Theirs to Ransom Read online

  Why? Why?

  All he’d wanted was a little distraction. Life was miserable and then you died. So he tried to make it a little less miserable along the way. A little coin. What pleasures he could scratch up here and there.

  But then he’d made that stupid fucking phone call and she’d picked up.

  Sophia squeezed around him and he lost himself in her for a long moment. In and out, pleasure lighting up his spine but no, fuck no, he wasn’t letting go of this any time soon.

  She arched up into him, her breasts like everything else about her, so perfect. He couldn’t see all of them but in her tiny little tank top, enough were on display for him to imagine. He wanted a year to explore her, to worship every inch and—

  But tomorrow she was going to go sacrifice herself on some doomed fucking mission.

  No.

  He wouldn’t let her.

  He’d tie her down right here. Or back in his room in Carlsbad.

  He’d keep her as his sex slave, just like she’d accused him of.

  He kissed her, insane now that the damn was breaking. Fuck. Fuck, he needed her. He— He— He lov— He needed her. He couldn’t let her go. Not now.

  He kissed her deep. So deep she couldn’t breathe except for when he gave her air. She couldn’t move except for when he pulled out and then it was only so he could thrust back in.

  She’d forget all her foolish ideas. He’d make her. He’d make her forget everything except him. Except what he felt like inside her.

  But she’s so stubborn.

  Her father had tried to keep her safe and look how far that’d gotten the man. Finn, too.

  They weren’t Jagger, though.

  He let go of her wrists and her ankles and slid his hand back to her throat.

  “Now, you’re going to give me what I’m about to take. You’re going to give it to me because for once in your goddamned life, you’re going to do what you’re told, do you understand me?”

  Her eyes were wide, but she didn’t say anything. No nod, no nothing.

  He squeezed slightly around her delicate throat. “Do you understand me?” he asked, allowing a growl into his voice. He’d make sure she understood him before he was through, that was fucking sure.

  “Suck.” He shoved two fingers in her mouth and, eyes still wide, she did. “Harder,” he demanded.

  She sucked harder.

  Fuck, she was perfect.

  “Squeeze on me, little dove. I want to feel how much you want it.”

  Her breath hitched and she did as he said. He could feel her inner muscles contracting around his cock.

  He thrust his fingers in and out of her mouth in an imitation of what he was doing to her sex. Her saliva coated his fingers as she slurped and sucked.

  Good.

  She’d need the lubrication for what he had planned.

  He pulled his forefinger out of her mouth and dropped it down to her anus.

  If he thought her eyes were wide before, it was nothing to how they popped open when he slipped his finger into her ass.

  Her entire chest bowed up off the flattened seat, in shock or pain or pleasure, or all three maybe by the look on her face.

  Jagger just kept pushing in, pausing to stretch as he went.

  “That’s right, little dove,” he said, licking his lips in anticipation. “Let me in.”

  Before she was probably ready he started probing with his second finger, stretching her around the entrance first and then pushing inexorably inside.

  She squeezed on his cock harder every centimeter he intruded. He rolled his hips to grind against her clit as he continued.

  And he’d make her fucking dance and sing for him tonight. Considering the way she was already squirming on the bench seat and breathing so heavily, it wouldn’t take as much work to get her on board with his idea as he’d initially thought.

  Jesus, her eyes were bright, so bright and he could tell she was in it—that place he’d only gotten to maybe once or twice in his life before The Fall, when you were having sex with a person and you got to that place where you were removed from it all. The rest of the world dropped away, who you were even dropped away, you didn’t even know you were in it until you came out of it. It was a separate plane of being where if you were lucky, if you were very fucking lucky, you got to connect on a deep fucking level with another human being.

  And Sophia was there. He could see it in her eyes. Maybe because she especially needed the rest of the world to drop away right now. Maybe because she needed a commanding touch. Maybe because she was just really fucking horny and he was in the right place at the right time.

  He didn’t fucking care.

  But he was going to worship her and keep her there for as long as possible. He dropped down to one elbow beside her head and kissed her deep.

  Instead of fast strokes in and out with his cock, he moved slower. Jesus, her body gave so beautifully. Her legs dropped open to receive him even deeper and fuck, sinking into her was the most amazing feeling in the world. He pushed in, savoring the feel of her.

  “Squeeze babe. Squeeze on me.”

  She did and he teased her, thrusting in and out with just his tip and making sure to rub against her clit each time he did. All the while teasing her ass with two of his fingers.

  Her chest arched and she let out the most delicious little noises. Her eyes were closed as she lost herself in pleasure but no, he wanted her to know exactly who was bringing her all these feelings.

  He pulled out of her sweet little cunt and positioned his cock at her back hole. Her eyes flew open even wider. He propped himself up with the hand he’d been fingering her ass with and ran his other hand up through the valley of her breasts and then back to her throat. Her nostrils flared the instant he gave a slight squeeze.

  “You’re strong, little dove. Strong enough to take what I’m asking you to give. The strongest person I’ve ever known.”

  Her breath hitched as he pressed the head of his cock to her little puckered anus.

