by Jenika Snow
“Come on. We don’t have much time before they are out here.” He positioned her behind his body as he aimed his gun at the lock on the fence and shot. Sparks flew and the lock fell off, the gates opening like arms waiting for an embrace.
“Wait, what about Adaym?” He looked at her, everything seeming to stand still for a heartbeat.
“I couldn’t get to him. I’m sorry, but it was either his life or yours.”
They took off, her rescuer pulling her forward, her legs and feet screaming in agony as she continued to feel her warm blood slip down from the cut on her leg and cover her foot. Her eyes started to water, her emotions finally catching up with her. That poor man was trapped in a cell, chained like some kind of beast, not knowing when they would come for him. She quickly wiped the tears away, not wanting Gage to see her so weak.
She could hear shouts, but they moved faster, and soon the sounds grew more distant. She never glanced back, just kept her eyes trained on Gage’s back. The moon was bright enough that they could see where they were going, but her feet were killing her and she started to stumble. He didn’t ask what was wrong, just stopped and scooped her up, running forward again as if he weren’t carrying a human being.
She felt as if they had been moving forever, never once did they speak to each other, and never once did he stop running. She saw a dark shape up ahead, and her heart pounded wildly. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he turned to look at her. Their gazes held for a second before he turned his attention forward again. She breathed out a sigh when she realized it was a vehicle, and that it was his. He was gentle with her as he helped her into the backseat, mindful of her wounds, before getting in the front and starting the car.
“You better buckle up.”
She swallowed and nodded as she strapped the seatbelt across her body and stared at the high tech equipment that furnished the inside of the vehicle. He pushed several buttons, and the front of the windshield became a moss green color, everything on the outside lighting up as if it wasn’t the middle of the night. A night-vision windshield? She didn’t bother questioning him, knowing some things were better left unsaid.
“Is he all right?” She assumed Gage knew she was speaking of her father. It had seemed like years since she had seen him. “I mean, he wasn’t well when I was taken, and that seems like ages ago.”
“You’ve been missing for two weeks. Your father didn’t look good when I spoke with him, but he’s still alive and eagerly awaiting your return.”
She breathed out, fatigue now starting to set in. “What about Rye? Is he dead?” There was a heavy silence, and before he spoke, she knew the answer. “He got away, didn’t he?”
“Yeah.”
She let her head fall back against the seat, closing her eyes and wishing that when she woke up, this would all be a bad dream.
Chapter Six
Neeka opened her eyes, looking around and blinking a few times as the room came into focus. She realized that she was now lying across the leather seat of the SUV. A large coat was draped across her legs, smelling of evergreen and wilderness. She slowly sat up, keeping the coat across her legs and shivering slightly. She looked out her window, seeing a small gas station on her left, the lights in the parking lot bright and offensive. To her right was a wide stretch of open road, the moon still high in the sky, illuminating the sandy hills that covered the vast expanse of open land. She knew she was far from Shyloh, the mountains she had grown to love nowhere near this desolated place.
She moved to the center of the seat, looking out the windshield and seeing if she could spot Gage. She didn’t dare get out of the car. She breathed out when she saw him emerge from the postage-stamp-sized convenient store, several bags in hand, his face and clothes no longer covered in blood and dirt. She pressed herself against the seat as the driver’s side door opened, the woodsy smell intensifying as he entered.
“I thought you’d sleep until morning.” He turned in his seat and looked at her, handing her a full brown paper bag.
“I haven’t been sleeping well. Just when I started to fall asleep,” she said, swallowing roughly, “they’d come for me.”
Gage was silent for several moments, his profile shadowed by the lights from the parking lot. He breathed out deeply. “I’m so sorry.”
She shrugged, not sure why she had even mentioned it. She opened the bag, seeing chips, candy, plastic-wrapped sandwiches, and an assortment of other food that was sure to clog her arteries. She smiled. “Thank you.” She had lost weight since being Rye’s prisoner. The food he offered her was high in protein to keep her blood count up, but most of the time she couldn’t keep the horrendous portions down. She looked down at the unflattering hospital gown, the dirt and wounds that covered her arms and legs, and the nasty cut on her calf.
“You’re welcome. I didn’t know what you liked, so I got a little of everything.”
She looked up at him, seeing his gaze land first on her dirty bare feet and then flickering to the wound on her leg. She suddenly felt very self-conscious.
“I called headquarters, and they have set us up in a small, discrete motel about thirty minutes from here.”
“Where’s ‘here’?”
“We’re about fifty miles outside of West Holmes. I haven’t noticed anyone following us, but I don’t doubt they are trying to catch our trail. We’re already checked in under an alias, and I’m confident that we should be all right in the meantime. I don’t want to keep driving because chances are they will be patrolling the roads, assuming we won’t stop. I have clothing for you in the back, along with other personal items your father gave me for when I found you.”
She stared at him, his face now fully toward her, his light green eyes reminding her of the soft sea foam that covered the ocean. She noticed how he said when he found her, like he had been confident in his mission. “Thank you, for everything.”
