by London Casey
I felt the tension growing deep inside me.
My hands took one last trek up her body, touching her breasts, sliding her nipples between my fingers. I touched her neck, slid my fingers into her hair. I pulled at her, needing her again.
I hated the fucking feeling.
I never needed a damn thing in my life. From anyone. Especially a woman.
But I pulled at her, bringing her down to me, kissing her.
The second our tongues touched, I lost it.
My hands grabbed her ass and held her there as I came. She wrestled against me, moving against my cock as I throbbed inside her.
Maybe it was the biggest mistake we both could have made.
I told myself I’d blame the whiskey.
But I knew the truth.
I liked her… and didn’t want to just save her… I fucking wanted her.
How much was I willing to lose to keep her?
Chapter 21
(Penny)
It felt like a really long, lust filled weekend. We hung out, talked, ate, drank, and had sex. We went room to room in his apartment. Any silence opened the door for us to go at it. We kept just to ourselves, ignored anyone who tried to bother us, and the only time we opened the apartment door was to let delivery drivers bring us food and beer.
We were acting young, wild, and free.
But we really were anything but that.
I woke up one morning and found Noah sitting on the edge of the bed. I was naked - big shock. He was naked too. His muscular back was something to look at. The curve of his ass pressed against the bed and he ran his hands through his hair.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Our time is up,” he whispered.
“What do you mean?”
“This whole thing. We’ve been hiding out, Penny. It’s been long enough.”
“Okay,” I said. “So what happens next?”
Noah looked back at me. “I haven’t figured that part out yet, honey. I’ve been sitting here for two hours trying to play it all out. What I have though is what I know for sure. And that’s who Marcos is. What his family is. The way he killed Seth…” Noah shook his head. “And then this detective situation with you.”
“Tell me what happened, Noah. About his brother.”
“I already confessed to you. I’m a murderer.”
I hated hearing that. I didn’t believe it. Yet he was saying it to me. “What does that mean?”
Noah curled his lip. “Stop trying to build me up inside your head. I’m not who you think I am.”
“So then tell me exactly who you are,” I said.
Noah stood up. “No.”
His ass was so perfect. It wasn’t fair for him to be doing that to me. I sat there trying to figure out my emotions and my thoughts and he had to be right there, a few feet away, completely naked.
“So then what’s the plan?” I asked.
“How far are you willing to go to survive?”
“What’s the right answer, Noah? Am I supposed to say I’ll do anything or go anywhere? Because I think we both know that most of the time that’s bullshit. Nobody actually feels that way. We all have our limits.”
“Have you hit your limit?”
“I’ve hit… something. Being here with you…”
Noah looked back at me again. “We shower. We eat. Then we get out of this apartment. We need a plan to try and make this work. I think we should pay a visit to your boss.”
“Andy?”
“Yeah. Maybe there’s something about him and Erik we could figure out and take to Marcos. Try to create some kind of value to your life.”
“Wow,” I whispered. “My life is worthless.”
I exhaled and stared down at the bed. Why did it hurt so bad to acknowledge that?
Noah turned and walked the length of the bed. My eyes couldn’t look away from between his legs. Even soft and calm, he was impressive. Long, defined, and I knew what it could look like in a matter of seconds. How it felt when he was hard and thrusting inside me.
A hand touched my face, forcing me to look up at him.
“Eyes up here, honey,” he said with a half grin.
“What?”
“You’re not worthless. Your life is not worthless. I wouldn’t be doing what I am right now for you if I felt that way. Understand that?”
“I’m sorry about all this, Noah. This is my battle. I wanted to stick my nose in these fights.”
“Yeah, I know. But someone wants me dead for something that happened a long time ago. So we both have to stick together on this.”
“There’s no place I’d rather be than right here,” I said. “I swear.”
“I believe you. I don’t do the whole woman-in-my-place kind of thing. But I kind of like having you here, Penny.”
Was that him being romantic?
His hand stroked my cheek. My body ached and burned in all the right places. I caught my legs moving under the blankets, opening, the back of my legs tightening and pulling. My instinct was to start rocking my hips, seeking relief. I felt so turned on and pathetic. I had gone, what, months without sex before meeting Noah? And now I couldn’t go hours.
Then again, he was standing in front of me, naked.
I reached out and touched his leg. My fingers gently slid up and touched his cock. He let out a shuddering breath and his grip on my face tightened.
“I’m going to protect you,” he said. “Whatever else you have to tell me, I want to know.”
“And I want to know your story,” I whispered, my fingers slowly cascading down his thickening shaft. I rolled my thumb over the head of his cock and then had a firm grip on him. “Please, Noah. I just need to know what happened…”
Noah gritted his teeth. He leaned down toward me. All I wanted was for him to take me again. Hover over me with his hands devouring me as much as his eyes and body.
Yes… right now…
Our lips touched for a second and then there was a thundering boom at the door to the apartment.
Noah pulled away, eyes wide, changing from sex to survival.
He said one word to me.
“Hide.”
