by Juniper Hart
He was starting to wake, but before he could open his eyes, Zoe took him into her wanting mouth, sucking lightly on his member, which hardened between her lips. The size of him excited her as she imagined what he would feel like inside her quivering body.
Groaning, Rocco’s eyelids slid open, and he struggled to sit up, half asleep yet aware of what was happening. Zoe closed her mouth firmly around him, taking him in long strokes as one hand cupped his sack, the other one rubbing at his chest.
She could feel a gush of titillation between her own legs as she recognized his mounting pleasure. Her hand slipped off his tightening pouch to feel the wetness of her own center, and she knew she was ready for him. Pulling her mouth back, she wiped the saliva from her lower lip, her eyes boring into his as she straddled him.
Before she could position herself, Rocco grabbed her by the waist and tossed her onto the bed, ripping at the delicate lace of her nightgown.
Zoe squealed lightly, and he slammed a hand over her mouth as he plunged into her, grabbing her thigh to wrap it around his waist.
Zoe’s eyes bugged at the size of him, it felt even better than she imagined. Another cry struggled to escape her, but his hand remained in place, his free palm stroking her face.
“You really are all grown up,” Rocco muttered, grunting slightly as his thrusts grew harder.
Her other leg rose, her ankles hooking against his broad hips. The force of his penetration drove her into the mattress.
Her head arched backward as her orgasm exploded, shudders wracking her body over and over while Rocco pushed onward, his own climax seconds behind. When he filled her with his hot juice, he did not slow, each stroke draining her of her own fluids.
Spent, Zoe could not move, her pulse jumping.
This was a bad idea, she thought, her fingertips tracing over the smooth definition of the muscles in Rocco’s back, but she could not bring herself to believe it. As she lay beneath him, she didn’t want him to withdraw from between her legs. He felt so right there, as if he was made to fit precisely in the spot.
“Are you okay?” Rocco asked, his voice raspy. He also seemed reluctant to leave his warm spot, and Zoe knew that they were deeply connected beyond their carnal attraction to each other.
Rocco propped himself up on his arm and stared at her, lightly rubbing her cheek with his finger.
“You should go back to your room,” he whispered, but Zoe shook her head.
Besides, the look in his eyes told her that he didn’t want her to go anywhere.
“No,” she replied firmly. “I’m staying here with you.”
He smiled, his white teeth flashing against the darkness of the room. “You’re going to get us caught,” he warned her.
“So, let’s get caught,” Zoe replied recklessly, but she didn’t mean it. She knew if her brother caught wind of what they had done, she’d never hear the end of it.
“We can’t do this again,” Rocco told her, but again, Zoe could read the lie in his face.
“Yes, we can,” she said, her lips reaching for him. “In fact, we’re going to do it again right now.”
***
Over the next two weeks, it became harder and harder for Zoe and Rocco to hide their growing affection for one another, with Zoe becoming blatantly obvious about their nightly trysts.
Rocco was certain that everyone in the Carrington household was beginning to speculate about them, but he did his best to play dumb.
He couldn’t deny it anymore—he was falling in love with his best friend’s sister, but they could never work. Even if Branson was to give his reluctant blessing, who knew when Rocco would find himself back in Scarlet Oak?
Every night, Zoe snuck into Rocco’s room to spend passionate hours, licking and sucking him while he lost himself in her velvety softness. He had never known another woman like her, giving so much of herself to him and wanting nothing but his prowess in return.
“I am going back overseas next week,” he told her. “What are we going to do when I’m gone?”
She smiled beguilingly. “We’re going to have to up our game,” she replied, throwing open her robe to expose her fresh, lovely figure.
They rolled along the mattress, their rhythms in perfect sync as Zoe bucked underneath him, clawing at him wildly.
Rocco gnashed gently at her skin, feeling a tightening in his chest as he strove to claim her in every possible way.
Zoe shrieked, laughing as she was pulled atop him, giving her the straddling position she so often desired. Without preamble, she lowered herself onto him, placing Rocco’s hands on her breasts to guide her deep, slow rocking.
A split second before the door flew open, Rocco sat up, sniffing the air, but it was too late.
Branson stood in the doorway, his eyes bright with fury. “I knew it!” he screamed, stomping toward them.
Before Rocco could comprehend what was happening, Branson had become the beast, lunging for the pair.
In his rage, he swatted at his sister with a heavily clawed paw, sending her flying into the wall and making her collapse onto the ground.
The action spurred Rocco to abandon his human form, and suddenly, the two bears were entangled in a furious fight.
“Stop!” Zoe screamed, her voice coming out in a gasp. While it wasn’t the worst hit she had taken, it had still knocked the wind out of her, and she tried to stand up on her still shaking legs. “Stop it!”
Neither animal seemed to hear her as they grew into a mass of howling fur and sharp claws.
