Taken Hostage (10 page)

He rolled, settling between her thighs. The
fabric of his pulled-down jeans absorbed the dampness that’d crept
from her core as his legs met hers. She reached around his muscular
hip to grasp his ass as he entered her, his long length gliding
easily into the depths of her ready body. She shuddered with
delight before beginning to guide him, rhythmically applying and
easing pressure against his hips with both her hands. After a dozen
or so strokes she removed her touch, letting her hands rest lightly
atop the muscular surface of his ass, her fingertips brushing the
soft fuzz that grew there. He stopped too, awaiting her cue to
continue.

She lifted her head from the floor and
tickled the rim of his ear with her lips. ‘My name,’ she said. ‘Say
it.’ She closed her hands into fists, gathering as much of his
muscular flesh as she could in her palms.

He didn’t hesitate. ‘Tiffany,’ be breathed as
he plunged into her again, sheathing himself to the root.

A tell-tale tingle, a slight internal
spasming, warned Tiffany that she wouldn’t be able to withstand
many more strokes like his last. ‘Again,’ she breathed.

He obliged. ‘Tiffany,’ he groaned, more
deeply this time, pressing himself so far into her that her pelvic
bones ached in protest.

‘Again,’ she panted, ‘and don’t stop.’

‘Tiffany.’ It was nearly a growl this
time.

She writhed beneath him, digging her nails
into his laboring ass and biting his shoulder hard to keep from
crying out too loudly. The faint odor of pines clung to his shirt,
and it reminded her of how she’d writhed beneath him on the forest
floor. For a moment, it was as if she lay among the pine needles
again. Waves of pleasure swept over her, causing her core to clamp
down tight on his cock.

The toe-curling pleasure of her climax
eventually ebbed, and she stared up at James through a haze of
satisfaction. He hadn’t come yet, but if the way his entire body
trembled slightly as he thrust was any indication, he wouldn’t be
able to hold out much longer.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and
gripped her own wrists, holding onto his heaving body. For several
earth-shattering moments, her insides erupted into a second round
of wild contractions and she cried out, as much from surprise as
pleasure.

He replied in kind, shouting and thrusting,
pouring all of himself into her. After a few last, hard strokes it
was over, and the only sounds were the soft but rapid rushes of
both their breathing. They tumbled apart, each gasping and
sweating.

James kissed her again as he helped her
dress, pressing his lips delicately against the inflamed skin
between her hips before zipping her pants over it, then lifted her
T-shirt to dip his tongue into the hollow of her navel and kiss her
breasts. The tiny ritual granted Tiffany a sense of confidence,
assuring her that however their circumstances changed, James would
remain the same wonderful lover.

That didn’t stop her from blushing faintly as
they reemerged into the kitchen. She cast an envious glance at
James, who had his arms full with the trunk. She had nothing to do
with her hands and had to settle for fiddling stupidly with the hem
of her shirt. Rolando and Marianna stared at them, he with knowing
incredulity and she with tearful jealousy.

‘Do you know the combination?’ James asked,
his voice as calm as ever.

Rolando continued to stare for a moment
before recovering from his shock. ‘Yeah. Just set it down on the
counter.’

James hefted the trunk onto the countertop
next to the half-empty lemonade jug and stood back to watch as
Rolando began twirling the combination lock. It popped open with a
minute metallic
click
, and he raised the lid, revealing neat
rows of stacked bills. James pushed past him and began to lift the
bricks of cash, checking until he’d seen for himself that the
entire trunk really was full of them.

‘Alright,’ he said when he was satisfied,
‘let’s go.’

Rolando tipped his head at Marianna, who sat
huddled on the floor with her hands still tied behind her back,
secured by a colorful length of fabric that might have been a
scarf. ‘What are we gonna do about her? I’m pretty sure she’ll rat
us out to the cops if we just leave her.’

Marianna glared at her cousin balefully,
confirming his suspicion.

‘We take her with us,’ James said.

Rolando looked as surprised as Tiffany
felt.

‘The only other alternative would be to leave
her here tied to a bed or chair,’ James explained, ‘and I’m afraid
if we do that she’ll dehydrate before anyone stops by and finds
her. Besides, you have family in Mexico, Rolando. You can take her
to them.’

Rolando considered James’ proposal for a
moment before nodding. ‘I guess it’s our only choice.’

‘Alright then,’ James said. ‘We won’t be
making any stops between here and border, so if anyone’s got
anything they need to do, they should do it now.’

Ten minutes later, they were all installed in
the Saturn with James driving and Tiffany at his side while Rolando
and a quietly sulking Marianna sat in the back. ‘Will we make it in
time?’ Tiffany asked, glancing at the car’s digital clock.

James nodded. ‘We should.’

