Hot for His Hostage (45 page)

I had to stop being tempted to run again.

Because one day, he’d refused to give chase.

Then I would truly know what devastation was. If being apart two weeks at a time was
doing this to me, not having Killian at all was—

Unthinkable.

I literally changed my thoughts to another path. A viable action plan.

Maybe it was time I chased him a little.

Maybe it was time to rethink a permanent move to Chicago.

I had a week to look at things with new eyes…and perhaps at the end of it, to surprise
my Prince Charming with a sparkling surprise of his own. Finally, I could hit him
with something he never saw coming.

* * * * *

Around eight o’clock that night CST, I deplaned the Stone Global private jet at Midway
Field.

The world’s most stunning man waited for me on the tarmac next to the Stone Global
town car, the wind kicking at his thick dark hair and his long leather trench.

With each step I took down the stairs, my heart leapt one notch higher in my throat.
I hoped this feeling never went away, no matter how long we were together. I scurried
into the strong haven of his arms, burying my face into his neck while he pressed
every inch of my body against his.

I was home.

I was his.

While I never wanted the embrace to end, I finally pulled away enough to kiss him,
grabbing his neck to keep him close. When we dragged apart, the night became day again
with the brilliance of his smile.

“Hi there, San Diego.”

I grinned. Maybe not for much longer.

“Hi there, Chicago.”

“How was the flight?”

“Unbearable without you.” I giggled when he rolled his eyes but sighed when he moved
in for a deeper, more passionate kiss. His tongue rolled against mine, tasting like
a little Scotch and a lot of lust. We’d be lucky to make it to the penthouse if this
kept up. “Thank you for this,” I murmured. “You spoil me rotten, and I promise I’ll
start to love it more.”

He brushed away the hair that had escaped my wool cap, his gaze raking my face with
intensity. “That sounds really nice, fairy—because you haven’t seen anything yet.”

I was happy to know the surprise he’d alluded to wasn’t far from his mind. It sure
as hell wasn’t far from mine. I grabbed his hand with an expectant grin but the man
returned an evil smile before ushering me into the car. He didn’t say a word as the
driver loaded my bags into the trunk. Still nothing as we pulled away from the airport.

“We probably should feed you first.” His statement was all business but his gaze was
pure mischief. “Did you eat on the plane? Before you left?”

“Aggghhh.” I whacked his chest but that only fed his wicked mirth. I straightened,
folded my arms, and drawled, “You want to know what I did do on the plane?”

Inside a second, his stare turned to sensual velvet. “Does it involve you sprawled
on the bed with your hand in your panties?”

I smacked him again, letting my hand linger on his coat. The mix of the night wind,
his cosmopolitan cologne, and that thick leather…wow. “I don’t use the bed unless
you’re in it with me. You know that.”

He curved his fingers over mine, making me stay close. “I’ll be good. For now. Tell
me.”

“I worked on new affirmations. I’m going to be better about accepting surprises from
you.”

A rare, soft smile lifted his lips. It was the look he didn’t use very often, reserved
for occasions like visits to the no-kill animal shelter he championed and Sunday visits
with his mom. “I really like the sound of that.”

“Me, too.” Since he had the animal rescue eyes on, I pulled out my best puppy eyes
and pout. “So…?”

“So…?” He popped the smile back into a smirk. “What?”

“Dammit.” I groaned. He chuckled. “Are you going to make me beg? I’m not above it,
Mr. Stone.”

That took care of the smirk. His face took on a thousand angles of lusty possibility,
concentrated most potently on the mesmerizing sweeps of his lips. He used his grip
on his hand to pull me against his chest, devouring my gaze with his as he quietly
ordered, “Yeah. I do want to hear you beg.”

I didn’t need another cue. Grazing my mouth over his, I whispered, “Please don’t make
me wait any longer. I’ll do anything you want.”

