by Juniper Hart
Ansel nodded his head at her.
“I have been banished from the kingdom,” he told her. “I refused to marry the last one, and I came looking for you.”
Nora chuckled lightly and looked around the room.
“You seem to be doing well for yourself,” she commented. “For a murderous boxer, anyway.”
Ansel groaned loudly and fell back onto his elbows. “Bollocks. I have to get to Nevada and release Titus. He’s going to have my balls on a skewer for this.”
Nora’s eyes widened.
“I am eager to hear all about that,” she told him, crawling toward his sprawled frame. “But first, I want to savor the moment I have been dreaming about since before the Great War.”
Ansel visibly relaxed, his body sagging comfortably as Nora straddled his body, stopping to strip off the too large t-shirt she had borrowed from him after her shower.
“I’ve missed you terribly,” she whispered, resting her lips against his. “Thank you for coming to my rescue.”
“I should have been there long ago,” he murmured, but she pressed her mouth against him harder to silence him. Ansel allowed his body to fall back against the softness of the rug, pulling Nora down with him as his palms explored the smoothness of her skin. Her fingers fumbled to undo his button-down shirt, her dark hair falling over his face as she moved her way down his body.
“I don’t know how I could have ever forgotten about you,” she purred.
“You didn’t,” he said. “I was always there. You will always find your way back to me.”
Nora’s teeth sank into the tender flesh of his nipple, and Ansel jumped, squealing slightly. She attacked the button of his jeans, roughly prying them off his legs while her tongue licked teasing circles across his belly.
“Never leave me again,” Nora whispered, releasing his solid shaft from his boxer shorts. “Promise me.”
“I swear it,” Ansel vowed. “I will never leave you, not even for a minute. We will always be together.”
Nora wrapped her mouth around him in one fluid movement, and Ansel groaned so loudly that it shook the floors beneath them. Hard but long strokes followed, her fingernails grating against the tight skin of his sack. His hands gripped her ebony hair and guided her smoothly against him as she increased the pace.
“Oh, Lord,” Ansel gasped. “You are going to make me—”
“No!” she snapped, whipping her head upward. “Don’t you dare. I haven’t had you in over ten years. You will not finish until I do.” She slithered her lithe naked form across his legs, rubbing her firm breasts against his throbbing erection until her hips squared his.
Their eyes locked, and Ansel jerked upward, wanting to feel the heat between her thighs like he had never wanted anything else before.
Nora leaned forward to press her index finger against his lips, sliding herself teasingly against his member as she sighed, seemingly relishing the sensation of him tensing against her. She finally lowered herself onto his huge, pulsating shaft, crying out as Ansel filled her.
“I had forgotten how big you are,” she moaned. Ansel’s fingers closed around her waist, and he began to guide her movements, fluidly and without mercy.
Nora’s breath caught in her throat as she was thrust forward, palms flat against the rug. Her nipples grazed against his parted mouth, and his tongue lashed to taste her as he pushed himself further and harder inside her.
Nora howled, and she almost collapsed against Ansel, but he kept her in place, his own grunts growing louder until the slapping of his sack against her smoldering rear stopped and hotness filled her center. She fell on top of him as he finished his climax.
“You have never been more in control that you are at this moment,” Ansel gasped, turning to her, his eyes filled with adoration. The words seemed to spark a great sense of relief in Nora, and she stared uncertainly at him.
“That is a strange thing to say,” she commented. “What do you mean?”
Ansel propped himself up and lovingly peered into her face.
“You have always been strong,” he told her. “But you have been at the mercy of others for far too long. I think, as much as I would like to flay the man alive, Jerome had no idea he was bringing out the inner beast in you when he kidnapped you. He deserves to be burned and strung up at the gates, but you are now stronger than you have ever been.”
Nora swallowed the lump in her throat. The rekindling of their bond meant that he could hear her thoughts if they were loud enough, and Ansel heard her admit to herself that something had changed in her. She had become stronger in some ways, despite feeling like he had been weak for so long.
Will I ever get over what he did to me? Ansel heard Nora wonder to herself. He sat up and brushed her dark hair away from her cheeks.
“You are already overcoming what he did to you,” he whispered. “I am here to help you remember that you had a full and wonderful life before that asshole stole all those years from you. We will recoup what we have lost. Don’t forget one valuable thing, love. We have a luxury no one else has.”
Nora looked at him curiously. “What is that?”
Ansel kissed her lips and smiled softly. “Time. We have all the time we need. And I intend to make good use of it.”
Nora allowed herself to fall back into his arms, pressing her ear to his chest.
“Nora?” Ansel asked, the warmth of Nora’s body against his starting to soothe him to sleep.
“Yes, love?”
“Do you think he heard us down there?”
Nora tensed in his arms. She sat up and glanced worriedly at him. “What are we going to do with him?”
Ansel pulled her back down toward him.
“We have another matter to worry about,” he sighed. “But I don’t want to think about either of them right now.”
“But Ansel,” Nora protested. “He could escape or—”
“He won’t escape,” he assured her. “Trust me. When you decide what you want to do, we will deal with him any which way you please.”
