Holdin' On for a Hero

by Ciana Stone

  “Hey, you need a ride?” Paige spotted Ryan as she was coming out of the locker room.

  “No, thanks.” He started outside with her. “Senna’s here.”

  “Oh, well, in that case…” She pushed open the door to find Senna standing just outside. “Well, hello there, Dr. Laserian. Did you change your mind about signing up?”

  “Signing up?” Senna was taken off guard. She was still trying to get a grip on herself and her reaction to Konnor Chase. “Oh, no. No, I don’t think so.”

  “Too barbaric for your high-brow taste?” Paige asked. “Or just scared?”

  Senna didn’t miss the challenge in Paige’s tone. “What is there for me to be afraid of, Paige?”

  Paige smirked and turned to Ryan. “See you tomorrow night?”

  “We’ll be there,” he replied.

  “I can’t wait,” she said and cut her eyes toward Senna. “See ya.”

  Senna made no comment and walked in silence to her car. Ryan tossed his gym bag into the back seat and slid in beside her. “So, where would you like to go? I don’t know about you, but I’m starved!”

  “Wherever you like,” she responded automatically. At that particular moment the only thing she was starved for was not on a restaurant menu. All she should think about was Konnor Chase’s dark eyes boring into her like he could see into her soul.

  “Pizza?” Ryan asked.

  “Fine.”

  “How ‘bout we call it in and have it delivered?”

  “Fine.”

  “Your place or mine?”

  “Whichever you prefer.”

  Ryan started to reach across the seat for his bag to get his cell phone, but she handed him hers. He called in a pizza and asked to have it delivered to his apartment then hung up.

  “You okay?” he asked after a few minutes of silence.

  “Yes, fine.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yes, why?” She finally looked at him.

  “You just seem more quiet than normal.”

  “I’m sorry.” She gave him a small smile. “It’s just been a long day and I’ve been upset about Walter.

  “How exactly do you know him? I don’t remember you ever mentioning him.”

  “He was a friend of my parents’. And Min’s. After my parents died he sort of adopted me as part of his family. We haven’t seen much of one another the past few years but we’ve kept in touch.”

  “I’m sorry.” He reached over and put his hand on her leg. “And about this afternoon…Paige was only doing her job.”

  “You don’t have to make excuses for her, Ryan. But I would like to know why she suddenly dislikes me so much. Have I done something to offend her?”

  “No, that’s just Paige. Don’t take it personal. She just has her moods and sometimes she comes across bitchy. She doesn’t mean anything. She’s really a great person—her personality just takes some getting used to.”

  Senna looked over at him for a split second before returning her attention to her driving. “She must be very special to inspire such loyalty.”

  “There’s nothing going on between me and Paige!”

  Senna cut him a look. “I never said there was.”

  “Oh, well…I just didn’t want you thinking there was something going on because there’s not. We’re just partners. And you know how it is. When you work with someone day in and day out, you get to know them and—”

  “Ryan, you don’t have to explain,” she interrupted softly. “I don’t have a problem with you being friends with Paige.”

  “And that’s all it is. Friends. Just friends.”

  “Of course.”

  Ryan quickly changed the subject. To Konnor Chase. The rest of the drive he talked about what a great martial artist Konnor was and how much he enjoyed taking classes. By the time they reached his apartment he had gotten around to asking her again if she would consider taking a class.

  “I really think you’d like it,” he said as he got out of the car. “There are a couple of other women in the class. As a matter of fact, a new girl started just last week, so you wouldn’t be the only beginner. And Konnor’s really patient with the new students. You wouldn’t have to spar at first if you didn’t want to.”

  “I don’t think so,” she said as he unlocked his apartment door.

  “Just one class. What can it hurt?” he asked as he reached in to turn on the lights then walked in.

  “I’ll think about it,” she said, just to get him to change the subject. She didn’t want to think about anything associated with Konnor Chase. He scared her, or to be more honest, the way he made her feel scared her. She didn’t think she could take being in the same room with him for any length of time.

  The doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of the pizza and talk turned to inconsequential matters. After eating, they took their beer to the den and sat down on the couch. Ryan flipped through the television stations and found a movie neither of them had seen.

  For a while they watched the movie, then Ryan pulled her over for a kiss. She didn’t resist. She liked the way Ryan kissed. He was gentle and slow. When his hands moved to her blouse she didn’t stop him from unbuttoning it and pushing it down her shoulders.

  His lips moved to her neck and then lower, to the top of her breasts. Senna closed her eyes. She knew he was excited and she wanted to feel the same way. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy sex. It was pleasant, but had never been high on her list.

  He didn’t stop with her blouse. Within a few minutes the rest of her clothes were scattered over the back of the couch and on the floor. “You look so damn good,” Ryan murmured as his lips began a journey down the front of her body. “And taste even better.”

  Senna ran her hands across his shoulders then pushed away and sat up. Ryan reached for her but she pushed his hands down to his sides and began to undress him.

  He was a very attractive man who had not let himself go. She liked the way he looked without his clothes. When he was nude, she pushed him back and lay on top of him. For a few minutes they kissed and fondled one another, and then she sat up again. “Be right back,” she said.