They stared at each other for a suspended moment, and she felt herself warming at the intense look he gave her. His dark hair fell over his forehead. His light green eyes added a mythical look to his persona. Even though he was seated, she remembered all too well how his body looked, felt, all sinew, tendons, and bulging muscles. He had towered over her back at the facility, reminding her of how male he truly was.
She cleared her throat and shifted in her seat, confused at how her body could light up after the ordeal she had just been through. Gage cleared his throat as well, turning back in his seat and pulling away from the gas station. She grabbed a cupcake and soda out of the bag, not really hungry, but knowing the sugar might do her some good.
“If you’re up to it, would you be willing to talk to me about what happened back there?”
He looked at her in the rearview mirror, and she coughed on the too-dry cupcake. Could she really relive what had happened back there? She didn’t want to have to think about it, but she knew Gage, as well as her father, needed to know about what Rye was planning.
“Yeah, I can do that.” She knew this needed to be done, no matter how much she wished she didn’t have to talk about it.
* * * *
Thirty minutes later, Gage was pulling into the small, albeit quaint, motel off of the deserted road they had been traveling on. He looked in the rearview mirror for the hundredth time, seeing Neeka sleeping and feeling something break inside of him. The feelings inside of him for her were foreign. All he could think about was holding her, running his hands through her silky-looking dark hair, and promising her everything would be okay.
He stopped in front of the main entrance, keeping the car idling as he quickly got out and retrieved the key to their room. He pulled the SUV around to the back of the building and behind the large dumpster that resided there. The way the dumpster was cattycornered, any passing cars wouldn’t be able to see his vehicle, and it would also allow him a quick getaway if need be. He turned off the car and just sat there for a moment, watching Neeka’s deep and even breathing and wishing they had met on very different circu
mstances. The way it was, she was his assignment, his target that Edward McCarthy had paid Alpha One a fortune to find.
If things were different, maybe he wouldn’t have felt so guilty looking at her the way he was. The hospital gown was unflattering, true, but while she slept, it molded to her petite form, her breasts small yet firm looking. Although she was small, her legs were long and slender, and the images that he conjured up on what he wanted to do to her should have made him feel shame, not unyielding lust.
He shifted in his seat, his cock unbearably hard, had been for the last thirty minutes. He reached down, meaning to shift it so it wasn’t pressing against his zipper, but stopping when she started to move. She moaned slightly in her sleep, the gown slipping up her creamy thighs as she twisted in the seat. He pressed down on his shaft, the traitorous organ pulsing and aching. He breathed out, got out of the vehicle, and walked to the room. He unlocked the door, turning the table lamp on and cursing when he saw only one bed in the room. He grabbed the bags out of the back of the SUV and threw them on the motel room floor. He closed the curtain that covered the lone window in the room and shut off the lamp. He pulled the curtain aside and looked at the motel attendant as she read a magazine. He went back out to the SUV to get Neeka. It wouldn’t do any good if the attendant saw him bringing in a woman, especially since there was only supposed to be him. The lone bed now made sense, but it didn’t mean he liked it.
He went back to the SUV, opening the back door and staring down at Neeka. He internally groaned, swallowing hard at the picture she created. She was sprawled out on the back seat, his coat covering her upper body, her hospital gown high on her thighs. Although blood covered her shin from the cut on her leg, she was beautiful. He glimpsed her white panties, so pure and feminine that his cock gave a mighty jerk. He hoped it was dark enough that if she woke she wouldn’t notice it bulging toward her like a rabid animal.
“Neeka?” His voice sounded gravely even to him, and he hoped she couldn’t tell. “Neeka, come on, we’re here.”
“Hmm?”
Dear Lord. She turned onto her back, her legs opening slightly and giving him a prime shot of her panty-covered pussy. His pulse throbbed in his shaft. The gown twisted on her body, molding to her breasts, her little nipples poking through. His mouth was dry, his heart hammering against his ribs as he cleared his throat a little louder. “Neeka, come on, love.” Why had he said that? The word had slipped out, and thankfully she was so groggy she hadn’t even noticed.
“We’re here?”
She slowly rose, completely oblivious to the way her gown was practically around her waist. “You need to fix your gown.” She looked at him with that confused expression sleepy people have, glancing down at herself and then shrugging.
“Not like you’ve never seen it before.”
Her words were drowsy, her eyes half lidded. He smirked, loving the spark inside of her. “Come on.” He held his hand out, looking down and noticing her battered legs and feet. His chest clenched with a feeling he wasn’t used to, nor comfortable with. He scooped her up, kicked the door shut with his foot, and made his way back toward the room. The attendant was still reading a magazine when Gage slipped inside and shut the door. He stood there for a moment, holding her as she rested her head against his shoulder.
“You smell so good, all woodsy and fresh.”
She spoke, her eyes still closed, her voice soft. She was so tiny, her body easily fitting in his arms and weighing nothing. She needed to eat more. No doubt she had been in hell those last couple of weeks. He set her on the bed, her eyes closed even though she stayed upright. “I need a bath,” she mumbled, slowly opening her eyes and looking at him. “Please, I feel so dirty.”
