Framing Felipe (30 page)

but
the
bindings
made
that
impossible.

He
increased
his
pace,
and
she
breathed
out
a
long
sigh,
overwhelmed
at
all
the

sensation.
The
sound
of
his
sharp
inhalations
whenever
she
squeezed
her
sex
around
him,

the
smell
of
the
damp
earth
way
down
below,
his
girth
inside
her,
even
the
slight
pain
of

those
belts
around
her
wrists
and
ankles.

FRAMING FELIPE
–
117
–
Holley Trent

“Did
you
miss
me?”
he
asked
again,
swiveling
his
hips
so
his
cock
opened
her
up
a

touch
more.

Should
she
answer
no
or
yes?
What
would
saying
no
get
her?
More
of
this
wild
claiming

of
her
she’d
never
confess
to
liking,
but
did?
Would
yes
make
him
stop?
To
caress
her
more

tenderly?
Would
it
prompt
a
conversation
she
didn’t
want
to
have?

Something,
however,
told
her
it
was
a
time
for
truth.
Maybe
the
truth
would
keep
him

from
going
off
again
on
one
those
reckless
missions.
Maybe
telling
the
truth
would
be
the

catharsis
she
needed
to
finally
let
go
of
the
control
she’d
been
so
hesitant
to
cede
to
him
all

along.

So,
the
truth,
then.

“Yes!”
she
moaned,
encouraging
him
with
yet
another
clench
of
her
sex.

“Yes
what,
querida
?”
His
breath
tickled
the
sensitive
skin
of
her
neck
he
exposed,

holding
her
hair
to
the
side.
He
kissed
her
from
shoulder
to
jaw,
making
her
legs
go
to
jelly

as
his
hand
found
her
clit.

“I—I
miss
you
when
you
leave,”
she
confessed,
and
it
felt
wonderful—so
freeing
saying

it
out
loud.
Something
she’d
never
said
to
any
man
before,
because
she
never
had
missed

them.
When
they
walked
out
of
the
door,
her
thoughts
were
usually,
“See
you
sucka.”
Even

the
ones
that’d
been
pretty
decent
love-‐makers,
she
couldn’t
wait
for
them
to
pick
up
their

pants
and
get
out.
They’d
just
been
a
means
to
an
end.
No
emotional
connection

whatsoever,
because
her
emotions
hadn’t
been
a
gift
she
felt
them
worthy
of
receiving.

And
that
was
the
funny
part.
Women
had
always
been
the
ones
accused
of
giving
up

emotions
so
freely,
but
that
had
never
been
the
case
with
Sarah.
She
as
always
at
even
keel

unless
some
powerful
experience
forced
her
to
react.
Like
being
in
the
Marines
and
getting

shot
at.
Or
working
undercover,
and
witnessing
the
abuse
of
children.
Or
now,
having
a

man
who
seemed
to
intrinsically
understand
her
without
her
having
to
explain
anything.
If

that
wasn’t
a
partnership
meant
to
be,
she
didn’t
know
what
was.

Deft
fingers
loosened
the
knots
of
first
one
belt,
then
the
other,
and
he
freed
her
hands,

kissing
her
wrists
as
circulation
returned
to
her
fingers.

“What
are
you
doing?
Are
we
going
to…finish?”

FRAMING FELIPE
–
118
–
Holley Trent

He
nudged
the
shirt
from
her
eyes,
laid
kisses
up
her
arms,
tenderly,
and
paused
at
one

shoulder
to
say,
“I
wanted
you
to
see
my
face.”
He
took
her
lips
next,
teasing
them
open

with
the
tip
of
his
tongue
and
moaning
when
she
let
him
in.

She
felt
something
akin
to
whiplash
at
his
sudden
mood
shift—ferocious
to
tender—

and
didn’t
try
to
understand
it.

She
wrapped
her
legs
around
his
waist,
welcoming
his
cock’s
return
to
her
sex,
but
his

forehead
was
furrowed.
Eyes
serious.
“I
didn’t
think
you
would,
really.”

“Huh?”

He
didn’t
respond.
When
he
slid
his
cock
in
this
time,
he
was
slow.
Careful.
“You
sound

like
you
actually
mean
it.”

Is
he
kidding
me?

She
didn’t
respond
out
loud,
though,
just
drew
him
closer
and
laced
her
fingers
through

his
loose
hair.
The
eye
contact
at
that
short
span
was
intense,
but
he
didn’t
look
away,
so

neither
did
she.
Their
gazes
remained
locked
until
she
tipped
her
chin
up
for
a
kiss,
and
his

eyelids
fell
closed
when
their
lips
touched.

When
she
came,
her
body
quaking
and
primal
grunts
escaping
her
throat,
he

whispered,
“
¿Me
amas?
”
and
she
answered,
“Yes,”
without
thinking,
because
it
required
no

thought.
She
did
love
him.
Every
unrefined
bit
of
him.

Then
he
finished,
leaving
his
cock
in
her
until
it
was
spent,
groaning
through
clenched

teeth,
and
he
didn’t
say
it
back.

FRAMING FELIPE
–
119
–
Holley Trent

The
punch
seemed
to
come
from
nowhere.
It
landed
squarely
on
his
jaw
and
knocked

him
back
on
his
ass.
For
her
to
be
such
a
small
woman,
Sarah’s
fist
packed
a
wallop.

