Ford Security

by Clara Kendrick

  There is so much of him to explore and this is only the beginning…

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  ZANE

  I've been fantasizing about this precise moment since I first laid eyes on her. In the back of my head, I could never justify telling her how I felt. I was content to live in silence. I was content to look but never touch. And I don't know what it is about today, but no matter the circumstances that brought us here, I'm happy that I finally made a move.

  Or maybe she's the one that made the move. Either way, it doesn't matter much. I almost feel like I'm taking advantage of her because she is scared and lonely. But there is assurances in her eyes that tell me the exact opposite.

  She’s so damn beautiful and stunning. She’s so damn sexy. I've known this for as long as I've known her, but there is something about the way people look when their lives are in danger. When people find themselves face to face with possible extinction, they're true spirit shines through. Her spirit is strong and beautiful. She has shown immeasurable strength in the face of fear.

  There is something incredibly sexy about a woman who goes after what she wants. There is something so innately alluring about a woman coming to terms with the warrior within themselves. Before today, I imagine she never could have predicted the strength that she possesses. Before today, I imagine she lived her life in a sheltered existence.

  No more.

  With so many of the women I've been with in my thirty-five years on this earth, it's always been about sex and not much more. There have been countless one-night stands along the way. Most women treat me as a sex object, which I know might be slightly hypocritical given the number of women I have been with. Anna is not like the other girls though. Not even close.

  I drive a hand against her cheek, caressing her softly as my eyes bore into hers. I want to be inside of her, to feel every bit of her. But more importantly, I want her to watch me intently and with hunger in her eyes.

  I reach my hand underneath her back and work to undo her bra. She rises to her elbows and slings the bra off either shoulder and then down her arms.

  Her breasts are beautiful and perky and round. They're not huge by any stretch of the imagination, but they are perfect just the way they are. Like Anna herself, everything about her is perfect. I have no complaints or grievances. She literally is an angel.

  I don't deserve someone like her, but right now she's mine. I'm going to do everything I can to protect her right now. I just want to forget about the world, and let it just be the two of us.

  I mouth my lips over one breast while massaging the other with a rough, strong hand. I shift my weight against her, craving the friction of my hardness against her skin. I rise to hold the weight of my body up by using my hands. And using one hand to steady myself, I reach down to grab my hardness with the other and slowly sink into her.

  Her mouth drops open as I rock into her. I go slowly so as not to hurt her. I only want her to feel pleasure. Her hands climb to my back and she holds them in place as I continue to sink deeper and deeper into her until I'm in to the hilt.

  And once I'm all the way inside, I hold myself still. And I allow her to adjust to my width before I continue on. Her face contorts and she bites into her lip. She throws her head back and closes her eyes. And while she has her eyes closed, I drop my head and place my lips against hers.

  It's almost like she's taken aback by my sudden kiss. Her eyes flare open, and I'm not going to lie, it's a little bit awkward to be kissing someone when they're watching you. But I don't mind much, I suppose.

  I retreat from her kiss all the while still holding myself completely still. I push my hands deeper into the couch and rise so that I'm a good foot above her. My arms turn to Jell-O, and I can no longer hold myself still.

  I need to move.

  Her fingernails dig into my back and she nods. She wet her lips and then speaks. “It's okay,” she grits out in a whisper.

  That's my cue to move. I begin to pull out of her. She gasps softly. I rock back into her to the hilt once more before driving back out. Every motion is calculated, a coordinated event for her maximum pleasure.

  She's warm and hot, and I can't get enough of her. It won't be long before I am slamming in and out of her, and I fully expect her to scream. Not in pain though. Nothing like that. If she screams, it will be because of the pleasure.

  Her nails dig even deeper into my back, leaving marks that someday might turn into scars. I don't mind though.

  As my pace quickens and my breath becomes hitched, her body begins to quake.

  Her legs wrap around my taut ass and she holds onto me tightly with her hands as I began to pound into her. A strong guttural moan is thrown from her throat just before her eyes flash closed. And as she breaks around me, I spend myself inside of her.

