Trapped (6 page)

CHAPTER TEN: SURRENDER

Serena realized as Steven kissed her tears away that she was broken.

For all the times she had patted herself on the back for keeping her heart safe in dangerous situations, he had finally managed to rip it out of her.

Although she had no defense against his seductions, she’d been able to emotionally resist the effect of being physically disarmed over and over, to push aside the feeling of helplessness and vulnerability that came with being at his mercy once the act was over. She’d been able to fight him off all the time he’d been abusing his power to seduce her.

But the tenderness he now showed finally did her in.

He whispered soothing words, all the while touching her, handling her as if he
loved
her. Every soft kiss he planted, every gentle caress he made felt like what she felt for him, and the mere possibility of him feeling the same way made a dam burst inside of her, and there was no going back.

She didn’t want him to know it, but she wasn’t sure she could hide it from him now.

Would he see it in her eyes? See the difference between the day he told her to come with him to safety, and today, after making her come with him in ecstasy, over and over?

She knew her desire for him was the culprit.

The fear she had begun to feel at that first look of longing from him was because of how much she realized she wanted him back. Completely.

Had she not been attracted to him in return, her anger and disgust would have kept her safe when he came for her and tried to seduce her. And if he had succeeded despite her initially not wanting him back, her desire for revenge would have kept her going as she waited for the opportunity to make him pay for tricking her body into giving up the goods to him despite her heart not being in it.

But since she was thirsty for everything he was giving her—every which way, as rough or easy, and as many times as he wanted to give it—she was helpless, and surrendering to him completely had only been a matter of time.

Even now as he made love to her again, part of her satisfaction came from relief—the relief of finally having him without having to worry about loyalty or duty. The relief of satiating a too-long suppressed need.

“Give it to me,” she heard him say suddenly, as he continued plunging himself into her. “Give me your heart.”

Serena felt her heart lifting to his request.

She wanted to say ‘no,’ but her throat choked back the lie.

She closed her eyes tightly as if that would help her resist him.

“Why?” she managed to whisper.

“I want you to stay with me,” he said softly, his voice sounding squeezed. Then it lowered to a barely audible whisper: “I love you.”

The words made her open her eyes, and when she saw him lean toward her for a kiss, she let him, her heart firmly in the palm of his hand.

* * *

It was time.

Steven knew he would never be ready to let Serena go, but he had taken too many risks. The longer she was out there with him, the higher the chances he’d slip up and lose her forever, one way or another.

He could risk it no longer.

He finally felt to some degree satiated, but he knew she’d haunt him—the sight, smell, and taste of her—from then on. She’d gotten under his skin long ago, and she had gone on to burrow into his heart.

He loved her, and had to do everything in his power to save her—which meant he had to finally turn the APC back around and head in the right direction.

In less than four hours she’d be out of his grasp, and the pain of the realization rocked him to the core.

He’d have to go back out into the world and continue fighting for his country, all while fighting off thoughts of her—distracting thoughts that would no doubt jeopardize his safety. One split second of daydreaming, of indulging in a beautiful memory could end his life, and he now looked forward to other possibilities life could hold with a fervor he hadn’t felt since graduating high school.

A life with Serena—that’s what he wanted more than anything, and all the kids that came with it.

All this time he’d figured he would find a way to get over her once they went their separate ways as he’d had to do with pretty much every relationship throughout his life, but when she finally let him kiss her, an explosion went off inside of him—and her—as the feel of her supple lips and warm, inviting mouth and probing tongue overwhelmed him.

The thing he had been gunning for she gave to him, willingly, happily, deliciously.

And all he wanted was more.

He didn’t think it was possible to desire her more than he had, but every time he thought his desire for her had reached its peak, it tripled, and he tried to find a new way to claim her. He felt a need for her almost like oxygen, and he wondered if he was past relief.

Would he ever get enough of Serena Moss?

