Broken Wings (A Romantic Suspense) (99 page)

He hands back the phone.

"Where are you now?" Jennifer asks when I press the phone to my ear.

I tell her roughly where we are, and she starts giving me directions. I feed them to Hawk.

Hawk

Now

I drum my fingers on the wheel as I drive.

I was expecting another gas station, but the safehouse turns out to be… a house. A quaint farmhouse, actually.

"It's green?" I say.

Alexis nods. "Yeah, she says it's the green one. We're in the right place."

We've been driving for maybe forty-five minutes. It's still daylight.

The house is low and broad, two floors, a farmhouse maybe fifty or sixty years old, big and airy with a wraparound porch and a peaked roof. Behind it there's a barn, and I drive around the back through tall grass, get out, and grunt as I haul the big doors open. Alexis and May emerge from the car and stand outside as I roll it in, close the doors, and join them in the backyard.
 

This was a working farm at some point, but now it's just tall grass as far as they eye can see, rolling and rolling up to a wall of corn so far away it's just a straight line of green from an artist's brush, dragged across the horizon.

"We're here," Alexis says into her phone. "Yeah, I'll call back. Yes. Thank you." She sighs. "She says there's clothes and supplies inside."

"Good."

There'd better be. We have nothing but the clothes on our backs and the contents of our pockets, so that'd be my wallet, a couple of phones, whatever Alexis is carrying, and I don't think May bothered to take her purse.

"Key's under a fake rock," Alexis sighs.

I walk beside her to look for it. I spot it immediately, draw out the key and walk up to the back door.

The kitchen is a little dated, and it's dark and smells faintly of mothballs and dust. I flick on the lights, though, and they work, and a ceiling fan starts turning. The place has air conditioning and it's blessedly cool inside. May walks through the kitchen while Alexis bolts the back door and leans on it, shaking.

I gather her up in my arms and she presses against me, shaking like a leaf.

Very, very softly, she begins to cry.

"It's okay," I murmur.

"Are we going to make it?" she whispers. "Is this it? Are we free?"

"I don't know."

Alexis wriggles in my arms and I loosen my grip. She turns around in my embrace, slides her arms around me and rests her head on my chest. She still has dried blood under her nails and there's a stain on her dress. Lance bled all over my arm. Just the thought of him and I want to choke the life out of him again. Alexis was right. I was going to kill him. I'd kill anyone who laid a hand on her like that. I'd kill them all.

"Why did you stop me?"

She knows instantly what I mean.

"He's your brother, Hawk. No matter what else he is, he’s your brother first."

"Yeah, he is."

She starts unbuttoning my shirt.

"What are you doing?"

"I can't stand seeing you walking around with his blood all over you."

She peels it back and tugs it loose from my waistband and I shrug it off. Alexis moves her hands to my chest, and traces the outline of the hawk tattoo spreading its wings across my body, smiling softly to herself.

"Have I told you I like this?"

"No," I murmur, "You didn't mention it."

"The tattoos are hot." She traces her nail over my shoulder, playing along the outline of feathers. "You're going to have to tell me what they all mean."

"Bow chick a wow wow," May says, in a sing-song voice.

Alexis shoves away from me and rounds on her sister.

"What are you doing?"

"Watching you guys get hot and heavy." She fans her face. "I think I've got the vapors."

Alexis scowls.

"I call the shower," May announces, and heads for the stairs. "If I can find the bathroom."

It turns out there's two, one on each floor. The house has a master suite on the second floor, with its own full bathroom.

"I'll wait my turn," I announce. "I'll take this room across the hall."

Alexis just looks at me.

"Get in here."

I pull the bedroom door shut. It's a big room, with a four poster bed, though it's not made up. Blankets and sheets rest, folded neatly, at the foot of the bed. Alexis steps out of her shoes, then slips the broad straps of her dress of her shoulders and it falls to the floor, leaving her blouse draped down just low enough to cover her hips.

She unbuttons that next and peels it off, looks at me with an almost nervous expression, and takes off her bra. Then she slips her underwear down, lifting one leg at a time to take them off, and walks into the bathroom, trembling all the way. It's the cold making her shake, must be. Already shirtless, I strip out of my suit pants and shoes and follow her in. The bathroom is as dated as the rest of the house, odd colors and funky 70s wallpaper with little roses, but it's clean even if it's cramped.