He wanted to have her get some sleep, but he couldn’t deny her when she looked at him the way she was. He nodded, going into the bathroom and running a bath. He checked the temperature several times, turning it off when it was a little over half full, and then walked back into the room. He wanted to clean her wound, but her soaking in a hot bath would help her relax and help get rid of any pain she had.
She was curled on the bed facing him, her eyes open, but sleep still evident in her features. She slowly stood, standing and then wincing as she made her way toward him. He was by her in the next instant. He picked her up and carried her the rest of the way. He set her on the edge of the tub and turned to leave, but stopped when she spoke.
“Thank you, Gage.”
He turned back around, nodding once and then walking out of the bathroom. He gripped the handle and started to close the bathroom door.
“No! Please don’t close it. I feel like I’m trapped.”
Her voice was filled with fear, and he opened it up again, staring at her and feeling anguish and rage on her behalf. If he ever came across those bastards again, he would make sure to kill each and every one of them slowly and without mercy. He went over and sat on the bed, resting his elbows on his thighs and hanging his head. He heard clothing ruffling, and against his better judgment, he turned and looked in the bathroom. He could see her bare shoulder as she slipped the gown off, her gaze finding his for a suspended moment before he quickly looked away. He felt like a pervert for watching her the way he was. The thoughts and images that were coursing through his brain were completely inappropriate, but at the same time something he couldn’t help. He lay back on the bed, staring at the white stucco ceiling, and breathed deeply.
* * * *
Neeka let herself sink into the bathtub, the water the perfect temperature. Her whole body ached, the cuts and scrapes on her legs, feet, and hands stinging, but in a good way that made her feel clean. She looked to her side, watching as Gage lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He had saved her life, and for that she would be eternally grateful.
She soaked for another fifteen minutes, letting her skin become like a prune, but not feeling nearly clean enough to wash away the remnants of her time in Rye’s possession. She grabbed the towel he had left for her on the toilet seat, drying her body off and wrapping it around herself. It was then that she realized she had no clothes with her in the bathroom. She swallowed and looked at Gage. She turned out the light, keeping the towel securely around her body as she stepped out, feeling the coolness in the room. He turned and looked at her, his gaze roaming over her half-naked body. Even after her ordeal, she felt herself warming, her pussy becoming wet with arousal. The way Gage looked at her started a slow burn of desire inside of her, one that she hoped she would be able to control.
Chapter Seven
Gage shot up in bed, swallowing roughly as his gaze roamed over Neeka’s barely covered body. The towel she wore fell to the middle of her thighs, giving him another view of her creamy legs. He could see her nipples poking through the too-thin material, and he didn’t dare stand up for fear she would see his erection. Her hair was wet, the strands so dark it was a contrast to her alabaster skin. Water droplets fell from the ends, sliding down her chest and arms and making him grit his teeth with lust.
He heard her swallow, and he could tell she was becoming aroused. She is so beautiful. He wanted nothing more than to tell her that, to make her realize that he would never let anything harm her again. He should have felt appalled by the feelings she was stirring in him, but it felt right to want her. It felt like this was how it was supposed to be. Even though he shouldn’t feel desire for her, and even though he knew nothing could ever happen between them, it didn’t stop him from wanting her.
“I don’t have any clothes.”
Her voice was soft, almost hesitant. He willed his body to calm, standing and turning quickly so she wouldn’t see his cock straining against his pants. He walked over to one of the bags he grabbed from the SUV, turned around, and gave it to her. Her eyes stayed downcast, and he could see her shifting. He could tell she was nervous. He dropped the bag on the bed and took a step back as he kept his hands in front of his cock.
“Your father packed you this bag. I’ll leave you alone while you c
hange.”
“You don’t have to leave. I’ll go in the bathroom. I mean, we’re grown adults and all.”
He watched her as she grabbed the bag and turned to walk back into the bathroom. He balled his hands into tight fists, watching how the towel dipped down her back. Her skin was pale and smooth, her shoulder blades delicate, her steps light. He could have watched her all night, just gazing at the bare skin of her back. The bathroom door shut, and he breathed out, adjusting his impossibly hard shaft and going to his duffle bag. He pulled out a first-aid kit, seeing how nasty the cuts on her leg and feet were even though she had bathed.
The bathroom door opened a few minutes later, and he sucked in a breath. She wore a tight tank top, no bra, and a pair of thin cotton pajama shorts. She looked delicate yet delectable. “Have a seat on the bed. I want to clean up the cuts on your leg and feet.” She nodded and did as he asked, her legs not even touching the ground. He pulled up a chair in front of her, taking her leg with the nasty wound and placing it on his thigh. He could smell her, a sweet and flowery scent that had his desire moving into overdrive. He needed to control himself because if he didn’t, the results could be disastrous.
* * * *
Neeka watched as Gage hunched over her leg, cleaning her wounds so delicately it did something to her heart. It was weird seeing such a big and heavily muscled man working so gently and tediously on her wounds. She sucked in a breath when he pressed the peroxide-drenched cotton ball to the open cut on her leg. He glanced up at her, and she was surprised to see deep concern etched into his masculine features.