Crime and Punishment 4: Burning Submission (20 page)

She pushed herself upright, sinking even farther onto his shaft. The toy in her ass burned, but the added pressure just made the pleasure that much more intense. Josh used his thumbs to separate her pussy lips, exposing her clit.

He rubbed his thumb over it in gentle circles, and she’d swear her eyes rolled back. She let her head fall, and she stared up at the porch ceiling, only half seeing what was there. All she could do was feel.

“Come for me again, Jenn,” Josh whispered.

She was so close. How could she be so close so soon? He’d made her come more than once before. She never even knew that was possible.

Closing her eyes, she let the wave work its way over her. Josh increased the pressure on her clit, intensifying the waves and sending her screaming into another orgasm. This time Josh came with her, forcing his hips up and his cock deeper.

With the toy in her ass, her walls were so tight she could feel the throbs in his cock as he came. Jennifer sighed and let herself sag against him, careful to keep her weight slightly off center and directly off his scar.

She was amazed she was even coherent enough to think of it.

It was then she shivered from the cold and snuggled closer to his warmth. Josh wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her tight, making her feel safe and cherished.

“Sex with you is never boring, is it?” she mumbled.

The chuckle that rumbled through Josh’s chest shook her as she lay splayed over him. “I would certainly hope not.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Jennifer’s eyes popped open. Her entire body went instantly tense. Something woke her.

She rolled to her side in Josh’s bed to see him pulling up his jeans. Moonlight shone through the windows, illuminating the muscles of Josh’s chest and arms as he zipped his pants.

“I need you to get up, Jenn. Get dressed.”

Jennifer sat up, instantly aware that something was wrong. “Is someone here?”

“Yeah,” he replied as he reached for the gun he kept in the nightstand drawer.

Jennifer’s heart began to pound like mad. “I didn’t hear the alarm go off.”

“I saw them. I couldn’t sleep and was watching out the window. I stopped the alarm before it went off.”

“How many?” she asked as she threw the covers off and jumped from the bed to grab her jeans.

“Two. You stay here.”

She frowned. “Josh,” she whispered as he headed toward the bedroom door.

He turned and pointed a finger at her, his eyes narrowed in warning. “Stay here.”

Jennifer scowled in his direction as he left the room and shut the door quietly behind him. What the hell was she supposed to do? Stand here and do nothing while he possibly went downstairs and got himself killed?

Not if she could help it.

She glanced around and found the sweats she’d discarded earlier. She slipped them on and then reached for her shoes but decided against them. She could be quieter barefoot.

“Now what do I use for a weapon?” she mumbled as she looked around the room. With a sigh, she slapped herself on the leg. “What the hell do I need a weapon for?” She stared at her hand and grinned, for the first time actually confident in herself and what she could do. “I am a weapon.”

She opened the bedroom door and slipped out into the hall. She listened closely for any sound, but she heard nothing except for the occasional creaking of a floorboard.

Her heart gave a little jump. Was that Josh walking around or one of the others?

She crept down the steps, careful to avoid the spots that made noise. One at a time, she worked her way down. As she went, she peeked over the railing to the first floor. Her heart sped up rapidly as she watched Josh leave the dining room and head toward the kitchen. Gun drawn, eyes alert, he looked the capable FBI agent. For a short time, she’d forgotten about that part of his life. Or maybe it was just her wishful thinking that had her daydreaming he was hers and would be here forever.

Jennifer took another couple of steps down, but a movement from the corner of her eye made her freeze. A man stepped out of the kitchen, his gun pointed right at Josh.

Josh immediately responded with his own pistol, and a standoff ensued.

“Where is she?” the man with the gun asked.

“Who are you?” Josh asked.

Jennifer blinked, wondering how he could be so calm. Her hands were shaking as she tried to figure out what to do or how to help him.

“Who we are is of no consequence.”

“It is to me,” Josh snarled. “I like to know who I’m about to blow away.”