His dick was half hard as he hurried to grab for a pair of jeans. I sat there in shock watching as he climbed into his jeans and had to force his cock into them. He zipped up and stood there, looking fucking gorgeous.
“Penny, now,” he said.
“What if it’s just that guy you help?” I asked. “Dalton?”
“Then you’ll know and you can come out,” he said. “Hurry. Now.”
He moved to the door. I called for him.
“Noah, what if I get caught…”
He shook his head. “You know the answer to that already.”
He disappeared from the bedroom.
Of course I knew the answer. If I got caught, we both would be killed.
I scrambled out of the bed. I found my bra, my shirt, and pants. That was good enough to get dressed with for now. I grabbed my bag off the floor, zipped it up, and then opened the closet. I looked up and knew the top shelf was best place to hide it. I tossed the bag to the shelf and then moved some of Noah’s clothes around it to make it blend in.
I stepped back and tried to listen to outside of the bedroom. I wanted it to just be that Dalton guy. We had gone days without any trouble. Nobody calling. Nobody bothering us. It was almost like we were on some hidden vacation together. Just me and Noah.
I took a chance and peeked around the halfway open door. I saw two men enter the apartment. They were big men. Before I could make another move, Noah took a swing. I saw and heard his fist connect with the guy’s face. I had seen a lot of fights, but this bothered me. This wasn’t supposed to be a fight. This truly was for survival.
As I moved back, I could still hear them fighting. Grunting. Punches landing. Thuds. My heart was torn in half, wanting to help Noah. I knew better though, I couldn’t help him by going out there. I wasn’t strong at all. I couldn’t fight.
I could
only hide.
I dove at the closet, knowing it was the only place I could hide.
I moved to the furthest corner, tucked behind Noah’s shirt. The closet smelled of him. Danger all around and there I was, hugging a buttoned down flannel shirt, smelling it.
I waited for what felt like hours. The fighting stopped and I heard a strong voice carry through the apartment, into the bedroom, into the closet.
I had never heard the voice before, but my gut told me exactly who it was. It could only be one person.
It was Marcos.
Chapter 22
(Noah)
I opened the door and two men barged right in.
Like fucking hell.
I threw a right and hit one of the guy’s in the jaw. He dropped right to his ass, grabbing for his face, instantly dazed. The other guy hit me in the ribs. I jumped back and took some of the punch, but not all. I swung with a left and hit him in the eye. He punched me in the jaw. The two of us then locked up. I swung him and tried to throw him. His hands were locked tight and we both went into a wall. I slipped my right hand up and grabbed the guy by the throat. I squeezed and drove him back to the wall. I lifted my knee and got him in the stomach.
That loosened him up.
He let me go.
I took one step back to give myself some room. Then I unloaded with three punches and took him to the ground.
I turned to keep my eyes on both men. I took deep breaths, collecting myself.
Someone started to clap.
That’s when Marcos entered my apartment.
Fuck.
“I guess these two aren’t going to cut it,” Marcos said.
I made fists. I faced Marcos and had my back to the hallway that led to the bedroom. He was here for Penny. She better have picked a good place to hide.
“Are you going to shoot them in the back of the head?” I asked.
Marcos smiled. “You’re still pissed about that? About Seth? It’s business, Noah. You understand that, right?”
“Business,” I said. “A guy you’d been close with for how many years? A guy that was like a brother to me? I’m supposed to just forget about it?”
“Hey, I gave you time,” Marcos said. “Why do you think I’ve been so quiet? I gave you an order and I backed off a little. Right or wrong?”
I stared at Marcos. I tried to figure out what would happen if I killed him. How long I could survive before his family would track me down and destroy me.
Marcos put a hand to my shoulder. “How’s it feeling?”
“Great,” I said. “Hurts a little now that I had to knock these two out.”
Marcos ran his thumb across the bandage. He pressed, trying to get me to wince or move. I sucked up the pain and stood right there.
“Time’s up, Noah,” Marcos said. “We need to get that bitch and end this.”
“What do you want me to do?” I asked. “She stole my car.”
“Then why’s your car parked outside?”
My heart sank.
Of course Penny drove my car back here. And instead of cleaning up all the little details, what did we do? We went at it. She was in the bathroom when I showered. She broke me down with her pretty eyes while I wore nothing but a towel. My needs and urges took over and left me nearly brain dead as I could only think about sleeping with her over and over and over.
So much so that we left such an obvious detail out in the open.
I had no response which did nothing but shovel more guilt on top of my back.
Marcos slapped my face. “Noah, you stupid motherfucker. She’s here.”
“Marcos…”
He put up a finger. “I’m going to find her.”
He started to check the apartment. The bathroom. The closet in the hallway. He had his two goons up and helping. They were both dazed and probably wouldn’t be able to find Penny if she stood a foot away from them.
“She’s not here,” I said as Marcos pushed my bedroom door open.
“Oh?”
“She came back the other day,” I said. “She brought my car back. I was in the shower, changing my bandages. I heard a noise and looked out. She had my gun, Marcos. I was in no position to try and fight her. Christ, she shot me once. She was going to shoot me again.”