  I continue to rock into her until I've ridden the peak of orgasm. And after we have both calmed, and I'm still inside of her, we lock eyes like we always do. I'm shaking above her just like she’s shaking beneath me. I drop a hand to push her hair behind her ear and notice the dampness from the sweat.

  I lower my head to kiss her on the lips but when I do, I lose my strength and collapse onto her. We're both sweaty, and we are both fighting to catch our breaths. I turn my head sideways and lie between her breasts as she begins to pet her hand over my buzzed head.

  And I never believed I would ever see this side of heaven, but here I am. This is my version of heaven. And if the men outside that steel door have anything to say about it, I will never come this close to heaven again…

  ###

  The water that showers down my back isn't hot, but it also isn't cold. It's warm and that is sufficient enough for me. During my tours of duty overseas, hot water was a luxury I didn't have. I love steaming hot showers, but I'm not going to be too picky right now.

  I lather my hair with a cheap shampoo sitting in the tub of the shower. It still amazes me that this panic room is so well-equipped. I mean, it's like whoever built this thing planned on staying here for a while. It's more like a vacation rental that it is a panic room. It has all of the necessities to live. Two living spaces, two bedrooms, a full kitchen, and a bathroom. Whoever built this thing must have been very paranoid.

  As I'm working the shampoo out of my hair, standing underneath the shower head, I hear the bathroom door opening and can't help but to smile just a little bit. I wipe my hands against my eyes to clear the soap out of them before I open them and see Anna standing there in front of the shower door completely naked.

  Even though I just had sex with her, and have seen every little piece of her there is to see, I still can't help but to get lost in her beauty. She reaches for the door to pull it open and climbs quickly inside before closing the door behind her. One hand trails to my hips as she presses herself against me, and she looks up to me like she wants me to kiss her.

  I kiss her, giving her what she wants but also what I want as well. I pull her tighter into my embrace. The warm water falls onto our skin, creating a waterfall between our two bodies. She shudders under the warm water as if it's cold. I can't help but to chuckle softly.

  "Do you also like your showers hot as hell?”

  "Basically." She twists around on her feet and pulls her hair over one shoulder so that she can rinse the dirt and debris from her hair. I can't help but to admire her backside.

  Standing naked before me, her skin is slick with soap and water. I pour shower gel into my hands and lather it over her back, massaging the soap into her skin and erasing all the dirt, sweat, and sin. She cocks her head over her shoulder and bites her lip—a borderline display of seduction.

  My mind shifts, and I wonder what the men outside the steel door are doing right now. It makes me nervous to not be near the monitors, to not be able to see if they are still standing outside. I open the shower door to reach for my towel but she stops me with her hand around my arm.

  I glance at her and find she's wearing a seductive smile on her face. She pulls me even close
r to her, so close that's my growing erection presses against her thigh.

  "We should go check the monitors,” I say lowly, although there’s nowhere I'd rather be than here in the shower with her right now.

  She doesn't seem to mind though. She reaches past me and closes the door, trapping the both of us inside the shower as the water finally begins to heat up and steam circles around us, almost threatening to suffocate us.

  The sudden burst of steam is a welcome surprise, and the heat that comes with it makes me almost moan in pleasure. She spins around on her feet so that she’s facing me again, her breasts colliding up against my own chest. It feels so wrong to be having these intimate moments while Mitch and his men continue to wait for us outside. It’s saying something then that I feel safe enough within these steel walls that I can just let go for the time being. Eventually, we’re going to have to fight our way out of here, but I’m hoping to stave that off for as long as possible.

  My hands trail to her back and I pull her tighter against my body. I lower my head and kiss her softly, passionately. Though it’s too soon to start throwing around the L-word, I could definitely see myself being in love with her. Hell, maybe I already am.

  There are plenty of people who would have something to say about that, I’m sure. Let them say whatever the hell they want. The truth is that we have known each other for a good two years, and though we’re just now getting to really know each other, I can still say for certain that I could love her.