  She went into the bathroom and found a bottle of massage oil she had left under the sink the last time she was there. She wet a bathcloth and took both items with her. When she returned to the den, Ryan was lying on the couch waiting. She straddled his legs, opened the bottle of oil, and poured a thin stream into her hand. She watched him as she set the bottle aside, seeing the excitement in his eyes.

  He closed his eyes and arched as she took him in her oily hands. For a few seconds she closed her eyes, operating solely on touch. Unbidden, a vision of Konnor Chase came into her mind. It was his body beneath her, his erect staff she caressed. The daydream caused a sudden rise in her temperature and an unfamiliar heaviness in her breasts and sex.

  Ryan moaned in pleasure and the moment was gone. She opened her eyes, focusing on giving him pleasure. She watched him, noting the mounting tension in his body. When she felt a slight tremble in his body, she quickly cleaned the oil from him. She slipped a condom on him then mounted him.

  He groaned as she moved up and down on his erection. His hands reached for her waist to control her rhythm. It was unhurried and even at first, and then his tempo increased. She moved with him for a few moments then forced him to slow.

  “Christ, you’re good,” he groaned as she started her slow rise and fall again.

  She didn’t speak but maintained her rhythm. She knew she could carry him to the brink many times before she let him finish, just as she knew that that was exactly what he wanted. Often she had wondered how it would feel, such sublime torture. Unfortunately, she had no way of knowing. She had never experienced an orgasm from the act of intercourse. The only basis of comparison she had was the climax she could reach alone, and somehow she felt that was not the same.

  Her tempo increased and his hands tightened on her waist again. This time when she felt the vibration run through him, she didn�
�t slow. A moment later she felt his release. Settling down on him, she held him within her until the moment passed. He opened his eyes and looked up at her. She smiled. She knew he wanted to hear her say that she enjoyed it as much as he did. But she also knew that by now he had learned that she never spoke after they made love.

  She leaned down, gave him a slow kiss, then got up and gathered her clothes. She took them into the bathroom, cleaned up and dressed. Ryan was pulling on his pants when she entered the den. “I better go,” she said as she reached for her purse. “I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on.”

  “You don’t have to go,” he said as he zipped his pants. “You can work here and leave in the morning.”

  “Not tonight. I need to check on Min. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Pick you up at six?” he asked as he walked her to the door.

  “I’ll look forward to it.” She gave him one last kiss and left. As soon as she got in her car she pulled out her cell phone to check her messages. There was one from Min, asking her to come for breakfast. There was one other message. As she listened to it a frown appeared on her face. It lasted only a moment then was gone. Starting the car, she pulled away from the apartment.

  Chapter Four

  Kitaro turned and looked at the woman who lay on the bed watching him. He was not embarrassed by his nudity. His body was like everything else around him, something he had shaped and perfected so that like the priceless works of art, he too, was flawless. He reveled in his own perfection and in that of the woman who waited for him on the silk sheets.

  With a glass of wine in each hand, he returned to the bed. She sat as he offered her a glass and the black silk slid down, revealing her nudity. Kitaro’s dark eyes traveled the length of her body. She was perfect.. It was not merely her appearance. Her passion was like the fires of an inferno. She thrived on the pleasures he gave her and he thrived on the giving.

  “Ummm,” she purred as she sampled the wine. “Sweet.”

  He smiled and raised his glass to drink but she stayed his hand. “Have some of mine.”

  Tilting her head back, she poured a thin stream of wine. It flowed down her body like a glistening stream of blood. Kitaro’s smile transformed into a look of hunger. Placing his glass on the nightstand, he leaned over and lapped at the crimson stream that marred her smooth skin.

  She made a sound of pleasure deep in her throat as he moved down her body. When he reached the juncture of her thighs she wound her fingers in his long hair and arched against his questing tongue. He inhaled the sweetness of her, savoring the smell and taste of her.

  Her breath came faster as his actions carried her closer to the moment of release. Just as she was about to crest, he raised his head to look at her. Her face wore a look of such intense need, that it fueled his own hunger. “Now,” she growled, her voice deep and husky.

  He knew what she wanted and he wanted nothing more than to give. Sitting back on his heels, he pulled her to him in the same motion, burying himself in her wet center. She moaned as his hands moved to her breasts, then cried out softly as his fingers toyed roughly with her tender nipples.

  Opening her eyes, she looked into his. He knew she could see his desire. As if their minds were one, she moved her hands down her body. His eyes followed their path. When he saw her part the soft hair and tease the swollen tissue that lay hidden, he was almost robbed of control.

  As if sensing it, she paused the undulating motion of her hips. Inner muscles held him tight and immobile until control was restored. Then she began again. Like a wave lapping at the shore, her core drew him deeper, over and over, a pulsing stroke. Again her fingers moved to her folds. He could feel a vibration run through her before he saw the trembling muscles beneath her skin. Ramming deep and fast inside her, he abandoned all control. She cried out in pleasure and together they rode the wave.

  After a time, Kitaro lay down and cradled her against him. They were both damp with perspiration and the smell of their lovemaking mixed with the scent of the candles that lit the room. She looked up at him as she traced her fingertips over his chest and he smiled.

