Distorted Hope (6 page)

“Wow.” I shook my head. “I don’t want you to go to jail.”

He grinned. “Neither do I. I want to see where our relationship goes.”

I laughed softly. “Maybe another dinner?”

“Dinner on a romantic yacht with a bunch of smugglers.” He shook his head. “Not my idea of romance, but when there’s no alternative, I suppose it must do.” He curled my hair around his finger. “Maybe we could finish our date from the other night.”

My eyes widened at the intense look in his eyes. Was he saying he still wanted to have sex with me?

“I didn’t mean to offend you.”

I shook my head. “I… no, you didn’t.” I blushed. “You’d really want to do… that, still?”

He nodded and leaned down to kiss me gently. “Yes.”

We went out to a living room area where Mark and the three other men from the diner were eating around a large, round table. The other men leered at me and I stepped closer to Jason.

“Find everything okay?” Mark asked, his eyes sweeping over me and smiling.

“Yes, thank you,” I said quietly.

I stepped even closer to Jason and Mark chuckled. “Have a seat.” He pushed a button on the table and a man appeared a few minutes later with two dinner plates. It smelled delicious and I ate enthusiastically, despite my fear of what was going to happen next.

“Why’d you drag Kyra into all this?” Jason asked as we sat down.

I looked nervously a Mark, who was sitting next to me.

“To keep you company.” Mark shrugged. “Why else do you bring a woman along with you?”

“That’s rather crude, don’t you think?”

“Nathan has found that his… employees work harder if they’re properly motivated.”

“What will you do to her if I don’t cooperate?”

Mark shrugged. “Whatever Nathan tells me to. Or he’ll do it himself.” His eyes turned to me. “He’ll like her.”

He’ll like me? What does that mean?

“What happens when I’m done with the job?” Jason asked.

“Maybe Nathan’ll have another one for you. Maybe you’ll decide you like it there and want to stay. Who knows?”

“Will I be allowed to leave?”

Mark leaned back in his chair. “That you’ll have to discuss with the boss.” He nodded in my direction. “She will most likely not be allowed to leave.”

My mouth dropped open.
I was going to be there the rest of my life? What about Stacey? What would happen if Jason left? Would he leave me? Who was this Nathan person and what would he want with me if Jason was gone?
I wanted to ask but was too afraid.

“So, there’s a chance I’ll be set free, but a far smaller chance Kyra will?”

Mark nodded.

Neither I nor Jason said anything else as we ate, and when we were done, we headed back to the stateroom.

“We’ll arrive in Panama tomorrow evening,” Mark said, handing me a flat box as I passed by. “I know you like to read.”

I stopped and took the box from him, confused as to why he’d be giving me something. Inside was a Kindle. I stared at it for a long moment. How could he have known I’d desperately wanted one for years, but could never afford it? “Thank you,” I said, bewildered at his kindness.

“Our girls are treated well,” he said with a nod and walked away.

What did that mean?
I looked up at Jason, who watched with hard eyes as the other man walked away.

“What’s wrong, Jason?” I asked as he closed the bedroom door behind him. His jaw and fists were clenched.

Jason pulled me against him and petted my hair. “I’m so sorry, Kyra,” he whispered.

“It’s not your fault, Jason. I don’t blame you for all this.”

“You’re so sweet and… God, you don’t deserve this, Kyra.”

“I’ll be okay. I mean, I’ll be with you, right?” I added, uncertain if I wanted to know the answer.

He gave me a mournful look. “Maybe part of the time, but…” He shook his head. “I think they’re going to use you as a sex slave.”

My knees buckled and Jason caught me and led me to the couch along the wall. “A sex slave? Why?”
Why on earth would anyone want
me
as a sex slave?

“Because that’s what happens to women when they’re kidnapped. Nathan is an arms dealer. From what I’ve heard, it sounds like Nathan keeps his own set of girls, so at least you won’t be sold or anything. And if you’re supposed to motivate me, you’ll be with me.” Jason took a deep breath. “This is not how I pictured our future.” He pulled me close and I rested my head on his chest while he played with my hair.

“You really thought about me in your future?”

“Of course, Kyra,” he insisted. “I like you. A lot. I imagined us spending the rest of our lives together.”

I sighed and closed my eyes. I’d been afraid to imagine a life with Jason, but when I let myself, it was a nice image. Jason’s hand in my hair felt nice. I tried to push away thoughts of what was going to happen and concentrate on his touch, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to be a sex slave; I wanted to go home and have a relationship with Jason.

“Jason?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you remember what you said before we went to dinner? About… continuing our date from the other night?”

“I do.”

Sitting up, I looked nervously into his eyes. I wanted Jason to be my first. “Did you mean it?”

He hesitated and I turned away, embarrassed. “Kyra,” he said, putting his hand on my shoulder and turning me back to face him. “Don’t turn away. Yes, I meant it. I just… what Mark said at dinner… it upset me.”

“I know,” I whispered. “Mark said when we get there, Nathan will…” I swallowed, “…not be gentle and that I wouldn’t want him to take my… to be my first.”

