and Tank’s fingers were slick against her now. Piper didn’t think she would ever stop coming, and it was only when he roared his own pleasure that was she was able to come down off the precipice he had pushed her to.
He smacked her ass, holding his hand in place afterward. “Damn, you’re a good lay.”
Piper’s face flushed at the compliment. “I’m just going to get in the shower, and you can look at the computer.” She ducked out of the room, expecting him to follow her to make sure she didn’t try to escape again.
To her surprise, he left her alone. It might have been a good opportunity for her to leave, but it felt so damn good to be at home and in her shower that she wanted nothing more than to stand under the stream of water for a while. She couldn’t get her mind off of what they had just done in her study. Tank liked it rough, and she was finding that she did, too. It was nice when a guy told her how beautiful she was or that he worshipped her, but Piper’s body truly responded to the way Tank handled her. She had no doubt that if they continued, she would find even more things that she liked.
She smiled to herself as she picked up her bottle of shampoo and washed her hair. Tank liked to point out that their little contract was going to include more than one go-round. Well, maybe she wasn’t quite done with him, either. If he didn’t plan to let her go anytime soon, then she could make this worth her while.
When she finished with her shower and put some clean clothes on, she found that Tank was still in the study. He was just closing the laptop, and he turned around to look at her. That wild look that had been in his eyes just before he had thrown her over the desk had receded, but it hadn’t disappeared altogether as he admired her in her tight T-shirt and jean shorts. “You’d better order some pizza and plan for a day at work in the morning.”
“What?” She hadn’t known exactly what to expect from him, but t
his hadn’t been it. Was he letting her go? She found a surprising sense of disappointment in her chest. There was something seriously wrong with her if she was enjoying being his prisoner. Or maybe she just really didn’t want to go to work in the morning.
Tank gestured toward the closed computer. “That Mick Walter emailed you back. He’s nine kinds of pissed. I really don’t care what he thinks, but I don’t want your absence to stir up more suspicion than it already has.”
The last couple of days had distanced Piper so much from her normal life that she wasn’t even sure how to proceed. “Okay. So what does that mean … for us?”
A small smile stretched his lips. “Things aren’t changing, if that’s what you’re asking. Only the location. I’m not ready to just let you run out into the world and blab about what you saw. From what I can see on your computer, you haven’t sent anything to anyone, but that doesn’t mean you won’t. We’ll stay here tonight, and I’ll take your laptop with me when I go in the morning.”
The idea of at least a little bit of freedom gave her a heady feeling, and Piper braced her hand on the doorway. “That sounds good. I can borrow one from the office to work on, and I’ll just tell them it’s in the shop.”
Tank stood, crossing the room to tower over her. “Don’t think this means that you’re free. When I’m gone, I’ll have a man assigned to you. He’ll keep his distance, and your coworkers won’t know the difference. Hell, you might not know the difference. But if you do anything weird or try to leave town, I’ll know about it right away.”
Piper nodded, suddenly feeling tired. She glanced at the clock. “I’d better get some sleep, then.” She suddenly felt awkward, realizing that their current situation wasn’t the same as it had been when they had still been staying at his house. He couldn’t just lock her in a closet here, not unless he wanted to unload a massive stack of linen and remove some shelves.
“Let’s go, then.”
17
Tank
Tank had noticed the look on Piper’s face as she understood that they were staying at her place and just what it implied, but he had been ready for it. There was a distinct advantage to not having her locked up in a remote corner of the basement. It meant she was always handy when he needed her.
And he certainly did now. It had been less than an hour since he had bent her over the desk, but he couldn’t seem to get enough of her. Tank followed her into the next room, his cock hardening again already. He pulled back the covers and stripped her down.
Piper didn’t fight him, but neither did she just stand there and allow him to do what he wanted. She removed his shirt and his pants, just as eager to get to his naked body as he had been to get to hers. It turned him on even more. She might have fooled both of them into thinking that she had only started having sex with him because she thought it would buy her freedom, but Tank knew the truth now. Piper wanted him, and he’d be damned if he’d deny her that.
He pulled back the covers, the sheets smelling faintly of lilac as he laid her down. Her naked legs wrapped around his waist, her body demanding him already. He gladly pierced the wet spot between her legs, relishing in the tight warmth of her. Her breasts were still damp as they pressed against his chest, and he immediately began thrusting. He couldn’t help it. He had to have every inch of him inside of her, and he loved the way his balls slapped against her. Tank ground his teeth as her nails sunk into his back. It was quick and dirty, just enough to get the job done this time, but he knew it wouldn’t be the last.
At one point in the middle of the night, Tank awoke with a start. He searched the room, his cloudy mind trying to make sense of where he was and what he was doing here. The faux tile ceiling was unfamiliar, as were the blankets and the feel of the mattress. Even more surprising was the warm body pressed against his. Tank looked down to see that his arms were around Piper, her back pressed against him and his package comfortably resting against her backside. Since when did he cuddle with the women he slept with? This wasn’t like him at all.
