Win by Submission

by Melynda Price

  She shed her winter layers, leaving them in a pile on the entryway floor, along with her purse and car keys. Her thoughts didn’t go beyond getting into the shower and chasing away the chill before collapsing into bed. As she passed the end table next to the stairs, the red flashing light of the answering machine caught her attention. She paused a moment, briefly considering listening to the messages, then continued on, having no energy or ambition to deal with it right now.

  Leaning heavily on the railing, Katie methodically placed one foot in front of the other, trudging up the stairs. Once she entered the bathroom, she took one look at the tub and decided a hot soak sounded more relaxing than a shower. She turned the faucet on, tossed in a scoop of lavender and rosemary bath salts, and made another pile of clothing on the floor next to the tub before stepping in.

  The hot water enveloped her like a lover’s caress—Cole’s caress . . . The thought of his hands on her skin made Katie’s pulse quicken, her lips parting to draw in shallow breaths, and the pang in her twisted sharply. Lord help her, she missed him. She missed the way he made her feel when they were together—safe and protected. She missed the husky, seductive rasp of his voice whispering against her ear, and the skilled touch of his battle-scarred hands giving her pleasure she’d never imagined. She missed everything about him—his smile, his sense of humor, his protectiveness. For the first time in her life she’d truly felt alive, and now without him, she felt like she was dying on the vine.

  Leaning against the back of the tub, she took a deep breath, inhaling the steamy scent of her water and exhaling a soft, tortured sigh. What she wouldn’t give to have him with her here right now, kneeling beside the tub with a soapy sponge in hand. He’d bathe her bone-weary body and tell her everything was going to be all right. It didn’t matter if it wasn’t true. She knew the chances of her dad recovering from this were not good, but she needed to hear Cole’s voice, needed that quiet confidence that seemed to naturally exude from him. She wanted to be wrapped in the shelter of his arms, where nothing and no one could get to her, where time seemed to stop—even if for only a little while.

  Unable to fight the battle with her eyelids any longer, Katie let them fall shut and focused on the feeling of the hot water lapping at her breasts. The cool air kissed her nipples, teasing them to puckered points that ached for something more . . . Hell, who was she kidding?—her whole being ached for something more. It longed for the fighter who’d commanded her body and stolen her heart.

  Katie was hovering in the realm between consciousness and sleep, when the distinct creak of the floorboard in the downstairs hall shattered the silence in the house. She bolted upright, water splashing over the sides of the tub, soaking her clothes. Her heart stuttered, plummeting into her stomach, where it suddenly began beating erratically. Adrenaline flooded her veins as a burst of panic seized her. She strained to hear past the thundering of her heart—silence. Maybe she’d imagined it—dreamed it?

  She was safe, she reminded herself. Carter was in jail, and the house was wired with a state-of-the-art security system—a security system that never went off when she’d walked in tonight, she suddenly realized. They’d been so upset and panicked when they left the house yesterday, her mother must have forgotten to reset the alarm.

  You’re all right, she told herself, trying to calm her rioting heart. If Carter had gotten out of jail, someone from the police department would have called her. Then again, she’d left her phone on the bedroom dresser, so how would she have known if anyone had tried to reach her? Remembering the flashing message light on the answering machine she’d bypassed on the way to the bathroom, an eerie jolt of oh, fuck sent her feet scrambling beneath her. Rising on shaky legs, Katie stood, grabbed a towel off the rack, and quickly dried herself.

  Grabbing the night shirt she’d left on the floor from the morning before, she quickly pulled it on and left a soggy trail from the bathroom into the hallway. She’d just stepped toward her bedroom to check her cell when the house phone rang, shattering the silence. Katie let out a startled yelp, her hand flying up to her cover her mouth. It took until the second ring for her heart to start beating again and her feet to begin moving. She ran downstairs to catch the phone before the answering machine picked it up. It was late—too late for whoever was calling to be doing so with good news. What if something had happened to her dad? She’d never forgive herself for leaving him.