She had never taken his best friend’s last name, but maybe someday she’d take his.

* * *

Serena squinted at the bright lights suddenly assaulting her, and couldn’t tell who had grabbed her out of the back of the APC. Armed bodies surrounded her and the vehicle, and she couldn’t make out any faces, the light almost blinding her.

She was rushed along and tried to find Steven’s body among the silhouettes of others.

Surely he was right behind her or somewhere close by?

As the terrain shifted and she realized she was now inside a building of sorts, the lights changed and her eyes slowly adjusted to them.

But the flurry of bodies still made it hard to see—some with surgical masks, others in military gear.

She still saw no sign of Steven and her heartbeat quickened further.

As she was whisked off for what she assumed was a routine check, she remembered Steven’s desire to impregnate her, and wondered if the doctors would be able to tell if he had succeeded.

Her hand instinctively went to her stomach.

“Do you know this survivor, Steve?” she heard a female voice say. “Is she anything to you?”

Serena’s heart raced and she whipped her head around to visually locate him and saw him standing casually by the open doorway, his eyes intently on her.

His mouth held a slight smile.

She felt a rush of emotion pass through her at the sight of him, and wanted nothing more than to embrace him, but she knew she had to stay in place while the doctors did their work.

“That’s my woman,” he said, heading toward her, and Serena saw several eyebrows in the room raise. “And she’s everything to me. So you guys better take care of her while I’m gone—I’m coming back for her.” He paused a foot away from her. “You hear that, Serena?” Then he leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

“Give us a second, Em,” he said to the main person who had been checking her out.

‘Em’ stood a few feet back, and was barely out of the way before Steven was kissing her hungrily, as if he had no shame, no care in the world, wasn’t aware of all the pairs of eyes now staring at them.

Serena accepted his mouth on hers greedily.

When he pulled away, he said: “I will do
everything
in my power to come back to you.”

A wave of
deja vu
hit Serena, and fear rocked her.

“Do you really have to go?” she asked, holding on to his hands.

“You know I have to—I’m one of few who can safely take them down while combing for survivors, and I already told you why.”

Serena hung her head, still not wanting to accept it.
Stop being selfish
, she told herself.
Think of all those people out there who..
.

“There’s something else I guess you should know before I head back out there,” he said, and the look in his eye had changed.

Serena’s heart felt like it had stopped.

“I’m no longer a carrier,” he began, “not since the first and only ten minutes of being infected.” Then his voice lowered to a whisper as he brought his mouth to her ear: “
I
am Patient Zero,” he said, then backed away to let Em continue her work.

Serena knew her mouth was hanging open.

How dare he leave her like that? What did he mean? She had so many questions!

As she started working her mouth to ask them, a brawny, dark-headed guy in military gear said:

“Steve, let’s go,” and before she knew it, Steven had been whisked away to who knew where.

But before he disappeared from her sight, she caught a look on his face—a look of such love and anguish before his face melted into a brilliant, reassuring smile, that she knew in her gut it wasn’t an ending for them at all—it was merely the beginning.

END OF PART ONE

*If you would like to find out more about Steven and Serena’s story, check out the EXPANDED EDITION
here
! :)
It includes a prologue, additional scenes, and a whole new section (part two, plus an epilogue).*

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rose Francis likes reading—and writing—psychological fiction, particularly stories addressing difficult topics.

She has been writing from a very early age and is thrilled to have a platform that allows her to bring her tales to the public.

Trapped
is the first in her
Bite-Sized Romance
series, a series of un-related sci-fi novellas.

CONTACT

Check out Rose’s
website
,
e-mail her
, and/or interact with her on
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Goodreads
.

OTHER WORK

Francis has also authored two books in her
Dangerous Secrets
series, a novella in her
Sweet Redemption
series, a sci-fi novelette under
Bite-Sized Romance
, as well as two novellas in her
Holiday Hunks
series. More about them below (or simply visit her
ARe page
for more).