Alexis, buck-ass naked, bends over in front of me and leans on the edge of the tub as she turns on the water, and lets it flow on her wrist. Gooseflesh stands up on her arms. As she stands, I savor the sight of her body, the lush swell of her hips, the sweeping arch of her back, a hint of her full breasts from behind as she stands and watches the water flow. It feels like cheating to glance at the mirror and see her soft nipples starting to harden from the chill, or maybe they're getting hard because of me. I step closer behind her and she leans into my chest as steam starts to swirl around us. I put my arms around her waist, and feel her stomach under my palm. She holds her hand out and grabs a bar of soap from the holder. The water turns pink as she scrubs her hands clean. I take it and clean mine.

Lifting one foot, she steps into the tub, under the hot spray, and turns to face me, water cascading down her body, streaming from her breasts, wetting the soft dark hair between her legs. I step in after her and pull the curtain around us, surrounding us with the hot steam.

Outside hot humid air is torture, but in here it fills my nostrils with every breath and I start to feel clean. Alexis steps beside me to stand right under the spray and I stand behind her, letting the water flow down her back and onto my chest. She gasps as she feels me getting hard against her back, and I sweep my hands up her stomach and cup her breasts. Alexis molds against me and breathes softly, her hair growing heavy with water.

"Wash my hair," she says. There's a bottle of shampoo on the shelf, next to the soap. I take it but she says, "Wait."

She turns off the water and turns the lever, turns it on again and starts to fill the tub.

I sit down, and Alexis lowers herself to sit in front of me, my cock sliding along her back as she settles against me and lays back, and the tub starts to fill. Now that the water is off, we both start to shiver, Alexis quivering against me. The water rises almost too hot around our legs, then over her chest, and she reaches up with her foot and shuts it off with her toes. She sits up and leans forward, then I sit up behind her and squeeze out a big handful of shampoo and start working it into her hair.

She closes her eyes and makes a soft contented sound as I work my fingers over her scalp. Her hair is so thick and rich, even when it's wet. I take my time, until the shampoo has thoroughly worked in, and let it sit while I knead and massage her shoulders. I can feel the tension in her muscles. She yawns and leans back, and I start pulling the shampoo out of her hair with long strokes of my fingers and use a plastic cup to pour water over her head, taking my time to rinse it out.

Alexis shivers every time I touch her.

After what feels like hours, her hair is clean and soap floats on top of the water. She lets the stopper out and stands up, water streaming off her body. After she steps out I rise and follow her, taking a towel from the shelf to wrap around her. She sits on a little bench by the door and I use another one to dry her hair, ignoring the water clinging to my own body. As I scrub the towel on her head, Alexis turns and looks up at me, leans over, and takes my cock in her mouth.

I freeze, a shock running down my legs. She just holds the tip between her lips and sucks a little, then gently lets it slide free of her mouth, putting a little kiss on the very tip before she leans back. She stands and her towel slips to the floor, and walks out of the bathroom naked.

I follow, and watch. She spreads the sheets on the bed, stuffs the pillows into their pillowcases, all the while nude, then rolls onto the bed and lays there, legs spread wide, and arches her back as she slips her arms behind her head and looks at me expectantly.

I dive onto the bed and kiss her, hard, slipping my arms around her. She's so hungry, her kiss anxious and demanding, moving to keep our lips together as I pull back, meaning to break the kiss and go for her soft silky throat, feel her skin on my lips. Instead I settle my weight on top of her and feel her breathing. It tickles my lips as I slide my tongue over hers and she makes soft, contented sounds. I could do this for a while, just feel her still damp skin on mine, the soft press of her breasts, the heat of her stomach against the underside of my shaft. Her hand snakes between us and her delicate fingers wrap around my cock, and she lets the skin slip through her grasp, stroking me.

"Careful," I murmur. "Don't want it on your stomach."

"I know where I want it," she purrs.

"Not yet," I whisper, and kiss along the curve of her jaw. "I want a taste first."

