by J. S. Scott
Dressed completely in black, my eyes adjusted to the bulky night vision goggles I was wearing that made me see most everything in shades of green, I looked among the few tents, which I assumed held the sleeping rebels.
Danica would be held in the most solid structure around, and it didn’t take me long to notice the stone building in the center of camp, the tents surrounding the structure like it held priceless items that needed guarding.
To be honest, what was inside meant a whole lot of money and potential power for the terrorists, but those fuckers weren’t getting what they wanted.
The government was stalling, and if we didn’t get Danica out of this whole damn mess, she’d most likely end up dead.
I wasn’t surprised to find an ancient but sturdy lock on the wooden door, and I quickly flipped the lock open with the tools on my belt, and then pushed on it slowly to keep from making a lot of noise.
I couldn’t see her well, but I immediately recognized the small figure lying on the dirty floor, her arms around her legs as she curled up in a fetal position to sleep.
I dropped to the ground, and then crawled across the floor, quickly slapping a hand over her mouth. As I expected, she initially struggled, and she wasn’t exactly weak. Even though she’d probably been deprived of food, water, and most of the necessities, given enough just to keep her alive, she still fought like a wildcat.
I subdued her, pinning her beneath my body as I tried to make her understand I was there to help. “Danica. It’s Marcus Colter. I’m getting you out of here. Stay quiet.”
My voice was a harsh whisper, but she immediately stopped fighting. “Marcus?” she whispered weakly.
I put a finger to her lips, then crouched and picked her up, startled by what a lightweight she was right now. The Danica Lawson I was accustomed to was petite, but she was built with a set of curves that were hard to ignore.
Fortunately, she seemed to be coherent enough to understand that I was helping her, and she gently wrapped her arms around my neck as I picked my way out of the camp without making another sound.
I had to haul her body away from the camp, but she was so slight that it wasn’t exactly taxing. We made it to the Jeep, and the two men assigned to the escape route started moving the minute we hopped in.
Adrenaline was flowing through my body as we made good time getting to the border, Danica trembling in my arms the entire ride.
She didn’t speak.
She didn’t move.
All she did was cling to me as we sped toward the border.
I wasn’t sure if she was too weak or too scared to make a move, but I was grateful for her silence. All I wanted was to get her the hell into a chopper and hightail it out of the area.
After what seemed like an eternity, we passed over the border and into Turkey, and I wasted no time hopping into the helicopter that Tate had standing by.
Our medic hoisted Danica out of my arms, but I didn’t feel relieved. I felt annoyed that I had to let go of her, and I crowded in next to him while he examined her.
The rest of the PRO team clambered into the high-tech bird, and Tate lifted off like a bat out of hell the moment the last guy had piled in.
He was headed for the American embassy, but I wasn’t sure if Danica needed medical assistance first.
The medic sat her up and gave her water while still assessing how coherent she was.
She answered his questions, but it was obvious she was weak.
And damn…she was thin.
“You okay?” I asked her as I crouched down beside her.
She nodded as she licked her dry, cracked lips. “Yeah. I’ll live. I never thought I’d see the day when I had to thank you for getting me out of that nightmare.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep reminding you,” I answered drily, but I was actually glad to hear her cynicism. Since it was part of her normal personality, I didn’t take offense.
Now that I pretty much understood why she’d hated me from the first time we’d run into each other, I couldn’t blame her for her caustic remarks whenever we saw each other.
She thought I’d broken her sister’s heart. I suppose that was enough cause to dislike a man, even if she was misinformed.
Danica might annoy me, but even I had to admit that she had spunk. I’d already heard the reason why she’d been captured, and it had taken a lot of guts to give up her own life to save some stupid kids.
As I finally got a clearer look at her face, I felt an unusual anger start to rise, and it kept growing in volume as I examined her bloody, bruised face, and her hacked-off hair. From the way she was holding her ribcage, I assumed she probably had some broken ribs.
Her long, blonde hair was gone, and her eyes looked enormous in her thin face.
“I know I look bad, but I’ll live, Colter,” she told me stoically.
I nodded sharply, and then told myself she’d definitely stay alive. I wasn’t rescuing her ass again.
As the medic tended her injuries, my fury reached an all-time high. Every cut, every bruise, for every fucking time they’d touched her or hurt her, I wanted to give that back to the kidnappers twofold.
Maybe it was a damn good thing I hadn’t really been able to see her injuries that well before we left the camp.
Had I known how badly they’d brutalized her, I would have shot every one of the son of a bitches dead without a single ounce of remorse.
Harper
I woke up screaming, and as I finally became aware of what I was doing, I choked back a sob of fear.
I’d been dreaming about Dani.
I’d seen her beheaded and helpless in my nightmare.
I wrapped my arms around my body to comfort myself, refusing to believe it was a premonition of some kind. I wasn’t psychic, and it was just a dream.
“She’s okay. She’s okay. She’s okay.” I rocked my body as I chanted the mantra, hoping I’d start to believe it soon.
But it had seemed so real that I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“Harper!” Blake bellowed as he ran into my bedroom. “What the hell happened?”