“I must also call about Adrienne tomorrow,” Nora muttered, but Ansel only squeezed her tighter.
“We will deal with Jerome and Adrienne tomorrow. Then we will go to the airport and fly to Las Vegas.”
Nora sat up and stared at him.
“You are going to rot in jail until your trial?” she demanded.
“Well,” Ansel said. “I can’t very well leave Titus sitting there, can I?”
“I can’t bear the thought of losing you again, though,” Nora protested. “And just after I have found you!”
“Shh,” Ansel mumbled. “No more talk about that. Tonight, it is just you and I rediscovering one another. Tomorrow we will deal with everything else.”
Nora sighed and snuggled into his chest. Ansel was about to succumb into a deep slumber when he heard her whisper, almost to herself, “I hope tomorrow never comes.”
17
The door to the inner room flung open, and Luca stood, his eyes wide.
“You were right, boss!” he exclaimed. “United Airlines, flight 378, tonight at seven.”
“I ain’t got no idea what the hell you’re talking about,” Tony snapped. “Why don’t you go back out there, knock first, and try it again.”
“The girl,” Luca said. “She’s coming here. The girl!”
Tony continued to stare at him blankly. “Get yourself together, Luca. What girl? What are you going on about?”
Luca took a deep breath. “The boxer’s girl. The one he was looking for. Nora Chambers.”
A combination of both worry and excitement filled Tony’s veins, and he bolted up in bed.
“Are you sure?” he demanded. “It’s her?”
“It’s worth a shot to check it out, isn’t it?” Luca asked. “I mean, if it is her…”
Tony’s eyes grew glassy. “If that is her, you find her and bring her here. Is she traveling alone?”
Luca nodded. “As far as I can tell.”
“Huh,” Tony said, smiling cruelly. “He’s gonna do time for killing that broad, and I’m gonna have his little bitch under my thumb. It’s almost Shakespearian, ain’t it, Luca? Now, not a word to anyone until she’s here with me,” he added, remembering the beast he had managed to lock away.
A small part of him worried that Ansel could simply break free with his otherworldly strength, but so far, he had not tried.
He is not a dragon, no matter what Luca thinks he saw, Tony thought, pushing away the memory of Ansel’s head shifting into the head of a beast. The man is schooled in the art of magic tricks and arson, nothing more. It’s a pity he fucked with me. I could have employed him real well in the family. Dumb ass kid.
Tony sat back against the pillows as Luca turned to leave.
I’d like to see the expression on that kid’s face when he sees what I have planned for his girlfriend. And she ain’t gonna get off as easily as the other one did.
18
“I’m sorry, sir, but I’m afraid I cannot let you in to see Mr. Williams. Do you want to speak with him through the glass or not?”
Ansel spitefully eyed the officer. “I want to hug my brother.”
“That’s very touching,” the officer retorted. “But it still isn’t going to happen. Through the glass or nothing.”
Ansel gritted his teeth. Titus was going to kill him.
“I’ll speak to him through the glass,” he sighed. He offered his brother’s ID and went through the metal detector before being led through the corridors of the Clark County Detention Center. Seating himself at the table, he waited for his identical twin to appear, knowing that Titus was going to be livid with him.
After a few minutes, Titus appeared, his eyes narrowing as he glared at his brother.
“You have a lot of nerve showing up here,” he snarled. “If I ever get out of here—”
“You will,” Ansel assured him. “I spoke with your lawyer today—”
“You mean your lawyer!” Titus spat. “I am going to set you—”
“Shh!” Ansel hissed. “These conversations are being recorded. You know better.” Titus gritted his teeth, and Ansel continued to speak. “Be patient, all right? If I had known this would turn out like this—”
“You would have done it anyway,” Titus growled. “Because you are selfish and never care about anyone but yourself.”
“I care about Nora,” Ansel replied quietly. “That is the only reason I did this.”
Titus narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “And, where is she?”
“She’s coming tonight,” Ansel answered. “But while I am here, I have some business to take care of.”
“That business best include me!” Titus yelled. “Because I am not spending another day—”
“Just trust me,” Ansel said calmly. “I heard some interesting news from your lawyer today.”
“I don’t care about interesting. I care about getting out of here!”
“I know. And you will.” He offered his brother a timid smile and replaced the receiver, glancing at the overhead camera as he walked away.
I better have a plan to get him out of here, Ansel thought worriedly. Because Titus has much less patience than me, and if he takes down the walls, he’s going to take the entire building down with him.
On the plus side, Ansel had spoken to his American attorney, who had informed him that the ballistics had come back on the gun, and they matched a hit from two years earlier.
“Probably a mob thing,” Gary Grant had explained. “But that doesn’t mean the gun wasn’t dropped on the black market and repurchased by someone else.”
“There are so many holes in this case, I can’t even count!” Ansel had snapped. “Can’t you talk to the prosecutor about this?”
“I have, and she is offering a deal. Ten to twenty.”
“No one is doing any time,” Ansel had snapped.
At least he knew he was on the right track. If ballistics had matched the gun to a mob hit, it was more evidence for his theory that Valducci had murdered Carrie.
