Authors: Jade Allen
****
“Chelsea, you should
get up long enough to eat something.” Chelsea groaned, burrowing deeper into
the warm, soft pillows and blankets that surrounded her in protest.
“Eating is for
suckers,” she proclaimed, raising her voice to be heard over the muffling
effect of the bed linens. “Sleep is where it’s at.” She heard Johan laugh, and
felt the blankets pulling away from her, felt Johan’s strong hands tugging
aside the sheets, the pillows, she had cocooned herself in shortly after the
Vicodin had begun to take effect. She groaned again in frustration, trying
futilely to pull them back.
“If you want to take
another Vicodin, you need to eat something or you’re going to puke all over the
nice clean bed and I’m not cleaning it up,” Johan said firmly.
“But if I eat there
will be more to puke,” Chelsea pointed out. She gave up on the idea of sleep,
letting Johan pry the sheets and blankets out of her hands until she lay, fully
exposed and completely naked, looking up at him. “You’re mean,” she said,
sticking her tongue out as she crossed her arms over her chest. The pressure
sent a jolt of pain from the site of her bruised rib and Chelsea winced.
“I let you sleep for
six hours. You need to eat something, take a bath, and take another Vicodin.”
“Wait, wait,” Chelsea
said, frowning. “You’re hurt too, you can’t just stay up and—what have you been
doing for the past six hours?” Johan smiled.
“There was a marathon
of
Bones
on TV,” he told her. “I took a little nap. I’m not as badly
injured as you.” Johan frowned slightly. “Maybe I should have given you the gun
and kept the knife for myself.”
“They would’ve just
killed you,” Chelsea pointed out, shrugging. “Okay, I’ll eat, and all that
other stuff. I’m feeling a little bit better anyway.” She carefully pulled
herself up, grunting as pain flared up in her various injuries; she could
easily believe it had been six hours—the Vicodin she had taken within minutes
of arriving at the hotel was starting to wear off.
“Before you go off
into painkiller mode again,” Johan said, helping her out of the bed and leading
Chelsea into the living room area of their suite, “we need to discuss a few
things.” The room was every bit as luxurious as the ones they had stayed in
before—but the hotel was obviously more secure; Johan had apparently learned
from his mistake, or the person masterminding their flight from the people
pursuing Chelsea had.
“Like what?” Chelsea
cinched the sash of her robe tightly around her waist and sat down slowly on
the couch. She looked over the food that Johan had ordered them with real
interest; the hotel had three chefs masterminding the room service menu, and
Johan had apparently opted for the Asian fusion specialties. There was a
selection of sushi, some noodles, a big bowl of fried rice, and other things
that Chelsea couldn’t identify; but which looked absolutely mouthwatering.
“I’m fairly certain
that there’s no one after us right this moment,” Johan said, beginning to serve
Chelsea from the various bowls, plates, and tureens on the table. “I killed
everyone who showed up at the hotel. Or—excuse me, everyone but the one you
stabbed to death.” Johan gave her a quick smile. “Our benefactor is smoothing
things over with the local police, but we’ll likely have to fill out some
paperwork.”
“Okay, so we can stay
here for a little while, I take it?” Johan shrugged.
“For a few days,
maybe,” he said. “I doubt your CEO is going to just let us go after that
business. He’s gotten himself in far too deeply—now not only will he face
charges for embezzlement, drug running, and fraud, but also conspiracy to
commit murder. He’s going to be put away for life if he can’t get rid of the
evidence.”
“The evidence being
me,” Chelsea said, sighing. She picked at her food, suddenly feeling as though
her stomach had been coated in lead.
“Eat. You can’t have
any more Vicodin until you eat.” Johan served himself and ate a few bites
quickly, giving Chelsea a moment to absorb what he’d told her. “The important
thing is that we need to stay ahead. You’re going to have a new identity in a
few days, and then…” Johan licked his lips, setting his plate down on his lap
to look at her. “You’re going to have to be okay with the idea of living with
me for a few months while we wait for this to go to trial.” Chelsea put down
her fork and stared at him for a moment.
“So even with a new
ID, a new life…I still won’t be safe.” Johan smiled slightly, his eyes
regretful.
“Not until your CEO is
behind bars,” he said. Johan set his plate aside and leaned forward, brushing
his lips against Chelsea’s. “So I will be living with you until the end of the
trial.”