  Katie reached the bottom of the stairs and rounded the corner to find the phone missing from the docking station. Shit! Where was it? Her mom had last used it to call 911 . . . She followed the ring into the living room and abruptly stumbled to a halt. A startled gasp ripped from her throat. Sitting on the couch with the phone in one hand, and a gun in the other, was Carter.

  “Looking for this?” he asked innocently, holding up the cordless and waving it in the air as the answering machine picked up.

  “Hi, you’ve reached the Millers. Sorry we’re not available right now. Please leave a message and we’ll call you back.”

  Beep . . .

  “Hey, Kat, it’s me. Baby, if you’re there, please pick up. I’ve been trying to reach you for hours, so have the police. Carter has been released. Listen, I know you’re upset with me, and fuck, I’m so sorry . . . Just please call me back and let me know you’re okay.”

  The line went dead and a broken sob threatened to tear from her throat. At the panic in his voice, the pleading for forgiveness, regret like she’d never known slammed into her with the force of an anvil. And now, it was too late. She was going to die without ever getting the chance to tell Cole how she felt about him. Katie knew it as certain as the very breath she dragged into her air-starved lungs.

  The soul-deep knowledge of his love both comforted and devastated her. She was oddly solaced in the knowledge she’d die possessing the undeserved love of an amazing man, and utterly broken, because in the next few minutes, Carter was going to pull that trigger and take away any chance she had of having a happily-ever-after with the man she loved more than anything in this world.

  “Trouble in paradise?” Carter sneered. “You know, that’s the problem with you, Katrina.” He tossed the phone aside and scolded her with the gun. She stared helplessly as the muzzle waved up and down, traveling between her stomach and her chest. “You’ve got commitment issues.”

  How pathetically ironic was it that her insane ex was psychoanalyzing her and he was spot-fucking-on? Refusing to take the bait, she asked as calmly as she could manage, “What are you doing here, Carter?”

  He scowled. “Isn’t it obvious? I’ve come to take you home. You’ll see, Katrina, things will be different this time.” And then as an afterthought he added, “Of course, I will have to punish you for running away from me, and for being such a fucking whore.”

  He cocked the gun, and Katie’s heart plummeted to her feet. Her hands flew up reflexively, because that’s just what you did when someone was going to shoot you. “Carter, please don’t do this,” she pleaded, not that she expected it to make any difference. She’d seen that wild look in his eyes enough times to know there would be no reasoning with him. He was skating on the fine line of insanity and in the blink of an eye, he could snap and it would all be over. He looked like shit, unshaven and all twitchy, like he was strung out on something—no doubt he was. His clothes were dirty and wrinkled. She could smell the sour scent of whisky across the room—always his drink of choice.

  If she could get to her phone, she might be able to call for help. Or if she could reach the security panel on the wall, she could trip the silent alarm. But both were upstairs in her bedroom. One place she didn’t particularly want to lure Carter, but at the moment, she wasn’t seeing much alternative. If he would just put that fucking gun away . . .

  Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she tried to focus on what Cole had taught her, replaying the self-defense techniques over and over in her mind as she ran through scenarios and tried to formulate a plan to get away. Unfortunately, she
and Cole hadn’t spent much time focusing on unarming someone—that, she’d have to try to get Carter to do voluntarily.

  Forcing her foot forward, she took a step toward him. In the past, her fear only seemed to empower and provoke him, perhaps if she were bolder . . . “I’m sorry, Carter. I’m sorry that I hurt you. Please, put the gun down. You’re making me nervous. You said you wanted to take me home, right? Well, I want that, too . . .”

  She’d always been a good liar when it came to that man, and he was just insane enough to believe her. How many times had she been forced to pretend she welcomed his touch?—wanted to be with him? Her confession seemed to catch him off guard and momentarily de-escalated his rage. The gun wavered and he dropped his wrist, letting the barrel point at the floor.

  “Do you think it would it be okay if I went upstairs and packed a bag before we go? I promise I won’t take long.” She had little hope he’d let her go alone.

