Imminent Danger (Adrenaline Highs) (36 page)

Kim would’ve checked for price tags but knew none existed. She took the clothes out of Leo’s hands and stood in front of him. “I don’t know how you did it, but I will find out. What I want to know now is
why
you did it? It’s totally not necessary since I’m leaving tomorrow.”

Taking her hand, Leo looked down at her, his blue eyes serious. “Consider it a thank you or a going home gift. You ran into a burning building. I think that deserves some recognition.”

A lump lodged in Kim’s throat and her hard heart cracked. “I—” She had to clear the emotion from her throat. “Leo, I can’t. Actually, you ran into the burning building so you’re the hero. You’re the one who deserves—”

Leo took the clothes from her other hand and set them on the sofa before pulling her closer. He tipped his head toward the bags on the table. “They’re not my size.” His grin made her chest heavy. “You have to take them. Cesar would be disappointed if you didn’t. Besides, I want you to have it all.” His thumb stroked little circles on the back of her hand and sent tiny currents of electricity streaking up her arm. “Don’t say no.”

They watched each other for the longest time as Kim debated what to do. She shouldn’t keep the clothes and she couldn’t afford them. How did Leo pay for them without money?

“You traded something, didn’t you?” she asked. He had a ton of stuff. It could’ve been anything.

“Not telling.” Words a ten-year old might say spoken by a very serious man. He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “Say yes.”

Somehow in the next few seconds their lips were inches apart. “Leo,” Kim whispered, still torn. Not only because of the cost, but because of the gesture. Because he made her feel special and no one had done that in a long, long time.

His lips brushed hers and Kim closed her eyes to take in the taste of him, the feel of his arms as they wrapped around her. The soft, slow minty kiss knocked down all her walls with astounding efficiency. “Say yes,” he murmured against her mouth before kissing her again.

“What am I saying yes to?” she asked the next time they came up for air.

His gaze searched her eyes as his fingers sifted through her hair. “Anything? Everything? Whatever you want.” His mouth connected with hers again, and Kim let him own her, let him work his magic with his sneaky tongue and hot lips.

“I thought we weren’t going to do this again,” she said when he pulled back to trace kisses along her jaw.

“I guess I wanted to celebrate the fact that we’re alive.” He closed his eyes, shook his head. “I keep seeing Bonnie…and all that blood.”

So that was it. She nodded. Watching Bonnie die had been pretty devastating for both of them. “Me too. I kept thinking it could’ve been you if the roof caved in or…I don’t know.” She stroked her thumb along his cheek. “I’d…” She couldn’t finish, didn’t want to say anything that might give away just how much she liked him.

“You what?” he asked, watching her closely.

“I’d hate to lose a new friend.”

His sharp blue gaze bore into hers. She saw his loneliness, his despair. The fact that he was going to lose so much, but that he’d—they’d—survived the day seemed like a great reason to celebrate life by living it to the fullest.

Kim reached up at the same time Leo leaned down. She lost the will to fight anymore. She’d take anything he wanted to give…the damn clothes, his body. The soft kiss didn’t take long to heat up. She kissed him with a hunger she’d been holding back, with a passion she’d thought she’d lost.

No Jack Daniels to blame this time and she wouldn’t regret being with Leo. Maybe he wanted to give her something, but she
needed
to give him this time, her body. She needed him to know he could get through whatever came his way in the upcoming months and if giving herself right now helped him do that, then he deserved it.

Leo pulled back, his lips wet from kissing her. “No cabana sofa tonight.” He took her hand and started walking backward. Kim followed. She followed all the way to his bedroom. He stopped at the side of his enormous bed and kissed her again, his magnetism lethal. Easing the sweatshirt over her head, he barely lost a beat between kisses. He slid her bra straps over her shoulders and made a meal out of uncovering her breasts and dropping the bra to the floor. The sweetest torture as he kissed the sensitive skin at her cleavage and finally her ultra-sensitive nipple. She held his head as he cupped her and sucked the hard bud into his mouth. Streaks of fire zipped between her legs and made her wet and eager. His sneaky thumbs dipped into the waistband of her sweats and he brought them down, kneeling in front of her in the process. She loved his soft growl as he realized she’d gone commando again.

