Chapter 2

Chapter

Two

I t had been good to see Finn. Zara couldn’t help but smile at the predicament her friend found herself in. She remembered all too well the confusing feelings that arose when a self-made, successful, independent woman tried to reconcile the need for a dominant man who thought nothing of beating her ass anytime he believed it was deserved. It had taken Zara a long time to realize she was never going to convince her former lover, Damian, he wasn’t right or to escape a punishment once he’d decided she was due one.

Zara hadn’t been joking when she’d had dinner with Finn and cautioned her about pissing off Billy Crofton of the Wild Mustang Security Firm. She’d made more than one plane trip home on a welted ass with her pussy almost as sore from the sex that inevitably followed a spanking. Zara had never liked pain, but Damian’s discipline came with all kinds of fringe benefits, including the fact he had loved her without reservation. And if she was honest, his watching over her had saved her more than once.

Well, good for Finn. Every strong woman deserved an even stronger man at least once in her life. She’d had Damian and now channeled most of her sexual needs into driving her career. These days, when she needed a physical outlet, she turned to casual relationships, mostly with men she’d known for years. She rarely repeated a tryst and was able to maintain those friendships afterward.

She walked down the cobblestone streets to her home in one of London’s famous mews. When trying to decide where to purchase a home after relocating to the cosmopolitan capital of England, Zara had taken inspiration from her favorite mystery writer, Agatha Christie, and found a place that suited her perfectly. She had confined her main living area to the first floor with a very open concept kitchen/great room and a half bath. The second floor was her master suite, including an enormous walk-in shower separate from a deep Victorian soaker tub. The third floor was her office, home gym, and retreat from the world; it too had a half bath.

Zara couldn’t shake the feeling she was, if not being followed, then observed. Damian had taught her the difference between the two. Once inside her home, she reactivated the security system, then peeked out of the shutters from the darkened room. She couldn’t spot anyone or anything amiss, but if Finn was right about Fariq Abdal’s organization being taken over by Gerold Springer, she would need to be more careful. She slipped up the stairs without turning on the light.

Normally, the French doors at the top of the stairs remained open, but tonight she closed, locked, and armed them. The glass was simulated bubble glass, reminiscent of a bygone era, but was, in fact, state-of-the-art and bulletproof, as were all the windows in her home. One nasty run-in with enemies of Damian’s had taught her the value of an ounce of prevention being worth far more than a pound of cure.

She entered her bedroom and closed the shutters, turning on the lamp by her bed. Zara got into the middle of her king-sized bed, crossing her legs before pulling out her laptop and jotting down her notes. If Finn’s assumptions were correct, this could be a huge article for both of them. Zara grinned… provided Billy Crofton could be persuaded to allow Finn to get further involved, or they could avoid his presence as they ran down the story. Zara should feel bad about the state of Finn’s ass, should her friend opt to continue, over what Zara was sure would be Crofton’s objections, but she couldn’t. Two of their biggest joint ventures had resulted in accolades and awards for both of them and a welted ass for her. It was Finn’s turn, she thought, laughing.

N oah watched Zara enter her home. Everything seemed quiet, but he hung back, waiting, wanting to be close by in case something went awry. He stayed in the shadows, feeling as though, somehow, she had sensed his presence. Her former flame would have taught her well.

They had been an interesting couple—the NATO Intelligence operative and the investigative reporter. He’d met Damian a couple of times. In fact, at one point, he’d helped him get Zara out of a jam. He seemed to be a nice guy who had a fairly good handle on his woman. Noah was pretty sure there had been a power exchange element to that dynamic, but in his opinion, Damian reacted rather than anticipated, and Zara had suffered for it.

With a woman like Zara, a man would have to be on his toes and know what she was up to. He shook his head. Why did he care? The dream notwithstanding, Noah had no interest in getting involved with Zara Hughes. He smiled at the memory of the dream and felt his cock respond. Fantasy or not, Zara had been right when she’d told him he had no interest in a woman like her and hadn’t been far off the mark when she’d accused him of wanting a sweet, compliant girl who was ready, willing, and waiting to accommodate his sexual needs.