  “Let me in. Give into me.” He ran his thumb over the thrumming pulse point on her neck. She was either terrified or excited or both.

  “Trust me,” he demanded, knowing at the same time that trust was the one thing that couldn’t be commanded. It had to be given freely.

  Would she?

  His own chest went tight with tension as he waited for her reaction.

  But he should have known—his little dove had never met a challenge she backed down from. Her little chin notched higher and she relaxed her legs that had clenched up tight.

  “I trust you,” she whispered.

  He took the opportunity and pressed in, his cock still wet from her cunt. Her body stayed relaxed and he knew the control that took—or rather, paradoxically, the giving up of control it required.

  But when Sophia gave, she gave completely. She always had.

  So Jagger was able to not only push the bulbous head of his cock in her tight as fuck little anus, but he was able to keep pushing, continue invading, more and more and more.

  Her breath came in little pants and her eyes had never been so dark as her gaze locked with his.

  Jagger reached for her hand, interlocking his fingers with hers and then pinning it above her head.

  He pushed the last bit until his balls were flush with her ass and she cried out. It had to hurt. He wasn’t ignorant about that. He was well-endowed. But she’d still let him into her deepest, most secret place. She’d done it without a blink of the eye.

  I trust you.

  He bowed low and kissed her.

  She kissed him back hungrily, almost like she needed his lips to help ground her in this moment.

  He’d give it to her. She who gave so selflessly, how could he do anything but give it all back to her? Everything. He wanted to give her fucking everything. Christ, she was making him crazy. He didn’t know who he was anymore. He couldn’t think. Not while he was buried inside her. Not while her sweet lips were working so eagerly ag
ainst his and her little tongue curiously sought out his.

  He couldn’t do anything except bury the hand not holding hers in her hair and then, because he couldn’t stand it another moment, he began to pull slowly out of her tight, hot hole.

  She groaned but he didn’t think it was in pain now.

  He rolled his hips forward and down so that his groin gave her friction where she needed. But that wasn’t enough, he decided, so he disengaged his hand from her hair and lifted up so he could reach between them.

  Her hips shifted eagerly into his hand, which meant her ass was twitching and squeezing around his cock.

  “Jesus Christ,” he swore.

  He was supposed to be the one in command here, but every second he felt less and less in control.

  And when she started to roll her hips, really fucking him back, restless little cries escaping her throat as she chased her pleasure, holy fuck, he was gone. He was just fucking gone.

  He slipped two fingers in her cunt and teased her clit with his thumb as he upped his pace thrusting in and out of her ass.

  That seemed to be what did her in. The gentle whisper of his thumb on her clit plus the hard pounding pressure in her ass.

  “Jag—” she screamed, hips lifted to press more firmly against his hand.

  He dropped down and kissed her voraciously as the orgasm slammed through him. Fucking blinding. Fucking amazing.

  He was a fucking god.

  He pumped into her. Once. And then one more thrust. And one final—

  And then he collapsed against her, rolling slightly to the side so he didn’t crush her.

  He rested his head on her breast and she caressed her fingers through his hair and for a brief moment, his life was complete. It was a contentment a man like him rarely felt. Okay, never felt. He never felt like this.

  He lifted his head to look at Sophia, only remembering now he’d started all this to make a point. To show her she was his. To show her that doing what she was told would make her the most satisfied and happy she’d ever been.

  But then he saw it. She wasn’t dozing in contentment. She might have been his completely while they were making love—and there could be no other term for what they’d just done—but already, barely a minute afterwards, and he could see he was already losing her.

  “Why are your eyes still saying goodbye?” he whispered.

  Chapter Twenty

  SOPHIA

  Jagger pulled away from Sophia. She didn’t try to cover herself as she sat up. She had nothing to hide from him anymore.

  Moments before as she’d stared down at him, she could see all his walls were down and he looked content. Even happy. Maybe for the first time since she’d met him. Because of her. Because of what they’d just shared together. Because of the life they could have had together.

  And her chest had squeezed in pain because she knew it wouldn’t last.

  Jagger shook his head like he couldn’t believe her. “You’re still planning to leave me.” It came out as a choked whisper.

  Oh God, why did this have to be so hard? She reached out for him but he jerked back. “Jagger, please. This doesn’t change anything. I still have to go.”

  “No. You don’t. Don’t go. Don’t do this.”

  He grabbed the hand she’d just held out to him, going up on his knees. “Run away with me. Back to New Mexico. There’s no war there. Live with me in Carlsbad. You’ll have everything you ever need. We’ll pick up the others. We can be a family. A real family.”

  Hadn’t he heard anything she’d ever said about her home? She couldn’t forget Dad and everyone else she loved. She couldn’t run away and pretend they didn’t exist.

  “I can’t.” Tears pricked her eyes, knowing she was hurting him. Maybe it would have been better if she’d never pressed it earlier, never made both of them own up to the love between them. But it was too late for that. And yet it still didn’t change things. “I have to do this. I have to go.”

  Jagger pulled back again, yanking his jeans up and getting down from the back of the Jeep. He only made it two feet before spinning back to her.