“Oh, Kyra,” he murmured, kissing my cheek. I could hear sadness in his voice and I found myself in his lap a moment later, sobbing into his shirt. He rocked me and kissed my hair.

Jason held me while I cried, and when my tears were finally spent, I relaxed into his arms. “Yes, Kyra. I meant it. Your first time should be special and I really planned on making it so.” He lifted my chin and kissed me. “I will do my best to make sure you experience everything
good
that has to do with lovemaking,” he murmured against my lips. “I promise.”

I looked nervously toward the bed as Jason pulled me to my feet, stood behind me, and placed his hands on my shoulders. “We can take as long as we need, Kyra. Stop me if you need to.”

I nodded nervously as he kissed my shoulder and then turned me around to face him. I could hardly believe I would be naked in bed with Jason Marshall very soon.

He cupped my cheek and kissed me gently, his lips soft against mine. I tried not to tremble, but it was hard, considering what was going to happen.

His hands tugged at the bottom of my braid and I felt him playing with my hair.

“What are you doing?”

“I want to run my hands through it. Turn around.” I did so and he slowly unwove my hair—his hands brushing the bare skin of my neck and shoulders—and I shivered. When it was all free, he combed it with his fingers. “So soft.” He kissed the back of my head. “You should wear your hair down more often.”

I smiled. I would have to remember that.

Walking around me, he pulled the covers down on the bed. I chewed on my lip as he sat down and pulled me to stand between his thighs. He was tall enough I only had to bend down slightly to kiss him. He nibbled on my lower lip and his hands moved down to my hips, pulling me even closer. My thighs pressed against his erection and I jumped back in surprise.

“It has to get that way or sex is really difficult.” He chuckled.

“Sorry,” I whispered, mortified at myself.

“It’s okay. I don’t mind.” Jason pulled me close again and then put his hand behind one of my thighs and pulled so I was half-straddling his lap. Doing the same with my other leg, I put my hands around the back of his neck. He kissed me and kneaded my rear, pulling me closer to him. I only jumped a little when he rocked forward and pressed his hips against me again.

His tongue stroked mine and a little moan escaped my throat. I pulled away, embarrassed.

“Kyra, make whatever sounds you want.” He grinned. “If you’re quiet, I won‘t know what you like.” He turned to lay me on my back and stretched out on top of me. My eyes widened as I looked up at him. “You okay?”

I nodded. “I like you on top of me,” I said, and he grinned.

“I like it, too.” He kissed my neck and I gasped in pleasure. Sensations I’d only imagined coursed through my body. I felt my nipples tighten and I arched my back, pressing my breasts against him.

“That feels good,” I whispered, pressing my head back into the bed.

He chuckled against my neck and bit it gently.

“Oh!” I exclaimed. As he kissed his way down to my collarbone and around to the other side, electricity shot through my body and I felt things happening between my legs I’d only read about. His lips left fire behind as he kissed along the edge of my tank top. My nipples strained against the fabric and I moaned, wanting to feel his mouth on them.

“Am I going too fast?” he asked, kissing each nipple over the fabric of my shirt.

“No,” I gasped, arching my back even more.

Lightly running his fingers up my chest to my shoulder, he then drew the strap down, exposing more of my breast. Smiling, he did the same on the other side and then kissed the exposed skin.

I watched in fascination as he slowly pulled the fabric down to just above my nipples. “You okay?” he asked in a husky voice. The sound of his voice made me squeeze my legs together and I nodded. “I want to taste you,” he whispered and pulled my top down below my breasts. “Beautiful,” he whispered and licked my right nipple.

“Oh, God!” I groaned. The electricity shot straight down from my nipple to my clit and I could feel myself throbbing.

When he took my nipple into his mouth, I clung to his arms and dug my fingernails into his skin. He sucked tenderly and used his tongue as I cried out, wanting more. So much more. My body was going haywire.

With his other hand, he gently cupped my other breast and caressed it. “Jason,” I moaned. He moved his mouth to my other breast and I squirmed beneath him. I wanted his hands between my legs. I wanted to feel his bare skin on mine.

He sat up, pulling his shirt over his head and then helped me out of mine. “God, you’re beautiful,” he said as he traced his fingers around my areola. “Perfect breasts.” He trailed his fingers down my stomach and then leaned down to kiss it. “So beautiful,” he murmured. His kisses lit a firestorm in my body as he made his way down to my shorts and I wiggled.

“You still doing okay, Kyra?” he asked, running his fingers over the button to my shorts.

I nodded, panting. “Really good. You?”

He grinned. “I couldn’t be happier. Well… no, if we were back in
Arizona
doing this, I’d be happier.” His smile faded and I reached for his cheek.

“Can we pretend we’re there?”

He nodded. “Absolutely. Though, this
is
a really nice yacht,” he said looking around.

“It is. Lake Pleasant maybe?”

He laughed. “Sounds great.”

He kissed my stomach and unbuttoned my shorts. The air was cool on my skin; I’d forgotten I wasn’t wearing panties. A soft moan escaped my lips as he slowly unzipped my shorts and kissed my exposed skin.