“How do you know I’ll
be safe then?” Chelsea asked, anxiety beginning to prickle and tingle through
the last dregs of drug-induced euphoria.
“Very shortly
thereafter, you’ll be as safe as you can possibly be. If you want me out of
your life then, I’ll go peacefully.” Johan’s lips twitched in a smile.
“Onto another cute
girl to protect?” Chelsea asked him, raising an eyebrow. “What if I don’t want
you out of my life then?” Johan’s eyes widened slightly, his gaze trailing over
her body slowly.
“I’ve got some
skills,” he said, almost absently. “I could get a job somewhere.” Chelsea set
her plate down, startled by the comment.
“Would you want that?”
Chelsea asked. She couldn’t imagine Johan in any other lifestyle than the one
he’d been leading with her over the past week or so they had been on the run.
“I mean—you seem to like—whatever it is you call this job.” Johan smiled
slightly, shrugging.
“It’s a good living,”
Johan admitted, taking up his plate once more. “It’s exciting.” He glanced at
her once more. “But then, it’s been pretty exciting with you.” Chelsea
chuckled, taking another bite of her noodles.
“We’ve also been on
the run.” Johan shook his head.
“Even without that.
You’re an exciting, unpredictable woman. I think you could keep me guessing
enough to make up for no longer being shot at or chased.” Chelsea laughed out
loud, grabbing at her ribcage as the movement sent pain through her. “Finish
your food, woman. We’ll dose you up with drugs and before they kick in, we’ll
make love.”
“I thought I was
supposed to get a shower,” Chelsea said.
“I can handle you in a
shower. Remember?” Chelsea bit her bottom lip, her body beginning to heat up,
her skin tingling with the first stirrings of desire. She had missed the ready
opportunities for sex with Johan more than she would have thought—more than she
would have admitted to herself. Chelsea picked up a piece of sushi and ate it
quickly, holding her body as still as possible so as not to jar her injuries.
Suddenly the desire for more sleep and more pain relief took a back seat to a
few hours’ passion with Johan.
They finished the
meal, and Johan gathered up the plates, platters, and everything else,
trundling the cart out to the door of the suite before returning to Chelsea’s
side. “Is it terrible of me that one of the things I’ve missed most while we
were separated was the ability to fuck your brains out whenever we got bored?”
Chelsea tried to stifle the laugh that bubbled up inside of her at the frank
question, knowing it would only bring pain.
“I was just thinking,”
Chelsea said, as Johan carefully moved closer to her, draping his arm around
her waist to cradle her against him as he leaned in to kiss her lightly on the
lips. “That I had really missed the stress relief.” Johan nibbled at her bottom
lip playfully, his hands moving over her body slowly, gently caressing.
“We’ll have to be
careful,” Johan murmured. “But I think we can manage to relieve your stress
without hurting you worse.” Chelsea rolled her eyes, draping her arms around
his broad shoulders, deepening the kiss for a long moment.
“Screw not hurting me
worse,” Chelsea said as she pulled back slightly.
“Ah-ah-ah,” Johan
murmured, tugging at the sash of her robe. “I am supposed to be taking care of
you. I’m supposed to keep you safe and at least mostly intact.”
“Mostly?”
Johan chuckled lowly.
“I already failed at ‘perfectly’ intact,” he told her. Johan lifted her
carefully up off of the couch, her robe falling off of her shoulders and onto
the floor. He carried her through the living room, past the bedroom, and into
the bathroom. “It’s a good thing this room has a nice, large tub,” Johan
remarked, settling Chelsea on the lip of the bathtub. He twisted the knobs,
testing the water that came out with his fingers a few times, and then dropped
the plug in the drain.
“How is this going to
help?” Chelsea asked, glancing down at the water filling the tub doubtfully.
“You’ll see,” Johan
said, grinning confidently. He stood, stripping out of his clothes in quick,
deft movements, and for the first time since she met with him, Chelsea was able
to see the extent of his injuries: the long line of stitches along his upper
thigh, the bruising along his hip, his chest, his arms and legs, a few obvious
marks, bandaged, that Chelsea thought were either bullet grazes or other,
shallower cuts. Having a gun in his hand had prevented Johan from greater
injuries, but he hadn’t come out unscathed. Johan gathered Chelsea into his
arms, holding her gently. “I think we can find a way, don’t you?” He lifted her
once again, climbing over the lip of the tub as it filled. Johan settled
Chelsea on his lap, and she hissed—pleasure mingled with pain—as the hot water
flowed around her.