The other man’s lips twitched slightly, and anger rolled through Jennifer. She felt the air around her sizzle with energy. Josh’s back was to her so she couldn’t see his expression, but she could see the hair on the other man’s head begin to stand on end as though full of static electricity.

Apparently, he felt it as well. He glanced up before turning his narrowed stare back to Josh. The man nervously licked his lips.

“I’m sure you’ve heard what happened to the last men who tried to keep Jennifer captive,” Josh murmured.

The man saw her. Did Josh know she was there?

Jennifer fisted her fingers, trying to keep her growing anger in check. Who the hell were these people? What gave them the right to kidnap her and run experiments?

“She can be contained,” the man replied.

She gritted her teeth. Would Josh be upset with her if she just exploded that man’s heart? Would he look at her the same? Fear of Josh’s reaction was the only thing that held her back.

The front door pushed open soundlessly, and the ominous nose of a pistol appeared around the side of the door. Jennifer reacted immediately, turning her powers on the man trying to sneak in. She envisioned electrical energy moving through his limbs and zapping his heart.

The man grunted and, with a jerk, fell to the floor of the porch. The other man panicked and turned his gun toward Jennifer on the stairs. Two shots rang out almost simultaneously, making her jump.

Time seemed to move in slow motion for Jennifer. She stood frozen, watching as the bullet sped toward her. The small pellet sliced through the air, parting it like waves on water. A breeze ruffled the curls by her ear as the bullet passed and embedded in the wall behind her.

Shards of Sheetrock hit her shoulder, and she flinched, unsure if she should cry from joy or shock at just how close the bullet had come to shattering her face.

Josh yelled in fear, but Jennifer’s gaze was on the man now lying on the floor. The man Josh wasn’t paying any attention to. With his last movements, as blood oozed from his chest, he pointed the gun at Josh.

“No!” Jennifer screamed and threw her hand up as though trying to block the bullet herself.

Josh turned just in time to see the bullet come to a slow stop directly in front of his chest. They both froze and stared in awe at the floating bullet.

The man on the floor dropped his arm and gazed lifelessly at the ceiling. Josh reached out hesitantly and touched the bullet and quickly pulled his hand away as though burned.

“What the hell?” he whispered before turning to look at Jennifer.

She let her hand fall back to her side. Shock at what she’d been able to do rendered her speechless. She wanted to run to Josh but couldn’t seem to move.

“How did you do that?” he asked quietly.

Jennifer swallowed. “I don’t know. I think I…” She brought her hand up and stared at her palm. “I think I threw up a wall of energy somehow and stopped it.” She looked back at Josh, and a rush of insecurity tightened her stomach. He stared at her as though he didn’t know her. “Are you okay?” she asked, unsure what else to say.

His eyes narrowed. “Didn’t I tell you to stay upstairs?”

“If I had, you’d be dead now,” she snapped back. Was he really angry with her?

He didn’t move, just stood there watching her. The bullet still hung in the air for a couple more seconds before it dropped to the floor with a clang. Her gaze moved to the dead body in the doorway, and nausea rolled through her stomach.

A single tear slipped down her cheek, both in reaction to what she’d done and how Josh seemed to be pulling away and looking at her as though she was an oddity to be wary of. “So much for hiding out.”

“Get changed. Grab as much as you can as quickly as you can. We need to get out of here,” Josh ordered. “We have no idea if there are more of them.”

She glanced at both dead bodies and shivered. “What about the…”

“I’ll call the authorities later.”

Jennifer nodded and rushed up the steps. The whole time she fought the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. What had she expected him to do? Run toward her and profess his love?

Well, yeah. She had, especially since she’d almost been killed.

But he hadn’t.

Instead, he’d snapped angrily at her as though she were a child who’d done something wrong.

JOSH STOOD ON the stairs and studied the hole where the bullet had lodged—the one that had come within mere inches of hitting Jennifer in the face. He rubbed at the scar on his chest, the pain beneath it having nothing to do with the excitement of what had just happened and everything to do with how close he’d come to losing her.

