Chapter 12
Two weeks later…
Stella
At the safe house Jagger has installed me in, I’m going demented, but with his daily updates using an encrypted messaging app, feeling slightly less insecure than I’d expected.
But at the knock at the door, I’m still not convinced we can pull this off. I abandon my laptop and check the peephole before I open the door.
Jagger looks about as enticing as I expected after not seeing him or anyone else for two weeks.
But even after solitary confinement, my nerves are overriding all other thoughts and desires.
He steps inside, and I barely give him a chance to close the door before I speak. “I still don’t think this will work. She’ll want to see my body for herself.”
He gestures to the laptop. “But you did what I asked? If she looks at the coroners’ report, all she’ll see is that with no one to ID your body, you’ve accidentally been cremated.”
I grimace at the finality. “Even if Zane digs, he’ll confirm it was computer error. But if she suspects, there’s nowhere she can’t find us.”
He looks around the studio room I’ve been staying in before he answers. “Yeah, there is. I’ve been living there for the past year.”
I frown hard. “Africa? You can’t be serious.”
He smiles. “I didn’t go to all this trouble to leave you here. You said it yourself, you need to leave the country.”
I shake my head. “I meant Mexico or Canada, not Malawi!”
He takes my hands and locks eyes with me. “That’s the first place she’d look. Come to Salima with me. I can keep you safe.”
I squint at him. “How am I supposed to communicate? An interpreter?”
He squeezes my hands and starts to stroke my skin. “A lot of people speak English. My place is on the coast and there are lots of resorts which means lots of tourists. It’s beautiful, the people are amazing. I think you’ll love it.”
He releases my hands and pulls out his phone to show me a photo of a stunning bay, filled with boats, and houses with swimming pools, nothing like I imagined.
“This is Salima? I thought you worked in the desert?”
He chuckles. “I bought a house a few months ago in Salima. I’ve been training a unit in the field for the past year. If you’d stuck around long enough I would have explained.”
He scrolls through photos on his phone until I see a modern beach house set right beside the water.
“This is my home. And before you ask, yes I have WIFI, and if you wanted to work for the ESPA as a consultant, you’d have access to a lot of high-end tech.”
I swallow as I see the extent of the plan he’s put into action. “This will never work. You have a family. What if she comes after them?”
He smiles. “That’s why dad’s coming, and why Dawson is moving to Denver with his girlfriend. Just in case.”
I’m so utterly thrown by how organized he is, and how he’s managed to do this all in two weeks while I’ve just been binge-watching Netflix and trying to make sure I can transfer all my money to untraceable accounts.
“It can’t be that simple. You can’t have thought of everything.”
He winks. “It is babe. You’re dead and it’s my job to think of everything.”
I groan because it is his job, and I’m beginning to understand just how good he is at it. “You did not just call me babe.”
He chuckles. “What do you want me to call you? Stella Knight is dead and gone.”
My frown only grows as I think about the life I’ll be leaving behind and the risks he’s taking.
“How are you going to explain me? What if she has someone waiting to watch you get on the plane?”
He just gives me a lazy smile. “I’m not going to do anything to give her reason to suspect. And Matt doesn’t know anything, neither does Waylon or anyone else I can’t trust, so you can quit obsessing over the details. I know what I’m doing.”
My mouth opens, and he half rolls his eyes. “Fine. I told my unit commander you needed anonymity. So he’s booked you and dad’s tickets using a company credit card as a favor. You’ll be flying out as father and daughter under mom’s maiden name, and dad and Dawson are staying at a hotel just in case. That okay?”
I’m so stunned, I can’t speak for a moment. “And your father and brother are okay with that?”
He shrugs. “This is what Dawson’s wanted for years. And dad’s the happiest I’ve seen him since mom died. He likes you, he needed the push to sell up and he wants me and Dawson to be happy. Everybody wins.”
Emotions are choking me and I’m close to losing what little sanity I had left.
I’ve never let anyone have this much control willingly before. It should feel smothering, but it feels like someone has taken a warm blanket and wrapped it around me.
“This is insane. I don’t even know what to say,” I whisper.
He pulls me into his arms and slides a hand around the back of my neck. “Say you’ll be a part of my family,” he says.
I suck in a breath as every memory I have around what a family should be slams into me. “I don’t think I know how to be.”
I can’t think. I can’t speak. I want him so bad; I want this to work, I’m terrified of how much I need him.
My breathing is starting to speed, and for the first time since he announced this crazy plan, I’m not sure I can do it.
