Stripped Defenseless (12 page)

Kade
didn’t waste time following her orders. He stripped the lace down her legs and
watched as she lazily kicked it to the side. His heart raced unsteadily when
she lifted her leg over his hip, giving him better access.

Oh,
hell. Did he have a condom?

With
the greatest of care, he leaned back and opened the nightstand beside the bed,
just behind him. He couldn’t see a thing, but his fingers finally reached the
unopened box he kept there.

After
tugging his boxers down just enough to slide the rubber on, he fingered her
again, making sure she was still ready for him.

“Mmm,”
she responded and ran her fingers back around his head and through his hair.
“Fuck me.”

Good
enough.

Kade
found her pussy with his hard length and slid into her slick tightness. If he wasn’t
going to burn in hell already, he might after this. But damn it, he needed her.
He needed Ava.

* * * * *

Ava
felt him enter but didn’t bother to open her eyes. Waking up to a man like Kade
was a fantasy she’d had for a long time. But she never imagined it would feel
this good.

As
he slowly drove in and out of her from behind, Ava wrapped her leg around him
tighter. His thick cock brushed past her butt cheeks as it plodded steady,
curving upward as he moved into her pussy. Pressing against her walls. Finding
new and undiscovered areas to tantalize.

One
of his hands gripped her hip while the other reached around and firmly stroked
her sensitive clit.

Her
eyes fluttered as his pubic bone hit her anus, stirring a new sensation that
prickled her skin and sent her reeling. “Oh, oh.” She leaned back against his
hard chest.

“Yes.”
His minty warm breath brushed her cheek. “Come for me, baby.”

He
thrust up almost taking her onto his lap, his cock pressing into her G-spot.
She cried out and bore down on him, attempting to return the favor. Clenching
her muscles as tight as possible, she shoved off him and then let him slam back
in.

She
opened her eyes, but the room was blurry. It was just the two of them in the
throes of passion. In a hazy euphoria, Ava pressed her ass against him.
Anything he wanted, he could have. She wanted to give him every part of her.

He
swore and pulled out. “Ava. God, honey, I need you closer. I can’t get enough
of you. Never enough.” There was growl of desperation in his voice as he grabbed
her hips, shoved her onto her back, and wedged his solid body between her
thighs.

“Have
me,” she whispered, ignoring the cotton feel of her throat and her weighted
eyelids.

The
hard lines of his face were rigid as he guided himself into her welcoming pussy.
His movements were slow, tender, deliberate.

She
caressed his ass, pulling him forward, wanting him deep. His cock crammed her
innermost walls, and he carefully prodded her there, tapping and teasing. His
lovemaking was gentle and loving. Different. All the same, the familiar heated
pressure built in her core. She dragged in a breath and smelled sex, piney
soap, and him.

His
nostrils flared, and perspiration dampened his forehead as he dipped down and
kissed her lips. “This won’t be the last time I fuck you.” He tugged at her
bottom lip with his teeth. “I promise you that.”

His
words mixed with his steady, provocative rhythm pulsed through her thighs, her
belly... and into her heart as she lazily met his intense stare.

He
skimmed a hand down the curve of her hips, then lifted her leg over his thigh.
He wetted his finger with her juices and slipped it back to her sensitive anus.
There, he circled and nudged.

Prickles
of delight shot through her core, and she whimpered his name.

“I
want to feel every inch of you, Ava.” His warm breath rustled in her ear. “Do
you see how much I need you?” He dipped his slippery finger into her taut
puckered entrance, jolting her pussy.

“Oh,
God, yes.” Her voice was hoarse, but nothing mattered at that moment but the
crackling pleasure buzzing and building in her womb.

She
cradled his stubbly cheeks with her hands and let him see how he affected her.
Gasping at the intimate invasion, she threw her head back and arched up to meet
him.

His
breathing was heavy and strained against her ear. “Such a tight pretty ass,
Ava. It’s mine. Every inch of you is mine.”

She
was aware of every sensation. Tingling and spiraling. Her aching nipples as
they hardened and scraped against his chest. His finger where no other man had
explored, matching the pumping rhythm of his powerful cock.

He
could have her there. Anywhere he wanted.

Her
mouth hung open as she gasped for air. The overwhelming pressure coiling,
burning, like a ball of flames licking and blazing up through her abdomen and
down through her thighs. Until it exploded, splintering blissfully to every
nerve in her body. She cried out and held tight to his damp muscles, her
fingers digging into his solid flesh.

“Kade.”
His name echoed through the room and into her heart.

“Yes,
baby. God, you’re squeezing me so tight. So fucking tight.” He gripped her hips
as he drove into her one last time and then let his weight fall on her body as
he quaked and trembled. His lips pressed to her cheek and then her forehead.

Ava
accepted the kisses, quickly reeling down from the ecstasy. Exhausted and
utterly sated, her body relaxed and her eyes grew heavy.

She
closed them and drifted off again.

* * * * *

Kade
cursed himself as he swung the ax up and over his head, splitting the log in
two. There was already a large pile of firewood at his disposal that he’d
prepared before the snow came in. But this was the only way he knew how to take
out his frustration.

Not
only would she hate him now, she’d accuse him of taking advantage of her. And
he couldn’t deny it. He’d tricked her, deceived her, and used her.

Fuck.
He’d fallen in love with her.

And
it wouldn’t be long before he saw firsthand how much he had hurt her.

From
the corner of his eye, he noticed the shade from his bedroom window move.

Here
it goes.

He
swung the ax down one more time, lodging it deep into the stump.

