Pleasure Bound - Complete (65 page)

* * * * *

“Do you think anyone heard us last night?” Piper whispered, as Jarod held her hand tightly and helped her over a fallen tree as they continued to skirt around the endless cemetery.

“If someone had, I am sure they would have found us by now.”

“I’m sorry. I should have been more quiet, but you…”

He smiled when she faltered over what to say.

“You can say it. You couldn’t hold your pleasure inside. I know very well how to service a woman.”

Her eyes widened at his bold comment. “You sure sound confident of your abilities.”

“I was a sex slave, trained in the arts of pleasuring a woman. Do you wish for me to remind you?”

Desire swelled in him quickly as he awaited her answer.

Immediately he noticed the change in her, the tension uncoiling through her petite body as she gave him a steady look. Instinctively, he knew she was ready to confront him about last night.

“You’d like that wouldn’t you? So you can bring me more of those sensuous-smelling flowers that made me lose control for a while there. You never did tell me what that other side effect was.”

He’d been hoping she wouldn’t mention those passionflowers, at least not until he had her safely delivered to the Hero brothers. He had no way of telling how she’d react to being deceived.

Instinct warned him she would be a very passionate woman in her anger. The other day’s scene had proved it when she’d prodded him by insinuating she wouldn’t mind being fucked by the Death Valley Boys.

Now was not the time for an argument. “I will tell you later.”

He made a move to go forward when she suddenly grabbed him by the elbow, her fingers digging painfully into his flesh, making him stop cold. She gave him a stern look that made him realize she wanted an answer now.

“Why did you ask me all those questions last night? And why couldn’t I resist telling you everything without even thinking about stopping myself? Some of that stuff was confidential. You weren’t even supposed to know about the spaceship.”

“I apologize for asking questions. I was curious about you. I will never repeat anything you told me to anyone.”

She nodded obviously satisfied with his answer. “So? What was the side effect? And how long will it last?”

“The side effect only lasted until your first orgasm.”

“Oh…”

He didn’t miss the pretty pink color sweep across her cheeks.

“If you are worried about becoming with child by me, the passion scent you inhaled kills all sperm entering a woman’s body.”

“Interesting birth control,” she muttered.

“You sound displeased. I can make you pregnant if you wish.” The thought of having a child with her sent an unexpected jolt of erotic pleasure racing through him. Not to mention blood pouring into his quickly engorging cock.

“I’ve got birth control that will last for quite a while, so you won’t have to get upset about it just yet.”

“Who said I was upset? I think making a child with you would be a most pleasant experience.”

The pink blush on her cheeks deepened.

“Just tell me the side effect. I don’t need any more surprises like those flashbacks,” she said softly, avoiding his gaze.

“The passion scent forces you to tell the truth.”

“That’s it?”

Jarod started. “Yes. As I said, the effects dissolve after your first orgasm.”

She inhaled a deep breath; her sexy breasts heaved and pushed against the filmy material of her top, making Jarod long to cup their softness into his palms.

“Kind of like a lie detector?”

“I do not understand that term,” he admitted.

“Never mind. I get it. You didn’t trust me enough to believe that I was telling you the truth about me being their sister; so you thought you’d get me to smell those flowers, get the truth out of me and then fuck me afterwards. If I’d been a liar you wouldn’t have fucked me. Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.”

Hurt brewed in her eyes.

It made him curse himself for deceiving her the way he had.

“I apologize. I had to keep the Hero brothers safe. Even if it meant betraying you.”

“Well, now you know they are safe from me, don’t you?” She threw him a watery smile and started walking again. Obviously, he’d hurt her. No surprise there.

“I wouldn’t have fucked you if I’d had doubts about you.”

“Well, that’s greatly reassuring. Maybe the next time you decide I’m not telling you the truth, you can give me another dose of that scent and fuck the side effects away. Gee, remind me to never make you think I’m lying to you, will you?”

“You are mad.”

“Darn tooting, I’m more than mad. I’m pissed off,” she said.

Early morning sunshine peeked through the forest splashing against her petite body as she climbed over another fallen log. Today she’d changed her clothing and wore a soft-looking midnight blue top that showed her belly and abdomen. She also wore a matching thong that gave him a perfect view of her curvy ass. A luscious-looking ass he’d love to penetrate at his earliest convenience.

Jarod blew out an aroused breath.

“When I have sex with a man, I expect there to be a certain trust between us. If you wanted me to sniff those flowers, you should have told me it was a lie detector test.”

Her stride was quickening now.

“I trust you now. But in order to protect the Hero brothers, I could not chance anything. They have knowledge that can help us males be free of women. They can help us to be equals.”

She stopped abruptly, and he crashed into her petite frame almost bowling her over.

Quickly reaching out, he caught her, holding her close to him. Her eyes sparkled with anger and her body heat splashed so deliciously warm against him. She even smelled faintly of last night’s sex.

Longing ripped through his loins. Impulsively, he lowered his head and melted his mouth over hers, gently kissing her, teasing her lips until she opened up to him, allowing him to come inside. Allowing him to once again explore the dark, lush cavern of her mouth.

She tasted so shockingly sweet and innocent, and he groaned as he felt her vibrant curves melt against him. She was nothing like the endless streams of hard, cool women he’d been made to service over his years. She was unique. A woman he needed to keep in his life.

He kissed her deeper, savoring the silkiness of her rose petal-soft lips. He drove the anger from her tense body, forcing her to remember what they’d shared last night.