Felipe
rubbed
his
sore
jaw,
fairly
certain
she’d
loosened
the
roots
of
several
of
his

teeth,
and
narrowed
his
eyes
at
her.
“What
the
hell
was
that
for?”

Her
only
response
was
a
snarl.
She
shook
out
her
hand
and
stood,
nudging
his
feet

away
from
the
pile
her
blue
jeans
rested
on,
and
picked
up
her
clothes.
She
dressed
quickly,

mumbling
to
herself
all
the
while,
and
using
some
words
that
didn’t
exist
in
Felipe’s
English

glossary.
Or
maybe
it
wasn’t
English.
Maybe
she’d
picked
up
some
choice
words
from

Tamara.

She
strapped
her
holster
back
on
and
sheathed
her
knife
before
picking
up
the
walkie-‐

talkie.
Pushing
the
button,
she
spoke
in
a
dry
tone,
“Road
to
base,
how
are
you?
Over.”

Tamara,
back
at
the
house,
responded,
“Base
to
road,
we’re
A-‐okay.
Astrid
and
Dana

are
on
the
way
down
the
driveway
now.
They’re
going
to
check
on
our
little
outpost.
Over.”

Sarah
stuffed
the
walkie-‐talkie
into
her
pocket
and
eased
closer
to
the
stand’s
trap

door,
pointedly
putting
her
back
to
him.

Slowly,
he
stood
as
much
as
he
could
in
the
small
room,
his
head
swimming
a
bit
from

the
blow,
and
shook
out
his
underwear.
His
head
hadn’t
had
an
impact
like
that
since
he

was
seventeen
and
missed
the
trapeze.
The
practice
net
hadn’t
been
laced
tightly
enough

and
thus
he’d
hit
the
cement
floor
as
if
there’d
been
no
net
there
at
all.
He
and
Fabian
were

both
a
bit
more
durable
than
most
because
of
their
unique
composition,
but
every
and
now

and
then,
some
things
just
hurt
.
That
included
Sarah’s
punch.
She
had
a
punch
like
a

battering
ram
and
he
had
no
idea
what
he’d
done
to
be
on
the
receiving
end
of
it.

He
stepped
into
the
new-‐to-‐him
jeans
Patrick
had
handed
down
to
him
and
knocked

the
dust
off
his
shirt.
“
Querida
…”

“Go
fuck
yourself.”

He
scoffed.
“I’ve
done
enough
of
that
in
my
lifetime.”
When
he
pressed
his
body
against

her
back
and
put
his
arms
around
her
slumped
form,
she
jumped,
as
if
from
fright,
but

didn’t
duck
out.
“I’m
only
fucking
you
from
now
on.”

FRAMING FELIPE
–
120
–
Holley Trent

She
sucked
her
teeth.
“Classy.”

“Why
pretend
to
be
something
I’m
not?
What
did
I
do
to
upset
you?”

She
scanned
the
trees
through
the
small
window
in
front
of
her,
and
the
shiny
black

glint
of
the
Shrew
SUV
flashed
briefly
through
the
dense
woods.
The
ladies
were
on
the
way

down.
Sarah
moved,
as
if
preparing
to
go
unhinge
the
gate,
but
he
held
her
tight.
“You’ve

got
a
moment.
Answer
me.”

Her
jaw
ground
and
her
fingers
tightened
on
the
trap
door’s
edge.
“Why
do
you
care?”

“I
didn’t
think
you
were
the
kind
of
woman
to
play
games,
querida
.”

“Who’s
playing
games?”
Now
she
turned,
but
with
his
arms
there,
the
most
she
could

do
was
wedge
her
soft,
feminine
front
against
his
hard
one—and
boy,
was
he
still
hard.
It

was
hard
not
to
be
when
standing
so
close
to
her.
No
woman
had
ever
had
that
sort
of

effect
on
him.
It
was
downright
maddening
the
way
his
body
responded
to
even
a
heated

glance
from
her.
He
was
lucky
Fabian
hadn’t
made
a
move
on
her.
Fabian
had
probably

been
too
distracted
by
Felipe’s
disappearance
to
think
about
it,
and
Sarah
was
definitely

Fabian’s
type.
He
liked
them
feisty.

She
wouldn’t
meet
his
stare.
“Let
me
go.
I
need
to
lift
the
gate.”

He
couldn’t
argue
that,
because
the
truck
was
slowing
to
a
stop,
and
Dana
probably

wondered
why
the
Shrew
wasn’t
at
her
post.
He
didn’t
want
Dana
to
have
to
get
out,
so
he

backed
up.
Sarah
descended
through
the
floor.
He
crawled
to
the
window
to
watch
the

exchange,
but
instead
of
seeing
his
Shrew
lifting
the
heavy
barrier,
he
saw
the
flash
of
her

white
shirt
as
she
ducked
behind
a
large
pine
with
her
gun
drawn.

It
took
him
a
moment
to
locate
the
source
of
her
agitation,
but
in
studying
the
SUV
a

couple
of
moments,
he
saw
something
shift
beneath
the
vehicle’s
driver’s-‐side
running

board.
Something
not-‐quite-‐human,
and
Sarah
had
spotted
it
first.
Dana
was
slowly
rolling

her
window
down,
already
gripping
her
gun
in
her
right
hand,
although
she
couldn’t
have

seen
what
Sarah
had.
It
was
explicit
trust,
and
Felipe
knew
from
watching
the
women
work

over
the
past
couple
of
months
that
this
was
why
the
Shrews
were
so
damned
good
at
what