CAROLINE STARED AT the brick pathway leading to the yellow colonial. Long, white columns stretched the full two stories of the impressive home. The house had wings, stretching from either side. They could easily fit Noah’s three-bedroom farmhouse in this mansion and probably the barn too. Though they might want to leave the old mechanical bull on the front lawn to annoy the neighbors. But that would ruin the mansion’s equally impressive landscaping.
Manicured hedges lined the brick path leading from the sidewalk to the front entrance. On the right, a paved driveway wound around the side of the house. Trimmed grass filled the space between the bushes and the pavement. A glimpse of a stone pathway leading to a garden was visible around the left of the home.
“Ready to get out?” Josh asked. “The guard at the gate called up. She knows we’re here.”
Caroline nodded and reached for her door. “We should have made a plan on the drive.”
Instead of talking about what they would say now that they’d finally arrived at the end of their road trip, she’d spent the drive down from Eureka staring out the window. She’d made love to Josh Summers last night. After all this time, she’d gone to bed with him. She’d spent the night curled around his strong, powerful body. And she’d woken up with her head resting on the red-gold hair covering his chest.
She’d blown past impossible, pushed failure aside, and claimed her second chance. And now she didn’t want to let go. She wanted to hold on to him with all her heart.
But she’d fallen for a man who didn’t lie. He refused to pretend. Meanwhile she was afraid to use her real name. One glorious, orgasm-filled night didn’t erase the federal warrant hanging over her head.
Josh appeared at her side as her feet touched down on the sidewalk. “Ready?”
The white front door swung open and Helena waved down at them, a smile plastered on her face.
“She looks happy to see us.” Josh grinned and raised his free hand.
“Appearances can be deceiving.”
But he drew her forward, leading her down the brick path. Halfway to the front door, he inclined his head toward hers. “Say what you wish someone had said to you.”
“Chop off his balls?” she muttered.
“That seems a little extreme if we’re wrong and her husband’s just a giant ass who likes to yell at his wife,” he said.
“True.”
They reached the front steps and turned their attention to the woman who looked about as manicured as her hedges. There wasn’t a strand of hair out of place on her blond bob. Her pale pink dress screamed ‘designer.’ And her peep-toe white patent leather heels made Caroline’s combat boots look decidedly out of place. But who wore heels in their own home?
“Hello,” Caroline said.
“What are you doing here?” Helena hissed through her smiling teeth once they’d reached the top of the brick steps leading to the front door. “Are you crazy? I can’t believe you followed me home after eavesdropping on one little phone call!”
Josh drew Caroline closer to his side. “We were in Northern Cali anyway—”
“My husband will be back soon,” Helena snapped, her smile fading now. She looked close to tears again. “I’d like you to leave. Please.”
“Your friends were concerned,” Josh started. But she’d already stepped back and closed the door.
Caroline stared at the brass knocker and debated trying again. But if Helena didn’t want them here, what more could they do?
“I guess you should have replaced ‘hello’ with ‘cut off his balls,’ ” Josh said. “Want to try again?”
She shook her head. “Let’s go. We can have Lily call and see if she can convince Helena to meet with us at a bar or restaurant. Or at our hotel if Helena would prefer someplace more private. Even if she agrees to meet with us, all we can do is offer help. We can’t force her to leave. We can listen. But we can’t save her. She needs to make that call on her own.”
“We’re hanging up our superhero capes?” he said as they reached his truck.
“She needs to be her own hero.” Caroline opened the passenger door and climbed into the truck. “We came down here so that she knows someone is here for her. There’s a way out if she wants it.”
But the escape route comes with its own pitfalls.
Caroline glanced back at the house. She’d fought back, but she wasn’t free. Not yet. And the only way to get there?
No, she pushed that thought aside. Turning herself in wouldn’t set her free. She’d be locked up in a military jail.
“It’s past lunch time,” Josh pointed out.
“And we need to find a place to stay,” she said.
Josh picked up his phone and asked SIRI for directions to the nearest hotel.
“You forgot cheapest,” she pointed out once the phone offered an address.
“This doesn’t look like the cheap part of town,” he said as they pulled through the security gates at the front of the community. “If you want Helena to visit us, we can’t expect her to drive an hour away.”
“I only have so much cash,” she said. And no access to bank accounts or credit cards.
“This is technically our fifth date. My turn to pick the location and pay.”
“You paid for the motel last night too,” she pointed out.
“Extenuating circumstances. We were already right there.”
That was one way to look at her meltdown on the beach yesterday. But so far he’d paid for everything on their road trip—a trip that had been her idea from the beginning. Of course without him, she would have had to have relied on Noah or Josie to purchase a bus ticket for her. Hiking would have taken too long—especially for their anxious friend in the air force.
