Hard Times: A Dark Captive Romance

by C. Hallman

  I want to be as close to them as possible. I need to feel every inch of them all over me.

  It’s different from it was before. Gentle, passionate, even tender. Ryker unbuttons my pants and slides them down over my legs, then runs his hands from my ankles to my hips while skimming over my skin with his lips. When he reaches my hips, I spread my thighs, practically begging for more.

  Hunter turns my face to his and kisses me softly before licking my lips, playfully, teasing. “Is this what you wanted? Why you were looking for us? Because you know only we can treat your body the way it needs treating?” I can only whimper before his tongue probes my mouth, sweeping the inside, flicking against mine. My fingers thread through his hair and I moan into his mouth. Yes, yes, this is what I wanted. I didn’t know it until now.

  Ryker pushes aside the scrap of cloth covering my mound and dives in headfirst. His moans of pleasure only heighten mine. My hips move in slow, sensuous circles as his tongue plays over my clit. I reach down and hold his head in place, pressing down, urging him on.

  Hunter chuckles. “Going after what you want, huh?” I don’t have it in me to answer. I’m too busy sinking deeper into the sensations they’re treating me to. Ryker sucks my clit between his teeth and I buck against his face, wild now. When he slides two fingers inside me and rubs the bundle of nerves inside my tunnel, I lose it, shouting out my relief at the release he’s finally granted.

  The release is more than what’s happening now. More than the joy of coming down from an intense orgasm like he treated me to. This is six months’ worth of tension breaking apart in me, six months of feeling even more incomplete than I normally do.

  Because of them. It’s like I was holding my breath, waiting to be with them again. They fit perfectly with me, making me whole. I didn’t know how broken I was until I met them.

  Now? I don’t want to be broken anymore. I want this. Years of this. Of Hunter undressing me fully, worshipping my hands with his body. Rolling me on my side to face him, so our bodies touch.

  Ryder stretches out behind me and I feel his skin, too, warm against mine. I don’t know who’s touching what as they both explore with their hands, their mouths. Kissing and caressing, stroking my most sensitive places. With one arm wrapped around Hunter and the other behind me, holding onto Ryker’s neck as I crane mine so we can kiss, I wonder if I died and went to heaven.

  If so, that’s fine. I could do with an eternity of this.

  Hunter lifts my leg and I drape it over his hip, giving him space to slide his rock-hard length between my lips. “Fuck, I forgot how good you feel,” he mutters an instant before entering me. I gasp, arching my back, and he buries his face in my tits.

  Ryker strokes the curve of my ass, sliding his cock between my cheeks. He sucks on my neck, my shoulder, making me hiss and gasp in pain and pleasure.

  “Let me have some.” Hunter leaves me and Ryker takes his place, entering me from behind and treating me to slow, deep thrusts. It’s so different from before. Sensual. There’s not that sense of desperation now. No rush. They want to enjoy this—to enjoy me.

  “I picked the right name for you, Sugar.” Ryker chuckles against my shoulder, moving in and out. “You’re so sweet. I had no idea.”

  Hunter pulls me to him for a deep, searching kiss as he slides a hand between us. His fingers find my clit and stroke it slowly, building my pleasure. My moan is more like a whimper, cut off by his mouth locked on mine.

  He trades places with Ryker, who rubs himself against my ass while Hunter plunges into me again. “Look at me,” he demands gently, while brushes hair away from my face. “You’re not a brunette anymore.”

  The strangeness of this makes me laugh out loud. Here we are, the two of them taking turns on me, and he wants to know about my hair? “You’re not the only one hiding.”

  He doesn’t ask what that means, likely because he’s too busy trying not to come.

  I don’t know how long it lasts. Not long enough. It’ll never be enough.

  And even now, in between them, with the two of them pleasuring me and themselves, I can’t help wondering what’ll happen when it’s over. Is this it? Is this all I’ll get?

  I can’t waste time thinking about that. I can’t let myself fall out of this moment because this is the best I’ve ever known. Feeling safe. Wanted. Treasured. Like a goddess.

