``That's not an option.'' He rubbed fingers at his forehead. ``I won't do it that way. But I can't walk away. I can have this wrapped up in a few days. We just need to locate him.'' He paused for a few moments listening. ``The plan stays the same. I can get him here, just give me the time to do it.'' He heaved a sigh and closed his eyes, casting his head down to the table, before mumbling briefly and snapping the flip phone shut.
It was his burner.
``Who was that?'' I refused to be backed into anymore corners. Never again would I allow a man to keep me in the dark.
He did a slow turn to me before his arms opened and I crawled into his lap. He nuzzled into my neck. ``Case supervisor.'' His rough growl heated my belly and had my toes curling. ``From the FBI.''
``Oh. It sounded...'' I breathed, losing my train of thought as Hunter's fingertips pressed at the delicate flesh of my thighs, spreading them wider so I was tucked into his hot body. ``It sounded....bad,'' I finally finished, my head rushing with delicate waves of pleasure from the gentle kneading of his thumbs.
``Mmm...I like bad.'' He nipped at my earlobe, taking the tone of the conversation to a new place. A smile curved my lips as I forgot about the tense conversation I'd just heard and why the look of pain seemed to chase behind Hunter's eyelids, always out of reach, never quite vanquished.
``I wanna get inside you.'' His comforting tenor curled through my system. I caught his full bottom lip between my teeth as I rotated my hips against his body, feeling the rock hard intrusion of his cock pressing against my pubic bone.
``I've missed this,'' I hummed as I worked the button and zipper of his pants freeing his cock. Impressive in girth and length, it stood aching and flexing, my mouth watering before I dropped to my knees on the cool tile floor and licked up his impressive length. I lost myself in his pleasure, in my own; it was all we had to escape. The heady high was our bubble of bliss that saved us from the bleak reality of our lives at this moment. Neither one of us had chosen to be here, but we were.
And against all odds, we had each other.
Hunter's hips worked a slow decadent rhythm as I swallowed his length and felt the soft tip pressing at the back of my throat. I hummed and felt his hips thrust and jerk before I sucked up his length and then worked the denim down his hips to reveal his heavy balls to my sight. My tongue darted out and ran across the small vein that divided the center of his sac as his breaths grew heavier. He took his cock in one palm and his neck fell back as he stroked up the thick length. My pussy surged with hot molten wetness at watching him thrust his own cock between his powerful fingers, knuckles dusted with golden hair and darkly inked tattoos. He was so beautiful and feral and raw, all man and all mine.
I sucked one of his full balls into my mouth and swirled it with my tongue, tasting it like a decadent ice cream cone that I never wanted to finish. His groans and pants sped up, alerting me that he was close to release, before I jumped onto his lap, running my slick pussy up and down his rigid length. Feeling it slide between my lips, I moaned and thrust, feeling him buried deep to my core.
``Jesus,'' Hunter said when he was fully buried inside me. His deft hands wrapped around my waist and locked my arms behind me, grasping painfully with one hand, he held me bent in a broad arch before his lips attached at the taut peaks of my nipples. He sucked and bit, my cunt growing soaked with sex.
``Bounce on my dick, Princess.'' Hunter's words urged me on as I wrestled my hands from his grasp and rammed myself harder on his aching length, rubbing delicate nerves that surged with hormones.
``Oh God,'' I choked as emotion clamped my airways while I rode his hips and dug fiery scratches into his deltoids. ``You've never felt this good,'' I sobbed as arousal flooded my brain and fogged reality. I was blind to everything but him, I had been from the start, and I still was now. Blind to the fear, to the danger, to the terror and utter hopelessness of our situation. I was blind to everything but him.
``Christ, Erin. I can't live without this. You feel too fucking good. I can't live without you.'' His hands shot to my jaw and his lips pressed against mine, his eyes flaming with male dominance. His tongue invaded my mouth and thrust long and languidly, bruising the already tender flesh of my lips and inflicting pain and pleasure that drove me wild. I thrust my hands through his short strands and tore at the threads, desperate to reach the orgasm that hovered right on the edge.
``There's my Princess. You want to come?'' A cocky grin lifted his lips and throttled my arousal another notch.