She relaxed against her seat and watched the
Texas scenery speed by, marveling at how flat it was, so unlike New
York. The sky faded to twilight as they drove. Compared to the long
drive from New York to the south, the journey to the lands nearing
the border seemed to take little time. ‘Only fifteen minutes,’
James said, glancing at the clock in satisfaction.

An agonizingly familiar wail pierced the
silence – a police siren.

Tiffany stiffened and gripped the edges of
her seat as red and blue lights flashed in the darkness behind
them, reduced to colorful pinpricks by distance. ‘Do you think the
police officer we dropped off at the border said something after
all?’ Panic welled up in her, and she looked to James for
reassurance. “If he did, police all over the country will know what
we’re driving.’

James shrugged. ‘I don’t know. It could be
that, or it could only be that I’m speeding. Either way, we can’t
stop now.’

‘Do you think we can get away?’ Tiffany
asked, casting a nervous glance over her shoulder at the far away
lights.

James pressed the accelerator hard to the
floor. ‘I don’t see why not,’ he said, flashing her a confident
smile. ‘We’ve done it before.’

Epilogue

The air smelled nearly as salty as the tiny
crystals on the rim of Tiffany’s glass tasted. She tipped her head
back, enjoying the sensation as the breeze combed through her
hair.

‘Nice, huh?’ James asked, leaning on the
balcony railing beside her.

She smiled at him over her margarita.
‘Gorgeous.’ It really was. The ocean stretched endlessly, a
brighter blue than any American waters she’d ever seen. The beach
was only a short walk from the villa they’d been renting for the
past month. The house was comfortable but modest. They could’ve
afforded something bigger, but they were both happy with their home
and they’d been doing their best to keep a low profile since their
escape from the states.

‘
¿Qué estás pensando?’
James
asked.

She flashed him another smile. She wasn’t a
Spanish expert yet, but she’d grown used to him asking her that one
–
what are you thinking
? Unfortunately, she wasn’t good
enough yet to answer in Spanish. ‘I was thinking about how we got
here.’

‘Oh yeah?’ He gazed at her thoughtfully,
turning his back on the ocean view. ‘What about it?’

She shrugged. ‘I don’t know. How different my
life is now than it was just five week ago, I guess.’

He laid a hand over hers and squeezed. ‘Are
you glad you came with me?’ His voice was casual, but she saw the
hint of nervousness in his eyes.

She couldn’t help but laugh. ‘
Claro que
si
. I’ve never been happier. Can’t you tell?’

He shrugged as a smile curved his full lips.
‘I didn’t know you before. Sometimes I worry you might get tired of
living with a fugitive.’

She wrapped her arms around his waist and
pressed her cheek against his chest. ‘Never. You’ll have to take me
back at gunpoint again if you ever want to get rid of me.’

He cupped her face between his hands and
raised it until she was looking directly into his eyes. ‘I don’t
ever want to get rid of you. I love you.’

Her heart flip-flopped. She and James had
been inseparable ever since she’d agreed to flee the country with
him, and the passion between them had anything but fizzled. She’d
felt cared for, special and even loved, but this was the first time
either of them had said it out loud. She pulled one of his hands
from her face and grasped it tightly as satisfaction welled in her
heart. ‘I love you too.’

He grinned. ‘I was hoping you’d say that,
because…’ He lowered his other hand from her face and dug into his
pocket. ‘I got you something today. Well, I got
us
something.’ He raised his fist and unfurled it, revealing its
contents for her inspection.

She gasped and was unable to repress a dopey
grin. Rings. There were two rings resting in the palm of his
hand.

‘I know it can’t be legal or anything,’ he
said, ‘but…’ He picked up the smaller of the two gold bands and
held it aloft. ‘I’m still yours. I’ll always be yours, Tiffany.
Will you be mine, forever?’

She raised her trembling left hand, ready for
the ring. ‘Yes.
Por siempre
.’ She’d tucked that phrase away
in her mind, hoping for a chance to use it.

He grinned back and slid the narrow gold band
onto her ring finger. The metal was warm from being kept in his
pocket, and the heat quickly spread throughout her entire body as
she admired it, relishing what it meant.

Forever.
Por siempre
. It sounded
perfect in both languages.

The larger ring still rested in his palm. She
took it from him and slid it onto his finger. Like hers, it was a
perfect fit. As soon as it was on, he wrapped his fingers around
hers and pulled her close. She parted her lips, expecting his kiss.
When his tongue slipped over hers, she opened her mouth a little
wider to receive it. A few minutes ago she’d said she’d never been
happier, but what she’d felt then paled in comparison to now.

###

About the Author

Ranae Rose lives on the US East Coast and is
an avid reader and writer who can’t resist a good love story, and
the hotter the better. To learn more about Ranae and her books,
please visit:
www.ranaerose.com

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reached at:
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