“Do you ever wear underwear?” he asked before circling his tongue around her belly button.

She smiled, slipped her fingers through his soft hair then gasped as he nibbled on her hip and sent a full-body chill across her skin. “I only bought a couple of pairs at Cesar’s.” Grabbing a fistful of his shirt, she lifted it up and over his head. Their eyes locked as he stood in front of her. He set his mouth on hers again as she divested him of his sweatpants and boxer briefs in one shot. His erection grazed her stomach and he groaned when she put her hand around his penis and squeezed. In the next second he had her off her feet and flat on her back. His weight pressed her into the cushy bed, his erection prodding her slick entrance.

“Two things I have to do,” he said, trailing kisses across her jaw.

“God, I hope one of them entails pushing inside me soon.”

He growled again. “Three things,” he amended. “First…” He worked his way to her breast again and sucked hard on her nipple.

Kim arched into his mouth, whimpered at the zing of fresh sexual craving. “Leo,” she begged. “Now.”

“In a minute,” he said. “Don’t be so bossy.” His mouth trailed farther down. “I’m hungry.” He ended up between her legs, his breath hot right before he dove in with his tongue.

Crying out, Kim locked his head between her thighs as he went to work with hard delicious licks and soft sucking kisses. He drove her crazy with pressure on her clit only to back away when she got close to coming. Over and over he kept her on a tenuous line, just on the cusp of a free fall. “Leeeoooo,” she pleaded, desperate to go over the edge.

“Little busy here,” he mumbled, finally slipping a finger into the mix and forcing a sharp inhale at the invasion.

She grabbed his head as she arched into his touch, into his mouth, and with one last hard lick across her clit and the fullness of his fingers inside her, she hit that point of no return. Everything inside her tightened up a second before the pressure exploded into a massive euphoric release. Her muscles clenched, spasmed as Leo continued to pump and suck, drawing out the pleasure to unprecedented lengths.

Gasping for air, Kim finally let loose of Leo’s hair and all her muscles went slack. Sweat coated her skin and Leo moved next to her. She heard a drawer open, heard the rip of a foil packet and smiled. She wanted to give him the same ride he gave her. She wanted him gasping and begging for mercy.

With new determination and before he had to chance to pounce, she turned and pinned his shoulders to the bed as she straddled him. “Suited up pretty quick there, I noticed,” she said before kissing him. She tasted herself on his lips and rubbed her very sensitive clit against his thick erection. They both moaned.

He held her face in his hands. “I’m gonna go off like a rocket in about three seconds so you might want to climb on board before this ship sails.”

“So romantic,” she said, taking his mouth in a fiery hot kiss as she adjusted herself over him. “All aboard,” she huffed out, and sank down on him as he lunged up. She bit back a moan and held on tight. The pressure surprised her. She didn’t remember how tightly he filled her and she froze, breathing through the initial shock.

He froze too, his breathing harsh in her ear. “You okay?”

Kim nodded, keeping her face buried in his neck. She loved the way his hands glided down her sides, over her ass and back up along her spine. He made her tingle everywhere he touched. “You feel really good.” She gently bit his collarbone and felt the instant twitch of his cock inside her. The low growl in his chest rumbled beneath her.

Spreading kisses across his jaw, she eventually sat up and admired his spectacular pecs and washboard abs. “Very nice,” she murmured, lifting off him and sliding back down.

He grabbed her hips and adjusted her pace, moved up into her every time she came down. The friction took her on another ride, one she hadn’t expected.

“Oh God, Leo…” It was so good. Too good. She wanted to do this forever. Be in same amazing moment where their bodies fit perfectly and nothing mattered but the way they moved together. He took her breasts in his hands as he arched into her again and after three strong thrusts he pinched her nipples. Crying out, Kim let her orgasm envelop her like a massive wave, crashing over her in the perfect storm. Leo’s cock throbbed inside her as his own climax finally took him over.

