"Then what the fuck do you want?" Ford asked in a low growl. His eyes glanced at me for a second, stark terror flashing across his eyes.
"That's a very good question, Spencer. I want so many things, like your woman and your life." His grip on my hair loosened. "And I always get what I want."
"Please, just let us go, Carter," I pleaded. "We won't say a word about seeing you. You can just disappear."
"Disappear?" he asked in indignation, his grip tightening in my hair painfully again. "I'm Elliott Carter fucking Bennett. I take what I want. I do what I want. No one can bloody touch me, not even the police. I'm a fucking god. I don't lose!" He shook me by my hair, and I mewled out from the pain lancing across my scalp. Shit, he was completely unhinged.
"Stop hurting her," Ford snarled as he took a step forward.
Carter pressed the gun to my temple. Ford froze, his eyes wide and filled with helpless panic.
Carter continued ranting, his English accent thickening. "Not even my father could stop me. He wanted to disinherit me, and cut me off. He said I wasn't fit to run the company. Well, I proved him wrong. You can't disinherit me if you're fucking dead, you son of a bitch. I made bloody well sure of that."
Holy shit, did he just confess to killing his own father? We were screwed. He was going to kill both of us. I just knew it. Why else would he confess that to us when he'd gotten away with it? We were running out of time, and I had to do something. Maybe if I kept him talking, the police would get here in time to save us.
"Why are you here?" I asked, desperate to keeping him talking. I figured Carter enjoyed talking about himself more than anything, the narcissistic prick.
"I'm here to finish the job since Holt can't finish it. I have surveillance cameras on Holt's house. I knew the second the police showed up at his door. He'll take the fall for me. He's a weasel, but I pay him well for his loyalty. He won't give me up."
Oh my God. Deluded much? He didn't have a fucking clue that he'd been sold out already.
"You're a fucking moron," Ford told him contemptuously. "Holt gave you up in a heartbeat."
I gaped at Ford. He was provoking Carter on purpose. What the hell was he doing?
"You're a bloody fucking liar," Carter snarled, the barrel of the gun easing away from my temple.
"He sang like a fucking bird," Ford continued as he gave me a worried glance. Shit, he was trying to get Carter to point the gun at him instead of me. He was going to get himself killed. "The cops are coming to arrest you, asshole. You're going down. Nothing can fucking save you now."
"You know nothing." Carter's gun dipped lower.
"I know that your time is up, dumbass," Ford snarled. "Get ready to lose everything." He lifted a corner of his lip in a sneer. "Some fucking god you turned out to be. Loser," he added with scorn.
Carter snarled incoherently and whipped his arm out to aim his gun at the man I loved. No! I reacted instinctively. I threw my hands up and pushed Carter's outstretched arm into the air, just as he squeezed the trigger. I'd never heard such a loud noise in all my life as the gun fired. The bullet hit the ceiling with a crack. My ears rang and hurt from the gunshot, but I stubbornly gripped Carter's arm as he fought me. A second shot hit the nearby mattress.
"You bitch!" He yanked me by the hold he still had on my hair and threw me to the floor, but before he could aim his weapon down at me, Ford plowed into him like a freight train. He lifted Carter clear up off the floor and slammed him into the wall behind him so hard it dented the drywall.
Carter's head bounced off the wall and his gun was knocked out of his hand, clattering to the hardwood floor nearby. Ford grabbed Carter's collar and started pounding his left fist into Carter's face before he'd even recovered from hitting the wall.
"You worthless motherfucking piece of shit prick," Ford snarled as landed punch after punch. "You will never fucking touch her again. Never, never, never." Another fist landed with each word.
Carter's limp body started sliding down the wall, but Ford didn't stop hitting him. Shit, I needed to do something. I didn't want Ford to get charged with murder. I lunged to my feet and staggered to Ford. I grabbed his left arm in desperation.
"Ford!" I screamed at him. "Stop! Please! Stop, goddamn it!"
I must have gotten through to him, because he abruptly released Carter to slump down to the floor unconscious. His face was an unrecognizable bloody ruin. I averted my eyes from it with a shudder. Ford turned and grabbed my upper arms so tight it was almost painful.