  Something else takes over before long, though, and I welcome it. I welcome their harder thrusts, their short, panting breath against my damp skin. I welcome it and go with it, and the three of us move as one with Hunter inside me and Ryker sliding his cock between my ass cheeks. I hold on to them both, gripping tight, knowing that when this ends it’ll shatter me.

  And it does. As the tension in my core reaches the peak and leaves me hanging there in that place, I want to scream but settle for biting down on Hunter’s shoulder because this is the last time I need cops breaking down the door because of screaming.

  It goes on and on, that plateau. Tears stream down my cheeks and I don’t know how much more I can take without dying from bliss. But I’d kill them if they stopped.

  “Fuck, Annie. I want your ass so badly. I want us both to be inside of you together.”

  “Mmm…” I moan and nod my head, because I’m pretty sure even if I could get out a word it wouldn’t be cohesive.

  “Was than a yes?” Ryker asks, but he doesn’t wait for my answer. He slides his hand between us and plays with my asshole. He must have spit on his fingers because it feels wet, and his finger slides into the tight ring with ease.

  “Are you sure about this?”

  I nod again and jut out my ass as much as I can while Hunter fucks my pussy. Ryker’s finger goes deeper, and the sensation almost has me going over the edge again. This feels so good, so forbidden.

  He adds another finger, stretching me to prepare for his dick. I’m a little scared it won’t fit and that it will hurt, but that fear only adds to my arousal.

  Hunter pulls out of me again, and I whimper at the loss. Ryker chuckles into my ear before plunging into my pussy from behind. He only gives it two quick pumps, then pulls out.

  “You are so wet. This will be enough for you to take my cock up your ass.” His voice is harsh, almost like a growl, and that sound vibrates through my entire body. I can feel it from the tip of my nose to my toes.

  I tilt my head to the side and burry my face into the pillow when I feel the tip of Ryker’s head press against my ass. He pushes it in slightly and the ring of muscle gives away with ease. I’m surprised by how good it feels, especially when Hunter works his cock back into my pussy.

  Ryker’s shallow thrusts in and out of my ass send shivers up and down my spine. He goes deeper with every push until he has worked himself all the way inside of me.

  “So tight,” he murmurs into my neck.

  “So full,” I say.

  They move in unison, filling me from both sides. God, I feel so dirty, so wrong, but also so fucking right at the same time. It feels like we are one, that we belong together.

  “Come for us, Annie.” Ryker’s fingers press against my hips hard enough to bruise. “Come for us, Sugar. Let us hear you come. Let us feel you. I want your ass to squeeze my cock and your cunt to do the same to Hunter.”

  “Let go,” Hunter urges as his thrusts quicken. “Come with us.”

  With them.

  Yes.

  I convulse, going still as the plateau ends and I go flying over the edge into empty space. “Yes, yes, oh, my God, yes!” I can barely hear them groaning close to my ear over the rushing of blood and the pounding of my heart.

  Their thrusts become harsh, feverish, until they are both pounding into me, using my body for their pleasure.

  The last ripple of my orgasm still lingers when the guys empty themselves inside of me.

  It takes ages for me to come to my senses, and when I do, Ryker and Hunter wipe me gently, almost lovingly, with cloths from the bathroom. They take their time and do a thorough job
. It’s not until they collapse on either side of me that anybody says a word.

  It’s Ryker who speaks first, his face in a pillow. “What did you mean when you said you were hiding?”

  He would remember that, wouldn’t he? I was sort of hoping that would be forgotten. Hunter’s looking at me, waiting for an answer. I won’t be able to get around them—haven’t I tried enough?

  I give them the brief rundown. The money I stole. The methods I’ve used to track them down. “You didn’t make it easy,” I admit with a wry chuckle. “There was one time I considered giving up. But one of you has something that belongs to me.”

  “By design.” Ryker lifts his head, wearing a shit-eating grin. “And look. It turned out just like I planned.”

  “Bullshit. You didn’t plan anything. You didn’t have time to.”

  “Fine. I ad-libbed. Tell me it didn’t work out well.” He pulls me closer, kissing my neck.

