Abduction (A Psychic Romance Novella Series)

by Ladd, Larissa

  He was smiling slightly; Gabrielle could feel the movement of his lips. How was it possible that she knew him so little, and he had such a good read on her? Gabrielle was held in place not by Dustin’s ability, but by his hands, gripping her hips tightly and holding her where she could feel him through the thin fabric of their clothes. “Because, you know, if control is what you want, I could let you tie me up.”

  Gabrielle’s heart was pounding, her throat dry; she struggled with the intense lust that Dustin was managing to inspire in her with seemingly no effort at all. He trailed his lips down along her throat to her collar bones, kissing and teasing.

  “Dustin,” Gabrielle murmured, closing her eyes. It didn’t help—in fact it made it more difficult for her to separate her thoughts from the situation at hand. She opened her eyes again and gave him a careful shove. “Dustin, stop. We can’t do this. Not … not now. I need to think, and I don’t even really know you! I just need … I need some time to myself.”

  Dustin pulled back, looking at her for a long, silent moment. His bright eyes looked over every inch of her face, and he stepped back from her, sighing. He smiled faintly.

  “I’ll go back to reading the news, then.” There was no reproach in his voice, nothing to indicate anything more than mild disappointment. Just when he would have turned away, as Gabrielle began to relax, he leaned in and brushed his lips across her temple, kissing her with a feather-light touch.

  “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.” He turned quickly and his tablet flew up from the table into his hands. Dustin didn’t look at her as he left the room, retreating into another part of the small house.

  Gabrielle sighed, wondering why she felt so incredibly let down. She had wanted him to stop—and he had stopped. She knew it was a horrible idea to encourage him, or even to let him encourage her, into more sex. Gabrielle didn’t know what his bosses wanted with her, but she knew that she was going to insist on answers before she agreed to anything. And having her mind clouded with lust and affection for Dustin wasn’t going to help her remain objective and ask the difficult questions.

  Gabrielle rummaged in the cabinets and the fridge and found some cold cereal to eat. As she sat and ate, she tried not to dwell too much on the subject of Dustin—but the thoughts came anyway. It was somehow echoingly quiet, and Gabrielle didn’t like the sudden solitude. Perhaps if she had something to do with her time, it would be different; but Dustin had vetoed her bringing her computer with her, had even insisted on her taking the battery out of her phone, in case someone was tracking her that way. His own technology was non-traceable. He had told her when she pointed out that he had electronics in tow. Something special that the people he worked for had cooked up.

  Gabrielle ate her cereal meditatively, trying not to let the situation get to her. She had never really been able to deal with prolonged idle time—and she had not gotten better at it in her mid-twenties. At least, she thought wryly, the sex had taken up several hours of the night that would have otherwise been unutterably boring.

  Gabrielle tried to reach out to see if she could still feel Dustin’s mind. When they were in physical contact, she was able to read him vaguely—to feel his emotions, to know basic thoughts that were at the fore of his mind. As before, when she tried to find his mind, she was confronted with a big nothingness. There was a sense of denseness to the blank that was his mind, but there was nothing more to it than that.

  Gabrielle wondered what, exactly, was making it possible for Dustin to block her; it clearly wasn’t that he was naturally just impossible to read. Rather, it seemed as if he were one of those people who it would be difficult for her to read anyway, and on top of that there was something blocking her, rebuffing her attempts. It was curious, and Gabrielle wasn’t certain she liked it.

  She washed her bowl and spoon and finished her coffee, trying to think of something to do. “I guess reading is the order of the day,” she said to no one in particular, needing some kind of sound to fill the air around her. She shook her head, trying to suppress her sense of unease and discomfort at having pushed Dustin away. Her body didn’t want him away—but her brain was insistent. And Gabrielle had always made it a policy to side with her brain over her body on any issue.

