Retribution (18 page)

“You liked that.” it wasn’t
a question.

“I really did.” She took a
deep breath, “I would like to do that again.” She blinked her eyes
wide. “That was amazing!”

He smiled and shifted his
weight to the side. His finger traced a path down her neck, between
her breasts until he rested a hand on her flat abdomen. “We can, in
a moment.”

“Is something wrong?” she
shifted her head to look at him.

He had a bittersweet smile
on his face when he met her worried gaze. “Not with you. I’ve
crossed a line here.”

“I started it.”

His eyes searched hers. “It
started before then.”

“Have you done this
before?”

He shook his head
slowly.

“It’s something else then,
isn’t it?”

“You’re very
perceptive.”

“Are you going to tell
me?”

“No. Not yet.”

Her hand came up and
brushed his stubbly jaw. “I’m here. I’m a good listener.” Again the
bittersweet smile appeared on his handsome face.

“You were a virgin.” He
changed the subject.

Ah, how could he know? “Was
it obvious?”

“No, you seemed experienced
until I felt the barrier. I would have taken it easier on you.” He
paused and looked quite amused with his thoughts. “Well, I could
have tried. We were on fire—rough and hot like that.”

“I’ll take that as a
compliment.” Her face flushed bright red. “And I don’t want you to
take it easy on me.” She wanted him how he was, raw and aggressive,
just like everything else about him.

He chuckled. “Definitely a
compliment.” Then his expression became serious. “This changes
things.”

“How so?”

“I’m feeling oddly
possessive for one.” He wouldn’t have ever taken it that far if
he’d known about her chastity. As it was, she was ready for him;
wet as hell. This was uncharted territory for him. How she could be
so beautiful and remain untouched was beyond him. Yet, she gave
herself to him and only him. He couldn’t have her care about him,
but he knew it was too late.

She smiled. “I like
that.”

“I meant,” he looked down
at her, “This could make things more dangerous. I have to stay
focused. Emotion getting in the way compromises this.”

“You care for me too, don’t
you?”

“I do, or we’d never gotten
this far,” he admitted reluctantly.

Her heart leapt around in
her chest. She didn’t expect him to answer. She actually expected
him to sidestep the conversation. Something, she was discovering,
that he was good at. She slipped her fingers into his hair and
tugged his mouth to hers.

He moved on top of her
pulling her thighs over his hips and made love to her slowly this
time. Something he should have done in the beginning. She was
slender and flexible, so he took his time memorizing every inch of
her, caressing her, arousing her, until she started begging. Oh, he
could definitely get used to that. She had the sexiest voice when
pleading.

The next morning she awoke
with a heavy weight on her. It took her a moment to focus. It was
big, warm, hard, and muscular.

Ryan.

He was still sleeping, half
across her, naked, warm and heavy. They were facing each other and
she took a moment to study him. She was in heaven. Nothing ever
made her feel like this. She watched him. Even in sleep he was as
handsome as the devil. She turned her head and looked at the clock.
It was just after five am. She was sure he got up to jog around
this time. She couldn’t move if she wanted to. He had her trapped
beneath his big body. Not that she wanted to move. She felt so
secure and comfortable.

At that moment he stirred
and opened his eyes.

“Hi,” she murmured shyly.
She was blushing.

“Different the next morning
isn’t it?”

“It is. I’m feeling quite
shy.”

“Any regrets?”

“No, not yet.”

“Good to hear.” He lifted
his head and looked at the clock. She took the opportunity to look
at him again, and unconsciously ran her tongue over her bottom lip.
His grey eyes focused back on her and saw the movement and his
finger went to her mouth and a playful expression crossed his face.
“Down, girl.”

She actually
giggled.

For him, it was refreshing.
She seemed completely relaxed even after what had happened
yesterday. “Shower, get dressed, and lets go for a run. We both
smell like sex, and anyone can look at your just-fucked hair and
know what I’ve done to you.”

His bluntness had her
laughing again. “Join me.”

“Ah, what have I
created?”

“Yes, it is completely your
fault. Please.”

One of his brows rose.
“Begging? I could get used to that.”

Her expression turned
saucy.

This time he chuckled. “All
right. Go get wet, and I’ll join you in a moment.”

Her eyes brightened and she
scrambled out of bed to go do what he asked.

After she left, he moved
over and sat up on the side of the bed. He looked toward the open
door to her room, then ran his hands over his face.

What the fuck are you
doing, Ryan?

This is so unfair to her.
He was letting emotion get in the way, and this was interfering
with everything. He couldn’t help it. She was unlike anyone he’d
ever met, and undeniably incredible in bed. That was a surprise
especially knowing now that she never had sex before. It was
uncanny how open she was. Yet, here he was, possessive, and
emotionally attached because of it. He didn’t have relationships,
ever. There were too many risks, and he didn’t like attachments.
Yet, she was unlike any woman he’d ever known, and he was the only
one she’d ever been with. It shouldn’t affect him so deeply, but it
did.

He lifted his head and
looked toward the open door again. He could hear the shower running
and he already had an erection from just imagining that beautiful
body getting soaped up. He stood up and headed through the door
pulled by some unknown force. By the time he stepped in next to
her, he was hard as granite. He turned her around so she faced the
glass and fucked her from behind. He couldn’t get close enough,
deep enough in this woman. Her harsh pants of pleasure sent him
over the edge. He could feel her tightening around him as her
orgasm hit. Then his own, and it was primal as hell and sexy as
fuck. You’d think he hadn’t been laid in a month. His arm moved
under her breasts and he pulled her back against him, so he could
whisper in her ear. “I’m looking forward to the things I’m going to
teach you.”