  Hunter looks concerned, though. “I hate the thought of you living in dumps like the one you described. You’re not safe in a place like that.”

  “I always have my gun, and I make sure everybody knows I’m armed. Like if they accidentally try to open my door. Trust me. Nobody ever tries twice.”

  “That’s my girl.” Ryker settles in, as does Hunter. I’m exhausted, sore, limp.

  And happy. So, so happy. Happier than I should be when considering the entire situation. Being in bed with two fugitives, while I’m probably wanted, too.

  I’m wanted by them, and that’s all that matters now. With the two of them sandwiching me, I need nothing else. The feeling of being whole again is akin to being wrapped in a warm blanket.

  I fall asleep smiling.

  19

  I don’t think I’ve ever slept so well in my whole life.

  I smile to myself, eyes still closed, stretching my arms and legs, relaxed like I just got out of a hot tub. For the first time in forever, I feel good inside and out.

  That feeling lasts a mere second, which is the time it takes me to open my eyes. Once I do that, I realize I’m alone.

  I sit up, my head swinging back and forth. They’re both gone. The bathroom is empty when I check it, too. They didn’t leave a note or anything. They just… left.

  My legs go weak and I have to lean against the wall outside the bathroom door for support. They’re gone. Like nothing happened.

  With a gasp, I looked down at my wrist, remembering what this was all about in the first place. I don’t think I’ve ever let out a sigh of relief as big as the one that comes out of me when I see the familiar chain, when I feel it sliding over my skin. My fingers brush against the butterfly.

  Ryker must’ve clasped it there at some point when I was asleep—I’m sure he didn’t have to try too hard not to wake me, since I pretty much fell into a coma.

  I hold my wrist in my other hand, eyes closed, and a single tear squeezes out from under my lashes and rolls down my cheek. It’s a happy tear, a tear of gratitude. I got what I wanted, what I needed.

  And I guess I should be grateful, too, that they left me unharmed. They didn’t try to stop me from reporting them, probably because they knew better than to think I ever would. I’m not interested in them getting what’s coming to them or anything like that. All I wanted was this, and I got it, and now I can move on with my life.

  I should feel happy… ecstatic. Complete, whole, fulfilled. Not to mention relieved as fuck because now I don’t have to scrimp and save and rent dumps like the one on the other side of town. I can go anywhere I want, be anybody I choose to be. So long as I fly under the radar, that is. But I know my way around the rules, too, so that doesn’t bother me. It’s easy to get a fake ID.

  I know all of this.

  So why does it feel like my heart is breaking?

  It might’ve been easier if they had at least left a note explaining why they had to go. Maybe something I could hold on to now, something I could use to remind myself that they thought of me as more than just another victim. Some cop they managed to Stockholm Syndrome their way around. An easy lay.

  I need to get out of here. I can’t stand looking at the bed, remembering what it was like last night. How they made me feel, the things they did to me. The things I gladly did to them, things I would do again in a heartbeat if I had the chance. I pull on my jeans and the baggy T-shirt I wore here, then take the ball cap from the dresser and shove it on my head. The sooner I start living my new life, the better.

  I jump with a gasp at the sound of the electronic lock beeping, signaling that it’s been tripped. The door opens before I have a chance to react further, though there isn’t much I could do. Why in the hell didn’t I bring my gun with me? Why did I leave it locked with the money?

  “Oh, my God!” It’s a good thing I’m standing next to the bed, because my knees go out on me at the sight of Hunter, followed by Ryker. I sit down with a thud hard enough to almost bounce myself onto the floor. “Where did you go? I thought you—”

  Hunter smirks as he places a bag on the dresser. Ryker’s holding one of those cardboard carriers with three coffee cups, and he places it next to the bag that I can tell from the smell holds breakfast. “What? You didn’t think we left, did you?”

  “We figured you’d be exhausted and starving after all the work we put you through last night.” Hunter fishes out a sandwich and hands it to me. “Bacon, egg, and cheese on a biscuit.”

