Ransom's Redemption

by Rhavensfyre

  Victoria must have taken Ransom’s warning at face value. She was gone in a flash with Ransom not far behind her. All of that training had served her well. She managed to sprint up the stairs and make it to the bedroom door before Ransom caught up with her.

  “Got you,” Ransom crowed, pulling Victoria towards the bed. She wasn’t above claiming her prize.

  “I let you win,” Victoria threw back, not willing to give Ransom the victory that easily.

  “We’ll see who calls mercy first.”

  Victoria wasn’t sure if that was a threat or a promise, but it didn’t matter. She had a feeling she was going to win either way.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Ransom managed to get Victoria into the bedroom only to find her bed already occupied.

  “Shoo, Whitman.” She waved her hands at the haughty feline, as if that would be sufficient incentive for him to move from his comfortable spot. He gave her a baleful, blinkless stare that would have turned into a standoff if Victoria hadn’t scooped him up and tossed him out into the hallway. Closing the door before he could voice an opinion over such an insulting form of transport, she giggled at the look on Ransom’s face.

  “What? So I don’t like an audience.”

  “You are so not a cat person. Will you at least feed him while I’m gone?”

  “He knows how to hunt, Victoria. He’s getting fat.”

  “So, let him.” Victoria ran her palm down Ransom’s face. “Please, for me. I don’t want him wandering away while I’m gone.”

  “Fine,” Ransom growled. This was not what she wanted to be talking about right now and she knew exactly how to get Victoria back on track. She pulled off her shirt and tossed it in the corner, then waited to see what she would do.

  “Um, yeah.” Victoria licked her lips. “You could have warned me that you weren’t wearing a bra.”

  “Why?” Ransom back stepped towards the bed, her hand resting along her beltline. She undid the top button on her jeans, then looked up at Victoria. From the hungry expression on her face, she was pretty certain Victoria had forgotten all about the little ginger cat. “I’m not wearing any underwear either, does that help?”

  “Yes,” Victoria answered roughly, her voice betraying her. “Yes, it does.”

  It only took a few moments for Victoria to catch up to Ransom, and not long at all before they found the bed.

  Ransom pinned Victoria beneath her, playfully using her superior strength to first hold her down, then raise herself up on her elbows. Her thigh slid between them, pressing against her center, finding enough moisture there to begin a slow, careful rhythm that drove Victoria wild. She raised her knee, evening the playing field when Ransom gasped and shifted angles. Victoria realized she had an advantage, Ransom couldn’t touch her but her hands were free to wander as they may…and let them wander she did.

  She found Ransom’s nipples first. Victoria would have preferred using her mouth, but Ransom was a greedy woman. She was intent on ravaging her lips, stealing her breath with soul searing kisses that ended in gasps. Victoria abandoned the obvious to run her fingers along lean muscles, tracing the lines of her hips until she managed to push just enough to roll both of them on their sides. From there it was an easy trick to lay Ransom flat on the bed. Too easy, by far, but she would pretend she had won that skirmish.

  Ransom certainly seemed eager to see how far she was willing to go. She remained silent, but her eyes glowed with desire, hungry and powerful.

  “Magnificent,” Victoria murmured, following a winding path with her lips that would take her to her ultimate goal. Moving down Ransom’s lean body meant losing the heated connection between them, but her need to taste the other woman was overwhelming. Pushing Ransom’s legs wider with her body, she settled herself between Ransom’s thighs. Eager lips found Ransom’s clit, slick and hard and almost too sensitive for her tongue. That she was so close already…it made her shiver in anticipation. She wanted to slow down, to hold back and make it last longer, but Ransom made a low noise in her throat, a throaty growl that demanded she continue.

  “Don’t stop. Finish me.”

  She listened to that voice, and she didn’t stop. She held on tightly, wrapping her arms around slim hips that bucked and thrust violently against her as Ransom came undone.

