Wanted: An Outlaw Anthology

by Lane Hart

  We finally reached the motel and I was anxious to get the Saint Laurent dress off and throw it in the dumpster. I wanted to wear my comfy loose pajamas now. Blake grabbed the keys and we got into the comfy little room. It was nicer than I had expected it to be. I immediately took off the dress and stood there in my bra and underwear. I could feel Blake running his hands up and down my arms and back.

  I had read that sexual assault victims have a hard time being close after an attack. I didn’t feel that when Blake touched me, so I must be okay there. I put my pajamas on and tried to eat something. Before I got too comfy, I picked up the dress I had been wearing all night and threw it in the nearby trash can.

  “I don’t know how long we’ll be here,” Blake said, and he was tapping his fingers against his jeans. I said it was going to be fine as I sat on the bed and tested the mattress by bouncing on it. I got the sense that Blake wanted to keep talking about everything but I didn’t. I wanted to decompress, and I wanted to just be with Blake. I wanted to kiss him and have sex with him and order food and pretend we were actually on vacation and not hiding out like runaways—which was what this situation really was.

  Blake sat down with me, and he breathed in and out and put his head into his hands. I began to rub his back to calm him down. “Blake?” He looked at me and then pressed our foreheads together. I went from feeling normal to numb, and I felt I couldn’t control it anymore.

  All Blake and I could do for each other was keep each other company and remain as low-key as possible until he got a call from someone, I wasn’t exactly sure who, to tell us we could head back to town so I could wrap up the remainder of my affairs with my parents’ house, their funeral, and moving to Italy. I was trying to work up the courage to ask Blake if he would move to Italy with me.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Blake

  Madeline was silent and she didn’t seem up to talking anymore. She had taken three showers in the last two hours. I wanted to give her as much space as possible. She had been through so much in such a short amount of time.

  I told her I would be in the shower, and she nodded her head to acknowledge that she heard me as she held her half-empty cup of ice cream. It had completely melted, and it was soup by now. She had also barely touched any of her food. I let out a deep sigh. It was so hard for me to see her in this state. Maybe the shower would help me come up with some ideas to make her feel better and then I could help her figure out her move to Italy.

  As the water ran down on me, I tried to breathe in and out to release all the tension I had been feeling since I drove up to the Ricci house. It all replayed in my head over and over. I shook my head and tried to think about Madeline and how I was going to help her.

  We would have to go to her parents’ funeral soon. The urge I had to touch her again was becoming unbearable. She had just been through such a traumatic experience not too long ago and I didn’t know if that was even appropriate for me to think about. I knew some people who couldn’t do anything for months to years. She probably just wanted to curl up and sleep.

  I turned off the water and grabbed one of the small motel towels that was so tough it almost scratched my skin. I adjusted myself and then opened the door to see that Madeline was lying on the bed as if she was Jesus Christ on the cross. I smiled at her and called her name.

  I wanted her to look at me. I wanted to look her in the eyes to read her emotions. She opened them and rolled herself in my direction. There was a warm glow forming behind her eyes that made me feel like there was hope for her. She was stronger than most young women I had met, and that’s another thing I loved about her, even though it was still hard for me to admit out loud.

  Madeline asked me to come over to her, and I walked slowly and dropped my towel. My desire was present and ready for her, if she was ready for me. I lay down next to her and smiled at her. “Are you okay? Do you want to take things slow?” I asked her and felt a sad lump in my throat. She shook her head no, and I put my hand on her arm as she leaned in to kiss me. We kept kissing, and I gently put her on her back and put her arms above her head as I put myself between her legs. She was wearing pajama shorts, but I could feel the heat projecting itself from her pussy. It made me so hard and I rubbed myself between her legs.

  I kissed her all over her neck and ears. She began to moan, and I pulled her shorts off and felt the steaminess from between her legs. She took her shirt off and I kissed her breasts. I missed her breasts. They were my sweet Godiva chocolates that I couldn’t get enough of. She started moaning my name and then I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to be inside her.

  It was like heaven, sliding into her wet pussy, and she moaned for more. I quickened the pace of my thrusts as she moaned and screamed my name. It made me feel proud that we were in a motel and we could be heard by the people in the rooms next to us.

  I began to pound her, and she dug her nails into me. I had really missed having her in my arms and me inside her. Our sex before was so good that it made me feel like I was king of the world for having this beautiful woman under me. I watched her orgasm a couple of times, and then I felt it coming and I came. It was so intense that I arched my back as I came like a fountain inside her.

  Long after we had fucked, we were still holding each other and kissing. I held her head and stroked her hair and she smiled at me and nuzzled my nose. She was so cute, and I brought her in for a long and passionate kiss. We stared into each other’s eyes, and I felt it. I loved this woman and I was ready to tell her.

  “Maddie?” I brought my face closer to hers. “Maddie, I want you to know that I will never let this happen to you again. I will never put you in a position of endangering your life. I will always protect you, sweetheart.”

