by Lexie Ray
“Hey!”
It was a cop. He had a light on them, his flashlight. He was running after them.
“Stop! This is the police!” yelled the cop.
But there was no way Ash was about to let that happen. Quickly, he turned a sharp corner with Hunter in his arm and they were propelled into a sea of teenagers. He pulled her through the crowd, arching this way and that, heading for the dark street on the other side. It wasn’t until they had reached the far side, clearing out of the crowd that Ash realized they were surrounded. There was a cop car on every street corner. The cops must have found the body. No one was getting out of here before they were questioned, and Ash’s shirt was covered in blood.
“I have an idea,” said Hunter.
She grabbed his hand and led him back through the sea of kids, heading for the dark sedan parked at the far side of the sugar factory.
Chapter Nine
It was nearly 2:00 a.m. in the morning by the time Ash and Hunter returned to his apartment.
After keying into the deadbolt and holding the door open for Hunter, Ash followed, then locked them both safely inside.
Hunter was pacing nervously.
“As soon as they I.D. Dale, they’re going to realize we have his car,” she said as she fumbled with his pack of cigarettes, extracting one and patting her jeans down in search of a lighter.
“It’s not going to happen quite that fast,” said Ash.
“It’s going to come at us from all angles, Ash,” said Hunter. “The car, the gun. Even if it takes the police days to find the gun, they’ll find the shell casings I fired. The gang is going to come after me. And we both know that with Dale dead and Travis out there shot, they’re going to send more men down from the farmhouse.” She lit her cigarette, finally having found a lighter, and took a deep drag, inhaling long and hard. Then Hunter blew the smoke out in a long exhale. It did virtually nothing to calm her. Hunter needed a Vicodin. She needed something that would hit her hard and take the edge off.
“We can’t think about that right now,” said Ash.
“Then what should we think about?” snapped Hunter.
“Molly and Devon are safe. The girls are next door. No one’s been seriously hurt or harmed. We stopped a few of the men. Why don’t you try thinking about those things,about something positive?”
“How can you be so calm?”
“Why did you leave the alley?” he asked, shifting topics so fast that Hunter was completely blindsided. “I told you to stay in the alley. If you hadn’t gone to the factory, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
Hunter paused. Ash looked pained, stressed. He seemed exhausted, and it was only now that she was beginning to realize what he might be going through. But she didn’t like the edge of blame that cut through his voice.
“I had a feeling they’d be at the factory,” she said. “My feeling panned out. I was right.”
“But I didn’t know where you were.”
“I was fine,” she said.
“You weren’t, Hunter. You had to shoot your way out of danger,” he said, staring deeply into her round brown eyes.
“No, I didn’t,” she said. “I shot him because I wanted to. I killed him because I wanted him dead.”
Hunter wasn’t sure if she should’ve said it. Admitting it, even to herself, was hard to accept. Before they had gone out, she had confided in Ash that she wanted the men dead, that she wanted to pull the trigger, but now that she had, Hunter was worried. She could see in Ash’s expression that he found her unpredictable. As she searched his eyes, she feared she would find so much more. She feared he was disgusted by her. She was afraid that for all the killing he had done in his life, he still wouldn’t understand her need to do the same.
“Ash,” she began. Her tone already sounded like an apology, “I liked it.”
“It’s okay,” he said, not quite sure whether or not he believed his own words. She looked so thin to him, so frail. He was glad she had protected herself. He was thankful that she had shot Dale and not the other way around. But Ash was realizing who Hunter was. He was starting to see who the men from New Hampshire had turned her into, and it was heartbreaking.
“You don’t know what it was like for me,” she whispered. “I should never have been at that farmhouse, Ash. They took fifteen years of my life. I should never have even been there. They all deserve to die.”
Hunter’s gaze drifted out the window. The city lights were bright and twinkling. Her thoughts began to drift as her vision softened, remembering a long forgotten memory.