He’d obviously heard me, and I knew I’d been screaming loud enough to wake the dead. “I’m sorry. Bad dream,” I told him reassuringly. “I’m fine now.”
I could see him at the door, the light from the hallway backlighting his state of disarray. With only a pair of flannel pajama pants on, I could see the ripped muscles of his arms, chest, and stomach. He looked so solid and so strong, yet so endearing. His hair was spiking up in a few places, and he was frowning with concern.
“You sure? You sounded like somebody was killing you.”
“Dani,” I whispered aloud. “I was dreaming about my sister.”
Blake moved into the room and partially closed the door so the light wasn’t blinding me. Then he sat down on the bed, propping himself up against the headboard, and pulled my upper body against his.
I took the comforting embrace and laid my head on his shoulder, feeling the scorching heat of his skin against my cheek. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t,” he answered huskily. “I want to be here for you. I know you’re scared. Hell, you’d have to be crazy not to be.”
After seeing Dani’s video, I was downright terrified she was going to die. With the government at a standstill about what they could do and the kidnappers obviously getting restless, I was pretty sure my sister didn’t have a lot of time.
Blake and I had eaten early, and then I’d worked on some drawings while he’d tackled some paperwork. The evening had passed pleasantly, but our attraction and chemistry was always there, always present. Blake was like a big magnet that made me want to latch onto him so desperately, like I was ferromagnetic.
I’d finally had to go to bed before I’d done something stupid. All I wanted was to be naked and sweaty with thi
s gorgeous man who was rubbing my back in comfort. And it wasn’t because I was emotional or tired.
I wanted Blake Colter, and although I hadn’t consciously recognized it, I’d missed him for a dozen or so years.
My heart clenched as he ran a sympathetic hand over my hair, his tenderness making it even harder to push him away.
I was raw, and Blake was the only one who could take away the pain right now.
Not only was I afraid for my sister, but I was trying to deal with the volatile emotions that Blake made me feel.
I sighed, then wondered how he’d managed to get away from all the women who probably threw themselves in his direction. Blake was so addictive that I already wondered how I’d leave him after all this was over. Not only was he hot and sexy, but he was also brilliant and kind. He was the type of guy every woman dreamed about but very seldom discovered. I know that nobody like him had ever crossed my path again.
“Better?” he asked in a guttural tone.
“Yes.”
“Then I think I’d better get the hell out of here before I do something we might both regret,” he suggested in a pained voice.
“I would never regret it,” I encouraged.
“I might,” he answered.
“We’re adults, Blake. We aren’t kids anymore.” I’d gladly handle the heat.
I felt his body tense and the room was silent as he threaded his fingers into my hair and fisted it. “Christ, Harper. You have no idea how hard this is for me.”
I had an inkling, and as I let my hand trail down his powerful chest and six-pack abs, I traced each muscle before I went lower to stroke over the flannel to appease one very hard cock.
He hissed his approval, then put his hand over mine, as though he was afraid I’d take it away. “Touch me, dammit. Do it.”
His command was loud, vocal, and infused with a depth of need that moved me into action. I moved my hand beneath the elastic waist of the loose pants and wrapped my fingers around his shaft. It was smooth and so silky that I stroked him, reveling in the texture of velvety skin over the hardness.
“You feel so good, Blake,” I told him in a sultry, needy voice that I barely recognized as my own.
He took control, and before I knew what was happening, I was beneath him and his large hands were pinning my hands over my head.
“I can’t do this anymore, Harper. I can’t fight with this, with the way that I want you,” he growled.
“Then don’t,” I advised. “Please don’t.” I wanted this, wanted him.
“I’m not,” he answered harshly as he sat me up and pulled the cotton nightgown I was wearing over my head, and then tossed it to the bedroom floor. “I can’t. I need you too damn much.”
I shuddered as he wrapped his arms around me again, this time skin-to-skin, my hard nipples abrading against his chest.
There was no hesitation as he swooped down and kissed me, devouring my mouth like he was desperate for sustenance. I opened for him, then let our tongues entwine, letting him know I needed this as much as he did.
Maybe more.
I was panting as his mouth finally left mine and his wicked tongue traveled down my neck.
“Blake,” I said on a sigh.
He nipped at my skin, and then soothed over it with his tongue. “It’s so fucking good to hear my name coming from your mouth,” he answered in a low, muffled voice against my neck.
I realized how few times I’d ever said his name. “I know exactly who you are now,” I answered in an aroused voice. “Blake.”
“Damn straight,” he answered. “The man who is about to make you come so hard you’ll be screaming my name by the time we’re done.”
I shuddered with excitement. “Make me,” I challenged.
“Baby, I plan on it.”
He let go of my wrists to move his mouth downward, and I speared my hands into his hair, savoring the feel of the coarse locks between my fingers. “Yes.”
This didn’t feel like the first time, but I didn’t want it to. We were all grown up, and Blake was kind, but he was also a dominant male, something that unbelievably turned me on.