She’d come to mean way too much to him in a short amount of time. He could rattle off excuse after excuse about why their relationship wouldn’t work—she was too young for him, he worked too much, somewhere along the line his inability to shut work out would push her away.

She deserved better. She deserved a life not filled with running and hiding. She deserved a man who could actually be there for her.

With a sigh, he dropped his hand and continued up the stairs. He needed his shoes, wallet, and truck keys. And more importantly, he needed to start distancing himself from Jennifer. It was better to hurt her a little now than a lot later.

But where were they going?

Whoever had sent those men most likely knew who he was and would therefore know where to find him. His home was out of the question. Nathan’s would be safer. Maybe he and Jenn could stay at the downtown condo where Nathan and Connelly had hidden when the serial killer was after them.

Jennifer would like that place.

Shaking his head, he opened his bedroom door and rushed to grab what he could.

“Come on, Jenn,” he called as he stepped back out into the hall and headed toward the stairs. “Just grab something for now. We can get more clothes later.”

“I’m coming.”

Jennifer stepped out of her bedroom in a pair of faded jeans and a red sweater. Her hair was still down around her shoulders, but in her hands were a brush, a hair clip, and her purse. In her eyes was a pain that made Josh’s gut clench. He’d hurt her. She’d probably needed to be held, to get a hug, and to hear him tell her everything would be okay, but he hadn’t done that.

She started past him, and despite his best efforts to do nothing, he reached out and grabbed her elbow, stopping her. She turned her head and looked up at him.

He let go of her elbow and cupped her cheek. “Are you okay?” he asked as he gently wiped away a tear that had slipped free.

With her lip quivering, she gave a single nod.

He wanted to pull her into his arms, but they didn’t have time for that. He had no idea if there were more of those men or if they would be followed when they left. He’d turned the phone alarm back on, but that didn’t mean they weren’t out there, just beyond the reach of the system.

“Good,” he said as he dropped his hand to the small of her back and gave her a push forward. “We need to get out of here before any more show up.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Not much was said in the four-hour drive to Atlanta except Jennifer’s phone call to Linda. Jennifer spent the majority of the trip hiding tears and feeling sorry for herself. What the hell was wrong with her? So he hadn’t hugged her or even acted as though he cared that she’d almost been shot in the head. Had her little stunt with the bullet really been all that awful? Or was it because she’d killed the man at the door?

The fact she’d had to kill yet another man made her feel even worse. How many would have to die so she could live in peace? Maybe she should just turn herself over to them. It was something she thought of more than once on the long, quiet drive.

If they could find her at the farm house, they could find her anywhere. How did she hide from people like that?

Just as the sun rose above the horizon, painting the sky in shades of pink and orange, Josh turned into a parking lot. Jennifer sat up, staring in awe at the massive house in front of them. It looked like something that belonged in Europe, with the stone facade and gargoyles crouching along the eaves, standing guard over the grounds.

“What the hell is this place?” she asked.

“This is Nathan’s club.”

She turned and stared at him wide-eyed as excitement made her heart flutter slightly. “The BDSM club?”

Josh looked over at her and grinned in amusement. “You look like a four-year-old who’s about to tour Disney World for the first time.”

Her eyes narrowed as she sat back in the seat and crossed her arms. She was supposed to be mad at him, not excited that just maybe she would get to see and feel Josh in action in a true club setting.

Josh brought the truck to a stop by the main double doors at the front of the building. He glanced over and studied her with that assessing stare of his. Jennifer looked away and studied the intricate carvings on the wooden doors that led into the club.

He didn’t say anything. He just climbed from the truck and walked around to her door. He opened it, and she expected he would step aside and allow her out, but instead, he stood blocking her way.

She frowned and wondered what he was doing. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but the door to the club opened, and a woman rushed out. Jennifer recognized Connelly from the picture Josh had shown her.

“Josh?” the woman called and then ran forward to launch herself into his arms just as he turned to face her.

Jealousy, unlike anything Jennifer had ever known, squeezed her heart like a vise. She knew Connelly belonged to Nathan, but the image of someone else in Josh’s arms made her feel like her insides were being crushed.