The Criminal's Captive (Unpunished Book 1)(9)

Tessa looked up at him with a nervous smile. Levi had the sudden urge to grab her and kiss her. Instead, he cleared his throat and turned his back toward her.

"Ok, sweet. Go ahead."

"Wait. I don't actually want you to listen to me pee."

"Sorry. Them's the rules for being a captive." He folded his arms over his chest.

****

Tessa watched Levi's back as he stared at the door. She had the sudden urge to wrap her arms around him and snuggle into his back. Instead, she stepped toward the toilet. She wasted some time by taking off her thin sweater, placing it on the counter. She was hot, and only part of that had to do with the temperature of the room. Tessa hesitated for a moment more, but then finally lifted her dress and pulled down her panties.

She flicked her stare up to the mirror to watch his face, but he never turned his head. Levi stared straight at the door.

A little disappointment surfaced in her. Why did she want him to want to peek on her?

Tessa knew why. It had something to do with her wanting to see him in his underwear.

"Can you cover your ears?"

Levi exhaled a loud breath, but it seemed to be mock annoyance. He lifted his hands and covered his ears. Tessa sat down and quickly took care of business. She kept her eyes on him the entire time, and soon she was fixing her clothes and stepping toward the sink.

Tessa turned on the water and gently nudged his back with her elbow. Levi lowered his hands and turned toward her. She couldn't hide her smile as she finished washing her hands. As she turned off the water, she looked into the mirror, up at his reflection. He was studying her.

"What?" She flicked some drops of water into the sink and turned her body toward him.

Levi quickly grabbed her upper arms and pulled her into his chest. With no warning, he stole a kiss. At first, Tessa kept her body rigid, leaning away from him. Levi held her tightly, increasing the speed of the kiss.

She slowly melted into his hold, giving into her want for him. Tessa ignored the voice inside that told her this was part of a wicked plan. She focused on his kiss and his body. Levi slid his lips over hers as he moved one hand down to hold her lower back.

Tessa returned his kiss, and a soft moan left her lips. A deep tingle started in her clit, and her nipples hardened. Levi suddenly pulled back from her, and she moaned again before her eyes fluttered open.

"Sorry." Levi slowly released her.

"Levi." She didn't know what she wanted to say.

He stepped back and handed her the towel from the counter. Tessa simply stared at him for a few seconds, feeling lost. She wanted to grab his face and make him kiss her again. Her mouth popped open, but no sound came out. She started to step toward him but was interrupted by a ringing sound.

Levi reached down to his pocket. "Shit.

Sorry, love." He pulled the phone out, clicked it on, and spoke into it. "Is it done?"

Tessa watched his face, and it was evident that he wasn't liking the news he was getting from whoever was on the phone. He shook his head and cussed a few times.

"I'll call you right back." Levi swiftly ended the call, hastily putting the phone back in his pocket.

"Tessa, I need to get you back onto the bed. Something's come up."





Chapter Ten


Levi stood in the doorway of the hotel room, the door ajar. He looked back at Tessa, who was secured again to the bed.

She wore an annoyed, confused frown. Levi sighed and looked over at Sam. He was slapping his leg, laughing at some campy eighties movie.

Levi shook his head and exited the hotel room. He closed the door and started down the stairs, grabbing his phone as he did. He quickly dialed his boss with anger growing in his gut.

"Hey."

"Did you show her dad the picture of us abducting her?" Levi stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah. He still won't pay. The prick."

"Shit. Well, we'll just have to cut her loose." Levi patted his back pocket out of habit. There was nothing there. He'd quit smoking two months earlier.

"Hell no." His boss's voice boomed from his phone speaker. "You two are going to rough her up and send me the pictures so I can show daddy. If that doesn't work, you'll slit her throat, and we'll let him know that he's next if we don't get the money. That works nine times out of ten."

His boss laughed an ugly laugh, and Levi pulled the phone away from his ear. Fuck!

Why does her dad have to be such a fucknut?

This was getting serious. Levi knew that his boss wouldn't give this job up without a fight, which meant that he would expect Tessa to be hurt sooner rather than later. Levi had to do something quick. If he didn't take matters into his own hands, she'd suffer.

Damn it!

"Levi?" His boss yelled from the phone.

He brought the speaker back up to his ear.

"All right. Just leave it to me. And, boss, do me a favor. Don't tell Sam about this … hiccup. Let me take care of the girl. I don't want him fucking it up."

There was a long pause, and Levi worried that the boss wouldn't agree.

Finally, he answered. "Fine. I guess I can give my best employee that courtesy, but Levi, you have an hour to send me pictures of that bitch bleeding."

Levi clenched his jaw so tightly that his teeth made scraping sounds against each other. "Ninety minutes. You'll have them or…" He paused.