"Are you okay, Jen?" His eyes traveled over my face worriedly.
"I'm okay." I nodded. "Are you?"
"Just some bloody knuckles, honey." He showed me his abraded left hand. "I'll live."
A low guttural moan sounded behind Ford. We turned to find Carter trying weakly to pull himself across the floor toward his gun several feet away. Before Ford could do anything, I stepped forward and kicked him right in the balls as hard as I could. He instantly let out a bloodcurdling squeal and curled into the fetal position, crying pathetically. Bastard.
"Fuck you, Carter," I snarled out as Ford kicked the gun to the other side of the room. "Fuck you."
And then a hard painful sob burst out of me as everything caught up with me, the fear, the anger, and the now fading adrenaline. Ford instantly scooped me up, sobbing and trembling in his arms, and sat down on the bed. He cuddled me close and watched Carter like a hawk as we heard the sound of police sirens in the distance, and I knew we were finally safe.
**********
I was exactly where I wanted to be, kneeling quietly on the thick soft gray rug next to Ford's bed as I waited for him to come to me. I stared down at my clasped hands in my lap as anticipation coursed through my body. I needed this so much. This day had been an emotional roller coaster, and I needed to let go and give myself over to Ford's will.
The police took Carter into custody when they showed up not long after Ford subdued him. He acted deranged when they dragged him out, babbling about being a god and murdering his father. I suspected he was going away for a very long time. We'd given the police our statements, and when they finally left, we decided to go home instead of staying at the lake house. We were both over the place.
The second we entered Ford's apartment, he commanded me to go to his room and strip, then kneel next to the bed. I immediately obeyed, desperate to give myself and my submission to him. Now I waited for him to claim me.
I felt the energy in the room shift when he walked in, his power radiating across the space between us and electrifying my body. I looked up and caught my breath. His body was gloriously nude. The hard planes of his muscles drew my eyes as I drank him in, my gaze traveling down his gorgeous body from top to bottom. I'd never get over the sheer tattooed perfection that was Ford Spencer, or the fact that he was mine. His erection stood hard and proud as it jutted out from his body. My mouth practically watered as I stared unabashedly at it.
He stepped closer to me, and I watched as he reached up to attach a suspension ring to one of the eye bolts on the ceiling above me with some rope, his cock bobbing hypnotically in front of me. I suddenly wanted him inside me so much I could barely think. I whimpered needily and squeezed my thighs together as my clit throbbed.
He glanced down at me and smirked. He knew exactly what he was doing to me. He always did. Without thinking, I reached out to touch his penis, the need in me taking over.
"Did I say you could touch that?" he growled out sternly.
I jerked my hand away. "No," replied petulantly. He cocked a brow at me with a deep frown. "No, sir," I amended quickly.
"Keep your hands to yourself,"
"Then quit teasing me with it," I replied crossly. I was towing the line for an actual punishment, but I couldn't seem to stop.
He dropped down in front of me and gripped my chin in his hand firmly. "You have a real mouth on you tonight." His eyes held mine sternly. "I'm half tempted to fuck it to keep you quiet and leave you wanting. How does that sound?"
<
br /> My eyes widened. "No, please, sir. Please don't do that. I need you. Please, sir, please." My voice was desperate and needy now.
His eyes softened with his pleased smile. "That's what I want to hear. That's my good girl." He caressed his knuckles across my cheek, then winced. I immediately grabbed his hand and pressed soft kisses to the abraded skin across his knuckles.
When I looked up to meet his gaze, the tenderness in his indigo eyes made my insides flutter. Thank God he was still safe and sound. The terror I felt when I thought he might get hurt or killed was horrible.
"Why did you piss him off?" I asked with a frown. "He could have shot you."
"It was better than him shooting you," he answered as he cradled my face in his palms. "I'd die before I let anything happen to you, honey," he said fiercely. "You're my everything. I love you, Jen."
"I love you too, Ford," I said waveringly. I laid my hands over his as tears welled up in my eyes. He'd been willing to sacrifice his freedom and his life for me. He made me feel so loved. This man was everything I ever wanted or needed.