She had, though, been wrong about the blowjobs on demand. Other than as a submissive way for a woman to get him fully aroused, he wasn’t the biggest fan. He knew a lot of men were for a myriad of reasons, one of which was the pleasure that could be derived from a woman who knew what she was doing. He, John, and Mac had once had a heated discussion regarding the best way to humble a stubborn, proud woman—not humiliate… humble. While they differed on various ways to do it, they had come to the drunken consensus, that fucking a woman’s ass was most likely the single most dominant way a man could possess his woman, and all had agreed the best way to bring that lesson home was to make sure she enjoyed it and climaxed because of it.

He shook his head. Lord, if Willa knew half of what he knew about her relationship, she’d skin Mac alive. Willa was a handful, but she seemed to make Mac happier than Noah had ever known him to be. Mac had to stay on top of her unruly behavior, or she’d get so far out into the weeds, he’d need to take a day off just to get her back in line… although doing so seemed to put Mac in the best of moods afterward. No, Mac and Croft could have their spitfires. He’d wait for a nice quiet girl to come along, sweep her off her feet, and live happily ever after.

A dim light showed around the shuttered window of what he assumed was her bedroom. Once it went out and he was fairly certain she was tucked in for the night, Noah lost no time in hacking Zara’s security feed from her hidden cameras. Once he had completed his task, he returned to the Amba and his own bed.

The following morning, Croft went to fetch Finn. Noah was fairly certain when she got on the plane for home, she’d be sitting gingerly—if she’d been his, she would have a blistered backside and a roughly pleasured pussy. Avery knocked on Noah’s hotel room door.

“Well, sunshine, it seems Finn has flown the coop yet again…” she said as she opened the door and let herself in.

“Christ,” said Noah. “I should have stayed on Zara last night.”

Avery laughed. “I’m not even going to go near that one. But no, Finn left Croft a message at the Savoy that she was going home. As you might guess, that means the plane is headed back to Arizona.”

“Until we know what’s what, I think I should stay in London and keep watch over our intrepid reporter.”

“And again, not touching that,” teased Avery.

Noah rolled his eyes. “Why are you intent on giving me a har… bad time this morning?”

Avery’s amusement was beginning to annoy him.

“When did Zara Hughes go from being Ms. Hughes or Hughes to Zara? Careful, Noah, that’s one woman who might be up for the challenge of taking you on.”

“What do you mean? I’m a nice guy.”

“Yes, a nice guy who bores easily and rarely uses the same submissive twice at Leathers—not that most, if not all of them, wouldn’t like a second round if not something more permanent—but you refuse to allow yourself to be really touched.”

“I would think given what happened last year, you’d be a bit more careful about who touched you…” he snarled, then felt like a complete bastard when he saw Avery pale. He reached for her, but she pulled away. He drew her back into his embrace and held her until she relaxed against him. “I’m sorry, Blondie. That was a shitty thing to say. What happened wasn’t your fault. You got played by a master.”

Avery shuddered but clung to him. “Sometimes, I worry that I’ll run into him at Leathers…”

“Won’t happen. He’s lost his privileges and been denied entrance to the club.”

“You responsible for that?” she asked, relaxing.

“No, that was strictly a management decision.”

“I don’t know that I believe that.”

“Believe it. I’m the guy who sent him to the ER, told him he had a week to leave town and never come back, and that I’d put him in the morgue if I saw him again.”

Avery laughed. “God, you’re a Neanderthal.”

“Not true. I am completely enlightened. If some bastard had messed up Croft, I’d have done the same.”

“Hmm… I think you’d have waited for Croft to heal, then the two of you would have double-teamed him. Nevertheless, I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“That’s what friends are for, Blondie.”

