Stripped Defenseless (21 page)

Her
drenched center propped against his cock, and with one slow drive, he stretched
her throbbing pussy, filling her.

No.
Yes. No. No. Yes!
“Oh, God.” She breathed out and flung her head back against rug.

“Does
this feel good, sweetheart?” He pulled halfway out and gradually slid back in.

“God,
yes.”

“Tell
me you love me, too.” He worked the head of his thick cock into her tight
channel as his hands gripped her ass and held her in place. One lubricated
finger gingerly nudged her sensitive anus, prodding in just past her puckered
entrance.

Sparks
sizzled from her nerves, heating her pussy, and stinging her skin. Her core
twisted and tethered with each stroke, dip, and plunge until her insides
detonated.

“Kade,”
she cried out and grabbed his neck, pulling his mouth down to hers. She
welcomed his tongue, sucking on it, trying to show him how much she loved him.
Needed him.

Hoping
the drug didn’t work.
Please, please don’t work.

She’d
take it all back if she could. If she’d only known her instincts were right
this time. Kade Gavin wouldn’t hurt her. He loved her.

The
weight of his body on top of hers grew more apparent, and he drew his hands and
mouth away. His head dropped down beside hers. Seconds passed and the only
sound Ava could hear was his steady breathing.

“Are
you okay?” she asked, her shaky voice giving her away.

In
a sudden, startling jolt, he jerked up to a sitting position, hauling her with
him onto his lap, driving deeper in.

“Thank
God.” She trembled. Not only from the aftershocks his long, thick cock was
granting but from the relief of knowing he was awake and vigilant. She wrapped
her arms around his neck and kissed him, licking his full lips, his teeth, his
tongue.

He
slid his large, rough hands down her backside and grasped her ass, shoving her
farther down on him. She shuddered from the impact, her pussy walls clenching
and tingling.

“Tell
me you love me,” he whispered against her mouth. “Tell me you’ll forgive me.”

“I
can’t.”

He
lifted her and let her slide back down. “Don’t be afraid. I won’t ever hurt you
again. Or...” His voice trailed off, and his grip on her ass loosened. “Let
anyone else.”

Ava
could tell his eyelids were reddening and getting heavy.
Please, don’t let
him fall asleep.

“I
do love you, Kade,” she said, attempting to keep him alert. Not knowing it
would feel so good rolling off her tongue. “I love you so much.” She cradled
his cheeks with her hand.

He
blew out a breath and eased her hands away. “We need to get dressed.”

Holding
back tears, she watched as his paling expression transformed from loving to
another emotion altogether. Disappointment, maybe? Did he know?

“Quickly.”

She
stood, found her pants and shirt, and tugged them on over her oily skin. The
only thing keeping her from breaking down was ignoring how he struggled to
dress, stumbling and bumping into furniture.

What
could she do to help him? Something. She hurried into the bathroom and wet a
hand towel, then ran back out to wipe his hands free of the lubricant. “There.
Is that better?” As if that was his problem. Stupid.

“What
did you give me, Ava?” he asked, startling her. Of course, he knew. He wasn’t
an idiot.

She
finished cleaning her own hands and faced him. She owed him that much. With his
jeans and boots on, he sat on the couch with his elbows against his knees,
fingers intertwined.

“I’m
sorry, Kade. I’m so sorry.”

“What
was it?” All color drained from his face, and his jaw visibly ticked.

“They
were in the bathroom, the pink and white pills.” She brought her hand to her
mouth, both trembling with regret and fear. “I panicked. I thought you only
wanted the money. I thought you were going to let me die. And I can’t—I won’t
die.”

He
clenched his eyes shut and seemed to have a difficult time reopening them.
“Okay,” he said, calmly. “It’s okay.”

Really?
He wasn’t losing his temper? “Aren’t you angry with me?”

He
shrugged one shoulder as he looked up at her with heavy, reddened eyes. “No
time, sweetheart. Have you ever shot a gun?” His words were slurred.

“Only
once. It was a part of my self-defense class. I was supposed to practice
longer, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. It was super powerful and way too
intense. My instructor—”

“Ava,”
he said, breaking her nervous chatter. “We have to concentrate, okay?”

She
bit her lips and nodded her head.

“Let’s
get your shoes.”

“Where
are—” She stopped short at the sight of him attempting to stand. His legs
wobbled and his hands shook.

When
he finally stood to his height, he pointed to his shirt on the ground. “Can you
hand me that? I’m going out to the shed.”

“The
shed?” Why hadn’t she thought of that? She shook the silly question out of her
head. All that mattered now was getting out of this alive
with
Kade.
“I’m going with you.” She picked up the shirt and handed it over.

 “No,
it’s too far out. Your feet won’t be able to stand it.”

She
started to argue, but Kade’s attention went to the ceiling. Ava followed his
gaze and noticed a blinking light on one of the speakers.

“Damn
it.” He turned toward his monitor on the desk. “The alarm didn’t sound.
Moreno’s close.”

“How—”

“Goddamn
Jax must have messed with my equipment.” Kade held a shaking hand out to Ava.
“Come on. I’m not going to leave you alone in here. I don’t know how long we
have.”

Chapter Eleven

The
old wooden shed stood at least thirty feet away from the back door. Ava could
see it as clear as day under the full moon that projected off the white snow.

“It’ll
be a cinch.” She looked up into Kade’s dazed eyes. It killed her to see him so
out of sorts because of the stupid mistake she’d made.

He
shook his head. “Get on my back. I’ll carry you.”

A
nervous laugh erupted from her throat, but she quickly squelched it when Kade
narrowed his eyes at her. “Sorry. It’s just that, well, you know. You’re kind
of out of it.”