She sighed and nodded, too
spent to disagree. She knew she would be sore after that, but it
was well worth it.

He reached by her and
turned off the shower.

She turned around and faced
him.

He lowered his head and
kissed her; it was slow and affectionate.

“Are we still going for a
run?” she murmured.

He smiled down at her. “Do
you honestly think we need the exercise now after that
marathon?”

“I don’t even know if I can
stand, let alone run, so, no.”

He laughed. “Careful
darling, my ego is big enough.” He stepped out of the shower,
retrieved a towel from the rack and slung it around his hips. He
then grabbed another and dried her off slowly.

She loved it. It was almost
as if he was cherishing her, and she never knew that feeling
before.

“Lift your
foot.”

She did and he dried it,
then the other. Finally he stood, tossed the towel over his
shoulder instead of around her, placed his hands on his hips, and
looked down the length of her. She stood there, naked, trying her
best not to feel self-conscious. Really though, his eyes held
something akin to deep appreciation, so how could she? He made her
feel so beautiful with that look. “Are you quite done?” She tilted
her head and narrowed her eyes.

His gaze met hers and a
sexy smile spread across his handsome face. It was that playful
look again. Yes, he could certainly get used to this. “Get dressed,
I’m hungry.”

“I think you say that a
lot.”

“I do. Now I have another
appetite.”

She sighed heavily. “We’re
in trouble, aren’t we Ryan? This is wrong in so many
ways.”

He pulled her naked body
against his and lowered his forehead onto hers. “Like I said, I
think that started awhile back.” He kissed the tip of her nose.
“This one is on me anyway. I shouldn’t have crossed that line, but
I did. I’ll protect you with everything I have.”

“I know you will. I trust
you.”
But who’s going to protect me from
you
? she thought to herself.

“Get dressed,” he repeated
and slapped her ass before he left her alone.

“You’re too bossy,” she
called after him. Her answer was a deep chuckle.

He was bossy, and she would
be resistant as always, but she did get dressed because rebelling
by walking around the house naked, just didn’t work for
her.

She walked back into his
room as he was doing up his tie. He was so immaculate. She felt her
body tingle just remembering how he felt. What if her father does
something to him? What if he does something to both of them? She
had a whole new world of stress to deal with. Ryan was right, they
crossed a line. The consequences if her father found out would be
catastrophic. “What’s going to happen to us, Ryan?”

He approached her while
smoothing his tie, cupped her face and tilted her head up placing
his forehead on hers. “I don’t know, but let’s get out of here
after breakfast so you can breathe for a bit.”

“Where? Can we go to the
gravel pit again?”

“Anywhere you want, but
just you and me this time. We don’t need an audience. I’ll get a
car from your father.”

She would love
that.

Only they didn’t make it.
The car Ryan was driving was suddenly t-boned by an older SUV. It
came out of nowhere.

Shortly before that, he’d
seen the familiar sedan following him at a distance about ten
minutes after they left the house, then it disappeared around a
corner. It hadn’t reappeared yet, but something was up.

“Ryan?” He’d suddenly
become serious and she remembered that same demeanor when they had
breakfast after she registered for her semester. Something was
wrong.

He didn’t
answer.

“Ryan. What is it? And
don’t lie to me.”

He really didn’t want to
tell her. He sighed heavily. “We’re being followed.”

She stiffened and looked
behind them. “I don’t’ see anything.”

“They’ve gone, for now.” He
suspected they were still being tailed though.

“Oh…God,” she whispered
softly.

“I won’t let anything
happen to you.” he flicked a sideways glance at her. “Do you got
that?”

She nodded quickly doing
her best not to freak out.

He drove around for a while
longer, to see if he was being tailed. Then the SUV burst out of a
side road, striking the side of the car. The older vehicle was made
of metal, and a had big bull bar on the front. The sports car Ryan
was driving was just modern fiberglass. The impact was catastrophic
and crumpled Ryan’s side like brittle plastic. The explosion of
airbags deafened him right before he lost consciousness.

When he came to, he was
disorientated but was able to figure out they were upside down
still in the car, so he couldn’t have been out too long. He could
smell gas, antifreeze, and burning rubber. There were faint voices
approaching the wreck and knew they didn’t have any time to get
away. He reached over and shook Katya to see if she was alive. To
his relief, she moaned, but he couldn’t see how badly she was hurt.
There was a noise outside of the vehicle, boots on gravel. Now,
beside his shattered window. He turned his head to see. Next thing,
a face appeared; dark skinned with a birthmark. Then he saw the
Taser. Before he could react, everything went black.

***

His senses were a mess and
his head was spinning. A loud ringing in his ears made him know
that his head took a substantial knock from the accident. He gave
his head a shake to try and dispel the sound and force the
blackness away, with it came a pounding pain in his temples. He
groaned. A concussion.

Where was he?

Then he remembered the
Taser.

Katya!

He tried moving, but he
could feel his wrists and feet were immobile. His fingers touched
metal. They were handcuffs.

It took him a moment to
notice that he was sitting, upright in a chair. It certainly didn’t
help the dizziness he was experiencing. A wave of nausea swirled in
his gut. Shit, he was a mess.

“He’s waking
up.”

It was a male voice, heavy
accented. The blackness started to fade, and then came a blinding
light when he tried opening his eyes. They were spotlighting him so
he couldn’t see anything. He felt a sharp pain above his right eye
and the familiar warm feeling of blood oozing down the side of his
face. Most likely that was from the accident.