The Condemned (23 page)

    
He paused, watching her and though a few minutes ago she had had plenty that she’d wanted to say when he hadn’t given her the chance, she now found herself staring at him, speechless. The things he
was saying were so beautiful,
though she wasn’t entirely sure what exquisi
te meant, so heartfelt.

    
She found herself wanting to believe him, wanting to
accept these things and to be swept up in the moment. The only thing that stopped her throwing herself into his arms was the small, rational part of her mind that insisted love was far too dangerous a game for her to play. To allow someone to love her was setting them up for pain, misery and most likely death.

    
Besides, that wasn’t all he’d said.

     
‘What do you mean you couldn’t leave me there?’

    
If he felt anything about the way she had chosen to ignore his revelation and instead ask for more explanation his face didn’t betray it and he answered her without missing a beat.

     
‘I was gonna get you out.’ He tilted his head to one side slightly and grinned, the gesture gave him a mischievous, boyish quality and she couldn’t help smiling back at him.

     
‘You were gonna get me out huh?’ Her tone
was playfully
disbelieving.

     
‘Yeah.’ H
e nodded. ‘I stole some plans for
the building, studied em for hours, days, ‘til I knew the layout of the place off by heart, the service doors and the shift switch times
;
when it would be easier to get you out. I almost came into the cell to say somethin’ to you a coupla times but it was too risky, I couldn’t have spoken to you without takin’ off the hood, which would’ve risked you burning me before I had a chance to speak and would’ve
just
raised too many
questions with them if I’d been seen or caught.’

    
Leci could barely believe what she was hearing.

     
‘I planned it and planned it for so fucking long I should’ve just gotten on with it. Was gonna switch shifts so that I ended up working a night one, when it’s quieter and you were pretty much left alone and that’s when I was gonna do it. Only I messed up and like a fucking idiot I left the plans out by accident. They tort- they got me to confess everything and then they threw me in the cell across from you,
rubbing my nose in my failure, s
howing me that I’d be spending the rest of my miserable life that damn close to you but not able to do a thing about it.’

    
He shook his head, he looked angry, disgusted with himself and though she didn’t love him and she doubted that she’d ever let herself, she felt overcome by something that she couldn’t name.

    
He had risked everything, his life included, to save a girl he barely knew, to save
her
and though she didn’t feel she owed him anything she still felt he deserved thanks, recognition for what he had tried to do, he should know how grateful she was to him.

    
The only problem this raised was the fact that in her entire life Alecia had only ever known one way to thank a man for anything
.
To
her this situation was no different from any other and it raised no moral issues for her; she did not
question what she was about to do, it didn’t occur to her that it would probably cause him more hurt than pleasure in the long run.

    
Her reasoning that he had earned a reward for his efforts was enough to
allow her to
give him what
it was
she thought he wanted
,
without expecting anything in return. In her mind she had only one thing to offer a man. This wasn’t an acknowledgement of low self esteem or feelings of worthlessness, she really just didn’t feel there was anything else she had to use as currency other than her sexuality and this didn’t bother her in the slightest, she had no scruples regarding this particular area. She would give him all that she could in an effort to even the score between them.

    
Without a word she leaned forwards, raising one hand to his face, she cupped his cheek in her palm and softly turned his head so that he was looking at her, she held his gaze and there was no need for words; they both knew what was going to happen.

    
He reached up to her and she felt his fingers in her hair, gripping tightly, she didn’t resist when he pulled her down until she lay on her back on the couch. He moved with her, straddling her legs and kneeling above her
,
before leaning over and touching his lips to hers, softly at first but with a deep hunger that they both felt. She pulled her hands free and slid them around his neck, one resting against
his nape while she ran the fingers of the other through his hair, twisting it, tugging it gently, playing with it in a way she’d wanted to do since she’d first seen it, matted and damp, curling over the collar of that silly flame resistant suit.

    
Leci whimpered softly against his mouth, giving in to the urgency that had overcome her, using the hand at his neck to hold him close, pressing him down against her. She grinned against him, her teeth found his lower lip and she nipped him playfully,
she
felt the hand at the back of her head tighten its grip on her hair and tug sharply when she bit down.

    
Her head pulled back and she gasped for air while his lips moved along the curve of her jaw to her ear, he sucked the lobe into his mouth and she shivered, closing her eyes and allowing her other senses to experience the moment for her.

    
The weight of him against her chest lifted as he tugged her shirt over her head and tossed it across the room
,
and then his hands and lips and tongue were on her; stroking, licking, biting, sucking.
He probed and explored
her body, alternately caressing her gently and kneading her roughly.

    
She felt his fingers at her waist and raised her hips slightly to accommodate him while he tugged at her jeans, she wriggled free of them and they flew off in vaguely the same direction her shirt had gone in.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him; sat astride her, he was staring down at her with a wildness in his eyes that made
her heart beat faster. She could sense his hunger, his need, could feel the desire radiating from him and loved the way her body responded to it. She felt as though her skin was electrified by his touch, tingling beneath his fingertips, the ache in her groin was so intense it almost hurt, the longing to be close, to be intimate after so much loneliness was close to overpowering.