But he liked the way Piper’s hair was splayed across her face and the way the moonlight from the window accentuated her cheekbones. It was as though she had rolled to him in her sleep, her mind unaware of what her body wanted and doing what it could while it had the chance.
Tank considered turning over and facing the edge of the bed. It was either stay here or sleep on the couch, and he wasn’t interested in waking up with cramps in his neck. Telling himself that he was only staying because he was comfortable, Tank laid his head back down and allowed his arms to relax around Piper. What the hell had he gotten himself into?
The morning came early. Tank flinched angrily when the alarm went off, but Piper hopped out of bed as though she had been just lying there, waiting for the right time. She disappeared into the walk-in closet and came back out dressed for work before Tank had even managed to get out of bed all the way.
“I guess you’re a morning person,” he grumbled as he looked for his pants.
“You could say that.” She checked her outfit in the full-length mirror on the closet door. Piper looked much different when she was dressed for work than she had when Tank had seen her at the bar or at the warehouse. Her attempt at a slutty outfit and the simple shirt and jeans she had worn for snooping didn’t do her the same kind of justice that her work clothes did. Her slim black trousers, paired with a tailored, button-down shirt, complemented her figure nicely. The loose blazer and flats made her look professional and sexy.
Tank bit his tongue to keep himself from telling her he couldn’t let her leave the house looking that good. “I’ve got a lot to get caught up on, but as I said, you’ll have someone following you all day.”
“How ironic,” she remarked as she slipped on a gold bangle bracelet. “You kidnapped me because I was spying on you, and now you’re having someone follow me. Do I have to buy him lunch or anything?”
He had to admire the way she had handled this whole situation. Piper had shown her share of anger and fear, but anybody would have felt that way. It hadn’t stopped her from fighting him at first, and now that she had seen there was no point, she had resigned herself to the circumstances. “He can take care of himself. You just pretend like he’s not there, if you even notice him.” Tank was already sending a text to Chain, telling him to put his best man on the job.
“When do I get my cell back?” Piper was waiting impatiently for him by the bedroom door. “I use it a lot for work, you know. And for that matter, how am I supposed to get to work?”
“My guy should be done with it by this afternoon, so it’ll be waiting here for you when you get home. As for the car, I’ve already thought about that. I had a man drop it off in the garage last night. I’m sure you’ll forgive me for not offering you a ride.” He followed her down the hallway to the kitchen, where she quickly made a cup of coffee and pulled a bag of bagels out of the pantry.
“That’s quite all right. I’m going to have enough questions to deal with as it is. I’d like to think that nobody would notice how I got to the office, but I do work with an entire team of people who are paid to be nosy, after all.” She handed him a mug of coffee and turned around to get the cream cheese out of the fridge.
She moved so efficiently, not wasting a single second. Seeing her here in her own apartment was completely different than seeing her as a captive in his basement, and yet he could see the similarities. She was all business, and the time wasted in that closet must have driven her crazy. He didn’t mind seeing her ass in those dress pants as she bent over, either. But she was almost working with him too easily. “You do understand that I’ll know if you tell anyone where you’ve been the last couple of days, right? And it’s not going to be as simple as just locking you away for a day or two this time.”
Piper straightened and turned to look at him, her eyes level and serious. “I get it, Tank. Okay? I’m not stupid, and right now I’m just happy to get to sleep in my own bed. If it makes you feel better to continually threaten me, t
hen have it, but you’re not telling me anything I don’t already know.”
He shrugged. He didn’t know what to do with this woman. She couldn’t be as easily manipulated as the other women he’d had in his life as an adult, although most of them had been club girls. His phone beeped, and he quickly checked the message. “I’m leaving. Your guard is already on duty. Don’t look around for him, because if there’s anyone else watching you it will look suspicious.”
Piper set her mug down and laid a hand on his arm to stop him. “What do you mean, if anyone else is watching me? Who else would be interested?”
Tank shouldn’t have said that part out loud, even though he had been thinking it. “The cops have been tipped off to my deal, but you don’t seem to be the person who told them. That means there’s someone else interested in my business. Considering that I’ve spent the last few days with you, that means you’re part of my business as well. Just do us both a favor and play it cool. I’d hate to have my security man report back to me that he had to take you down.” Tank stormed back down the hall to get his shoes before he could say anything else.
Once Piper had left for work, he slipped down the hall and to the stairwell, knowing he would run into fewer people there than on the elevator. His car was right where he had left it in the garage, and he zoomed toward the clubhouse. Spending the night in her apartment had been pushing things too far. He should have brought her here so he could look through her things and then taken her right back to his house. Being on her property made it feel as though the scales had been tipped in her favor, and he didn’t like it. Tank brushed off his concerns as he pulled into the garage at the clubhouse. Chain had sent Grinder after her, and she wouldn’t be his concern again until later that evening.
And new worries were waiting to step in. Tank could sense the tension in the air as he made his way through the clubhouse, but none of the men he passed dare say anything to him. But he saw Tar waiting for him outside his office, and he knew things couldn’t be good.