“Get
on, Ava,” he mumbled. “We don’t have time to waste.”

She
figured it probably wasn’t a good idea to argue, considering Zack could show up
at any moment. She grasped the back of Kade’s shoulders and jumped up, wrapping
her legs around his lean waist.

He
stumbled slightly but gained his balance.

They
began their trek through the snow and Raven followed at Kade’s feet as if she
knew her master were in danger.
Smart cat.

“I’m
sorry, Kade,” she whispered into his ear as she clung to him.

“It’s
not your fault,” he said through heavy breaths. “I didn’t give you a reason to
believe in me, but I hope you do now.”

“I
do.” She kissed his neck. “If we get out of this alive, I’m going to make it up
to you.”

He
stopped to hoist her farther up on his back and then trudged the rest of the
way.

“Here,”
he said, breathless, and set her down at the threshold of the old, dilapidated
building. He grasped the doorframe, which didn’t appear strong enough to hold
itself up, let alone a man his size.

The
moonlight beamed in from two broken windows on each side of the shed. Ava
wandered in and spotted her tennis shoes on a shelf next to a jar of rusted
nails. “Finally. I’ve never been happier to see a pair of tennies in my life.”
She grabbed them and turned toward Kade. “So, what did you do with my heels--”

The
six and a half foot man fell to his knees in front of her. The wooden floor
shook and the jar of nails tipped over, spilling onto the shelf.

“Kade!”
She knelt down in front of him and grabbed his shoulders. “Kade!”

His
eyelids lifted halfway as his body swayed. “Oh, fuck,” he murmured. “I forgot
the gun.”

“It’s
okay. We’ll go back and get it. But you have to get up.” She grabbed his bicep
and attempted to lift him.

It
was pointless. He was deadweight.

“Come
on,” she begged him. “I need you.”

“You
have to run. Take the truck. Leave here.”

“No.”
Ava let go of his arm, and his body buckled and fell to the side. “Kade,” she
said, panicking. “Oh, God, don’t give up on me.” She bent over him and cradled
his face. “I’m so sorry.” Her eyes blurred with tears. “But I love you, and you
can’t just quit on me.”

Nothing.
No response. Barely a breath escaped him.

Ava
leaned over his unconscious body and whispered into his ear, “I’m not leaving
without you. Dead or alive.”

Fuck
surviving if it wasn’t with Kade.

But
she wasn’t dead yet. Neither of them were.

Holding
back the urge to break down and sob, she shoved on her shoes and then softly
pecked his lips. “I’ll be back.”

That
wouldn’t
be the last time she kissed him. She stood and headed toward
the cabin.

The
back door was still open. She closed it behind her and jogged over to the
hidden weapons. With as much force as she could muster, she pushed against the
secret compartment until she heard the click. The drawer popped open, revealing
an array of handguns and two rifles.

She
picked up a small pistol, the least intimidating. Her heart pounded fast. Guns
killed
people. Ended their lives. Kaput. Over. And here she was holding one and
contemplating how she was going to shoot a living, breathing person.

In
the head? In the heart? Did she want to maim or murder him? And who knew if the
bullet would hit where she targeted. The one and only time she’d shot a gun,
she’d been way off.

“Drop
it,” an eerily familiar voice said from behind her.

Ava
jerked around to see Zack standing in the shadows in the corner of the room
with a revolver aimed directly at her head. A crooked grin adorned his wickedly
handsome face. He looked the same as the first day she’d laid eyes on him. But
now she knew his outer charm was deceiving. Pure evil flowed through his veins.

She
took a slow breath and attempted to steady her shaking hands. But the pistol
dropped to the rug below.

“Good
girl,” he sneered and stepped toward her. “It’s about time you started
listening to me.”

“What
do you want?” She could smell his strong cologne as he neared and stood in
front of her. It brought back memories of him on top of her, naked, having his
selfish way with her and not giving a damn if she was satisfied. Nausea rolled
in her belly. She should have known he wasn’t the man for her then.

He
pressed the gun to her temple and stroked her cheek with his free hand.

Her
churning belly caused her mouth to water. She gulped but couldn’t think.
Couldn’t breathe. It was as if Zack had taken her wits and thrown them into the
dying flames of the fireplace.

His
thumb rubbed against her lips. “I’m very disappointed in you, Ava. I hear
you’ve been a naughty girl. Taking off your clothes for money?” He smirked.
“Fucking my employee?”

“He
quits,” she whispered and swallowed down the bile rising in her throat.

“Nobody
quits me. Not Gavin. Not you. No one. You understand that?”

The
barrel prodded harder against her head.

“Get
down on your knees.” He kicked the pistol underneath the couch and out of her
reach.

“Go
to hell.” She had a better chance standing than bowing at his pathetic feet.
She’d given enough pieces of herself to this man.

Zack
shook his head and grasped the hair at the base of her skull, slamming her body
down. Her knees gave way, and she fell to the floor.

“You
always did have a big fucking mouth. I thought I had beaten that out of you.”

Her
forehead was pressed firmly against her bent knees. She couldn’t move. He had a
tight grip, keeping her under control. Anger pushed past the fear, and she
flailed her arms, attempting to either free herself or knock the gun out of his
hands.

But
neither worked. He lifted her up by her hair and threw her onto the couch. Her
head hit something hard, and she turned to see a black briefcase.

* * * * *

Poppy
zipped up her jacket all the way when Jax returned to the truck empty-handed
after searching Zack’s SUV. They had parked behind it, close enough to the
cabin to walk but far enough away so whoever was inside couldn’t hear the
engine.

“I
can’t believe he took it in with him,” Poppy said. “It’s like it’s his second
dick or something.”

Jax
glared at her. “Are you going to do this or not?”