He wiped away my tears with his thumbs. "None of that," he said softly and leaned in to kiss me. Ford's warm plush mouth pressed against mine, and his tongue licked across my lips. I opened up to him, and he deepened the kiss, worshiping me with his tongue and lips. I could feel his love and passion for me in the way his mouth moved fiercely against mine and the way his strong hands cradled my face so gently. By the time he pulled away, I was lightheaded and swooning.
"Arms behind your back now," he said authoritatively as the Dom in him took over again. I fell once more into my submission with a soft contented sigh.
"Yes, sir," I whispered and obeyed.
When the rope touched my skin, it felt like coming home. He wound it around my chest, framing my breasts and binding my arms behind my back with my forearms across each other. The rope felt comforting and right as it pressed into my skin. I felt safe and protected, as if Ford was holding me tight in his arms himself.
"On your stomach." He helped ease me face down onto the soft rug. "Bend your knees." I complied and sighed in contentment again as he began winding rope around my legs, binding each leg calf to thigh. When he was finished, I was completely helpless, and completely his.
A heady bliss fell over me. I closed my eyes and took it in, rolling it around in my head like the delicious thing it was. I felt Ford begin attaching more rope, his hands periodically caressing my overheated skin as he worked.
"You're so beautiful, Jen," he murmured, his voice low and filled with awe. "So gorgeous and perfect, and all mine."
"Yes, sir," I agreed in a drunken sounding slur. He chuckled softly.
I felt something soft and silky fall over my eyes. I gasped in surprise and opened my eyes to see nothing but blackness. I fought against my restraints.
"Shh, honey," Ford said reassuringly as he placed a gentling hand on my lower back. "I'm just blindfolding you. What's your color?"
"G...green, sir."
"Then get ready to fly, honey," he growled out seductively.
Suddenly, I was weightless, the plush rug falling away beneath me as Ford lifted me into the air in his ropes. I gasped at the disorienting sensation as I swung gently back and forth.
Then he was kissing me again, this one scorchingly passionate as he practically fucked my mouth with his tongue. I moaned and whimpered as I felt myself slicken and throb between my legs. My deep need for him felt like it was going to consume me. I began begging shamelessly when he pulled his lips away from mine. "Please, sir. I need you inside me, Ford. Oh please, please, please."
"Fuck," he snarled out. The world spun, and the lips that had just been plundering my mouth were now latching onto my clit, his face buried between my thighs. He licked and nipped at my swollen nub repeatedly in an unrelenting assault that sent me flying within moments. I cried out as my orgasm crashed over me in a wave of pure pleasure. Ford sucked hard on my clit, milking out my pleasure with expert skill. When I finally came back down with a heavy groan, he was lapping up my wetness with firm strokes of his wide magical tongue.
I felt bereft when he moved away, but it was short-lived as Ford's fingers began sliding over my sex, spreading my slickness, before thrusting into me. His thick fingers began fucking me, slowly at first, but then picking up speed.
"Oh fuck, Jen. You're so goddamn wet," he rumbled out.
I felt his other hand slide over my ass. He dipped a thumb in my arousal, then slid it back up and pressed against the tight little ring of my ass. As the tip of his thumb slid into me, he crooked the fingers still inside my pussy. I flew up again with a wail, and as I gasped in a breath when it ebbed, he pulled me onto his cock in one hard deep thrust. I screamed and splintered apart, the sudden almost painful penetration sending me over the edge.
His big hand wrapped around my bound forearms as he pumped me up and down on his dick, his fingers digging into my flesh. I felt consumed and taken, the orgasm stretching on and on as pleasure rushed through every inch of my body. The thumb he still had pressed into my ass, pushed in even deeper and began thrusting in time with his cock. I came again and again, my reality closing down to the point where our bodies connected. I lost myself to this man, and the pure joy and bliss of our joining.
I screamed and screamed endlessly, until the world spun again and Ford was pressing his slick cock against my lips. "Take it," he snarled. "Take all of me."
I opened my mouth wide, and he thrust inside. I moaned in ecstasy as I tasted my cum all over him. I relaxed and opened my throat, desperate to take all of him. He gripped my hair in a fist with a deep rumbling growl and began fucking my face with abandon. A string of obscenities spilled out of his mouth, and I reveled in the effect I had on this imposing man. I felt powerful and so very much alive.
