“Jessica,” I murmured. Her chestnut hair swept across my hand and her hip tortured my aching cock with slow circles.
Wait, I wanted to say, as I dove into the sweetest kiss. Her lips were hot and full and wanting, and I tore all the sweetness from them that I could. A soft needy noise escaped her lips, making me throb hard against her. Fuck, she was beautiful. So, so beautiful.
Wait, I wanted to say, as I drew her even closer. My hands cradled her, moving down over her warm skin. The end was coming for her, all too soon. I could see the men waiting outside in the alley in my mind’s eye. They were waiting for me to bring her out, like a lamb to slaughter.
Then something in her shifted, changed. She’d been so complacent before, so gentle. In the middle of our kiss, though, she began to press forward. Her hands pulled at the fabric of my shirt, and her eyes lit up with a fiery passion. Her breasts pressed against my chest and I could feel her nipples, hard through the fabric. God, I’d never wanted a woman so much before.
Wait, I wanted to say. Wait, because the path I’m leading you down ends in a dungeon. Wait, because you only have a few minutes left as a free woman, and every kiss draws us closer to the exit.
Wait, because I don’t want this to be over yet.
When I pulled back from the kiss, her eyes were blurred with passionate need. My groin throbbed as she eased herself away from my body. For a single second, when she was looking up into my eyes, I thought she could see right down through my carefully crafted facade. She knew, she had to know. She would run away from me now, and I would let her go.
But she didn’t leave, and I couldn’t postpone the inevitable any longer. I swallowed the lump in my throat, knowing that I had to lead her to the trap waiting for us outside.
“Let’s go outside and get some fresh air,” I said.
Forgive me.
Chapter Twelve
Jessica
I was oblivious to anything but the fire between us until he pulled back out of the kiss. I felt him tense under me as we leaned against the wall.
“Outside?” I repeated breathlessly.
“Sure. You were looking for your friend?” he asked, a hint of a smile on his face.
Oh, God. April must be puking really bad.
“Yeah,” I said, blinking away my dizziness. “I, uh—”
“The back entrance is down this way. We could use a breather anyway, huh?”
He turned and pointed down the hall, past the bathrooms. I shuffled past him with a mumble of thanks, adjusting my dress. I was too tipsy to be wearing heels.
There was another man in a suit standing in front of the back door. As I came closer, I saw him lift his eyes to look at something over my shoulder. Then he nodded and stepped aside, opening the door.
I stepped forward to what looked like an alleyway, but then something made me pause. Some instinct. What was the man in the suit looking at? I turned my head quickly. Dizziness swept through me as I looked up into icy blue eyes.
“You—”
He shoved me back through the doorway so hard that I didn’t have any time to cry out. I tumbled out into the alley, catching myself on the rough asphalt with my hands. My palms scraped and a burning pain shot through my arm. I heard the alleyway door slam behind us.
What the hell!?
The blond man yanked me to my feet, pulling me up by the arm as though I weighed nothing. I opened my mouth to scream, but I only got out a yelp before his hand was over my mouth. I struggled, kicking hard, but he held me tight against his chest. One of the other guards came forward and clasped a collar around my neck. A collar?! I kicked out again and got the guard in the shin. But the black leather collar was still tight around my neck.
“You didn’t drug her.”
The voice came from behind us, and when the blond man turned with me in his arms, I saw who had spoken. The fat guy from upstairs, the one with the mustache.
“I didn’t have time. She was heading out here anyway.”
Then my eyes refocused, and I saw April and James. They were both on their knees, gags tied around their mouths, with two of the men in black standing behind them. The men—Oh God. The men had guns tucked into their belts. I hadn’t noticed before.
Behind them, there were two black SUVs parked up against the curb, blocking the alleyway.
April was sobbing silently. Her mascara ran down onto the cloth gag and there was a collar around her throat just like mine. James looked up at me with fear in his eyes. There was a huge bruise on the side of his face. My throat constricted.
Jesus. They’re going to kidnap us. All of the stories I’d heard about Americans getting kidnapped and held for ransom came flooding back into my mind. Stories about fingers getting chopped off and sent back as a warning. All of a sudden, I was completely sober.