  “All right,” Carter stood and tucked the gun in the waistband of his jeans behind his back. “You’ve got five minutes, Katrina, and then we’re leaving.” She tried not to flinch when he grabbed her arm and guided her toward the stairs.

  Five minutes—it wasn’t very long to figure out how she was going to get away, because if she left this house with Carter, she was as good as dead.

  Cole drove like a bat out of hell to Katie’s parents’ house, the rental car’s tires slipping and sliding on the snow and ice. The high-pitched beeping and flashing skid marks on the dash confirmed once again the traction control had stepped in to take over as he rounded the corner to her parents’ street. With a muttered curse, he hung up his phone. He’d called her cell so many times her mailbox wouldn’t allow him to leave any more messages. Where in the hell was she? Officer Wyatt had done a few drive-bys this evening and told him her SUV hadn’t been in the driveway. Technically, his hands were tied until she’d been missing for twenty-four hours, if she even was missing—which apparently she was not, because her RAV was sitting in the fucking driveway right now!

  Wherever she’d been, she was back now. But that didn’t explain why she wasn’t returning any of his calls. He knew she was pissed at him, but she would at least return his call to tell him she was alive, right? Cole slowly drove past the house, looking for anything out of the ordinary. It was late, and the last thing he wanted to do was start ringing the doorbell and wake the whole house. He was almost past the light blue, two-story home, when he noticed the light in Katie’s bedroom was on. Her window was on the side of the house, so Cole cut the light and pulled into her neighbor’s driveway where he could get a better view.

  Her curtains hung open, providing him an unobstructed view of the back half of the room. Warring against his instinct to barrel in there, Cole forced himself to take a moment and scout things out. He’d look like an epic asshole if he busted into Katie’s parents’ house and scared the hell out of them, only to find that everything was fine. For all he knew, she could have changed her number and he was stalker-messaging some random person. On the flip side, if there was something going on and Katie was in danger, he wouldn’t be doing her any favors if he went in half-cocked and got her killed, either.

  All of Cole’s questions were answered a few minutes later when Katie arrived in the bedroom window. She stood at the dresser, her gaze fixed down. She appeared to be packing. What the hell? Had she gotten his message about Carter being released? Was she preparing to run again? Not without talking to him first, she wasn’t.

  Cole’s hand dropped to the handle of the door and he was about to get out, when he saw her lips move. She was talking to someone. Who? Then she tensed as that someone stepped up behind her, and into Cole’s line of sight.

  “Motherfucker . . .”

  Cole grabbed his cell and returned his last received call.

  “Wyatt, here.”

  “I found Katie. She’s at her parents’ house and that bastard’s got her.”

  “Shit. Cole, stay right where you are. I’m on my way.”

  “Sorry, that’s not going to happen. I told you I’d let you know when I found her, and I did that.” Cole disconnected the call and shoved his cell into his pocket as he climbed out of the car, his steely glare locked right on that fucking window. Rage exploded inside him when that fucker moved closer, sweeping Katie’s hair back over her shoulder, and kissed her neck.

  “Time’s up, Katrina.” Carter stepped up behind her, pinning her between the dresser and his solid, bulky body. Her hands flew out to balance herself on the top of the dresser, bile surging up her throat as he pulled her hair aside. She flinched as his whisky-soured breath ghosted over her throat. The fine hairs on the back of her neck prickled with revulsion as his mouth touched her flesh.

  Dear God, she couldn’t do this. Perhaps she didn’t want to live so badly after all. But then she thought of Cole. The thought of never seeing his gorgeous face again, never getting the chance to make things right between them, never telling him she loved him—never feeling his incredibly hard body against her, inside her . . . and that was just too many nevers. Steeling her nerve, Katie forced her body to relax, to accept Carter’s kiss. She’d have only one shot at this, and she knew she had better make it count.