“She came back here to give you your car?” Marcos asked.
“Yeah. To make a statement. She took the keys to her car and then took off. That’s all I can say, Marcos. She was hell bent on getting out of here.”
“And you just decided to sleep the next few days off and do nothing?” Marcos asked. “Letting her take off? Why?”
“This isn’t my job, Marcos,” I said. “I’m sorry. I’m your top fighter and nothing else. You had Seth and you killed him. I was drunk in the shower, Marcos. I…”
“Drunk,” Marcos said. “Sad. Crying like a baby. Changing your bandages.”
Marcos stepped into the bedroom. He looked to the floor just as I did.
Of all goddamn things… Penny left her panties on the floor.
Marcos bent down and hooked the panties on his pinky finger and he stood up. He held them out to me. “Explain.”
“What?”
“You wear these?”
“Fuck you, Marcos.”
Marcos brought the panties to his nose and sniffed.
My blood boiled like lava ready to spew from a volcano.
“Yeah, I know that smell,” he whispered. “She’s still here, isn’t she?”
I grabbed the panties and threw them across the bedroom. Then went nose to nose with Marcos. “Let me explain something to you. Who I fuck and when I fuck them isn’t your business. I’ve been in this apartment, half drunk, calling in favors for days. Okay? I don’t understand your obsession with Penny. You don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. Thanks for showing trust. You want to question who I fuck? I don’t even know the name of the woman those panties belong to. And there’s probably three more pair somewhere in this bedroom. You killed my best friend. I’m not just going to stand up and walk away from that like nothing happened. I got shot and you killed Seth. I’m not okay with any of this.”
“I don’t give a shit what you’re okay with,” Marcos said. He was trying to read my eyes. “So you’ve been cooped up in here with booze and pussy?”
“My two addictions.”
“Did you cry when you were between her legs?”
“You’re a fucking prick, Marcos.”
He laughed. “I’m going to search this entire room, Noah.”
I played it cool and sat down on the bed. “Go to it, Marcos. Let me know how many pairs of panties you find. I’ll put money down on three.”
Marcos raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“It’s sort of my thing,” I said. “I collect them. Trophies.”
“Like a serial killer.”
“I’m a serial fucker.”
Marcos laughed again.
He moved around the small bedroom. He touched the walls as though a hidden door was going to open. I had no clue where Penny was. When Marcos dropped to his knees to check under the bed, my throat closed a little. He then went to the closet and opened the door. He started to punch at the clothes, leaving my heart pounding, waiting to hear Penny cry out in pain if she was in the closet.
Marcos grabbed a handful of my clothes and threw them over his head.
I stood up. “That’s enough, Marcos. I told you the truth. Penny isn’t here. Now if you want to find her, let’s talk this out.”
Marcos spun around looked enraged. “Now you give a shit?”
“Obviously this means a lot to you. I don’t get why. I’d rather just fight.”
“You want to fight? Okay, Noah. Okay.” Marcos whistled.
His two goons stepped into the bedroom. I quickly made fists, ready to go. Marcos took his gun out and pointed it at me. He walked to me and jammed the gun to my neck.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“First, I’m going to tie your hands
behind your back with those panties,” Marcos said. “Then my friends here are going to give you a reminder of what happens when you ignore me. You’re lucky because I’m giving you this one chance. To understand. To learn.”
“Marcos…”
One of the guys swung and hit me in the face. I flew to the left and hit the dresser. The second guy kicked me in the ribs and I was then on the floor. Marcos was right there, gun pointed at me.
“Remember, Noah, this is your fault.”
I stared up at Marcos.
Penny was somewhere in the bedroom.
And I was about to take a beating.
Chapter 23
(Penny)
I had to listen to every punch that landed on Noah’s face and body. There was nothing I could do but just stand there, pressed against the corner of the closet, and listen.
“I’m so sorry,” Marcos said.
The smash of fists against Noah’s face enraged me. Two times I pressed forward, wondering what would happen. What if I just gave myself up to protect Noah? That would only make Noah a blatant liar and Marcos would kill him.
At least right then Noah was only taking a beating.
His hands were tied behind his back with my panties. My panties I left on the floor like a fool. Because I had been rushing around to hide. Because moments before rushing around, my hand had been touching his cock, wanting him to fuck me again.
“Okay,” Marcos finally said. “I think that’s good enough for now.”
I pushed the clothes to the side and could see a sliver of Marcos and Noah.
Noah was on his knees, leaning against the bed. His face was covered in cuts and blood. Marcos then crouched and blocked my view. He put his gun to the top of Noah’s head.
“So I’m going to clarify a few things,” Marcos said. “I will never let this happen to you again, Noah. The next time you fuck with me, I’ll kill you. You’re no use to me when you’re beat up and shot and acting like a weak pussy.”
A second later Noah groaned and threw his head forward. He smashed his face against Marcos’s and sent him back to his ass.
“One more!” Marcos ordered.