    
Leci reached out and fingered the bottom of his shirt, tugging it, she gave him a coy pout and he took the hint, discarding the
top
and lowering himself back down to her. She slid her arms around his back, running her hands over his smooth, muscled body.

    
He nuzzled into her neck and
kissed down to her shoulder,
his teeth clamped around her skin
, testing at first and then harder and finally sinking
into her flesh
,
she cried out and arched her back, her chest pressing against his and at the same time her fingers hooking into claws and her nails raking up his spine; leaving raw furrows in their wake.

     The pain in her shoulder wasn’t an unpleasant one, it was sharp and made her feel alive for the first time in a long while.

    
Amato slipped his arms beneath her and sat up again, pulling her with him, holding her tightly against his body. Her lips found his and she tasted blood, her blood, as she sucked his tongue into her mouth.

    
He managed to struggle out of his pants and lifted her into his lap, she wrapped her legs around his waist, poised above him, could feel his tip pressing against her, driven almost crazy by the throbbing
need
, the craving to feel him inside of her, filling her. She broke away from this kiss and met his eyes, pressed her forehead against his, the tip of her nose lightly touching his. He held her around the waist, keeping her suspended, teasing her. She snapped her teeth at his lips but missed purposely and grinned
when he playfully spanked her ass in return
,
she spoke in
barely a whisper, the tone of her voice had a pleading quality that conveyed her need, she was almost begging him to put her out of her misery.

     
‘Fuck me.’

    
Amato smirked and yanked her down hard, onto him, she cried out as he impaled her, felt his thickness driving into her core and clenched herself around him, hugging him inside of her, her legs wrapped tightly around him, pulling him against her, her feet pushing him deeper inside.

He lowered her down until she was laying on the couch again, she lifted her hands above her head and clung onto the armrest as he pounded into her relentlessly, battering her insides.

    
One of his hands roamed her chest, squeezing her breasts so roughly it almost brought tears to her eyes and she was sure she’d have bruises tomorrow. His other hand reached up, she thought for a second he was going to touch her face or tug
at her hair again but instead he hovered over her throat.

    
He looked down at her and she gazed back up at him, then felt his fingers close around her neck, gently at first but more tightly as he gripped.

    
Leci gasped in shock, sucking in air as it became more difficult to breathe and she fought briefly, writhing beneath him, lifting her hand to his and trying to pry his fingers away. Amato brushed her hand away and leaned down over her, mashing his lips to hers. She forgot that she had been fighting, found that she didn’t really want to and she hungrily met his kiss, struggled to pull oxygen through her nose and into her constricted airway and felt herself growing more lightheaded and dizzy than she had been already due to the gin.

    
He pulled away from her lips but kept the pressure on her throat. The edges of her vision swam yellow and she heard a ringing sound in her ears but at the same time her body seemed to have entered a state of heightened sensitivity. Amato’s tongue, teasing her nipples, sent shivers of ecstasy through her and with each thrust she felt herself growing closer to climax until
,
with a strangled cry
,
she felt her body tense, felt the muscles of her abdomen contract around him, her back arching as waves of pleasure coursed through her. Amato stiffened against her, slid his
free hand beneath her shoulder blades
and pulled her closer, pressing their bodies together
,
and as she felt him release inside of her the hand at her neck was suddenly gone and she dragged air into her tortured lungs gratefully. His arms encircled her, she sat in his lap, her legs still wrapped around him and her head resting on his shoulder as she fought to control her breathing.

    
His head was against hers and he sounded to be having almost as hard a time as she was, she could hear him panting heavily, feel his hot breath against her cheek and his heart, racing against her chest.

    
They sat that way until the chill in the air forced Leci to move. She hadn’t noticed how cold it had gotten when there had been so much... friction to keep her warm but now as she sat in his arms, the sweat turning cold on her naked body and the breeze teasing icy fingers across her skin cruelly
,
she began to shiver uncontrollably.

    
Amato eased her back onto the couch, she felt an aching loss as their bodies parted. He stood up and went to where a pile of blankets had been left earlier, fetching an armful back with him and tenderly covering her before climbing underneath and joining her,
he lay
alongside her on the narrow couch, he wrapped his arms around her, his fingers stroking her back languorously in small circles. She felt satisfied in a way she never had before and
was
so very
, very
sleepy.

    
Tentatively she raised her fingers to her throat, wincing as she touched raw skin. She lifted her head slightly to look
at him.

He was watching her, a
contented
smile on his face.

     
‘Why did you hurt me?’ She asked in a small, almost childish voice.

    
Amato laughed softly, not in an unkind way, just as though he found the question charmingly amusing.

     
‘Baby, you’ll be a bit sore for a couple of days, but I would never hurt you.’

    
Leci found herself with no response to this, couldn’t really argue with it and even though she was surprised at herself for accepting it so readily she could also admit that the experience, though different and even a little frightening, had been exhilarating, exciting, intense and so very, very gratifying. Worth a little bit of discomfort?