"I'm ready now."

"I know. I want to taste it."

She groans as I shift my weight down, and lay wet kisses on her shoulders, tasting the warmth of her body. She looks so fresh and beautiful with her damp hair spread out on the bed and her pale skin growing flushed with heat as her arousal grows. I take my time, working down her arm, hinting that I'm going to go for her breasts and not delivering. I look up at her and see the anticipation in her expression as I press my lips to her side, just along the outer curve of her breast, working my way inwards. I look up and savor the way her head lifts from the pillow and the open mouthed look of need as I delicately take her nipple between my lips, running my tongue around it, feel it stiffen even more.

She grabs my head and holds it still as I suck a little harder, a little harder, then hard enough to make her gasp and her legs jerk under me. A little groan bubbles out of her throat. An eager, naughty look on her face meets my gaze as I look up at her and begin kissing down her stomach, pressing her legs apart.

All at once I slip down and open my mouth over her pussy and slowly, very lightly pull my tongue over her lips, tasting the heat of her arousal. Alexis moans and bucks her hips, but I pull back, keeping my touch light. Then I do it again, and again, and she starts to writhe in time with my motions, her arms spread on the bed, her head pressed into the pillow. She closes her eyes and I slip my hands under her ass and squeeze as I lick harder, faster, savoring the taste and the wet on my chin. I have her legs pinned down and I feel them tense, trying to lock around me, keep me from leaving. No need for that, I'm not going anywhere.

"Oh, Hawk," she purrs, slipping her fingers into my hair.

Her voice spurs me on. I feel her opening up, growing hot. I press my face into her mound and lick faster, her taste overpowering on my tongue, driving me onward. I slip my finger inside her, a shudder passing through me at the wet, tight heat surrounding my finger, pulsing with her pleasure.

"Hawk, do it now."

"Not yet."

"Please!"

"Not yet."

She moans and tugs on my hair with both hands, but I fight free and keep licking. She's growing closer, I can feel it. She gets her legs out from under me and puts her feet on my back, squeezing her thighs around my head, her stomach tensing as she sits up, her body curling around me.

I push loose of her strong legs and throw myself on top of her, meeting the look of shock on her face with my own hunger, kissing her with her juices on my chin as I thrust inside her. I ram it into her tight, hot pussy to the root, bury myself all in one fast, rough stroke, and Alexis moans into my mouth and her body grips me hard as she digs her heels into my thighs and scratches the back of my neck.

She twists loose from my kiss and licks her lips.

"I love you. Now fuck the shit out of me, you big lummox."

I fuck her so hard I fear I must be hurting her, but she eggs me on with her heels, her lips, her teeth. She bites my shoulder and moans in pleasure as I thrust harder in reply, the strength of my body driving into her, my cock a raging red hot bar, filling her blazing silken walls, tightening around me. One bite isn't enough, she mauls my shoulder, trailing red hot bites towards my neck, and draws long, red scratches down my back that drive me to ram into her harder until the headboard thumps into the wall and I feel like I’m going to fucking explode. She bucks under me, ramming against me.

"Get on your back."

I roll over and pull her with me. She rises up, rakes her nails down my chest and bounces, rising and ramming herself down on my cock, leaning forward as she closes her eyes and her expression pinches in a pleasure almost like agony, her breath in ragged gasps. I pull her down and begin thrusting into her from below, faster, deeper than before, holding her against me, her body rippling with heat and pleasure, and she cries out into my shoulder.

I can't fucking take it, but somehow I hold back, a crushing pressure in my own body as she thrashes and thrashes and thrashes, and just when I think she's going to go calm, she bucks and breaks loose of my embrace, rises, and pushes down on me hard, grinning and turning her hips in slow circles.

I can't help it anymore. I explode inside her, rising up, lifting her off the bed so she has to grab my arms to steady herself. It's like it goes on forever, unleashing a hot wet torrent inside her. Alexis grins and sits hard in my lap, holding my pulsing, throbbing rod inside her as I grip the sheets and she squeezes me dry.

I spread out on the bed. Alexis flops forward and lays on me, but doesn't move. I'm still inside her.