``Yesss...''
``You know what to do.'' His hands gripped at my waist, clenching and unclenching as I fucked him. ``Beg.''
``Hunter...''
``Beg for it, Princess.'' One hand clutched at my hair and tilted my neck to his lips.
``Please, please make me come.'' The begging fueled my arousal. Clenched my muscles and heated my core. So close. I was so close.
``Good girl.'' His words ran straight to my clit before his other hand raised and landed a sharp smack across my nipple, leaving a warm tingle in its wake. My eyes stung with tears, not of pain, but of surprise, before a slow, dangerous smile curled my face. My eyes opened and I caught his gaze, staring back lovingly, one hand still in my hair and his hips working at a fierce rhythm against me.
``Do it again.'' My voice lowered another octave as my orgasm hummed at my spine and promised release soon. ``Harder, Sir.''
Hunter's eyes flared with something fierce and passionate. A moment later I felt the sting of his warm palm against my other breast just as I landed on his cock and felt an orgasm shuttle through me, curling my toes and sending goose bumps racing across my skin. With my muscles tensing, I closed my eyes and fell against his broad chest as my release pulsed in delicious waves.
``Fuck, Princess. Surprise me every time.'' He held my hips in a death grip as I felt his cock still pulsing and twitching. ``So fucking beautiful. All fucking mine.'' His thrusts slowed as his arms wrapped around me in a crushing embrace. Never had I been so tightly held in my life. Never had I needed it so much. In Hunter's arms I was the safest I'd ever been, so I could allow him to push the limits with me. I trusted him to abuse me in the way my body loved, and still be there to comfort me after he'd fucked me raw and pushed me to my every emotional limit. The trust in itself was a turn on.
``Love you, Princess,'' he hummed as his body relaxed.
``Mmm...'' I replied languidly. ``I love you.'' I draped my arms around his neck and pressed a soft kiss at the vein that beat steady and strong there. ``So much.''
eleven
We returned to the safely ensconced walls of Hunter's mansion, hiding out and waiting for what would be the other shoe to drop. It took one week for JW to show up in our lives again. One week to send our world into a spiral. One week of bliss before our bubble burst.
It started just a few days after the break-in when a few enforcers showed up at Hunter's door. First they delivered an envelope that held copies of every single piece of paper with every single dollar amount that Brant had smuggled, addressed to me. It didn't mean anything -- I could hardly read the legal jargon -- but the amounts were staggering. The amounts told a tale of greed and carelessness. Brant hadn't even tried very well to cover his tracks, some of the bank accounts in his own name. One even in my mother's name with a large deposit just a few months ago. Had he swiped her identification to open a bank account in her name? And why hadn't he ever used my name--or had those accounts just not been found yet?
My mind swirled with a thousand possibilities, all starting with that god damn envelope, meant as a threat as much as an omen.
When I'd shown Hunter the papers, his eyes had flared before he'd shrugged and walked away, saying he'd already had copies of every single one of those--in fact, he'd been the one to turn much of that information over in Brant's file.
It didn't shake Hunter like it did me. I was growing more fearful, tired of getting groceries delivered and not being able to go for a walk down the street or even go to the docto
r for my first prenatal. We were prisoners in this four-story walkup.
When Hunter didn't respond to JW's threat with the hand-delivered envelope, the texts lit Hunter's phone day and night from an unavailable number. They were always threatening, but as Hunter pointed out, they were only words. Until JW showed himself, we were helpless. I began to feel more and more like a sitting duck.
Hunter asked again if I was interested in witness protection. It could be our chance to leave and start over, he'd said. I'd refused, feeling like a prisoner in his mansion, but staying firm. I wouldn't give up my life yet. This would all be over soon, I just hoped we'd make it out alive.
The following morning, as the sun was rising in the sky, a barrage of bangs filled my ears as shattered glass sprayed through the house. I launched straight out of bed before Hunter dragged me to the floor in a crouch.
``Stay here,'' he grunted before I felt cool air and realized he was leaving me alone. Again.
``Hunter, no!'' I yanked at his taut forearm. ``Call the police first! Don't go down there!'' I whispered, afraid someone could now be in the house with us.
