“You should walk away,” he told her in a voice ragged with arousal.
Elise was beyond words. She simply shook her head. She wanted this basic human contact. She needed it.
Trent leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against her mouth. It felt so good, so warm, but it wasn’t nearly enough. She slid her fingers through his hair and kissed him back, holding him in place while his kiss expanded until it became her whole world.
A sigh escaped her lips, parting them. His tongue feathered inside to taste her, and all her pent-up fear and frustration liquefied into meaninglessness, leaving her reeling, almost giddy with relief.
He tried to pull away, but she wasn’t going to let that happen. She knew what was waiting for her outside the consuming pleasure of his kiss, and she wasn’t ready to face it. Not yet.
She pushed him back until he hit the wall and pinned him there. Sure, he was strong enough to get away if he wanted, but he didn’t seem in a hurry to go anywhere. She had him right where she wanted him.
Elise went up on tiptoe and kissed him harder.
Wow.
The word kept going through Trent’s mind over and over.
Elise was a wild woman. She clung to him, kissing him like she was dying of thirst and he was the last drink of water on the planet.
A man could get used to being needed like that. Fast.
Her slender fingers curled around his neck, pulling him down so her lips could eat at his, kissing him with the kind of frenetic abandon Trent hadn’t witnessed since his youth. She tasted so good, satisfying some part of him he hadn’t realized was hungry. And her body… Lord, have mercy. Every sweet curve was rubbing against him, burning him up. He could feel the soft press of her breasts against his ribs, the hard little peaks of her nipples through their clothing.
He wanted to get her naked so he could feel her breasts without any barriers.
Her lips trailed down to his neck, and he felt the sharp sting of her teeth for an instant before she stroked the sting away with her tongue. The first playful nip had his dick standing at attention. The second nearly made him lose it right there in his shorts.
She pulled the hem of his shirt up and kissed a meandering trail across his chest and down his stomach. Trent ripped the shirt off the rest of the way, deciding it was time to do the same to her. He’d been dying to see her breasts, to feel them in his palms, against his tongue.
There were ten million buttons down the front of her dress and Trent cursed every one of them. The last few were more than his patience could stand, and as he ripped the dress open the last few inches, they went flying to the far corners of the room. A pretty pink bra offered her breasts up to him, and he didn’t bother trying to resist.
He drew his fingers over the naked top curves, followed the straps up to her shoulders and slid them down. Undoing a clasp was beyond him, but with a couple of tugs, she was bare, with her bra hanging useless over her ribs.
Wow. He’d never seen anything so pretty in his life, and he was going to take his time and enjoy the view.
Elise tried to obscure his view by continuing her trail of kisses south, but Trent stopped her, pulling her face up so he could stare at her.
“So beautiful,” he managed to tell her, though the words were garbled and thick.
She gave him a smile that was somehow both demure and sexy all at the same time. She stepped back, unfastened her bra, slid her panties down and left the strappy heels on.
Wow.
About a million fantasies were on the verge of coming true right here and now.
She pressed her naked body against his, making him shudder. Hot. Soft. Perfect.
Trent kissed her again. There were no other options. If he didn’t get another taste of her, he simply wasn’t going to survive. And as soon as he was done with her mouth, he was going to find all those other sweet spots he was dying to taste.
Elise gave as good as she got, while her slender fingers worked at the waistband of his jeans. She didn’t bother pushing them down, just slid her fingers inside and wrapped them around his throbbing cock.
Trent nearly came right there and pressed his forehead to hers while he sucked in huge breaths of air in an effort to regain some control. They didn’t help. It had been too long since he’d taken care of his body’s needs, and he was on a hair trigger.
Before it was too late, he gathered her hands and picked her up. He wasn’t going to do this on the shabby carpet. Not with Elise. He didn’t have silk sheets or anything fancy, but at least the bed was clean and comfortable and wouldn’t rub her back raw once he got her under him.
He laid her down on his bed. She looked like an offering, her skin glowing against the navy-blue sheets. A rosy flush had spread across her chest, and her nipples were stiff, dark peaks that made his mouth water.
Trent didn’t trust himself enough to lose his shorts yet, but he toed off his shoes, shed his jeans, and lay down next to her.
She reached for him, but he captured her hands and held them at bay while he looked his fill. She was quivering, and her eyes were a deep, slumberous green. He’d never seen anything half as sexy as she was right now.
“Are you going to tease me all night?” she asked.
“No. Just for a few more minutes.”
He cupped her breast and watched her eyes flutter shut. She arched her back toward him, letting out a soft, sweet sigh.
She refused to be held still, and her clever hands escaped his grip, only to pull his hand down her body to where she wanted him to touch her. Trent was gentleman enough to oblige, parting the soft curls to find her slick and hot. He slid one finger inside her, feeling the tight clench of muscles grip him like a glove.
A shiver coursed through her, and she clamped her thighs together, trapping his hand.
Trent flicked his tongue across her distended nipple, and she sucked in a hissing breath. Her hips writhed, taking his hand along for the ride. Her fingernails bit into his arm, clinging to him like a lifeline. A high, needy noise rose up in her, then was suddenly cut off as she held her breath.
A climax rolled through her body, shaking her with the force of it. Trent was right there with her, keeping her riding high with his fingers between her thighs and his mouth on her breast.
He was about ready to come himself, just watching her, when she began to relax and ease back down.
It was the single most sexiest thing he’d ever witnessed, and he was already dying to see it again.
“I’m sorry,” she panted.
“Don’t be.” He didn’t sound like himself. His voice was too rough and thick, but she seemed to understand his words.