  The smile faded from my face and I had to be serious before I said the most important thing to her. “I will always protect you because I love you.” I looked deep into her eyes and watched her smile as a few tears fell down her cheeks. I smiled and wiped them away.

  “I really love you, Blake.” She kissed me on the lips repeatedly, and I held her closer to me as we continued to kiss. I never wanted to let her out of my sight ever again.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Madeline

  I lay flat on the bed of the motel room. I looked up at the white ceiling and listened to cable TV in the background as I tried to breathe in and out until it didn’t feel heavy anymore. It might be a while before that would happen.

  I lay my arms across the bed and began to listen to the sound of the shower running. I had already taken three showers and I still didn’t feel clean. I was trying to push the whole fiasco with Donato out of my mind. I was beginning to heal, but flashes of it still popped up.

  The shower head was turned off and I lay very still as I closed my eyes and continued to breathe in and out. “Maddie? How are you feeling?” I heard Blake’s voice, and I turned my head without opening my eyes.

  “I’m fine,” I said, lying through my teeth.

  “Maddie, open your eyes and look at me,” he demanded, and I slowly opened them. He looked gorgeous standing there with his defined six-pack and white motel towel covering his lower half. I began to look at each drop of water that rested on his skin, and I rolled over to my side and supported my head with my hand.

  “Come over here,” I said in a smoldering tone.

  Blake smiled and dropped his towel as he walked toward me and lay next to me. “Are you okay? Do you want to take things slow?” he asked with concern in his voice.

  I smiled and shook my head no. He then smiled at me and began to rub my arm. This instantly calmed me and made he feel warm and full of life again. I needed him, I needed Blake to be with me. I needed him to touch me and be inside me.

  I began kissing him, and I melted at the feeling of his warm soft lips against mine. They rolled and caressed in just the right way. I felt my insides go buttery all over, and then Blake took my hands and pinned them above my head.

  He got on top of me and I could feel
him between my legs. He kissed me all over my neck and ears and this opened up new sensations to me. I couldn’t help but moan as I became wet. Blake pulled my shorts off and then I took my shirt off and he began to kiss my breasts. I was feeling so many sensations at once and I started to moan his name.

  The next thing I knew, Blake was deep inside me and was thrusting so intensely. I almost couldn’t take it anymore. He started going faster, and I could hear the bed springs singing and I began moaning and screaming along with them. This seemed to encourage Blake as he began to thrust faster and faster. I began to orgasm and then orgasm again. We kept going until Blake suddenly arched his back and yelled out in pleasure as I felt him explode inside me.

  He came back down, and we kissed. We kissed for a long time in each other’s arms, and I could still feel the sweat on my back. I looked into his eyes and nuzzled his nose and kissed him as he held my head and ran his fingers through my hair. He said my name and brought his face closer to mine.

  “Maddie, I want you to know that I will never let this happen to you again. I will never put you in a position of endangering your life. I will always protect you, sweetheart.”

  I felt my heart beat faster with excitement when he called me sweetheart. Then the smile faded from his face and he looked at me intensely and said, “I will always protect you because I love you.” I could’ve died happy in that moment and felt a few tears roll down my cheeks. He smiled at me and wiped them away.

  I looked at him and said, “I really love you, Blake.” I watched him smile and then I went in to kiss him repeatedly on the mouth. He wrapped his arms around me to get me closer to him. I loved this man and I never wanted to be apart from him again.

  Blake and I had fallen asleep in each other’s arms. It wasn’t until morning that I opened my eyes and saw Blake’s beautiful face. He was extra beautiful because he looked like he belonged to me. I ran my hand over the features on his face and then he grabbed my hand and kissed it and lay his head back down on the pillow. I repeated this process a couple of times with him until he opened his eyes and smiled at me.

  “Good morning,” he said with a groggy voice, and I said good morning back to him. We kissed and he rolled over to check the time.

  Blake had offered to get breakfast, and I stayed under the covers and flipped through channels on the TV. Sleeping with Blake last night made it even easier for me to block out the horrific events of last night. I would probably have to see a therapist at some point in my life. But for now, I had the love of my life and the hopes and dreams waiting for me in Italy.

  I rolled over and reached into my bag where I had the application for the design school I was going to apply to. It was all filled out and ready to mail as soon as I got the opportunity. All I needed to do was talk to Blake about coming with me. As I still lay naked under the sheets and watching TV, Blake came in with breakfast. I perked up and smiled as he waved the half-greasy bags in front of my face. He smiled and kissed me while handing me a bag. We sat and ate on the bed that we’d had passionate sex in the night before. Blake held me by his side as he practically threw the fries into his mouth.

  “I need to talk to you about something.” I finally found the courage to talk about Italy with him.

  “What do you want to talk about?” He turned to me and smiled. I took a deep breath and smiled at him.

  “So, I have to mail out my application for Design school in Italy,” I said slowly, and he smiled and told me he was proud of me. “The design school is going to be a step toward that glamorous life I will have.” I watched as he wasn’t smiling anymore, and he looked more intrigued about where I was going with this.

