Manhunt (14 page)

Nikki was stunned into silence. She hadn’t missed the way his voice cracked slightly when he sang “how much I love you.” She decided now was the moment to swallow her fears and tell him she loved him too. She turned around and straddled him, taking his face in her bubble covered hands, her eyes shining with emotion.

“Michael, I—” she began.

But Michael never let her finish that sentence. He sat up quickly, his lips locking with hers and bringing her back with him as he laid back down. Even under the water, he could feel her readiness for him as he brushed against her slick folds. Without releasing her lips, he stood them up in the tub. He continued kissing her as he brushed the bubbles off her body and dried her skin, now a beautiful shade of pink and even softer than before soaking.

She took the towel from him and began returning the favor, kissing and nipping as her lips followed after her hands. He closed his eyes and Nikki smirked at the surprise she had in store for him as she had dropped to her knees in front of him and took him into her mouth with a satisfied hum.

“Nicole!” he exclaimed and attempted to pull back from her, but she grabbed his buttocks and pulled him firmly back to her. She didn’t remember ever doing this for him before, and hoped he understood the unsaid sentiment. “Baby, this wasn’t... exactly... what I... had in mind for this evening... I just want... don’t stop... ugh...”

Nikki couldn’t help the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth when he lost all power of speech. She looked up at him to find him staring back at her, and she chuckled before flicking her tongue around his tip deviously. His hips started rocking gently, encouraging her, so she thrust her head forward, taking him fully into her mouth and throat.

“Fuck, Nikki…” he moaned, throwing his head back. She set a swift pace, one hand firmly grasping him at the base and moving in time with her mouth. Her tongue stroked him as she went, and his hips bucked when her teeth ever-so-lightly grazed his sensitive flesh. He abruptly grabbed a hold of her shoulders and removed himself from her mouth.

Nikki looked up at him, confused and a little hurt. Had she done something wrong?

Michael was quick to allay her fears.

“No, Sunshine. It felt so good. Better than I have words to describe. But I need to make love to you. I want to be inside you when we come.”

Nikki’s breath caught in her chest at the insinuation behind his words.

Michael chuckled and kissed her again before leading her back into the bedroom. She laid herself out before him on the bed and he settled himself between her knees. “Time to return the favor,” he murmured before lowering his head to rest on her inner thigh, his breath like a summer breeze on her, sending delicious chills up her spine.

He kissed her chastely there before his tongue darted out and stroked from her entrance up, separating her lips and exposing her clit to him. He swirled his tongue around it, then sucked it into his mouth while his middle finger circled her entrance teasingly. He thrust his middle finger inside her and curled it, finding the spot that made her body arch into a bridge and her muscles spasm, clenching around him and drenching him in a fresh batch of fragrant creaminess.

Nikki reached down and put her hands under his arms, pulling him up her body and kissing him with abandon. The taste of her arousal on his lips mixed with the sweet taste of his mouth and she found it oddly erotic. Careful not to put any weight on her, Michael thrust into her fully, his head flying back as he rode the aftershocks of her orgasm, pulling him in even deeper and tighter.

“God…” he whispered. His head fell forward and found a resting place against her shoulder as he thrust into her, then slowly withdrawing before slamming back into her. That, mixed with his hot breaths tickling her neck, sent her over the edge once more. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and tried to pull him flush against her, wanting to feel his weight against her, but even in the haze of lust that surrounded them, he was conscious of her injuries. Murmuring “I don’t want to hurt you,” he flipped them over so he was beneath her. She buried her head in the crook of his neck and laid as much of her body against his as she could manage.

His hands found her ass, alternately squeezing and separating her cheeks with every stroke. This time her orgasm was almost painful, and she bit his shoulder a little more forcefully than she intended, her scream vibrating around his skin. It was more than he could take, and with one last forceful thrust, he came deep inside her.

Afterwards, they laid together quietly until they heard a knock on the door and Suzie’s voice from the other side.

“Dinner’s getting cold, lovebirds!” They heard her giggle, her feet padding back down the hall towards the dining room.

“Oh God!” Nikki was mortified with the realization Suzie and her husband had probably heard every moment of their lovemaking.

“Don’t worry, Sunshine. I’m sure they get honeymooners all the time. Some of them had to have been louder than us, right? Then again...”

Nikki just flushed a deeper red and shoved him away from her playfully as she rushed to get dressed.

They had built up quite an appetite, and devoured their first homemade meal in forever. Conversation was light and easy with the owners, and they happily agreed to adjourn to the living room for dessert and coffee. The television was on, some dancing reality show playing while they all made small talk about the decline in good television programs and the lack of decent sitcoms nowadays.

Nikki and Michael were enjoying themselves so much, feeling relaxed and normal, it escaped their notice when the dancing show ended and the news started.

“Yet another new development in the Hershey, Pennsylvania case.”

A grainy picture flashed on the screen of Nikki and Michael. It was from the day before, outside the Pirates ride. Michael had his arm wrapped possessively around Nikki’s waist with a scowl on his face. Nikki was looking up at him, and if she hadn’t been there herself, she would have mistaken the look on her face as fear instead of surprise.

“This picture was taken yesterday on an observer’s cell phone at Walt Disney World in Florida. The subjects have been positively identified as Michael Brennan and Nicole Wright. Why they were at the popular theme park is not understood, but it appears Jeremy Brennan may have been mistaken in his assumption that Nicole is not being held against her will.”