  “Why?” He threw his hands up. “Your pride? To prove something to yourself? To your father?”

  “No!”

  Then she stopped. Was he right? Was this ultimately just another immature stunt on her part?

  Maybe an assassin was the best way to deal with Travis… but did it have to be her?

  It should be someone more experienced. Someone who’d actually killed before. Someone like Drea.

  But Drea was too important. And sometimes Sophia’s other friend, Shay, talked about what it was like living with Travis before she’d escaped him. She’d been his woman for years, borne him two children and knew him better than anyone. Shay had talked about the girls he liked to collect and Sophia knew that someone like her—young, pretty, and inexperienced—would be valuable to him. She’d actually have a chance at getting close to him.

  And they were all out of time. The confrontation was coming and it was coming soon.

  She’d already told Jagger all that and knew those sorts of facts weren’t what he was looking for, though.

  “I don’t know how to explain it.” Sophia pulled on her underwear and hopped down from the Jeep. “But I just feel like it has to be me. Travis and my dad were friends once.”

  Jagger had his back to her so she walked up to him but stopped short of touching him.

  “This started with my family. I need to be the one to end it. Or at least I need to try.”

  He turned around and she could see he was about to argue again so she held up a hand. “And my dad did teach me how to fight. Hand to hand and with a gun.”

  His jaw went rigid. “You couldn’t fight Toby off.”

  Her whole body went clammy even at the mention of his name and she turned away from him. “You really know how to build up a girl’s self-confidence.”

  “Jesus, Sophia, stop.” He reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her. “I just don’t want to do something that neither of us can take back.” His eyes searched hers. “I don’t want to live the rest of my life full of regret over what we do today.”

  All she’d ever wanted was to crack Jagger open to get to the real him, and here he was. The center of him was loving and gentle and loyal and, she also could see, so, so afraid of being hurt again like he’d hurt when he’d lost his sister.

  She stepped forward and clasped his hands, lifting them to his chest between them. She kissed his knuckles and then looked back up into his eyes.

  “But don’t you see? Neither do I. And I’ll regret it for the rest of my life if I don’t do this.”

  And, though he probably wouldn’t appreciate hearing it, it was him who’d shown her she was strong enough. She’d been so afraid thinking about the task that lie in front of her she’d barely been able to fall asleep once they got on the road earlier. Once she finally did, her dreams were full of terrifying monsters, all teeth and hands, but she couldn’t escape, she was too weak to even run away.

  But just now, Jagger had shown her her own strength. She was brave enough to submit and receive him.

  Courage wasn’t doing the brave thing without fear—it was doing it in spite of the fear.

  He let out a long sigh, his eyes falling closed, his shoulders slumping. “Stubborn little dove.” He dropped his forehead to hers.

  They stayed like that for a long while, until finally, reluctantly, she broke the silence.

  “It’s time to go,” she whispered.

  He shook his head. “Don’t ask me to do this.” His voice broke, and when she looked up, there were tears in his eyes. “Please.”

  Quieter, a hand to his face, she whispered again, “It’s time to go.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  SOPHIA

  For the first few hours of the second leg of the drive, Jagger was silent. But as the sun started heading for the horizon, he reached for Sophia’s hand and interlocked his fingers with hers.
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  Sophia looked over at him in surprise. He didn’t say anything, though, or even look her way. He just kept a tight hold of her hand for the next two hours until they were stopped by border guards at the edge of Fort Worth.

  Sophia couldn’t help squeezing Jagger’s hand tighter as two guards approached the Jeep. They wore the black camo she’d heard Travis’s men always did. But hearing about it and seeing it were two different things—somehow seeing the stupid camo made it feel real.

  Shit. She was really here. Really doing this.

  “Sophia, I can turn around right now—” Jagger whispered.

  “No.” She pulled her hand away from Jagger’s before either of the guards noticed. She’d spent some precious water to wash and then changed into a sundress before they got back on the road but she huddled down into her seat. Playing her role of scared little captive. She wished it were more of a performance.

  “No one’s allowed in—” the first guard started to say, but Jagger cut him off.

  “I got a girl to sell. She’s a 4. Only been active two weeks.”

  The guard who’d come around Sophia’s side scoffed. He reached through the open window and grabbed her by the chin, jerking her face up. He was a short man with yellow teeth. “A 4? Fuck, if you’re gonna lie, at least make up a believable number. Face like this, I woulda gone with 400, even though you and me both know it’s more like ten times that.”

  It was barbaric, the ‘rating system’ that determined the price of a female slave—the number of men she’d slept with, combined with how long she’d been sexually active.

  “And two weeks my ass,” said the guard on Jagger’s side. “I can see from here she’s more ‘n thirteen, so that’s a whopper if I ever heard one. Bet her cunt’s more worn out than an old leather boot.”

  Sophia’s chest went tight at their crude talk, but she steeled herself because she knew much worse was coming.

  Jagger had told her in excruciating detail what the usual process of selling whores involved, in a last ditch effort to dissuade her before they’d gotten back in the Jeep. He’d never sold any but had been in the room and seen it firsthand in Hell’s Hollow.