PROTECT ME Page 5

  He began to thrust into her, long deep strokes, building the fire inside her even higher. She wanted to beg him to go faster, to finish her off, to stop the dizzying spiral of heights she was soaring to. Mia started to feel out of control, as she experienced sensations like never before. Stars danced behind her eyes and her whole world was centered around her core as the heat spread.

  As if he could read her, Mark finally started to increase his speed. He leaned forward and caressed one breast with his hand, gently pinching her nipple as he did. The sensation shot straight to her clit, as if the two nerve bundles were deeply attached. She clenched hard, drawing another groan from Mark. He sped up his thrusts, sinking deeply each time he bottomed out in her depths. He would draw his long cock out to the very tip before driving it back, deep inside. And every time that her lips swallowed it, she pushed back, trying desperately to increase the friction she needed for the fireworks to explode.

  Mark watched her responses closely, moved with her breathing, sliding in and out to her rhythm. When he knew she was at the very height of ecstasy, he leaned over her, close to her ear and demanded she let go.

  “Come for me, Mia. Come now.”

  He dragged his hand roughly down her body and circled her clit with his thumb and forefinger. He squeezed harshly, rubbing the little bud in circles. Mia screamed and exploded in his arms. Her whole body clenched and spasmed as the heat inside of her flooded her consciousness. She writhed blindly, as wave after wave of electricity hit her nerve endings. It spread through her belly and enveloped her entire body. Her clenching pussy wrenched Mark’s orgasm from him, sooner than he would have normally allowed it. He usually had ultimate control over his body, and having an orgasm ripped out of him was unusual. But nothing could have prepared him for the feel of Mia coming apart for him, as if she had never reached this height of passion during sex.

  Coming down from her orgasm slowly, Mia knew that this experience would change her life forever. It was unlike any sex that Mia had ever had before. Mark was a strong man, and he liked to take control. He had definitely ruined her for any of the guys she usually had sex with. She would never be able to find fulfillment with a guy like that after experiencing the dominance, the expertise, that Mark had shown her.

  And, she realized, she had loved every second of it.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Mark was fast asleep. The sex they had had was intense and physical.

  Mia however, couldn't sleep. She was curled up with her head on his chest, resting against his softly beating heart. She could hear him breathing, his chest slowly rising and falling. It was warm and soothing.

  Mia had to take a few moments to take stock of what had just happened. She was surprised. Really, since Mark had rescued her back in the warehouse, she had desired him. She just didn't know if he felt the same way. She wouldn't have blamed him if he hadn't, especially after the way she had treated him. But he confirmed that he had been thinking of her too. And the way he held her afterwards indicated that this might be more than a one-off thing.

  Mia was confused. She had never really felt this way before. Sure, she had desired men before. And more often than not, she had gotten her way. But always, after she was finished with them, she simply walked away and felt nothing. She very rarely returned for seconds and never, absolutely never, consented to sleeping together afterward. That level of intimacy was absolutely alien to her. And yet here she was, wrapped in her lover's arms, her thoughts on nothing but him. It was bizarre.

  She had to stop thinking about him. It wasn't conducive and only served to make her fret. So instead, her thoughts turned to her mother.

  The moment she began to think of her mother, she wished that she hadn't. It made her sad to think that her mother probably wasn’t even worried about her. She would be all wrapped up in her work about this new legislation. Of course, on the surface her mother would be worried – after all, Mia hadn’t come back to the hotel last night, but she was sure that her mother had probably written her off as having gone to a party and was just avoiding her calls.

  To be honest, that’s exactly what Mia likely would have done if she hadn’t been abducted. Her mother knew that she was angry, and when she got angry at the unfair restrictions that were placed on her, she lashed out by being irresponsible. With a twinge of guilt for the worry she had likely caused her mother over the years, Mia was suddenly glad that her mom probably thought she had partied the night away. Her and her mother had a tenuous relationship. And yet here Mia was.... her stomach in knots with the indecision she felt.

  Her eyes fell to the phone by the bed. It would be so easy to simply call and tell her she was okay too. It would take a second and do much to settle Mia down. So, after double checking that Mark was indeed sleeping, Mia did just that. She slid across the bed, picked up the phone, and dialed her mother.

  "Mia!" her mother said instantly. She sounded frantic in the way she spoke too. Oddly, Mia felt a sense of relief at that, as if she needed confirmation of her mother's worry. "Where are you! Are you okay?"

  "I'm fine mom," Mia said. "I'm... I just called to let you know that everything is okay and --"

  "Where are you?" Her mother cut in. "I'll send someone to come get you."

  "No, mom. Mark thinks that --"

  "Mark? Who's Mark?"

  "The bodyguard. He thinks it's best if I don't tell you or anyone where we are. But we're both fine and --"

  "I don't care what Mark says," her mother said. "What happened? I'm your mother and I'm worried about you, dear. I can't sleep. And you aren’t answering your phone! I'm.... just tell me where you are. Okay?"