  Carter inhaled deeply, drawing her scent deep into his lungs. “Fuck, Katrina, you smell so damn good. I’m not sure I can wait to get you home and show you just how much I fucking want you. It’s all I’ve been able to think about.” He reached around her and squeezed her breast—hard. His meaty fingers biting into her flesh with a punishing grip. Katie bit her bottom lip to hold back her pained whimper, his touch triggering a barrage of other painful memories. The knowledge of what was to come released a surge of panic ripping through her veins. Her throat tightened as terror took its insidious hold on her.

  If she wanted to survive this, she had no choice but to use Carter’s desire against him. It was the most powerful weapon she had. With a feral growl, he thrust his erection against her backside, knocking her forward and slamming her thighs into the dresser with enough force to topple her jewelry stand. God help her, if he took her like this, she’d be helpless to stop him. Forcing her mind to shut down before she threw up, Katie reached behind her and slid her hand up his thigh to palm his engorged penis.

  “Miss that, did ya?” He thrust himself against her hand, and this time she did retch. Thank God she was still turned away from him. “You fucking whore. Nobody gives it to you like I do.”

  When she didn’t say anything, he twisted his fist into her hair and yanked her head back. She couldn’t hold back the pained cry that broke from her throat.

  “Say it!” he demanded. “Nobody fucks you as good as me!”

  His control was slipping. She could see in the wildness of his eyes, he was about to lose it. “It’s true!” she cried, tears blurring her eyes. “Nobody!” The pain in her scalp was sharp and biting, making her knees buckle. “Only you know how I like it,” she choked out the words past the bile burning the back of her throat. It was now or never . . . “Let me turn around and I’ll show you just how much I want you.”

  With dizzying speed, he jerked her around and crushed his mouth to hers. She forced her lips to part and accept his tongue, the sour taste of alcohol assaulting her senses. Tentatively, she slipped her arms around his neck as she kissed him back, vowing if she survived this she’d have to drink Listerine to purge the taste of this man from her mouth.

  He growled with satisfaction, and gripped her breast again, fingers biting through the thin cotton of her nightshirt. Holding back her whimper, Katie interlocked her fingers behind Carter’s for leverage, and drove her knee up into his groin, exactly how Cole had shown her.

  Air exploded from his lungs on a sharp cry. When he bent over, she was ready for him, and sent a hard palm strike right into his nose. The sickening crunch of cartilage broke beneath her hand, and following Cole’s instruction exactly how she’d practiced it, Katie spun out of his grip and slipped beneath his arm, bolting for th
e door.

  The roar of pain and outrage exploded behind her. “You fucking cunt! I’ll kill you!”

  Katie didn’t waste the time to look behind her as she tore down the hall and hit the stairs like a herd of elephants. Once her feet touched the landing, she was full-tilt racing for the front door. She could hear the footsteps crashing on the floor above her, Carter’s bellow echoing behind her as he blasted down the stairs.

  Without hesitating to even put on shoes, Katie threw open the front door and barreled outside, crashing right into Cole, who was charging up the porch steps. It was like running into a flesh-covered brick wall. His arms instantly banded around her, pulling her into the shelter of his embrace, and she nearly crumbled, right then and there. For that brief moment, time seemed to stop.

  “Cole!” she cried, wrapping her arms around him and holding on as if her life depended on it—and it sure did, for the man inside that house had every intention of killing her. “You’re here! How?”

  The crash inside the house cut her off. “Katrina! You fucking bitch! I’ll kill you for this!”

  Then time seemed to move in fast-forward and she was helpless to stop it. A snarled growl tore from Cole’s throat along with the command, “Stay here.” Before she could respond, Cole set her aside and charged into the house.

  Fury licked through his veins, lighting him up like a man possessed. The calm, centered focus that always descended on him before a fight failed him now. All he could think of was getting his hands on that bastard and making him pay for everything he’d done to Katie.

  As Cole cleared the hall, Carter hit the landing, his movements pained and slow with the bent-over hunch of a man who’d just taken a hit to the balls. His nose was bleeding. Seeing the damage his girl had inflicted on this piece of shit made Cole’s heart swell with pride.