I got a hand into the gap between two doors, stopping them from sliding shut by the narrowest of margins. "Get on," I said, twisting her off my shoulders as the doors hissed open again. She landed in the train and I leapt after her, the two of us crashing to floor as the train began to roll slowly out of the station.
TWENTY-THREE
JAKE
‘You should have let them take her.'
I looked at the phone screen and had to resist crushing it in my hand. We'd been on the train for about half an hour when Tony texted me. Isabel sat with the coat wrapped round her, her legs crossed, looking terrified, as if she might never recover from what had just happened.
"Who were they?" she asked, holding the coat tight against her.
"Men hired to take you back."
"Like you?"
I nodded. "Not as good as me."
"What if they find us again?"
"We'll be more careful."
"We were careful. I can't live like this, Jake. Maybe I should just give in, accept defeat."
"You want to marry Kingsley?"
"No, of course I don't."
"Then we keep going."
"Thank you," she said as my phone vibrated in my hand.
"What for?" I asked, trying to ignore the phone.
"For saving me," she said as I glanced down at the screen. The sound of the train rattling along faded away as anger took over me, my eyes scanning the message. He didn't care about her getting safely home, that much was obvious. He just cared about his pride.
"What does it say?" Isabel asked and I wasn't sure how to reply. "Is it from Tony?"
I showed her the screen.
"That bastard," she said. "How could you ever agree to work for him?"
"I doubt I'll be working for him much longer."
My phone buzzed again and I glanced down once more.
‘You chose a hotel I own, you fucking moron. I don't know what you're playing at but if you think you can hold onto her to get more money out of me, you're very much mistaken. Bring her back. Now.'
"What does that one say?" she asked as I turned the phone off.
"It says he's not too happy with the choice we've made."
"I'm sorry, Jake. I shouldn't have dragged you into this. Now you're going to get killed because of me."
"If I'm killed, it will not be because of you. It'll be because I let my guard down."
The door at the far end of the carriage slid open and the conductor appeared. "Tickets please."
"Come on," I hissed, grabbing her hand and moving the other way. "Before he sees us."
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"In here," I replied, pulling her into the toilet and closing the door.
I was squeezed up against the frosted glass window and Isabel was pressed up against me, the space barely big enough for one, let alone two.
"I never expected you to be afraid of a ticket inspector," she said quietly.
"I'd rather avoid complications," I replied. "Let's hope he's not the conscientious type."
"Tickets please," I heard through the door. I held my breath and waited but the sound of footsteps moved on. Still, Isabel remained pressed up against me.
"I think we're safe," I said, looking directly into her eyes, feeling her breath on my cheek. From this close, I could smell her skin and she smelt sweet and pure, far too good for someone like me.
"Better stay here a moment longer," she whispered back, her body pressed up against mine. "Just to be sure."
With her body crushed up against mine, I froze. It felt ridiculous. I'd been in fights so violent, I'd almost died, I'd taken one woman after another without batting an eyelid and yet with Isabel stood in front of me, I froze. Why was this so different? What made her so different? It was as she stared up at me that I realised it was because I cared about her. For the first time since Abbey, I cared about another human being. It was such a long forgotten feeling that I hardly recognised it.
I could have kissed her. I wanted to. I wanted to push her onto her knees and fill her mouth until she gagged. I wanted to unzip that coat to reveal her naked body, bend her over and fuck her there and then. Under my coat, only my boxers prevented her from feeling the hardness of me pointing towards her. I wanted her more than anything and I couldn't hold off taking her.
Did I want to fuck her because I cared about her? Or to make that feeling go away? I looked at her and she blinked slowly, her chest heaving as she stared back up at me. She's naked under the coat, a voice said to me, screamed at me in fact. She's naked under there and you could do anything to her. Just do it.
I was on my knees before I realised what was happening. Reaching up, I grabbed the zip of her coat and slid it downwards, the two halves falling apart to reveal her naked body underneath.
"What are you doing?" she hissed.
I didn't answer. I didn't need to. I was doing what I wanted, bad idea as it was, I couldn't stop myself any longer. I kissed her stomach softly before shoving her legs apart, impatient to taste her.
I slid my hand up her leg whilst pressing my lips to her clit. The taste of her was as sweet as I'd expected and it made my cock ache painfully at the thought of being inside her.
With my right hand on her ass, holding her in place, the index finger of my left hand eased itself through her wetness, finding her entrance and then delving into her pussy, exploring it whilst I continued to lick her clit.
She grabbed the back of my head, grinding her hips against me. "Oh, fuck," she muttered while I continued to play with her pussy, my lips gliding over her clit, wanting to lap up every drop of her wetness.
"Oh my God," she whispered. "If you don't stop, I'm going to come."
I picked up speed, feeling more turned on than ever by what she'd said. Her pussy gripped my fingers as her body began to shiver. Another flick over her clit and then she came, her hips bucking in place, her body shaking, a deep moan escaping her as she did her best to keep quiet.
I was going to continue but there was a jolt under my feet and the brakes began to squeak. The train started to slow, the voice of the driver echoing around us as he announced the stop. "Come on," I said, standing up quickly, "before the guard comes back for us."
"All right," she replied but she sounded reluctant to move. I knew how she felt. I hated to see her hide her body away again inside the coat. Watching her turn and unlock the door, I caught a glimpse of her legs under the coat and again I was torn by the need to take her.
As she moved away from me, I felt a strong sense of loss that came from nowhere. It seemed that one emotion led to another. I might never have her that close to me again, especially when I left her with Ben.
Once I'd done that, I could deal with Tony, make him understand that she wasn't right for Kingsley. Maybe he'd kill me, maybe he'd listen. Time would tell.
We stepped off the train and onto the platform. "What now?" she asked.
"We look for a clothes shop," I replied. "Unless you're happy staying in that coat.
We headed out of the station, me trying to ignore the feel of the pavement pressing into my bare feet. It took ten minutes of walking to find a clothes shop and I was just beginning to lose hope when Isabel pointed in the distance. "Look, over there."
"Perfect," I said, leading the way over the road towards the shop.
TWENTY-FOUR
ISABEL
I felt ridiculous walking into the clothes shop wearing nothing but a coat. At least the embarrassment stopped me thinking too much about what he'd just done to me. My legs were still weak from my climax. No one had ever made me come that quickly before. It was like a dream come true.
The sales assistant looked at me as I walked past her. I felt sure she knew I was naked underneath my coat, the way she looked at me when I passed by made me shrink in my place. Luckily, Jake took my hand and walked me towards the back of the shop. "What do you reckon?" he asked, picking up a dress and holding it against me. "Will this do?"
"If I'm going to appear in a music video in 1995 maybe."
"What's wrong with denim?"
I sighed. "It would take far too long to answer that question. You find stuff for you, I'll find things for me."
I met him by the dressing rooms at the back of the shop. He had a couple of shirts over his sleeve and a pair of black trousers dangling down towards the floor. "Did you find any shoes?" he asked.
I waved a pair of heels in his direction. "Of course."
"Practical."
"Thanks. Shall we?"
There was no one guarding the dressing rooms so I walked into the nearest one and went to pull the curtain closed. Jake's hand grabbed it from me and he stepped inside, shaking his head.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"I'm not letting you out of my sight."