  “Fuck!” Ransom yelled, her back arching until her upper body came off the bed, her biceps flexing as she strained against the sheets beneath her.

  Victoria refused to give up her prize just yet, curling her tongue and lapping at the sweet essence, delving as deeply as she could reach with each long swipe. It was only when Ransom locked rock hard thighs around her head in a desperate attempt to end the torturous aftershocks that she stilled her treacherous tongue.

  She crawled up Ransom’s body, retracing her path along skin that glowed with a soft sheen of perspiration, intent on kissing those lips with the taste of her passion still upon them.

  That was how Victoria ended up with a leg on each side of Ransom’s hips, an overly pleased grin plastered to her face and nothing between them, only damp curls and hot sex and the smell of passion. Her grin widened, remembering the sounds Ransom made when she came, the strength she possessed when she bucked against her, her back arching beautifully into that perfect form only good sex could create. She should have remembered, then, how fit the other woman was when Ransom’s lips curved into an inviting smile that masked her true intentions.

  “Come up here,” Ransom commanded, pulling the smaller woman up as easily as she had thrown her down on the training mat down in the basement. Victoria found herself straddling Ransom’s head, a pair of wandering hands sliding down her back until they found her ass. Mischievous green eyes looked up at her from between her thighs as she licked her lips in anticipation.

  “Hold on,” Ransom suggested, her lips curving into an evil grin one short second before grasping her hips and pulling her down. Before she could ask why, a sharp tongue slipped between her thighs, spreading already swollen lips to lap along her center.

  The sudden movement compromised her balance. She reached out, grasping at anything. Her fingertips scrabbled against the headboard, then found the rounded edge of the heavy wooden rail along the top. Her fingers convulsed around the rail, nails digging into the dark finish.

  Where Victoria’s approach to sex was all about logic and progression, Ransom worked on instinct, her tongue running wild until she found the right rhythm and pressure to quickly send Victoria over the edge.

  She felt a flash of unwanted embarrassment at finishing so quickly, followed by a short lived and entirely irrational sense of being cheated. Her forehead found the headboard rail. She could barely feel her legs, and what she could move felt as floppy as rubber bands.

  Before Victoria could recover, Ransom slipped out from under her and twisted around, covering her with her own body. One hand shot out to capture hers, so that they were both gripping the headboard together. Victoria was still kneeling, facing the headboard, and now she couldn’t move, not with Ransom’s fingers laced across hers.

  Ransom pulled her upright, supporting her in a close embrace while bared lips found her shoulder, her warm body pressed tightly against her backside.

  “Can you support yourself now?” Ransom whispered.

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Don’t let go.”

  Victoria shivered in anticipation when she felt Ransom’s free hand caress along her back, slowly tracing a pattern along her spine, tickling along her ribs until she skimmed dull nails across her ass teasingly. An insistent thigh pushed her knees farther apart, opening her to further exploration. Long fingers slid along sensitive flesh, making Victoria moan and buck against the inquisitive digits. Those long fingers dipped inside her, only to abandon her needy flesh to spread the copious moisture everywhere. The lazy circling continued until the moment Victoria thought she would scream from frustration. Ransom made a sound, deep in her throat. She wasn’t immune to this teasing play, and Victoria kn
ew she could end this game if she just asked her to.

  “Ah, Ransom. Please. Don’t tease anymore.” She begged for release from the ache sitting deep in her belly, the need that only Ransom could fill.

  Ransom took her from behind. Unable to move freely, her hand captured in Ransom’s along the top of the headboard, she was totally at the other woman’s mercy. Her desire was an unquenched storm beating against the inside of her skull. It wrapped itself around her spine, electrifying nerves until her entire body tingled with unclaimed potential, and Ransom was her lightning rod.

  “God, you feel good,” Victoria cried out, feeling that potential start to spin out of control.

  Ransom’s rhythm faltered for just a moment, slowing the inevitable rise in passion before sending it into overdrive when Ransom twisted her fingers inside her, searching for that one sweet spot that would send her over the edge.