“I’ll pay you back for the rooms last night,” she said.
He shook his head. “Just have your golden lasso ready.”
WHILE JOSH WENT out to pick up a pizza instead of splurging on the overpriced room service, Caroline surveyed the five-star room for something that resembled Wonder Woman’s lasso. His cell phone’s not-so-budget-friendly selection featured a queen-sized bed. The modern headboard and nightstands were permanently attached to the wall. Not far from the foot of the bed stood an oval-shaped desk with a sleek black chair. Beside the desk was a cabinet that housed a flat-screen television and the mini-fridge, but sadly lacked a golden lasso.
She walked through the bathroom. Shower. Tub. Two sinks. A stack of white towels that might work if she cut them apart . . . But she moved on to the closet.
And after careful consideration she selected the white sash from one of the bathrobes provided by the hotel. She set the sash on the bed. She could do this. She could play the part of the superhero seductress.
“I have pizza,” Josh called. The smell of melted cheese followed him into the room. “I also talked to Lily. She promised to text Helena’s number. We can try calling later. Maybe her husband will be out? Or in bed already?”
“Maybe.” She picked up the sash and dangled it in the air between them. “I found my lasso while you were out. How hungry are you?”
“For half a pie? I need a workout first.” He set the pizza on the table and headed for the bed. He pulled off his Moore Timber T-shirt as he moved past her and tossed it aside.
“I think we’ll work up an appetite.” She toyed with the makeshift lasso, pulling it taut between her hands.
He sat on the edge of the bed and held out his hands. “I’m ready for your best superhero impression.”
“Oh no, this is your date. You call the shots,” she said.
“You want me to tell you how I like to be tied up?” he said with a laugh.
She nodded as anticipation spread through her, honing in on the part of her body most likely to respond to his touch.
“All right.” He stood up and began stripping off his jeans. “First thing, I’ll need you to lose the clothes.”
“Ah, the ‘get naked’ step.” She pulled off her top. Her cargo pants joined her boots, shirt, and underwear in a pile. “You know, so many of the comic books skip that step.”
“It’s a shame.” He kicked off his boxers and they flew across the room. “Now I want you to tie one end of the rope around my wrist.” He held out a hand. “And the other to yours.”
“Worried I’ll run away?” she teased as she followed his instructions. She tied a double knot at each end, but struggled with her wrist.
“This way I’ll be able to rein you in if you get too wild,” he said as he took the end of the rope from her and finished binding her left wrist to his right.
“I wasn’t planning to go far.” She sank to her knees and ran her hands up his thighs. Unlike his position last night, her mouth lined up perfectly with his erection.
“Fuck,” he murmured.
“Soon. Very soon. But first . . .” She wrapped her hand around him and guided him to her lips. Pumping her hand up and down his hard, thick length, she ran her tongue around the tip of his cock.
“Caroline,” he gasped.
There was a power that accompanied giving him pleasure and hearing him call her name as her mouth moved over him. Her free hand—unbound and not working his cock—reached for his ass. The muscles tensed beneath her touch as his hips rocked forward into her mouth.
“Too much?” he murmured, pulling back.
She ran her lips up and released him. “Trust me. I’ll tell you.”
“I do.” His fingers worked their way into her hair, drawing her mouth back to his erection. “Trust you, that is. But I have limits too. Lick me. Suck on me. But I want to come inside you.”
Her hand rose up to meet her lips and he pulled away. Still tied to him, she dropped to all fours and crawled after him . . .
He glanced behind him. “Shit. I forgot,” he said, eyes widened, before he turned back to his bag and retrieved a condom. She heard the rip and felt the tug on the tie holding them together as he covered himself. Then he looked over his shoulder. “To the bed?”
She nodded and rose up onto her knees. She placed her hands on his butt and held on as she shifted to her feet. “Work on your glutes while baking those pies?”
“You have no idea,” he said with a bark of laughter.
She stepped away and pulled on the sash. “This time, I want to ride you.”
He turned and backed up to the foot of the bed. Slowly, he sat down. “Ready?”
She nodded. And he leaned back on the mattress. She moved with him, climbing onto him, her legs straddling his thighs. She inched her way forward, her hands pressing into his chest as she rose up and then sank down onto his cock.
She welcomed the control. But more than anything, as she began to rock her hips, she wanted his pleasure. She wanted to push him over the edge and fall with him. She felt free, riding him closer and closer to the peak of pleasure—even while bound to him.
Somehow, I’ll find a way to make this work. I’ll find a way to stay with him.