Be Careful What You Wish For(6)

“Oh, you’ll live,” he said, his voice rough. “After the hassle you’ve given me, I’ll be damned if I’ll let you go this easy. You owe me now.”
She didn’t respond to the patently illogical statement, knowing that arguing with him was foolish. If he said she was the problem, she’d accept responsibility. Whatever it took to keep him happy was good enough for her. He pushed himself up slowly and reached one hand down to her. She took it with resignation; she was beat. Whatever chances she might have to get away were over for the moment.
Now she needed to conserve her strength.
He pulled her to her feet and marched her along next to him, one hand wrapped firmly around her upper arm. It hurt and she knew she’d have bruises there the next day. Then again, she’ probably have bruises all over.
They walked in silence back through the parked planes. Del sat on the tarmac near the jet, clutching his jaw and giving her a look of such hatred that she shivered. How had he gotten hurt? The other man, Valzar, watched her with cool speculation in his eyes, as if she were some sort of strange and exotic bird he was considering eating.
She didn’t like that look at all.
Sean stayed silent, marching her past both of them toward the jet. She was freezing cold now, and covered in mud, but nobody seemed to notice or care. They reached the foot of a small flight of steps leading to the open hatch of the jet. Sean pushed her up ahead of him, and she stumbled. One of her shoes was gone, she realized. She was walking half barefoot through the rain and she hadn’t even noticed. Her toe throbbed, and she wondered if she were bleeding.
They entered the plane and he pushed her toward the back. Along each side were comfortable loungers.
Nobody was in them. He kept her moving until they reached the end of the hall where a narrow door awaited them.
“Through that door,” he said roughly. “We’ll be able to get cleaned up in there. I’m sure Valzar doesn’t want us getting mud all over his pretty airplane.”
She opened the door, finding herself in a surprisingly spacious room. A large bed stood against one wall, as well as several chairs and a closet. Another door, just past the bed, seemed to lead into a bathroom.
“We’ll shower in there later,” he said coolly, letting go of her arm for the first time. “We’ll be taking off in a couple minutes, and until we’re in the air, we shouldn’t be moving around the cabin. Take off your clothes.”
She stood frozen, unable to process his words.
“I said take off your clothes,” he said again, opening the buttons of his own shirt. His fingers revealed a well-muscled chest covered in springy black hair. It was broad and finely muscled. She gaped at him, hardly believing this was real. Was he going to rape her like this? It seemed so… sudden. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.
“Do you want me to take off your clothes for you?” he asked coldly. “I don’t want you getting mud all over the plane, and you’ll do that if you don’t get that stuff off right now.”
“Oh,” she said, turning away and blushing. She started pulling the shirt over her head, and then froze.
He’d stopped moving behind her. She turned to find him watching her.
“Take them off.”
She pulled her wet T-shirt up slowly, wishing desperately that she’d worn a plain white bra. Why had she gone with black that morning? What had she been thinking? The shirt was gone all too soon, and she reached down to unzip her jeans.
They were soaking wet, and the zipper stuck.
She turned away from him once more, working at it and feeling her breath come in short puffs. Then she felt the warmth of his body behind her; she froze. His hands reached around her, grasping the zipper in firm fingers. He worked it down slowly, and then reached his hands into the waist of her jeans to slide them down. His touch was almost gentle, a complete contrast with his tone of voice. She felt fingers graze her flesh as he pushed the wet fabric lower, across her hipbones and down the side of her thighs. The jeans clung to her, but he slid them down with the same strength he’d used to capture her earlier. She had no doubt in that moment that he’d be able to rip them off if he wanted.
As her jeans moved lower, he knelt behind her. She felt his hot breath on her back as he dropped down, could feel the start of surprise he gave as her red thong panties came into view.
Oh Lord. She’d only worn them because she needed to do laundry. They’d been a gift from Matt, the idiot who’d dumped her two months ago for a grad student. He’d said she bored him. Oh, to go back to those boring days again… And to think she used to wish for a little more excitement in her life!