“I remember my mother,” she said softly. Her cigarette burned steadily. She paid no attention to the long trail of ash that slowly grew with each passing second. Soon its weight was too much and the ash fell to the floor, a puff of gray dust. “She was beautiful. I remember her long blond hair, her wide smile, her warm arms. I had blocked her from my memory for so long. It was too painful to remember she existed. But I remember now. I remember the last time I saw her. I was four, I think. We were in a grocery store. I was sitting in the front seat of the shopping cart. She had been turned, her back to me, only for a moment. And that’s when he got me. That’s when he took me out of the cart. I didn’t realize anything was wrong, Ash, because he was my dad.”
Hunter stared at Ash, waiting to see if the implication would register. His blue eyes seemed brighter than usual despite how dim the apartment was. It was as if the effort to understand had changed their shade from dull blue to piercing teal in an instant.
“That’s how it all started,” she went on. “It was my dad’s twisted farm. My mother was never able to find me. And I wasn’t able to do anything to get away, to find her. I don’t remember her name.” Hunter paused for a long moment. She snubbed out her cigarette in an ashtray though it had long since been out. “I should have grown up with my mother. I should have had a normal life.”
“We all should have,” he responded, his voice deep and smooth with sympathy.
“They have to be stopped,” she said. “We have to go back there. We have to stop them all.”
“We will,” he said.
“You’d do that for me?” she asked, her eyes wide and imploring.
“In a heartbeat,” he said, “but first we have to take care of Travis.”
“How will we find him?” she asked.
Ash wasn’t sure. He had no way of knowing. All he knew was that they would.
“There are ways,” he said quietly, gauging her response, which was only slight. A subtle rising of her brow, the narrowing of her eyes, told Ash she was split between curiosity and skepticism.
He crossed towards Hunter and stood before her. She gazed up at him. He was standing so close she could smell his dewy skin, the faint scent of his sweat, the natural oil of his body that was by now familiar, calming, soothing. Ash ran his fingertips up the length of her bare arms. The smooth caress sent shivers down her spine. His fingers became entangled in her hair, stroking up through the nape of her neck.
Hunter could feel her body melting for him, her knees weakening, as he drew her close, leaning in to kiss her. He gazed deeply into her eyes. The look in his eyes was smoldering. There was something dark in his expression, wild and untamed. He seemed hungry and Hunter realized that his hunger was for her.
“You had me worrying,” he whispered, his mouth hovering over hers. “Next time I won’t let you out of my sight.”
It was more than a turn on to hear he had been worried. To know Ash was with Hunter because he was truly invested in her made Hunter feel closer to him than she could have ever imagined.
“You better not let me out of your sight,” she whispered lowly as Ash leaned in, lowering even more until his lips gently pressed against her delicate mouth. She immediately pursed her lips in response, fitting into perfect alignment with his. Kissing Ash was starting to feel like home.
They began to play, brushing soft kisses across each other’s mouths. Hunter explored the soft valley above the center of
his upper lip, and the peaks that surrounded it, with every light kiss. And he explored hers in turn.
His brown hair fell into his eyes, so Hunter brushed it back, running her fingers through it, setting his senses on fire. Her long fingers, the warm palms of her hands were so feminine, dainty. She had such a lovely touch. Ash craved those hands on other parts of him. He felt a surge deep within as his body suddenly began to strain hard for her at the thought. The surge grew, flowing in hot rippling waves through his entire body all the way down to his loins. Ash closed his eyes, kissing her deeper, riding the wave as far as it would take him.
Almost without thinking, he cupped her ass with both hands, pulling her tightly against him. Hunter gasped, barely more than an exhale, a reflex of surprise and desire. The girly sound drove him wild for her, causing his tongue to lap more and more sensuously in the soft, velvety folds of her lips, mouth, tongue. A thought emerged in the back of his mind, reminding him that they were alone, completely alone, and that the bed wasn’t far. Ash wanted her to want it, though. He needed her to ask for it, or beg really. His thoughts began to drift in the direction of ideas about what he might be able to do to help her want him, all of him, tonight.