She opened her eyes and stared up at him. “It’s been a long time for me. I couldn’t seem to stop it.”
Boy, did he understand that. “I don’t mind. Really.”
Elise’s smile was full of womanly intent. “Good, because I’m not done with you yet.”
“Thank God. I’m about to explode here.”
“Well, then,” she said as she moved to all fours, with those sexy heels sticking out behind her, “why don’t you put on a condom and I’ll show you a really nice time.”
Condom. Right. He had those somewhere.
He scrambled to look in his bedside drawer and there they were—four of them, which was probably enough to make a dent in his serious case of lust for Elise.
Some kind of warning went off in the back of his mind, but she was holding her hand out for them, smiling at him like he was something good to eat.
There was no way Trent was going to last if he let her slide one of those rubbers over his hard-on, so he shucked his shorts and tore the first pack open with his teeth, ready to do the job himself.
That’s when he saw it. The expiration date. They’d expired. A year ago.
A shout of denial rose out of him until he thought the top of his head would blow off.
“What?” she asked, frowning in concern.
“Expired.”
She grabbed up the wrapper. “Really expired. It’s been awhile for you, huh?”
“Unfortunately, a really long while.”
Trent flopped down onto the bed and covered his eyes with his arm. He couldn’t look at her like this knowing he couldn’t have her, and there was no way he was going to risk using a condom that was as likely to break as not. Even though he was disease-free, he didn’t see how she could do the job she loved while pregnant.
He wouldn’t take her beloved job away from her. He knew how much that sucked.
Her weight shifted on the bed, then he felt the warmth of her fingers slide down his abdomen and over his thighs.
“You’re not helping,” he groaned.
“Yes, I am. Just lie back and enjoy. We’re not going to need a condom for what I’m going to do to you.”
Hope forced him to lift his arm and peek at her. She’d straddled his legs, gloriously naked and flushed from her own orgasm. All she wore was a satisfied smile and those strappy heels.
“Oh yeah?” he forced himself to ask.
She wrapped her hands around his cock and stroked him slow and steady. “Oh yeah.”
“You don’t have to do this.”
“Shut up, Trent.”
Trent shut up. He didn’t make another sound until he felt her lips slide over him, hot and slick, just like she’d been around his finger. The groan he let out was completely involuntary.
For a woman who hadn’t been with a man in a long time, Elise had no trouble remembering what she was doing. Trent tried to hold out, tried to make the pleasure last as long as possible, but he was no match for Elise’s clever fingers and hot, suckling mouth.
His body went tight, and his orgasm slammed into him with the force of a battering ram. Pleasure pounded through him, so intense it was nearly pain. The world fell away, leaving only Elise and the physical joy she wrung from his body. She stayed with him the whole time, stretching out every second of it.
When it was over, Trent was a boneless pile of man, weak and spent. He used the last bit of his strength to pull Elise against his side and pin her there with one arm.
He didn’t have the strength to explain to her that he wanted her right there, next to him, nor did he want to deal with any argument she might give. If she was here, he knew she was safe, and he needed to know that.
If anything happened to her, he didn’t think he’d survive.
Constance had a fever.
Ashley had no idea what to do. She didn’t have any aspirin to give her, only the pain pills that barely seemed to work.
Constance was bathed in sweat, shivering uncontrollably. Long, low moans of pain vibrated out of her chest, making Ashley sick with worry.
She pressed a cool, wet cloth to Constance’s head. The woman flailed around, trying to bat it away with her hands, but there was now only one, and she bumped the bandaged stump against her cheek. A cry of agony ripped from her lungs, echoing off the concrete walls.
Ashley went to the door and pounded on it, shouting for help. No one came.
For the thousandth time, Ashley wished Elise was here. She would have known what to do. She was brilliant and brave. She wasn’t afraid of anything. Not even that monster Gary would have scared Elise.
But Elise wasn’t here. Ashley had to deal with this on her own. Somehow.
She wet a towel, stripped the blankets off Constance’s shivering body, and draped the towel over her. Constance jerked and hissed in a pained breath.
“Cold,” was all she said.
“I know. I know it’s cold, but we need to get your fever down.”
“I need to go home.” Constance tried to push herself up, but her body was too weak to cooperate.
Ashley felt helpless tears run down her face. She stroked the other woman’s forehead, hoping to calm her. “It’s okay, Constance. You’re home. I’m going to take good care of you.” The lie tasted like acid, burning her tongue, but what else could she do? She was trapped here, helpless.
“I’m so cold.”
Footsteps thudded out in the hallway, growing louder. Gary was coming back.
Surely he’d see how bad Constance was and let her go to a hospital. Wouldn’t he?
He unlocked the door and stepped inside. In one hand he had a tote stocked with manicure supplies. In the other, a handgun.
“It’s time,” he said, holding the manicure kit out to Ashley.
Fear had been with her so long, she hardly even noticed it anymore. It was simply a part of her, like her heart and lungs. She had no control over it. “Time for what?”
“Time for you to paint her nails. Make her pretty.”
“No, she’s too sick. Can’t you see that? She needs a hospital.”
“You should have done a better job of taking care of her.”
“I’m not a doctor,” Ashley nearly screamed. “I don’t know what I’m doing. You’ve got to get her help.”
A sickening half smile tilted Gary’s mouth. “I’ll give her all the help she needs soon enough. I’ll even let you watch to make sure I do it right. I know how much you liked watching.”
Not again. Ashley couldn’t go through that horror again. Neither could Constance.