``It'll be fun.'' He pulled the gun from his nightstand then pulled himself from my grip and was stalking to the door before my brain could even form a response.
``Hunter?'' I whispered again, but my plea fell into dead air. He was already gone.
I listened for the soft pad of his footsteps on the stairs but heard none. I waited too many agonizing minutes, my mind waging a war on itself. Should I call the police? Maybe I could call the Feds with that stupid burner phone of his. What would Hunter want me to do?
I crawled across the polished wood floor and around the bed to search for Hunter's phone. Of course neither was there. The man lived with them attached to his hip. I was just about to give up and go after him when I heard the soft footfalls up the stairs. My heart froze and I tried to shimmy back under the bed before the intruder found the room, when I felt a firm palm grasp at my ankle and pull me across the slick floor.
``They're gone. Just vandalism. Shit tossed through the windows.'' Hunter's quiet tone eased my anxiety before I thrust myself into his arms. ``Shh...'' he shushed as a hand rubbed my back. ``Just another scare tactic.''
``Hunter, I don't feel safe here anymore,'' I sobbed and felt my muscles weakening with fatigue.
``We gotta do wit-pro, baby.''
``No, no. We can't give up. Not yet.''
``It's not giving up, it's keeping you safe.'' His palms cupped my stomach.
``We can't run for the rest of our lives. You have to be here to finish this, to know it's over for good. We don't have a choice.'' I echoed his own words as I looked into his eyes, determined.
Hunter sucked in a slow breath before one hand ran through his short hair. ``Fuck. I can't say no to you.'' His eyes flashed with irritation. ``Okay. I'll talk to the supervisor, maybe they can add a few more guys, work on the technical side of things...'' His green gaze locked with mine as he trailed off.
``Okay.'' I nodded, suddenly feeling more in control than I had in weeks. I had faith this would work out. I had to; it was all the hope we had left.
Hunter guided me down the stairs to his main floor a few minutes later. My jaw dropped when I saw the main entrance riddled with broken glass and pieces of pipe and debris. ``Oh, Hunter. No.'' I pushed a hand to my mouth, the other at my stomach, feeling like I might be sick.
``I'll get it cleaned up.''
``No. No, just stay with me for a minute.'' I grabbed his hand again, my hand shaking.
He walked me across the room to the couch, his leg bouncing and eyes watching the door the entire time. I felt the cold metal at his hip, and that familiar feeling of wanting to run.
``Jesus Christ,'' Hunter mumbled when his phone rattled a minute later. He picked it up, answering gruffly, as his palm landed on my knee. Hunter murmured a few things then cursed before hanging up. ``We're leaving. Now.'' Hunter clasped my hand in his and bolted straight out into the garage, heading for his Lexus.
``Where?''
``Anywhere, we'll talk in the car. Guys think the place is bugged.''
``But how?'' I asked, shocked.
``Get in, Erin.'' He was locking me into my seatbelt a moment later before the garage door was lifting and he was squealing out of the driveway, the garage door closing less than twenty seconds later, as if we hadn't even been there in the first place.
Hunter headed for the outskirts of town, a path we'd taken before. ``The cabin?'' I asked. His only response was a slow nod. ``Won't JW know?''
``He doesn't know it exists. It belongs to a buddy of mine from the desert. JW doesn't know him. It's the only place I can think of that's near to the city for the investigation that JW can't trace,'' he mumbled as his fists clenched at the wheel and he pushed the accelerator to the floor. I watched it climb past ninety.
``Hunter...''
``Just let me get out of the city, Erin. Watch the mirrors for a trace. That's how you can help right now,'' he barked. His words stung, but I obeyed. I would do anything he told me to right now. He was the expert at this game; I was merely a pawn.
``Okay,'' I said confidently as my heart rallied in my chest while my hands shook with fear. I swallowed the lump in my throat and cast my eyes to the rearview mirror, eyes watching as Hunter took quick turns and hidden alleyways trying to lose anyone that may be behind us.
I unclenched my fists many miles later when the view turned from steel and concrete to evergreens and sparkling blue lake. I sucked in a breath and the tension eased from my shoulders when we pulled off the expressway and headed for the narrow dirt road and the cabin that would be our bunker indefinitely.