His panther’s growl took greater force in his throat. “Anything?” After I simply nodded,
trying to tease him back with tiny kisses, he uttered, “You may regret that promise,
fairy.”

“Try me,” I challenged.

“You know I would’ve told you anyhow, right?

“But making a deal with the devil is so much more fun.”

As he laughed, he readjusted our positions, setting me back by a bit—and clearly trying
to wrestle his crotch to a less conspicuous bulge. I bit my lip hard, gazing at that
bulge. It was just as difficult for me to hold back from grabbing a good feel.

“Okay…here goes.” He actually seemed a little nervous, and that set my heart pounding
again. “You know how you’ve been moaning about your passport gathering dust?”

“Ummm…yeah.” I didn’t hide the questioning lilt to it.

“Does three weeks sound like ample time to do some dusting?”

Forget the pounding. My pulse took off at a full gallop. “Wh-what do you mean?”

“I mean three weeks. You and me. Italy and France. Maybe Spain, if we have time. Rome?
Venice? Marseilles? Paris? What sounds good?” His gaze narrowed when I could do nothing
with mine but gawk. “We leave in ten days, so I can have the travel girls tweak the
arrangements. I know you’ve also lusted after Tuscany. It’s harder to get to but we
could work in a small side trip if you—” He halted, eyes searching my face, lips pursing
in a midpoint between uncertainty and panic. I could count on one hand how many times
I’d seen the look on his face. It stunned me just as much as what he’d said. “Claire?”
He tapped a nervous thumb on his thigh. “For God’s sake, say something.”

I swallowed, forcing myself to comply. “I—it’s—well—whoa. Three weeks. Wow.”

“Which means what in English?”

I felt like a complete ass. Everything I said—stammered—was the wrong damn thing.

“I’m sorry. No, wait—I mean, I’m not sorry, not about—oh, hell. Did Andrea really
agree to this? How pissed was she when you—”

“You’re worried about Andrea?” He looked furious as a wet wildcat stuck in a barrel
over Niagara Falls—with my words as the rushing water.

“I’m ruining this,” I muttered. “Again.” When Killian’s jaw clenched so hard his chin
nearly formed a V, I dropped my head and fell into silence, knowing if I said anything
else, it would emerge on a tearful blubber.

Killian yanked me close again. “I have Andrea handled, baby. She’s Barney compared
to the T-Rex’s I’ve taken on in my life.”

I giggled from the image of my boss’s elegant face poking out of a purple Barney costume.
But what the hell did he mean by “T-Rex’s?” And wasn’t I not supposed to care anymore,
anyway?

That took care of my resistance to the tears. Perfect. Now I was slinging the waterworks
at him, to boot. And oh, how he loved that…not.

I pushed away, burying my face in my hands. “Please. I just need a re-do, okay? I’ll
get this right, I promise.”

Killian growled. Hard. Right before clutching the back of my neck and forcing my face
into the command of his deep, delving, mouth-mashing kiss. A whine tore up my throat,
thick and needy, as I clawed at his arm, hanging onto him as my anchor during my dizzy
ride into blissful surrender.

“You’re getting it right already.” His voice was as coarse as the steely shavings
in his stare. “Understood?”

I started bawling harder.

Would he ever stop being amazing? Ever?

“Oh, baby.” He rubbed my cheek with a big thumb. “Don’t cry. I just wanted to make
you happy. We don’t have to go. I can just have the girls cancel and—”

“Don’t. You. Dare.” Though my order spurred him to more laughter, I added, “I’m crying
because I am happy. And…”

“And what?”

“And because of my own stupidity.” I returned his caress, pressing a hand to the magnificent,
high plane of his cheek. “You are…amazing. And perfect. I’m just not used to all of
it…to your generosity, to you filling all my dreams like this. I’m not used to trusting
it, to trusting any kind of happiness, so I don’t. Instead, I turn on the soundtrack
of suspicion, unwilling to trust this can all be real. That this is really happening.”