Rocco overtook his friend, pinning Branson to the bed with a massive paw and baring his teeth to go for the jugular. In an instant, he was unexpectedly wrestled backward by another bear in the room.
“Stop it, you idiots!” Don Carrington roared, half in form, his blue eyes alight with anger.
Rocco attempted to lunge at Branson once more, but Don wrapped his arms around him and kept him in place, holding him back.
“You are brothers!” the older man demanded.
The words seemed to calm Rocco and Branson down enough that they no longer yearned to kill the other, but ire was still very much alive in the room.
Rocco felt himself transition back as Don held onto him, watching Branson do the same. He glanced toward Zoe, who had wrapped sheet around her naked form, standing on her feet but still trembling, and he rushed over to her.
“Are you all right?” he demanded, shooting Branson a dangerous look.
“She’s fine,” Don snapped. “She’s one of us. She’ll heal.”
Zoe nodded, lowering her eyes in embarrassment.
“You have been sleeping with Zoe under our noses!” Branson screamed. “When we opened our house to you!”
“I am a part of this household, too!” Zoe snarled. “And I’m a grown woman. I can decide who I want to sleep with. That doesn’t give you the right to storm in and attack!”
Branson seemed on the verge of morphing into his bear form once more, but Don bared his teeth in warning.
“Is this true, Zoe?” he asked his daughter. “You’ve been carrying on under our roof with Rocco?”
“Sir, it’s not like that,” Rocco interjected.
“Not like what?” Branson growled. “Not disgusting and disrespectful? I thought of you like a brother, Rocco, and this is how you repay that loyalty? Seducing my sister?”
Rocco didn’t know whether to laugh or be livid at Bran’s question.
“No one seduced me,” Zoe snapped. “Get it through your head that I’m not a child anymore, Branson. You cannot leave for three years and believe you can come back to dictate who I can fall in love with.”
A heavy silence fell over the room as all the men turned to look at her.
“What did you just say?” Rocco murmured.
Zoe’s mouth curved into a smile and she shrugged. “What? That I’m in love with you? Isn’t it obvious?” she asked nonchalantly.
The Carrington men looked uncomfortable.
“Well,” Don sai
d, clearing his throat. “How do you feel about this, Rocco?”
The words filled Rocco with an incredible happiness, and he couldn’t help shaking his head in disbelief. He had been sure that Zoe had seen their time together as fun while he fell deeper in love with her. He had never thought she mirrored his feelings.
Rocco did not answer Zoe’s father.
Instead, he leaned forward and cupped Zoe’s face in his palms. “I’m in love with you, too,” he told her. “These past two weeks have been the best of my life, and I can’t bear the thought of leaving you next week.”
“You don’t have to leave me,” she murmured, and he felt a stab of uncertainty.
“Zoe, Rocco has no say where he can live. The marines determine that for him,” Don said chidingly, and Rocco cast him a grateful look.
Zoe laughed merrily. “I know that,” she replied. “I was thinking about going with him.”
“Wait a minute now—” Don started, but for the first time since bursting into the bedroom, Branson seemed like the idea was growing on him.
“Yes!” he cried, clapping his hands together. “We would be amazing as a team. The three of us, living on base together! And you could finish college online.”
“Then, you’re happy?” Zoe asked Branson.
With a deep breath, Branson answered, “Yes! I suspected something was up between the two of you since I’ve been home, but I didn’t suspect that you two actually had feelings for each other. This whole time, I thought he was taking advantage of you, but it seems it’s much more than that.”
Don said, “Let’s go, Branson. We’ll give them some time to alone to talk.”
Father and son left the room.
Rocco stared at Zoe, his eyebrows raised in question. “Are you sure that is what you want to do?” he asked. “It means upsetting your life a great deal.”
“I can guarantee you that nothing will upset my life more than letting you go,” she replied, and Rocco’s heart pounded with happiness.
He kissed her deeply and passionately, staring into her blue eyes. “Are you sure?” he asked again. “I don’t ever want you to regret your decision.”
“The only decision I would regret is letting my mate go once I have found him,” she replied, wrapping her hands around his. “Now, let’s finish what we started.”
*****
THE END
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Taken Hostage
Scarlet Oak Shifters
Text Copyright © 2017 by Lucy Penn
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.
First printing, 2017
Publisher
Secret Woods Books
[email protected]
www.SecretWoodsBooks.com
Taken Hostage
Scarlet Oak Shifters
By: Lucy Penn
Taken Hostage
Chapter One
The amount of fury in Ruby’s blood could not be measured as she flew from the bar, her beige and green Gucci scarf fluttering about her neck as she stormed down the street.
As she expected, the accessory was not the only thing trailing behind her, and Rob’s voice yelled out loud enough to infuriate her further.
“Come on, Ruby, you’re being unreasonable!”
She spun on her heel, her dark eyes flashing with anger as she glared at her boyfriend.
“Then leave me alone to be unreasonable,” she snarled.