God, Ansel was antsy for Nora to return. He should have flown out with her, but he’d wanted to see Titus before he exploded, and Nora had wanted to deal with Jerome on her own, anyway. Ansel had to admit he was very curious to know how she had planned to punish him, but he had not dared to ask. Perhaps it would do more harm than good.
She will tell me what she did when she is ready, he told himself. Maybe I will simply have her take care of Valducci, too. Tony never begged for forgiveness like Jerome did.
Ansel glanced at his watch. She would be landing in a few hours. He just had enough time to go back to the hotel, shower, and take a nap before she arrived. He decided he was going to surprise her at the airport.
Ansel nervously touched his suit jacket, oblivious to people who were pointing and staring at him at the gate. The flight had slowly let out over half an hour, but he still had not seen any sign of Nora.
Did I get the flight wrong? he wondered. Or did she fly over another way?
It would be an incredible trip to make from London to Las Vegas, and Ansel knew that Nora had been exhausted. Had things gone awry with Jerome, after all? A thousand horrible possibilities fluttered through his gut, and he waited until he was sure no one else was coming from the gate before picking up his cell phone and dialing his house in London.
James answered on the third ring.
“Master Williams!” he said, sounding surprised. “I—how are you?”
“Is Nora there, James?” Ansel asked without preamble.
“Nora? You mean the young lady who was here this morning?”
“Yes, James. Is she still there?”
“No, sir,” James answered. “I—I called for a car to the airport this evening. I was under the impression she was coming to see you… in prison.”
Ansel ground his teeth. “Are you sure she went to the airport?”
“Yes, sir! She said her flight was at six o’clock.”
“Thank you, James,” he said, and he was about to hang up when James spoke again.
“Master Williams?”
“Yes, James?”
“I—I’m glad you’re out of prison, sir.”
Ansel smiled slightly. At least someone had faith in him.
“Thank you, James,” he said. He disconnected the call and stared back into the crowded airport.
Where could Nora be?
Nora, can you hear me?
Ansel waited, checking his watch again. He closed his eyes for a moment and willed himself to be calm as he listened to the sounds around him. Had something happened to Nora on her way to the airport? He wiped his palms on his pant legs, nervousness making him sweaty.
In his pocket, his cell began to ring.
“Nora?” he answered.
“No, Mr. Williams, this is Gary Grant. I have some good news for you,” the attorney chirped into his ear. “Your brother is being released tomorrow morning due to insufficient evidence. The prosecution has declined to press charges.”
Ansel exhaled in relief.
“That’s great news,” he agreed. “Have you told him?”
“I tried to get through, but it’s late now. He’ll get the surprise in the morning, I just thought you might want to be there for him when he gets released at 9 a.m. The paperwork should be done.”
“Thank you, Gary,” Ansel sighed. “Does this mean I… he has to watch his back from now on, or is this done?”
Gary chuckled dryly. “Well, I never say never, Mr. Williams, but I have a feeling that they are taking this mob angle a little more seriously. It seems that Miss Halpstern spent a great deal of time in Vegas with several suspicious characters.”
Ansel felt a stab of guilt. Even if she had, Tony had only gone after her because of him. He was the one who had brought her into this mess.
“I hope they aren’t going to drag her name through the mud,” he muttered. “She was a nice girl.”
“Did you know her?” Gary asked,
and Ansel grunted to himself.
“No. My brother told me she seemed like a decent person,” he lied. “Anyway, thank you for the update. I will be there for him in the morning.”
He hung up and shoved the phone back in his breast pocket. The cell hit the box he was keeping inside the pocket, and Ansel took out the blue velvet container and opened it to gaze at the ring. He had forsaken his nap in favor of doing some shopping.
We should have been married a million years ago, he thought. She won’t even be surprised. She’s just going to look at me and ask what took me so long.
But the proposal could wait until after the mess with Tony Valducci was resolved.
Ansel called out to Nora again. Nora, please don’t ignore me. I’m worried about you, love. Where are you?
There was still no response, and Ansel was filled with dread. He refused to believe something else had happened to her. In seven hundred years, she had only been in one situation she couldn’t handle, and in the end, she had managed to get out of it on her own. The odds that she had fallen into a similar situation again were nil. Ansel just had to be patient, and Nora would tell him where she was.
But as the minutes ticked by, his panic only continued mounting, and he could not shake the sensation that Nora was in over her head again.
The problem was that this time, he had no idea where to start looking for her.
19
Nora slowly tried to open her eyes, but she felt like her head was swimming. She struggled to get more comfortable, and it was only until she attempted to move that she realized she was bound to what felt like a chair.
Oh, no, she cursed to herself. No, no, not again!
Her last memory was sitting on the plane from London to Las Vegas, chatting with an attractive British businessman. Someone had drugged her, and Nora had a very good inkling as to who had been responsible.
Dammit, Jerome! I’ll really have to kill you, won’t I?
But as her vision became sharper, Nora found herself sitting in the center of a room with two men staring at her, and she did not recognize either of them. It seemed like, for once, Jerome had not been involved in drugging her.