  Her breasts heaved as she tried to breathe past the waiting orgasm, her movements becoming desperate as the illusive spark failed to ignite until Ransom released her hand. She reared up, able to push back against each powerful thrust. Her pulse pounded in her temples and between her legs as ecstasy flooded her veins, blinding her to the world around her. She screamed aloud and clamped down on Ransom’s fingers, riding her orgasm to completion. Her fingers spasmed around the headboard, digging her nails into the heavy wood until she could feel the finish give way beneath the blunt tips.

  Exhausted, the two women collapsed onto the mattress, a throbbing puddle of limbs held together by breathless laughter.

  “I think that will do it,” Ransom finally said, reaching behind her to pull one of the sheets over them.

  “I think so.” Victoria glanced down at her hands. Surprised to find her manicure still intact, she wondered if the headboard had fared as well as her nails. She supposed she could find out if she was willing to move, but Ransom’s chest made too good of a pillow, one she wasn’t willing to abandon to satisfy her warped curiosity.

  She cuddled in closer, content to listen to Ransom’s heart beat for a while.

  “Ransom?”

  “Hmm?” Ransom asked drowsily. She hadn’t quite fallen asleep, but she was definitely partway there.

  “I’m going to miss you,” Victoria admitted, trying to fight the melancholy mood coming over her. Ransom’s hand found hers, and their fingers locked together in a very different way. It was sweet and mellow and it made her want to stay just like this forever.

  Ransom raised her head, propping it up on an elbow. “What’s wrong?”

  “A week ago I was wondering if this scary, crazy stalker thing was ever going to end. Every day I was here was another day away from my practice, my home, my friends, everything. The only thing that made it all worthwhile was having you here with me. Now that it’s all over, it feels weird going back home.”

  Ransom understood what she was saying, probably more than most. “I get that. These last few weeks were traumatic, terrifying even. That sort of stress stays with you, and when it goes away, you feel lost.”

  She had felt that way the minute her unit landed back in the states. Deployments were a huge ball of shit all rolled up in a one-year increment. Terrifying one day, mind-numbingly boring the next. Too hot, too cold, humid, dry…full of bugs and bad food, but you had your unit…your family to keep you going.

  The minute you walked off that plane, you were expected to leave all of that behind. Being home meant returning to civilization, with all the neat, happy civilized ways of handling things. Normal, mundane things. Dull things. Nothing felt real because nothing carried that sharp edge you had gotten used to. Victoria had just lost that sharp edge and was noticing its absence. Her world had just become less colorful by becoming more comfortable and that was what was bothering her.

  Victoria looked up at her. “Are you the therapist now?”

  “Nope, I just know what it feels like to be addicted to the thrill of danger. It makes everything else in life pale in comparison.”

  “Everything?” Victoria purposefully ran her gaze down the length of Ransom’s body.

  “Mm. Almost everything.” Ransom kissed Victoria’s forehead. They could talk about this all night but what she needed was time, not talk. “I’d love to lie here all afternoon, but I’ve got things to do still.”

  “I know, me too,” Victoria said. She needed to call Samuel and arrange for him to come pick her up. It was a Sunday so the only thing she might be interrupting was a round of tennis at the gym, and he could live without that.

  She and Samuel had a lot to talk about and the long drive would be a perfect time for them to discuss her client hours. All she needed to do was drop one day from her schedule and she could easily run a Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday practice. That would make commuting to Johnsonville possible. She wouldn’t have to choose between her work and Ransom. She could have both. It wouldn’t be easy, but it would be doable.

  “And dinner?” Ransom’s pitiful starving waif expression was absolutely adorable and completely contrived, but it worked.

  “And dinner,” Victoria agreed.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “Good morning, Sunshine!”

  Victoria opened one bleary eye to find Ransom standing next to the bed, fully clothed and ready to start the day. She groaned and rolled over, blindly searching for the covers and tossing them back over her head. “You are way too peppy this morning.”