“You are such a damn drama queen, Ruby,” he grumbled. “Get your ass back inside and stop being so irrational.”
Her brown eyes widened in shocked amazement. He’s calling me a drama queen! He’s the one who just had a temper tantrum because I was talking to the bartender!
“Screw you, Rob,” she growled. “I’ve had enough of your infantile games. I need a real man, not an insecure baby.”
Rob reached for her arm, but Ruby shoved him away, watching as his face contorted into the jerk she had come to know so well over the past six months.
“Fine,” he spat. “Walk home. I hope you get robbed.”
The idea was laughable in a town like Scarlet Oak, but the sentiment enraged her all the same.
“Charming,” she snapped.
She didn’t allow him to respond as she fled down Maple Street toward Second Avenue. Ruby hoped he did not follow again, but she was reasonably certain that his ego would keep him at bay—at least for the time being.
It was as if they could never go out and simply have an enjoyable evening. It always turned into some war, some ridiculous battle about nothing at all.
And he would like it if I got robbed or worse, she thought bitterly. What a prick. I am done with him this time.
Of course, it was a promise she had made to herself several times in the past, and each time, he managed to charm his way back into her life.
The weather had turned unseasonably cold for late August, and Ruby wished she had thought to bring a jacket, but her heart raced with enough rage to ensure that she would be kept warm long enough to get home. She was only ten blocks away, after all.
“Hey!”
Someone called out to her, and she turned to acknowledge the man in a black pick-up truck driving slowly beside her without slowing her pace.
“Hey,” she replied. She wasn’t in the mood to engage in conversation, no matter how handsome the driver might be.
Maybe if Rob was still watching…
She paused, glancing behind her. It would serve Rob’s stupid ego right if she got into a vehicle with another man.
“You having problems with your boyfriend?” the man asked from the truck as he continued to follow her.
“What’s it to you?” she demanded, scowling at him.
“I’m a good ear, if you want to talk.”
“What do you really want, Shawn?” she snapped. “I’m having a really shitty night.”
Shawn let out a short laugh and held up one of his hands in mock surrender. “Come on, Ruby, you know me. I’m just seeing if I can help.”
She slowed her gait and considered his words.
“Get in the truck, Ruby,” Shawn said. “It’s cold and you’re upset.”
Again, she looked over her shoulder to see if Rob was still watching, but he had apparently disappeared back into the bar.
His words began to echo in her head. I hope you get robbed.
Screw him, Ruby thought.
“Hurry up, girl. All the cold air is coming in.”
She gnawed on her lower lip and reached for the passenger door, nodding. “All right, Shawn.”
But as she slipped into the seat, an inexplicable fission of alarm coursed through her body. She looked at the attractive driver and noticed that his jaw was suddenly locked in concentration.
“How did you know I was having problems with Robbie?” she asked, suddenly realizing where her apprehension had stemmed from.
“I was in the bar, too.”
Ruby stared at him. “No, you weren’t,” she said flatly. “There were like six people in there, and you weren’t one of them.”
Shawn didn’t answer, but Ruby noticed the car lurch forward slightly as he stepped on the gas. They flew past her street, and Ruby placed her hand on his arm.
“You just missed my turn off,” she informed him, but something told her that h
e was aware of that fact, and he had done it purposely. “Shawn?” she croaked when he didn’t respond. “Where are you taking me?”
“Shh, Ruby, just shut up and do as you’re told, and you won’t get hurt.”
She snorted. “I just told you I’m having a shitty night, and now you’re playing a ridiculous game?”
“Ruby, seriously, just shut up!”
Ruby stared at him dubiously, her brown eyes huge. “What the hell are you talking about?” she cried. “Stop the truck and let me out!”
He chuckled mirthlessly. “It’s not that simple, darling,” he replied. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you that a girl worth as much money as you shouldn’t walk around alone at night?”
Panic rising in her gut, Ruby noted the streets whizzing by and decided she would jump out at the next red light.
He has to stop sometime, she thought, gnawing on the insides of her cheeks.
As if reading her thoughts, Shawn pulled a gun from the center console, pointing it at her. “If you make one stupid move…” he said pleasantly. “If you scream for help or try to signal anyone, I will blow off your face. Are we clear?”
Swallowing, Ruby nodded, her hands reaching to smooth out her straight red strands. “What do you want?” she murmured, but she already had an idea about what Shawn might want. He wouldn’t have been the first man to look at her and see money signs.
“Your daddy just needs to pay us what he thinks you’re worth, honey,” Shawn told her. “As soon as he pays up, you’ll go home like nothing ever happened.”
But Ruby knew every word he spoke was a lie; after all, she knew exactly who Shawn was. It wasn’t like he’d leave town after he got the money. She was never going to see her family again.
Looks like Rob got his wish, she thought morbidly. I did get robbed—of my life.
Chapter Two