  “You are my savior.” And I’m not just saying that. They are my saviors, both of them. It makes no sense, and I’m positive nobody outside of the three of us could understand, but it’s the truth.

  I have half the sandwich eaten and about the same amount of coffee drank before pointing out, “You could’ve let me know you were coming back, you realize. I might’ve left—I would’ve been gone by the time you got back if I had woken up five minutes earlier than I did.”

  Ryker hits me with a hard stare, forgetting his sandwich for a second. “It never occurred to us you would think we left.”

  “You really think we would have left after we waited so long for you to find us?” Hunter hands me a hash brown patty wrapped in paper.

  It’s still hard to understand the way they think. To get inside their heads. They’re locked up just as tight as what’s left of my money.

  That doesn’t mean I’m not happy, though. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy. And not just because they brought me food. Although that helps a lot.

  Once we’re finished eating, and everything’s cleaned up, the guys exchange a look. I’ve seen enough of the way they communicate without using words to know something’s up. “What is it? Why did you look at each other like that?”

  For maybe the first time, it looks like Ryker is at a loss for words. He rubs a hand over the back of his neck, grimacing with his eyes on the floor. “Here’s the thing. We’re not here because were running away.”

  I look back and forth between them, but Hunter’s expression is unreadable as he leans against the dresser, arms folded over his chest. “I don’t understand. Why else would you have zigzagged all over the place for half a year? You have to know law enforcement is still—”

  “That’s not what he’s talking about,” Hunter informs me. “If we wanted to get away and stay away, we would’ve gone straight to California.”

  “What’s in California?”

  “Disneyland, obviously.” Ryker grins when my jaw drops. “Just kidding.”

  “We have a house on the beach in Malibu.” Hunter grins, too, since this little piece of news has my jaw still hanging open. “We made arrangements for it a long time ago, back when we were still inside.”

  “We knew we’d need a place to go once we were free, somewhere we could disappear. It’s waiting for us out there.”

  I lick my lips, which have suddenly gone dry. “So why didn’t you go straight there? What, were you afraid I wouldn’t be able to track you down if you went all the way out to the West Coast?”

  Another look betwe
en them, and this time it’s obvious they’re both fighting to keep a straight face. “Come on,” Ryker finally says, pulling me to my feet when I don’t move. “We have something to show you.”

  “You’re taking me someplace?” My heart pounds at the thought. Sure, they came back with breakfast, but was that all a way of getting me to let my guard down? No matter what, it’s still hard to trust. I wish I could, but I can’t help feeling wary.

  “Hey, Sugar.” Ryker hooks a finger under my chin before lifting it so our eyes meet. “You can trust me. You can trust both of us. If we wanted to hurt you or get rid of you, we could’ve done that way before now. I didn’t have to leave you alive in that bunker. I wanted you to find me, to find us. And not because of some game I’m playing. I’ve never been more serious. Okay?”

  There’s something in his eyes and the tone of his voice that convinces me. Maybe this is the dumbest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s not the first dumb thing, either. “Okay.” I get my bag and follow them from the room, then take the back steps to avoid the elevator and the lobby. So, they’re still being careful, even now.

  More careful because of me, I bet.

  And dammit, I’m glad they are. Even though I know this is wrong, deep down inside, I’m glad they’re one step ahead of anybody who might be after them.

  There’s a nondescript black truck with the engine running in an alley behind the hotel. Hunter gets behind the wheel while Ryker helps me into the passenger seat since it’s sort of a climb. “I can handle this,” I tell him with a smile when he tries to strap me in.

  “You can’t be too careful with something as important as you are.” I think it’s the way he says it, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, that makes my nose and my eyes sting like I might burst into tears. It’s just that I’ve never had anybody besides Mom care so much about me before, and it’s been a long time since I lost her.

  It amazes me, honestly, that they drive around town like half the law enforcement in the country isn’t after them. They’re even laughing and joking as Hunter drives us out of the commercial district and into an area slightly seedier. I’ve seen my share of seedy areas during the search for my missing bracelet, but this qualifies as one of the worst.