Nikki stared horrified at the screen as the picture shifted to a middle aged man in the process of being interviewed.

“Are you the man who took this picture?” the reporter asked.

“Yes, I am.” The man smiled at the camera. “My family and I are here on vacation. I was going to approach her, but my wife wasn’t sure it was them, so I just took the picture. Seems I was right,” he bragged.

“Can you tell us anything more about them? Did you overhear their conversation? Did she seem to be held against her will?”

“I can’t say. He definitely had her on a short leash, but just after I took that picture they seemed to be laughing and enjoying themselves. Hard to say, really.” The man shrugged.

The reporter took the microphone back. “FBI officials are obviously pleased with this new development.”

The scene changed to a news conference with two men in suits behind a podium.

“First of all, we were happy to learn that, at least as of yesterday, Nicole Wright was alive. Now that we have pinned their location less than 24 hours ago, we feel it is only a matter of time before Mr. Brennan is apprehended. We want to take a moment to thank this observant citizen for taking what action he felt was appropriate under the circumstances. We want to make one thing clear: we are still treating this as a kidnapping case, and will continue to do so until Nicole Wright is safely back home.”

The news anchor appeared back on the screen, the same picture of Michael that had graced the missing person ads staring back at them from the corner. “We will, of course, continue to bring you new developments as they arise.”

Tom looked at them warily. “What did you say your names were again?”

“Burns. Ethan and Julie Burns,” Michael replied, but he was unable to keep his voice from shaking.

“Uh huh,” he replied. “I don’t think so.”

They both realized at the same time that his wife had left the room, and looked at each other in a panic.

“You’ll forgive us if we cut our visit short. Thank you for your hospitality,” Michael said, taking Nikki by the elbow and quickly helping her to her feet, pulling her behind him as he jogged for the door.

The innkeeper made a move to stop him, blocking their exit. “Hold on there, now, boy…”

“Move,” Michael ordered, but the man didn’t waver. Tom simply crossed his arms over his chest and turned his eyes to Nikki.

“Ma’am?”

It was clear to Nikki that Tom would not let Michael take her if she didn’t want to go.

“Please?” she pleaded softly, putting her hand on his forearm. He stared in her eyes, searching for something, fear or hesitation perhaps, then nodded reluctantly and stepped aside. She hopped up on her tip toes and kissed his cheek before they rushed out the door.

Chapter 14

Nikki’s heart didn’t stop pounding in her chest until they’d been on the road at least an hour. Michael looked a wreck, staying in the right lane and driving the speed limit for a few minutes, then heading into the left lane and gunning it the next. Even after they’d been on the road long enough to know no one was hot on their trail, the adrenaline was making the blood pound in Nikki’s ears and she couldn’t stop looking behind them. She noticed Michael frequently doing the same.

Nikki was the first to break the silence. “What do you think they’ll tell the police?”

Michael exhaled loudly and took another deep breath before replying. “Well, they’ve seen the car, so I’m fairly certain that the police will soon know the make and model we’re driving. On the plus side, I’m fairly certain that they can both vouch that you were there on your own accord.”

Michael wagged his eyebrows suggestively. Nikki blushed and punched him in the arm. He got back to the matter at hand.

“The way I see it, we have three options. One, we push it hard the rest of the way home. If we do that, we will need to stop for more medical supplies since I hadn’t re-taped your ribs yet and you don’t have as much as an ibuprofen to help with the pain. Two, we go back to only driving at night. Or three, we try to find an alternate mode of transportation.”

Nikki nodded. She sucked her upper lip between her teeth while she tried to figure out the best thing. “I think we need to call Christian. Maybe he can help.”

Michael reluctantly agreed and pulled off at the first rest stop.

She put the change in the slot of the pay phone, wishing it were a booth instead of just a wall-mounted unit outside the restrooms. Nikki looked at Michael and jerked her head toward the doors, silently asking him to be their lookout.

“Hello?” Christian answered after the third ring, his voice tired and obviously worried. Nikki remembered Christian never answered the phone unless he knew who it was. Guilt set in as she considered that perhaps he was answering now out of concern for them.

“Christian? It’s Nikki.”

“Nikki! Oh, thank God!” She heard some shuffling noises in the background. Sophie was apparently trying to steal the phone from him. Christian wasn’t having it. “Settle down, woman,” Christian scolded half playfully. “You heard the doctor, you need to relax. I’ll give you a full report, I promise.”

Sophie huffed loudly in protest, but Nikki heard the familiar sound of one of their kitchen chairs scraping on the floor as it was pulled out from the table and knew she’d given in.

“Is everything all right?” Nikki asked.

“You guys are the feature story for every prime time news show in the country right now, and you’re asking us if we’re alright. That’s rich,” Christian chuckled. “You and Michael are probably the only two people alive who would be thinking of someone else at a time like this. Don’t worry your head about us, sugar.”

“Don’t pull that sugar thing on me, Christian Jefferson! You’re not going to charm your way into changing the subject this time, mister,” Nikki replied.

“Well, it sounds like someone’s feeling better,” Christian said with a laugh, then sighed. “Truth is, things have been pretty stressful around here. The Feds have had a ball questioning all of us. I was being investigated as a suspect until Jeremy confessed. We didn’t know where you were or if you were all right, at least not until we saw video of you at Disney World. All this stress has been too much on Sophie and we had a bit of a scare, thought she was going to miscarry for a while there. Her doctor put her on bed rest, though, and she’s doing better now.”