Ash seemed to be holding her more tightly than he ever had. She could feel his need for her in the way he held her close. His arms were strong, muscular, cut like stone, and the way they were wrapped around her hips, crossing over her waist and bracing her against him was making Hunter hot. A warm ache had been burning inside of her, setting her on fire, melting her loins to liquid, as she became more and more turned on with each kiss.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, finally freeing her fingers from caressing through his thick hair. His tee seemed to ripple and fold under her hands. Why was he wearing this? She wanted it off of him. She wanted to smell his bare skin, to move her mouth over his chest, savoring every inch.
Hunter pulled back, but only to tug his tee up. Ash easily assisted, taking initiative at her encouragement, pulling it off the rest of the way.
Her hands pressed flat against his chiseled abs the second his bare chest came into Hunter’s view. He had the most beautiful body, hard and smooth. Every inch of him smoldered with danger and sexiness. She watched as Ash allowed the tee to slip from his fingers, falling to the floor.
Her mouth found his collarbone. She began to kiss, lick, suck gently across to his shoulder, then traveling down, she discovered his subtle heartbeat as soon as her lips paused over his pecs.
She was teasing him, flicking the firm tip of her tongue over his nipple, lapping at his chest with wet suckling kisses, encouraging him to imagine the same sensation on other regions of his body, regions that were not yet bare. He loved the way she felt, loved the hunger of each kiss that seemed to convey so much innocence as well. He grabbed her thin waist, sensing how much smaller she was, and squeezed. She was soft, yet firm, the muscles stretched taut across her lower stomach, sexy. He lifted the fabric of her tee, remembering the size, shape, scent of her breasts under black lace that he had the pleasure of seeing just earlier that very morning. Hunter gazed up at him. Her face seemed like it was all eyes. Those big brown eyes, round, yearning seemed to wonder about what he might do next. There were so many things he wanted to do.
Hunter helped him slowly lift her tee over her head until it fell to the floor, joining his. She watched him. His eyes traveled down from meeting her gaze to her breasts, which were exposed except for the thin layers of light pink lace that covered them. The outer edges of his sexy mouth curled up in a naughty smile that made her nipples grow hard. Anything that turned Ash on made her hot. She liked the way he was studying her, drinking her in.
“I’m scared,” she whispered even before thinking about what she might say. It was as though Hunter was functioning on pure impulse.
“What are you scared of?” he asked in a whisper to match her own.
Ash gently massaged her waist, looking down at Hunter, gazing deeply into her eyes and waiting. Her eyes drifted closed for a moment, going fully with the flow of his hands, which felt so good, so relaxing, so reassuring. Maybe there was nothing to worry about, but Hunter was Hunter. She worried about everything and trusted no one. She had made every effort to trust him, and at times she truly had, but the ebb and flow, the pendulum swing between trust and caution was starting to make her head spin.
Would Hunter ever be able to trust and love? Would she ever truly be ready to let her guard down, and let the right guy in? Or had she been too damaged? Had the events of her twisted captivity ruined her for all of life’s pleasures?
“Everything. I’m scared of everything,” she answered, though she knew it had been a lame response to a genuine question. If she was afraid, then Ash certainly was entitled to know why, to know what precisely she was afraid of. She had brought it up, so the least she could do was be open and give him the opportunity to do what he could to set her mind at ease. But being open with anyone seemed impossible.
“You’re out of practice,” he said. “You feel scared because you aren’t used to having people around. You’ve forgotten what it’s like to have people help you. You’ve forgotten what it’s like, what it feels like when someone loves you. Once you remember that. Once you recognize the signs that someone would never ever hurt you, then you won’t feel afraid. You’ll feel safe. I’m going to show you. You’ll see.”