My phone rumbled moments later in my lap and I sighed when I saw the caller ID. ``My mom.'' I hit ``end call.'' Always calling at the worst possible times. ``I can't talk to her right now.''
Hunter didn't respond, his eyes focused on the road, his jaw still clenched.
``We'll get through this. We'll be okay.'' I reached a hand across the seat and grasped his thigh. Hunter only blinked, his focus on one thing and one thing only. I could see it throbbing through his veins and tensing his muscles. He was in white-knuckled survival mode.
twelve
We pulled up the dirt track that led to the secluded cabin less than an hour later and a world away. Hunter jumped out as soon as we arrived, and with his laptop under one arm, he headed up the steps to set up at the kitchen table. I sighed when I saw him get to work, clicking, scrolling, and reading. I licked my lips and pulled my small bag from the car before walking to the lakeshore and the sparkling blue waves that pulled me into cool numbness.
My silence was interrupted a minute later when my phone rattled again, signaling yet another call from my mother. I denied the call, unable to even form my own thoughts, much less able to speak to her. I put the phone on vibrate and shoved it deep into my bag, thinking how nice it would be if this place were really off the grid. No cells, no wifi. That was what Hunter and I really needed.
And then my mind wandered to a life in wit-pro. I had no idea what that would look like, where we would even be located, but the danger was so high, apparently it was worth pursuing. My stomach rolled with worry before I sat in the sand, right beneath the tree that Hunter had tied me to just the last time we were here. I ran my fingers through the soft dirt thinking about what a life with Hunter and Hunter alone would look like.
Just us. The three of us. My dusty fingertips trailed to my flat abdomen as I imagined it blooming out in a few short months. I should go to the doctor, schedule a prenatal and get vitamins, but I hadn't had time to think about any of that because I'd been running. Running at full speed into a bucket full of problems, when all I really wanted to do was run away.
But wasn't that what wit-pro would provide? My escape? And best of all I could still have Hunter, and we could live the life that suited us. Photography and shoots and an intimate, cozy home surrounded with love and laughter and creativity. That was my ligh
t at the end of the tunnel.
So maybe wit-pro was the right answer. Maybe it was the only answer. Maybe the fighting was best left up to the Feds, and Hunter could really be free. I trailed my fingertips in the dirt as the sun sparkled like diamonds off the clear water.
``Sorry I ran in, supervisor sent some files over he wanted me to look at.'' Hunter's resonant voice approached from behind.
And despite all the worry, despite the anxiety that enveloped us, I smiled.
I looked up at his crystal green gaze and grinned. ``That's okay. I was just thinking.'' I looked back out to the lake as I felt him sit down beside me. His big hand wove into mine, our fingers intertwined as we watched the water dance and glitter.
``What were you thinking about?'' He ducked and placed a soft kiss at the velvet corner of my neck.
``Wit-pro.'' My eyes cast to the ground. ``Maybe it's time.'' Long silent beats stretched between us where I felt only his hand clutched in mine.
He squeezed and then moved closer. ``It's safest. For all of us.'' His fingertips whispered across my waist before clasping my other hand in his and turning me to him. His piercing greens burned through mine. ``Anywhere you want.'' He placed soft kisses on my knuckles.
I nodded as water pricked at my eyelids before I launched myself into his arms, a torrent of tears raging down my cheeks. He held me as I sobbed, feeling emotions and hormones releasing the tension of my body. He was what I needed. If I had his arms to wrap around me and tell me it would be okay, I would be okay.
I pulled away, taking a deep breath and forcing a small smile on my face as I wiped at the tears. ``Thank you.'' I clutched his stubbled jawline, feeling the stiff whiskers scrape against my fingertips and send currents of electricity racing through me. ``Thank you so much,'' I murmured and pressed a kiss against his lips.
``Any time.'' He quirked a cocky grin that had my stomach twisting with laughter. We giggled in a fit for a minute before he ran a hand through my hair and his face softened. ``Let's go inside. My baby mama needs to eat.'' His face curved in a smile that lit fire in my toes. He looked so happy.
Blindsight: The Series (Complete Erotic Suspense STANDALONE) Page 21