Johan’s hands drifted
over her body slowly, caressing and stroking. “We should order you ice packs,”
he murmured, one hand slipping down between her legs. Chelsea gasped, shivering
slightly as his warm fingers slid up and down along her labia, feather-light,
only slightly more substantial than the water. She could feel Johan’s cock
beginning to stir against her back as his other hand cupped her breast, teasing
her nipple into a firm nub.
“Are—are you sure we
can do this?” Chelsea asked, her breath catching in her throat as she began to
shift and twist on top of Johan’s body, desire welling up inside of her.
“Mmhmm,” Johan
murmured, dragging his lips along the side of her neck as his fingers slid up
and down between her labia, his hand spreading her legs just slightly. “I’m
going to take you just like this. Nice and slow.” Johan’s fingers found
Chelsea’s clit by touch, and Chelsea gasped, shivering, as his touch sent jolts
of pleasure through her nerves. He pressed her body against his, rocking his
hips against the curve of Chelsea’s ass, and Chelsea could feel his cock
hardening faster.
Johan’s fingers
withdrew from her vulva, and Chelsea let out a groan of disappointment,
grabbing at his hand instinctively. Johan chuckled, lifting her uninjured leg
up and out of the water. He carefully rested it along the lip of the tub,
shifting her around on his lap. “Lean forward just a little bit,” Johan
murmured. Chelsea did, and she felt the tip of Johan’s cock brushing against
her labia, working its way in between. Johan pushed down on her hips, thrusting
up at the same moment, and Chelsea moaned out in pleasure as he slid into her
slowly.
As soon as he was
fully inside of her, Johan pulled Chelsea back once more, and she shivered,
loving the feel of him slowly sliding along her inner walls, the tip of his
cock pressing and brushing steadily against her pleasure center. “All you have
to do is float,” Johan murmured, one hand drifting down between her legs once
more to stroke and tease her clit while he worked his hips underneath her,
thrusting up. His other hand cupped and teased her breasts, rolling and
twisting her nipples as they moved together. Chelsea felt her pleasure mounting
more and more—she was shocked at how good it felt, at how well they fit
together, at the way the water swirled around her as Johan pushed deeper and
deeper inside of her.
Chelsea arched against
Johan, moaning out as wave after wave of pleasure coursed through her body. She
grabbed at his arms, his legs underneath her, and as their movements together
became more frantic, she could barely hear the water sloshing in the tub,
spilling out onto the floor. Chelsea threw her head back against Johan’s
shoulder as her orgasm intensified, as she felt his body tensing underneath
hers, and he joined her in climax, groaning something in his native Swedish.
They both moved until the last of their spasms of pleasure abated, and Chelsea
sagged against Johan, spent and satisfied.
****
The next morning,
Chelsea awakened to the smell of breakfast wafting into the bedroom from the
living room area of the suite. She realized she was alone in the bed, and sat
up carefully, holding her hand against the bruised rib to minimize the pain.
After their tryst in the bathtub, Johan had carefully lifted her up and out of
the water, gave her another Vicodin, and ordered ice packs.
She had struggled to
keep from laughing at the big, strong mercenary bodyguard as he played nurse,
taking the throw pillows off of the couch and positioning them so that her knee
and ankle were elevated, bringing her water when she got thirsty, insisting
that Chelsea shouldn’t get up for any reason. Under the humming, cottony
influence of the pain killers, Chelsea hadn’t even felt the slightest self-consciousness
when Johan carried her into the bathroom to use the toilet, waiting politely
just on the other side of the door.
His lack of presence
nearby made her irritated in some way that Chelsea couldn’t quite put a finger
on. She carefully leaned over the edge of the bed to retrieve the braces that
the hospital had given her and strapped them around her ankle and knee. Chelsea
took a deep breath and slowly climbed out of the bed, trying to bend and twist
as little as possible, putting her weight on her uninjured leg.