  “And you’ve slept in way too late.”

  Victoria gave up and rolled back over. “It’s Sunday. Why are you dressed like that?”

  “Roy called. I have to go into the office and start filling out paperwork. He’s serious about me learning the job and as he put it ‘what better time than now?’ since we have to get your stalker transferred this week.”

  “That sucks,” Victoria muttered around a huge yawn. “And it’s not my fault I’m tired. You’re the one who kept me up late.”

  “All the better to remember me by, my dear.” Ransom leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Now hop up like a bunny and get dressed or you’ll miss breakfast.”

  Victoria perked up a bit at the mention of food. “Breakfast? You made food?”

  “Yup. Coffee and pop-tarts. The breakfast of champions.” Ransom chuckled. “I even gave up the cinnamon one’s for you, and those are my favorite.”

  “Infant,” Victoria teased. Ransom was too perky, probably already hopped up on caffeine and sugar by the looks of it. “You can have the pop-tarts. I’ll stick with the coffee.”

  “Suit yourself.” Ransom shrugged and tucked the deputy’s badge in her belt. The 9mm had found a new home in a shiny black leather holster on her left hip.

  “That looks nice,” Victoria had to admit.

  Ransom looked down at herself and scoffed. “Don’t get used to it. I hear that Roy already called in an order for my uniform shirt. Too bad I can’t quit today.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Ransom sat down on the bed next to Victoria. “You know that just because we caught this guy that it’s not over yet? We’ve still got a long way to go to prove he’s the one that’s been stalking you, and then it has to go through the court system. Roy really roped me in this time. I won’t give up this badge until I know this guy is behind one set of bars or another, but it could take months…years even, before this is over for good.”

  Ransom hated being the one to give Victoria the bad news. She had been so excited to get back to her life yesterday that Ransom had let it slide. Hell, she had ridden that happy train right alongside her, but today was another day. Today Victoria was planning on leaving, and that meant she was going to be too far away from her to be of any use. At least Samuel will be around. He’s good in a pinch. Not as good as me, but at least he’s another set of eyes watching out for her.

  “Oh.” Victoria’s cheerful little bubble didn’t pop completely, but it did deflate a bit. “I didn’t even think about that. Should I call and cancel my trip home?”

  “No.
I think we’ll be okay. Just do me one favor? Keep the .380 close to you and stay aware of your surroundings. If anything, and I mean anything, happens that makes you feel the least bit hinky…you haul out of there and call me.”

  “Isn’t that taking things a bit far? I mean, everything fits. Do you really think I’m still in danger?”

  “No.” Ransom frowned and shifted her feet. “I don’t think so. Maybe I’m being paranoid. It’s hard for me to turn it off.”

  “I understand. And if it will make you feel better, I’ll be extra careful.”

  “Good.”

  ***

  Ransom left soon after that, with a firm promise from Victoria that she would call her the minute Samuel showed up. “Don’t leave until I get back. I haven’t seen Samuel in a while either, it would be nice to pick on the old man for a few before you all leave.”

  The solo Jeep ride into town felt strange after having Victoria riding shotgun the last few weeks but this was her last chance to look at the case files before she left. There was something…Ransom rubbed the back of her neck, trying to get rid of the prickling sensation crawling up her spine. Matthew Theodosis was the perfect stalker. Everything about him, his history, his growing obsession with Victoria, everything…it all matched. So why was it bothering her so much?

  It was too easy.

  Once she got to the Sheriff’s office and started pouring over the files, her sense that something was very wrong with the whole thing just kept growing. Two cups of coffee and two hours later, her eyes started to blur with the effort to find some hidden message she just knew they missed. “Ach, time to take a break.”

  Ransom went in search of more coffee and ran straight into Roy. She barely managed to keep either of them from wearing the hot liquid. As strong as it was, it would probably eat right through her shoes and start on the floor wax, mutate into some alien creature and murder them all before Church let out at noon.