Suddenly, Ford pulled out of me and spun me around again. He pulled me back onto his cock once, twice, and on the third almost painfully deep thrust, we both exploded together into a conflagration that blew me apart into insensibility.
I floated away on my high, feeling disembodied and unaware of anything but Ford's deep voice murmuring soft words of love and appreciation. The next thing I knew I was unbound and being held against the solid comfort of Ford's body. He cuddled me in his lap as he sat cross-legged on the floor, his arms holding me tight as he whispered that he loved me over and over again. I curled into him as close as I could get, burrowing my face against his neck and mumbling his name under my breath.
This was us, the mutual give and take of power that gave us each what we needed, the dominance and submission that bound us together inexplicably. Our connection was tighter than mere rope could ever hope to manage, and I'd never get enough of Ford. I was going to spend the rest of my life wrapped up in this man, and his rope, and his love. It would always be this way. Always. And I couldn't think of a better future.
Epilogue
Ford
I stood next to Natie in my tuxedo fidgeting nervously as I waited for the bride to walk down the aisle.
"Stop it," she hissed at me harshly. "You'll be fine." She was beautiful in a red floor length gown that made her look elegant and refined, even as she glared at me.
I frowned at her. I was nervous, and who could blame me for what I had planned later. I looked past my sister to see Gareth wearing an identical tuxedo and watching me with a roguish grin on his face. He knew about my plans today too. I think he found my nervousness amusing. Probably because he never seemed nervous about anything. The guy was unflappable.
He and I had rekindled our friendship over the last three months since the charges against me had been dropped. He was an intense and very focused guy, but he still knew how to have fun, and I enjoyed his company. I was glad he was going to be my brother.
My eyes finally drifted over to the man standing next to Gareth. The groom. Tom Caxton, Gareth's father, stood tall and unafraid next to his son, who was also the best man, as he waited for his bride. A wide smile graced his lip
s, his kind dark eyes filled with happiness and contentment. I couldn't think of a better man for my mother. Tom adored her, and his calm and steadfast personality complimented my mother and her dramatics to perfection. They were good for each other, and I was so happy for them both.
It was Christmas Eve, and my mom had finally gotten the Christmas wedding she always wanted, and it turned out to be her own. Neither Natie nor I intended on giving her that ourselves. Natie had no interest and her wedding was in February, and I had no intention of waiting another year to make Jenny legally mine. I reached my hand into my pants pocket and fingered the ring box I had hidden there. Nope. I was not going to wait very long at all.
I glanced out across the small banquet room where the ceremony and the reception were taking place. There were maybe only two hundred people here, since Mom wanted a small wedding, but she had really outdone herself. She'd somehow managed to keep a Christmas wedding from seeming gaudy. The tables for the guests were arranged behind the line of chairs for the family for the ceremony, and were decorated in a red, silver, and white motif that was both elegant and tasteful. Mom really outdid herself in a very short amount of time.
I looked to the front row of chairs to see the rest of my family. Surprisingly, Dad and his fiancée Carolyn were here. Mom and Dad had somehow found a way to be friends after over twenty years of angst and resentment. I think it was because they both had finally found who they were meant to be with, and their rocky past together just didn't seem to matter any more. It's funny how falling in love with the right person could do that.
Dad and I had reforged a relationship again after over three years at odds with each other. We were closer than ever now, and talked frequently. I'd gotten to know Carolyn too. She was a kind generous woman, and she made him happy. I was happy for my dad.
Next to them sat my future brother-in-law David holding my almost six-month-old nephew, Daniel. David was grinning at his son who was cooing and smiling in his tiny black tuxedo with a red and green plaid bow-tie. He was the cutest damn thing I had ever seen, with his big blue eyes and tousle of dark curls on his little round head. It made me want to drag Jenny off somewhere alone and put a baby in her right now. Holy hell, who knew a thirty-four-year-old ex-bachelor could develop a biological clock.
An Act of Redemption: Order & Chaos Book 3 Page 28