  “I’ve missed you,” she whispered. Why did you stay away so long?”

  “It was necessary.”

  “Can I stay with you?”

  “Not yet.” He untangled himself from her arms. “We still have much to do.”

  She frowned as he rose from the bed. “That’s what you said last time. Why do you keep putting me off?”

  “I will not turn from the path I have set upon. Not even for you, my treasure. Together we will see our plans manifest at last.”

  She flowed and slung her hair back as she got off the bed. “Plan, plan, plan! It’s always the damned plan! Well, maybe I don’t care about your plan anymore. Maybe this time I’ll be the one who walks out and then you can see your plan come alive all by yourself.”

  A hand as hard as steel and soft as velvet took hold of her arm and turned her. “You will never walk out on me,” he said in a whisper. “It is your destiny to walk this path with me. It is your duty to obey me. I must ensure that he does not succeed, for if he does, all will be lost. There is too much at stake, too many lives. Would you put your selfish needs ahead of so many?”

  She dropped her eyes and shook her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. You know I’ll help you. I couldn’t say no. Not ever. Not to you. I’ll do anything you ask.”

  Kitaro pulled her against him. “My treasure. One day your loyalty will be rewarded. I promise you. But for now, there is something you must do.”

  She pulled back and looked at him curiously. He smiled. “Now listen carefully.”

  Southwest Union County

  Jackson Township

  Konnor opened the back door of his house and walked inside. Immediately he knew he was not alone. He didn’t bother to turn on a light. He didn’t need to. He could see the house in his mind. He didn’t need to rely on his eyes.

  On silent feet he made his way from the kitchen to the den. His senses picked up the smell of stale cigarette smoke. “Hello, Slater,” he spoke a moment before turning on the lamp beside the couch.

  Bruce Slater smiled at him from the recliner. “It’s been a while, Chase.”

  “Not long enough.” Konnor checked out the room. “Where’re your boys?”

  “Around.” Slater lit a cigarette and exhaled contentedly. “How about a drink?”

  “How about you get the hell out of my house—and my life?” Konnor asked in return.

  “Before you find out why I’m here?” Slater chuckled. “Come on, Chase, admit it. You’re curious.”

  “Okay, I’m curious.” Konnor took a seat on the couch. “But not enough to get tangled up with you again.”

  “Is that any way to talk?” Slater put on a face of mock distress. “After all I’ve done for you?”

  Konnor made no comment. He was not fooled by Slater’s act. Something was up and it had to be big for Slater to seek him out. “What is it this time, Slater?”

  “Remember that work you did in the Middle East a few years back?”

  Konnor remembered all too well. He had been sent in to locate and take possession of certain documents the agency believed the Iraqis had on some new weapon. That assignment had cost him six months of lost memories.

  He had been in the country almost two months and was closing in on the location of the documents. The last thing he remembered was going to meet a contact outside of Al Basrah, and then waking up in Syria to discover that six months had passed and he couldn’t remember a moment of it.

  He had made contact with Slater and was directed to go back in. The people at the top had given top priority to retrieving the information. He made it back inside Iraq and after three weeks managed to break into a government facility and liberate the documents. The problem was, the Iraqis had either anticipated such a move or had been waiting for him. He just barely escaped. After two weeks of hiding and running, two gunshot wounds and damn near starving, he m
ade it to Kuwait. He knew then that he couldn’t quit. Not until he found the rest of the puzzle.

  He went back to Iraq in the middle of the war, and with the help of contacts in the Middle East managed to infiltrate a terrorist group that was said to have close ties with the government. For nearly a year he lived with them, checking every lead he found, pursuing every rumor. Finally he had to admit defeat. There was no secret weapon. If there had been, the Iraqis would have used it during the war.

  Unfortunately, he decided to get out a day too late. That night a dozen soldiers were sent for him. His cover had been blown. He spent six weeks in an Iraqi prison and would have died there if it hadn’t been for the unexpected appearance of someone from his past.

  He didn’t return to the States. Instead he headed for China where he spent the next three years. When he finally returned home, he went to Slater and told him he was out for good. He walked out and didn’t look back. Now he realized that Slater had let him walk. If he had needed him at the time, he would not have let him go.

  After a long silence he nodded. “What about it?”

  “It seems we were wrong.” Slater flicked his cigarette into the fireplace. “New information has surfaced.”

  Konnor didn’t believe it. “That’s a dead horse. Quit kicking it.”

  “Asleep maybe,” Slater leaned forward in his chair, “but not dead. You ever hear of Walter Van Dorne?”

  Konnor frowned and shook his head. “Should I?”

  “Van Dorne was considered one of the most brilliant minds of his time in the field of quantum mechanics.”

  “And?”

  “And he was working for the other side.”

  “And?” Konnor knew there had to be more.

  “And he wasn’t alone.”

  “You want to get to the point?”

  Slater stood and walked over to stand in front of Konnor. “We need you.”

  Konnor shook his head and stood to face Slater. “Like I told you a long time ago. I’m out.”

  Slater laughed. “Son, like I told you a long time ago, once you’re with the agency, you’re never out.”