  Mia bit her lip as she listened to her mom panic on the other end. It was odd. While Mia was glad that her mom was obviously worried about her, something just didn’t sound right. Her mom was always in control. Always. But right now, she sounded frantic, haggard even. She had never, for as long as she could remember, think of a time her mother had ever sounded so worried. Showing emotion, with the exception of anger, was not one of her mother's traits. But Mia couldn’t stand to hear her mother so upset, so her resolve to stick to Mark’s plan began to waver.

  "Okay..." she said. "But if I do tell you, you have to promise that you won't send anyone. Like I said, Mark doesn't think that --"

  Mia could have sworn she heard her mother whimper.

  "It's just a little hotel called the Wayside Inn a couple of hours away from D.C. You'd be proud of me actually. If you saw this place you wouldn't --"

  "Mia," her mother suddenly cut in.

  "Yes?"

  "Run!" As her mother shouted the word, Mia heard the distinct voice of someone else, swearing behind her mother. Her mother then screamed, but not at Mia, rather at whoever else was in the room. She heard the sound of something hard hitting flesh, and then her mother screamed.

  "No! No!" And then the line went dead.

  Mia sat frozen in fear. She still had the phone to her ear, listening, as if her mother might suddenly call back through the dead line. The implication of what had happened was clear -- Mia's mother was in trouble.

  But in how much trouble? Had she been taken? Was her life now in danger? Or were they simply going to keep hold of her until the vote was over and let her go? Mia had no idea.

  "Mark!" Mia shook Mark awake. "Mark!"

  "Hey," Mark said slowly, as he came to. A slow smile spread across his face when he spotted Mia standing over him. But it was brief. He very quickly noted the panic, embodying Mia's actions and voice. "What's wrong?" he quickly, wide awake in an instant.

  "It's my mother, she's --"

  "You called her?" Mark asked. He was out of bed now, darting around the room in search of his clothes. "Why did you call her, Mia? I told you not to --"

  "I know, I know!" Mia pleaded. "But listen, she's in trouble."

  "What do you mean?" He had his pants on and was now sliding into his shirt.

  "There was someone in the room with her, like monitoring her phone call or someth
ing like that."

  "How do you know?" Mark asked. "Maybe it was a friend, or bodyguard or --"

  "No," Mia shook her head. "When I told her where we were staying, she told me to run and --"

  "What!" Mark yelled. Her ran up to Mia, and grabbed her by the arms, forcing her to look into his eyes. "You told her where we were staying?"

  "Yes." She could feel tears coming to her eyes, but did her best to keep them contained. She didn't want to look weak in front of Mark. "But Mark, what are we going to do? She's in trouble. She needs our help."

  "I don't doubt that, but right now, Mia, we have to go. And I mean now." He let her go and made his way to the door.

  "What’s going to happen?" Mia asked. It was still dark outside, only just past midnight.

  "Well, in all likelihood, it was that albino who took your mother. And now that he knows where we are, he's probably going to come for us too – Shit! Get down." Headlights from a car outside, flooded the room.

  Mark, on his knees, scurried to the window and peaked through the blinds.

  "What?" Mia asked as she crouched down. "Is it --?"

  "Ssshhh," Mark hissed. He looked through the window again. "Fuck,” he muttered. “They must have had cars spread all over the state in order to get to us that fast.”

  Then, as if whoever was outside had heard him, they let their intentions be known.

  Mia didn't even realize it was happening. It was Mark who, again, saved the day. All Mia was able to register was the noise. It was deafening. The windows shattered and the walls exploded as gun fire hailed from outside. What had to have been thousands of bullets, tore into the room, decimating everything in their path.

  Mark was quick. He dived at Mia, taking her in the waist and sending her to the ground. He then heled her down, his own body pressed on top of hers. And Mia screamed. She screamed and screamed, unable to hear her own voice as the gunfire continued to explode around her.

  Even when it was over, and the dust settled, the noise seemed to continue. A silence rang out through the room that was deafening. The world spun and Mia, again found herself in a situation she was unable to comprehend.

  Mark slid from Mia and as he did, he took her hand. Mia, only half aware of what was happening, let him guide her. He pulled her across the floor, staying low as they made their way into the bathroom. Once they were inside, Mark closed the door.

  "Are you okay?" he asked the moment the door closed.

  "I... I think so..." Physically she was fine. Mentally though, she was a wreck. The only thing holding her together was how calm Mark looked.

  "Stay here." He turned back towards the door, going to open it.

  "Wait!" she stammered, grabbing him by the arm.

  "Sshhh," Mark said, holding his finger to his lips. "I'm going out there. And you’re going to stay here."

  "Mark, no!" she pleaded. "You might need my help. What if --" Mia was terrified that he’s leave her alone.

  "I won't be able to concentrate if I'm worried about you. Trust me, you're better off in here." And with that, he slipped back out of the bathroom.