  I actually think I do…

  Or maybe I’m just crazy.

  Maybe it’s just the intensity of the predicament we’ve found ourselves in, or maybe… just maybe, I really am in love with her.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  ANNA

  About another hour has passed and we’re still stuck inside this room with no set plans on getting out of here. I’m content with that though because that means that I get to spend more time with him. For the time being, it’s as if we can pretend that Mitch isn’t right outside the door.

  I take a quick glance at the security monitors just to make sure he’s still there and yeah, he’s still waiting as patiently as he can. Whoever wants me and Zane must be paying this idiot a lot of money. There’s no way I would be doing what he’s doing without getting paid a pretty penny, but then again, I’m also not a sociopath so I’m not an expert on how his pig-headed brain works.

  I reach into a bag of chips that sits in the space between us. After we got out of the shower, and as he was getting dressed, I managed to find some Doritos in one of the overhead cabinets. My hand collides with his inside the bag and we both cock our heads to each other at the same exact time. He pulls his hand out of the bag and allows me to grab a handful before he gets his.

  He’s shirtless still because he had said it was too hot to wear a shirt. I think it’s just an excuse, but if I had a body like his I’d be as close to naked as possible all the time. Instead, I’m content to be back in the same clothes I’ve been wearing all day. Though they’re dirty and stained, they’re comfortable. And more importantly, if Mitch somehow manages to find a way inside this room, it’ll be nice not having to hurry up and get dressed before trying to flee.

  We’re watching some dumb comedy show on the big screen TV. There’s no internet connection so we’re just watching the show that was already in the DVD player. Zane laughs on occasion, but so far, I haven’t found much interest in the show, and certainly nothing to laugh out loud about.

  But maybe there’s a reason why I’m not laughing. Maybe it’s because my mind is too lost elsewhere, too lost on replaying the day’s events over and over in my head. Being intimate with Zane was a welcome distraction. For the entire time we were together, I could manage to avoid the world outside this room. And in the shower too, I could still pretend as if my life wasn’t in mortal danger.

  For some reason, I just can’t do that anymore. Maybe it’s because it’s too hot or maybe it’s because I’m tired of waiting for the inevitable, tired of waiting for what we all know has to happen. Sooner or later, we’re going to have to leave this room and when we do, we’re going to have to fight for our lives.

  I almost want to just get it over with. At least then, one way or another, I’ll know how this is all going to shake out. The agony is in the waiting. The agony is in not knowing. I’m sure a painful death is nothing to write home about, but again, at least I’d know how this plays out.

  I shift on the couch and try to get comfortable, but my body is screaming. It’s like it needs to move just like the wheels in my head are turning. I grab the middle of my shirt and shake it slightly, trying to build up a slight breeze underneath my shirt. I’m somewhat successful and it manages to cool me slightly, but not enough.

  I finally let out an obnoxious groan and swing my feet off the edge of the couch before rising to my feet. Zane’s eyes twist to me as he reaches for the remote and mutes the TV. Before I know it, he’s rising to his feet to join me at my side.

  He caresses me softly and presses his lips against my neck, but I pull away from him with a sigh.

  “What’s wrong, Anna?” he questions, scratching at the back of his head. I turn to face him and shrug. There aren’t adequate words to describe how I’m feeling. I’m having the worst day of my life but it hasn’t all been bad. “There’s something on your mind and you are going to drive yourself crazy if you don’t talk about it. You’re going to drive yourself mad if you don’t get it off your chest.”

  “I’m just scared,” I say lowly with my head bowed. “I’m confused and I’m angry. I have all these emotions reaching a boiling peak inside me and I don’t know how to process them. I don’t understand which way is up and which way is down. I go from one extreme to another, all in a matter of seconds and it’s dizzying. It’s the like the world is spinning and then it stops, and just as I’m getting used to it, it starts spinning again.”