Hunter melted into his embrace with each word he had spoken. She believed him, and though she didn’t know how she would suddenly be able to truly trust him, at least she was starting to understand the difference between his intentions and her perceptions. Sometimes her perceptions were wrong. Sometimes they were more the product of her life experience than they were a reliable gauge on what was going on around her. Maybe it was time, she thought, to have a little faith.
Ash could feel her relax in his arms once again, and it gave him hope that Hunter was willing to try trusting him, even if it went against her nature. If she was grappling with trusting him, if she was afraid or sensed things might fall apart even when it was just the two of them alone and out of harms way, then Ash knew she wouldn’t be ready to bond with him in the physical way he most wanted to. If what Hunter needed most right now was to talk all night, to be held, to be shown she’s important and special, then he was more than happy to provide that.
A police siren flared up, screaming along the street below. Suddenly Hunter stared up at Ash, wide-eyed and trying not to panic. He froze as well, listening intently for the blaring noise to rise up then fall away, indicating the police car had passed their building. It didn’t seem to rise and fall, however. It sounded like it was an even, steady plateau of sound.
Hunter nearly said something. She wanted so badly to ask him what was going on, was that for them? But she held her tongue, more than her tongue, she held her breath, and continued to star up at him, unblinking.
Finally the siren shriek faded quieter and quieter as the cop car drove farther down the avenue.
Hunter let out a long exhale, relaxing once again. She hadn’t realized how tense she had become, stiff with alarm for as long as the siren had sounded.
Ash looked down at her, the streetlight flooding through his apartment cast a light white glow on one half of her body. She was gorgeous to him. The curve of her small breasts, the hourglass shape of her waist, her hips, the way her jeans hugged tightly against her thighs, was all so incredibly sexy that he grew hard in an instant.
He began rubbing, caressing his warm hands up and down her back, drawing her closer and closer in. Hunter didn’t want to hold back anymore. The conflict between her head and her heart had exhausted her, and it was time to let her heart win no matter how scared that might make her.
She gazed up at Ash, drinking in his brooding good looks and unfastened the back of her bra. The elastic snapped free. The lace undergarment fell to the ground. Hunter stood topless in front of Ash and watched a sexy smile grow on his face.
He grabbed her around the waist
, quickly, strongly, roughly, scooping her into him until his wet hot mouth was cupped around her breast. The sensation of his warm tongue flicking her nipple sent a hot wave of arousal through Hunter’s loins. He seemed hungry, devouring her breast, sucking the peak, from the mound all the way to her hard nipple, again and again. His hands found their way to her ass once again, and squeezed her cheeks hard. Hunter gasped, moaning, as the warmth flooded through her once again.
She felt warm and soft in his mouth. Her breasts were small and perfect. The scent and texture of her milky white skin made him wild with desire for more of her. His fingers worked their way around to the button of her jeans, and popped it open. He knew he was moving fast, but he wasn’t able to stop himself. And he wasn’t sensing that she wanted him to.
“Hunter, I want you,” he said, in-between kisses up her neck. “Tell me you’re not afraid of me. Tell me you won’t be scared if I’m with you.”
She wasn’t sure how she would say that. It would go against her deepest feelings, but at the same time she knew what she wanted. She really did want Ash, whether or not it felt safe. It wasn’t her body she had been worried about anyway. It was her heart.
There would be only one way to find out if Ash was a safe bet. She had to run the risk of being with him.
Hunter grasped his belt, and began loosening it. The thick leather flopped back, opening. She tugged on it, freeing the metal prong from the leather on its other side. The button and zipper of his jeans came down easily enough after that. She could sense how hard he was for her. She kissed the side of his neck as her hands felt between his legs, grasping the bulge beneath the fabric of his briefs.
“I don’t know how not to be scared,” she finally said, responding in a breathy exhale against his neck. “But I want to be with you. Just be patient with me. Can you do that?”
“Yes,” he said, taking her chin in his fingers and tipping her face up to his. “I can do anything for you.”
Ash kissed her long and hard, then guided her back towards his mattress, pulling her jeans down all the while.