“Maybe I should scope out some of the new submissives at Leathers for you… find the right girl to soothe the savage beast.”

“You’re nuts.” He shook his head and kissed the top of her head. “Best see to your own love life before you try seeing to mine.”

“Ah, but yours is so much more interesting. You tell anyone who will listen that you want a sweet, submissive girl. Someone more biddable than Mandy. Mind you, I’m not so sure she’s as easy as you think she is, but that’s not the point. The fact is, you’ve had a plethora of said sweet submissives come your way. You play with them once and send them flying in a way no Dom has ever done before. In each and every instance, you withhold an integral part of who you are. They experience the prowess and expertise of the sexual animal, but that’s it. You extricate yourself and never allow them to form any real attachment or relationship. You always stop short of allowing them to fall too hard for you. I’ve always admired that about you, by the way.”

“As you seem to have given this far more thought than I have, what is it you think I want?” teased Noah.

“I think you want what you think you want, but it isn’t what you need. You need a woman every bit as tough and independent as Willa or Finn. You’re always nice to any woman who gets involved with any of the guys we work with, but it’s Willa who intrigues you, and I suspect Finn will hold the same fascination.”

“You are seriously delusional.”

“Maybe, but I’m also right. Anyway, as Finn is headed home, Thom thought you’d prefer the Savoy, so we’ve moved you over there unless you’d rather stay here.”

“No,” Noah said, shaking his head. “I prefer the Savoy.”

“Fine,” she said, handing him the laptop. “You’re now in charge of things here in London and staying in touch. I’m headed over to pick up Croft, file a flight plan, and get out of this miserable weather.”

“The weather isn’t that bad, Avery.”

“It’s not Arizona, Noah. I like my weather like my men… brutal and hot.”

Noah laughed. “Jesus, you’re obnoxious. You just wait until the right guy comes along and jerks a knot in that sassy tail of yours! I am so going to get popcorn and enjoy the show.”

“Me? Whatever do you mean?” Avery batted her eyes at Noah. “In any event, big guy, keep your eye on Ms. Hughes and check in daily. I’m sure Mac will want to have a meeting to come up with a game plan when he returns.” Avery stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek before darting out the door. “You deserve the right woman, Noah, and she’ll be lucky to have you.”

Noah shook his head. Whoever ended up with Avery was going to get a hell of a woman… not easy, but well worth it. He almost had sympathy for whoever it might be. After all, he was going to get put through the wringer by every guy at Wild Mustang, unless of course, Thom ever decided to pull his head out of his ass and take the feisty pilot in hand.

He packed up his things and headed for the Savoy. Once he registered, he went to check on Zara. Avery was right; at some point, he had begun thinking of her as Zara… and allowing her to occupy way too many of his thoughts.

He spent the day setting up a mobile phone listening device as well as checking her security feed so he could monitor her movements when he couldn’t be close at hand. When he checked in with the team at the end of the day, he was glad to hear Croft had found Finn waiting for him at home. His smile had broadened considerably when Avery told him privately, no one had seen either of them since Croft had entered arrived at his dwelling.

Z ara spent the next day finishing up the piece she had been working on and doing preliminary research on Fariq Abdal’s organization. There were bits and pieces of rumors and speculations about what might or might not be happening. The fact there were even whispers about Fariq told her Finn had been right. Something was going on. She cleared her schedule in order to focus on the Fariq story, but her normal sources were decidedly tight-lipped.

She’d gone to bed frustrated. It had been a while since she’d allowed herself the sweet release of an orgasm. The fact was, she didn’t like pleasuring herself. No vibrator could replace the touch or tongue of a man, and her fingers were a poor excuse for a man’s cock. She laid in her bed in the dark, allowing her fingers to run through the dark curls that covered her mons. Damian had insisted she keep it shaved. She slid her fingers past her clit and parted her the wet folds of her labia to penetrate her cunt, the heel of her hand pressing against the sensitized nub. She moved her hand, driving her fingers deep and pulling back while pressing hard against her clit. She bit her lip to keep from getting off too quick. She kept fingering herself, fucking her pussy until her hips began to rock in that sweet, seductive rhythm.

