Taken by Passion(2)

Alice and Alexi’s mother, on the other hand, had lost her mind when their father left. She became transient, a homeless woman who traveled from place to place. They had tried to help their mother, but mentally she was gone, and she up and disappeared and they hadn’t been able to find her since.

Pushing aside things she didn’t want to think about, Alice eyed the old-fashioned telephone on the entryway table. Thank God for old technology. She took a deep breath, snatched up the receiver, and dialed Alexi’s cell phone. Just wait until she hears what happened.

“This is Alexi,” came the firm don’t-mess-with-me voice that she used for business. Alice’s home phone always came up private caller, so Alexi wouldn’t have seen Alice’s name come up on the Caller ID screen.

“It’s your favorite twin,” Alice said as she fiddled with the woven bracelet her sister had given her for their eighteenth birthday, six years ago.

Alexi’s tone changed instantly to that of the friendly, fun-loving sister Alice had grown up with: “Heya, sis. Why aren’t you calling me on your cell?”

Alice’s shoulders sagged. “Because it ended up in the bottom of a mud puddle.”

“Ouch.” Alexi shifted the conversation to her favorite refrain. “Dump that loser yet?”

Alice rolled her eyes to the ceiling of the small entryway. Neither her best friend, Maryam, nor her sister liked Jon at all. They didn’t see the fun side of him, and the way he made Alice laugh. “You’re talking about my fiancé.”

Alexi snorted. “Yeah. The loser.”

“Whatever.” Alice twirled the phone cord like a mini jump rope. “I’m calling from home. Are you down at the office or working out of your apartment today?”

“Right upstairs.” Papers rustled as Alexi spoke. “Shall I stomp twice? I have on my red heels. That’s got to be like clicking ruby slippers to take us out of here.”

“Close enough.” Alice smiled. Alexi could always make her smile. “You don’t happen to have any mocha almond fudge in your freezer, do you?” Alice pulled the phone cord taut in irritation. “Jon ate the last of mine. And damn it, I need to talk.”

“Two whole pints. Is this a pint-each talk, or a two-spoons-in-one-pint problem?”

“Honey, I need a pint all my own.” Alice tapped her long fingernails on the telephone stand, the click-clack echoing through the empty hallway. “Something happened today—”

“What?” Alice could just imagine Alexi bolting out of her chair as she practically shouted the word. “You’re not hurt or anything, are you? I would have sensed it—”

“No.” She had to smile at her two-minute-older protective sister. “It’s nothing like that. It—”

A woman’s passionate cry tore through the apartment and Alice froze.

“What was that?” Alexi asked in her attorney voice.

“Hold on.” Alice’s heart pounded and she gritted her teeth. “I’m about to find out.”

She thunked the phone on the wooden stand, and as she walked away she could hear her sister’s voice saying, “Alice? You’d better be back on the line in thirty seconds or I’m coming down with Mace!”

Alice’s head buzzed as her bare feet padded over the cracked linoleum floor toward the single bedroom. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

Would he?

Feminine laughter followed by Jon’s familiar moan of ecstasy confirmed that he would. The cheating bastard.

But she had to see for herself. Had to see that it was her loser of a fiancé.

She peeked around the doorframe, and the buzzing in her head increased. Sure enough, Jon was naked and between the just-as-naked thighs of Min, their beautiful slender landlady, and he was suckling the dark nipples of her small, firm breasts.

And worse yet, they were on Alice’s bed. The bed she’d had since she was a teenager and taken with her when she’d moved away from home.

That’s my bed.

Alice wanted to scream, but she was too stunned to move. It was happening again. Goddamn it, again. Catching her last boyfriend screwing around apparently hadn’t been enough.

“You ready to be fucked?” Min asked Jon, her sultry dark eyes filled with lust.

“Oh yeah, babe.” Jon flipped his dark red hair out of his eyes as he grabbed his dick in his hand and positioned it at Min’s slit. “I want it all.”

“This is some fine shit,” a man’s deep baritone came from near the chest of drawers behind the bedroom door, and the buzzing in Alice’s head reached epic proportions.

Her jaw dropped as a big man with a full beard walked into the center of the room. The guy was partially clothed in leather chaps, thick-linked silver chains, and a spiked collar. He had greased his dick with something and was stroking his hand up and down with one palm while carrying a leather strap and chain in his other hand.