  Chapter Ten

  Gabrielle paced in her bedroom, a pile of discarded books on the bed. The day was absolutely dragging by. She hadn’t heard from Dustin in hours—and she had read most of the collection of books that were available. Gabrielle couldn’t stand the waiting. By the same token, however, she had told herself at least a dozen times that she was not the slightest bit interested in speaking with Dustin. She would just have to sit tight and do what she could to entertain herself, she had insisted firmly, picking up and putting down books as the day wore on. Her thoughts kept going back to Dustin, however. It was difficult not to wonder what he was doing, not to want to talk to him, to at least try to get more information about the people who he worked for, or his past. But she knew, deep down, that if she let herself get drawn into a conversation with Dustin again, she’d start letting herself get charmed, and in no time she would be tumbling into his arms.

  They had barely seen each other around lunch time, and even that was enough for Gabrielle to be distracted long after. It was midafternoon, and she couldn’t stand it anymore. The uncertainty, the boredom, her need for some kind of companionship all demanded that she talk to Dustin. She would just have to take things however they came, she told herself. She would try to keep from letting herself get sucked in, but she was not able to deal with so much loneliness and idle time.

  Gabrielle gathered up the books and put them away—respecting that they belonged to someone else—and stepped out of her bedroom, looking around for Dustin. It isn’t as if he can go very far, she thought wryly. He has to make sure he can keep an eye on you, after all. And the house is pretty small.

  Although the house was small, Gabrielle thought, it was a lot nicer than she would have ever thought. The beds were incredibly comfortable, with memory foam on top of the mattress and silky sheets, and quilts that were just warm enough for the mild weather. She blushed, remembering how thoroughly she and Dustin had tested out the resilience and comfort level of both of their beds. They had decided at the end that they had liked the bed that Gabrielle had taken better. Idly, as she walked from the kitchen through the living room, Gabrielle wondered if Dustin had even stayed asleep next to her, or if he had let her drop off before going to his own bed to be alone.

  She found Dustin sitting on the porch, reading a report of some kind—on paper no less—quietly, a cup of coffee near at hand.

  “I’m done having alone time. As it turns out, I’m not very good company,” she said, sitting on the floor and looking up at him.

  “I found you to be very good company,” he said, sitting forward. His eyes were almost glowing in the afternoon light. “What’s on your mind?” He put the papers down and smiled slightly, raising an eyebrow.

  Gabrielle crossed her legs and shifted around, trying to get comfortable. She was overly aware of Dustin’s proximity. He had put on a t-shirt, but it hung loosely on his lean frame, making her remember all too well how his body had felt pressed against hers. She thought about the way he had lifted her up onto the counter in the morning, the way he had kissed her. She heard his half-mocking suggestion that if she wanted control, she was welcome to tie him up.

  “Isn’t there anything you can tell me about what’s going on? Anything at all?” Dustin considered the question, and Gabrielle wished that she could read him. If she could, she’d get the information she wanted without him having to oblige her; she could ask the question and have the answer when it floated up into his mind. Maybe, she thought, if she seduced him, she could get better answers; she could only read him dimly when they were in physical contact, but it was better than nothing. She realized that the idea had a selfish bent in more than one way—she wanted to seduce him not only to see if she could get more information, but becaus
e she wanted to have sex with him again. Down, girl! She felt herself blushing and attempted to suppress it.

  “I can tell you that in spite of my … what was it you called them? My high-handed ways, the people I work for are good people. They are genuinely interested in you—but they won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to do. I can’t say the same for the group that hired the thugs to grab you.”

  Gabrielle thought about that for a moment; the fact that they had hired thugs with stun guns, big burly men that would have easily defeated her if not for Dustin’s assistance, seemed to speak to his assertion. “I know you’re suspicious, and I would be too.”

  “I just want my normal life back.” Gabrielle shrugged.

  Dustin looked at her with pity, and Gabrielle checked, wondering what new difficulty she was about to face. He shook his head, looking away from her for a moment.