She grabbed up her
bathrobe and limped into the living room area, where she found Johan, seated
near the patio to their room, talking on his phone. A few feet away, Chelsea
took in the sight of an extensive—and, she had no doubt, expensive—room service
breakfast with pancakes, bacon, eggs, fruit, yogurt, toast…more things than she
could imagine even the two of them being able to consume in one sitting. Johan
glanced up and flashed a quick smile in her direction, holding up a finger to
indicate he was nearly done with whomever he was speaking to. Still feeling
slightly irritable—slightly hung over from the pain pills leaving her system,
with dull, aching throbs echoing through her body—Chelsea sat down gracelessly
on the couch, propping up her injured leg along the length of the furniture.
“I have good news,”
Johan said as he tapped his screen to end the call. Chelsea raised an eyebrow.
“Someone killed the
CEO of my company so now I can go back to having a normal life?” She paused and
added, “At least, a normal unemployed life until I can get another job?” Johan
smiled wryly and shook his head.
“Almost as good. My
client has your new paperwork, and he got us an apartment. Do you think you can
manage to deal with sitting in a car for a few hours while I drive us to your
new home?” Chelsea scrubbed at her face.
“I think I can
manage,” she said after a moment’s consideration. “Can we cut back my dose of
the Vicodin somehow? It was kind of nice to be totally oblivious of everything,
but I’d like to start being at least partially aware of the world around me
again now.” Johan nodded, standing in a quick, graceful movement that Chelsea
resented for the way it underscored her current injured state.
“I’ll give you a full
dose after breakfast, and the next dose will be half, how about that?” Chelsea
shrugged.
“Why not a half dose
to begin with?”
“Because, my dear,
it’s a lot easier to prevent pain than it is to kill it. If you have a full
dose now and we give you a half dose on schedule, it’ll work better.” Chelsea
shrugged, scratching at the skin around her knee brace idly.
Why are these
stupid things always so itchy?
Johan began filling a plate for her from the
platters and bowls on the table. “It’s a good thing I turned you down last
night, or I’d feel horrible right now,” Johan said absently.
“You turned me down
last night?” Chelsea frowned. Johan grinned at her, handing her the plate and a
roll of silverware.
“You turned over in
the bed at about… I want to say midnight? And started groping me.” Chelsea’s cheeks
flared with heat. “I mean really going to town.” She looked down at her plate
as her blush deepened. “You said something about how I could fuck you however I
wanted. But since you didn’t sound exactly like yourself I figured it was the
Vicodin talking.” Chelsea swallowed the tight ball of embarrassment in her
throat, taking a slow breath.
“It’s a good thing you
did,” she said, picking at the food on her plate. “Although I probably wouldn’t
have remembered it.” She felt Johan’s fingers against her jaw; he tilted her
face up so that she had to meet his gaze.
“I want every time we
have sex to be memorable. Why waste an opportunity when you’re too drugged to
even know what’s happening, much less tell me the next morning how good it
was?” Chelsea chuckled, shaking her head slightly. “Besides, I wasn’t sure how
to feel about you calling me ‘Mr. Honey-cock’.” Chelsea stared at him in shock.
“I—I called you—Mr.…”
“Honey-cock, yep.”
Chelsea closed her eyes as new waves of embarrassment washed through her. “It was
cute. A little weird, but cute.” Chelsea bit her bottom lip, unsure of whether
she felt more resentment, embarrassment, or amusement at the situation that
Johan had described.
“One of these days,
somehow, I’m going to drug you and—and make you horny and record the stupid
things you say,” she told him. Johan chuckled.
“Good luck with that,”
he said, leaning in to brush his lips against hers. He pointed to her plate,
pulling back to serve his own plate of breakfast. “We’ll eat, pack up your
things, give you your first dose, and get on the road,” Johan told her. “New
life!” Johan glanced at Chelsea, and she took a bite of her food more out of
the feeling that she should than out of actual hunger. “It’ll be okay,” Johan
said, holding her gaze. “Hey—there are lots of people who go to crazy lengths
to ditch their old life.” Chelsea shrugged.
“I guess I’m not
really one of them,” she said, taking a deep breath and exhaling on a sigh.
“But I’ll have to become one.” Chelsea gave Johan a tight, tense smile and
decided resolutely to focus on her food.
One foot in front of the other.
Keep moving forward.