  “Do you want to find a mailbox around here?” he said, and I let out a deep sigh as I just had to force myself to say what I wanted to say.

  “I want you to come with me,” I said with an encouraging smile. But Blake still wasn’t smiling. He looked perplexed. I started to feel worried and I asked him what was wrong.

  “I just got you back in my protection and told you I love you,” he said, and the sense of worry seemed to be rising in him quickly. He kept repeating Italy to himself. I grabbed his face and made him look me in the eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” He pulled away and stood up. He said he needed a moment to think and took a walk.

  I shrugged my shoulders in frustration and looked over my application. I had already been through so much that I didn’t have room for another problem to think about. It was a worrying thought in my mind that he wouldn’t come with me. The thought scared me, and I tried to distract myself as I waited for him to return from his walk.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Blake

  I walked for several blocks with no destination. I just needed to get out of that motel room for a minute and think about what Madeline had just asked me. She was asking me to move to Italy with her. I loved her and wanted to protect her, but I couldn’t just move to Italy for her.

  It was too soon for a move like that for the both of us, even if I did love her and needed to move out of the back building. She was young and full of ambition. She needed adventures like that in her life to have experiences. She also needed to get the heck out of dodge, even with the Riccis and their stupid criminal friends out of the way now. There was no need for her to stay here and possibly become the target of a new unknown enemy.

  And what would she want me to come to Italy with her for? She had much more sophistication and education than I had in my entire being.

  Then again, I loved her so much it almost killed me. Both figuratively and literally speaking. This was a tough one to chew on for me. I never thought that when I came to work for Mr. Bianco, I would end up loving his only daughter. I never imagined that I would kiss her and have sex with her and have her make me feel good about myself. I had never felt good about myself.

  I had always relied on myself and never let anyone in. Sure, I’d shared nights with women, but I never kept them around. Because everyone I’ve loved or been close with was taken from me. I couldn’t risk getting so close with Madeline and losing her. I had already felt what that might be like, and I couldn’t put myself through that.

  And what the hell would I do in Italy? I only had experience in two things, Navy SEALs and working security for a mobster family. That’s where all my networking connections were too. And there was no way I wanted to become a cop. They would laugh in my face if I even stepped into the precinct. My head began to reel uncontrollably.

  I was nine years older than her and I’d served as a SEAL for eight years. I had been to so many countries on tours, and I had been to Italy once. But I never traveled on my own abroad. It was a beautiful country, but I had no desire to go back.

  But I also knew that it would be very difficult for me to be here while she was off making a star of herself in design school in a city full of handsy Italian men. The men worried me. After seeing her in the position she was in last night, it made me worried that I wouldn’t be able to protect her from afar. I wouldn’t be able to.

  On the other hand, I didn’t want to relocate myself to another country, learn a new language, and what would I do for the time that she was working? She was asking a lot for me to come with her. I was old enough to know how situations like that usually worked out. They usually didn’t.

  And if it ended up not working between us, then I would be stuck in another country with an angry fiery little Italian woman hating my guts. It was too intense a thought for me to process. I had just admitted to myself and to Madeline that I loved her and was always going to protect her.

  And now I felt like she was jumping the gun way ahead and asking me to move to Italy with her. I wanted to have a little time to enjoy her as my Maddie, the girl I was madly in love with. And I wanted to be by her side as she was about to bury her parents. And I wanted a little time to spend with her as just us. I could take her upstate and we could spend some alone time in the woods with nothing but trees and owls.

  I didn’t wan
t to go from living under the same roof just because it was safer for her to get on a plane and go to Italy forever. That was just crazy to me.

  Before I realized it, I had walked at least ten blocks away from the motel, and I checked my phone to see that Madeline had called me several times and texted me. I turned around and called her back and said I was headed back. As I hung up and walked back to the room, I started to work out in my head what I would say to her.

  I also saw that I got a text from my contact telling me it was safe for us to return to town and to the Bianco estate as soon as we could. That was quick.

  When I got back to the motel room and saw Madeline all dressed and ready, she was smiling at me expectantly. I told her that we needed to get going before checkout and she understood that I wasn’t ready to talk about Italy just yet. She picked up her stuff and I helped her load it into my car. When I turned around, I saw her heading for the offices. I asked her what she was doing, and she said she was going to pay for the room.

  I was a little insulted that she wasn’t going to let me pay for the motel room. But I figured this was her annoyed reaction at me for not giving her the response she wanted from me. She had to learn that you can’t get everything you want. And so, I let her pay and waited in the car for her.

  As we drove, we both talked about absolutely nothing. I could tell that she was trying to push all her stressed-out feelings out of the way so she could deal with the fact that she had to go back to her house and pack up her stuff. Her aunt had called her and said that the house was going on the market soon. It would probably sell fast once it was listed, and she needed to hurry back and pack all of her belongings up and anything else she wanted to keep that wasn’t being taken out of the house.