He blinked hard. For a moment, the clarity in his gaze was replaced by a dark gray
haze, as if only half his thoughts were still here and half had jumped to the moon.
“I know.” His words were so full of commiseration, I felt it to the marrow of my bones.

I pressed my hand a little tighter to his skin. “You do know, don’t you?” When he
reacted simply by kissing me softly, I went on, “I love the surprise. I really do.
Thank you, Mr. Stone. Now I just need to pinch myself to assure I’m not dreaming.”

“Hey.” He threw a mock glower. “If there’s any pinching going on around here, I’ll
be the one doing it.” After a quick kiss to my nose, he grinned again, obviously pleased
with himself for blowing my mind…again. “Now, no more crying, Miss Montgomery. Let’s
get you some food.”

“Okay.” I giggled and sniffed. “That sounds really good. Maybe a big salad—and an
even bigger glass of wine.”

“Fuck.” He rolled his eyes. “No way. You’re getting a burger. And some goddamn fries.
And then the wine.” He finished the look by letting his stare darken back to sensual
velvet. “And then me.”

As usual, the man knew exactly what it took to make my world perfect.

And for once, I chose to believe that it wouldn’t all disappear tomorrow.

# # #

Coming March 3, 2015 – from

New York Times
and
USA Today
Bestselling Author

SHAYLA BLACK

His To Take

Racing against time, NSA Agent Joaquin Muñoz is searching for a little girl who vanished
twenty years ago with a dangerous secret. Since Bailey Benson fits the profile, Joaquin
abducts the beauty and whisks her to the safety of Club Dominion—before anyone can
silence her for good.

At first, Bailey is terrified, but when her captor demands information about her past,
she’s stunned. Are her horrific visions actually distant memories that imperil all
she holds dear? Confined with Joaquin in a place that echoes with moans and breathes
passion, he proves himself a fierce protector, as well as a sensual Master who’s slowly
crawling deeper in her head…and heart. But giving in to him might be the most delicious
danger of all.

Because Bailey soon learns that her past isn’t the only mystery. Joaquin has a secret
of his own—a burning vengeance in his soul. The exposed truth leaves her vulnerable
and wondering how much about the man she loves is a lie, how much more is at risk
than her heart. And if she can trust him to protect her long enough to learn the truth.

Sneak Preview Excerpt

“…What about you? You’re with another government agency, so you’re here to . . . what?
Be my lover? Does Uncle Sam think you need to crawl between my legs in order to watch
over me?”

Joaquin ground his jaw. She was hitting low, and the logical part of him understood
that she was hurt, so she was lashing out at the messenger because she didn’t have
anyone else. But that didn’t stop his temper from getting swept up in her cyclone
of emotion. “I’m not here on anyone’s orders. In fact, I’ll probably be fired for
pursuing this case because Tatiana Aslanov isn’t on my boss’s radar. When it became
obvious the agency intended to do nothing, I couldn’t leave you to that horrific death.
So here we are. But let me clue you in, baby girl. Uncle Sam doesn’t tell me who to
fuck. I can’t fake an erection, even for the sake of God and country. That kiss we
almost shared? That was me wanting you because just being in the same room with you
makes me want to strip off everything you’re wearing and impale you with every inch
I’ve got.”

When he eased closer to Bailey, she squared her shoulders and raised her chin. “Don’t
come near me.”

That defiance made him wish again that he was a spanking kind of guy. He’d really
like to melt that starch in her spine. If she wasn’t going to let him comfort her,
he’d be more than happy to adjust her attitude with a good smack or ten on her ass,
then follow it up with a thorough fucking. A nice handful of orgasms would do them
both a world of good.

“I am so done with people lying to me,” she ground out.

That pissed him off. “You think I’m lying to you? About which part? Your parents being
agents? That I’m sorry? Or that my cock is aching to fill your sweet little pussy
until you dig your nails into my back and wail out in pleasure?”