Ransom (Benson Security 4)

He started cursing some more.

“No!” Her mind raced. “I’m clean. At least, I think I am. I never have sex without a condom. Go ahead, shove it in.”

He barked out a hoarse, desperate laugh. “Be still, my heart. What about pregnancy? You want a baby Beast?” His tone was mocking.

For a second, everything within Belinda froze. Her mind filled with images. A little boy just like John, running around, driving her mad and going all alpha on the other kids in kindergarten. Yeah, that didn’t sound so bad. In fact, it made her heart clench with a sharp stab of longing.

“You can’t seriously be thinking about it?” John’s frustration had a calming effect on her. “Are you on birth control?”

“No, it makes me gain weight. I’m sure it’s the wrong time of the month to get pregnant.” She looked over her shoulder at him, relieved to see that he looked as desperate as she felt. The veins in his muscles throbbed with his fight to stay in control. He wanted her just as much as she wanted him. “John, please, I need you so bad.”

“Baby, you haven’t even asked if I’m clean.”

Her heart warmed—even in this, he was the protector. “Are you?”

“Yeah, I have regular check-ups.” His eyes tore from hers and went straight to the temptation in front of him.

“Please, John, please don’t make me wait. Don’t put this off. I need you now. I’m going to lose my mind if I don’t have you inside me.” Every single word was true, and she hoped he heard it, because in that moment, there was nothing on the planet except this man and feeling him inside her.

He let out a long stream of inventive curses before he grasped her hips and plunged deep inside her. Belinda sucked in air. Her body bowed. So big. So deep. He filled up the empty space inside her. A delicious invasion. A taking. An owning. She was one with him. Complete for the first time in her life, rather than empty and longing. She was always longing for something to fill her, to take away the cold, dark place inside of her. And now she’d found it. It was a blessed relief. A wonderful, intoxicating relief.

“You ready for me, baby?”

It took a second for her to realise he wasn’t moving. He was giving her time to become accustomed to him.

“Please.” It was a gasp of need.

He didn’t ask her again. Instead, he slid slowly out of her, letting her feel every inch of his long, hard length, and then he slammed back in. He kept up the same slow, brutal pace until her mind filled with a dizzying fog of desperation. Each plunging stroke drove her higher and higher, sending her spiralling off into the universe.

“Baby.” He sounded strangled. “I’m not going to last. You gonna come for me?”

She couldn’t answer; her mind was on the stars floating around her. It was on the great black void of peace she hovered in, as he tortured her with his touch, bringing her to the edge of ecstasy and keeping her there. She was on a precipice. Lost in sensation. Her body reacted on instinct, writhing against him. There was no coherent thought in her head, and she didn’t want there to be. Each slow slide of his shaft against her sensitive sheath sent bubbles and sparks throughout her body. She was lost to them. Lost to him.

“You’re going to kill me,” he gro

aned, and she heard his voice as though it were coming from far away.

He leaned over her, pressing his front to her back as his arm snaked around her. Fingers found her swollen clit and teased. She clamped down on him. His fingers pinched. And she exploded. The stars inside her head turned into a show of fireworks and dazzling lights. She heard a grunt and felt John tense behind her, his hands tightened on her hips and then he exploded along with her.

It was perfection. In that moment, there was nothing but Belinda and John, flying together. Joined in a way that made her believe she would never have to be alone again. It was sublime.

“Hey, Hollywood,” John said in a soft, deep voice. “You with me yet?”

Belinda blinked several times as she looked up at his smiling face. Her body was limp. Sated. Wrung out. It took her a minute to realise she wasn’t standing, bent over the fallen tree—instead, she was cradled in John’s arms, her knees draped over his arm, her arms around his neck. He held her close to his chest.

“How?”

“You were out of it for a bit there.” If he was making an effort to hide the smugness in his voice, it didn’t show. “You’re back with me now, right?”

She cleared her throat, wanting to put her cheek back on his chest and close her eyes. But she couldn’t. The noise of the jungle intruded, along with the reality of their situation. This was no lazy weekend retreat with a lover—this was a dangerous hike to safety.

“I’m okay. You can put me down. I can stand.” How he stood there, cradling her without showing any signs of strain, she didn’t know.

His dark eyes sparkled. “I think I’ll keep hold of you for a while longer.”

“You don’t think I can stand?” She was a little offended.

“Baby, you’ve been out of it for twenty minutes.”