  “You’re not likely to get that. Not entirely, anyway. Now that you’re an object of interest, I mean. Until we can put that … that group out of business for good, you’re going to continue to be vulnerable.”

  “You said it would be a few days, and then I could go back home,” she said, hearing the startlement in her own voice. “How long is it going to take for you to take care of this group? You obviously know who they are. Is it going to be weeks? Months?” Gabrielle’s eyes widened.

  “You’re important to their plans. We know who they are, but they move around. You’d … you would probably continue to be vulnerable for months.” Dustin shook his head again.

  Gabrielle stood up without even being fully aware of her intention. She stared down at Dustin, whose bright eyes were clouded with regret.

  “And you didn’t think to tell me this when you abducted me in the first damned place? What the hell am I supposed to do? How am I going to live?” She clenched her hands into fists, wanting nothing more than to launch herself at Dustin. All feelings of affection toward him evaporated; he had lied to her. She had never taken kindly to being lied to, but it hurt more when she didn’t know it was happening. When people had lied to her in the past, she had always known the truth in their minds. It had been insulting, but not as much of a betrayal as this.

  “I didn’t know for sure until this morning, Gabrielle. I got a report from one of our other personnel. They really want you. I don’t know why you’re specific to their plans, but you have to believe that I’m committed to protecting you. I wouldn’t have brought you here if I wasn’t.”

  Gabrielle turned away from him, walking away as fast as she could. She needed space again—not because of lust, this time, but because of the depths of her anger and hurt. She stepped off of the porch and towards the trees, uncaring of if Dustin tried to stop her. She couldn’t stand to be that close to him. If he came near her, she’d do whatever she had to do to hurt him.

  She heard him calling her name and ignored it, moving through the clearing in front of the house and towards the trees, wanting nothing more than to keep walking until she reached something like society once more. Boredom had been bad, and it would be difficult for her to make her way through the woods safely, but she couldn’t stand to be in the same house as a person who had lied to her, a person who was indirectly involved in essentially ruining her life. Even if he had good intentions, she couldn’t take it.

  Dustin didn’t stop her with his ability, and Gabrielle irrationally felt angry that he was confident enough not to pursue her into the woods. After all, she thought bitterly, it’s not like I really have anywhere to go. I’d be walking right into their hands if I went back home.

  It took her a moment to recognize what was wrong; pausing in the midst of the trees, Gabrielle looked around and noticed that there were none of the animal sounds that she had become so used to that she had started to ignore them. Not a bird was singing, there was no rustle of animal movement.

  Her heart pounded. She told herself reasonably that she could have been the cause, but she felt the hairs on the back of her neck standing up on end in instinctive alarm. She opened her mind as broadly as she could, casting her thoughts around; she wouldn’t hear Dustin, but if there was someone else, a hunter maybe or someone she could trust, she’d hear them.

  Gabrielle felt the brush of her mind against another mind, unmistakable.

  There she is.

  She heard the thought, muted and quiet. Gabrielle looked around, seeking the source of the thought. It wasn’t Dustin—she had never heard direct thoughts from him, and the touch of the mind wasn’t the same.

  Gabrielle bit her lip, feeling like a doe surrounded by wolves she knew were there but couldn’t track. Gabrielle knew that she would only have a moment or two to react. She couldn’t shout for Dustin—he might not be able to get to her quickly, unless he was already after her, and besides, she couldn’t alert her would-be assailant to the fact that she knew he was there. She wondered if they had somehow managed to get Dustin already. She thought about the situation fast.

  DUSTIN! she called out with her mind, putting as much volume into her mental voice as possible. DUSTIN, THERE’S SOMEONE HERE! HELP!

  Chapter Eleven

  Just as she finished her mental shout, she heard movement in the woods nearby. Gabrielle didn’t know what she was up against. She could stand and see about fighting off whoever it was that was after her, or she could make the more prudent decision and try and get back to Dustin.