* * * * *

Ava
looked around the room bewildered and groggy. She combed her fingers through
her tangled hair and rubbed at her throbbing temples. Where was she? Better
yet, how had she gotten here?

The
room was mostly filled with the large log bed covered with white sheets and a
brown down comforter. A small fireplace took up part of one wall. In the corner
was a wooden nightstand and a matching dresser stood a few feet from that.
Everything was rustic and homemade.

As
well as the walls that contained them. Logs. A log cabin.

Noise
from outside the window had her running to it. She peeked through the side of
the shade and saw Kade cutting wood.

This
was his home. His bed?

And
she was naked. How could this be? Flustered, she let the window-covering drop
and searched for her clothes.

The
night before, she was in the hotel with Kade.

The
painkillers.
They
had knocked her out.

“Ava,”
he called, and she heard a door shut in the other room.

Panic
rose in her throat and flushed her skin. What the hell was going on?

“Your
clothes are on the side of the bed. Come out when you’re dressed. Please.”

Her
mouth was parched and her tongue stuck to the roof, but she didn’t want to
answer him anyway. She didn’t want to give him an excuse to see her standing
there dumbfounded and helpless.

She
grabbed her clothes and shoved them on piece by piece. They were the same
articles she’d left in her hotel room. A pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Her
backpack was lying up against the wall.

How
could she not remember anything? It was almost as if she...if she were...

Did
he drug her and bring her here?

There
had to be a puzzle piece missing. Kade wasn’t dangerous. He wouldn’t hurt her.
No, she hadn’t known him more than a few days, but she had sensed it.

You
should’ve listened to your intuition, Ava.
She remembered the words he’d said to her. At the time
she thought he was just being a noncommittal jerk-off. Not a psychopathic
kidnapper. How could she possibly have known? She’d been wrong about the
intentions of a man before.

Her
shoes were nowhere to be found. Shit. How would she run without those? There
was at least two feet of snow out there.

She
didn’t have a choice other than to face him and find out what the hell was
going on. Her legs wobbled and her stomach rumbled as she took the steps needed
to walk into the next room.

A
brown leather sofa sat in front of a burning fireplace. A small wooden table
with two chairs sat behind it. A bookshelf against the wall. An enormous
rolling desk. The front door. Farther, in a separate area, bordered off by a
half wall was the kitchen. It was tiny, especially with Kade’s width and height
taking up most of it.

He
wore a blue and beige flannel shirt and jeans. His face drained of color as he
walked toward her with a plastic cup in his hand.

“I
thought you could use some water.” He handed her the cup but didn’t meet her
eyes.

Guilty
as sin. Bastard.

Ava
took a desperately needed sip and scanned the room for something sharp or
blunt. Nothing. It was sparsely decorated with only the essential furniture.

“This
is my home,” he said with a shaky voice.

“No
shit.” She tightened her grip on the cup. “Did you drug me?”

 His
Adam’s apple rose and fell. Still no eye contact.

“Did
you?” she repeated as her heart sank.

“I
had to.”

It
was true then. Suddenly sadness transformed to rage. He’d betrayed her. Lied to
her. Without further thought, she threw the cup of water at him.

He
caught it, but not before the liquid soaked his shirt.

“Why?”
she yelled at him but wasn’t sure she wanted the answer.

“I’m
sorry. I didn’t have a choice.”

“Why?”
she asked again as her heart began to break, remembering how she’d trusted him.
How she’d fantasized about sharing a life with him.

“It’s
what I do. Or did. I might not find another job after bringing you here instead
of delivering you to...” His voice trailed off and he drew out a breath.

“To?”
She urged him on but deep down she knew the answer. He worked for Zack. She
should have realized it from the beginning. How naïve she’d been. A mysterious
and handsome man walking into that seedy strip joint and paying a simple, jaded
stripper special attention? It just didn’t happen.

His
ruggedly toned and muscular body wasn’t that of an average man traveling
through town for his mundane career. And his evasive behavior should have rung
some serious bells.

Why
had she been so easily seduced by him? Why hadn’t she asked him more questions
about his life? Why had she let herself believe she had feelings for him? That
he had them for her?

She
caught her breath as his clear blue eyes finally met hers. Her stupid intuition
told her they read sad, regretful and caring. But she refused to believe it.
She couldn’t trust anything about him.

He’d
deceived and exposed her.

“To
Zack,” she answered for him, holding back the tears he didn’t deserve. “He’s
coming here then? When...when will he be here?” she asked, her voice unstable.

There
was no point in playing around with the possibility of Kade’s innocence. Sadly,
he’d been on Zack’s team the entire time, and the mere thought hurt like hell.
The man she thought she’d been falling in love with didn’t exist. Her
imagination had allowed her to mold him into her hero...her salvation. Once
again, she’d been duped. How completely pathetic.

“It’s
not what you think.” He set the cup on the table and walked past her into the
bedroom.

Ava
followed and watched as he removed his wet shirt and hung it on one of the
posts standing from the bed. Flashes of the passion they had shared in that
same room ran through her mind. He’d made love to her here. Before she knew.
Before she was fully awake.

She
felt woozy and breathless, as if someone had ripped into her stomach and
drained the air out of her lungs. He had used her. She’d trusted him and given
him every bit of herself, and he’d exploited her naivety for his own benefit.

He’d
taken something from her, and she wanted it back.

As
he was opening his dresser drawer, Ava ran at him with a vengeance. With
swiftness she hadn’t anticipated, he turned toward her but didn’t defend
himself as she beat her fists against his chest. He didn’t budge. He didn’t
hurt. She needed to do something else. She needed him to feel her agony. Her
heartbreak.