  “Yeah.” He cracks a forced smile. “That sounds all too familiar.”

  “Does it?” I question him, staring him intently in the eyes. “Or are you just saying that because you don’t want me to feel so alone?”

  He smiles again and takes a careful step towards me. “Does it matter?”

  “Yeah. Kind of.”

  “Fine then, yes.” He shrugs. “I know that feeling all too well. It’s not uncommon in this line of work.”

  “I’ve never felt it before.”

  “You’ve never felt confused before?” He furrows a brow and tilts his head. “That sounds a little too good to be true.”

  I pass him an evil glare. “You know what I mean.”

  “Yeah, I know.” He reaches for my hand and this time, I don’t pull away. Instead, I shift into his touch because all things considered, it’s the most comforting thing in this world, especially right now. “Do you want to sit down and talk about it?”

  I shrug with one shoulder. “What’s there to talk about?”

  “Well,” he ponders out loud with pursed lips, “It’s looking like we got all the time in the world so we can figure it out together.”

  I roll my eyes, but I also smile before dropping back down onto the couch. He takes a seat beside me and angles himself so that he’s able to look at me directly while we converse back and forth.

  “How do you do this?” I question, looking for an honest answer. “How do you deal with this danger every day and manage to stay sane?”

  “Well, you know the answer to that,” he points out simply. “I don’t deal with this danger every day. Most of our cases are run of the mill, nothing like this.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” I sigh and push myself deeper against the couch. I opt to stare at the thick steel door ahead. It’s the one thing protecting us right now and it’s the one thing I hate the most right now. I need fresh air. I want to breathe the smoggy California air, and that’s saying something. It’s familiar though, and familiar is comfortable. “Is this the worst thing that’s ever happened to you?” I cock my head to him just
in time to catch him glancing away from me.

  When I need to stare at something, I stare at the steel door. When he needs to do the same thing, his eyes wonder off and stare at the floor. It’s for the same reasons, I imagine, because some conversations are uncomfortable. It’s easier to stare down an inanimate object than it is a living, talking one.

  “Well, is it?” I question again, pressing for an answer to my inquiry.

  “Not by a long shot,” he sighs, bats his tongue against his lower lip. “There was this time in the war. We were stationed in Afghanistan and we were out on a routine mission that ended badly.” He purses his lips and shakes his head furiously. Just before he rises to stand, he drags his open palm over his mouth and sighs. “What started out as an ordinary day quickly turned into a nightmare. We lost seven good men that day.” He closes his eyes as he twists to face me, and then he waits for a few beats before he manages to open them. When he does, I swear I can see them glistening.

  “You don’t have to talk about it,” I say, feeling guilty for even bringing it up at this point, but I wanted to know that he’s seen worse so that it’d give me hope that I’m going to survive this ordeal. But I know that onus shouldn’t be put on him. After all, it was my idea to tag along with him for the day. If he were out on his own, he’d probably be better equipped to handle this situation because he’d only have to worry about keeping himself safe, and my safety wouldn’t factor into the equation.

  I’m a liability. I know that and there’s nothing I can do to change that and I doubt that I will ever be able to repay him for everything he’s done for me today.

  “It’s okay,” he says simply and sits back down onto the couch with a loud sigh. “It’s good that we’re talking about this, because I need you to know something.”

  “Yeah, what is it?” I swallow nervously, almost afraid of what he’s going to say. “Come on, you can tell me anything.”

  “All right.” He nods as a grin hitches across his lips. “I want you to know that I’ve seen much worse than today, and though it’s not every day that I find myself in positions like this, I’ve survived much worse.” He reaches across the short distance between us and drops a hand onto my thigh. His touch alone and by itself is enough to comfort me, forcing a smile to hitch across my own lips. “And you’re going to survive this and you’re going to learn from this. You’re going to be stronger tomorrow than you are today and when you look back at this situation in the future, you’re going to look back at it differently. It’s almost like you’re going to be thankful that this happened to you because of the way in which it’s going to change you.”