Zara closed her eyes and imagined her phantom lover. He’d been occupying her dreams of late—always in command, demanding she capitulate to his will and revel in his embrace. Dark and dangerous, he’d awaken her libido in a way it hadn’t been since Damian had died. Even thinking of her dead lover caused the sexy beast to growl, refocusing her energy and her entire being on him. She spread her legs as she imagined him settling himself between her thighs and surging into her. Zara cried out as she climaxed.

Never had any real-life man fucked her with the power and passion of her fantasy lover. He didn’t care about niceties or whispering sweet nothings in her ear. He grunted and groaned as he fucked her harder than she’d ever been. There was a frenzied and raw quality to his driving cock. Zara arched her back and drove her fingers deeper and faster into her greedy cunt. This was an alpha male of the first order, dominant in every way, demanding she surrender to him.

She closed her eyes and imagined his cock stretching her in a way she’d never felt before. He was fucking her hard and fast, knowing he would ride her through several climaxes and using her in the same way conquering heroes had been using nice tight cunts as far back as time extended. Only he was no hero, not concerning himself with right or wrong. He had his own moral code to which he adhered. No, this was a warrior, a warlord, and couldn’t be denied. She came a final time, exhausted and sated.

Zara woke the next day and stretched. She’s slept better than she had in a long, long time. Part of it was the anticipation of the chase. Her gut told her Finn was onto something. She planned to start running down rumors she’d been hearing and checking with sources. And part was the amazing release she’d achieved masturbating the night before.

Stepping into her steam shower, she let the warmth envelop her. She really was happy for Finn. Billy Crofton was drool-worthy and wasn’t known as any kind of womanizer. Finn would be happy and safe for the rest of her life… or at least as long as Croft lived. Although, from what she knew about the men of the Wild Mustang Security Firm, they saw each other as family and looked after one another. That meant if something happened to Croft, they’d look after Finn.

It hadn’t been like that with Damian. He’d been killed by a drunk driver in a senseless motor vehicle accident. NATO Intelligence had quietly collected the body, returned it to Greece, and seen him interred there. There was no funeral, no celebration of his life, not even any acknowledgment he had lived… or died. By the time Zara had learned what happened, it had been too late to do anything. She was left to mourn his passing and live with the almost overwhelming grief on her own. Not one of his colleagues had ever reached out to her. The only one who had been there for her had been Finn.

As much as she’d loved Damian, Zara had determined she would never allow herself the luxury of falling for a man again, even though she knew that was not what he would have wanted. They’d talked once or twice about what might happen should he ever fall in the line of duty. He had been adamant she should carry on without him. He wanted her to find someone else to care for her and keep her safe. When she had informed him, she was quite capable of doing that on her own, he had laughed, kissed her, and swatted her ass, telling her she needed a keeper. He also told her if she didn’t find someone on her own, he would intervene from the other side and find someone for her.

Zara got out of the shower, dried herself, and put her hair on top of her head. She slathered moisturizer over her face and lotion all over her body. Donning a pair of sweatpants and a sports bra, she trotted up to her office, where she started up her desktop system and downloaded all her files from the night before. She began phoning contacts and researching news stories, not the headlines but small threads of information she could follow to bigger, untold stories.

If Fariq’s organization had been taken over by Springer or was under attack, it was not common knowledge. Hoping to find something she and Finn could hang their hat on, so to speak, Zara called Edmond LaCroix of Paris’ S?reté.

“Zara! How are you?”

“Confused, Edmond. I’ve heard a disturbing rumor regarding Fariq Abdal and his organization… and you haven’t called to share.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“Come on, Edmond, you know I can’t divulge that information. I understand one of his lieutenants, Gerold Springer, is behind it and was operating very briefly from a safehouse outside of Paris.”