He grips my chin and forces me to look at him. “I’ll be there to make sure to give you everything you need. So will dad. It’s a package deal, babe. Me, my family. It’s all or nothing.”
When he stares at me, waiting, I give up fighting and just accept that he’s done exactly what he promised to do.
He’s proven he cares for me. And unlike a Valentine’s Day gift, it’s a declaration I need.
I press my lips against his and use my tongue to convince him I want all of him.
His hands slide to my waist and he spins me around so he can kiss my neck. A shiver runs down my spine as he runs his hands over my breasts.
My nipples rise at his touch, and I’m suddenly very pleased I didn’t bother to put a bra or panties on this morning.
His hands creep lower as he presses kisses to my earlobe making me moan in pleasure.
I lean into him, back against his chest, sure my knees are going to buckle as his hand finds my bush.
“Stop teasing me,” I growl.
He laughs in my ear and spins me around, so we’re eye to eye. “Cranky, are we?”
I narrow my eyes and try to pout but when he grabs me around the waist, I don’t even bother, just kiss him with enough tongue to let him know I’m done waiting.
He carries me to the bed, and lays me down, far too gently for what I want him to do to me.
I crawl back so he can strip off his clothes, leaving me eyeballing his very, very hard cock.
Before he can say another word, I get on my knees and slide my mouth over his tip.
He grabs my hair and moans as I glide my tongue over my cock, tasting him, and enjoying the way he’s looking down at me.
I suck him until he’s groaning so loud, I know he’s going to come in my mouth if I don’t stop.
I lean back a little and look up at him. “Want me to keep going?”
He grunts a response and has me flat on my back in a heartbeat. His mouth finds my core, and his tongue starts to send delicious shivers of pleasure rushing down my clit.
When he alternates between licking and rubbing his bottom lip over me I’m coming in seconds and back for more before I can even think about how good it feels.
I lie back and let him have his way with my pussy, riding wave after wave of orgasms so intense I’m either about to cry or laugh.
After five insane comes and with him still gripping my thighs not letting me move, I have to grab his hair to stop him. “Fuck me,” I gasp.
He smiles and starts to kiss my inner thighs. “In a minute. I’m having fun down here.”
I snort a laugh. “It’s not going anywhere.”
He presses a kiss to my swollen clit before he smiles. “Is that a promise?”
The words slip from my tongue. “I promise.”
He presses one last kiss to my pussy lips before he slides upwards. Taking his time and making me wait for him to enter me.
I spread my legs again, and gasp as he slides his cock inside me. I grab his face and kiss him as he pumps me slow and steady.
His cock in my pussy and his tongue tangled with mine, I come so hard, I near bite off his tongue.
He growls at me as he shifts back. “Careful. I plan on using that a lot.”
In one move he manages to roll on his back, so I’m forced to straddle him. I push his cock back in and start to rock back and forth feeling my clit rub against his skin.
His hands caressing my breasts, my nipples get harder and harder as my body responds to his touch.
An orgasm shudders through my body so violently I‘m not even aware of what I’m saying.
When I’m shivering in pleasure, he grabs my shoulders and pulls me into him so he can kiss me.
I’m more than happy to keep fucking him, but he has other ideas. He pushes me off him, none too gently, and positions me so I’m on all fours.
His cock inside me again, I lean back into him and feel his skin smack against mine as he pumps harder.
“Yeah, yeah,” I pant.
His sex noises start to compete with mine until we sound like wild animals rutting in the forest.
He grabs my hips and pumps harder as he explodes inside me amongst a collection of adoration and expletives that make me smile in pleasure.
He gives me a final thrust before he rocks back on his heels. I spin around and take a shuddering breath as he catches his. “I love doing that,” he gasps.
I prop myself up on my elbows and grin at him. “Is that why you did all this? You love fucking me?”
His forehead creases. “I did all this because I love you and you needed me to prove it.”
My heart starts to slam against my chest and it’s not because I just had five incredible orgasms.
It’s because I’ve waited my whole life for someone to love me the way Jagger does.
It’s taken the death of Stella Knight to achieve it, but I’ve finally found what my mother always told me was a crutch of the weak-minded.
Tears spring to my eyes as I reach for his hand. “I love you too, Rambo,” I say.
THE END
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Lexi Hart is the pen name of a crazy Kiwi romance junkie who prefers to live in the heads of her characters than her own.
If you want to escape reality with me and love fast burn romances with a splattering of suspense, The One Wild Weekend Series is sure to satisfy you.
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