His cock convulsed and grew, pressing hard against her hot flesh until she swayed in his arms and whimpered. The sexy sound almost overwhelmed his senses. Almost made him forget that while they were standing here, near the cemetery, they were in constant danger.

He needed to stop the delicious kiss now, before he lost total control and fucked her right here so close to danger. Last night had already been a very stupid thing to do—making her cry out her pleasure so many times. Now that he looked back on it, he was surprised they hadn’t been discovered yet.

He needed to stop kissing her. Needed to get his bearings. They had to keep moving. They had to get away from here.

Yet, he couldn’t release her when he finally broke the kiss.

“The first thing you need to do if you want a woman as your equal,” she whispered, as her body trembled against him, “is to learn to trust her. Without trust in a relationship there is no foundation.”

“I trust you now. I truly do. Please believe me.”

She nodded, and the tips of her passion-swelled lips tilted into a beautiful smile.

“Good. I’m glad we understand each other.”

Within a split second, her smile disintegrated and an icy rush of fear carved into her eyes. His heart lodged in his throat as intense pain slammed into his shoulder.

He’d been hit with something. Whatever it was, it stole the very breath out of his lungs and left him unable to protect Piper.

Despite fighting to stay standing, his legs weakened.

His mind numbed.

“Run,” was all he could say when he saw a shadowy figure sneak up on her. A male stood there. He raised his muscled arms showing Jarod a large branch. He watched in unbelievable horror as it came down, crashing over Piper’s head.

Momentary pain racked her face, and then her eyes fluttered closed on a moan.

She slumped to the ground.

A moment later, he joined her.

* * * * *

When Piper came to, she had a splitting headache. It felt as if someone had hit her with a two-by-four.

“Son of a bitch!” she moaned, as she gingerly pressed her fingers to the painful goose egg at the top of her head. Her fingers came away streaked with warm blood.

Wincing, she struggled into a seated position, and fought the brief sensation of dizziness.

Where the hell was she?

She gazed around the room, which appeared to be eight-foot by eight-foot and maybe seven feet high. The ground beneath her was dirt and hard as a rock, not to mention cold. Her sparse clothing wasn’t keeping her warm, that’s for sure.

Her thoughts felt slow, sluggish and she tried to remember what had happened.

Come on
!
Think
! she mentally screamed at herself, as she gazed at the walls, which appeared to be made out of animal skins patched together like some sort of antique quilt. In the middle of the room a small fire flickered, the gray smoke curling straight up toward a hole in a straw thatch ceiling.

Someone was lying beside the fire huddled beneath blankets. The feathery black hair was unmistakable.

“Jarod!” she squeaked, suddenly remembering the arrow protruding from his shoulder before she’d been hit from behind.

The bundle moved slightly, moaned then fell silent.

Oh, God!

She flew to his side, barely hearing the sound of chains echoing through the room.

Jarod looked absolutely awful.

Perspiration drenched his flushed face and he shivered. His one eye was open and glazed with pain. He was looking at her, but she knew he wasn’t here with her, he was somewhere else. His next word confirmed her thought.

“Cath?” he whispered, in a strangled, frightened voice.

“It’s me, Piper. You’re going to be all right, Jarod.” She felt his damp forehead. Goose bumps chased up her spine. He was burning up!

“Hey! Somebody! Get your ass in here!” she screamed. “I need a doctor!”

She stood and headed for the flap, which she perceived was the doorway, when something hard strangled around her neck, stopping her cold.

That’s when she felt the cold metal of a collar around her neck. A chain dangled down her back and headed toward a metal hoop protruding from the ground in the far corner.

There was an odd-looking padlock on the hoop.

Oh, great! Just freaking great!

They’d tied her down like she was a dog.

Muffled voices bounced around outside the shelter and she wondered if maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to call out to her captors.

She found her way back to Jarod who still stared unseeing at her. She needed to get a look at the shoulder wound. Needed to see how bad this was.

Gulping against the dry knot of fear clogging up her throat, Piper whipped aside the blankets covering Jarod’s chest.

To her surprise, she discovered he’d been patched up with clean, white bandages that were wrapped snugly around his chest and shoulder. It looked like a professional enough job.

Suddenly the door flap whipped aside.

A man entered.

Not just any man.

Blackie.

Oh boy, he was a big fellow. A lot bigger this close-up than he’d been out there in the cemetery.

When he spotted her crouched over Jarod, he smiled, but it was a cool smile that sent shivers racing up and down her spine.

“So, we meet again,” he said as he strolled into the shelter.

“I wouldn’t call our first meeting very proper since you didn’t introduce yourself before you knocked me out, Mister Blackie.”

His dark eyes narrowed in the firelight. “You know my name?”

Oops.

He cast a glance at Jarod who lay as still as a corpse. “He told you?”

“Forget the freaking introductions, okay? Jarod needs a doctor. You better get him in here, pronto, or I’m going to take this chain and wrap it around your scrawny neck ‘til your eyes bug out.”

For effect, she stood and grabbed a length of the chain between both hands and pulled hard.

His eyebrows lifted with amusement. “I told my dead brother you would be a handful when we first started tracking you.”

What the hell was he talking about?

“I told him to be very careful of your beauty. Told him a woman as stunning as you can be distracting, hence lethal. Unfortunately, he didn’t listen to me. I must compliment you on killing him so quickly. One plunge of his own knife directly into his heart. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.”