  Looking around quickly, she realized that she wasn’t entirely sure where she had come from. The woods were dense around her. She picked a direction and began to run, away from the sound, from the presence she had felt. It would be easier to fight in the clearing, she thought. The rustling behind her increased and Gabrielle picked up her pace, trying in vain to feel for Dustin’s presence. She didn’t even know if he had heard her shout—if he was receptive.

  She could feel two people behind her—the one who had tipped her off to the potential attack, and another person whose mind had been all but silent before. Gabrielle could hear their thoughts; they were after her. They had others after Dustin. They wanted to get the job done quickly, but they didn’t need to be quiet, not this far removed from society. There was no one to call the cops. These thugs were more sophisticated than the ones who had come after her before.

  Gabrielle barely felt the brambles and branches that smacked against her as she ran, fueled by adrenaline, trying to think of what she should do. If other thugs were after Dustin, she would need to get to him; they’d have a better chance of fighting off this group of would-be abductors if they were together.

  Gabrielle reached the edge of the wood and wheeled around. Her two pursuers were crashing through behind her, coming upon her quickly. They realized that she had stopped, and they slowed down. Gabrielle could read them well enough to know that they weren’t simple thugs, hired for the expedient of strength, in the hope of overpowering her. One of them had been—like Dustin—impossible to read until he had dropped his mental shield.

  These two, unlike the ones before, weren’t in all black. They were in normal clothes, their faces showing plainly.

  “Take it easy,” said the one that Gabrielle hard heard mentally. “You know we’re going to get your boyfriend too, so if you take it easy, so will we.”

  Gabrielle opened her mind to its limit and listened in sharply on both of the minds of the men in front of her. They were thinking of the certain reward that they would get if they pulled it off—and their confidence that they would. Her running had convinced them that she had lucked out before, that Dustin was the real danger.

  Gabrielle smiled to herself, knowing that she had every ability to handle herself. “How many people got sent this time?” she asked, catching her breath quickly from the run.

  “There’s only us,” the other said. “But we’re plenty.” He was lying—there were three people after Dustin. Fleetingly, irrelevantly, Gabrielle wished that she had been able to get answers so easily from Dustin’s mind.

  “You might as well just gi
ve yourself up. We already burned out your apartment.” Gabrielle’s eyes widened. She could see the image in the mind of the man who spoke. He was telling the truth. They had burned out her apartment in the hopes that she would hear about it—come running, or at least to keep her from being able to return.

  “You should never lie to a telepath, boys,” she said. Reaching down, she picked up a heavy fallen branch and held it defensively. It had been a while since she had worked with a staff, but Gabrielle told herself that it was like riding a bicycle.

  The one whose mind had been shielded laughed maliciously and came closer, confident in his ability to subdue her. They didn’t have as much information as Dustin had had, it seemed.

  Gabrielle backed up, wanting him to persist in thinking she was scared; in fact, she was angry. The man opened his hands and in a moment, the branch lit on fire. Gabrielle fought back the instinctive fear that rose up in her at the sudden flare. That was what was different about him; she wondered whether the would-be leader had some trick up his sleeve as well, and what it was. She realized that the branch wasn’t burning her—it would, soon enough, but for now she had a torch, a flaming staff.

  She rushed toward the man who had lit her branch on fire, heedless of the heat radiating off of her staff. She was faster than he had thought she would be.

  She brought the fiery brand down, bringing her fencing and staff lessons into practice. She attacked ruthlessly, not caring about the danger to herself. She had to take care of these two and see about Dustin. Even if she was angry at him about lying to her, he was the only protector she had. Gabrielle kept an eye on the other thug, waiting to see what his ability was, whether and how he would get involved in the fight.

  She barely caught him with a sideswipe of the branch as he attempted to jump into the fight, to grab her from the side, just at the edge of her peripheral vision.

  “My brother told me you cracked him over the head with a vase. I think he’ll enjoy having a few minutes alone with you once we bring you in,” he said, and brought his hands together.