Breathing hard, she collapsed on Leo’s chest and his arms came around her, holding her close. She could let herself fall big time if she kept this up. Good thing she was finally on a plane tomorrow.

A hell of a way to end her stay in Los Angeles.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Abbey paced the front entryway and checked her watch. Blake should’ve been here by now. He’d told her an hour at the most. Twenty minutes to get over the hill, two to find the envelope in the desk, a few minutes to pack up some fresh clothes, send the envelope off in the mail and twenty to get back over the hill. It had been twice that amount of time.

Troy came out of his office. “No sign of him yet?” he asked.

“No.” Abbey shook her hands in nervous energy. “I’ve called his apartment and his cell phone. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

“Neither do I.” Troy never sugarcoated. “Will you be okay here if I go to his apartment?”

“I want to go with you.”

He shook his head. “You’re safer here. I already called the detectives and they’re going to have a car drive by and patrol the neighborhood. I want to go check things out. I’ll call you if I find anything.” He grabbed his jacket and headed for the garage. “Don’t go anywhere no matter what,” he warned over his shoulder. “Your ass stays grounded here.” The door closed behind him.

Ten minutes after he left, Abbey’s phone rang and she snatched it out of her back pocket. Blake’s name blazed on the caller ID and relief hit her like a punch to the gut. “Finally,” she said, into the phone. “I was worried about you.”

“Aw. That’s so sweet.” The voice didn’t belong to Blake and fear rose up from her center and lifted every hair on her body.

“Who is this? Where’s Blake?” Her voice shook and she swallowed back heart wrenching fear.

“Your boyfriend is here. With me and my friends. We’re just waiting for
you
to get this party started.”

She didn’t recognize the voice.
Think.
What would Troy do? What would he ask? What would he want?

Proof of life!

“Just because you have his phone doesn’t mean you have him.” She sounded way braver than she felt.

The man laughed. “That is true. Here, I’ll let you talk to him.” There was jostling and she heard breathing. “Say hello to your girlfriend, asshole,” the man said. “You’re on speaker phone.” She waited and didn’t hear anything. Just that same breathing then a rush of air. “I said, ‘say hello,’” the man repeated and she heard a grunt of pain.

Was Blake keeping quiet so she wouldn’t do what they said? He’d do that for her. She knew he would. He’d do anything to keep her away from the men who wanted her. But what if it was a trap? What if they really didn’t have Blake?

“Blake?” she asked.

“Looks like your boyfriend doesn’t want to talk to you, Abbey. But we’re going to make him. I’m sure you know what happened to his brother a couple years ago. And they are twins. I think it’s only fair that they be twins in everything.”

His ear! “No!” she screamed. “No! I believe you. I believe you. Don’t hurt him! I’ll do whatever you want.”

“NO! Abbey, no!” Blake yelled.

She heard him in the background, heard the sound of his struggles, and tears slid down her cheeks. “Don’t! Whatever you want, I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t hurt him.”

“Don’t call the cops, Abbey, or he dies. We’ve got eyes on you. We’re listening. Just get in your car and come to the address I text to your phone. Tell someone and your boyfriend bites the dust.”

“Okay, okay. Please. Just don’t hurt him.”

“We’re texting you the address now. It should take you about thirty minutes to get here. Don’t be late, Abbey. Or your boyfriend loses his ear and then maybe a finger or two.” The call disconnected before Abbey could say anything else.

Fresh tears slid down her cheeks as she blindly raced for her purse and ran to the front door. “Shit, shit, shit.” She couldn’t call the police because they said they were monitoring the phones somehow. As far as watching her… Maybe they had someone on the street, but no one had eyes
inside
the estate. She could leave a message for Troy. After sprinting into the kitchen, she scribbled out a note with the Santa Monica address they’d texted to her. Short and sweet.
They have Blake
. She jotted the address.
Told me not to call police or they’d know. I
had
to go! Hurry. Abbey.
She ran for the door again and the walls started spinning. Her erratic breathing made it tough to get oxygen into her lungs. Falling against the door, she forced herself to slow down. She couldn’t help Blake if she passed out or hyperventilated to death.