  The next two minutes were some of the most terrifying moments in Mia's life. She had no choice but to remain, huddled in the bathroom, as she listened to the commotion take place outside. She had no way of discerning what was happening, or to who it was happening. All she could do was hope that the yelling and thumping that she heard, were on account of Mark and not the other guys.

  And that's what it was. She would hear a scream or shout, followed by a thud and crunch. Then she would hear another and another. There was the occasional gun shot, but only ever one by itself. And it was always followed by a loud thump.

  But, after two minutes of this, silence descended. She creeped closer to the door, pressing her ear against it as she listened. But there was nothing. No talking, no yelling or fighting. Silence.

  Mia couldn't stand it anymore. Slowly, very slowly, she edged the door open and peaked out. The first thing she saw was the body. It wasn't Mark's, but it was male and it lay, splayed out in front of her.

  She forced herself to look away, only to instantly spot another body. This one was nearer the front door. It too, lay either dead or unconscious.

  Mia wanted to scream but didn't. She held her mouth shut tight as she creeped into the hotel room, staying low. There were just the two bodies in the room. She crept passed them and peered outside. It was there that she saw Mark.

  The parking lot had five men in it in total. Three of them were on the ground in various positions, all unconscious. The fourth man, one with a pistol in his hand, was standing about ten feet from Mia with his back to her. His pistol was pointed at the fifth man, Mark. Mark was on his knees, with his hands held above his head.

  "Where is she?" the man asked Mark. The pistol was pointed right at his face, inches from it.

  "Gone," Mark said. He looked perfectly composed, calm even.

  "Where to!"

  "I don't know," he replied. "She ran the moment her mother told her to. Left me behind, if you can believe it. Spoiled bitch."

  "Yeah, that part I can believe. They’re all the same. Unfortunately for you, that makes you useless to me," the man said. He cocked his gun, raising it to Mark’s forehead. That was when Mia acted.

  By her feet was the unconscious body of one of the assailants. In his hand was a gun. Without hesitating, Mia picked the gun up. Probably because she was bare foot, the man holding the gun to Mark’s head hadn’t even heard her creep forward. She flipped it in her hand so that she was gripping it by the barrel. Holding the gun firmly by the barrel, she brought it down hard on the man’s head.

  The man, caught off guard, stumbled forward. In doing so Mark was provided with the opening he needed.

  In a flash, Mark was on his feet. His arm shot out, jabbing the man in the throat and then in the back of the head. The man dropped to his knees, which allowed time for Mark to grab the gun from Mia and deliver a brutal blow to the man’s head. And then, he too was out cold.

  It was only then that Mark acknowledged Mia. She had been watching the whole thing dumbfounded, unable to believe what she had done and how quickly Mark had dealt with the last assailant.

  "Nice work," Mark said. He reached out and touched her lightly on the arm. "Hey, thanks."

  "Um…okay…” Mia said, suddenly finding her voice but not knowing what to say.

  "I'll remember that for the future. Now, you ready to take your mother's advice and run?" He held his hand out for her to take. This time she didn't hesitate in taking it.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  It was almost four in the morning by the time Mark and Mia rolled into D.C.

  The only problem now was, what were they going to do?

  Mia suggested that they go straight to the police. Surely they could help? But Mark wasn't so sure. He was a cop and knew only too well how easy it was to corrupt them. He had no idea who Allister Cook actually was, or what kind of sway he held, if any. For all he knew, the albino had half the police force in his pocket. It just wasn't safe.

  And safe was what Mark was after. If not for his own sake, then Mia's. As they made the long drive to D.C, Mark had a lot of time to think and the majority of that time was spent with thoughts of the woman who sat by his side.

  She was just so different than what he had originally thought. The physical attraction was undeniable. From the moment he had seen her, his body reacted to her. Strongly. But that was where the attraction ended. That first morning they spent together she had been rude and arrogant. Pretty much a total spoiled bitch. But then she had changed.

  He had seen the proof of the core of steel that she hid so well. He knew that she felt abandoned by her mother, but she didn’t want anyone to know how much that had hurt her while growing up.

  And instead of buckling like a coward through all of the drama they had experienced, she had stayed strong. He had to smile when he thought back to her reaction to the seedy motel they had pulled up to. Obviously
it wasn’t up to her standards, but she had tried valiantly to put a brave face on and not complain. He didn’t think she would have been able to pull that off even a few days ago.

  The adversity they were facing was certainly bringing out something in her. She was a strong woman, and he couldn’t be prouder of the way she had held herself together while wading through the dead bodies of assailants in the hotel room, to grab the gun and brain the guy who was about to shoot him. Amazing.

  She was also smart and daring, and not afraid to make her point known and even argue it if needed. When Mia had walked up to him in that hotel room and started kissing him... well he had been momentarily floored. Dumbstruck. He couldn't believe it. For a split second. And then his body had caught up and nothing could have kept him from taking over and showing her just how hot he had been for her.