“Just a moment,” Edmond said. Zara could hear him rapidly walking across a floor before she heard a door close. “Zara, I’m not sure how you came across this, but you’d best let it be. Fariq was dangerous enough, but at least he operated by a code of honor. Springer is a nationalist thug, as was his brother.”

Ignoring his advice, she continued. “Yes, my sources say Fariq killed Timon, Gerold’s brother when he got greedy and tried to get information the Springer brothers could use to hurt Fariq. There was a hostage exchange that went down badly in Las Vegas. Gerold took Finlay Reid and got the hell out of Dodge, as they say in the States.”

“Is Finn your source?”

“Edmond, you know better. I can neither confirm nor deny that.”

“If she is, we’d like to talk with her. We found a group of dead bodies in a farmhouse just outside of Paris. We know both Springer and Finn were in the area. We’ve been looking for her. Do you know where she is? She could be in grave danger.”

“I think she’s safe enough.”

“That is not for you to decide, Zara. You and Finn have been known to be fairly reckless with your own safety. In a war zone, when you’re only endangering yourselves, that’s one thing. When we have bodies piling up around Paris, it’s another thing altogether.”

“What if I could arrange for you to speak with her over the phone?”

“Zara, you’re not listening. You and Finn and anyone else who knows what’s going on are in real danger. This is much bigger than just Fariq being pushed out.”

“How much bigger?”

“Bigger. You need to let this go. If Finn is truly safe, you should join her. London is not safe for you. You need to go into hiding until all of this blows over.”

“Why? If something’s gone down in France, why do I need to be worried holed up here in merry ole England?”

The lights flickered before her call was interrupted and cut off. She pulled up the security feed of her home on her computer. Shit! There were armed men coming through her back door in the kitchen from the garden. She closed the door to her office space and wedged her chair underneath the handle to make it more difficult for whoever the armed intruders were to get to her. Stuffing her cell phone down her bra, Zara went into the half bath, closed and locked the door, then opened the transom window above the toilet, preparing to escape onto the relatively flat roof to what she hoped was safety.

N oah had seen the lights flicker from his vantage point. Prior to leaving the night before, he’d had Thom help him hack her security system to take advantage of the hidden cameras keeping watch over her home. When he’d headed over this morning, he’d brought a device that allowed someone to be able to monitor calls from a cell phone. He’d heard the interference on her phone just as it disconnected. He knew from talking with Thom, the only thing that could have caused the glitch in her electrical and the loss of her call was an interruption to her system that would keep her from calling 9-9-9, the UK’s emergency response system. Whatever was jamming her phone was also preventing him from using his.

Noah’s look around her home the previous night had revealed the only possible way to get to her now was up and over the roof, slipping through the small window in the half bath on the third floor. His hiding spot gave him good access to the row of rooftops that lined her street. He lowered himself to the roof, drew his SIG, and ran towards Zara’s home. He was preparing to kick in the window when he watched it open and positioned himself where he couldn’t be seen. As two very feminine hands appeared, he holstered his weapon and quickly dragged her through the window, clasping his hand over mouth to keep her quiet.

“I’m Noah Taylor with the Wild Mustang Security Firm. I’m a friend of Finn’s. We need to get you out of here.”

She looked frightened but nodded to indicate she heard and understood him. He removed the hand keeping her silent and slid the other down her arm to grasp her hand, then led her back the way he’d come. If their luck held for a few minutes, they’d be out of sight before the intruders discovered Zara had escaped.

They raced back the way Noah had come and dropped off the building close to where he’d left the rented Range Rover. Helping her down, he had to admit, she was handling this much better than most people would have. He dragged her along behind him, keeping her low and using the other parked vehicles to keep their escape concealed. When they reached the vehicle, he opened the door, shoved her inside, and closed it. Running around the back of the vehicle, he slipped into the driver’s side behind the wheel and pulled away from the curb.