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Raleigh is the only one who protests. “I was just there by coincidence,” she tells Iris. “You’re gonna punishhimfor both of us being kidnapped?”
I’m surprised by the support, but not surprised that Iris doesn’t go for it. “We don’t have all the evidence,” she says sensibly. “And he’s played the ally in the past.”
So Paul takes me to one of the structures behind the main house, a long, low building that might be mistaken for stables or a garage, but is clearly the place where they stow prisoners. Small rooms line one side of the building, with narrow windows in each door. The whole place is clean and utilitarian, but ominously, there is a drain in the middle of each cell’s tile floor.
Paul hasn’t spoken since we got into the car, and I expect him to continue his silence, but after he deposits me in one of the small rooms, he lingers in the open doorway. His face is lined with years of misery, but the crow’s feet around his eyes hint atpast happiness. His eyes, pale blue as arctic ice, pierce through me.
“If I find out you hurt that girl,” he says, “I’m taking you apart inch by inch.”
The “you’ll be alive for all of it” is implied.
“You were with the Speares,” I can’t help but say. “How did you end up here?”
Paul’s eyes narrow. I probably shouldn’t be drawing his ire, but I have to know. Was he a double agent in Morgan’s house? Did he switch to the winning side last minute? I feel like he could be an ally to me if I could just understand his motivations-
“I’m the one who killed Morgan,” Paul says- the very last thing I expected. “I did it to save Clara.” His grizzled face splits in a grim smile. “So if I’ll kill a man I owe my life to for the sake of a girl I half raised, just imagine what I’ll do toyou.”
Then he closes the door behind him, and the lock clicks shut.
It opens fifteen minutes later, and a man I don’t recognize drops off a microwaved dinner.
After that, hours of silence pass. I say a silent toast to Thomas’s marriage. I beg Raleigh in my mind not to give details about what happened in that room, for my sake if not her own. I go over and over my observations from the house as we left it, considering the neighborhood, the address, every one of the bodies I saw.
We killed everyone we saw, Iris said. But did she and Paul see everyone? Was Silver one of those bodies, or did he manage to slip away from the carnage? The question haunts me as the day slips past.
It’s impossible to tell by the fluorescent lights what time it is when the lock of my cell starts to rattle. I stand, but I don’t see anyone through the narrow window. Whoever’s outside is crouched at the lock, picking it open. One of the Warwicks’ people looking for personal revenge against me? I ready myselffor a fight, even though they’ll probably be armed and I’ve got nothing but my bare hands.
But when the door finally does open, it’s Raleigh on the other side.
I drop my hands, stunned. “What are you doing here?” I whisper.
She shoves a rubber stop block under the door, wedging it open an inch so it won’t lock her in. “There’s no one here,” she says, her voice at normal volume. “There’s a poker game going on outside. Trust me, it’ll last hours.”
That wasn’t an answer to my question. “Raleigh, why are you here?” I repeat. It’s hard not to look past her at the cracked door, but I manage.
After all, she’s stunning even in pajamas.
She has her thick hair pulled up in a messy bun, and her lacy camisole is very thin and very,verytight. At first I think her bottom half is only sporting underwear, but then I realize she’s wearing the shortest shorts in existence, showing off the entire length of her curvy legs. She has cankles, which makes breathing a little difficult suddenly.
Raleigh puts her hands on her hips and looks me over. When she meets my eyes again, it feels like a challenge being issued.
“I’m here because my first time was comparatively shitty, and I want another try.”
I almost choke at that. She broke into my cell forsex? I might die any hour, and instead of breaking me out, she’s here to get lucky.
Honestly, I can’t help but admire the audacity. And in a twisted way, it feels fair. She was kidnapped this morning because she got mixed up with me. Now I’m her prisoner, and she wants recompense.
Fair enough then.
Raleigh steps forward. Fascinated, I let her back me up against the wall. She doesn’t stop moving, intentionally pressing her body against mine, her full breasts against my chest, her pelvis against my cock. The juxtaposition between us now and us this morning- even us last night- is intentional. It’s also impossibly hot.
I’m already hard, and from the dilation of Raleigh’s pupils, I know she can feel it. She has to rise onto her tiptoes to kiss me, but when her mouth hits mine, her energy is feral. She rakes her teeth over my lips, opens her mouth wide for my tongue. Her fingers tangle in my hair and she tugs ferociously, making me groan. I grip the back of her neck, lightly choking her like I did this morning. Obediently she breaks off and tilts her head back, baring her throat for my kisses, for my teeth. I suck hard on the joint of her neck and shoulder, determined to give her better bruises than the ones ringing her arms.
It’s a shame this won’t happen for us again, because I think she would’ve enjoyed being tied to my bed.
Slowly, I start bending my legs, letting myself slide down the wall and her body until I’m on my knees. I lift the hem of her shirt and lick the soft plane of her belly, making her choke and gasp. Her shortshortshorts come down, and I kiss the skin they reveal. Panting, she rolls her hips forward, trapping my head between her pelvis and the wall, and I smile. Give her what she’s begging me for.
I plant my mouth between her legs, and Raleigh has to clap a hand over her mouth to stifle her cry. My tongue runs up and down her clit, tasting sex, sweat,her. With one hand, I reach under her shirt and grip her full breast. With the other, I slip two fingers into her wet hot pussy.