I squirmed as his teeth and mouth clamped over one of my sensitive nipples, suckling hard before he used his tongue to lighten the touch.
My back arched, and my body jerked every time he switched from one breast to the other, making the pleasure/pain sensation so arousing that I was about to lose my mind.
“Please,” I begged, feeling the pressure building. “I need to come.”
“You will. When you’re ready,” he demanded.
“I’m ready,” I whimpered as his fingers probed the delicate silk of my panties.
“Not yet,” he denied.
Blake yanked the silk hard, and it gave for him. He quickly disposed of the ruined underwear by flinging it to the floor.
I tossed my head as his mouth continued to tease my nipples, and his fingers invaded my needy pussy.
“Blake. Please,” I cried out, desperate for him.
“I’ve wanted this for years, sweetheart. I’m not going to screw it up.”
There wasn’t a damn thing he could do wrong. Not while he was touching me. His hands and mouth felt like liquid fire, and I was definitely combustible.
“Fuck me,” I pleaded. “I can’t play anymore.”
“I’m not messing around,” he rasped. “Everything about this moment is dead serious.”
His thumb circled my clit, and then stroked hard over the bundle of nerves, setting off a series of moans I didn’t even try to control.
I raised my hips, trying desperately to get more friction, more pressure. But he backed off, teasing me until I was nearly insane. “Now,” I demanded.
He moved between my thighs, then bent my legs up and pushed them apart impatiently. “I haven’t tasted you in years. And you’re so damn sweet,” he rumbled right before he lowered his head and ran his tongue along my slit.
I would have come off the bed if Blake hadn’t had a good grasp on me. “More. More.” I couldn’t handle the teasing another second.
He gave me what I was asking for, delving his tongue between my folds, searching and finding my clit. But he didn’t give me quite enough, and I knew it was deliberate. “That feels so amazing.”
My body was burning out of control, and I panted as Blake’s teeth lightly bit on my clit, then followed it with an intense stroke of his tongue.
Urgently, I fisted his hair, and then pushed his face against my pussy, begging without words for what I needed to come apart.
His tongue was like silk as it licked from bottom to the top of my pink, quivering flesh. He wasn’t taking my direction. He had his own agenda, and it was one that I wasn’t sure I could handle.
Blake as a young man was kind and insistent.
Blake as a full grown man was hungry, dominant, and in control.
“Oh, God. I can’t take anymore,” I said breathlessly.
“Yes, you can,” he answered in a muffled voice, his mouth full of my quivering flesh.
My legs began to tremble and the knot in my belly started to unfurl as Blake stroked my clit over and over with his tongue, finally giving me what I needed.
“Yes. Yes. Yes.”
I chanted my mantra as his greedy tongue kept invading and conquering, leaving me shaking as my climax finally rocked my body. I rode the wave as Blake kept up his rampant, demanding strokes on my clit, licking every drop of juice from my pussy as I imploded.
He came over me quickly, supporting his weight with his hands as he kissed me like a madman, his tongue delving deep into my mouth, letting me taste the flavor of myself in his kiss.
It only enflamed me more.
My body was still trembling, and I needed him inside me.
I didn’t have to ask. Blake was obviously not going to
wait, and he filled me with one powerful thrust of his hips, groaning as he buried himself to his balls and tore his mouth from mine. “Harper!”
My heart was galloping as he said my name like he was coming home to me. In so many ways, it felt just like that. It felt like we were finally where we were supposed to be.
“Blake!” I cried out, loving the sound of his name.
I lifted my legs around his waist, trying to pull him as close to me as I could possibly get. I welcomed his weight as he lowered himself down onto his elbows and kissed me as he pumped his hips, his cock stretching my internal muscles. It hurt so damn good.
“Blake. Blake. Blake.”
I screamed his name with every thrust of his cock. My arms went around his neck, and he kissed me over and over, nibbling at my lips, my neck, then rested his mouth against my temple as he muttered, “Mine. You’re mine, Harper. You’ve always been mine.”
“Yes,” I agreed with satisfaction, my nails digging into his back as I felt the pleasure of his possession rising to a crescendo of need. “I need you, Blake. I need you.”
He increased his pace, pummeling into me as he bit down lightly on my shoulder, and then said, “You have me, sweetheart. You’ve always had me.”
His words made me grip him harder, tighter, my fingers clawing at his skin. My back arched up and my legs tightened around his waist as my orgasm hit hard and frenzied. “Blake!”
I was still screaming, but I didn’t care. My body was going up in flames and I was burning in Blake’s heat, his frantic pace as he kept slamming into me like a man possessed.
My nails dug into his skin hard, the pleasure of my impending climax so intense that I felt like I was going to shatter.
Blake rose up, grasped my hips, and then pulled them against him as he struggled to get deeper, harder thrusts.
I broke apart, pieces of me flying into the air as I screamed out his name over and over again, the pulsing of my body clamping down on his cock.
“Harper,” he groaned huskily. “You feel so damn good, baby.”
My channel milked him hard, and his hot release flooded inside me as I shuddered with pure, unadulterated bliss as I watched him lose control.