Taken by Two Read online

  Taken by Two

  by Sam J.D. Hunt

  Copyright © 2016 by Sam J.D. Hunt

  All rights reserved. This work or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

  without the express written permission of the publisher

  except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Published in the United States of America

  First Published, 2016

  Cover design by Sam J.D. Hunt

  Cover images © Shutterstock, 123RF

  Cover models include: Gints Valdmanis, Juta Valdmane

  http://sjdhunt.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Intended for mature 18+ readers only.

  Chapter One

  He sat at the onyx granite bar slowly circling the rim of his crystal tumbler with his long finger. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Nathaniel Slater—the man of my dreams. There was a time when we moved in the same circles, had friends in common, knew each other in passing. Well, at least that’s what he would probably say. To me, he was the guy I sat up nights scheming over—how could I get him to notice me? That was before—before he disappeared over a year ago.

  I sipped my chardonnay, blatantly staring at the fascinating Nathaniel Slater. He was new money; a rich dot-com billionaire type who’d made a name for himself with video conferencing software. My family, in contrast, was very old money. My father, David Sedgewick, was from a long line of Northeast blue bloods. Grandmother could trace our family line back to the Mayflower and beyond.

  I continued to stare. His finger paused its circling long enough for him to wrap his palm around the glass and take a slow sip of the amber liquid. I slid off my stool, wine glass in hand, and made my way toward him. “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you were back from the dead,” I whispered at his silver-suited shoulder. He savored one last unhurried sip before taking a deep breath and turning his gaze toward me. “No idea what you’re talking about. Great pickup line, though.” His steel-blue eyes locked on to mine; a cold shiver tap-danced down my spine. He was beautiful, and right there with me. “Penny Sedgewick,” he said, his tongue wrapping around the vowels as if savoring them as he’d done the bourbon.

  “The one and only,” I replied. The man I’d always wanted sat right there in my favorite bar, the exclusive Taster’s Club, at my casino—well, my father’s casino, really. He’d named one of his mega resort casinos on the Las Vegas Strip after me—The Penelope. My manicured nails pushed back my long blonde hair as my red lips parted in a smile. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr…?”

  His pink lips curled at the edges in a wry smile. “Nice to meet you, Penny. Care to join me?” Nathaniel gestured toward the empty stool at his side. My red silk dress was tight around my ample curves, but I managed to gracefully slide up next to him as he took my hand. With two fingers he gestured to the bartender for another round.

  “So, you didn’t disappear into the murky Amazon River then?”

  “I’m afraid you have me mistaken for someone else, Miss Sedgewick. My name is Jason King and I’m in Vegas for a life insurance convention.” His copper eyelashes fluttered over his mesmerizing blue-gray eyes as his pink tongue swiped across his full lips. The suit he wore was a tailored Armani, probably made for him. The shoes were Italian leather and finer than the pricey red designer stiletto pumps hanging from my own pedicured feet. As I leaned in to take another long sip of my too-warm chardonnay, I could smell his cologne. It was masculine, imported, and very expensive. Clearly Nathaniel Slater didn’t care to discuss his disappearance from social life, but he did seem attracted to me. His leg drifted to the left until his thigh was touching my own.

  With a warm smile, he slid my new glass toward me. “That one has lost its chill,” he said. “Allow me to replace your wine.” I pushed the old glass aside and reached for the new one, the top covered with his hand as if he didn’t want to let it go. “Cheers,” he said, placing his left hand on my thigh before throwing back the glass of bourbon. I took a hard gulp of the cold wine, eager to feel the subtle buzz that would give me the courage to take him up to my penthouse suite. As I took another sip, I began to feel tipsy. By the third slurp, I was drunk.

  “Odd,” I said too loudly as he stared at me, his hands raking through his dark auburn brown hair.

  “What is, Penny?”

  “I-I don’t normally, I mean alcohol doesn’t…”

  That was the last thing I remember about that night.

  What seemed like days later, I could hear them talking before I could manage to open my eyes. My heavy eyelids fluttered, struggled to rise, then gave up and left me lying in the darkness. I wasn’t uncomfortable or in any pain, but the heavy stupor of confusion sent me back to the black fog of sleep. Under the curtain of my induced slumber, I lived vivid dreams. In one, a burly man, tattooed, muscled, and strong, was speaking to me in a deep voice, reassuring me that everything was going to be fine as long as I obeyed.

  Eventually my eyes finally managed to part enough that I could see where I was. The room was dimly lit and vibrating in an off-putting way—as if the bed where I lay was on top of an enormous engine. An airplane, I thought, I’m on a private jet. I was no stranger to luxurious travel—I’d been on planes like this one many times. Rolling out of bed, I crawled over to the door. My legs felt rubbery, as if they lacked the strength to support me. The thin door wasn’t locked. Nathaniel Slater had to have kidnapped me—I vaguely remembered him nearly carrying my limp body from the club—explaining to the bartender, who worked for my father, that he was taking me back to my room to sleep it off. I couldn’t remember anything else, but Hank, the bartender, wouldn’t have questioned Nathaniel’s claim. I wasn’t known to drink to excess, but I was known to take handsome men back up to my suite.

  The light from the main cabin hurt my eyes. A large man, the man from my dream, was sitting in a cream-colored leather chair with his back to me. Nathaniel sat on the floor next to the large man, his head in his hands. He still wore the silver suit pants, but the jacket and tie were gone. The wave of his silky brown hair cascaded over his splayed fingers. The other man, his hair a dark blonde caramel-like color, was wearing worn jeans that clung to his muscular thighs. His legs were long—so long that he had to be at least six foot seven, maybe taller. The jeans ended in heavy black leather boots—motorcycle or combat boots, possibly. The man’s powerful arms were covered in tattoos.

  “I still don’t get why you took her, Nate. I mean, what the fuck were you thinking?” The husky grit of his low voice pierced the silence as his fingers tensed on the arm of the chair in frustration, or maybe fury. The idea of Nathaniel kidnapping me was terrifying, but my real fear sprang from the ominous man in the chair.

  “I-I don’t know, Rex, I’m sorry. But what was I supposed to do—just leave her there?”

  “You were supposed to do what you were told, Nate. You fucking tricked me!” His fist slammed down on the side of the chair, causing Nate to flinch.

  “I’m sorry,” Nate said so quietly I could barely hear him.

  And then…he leaned into the monstrous man, Rex, and rested his head on Rex’s muscled thigh. I leaned back on my heels—the gesture was so intimate.

  “It’s okay, I’ll figure it out. I’m just afraid of any complications that will put you at risk. And she is definitely a complication.” Rex’s fingers reached down and ran through Nate’s hair before resting across his back.

  My legs were going numb from my weight on them. As I moved to s
hift the weight, my groggy body toppled over and fell to the plane’s floor in a thud as I drifted back into sleep.

  “Wake up, Penny.” Nathaniel Slater was next to me on the bed, wiping a cold cloth across my forehead.

  “What…ah…please don’t hurt me,” I begged as I finally came to. “I don’t know who you are, I don’t know anything. Just let me go.”

  He shook his head in pity. “I’d never hurt you, Penny. Do exactly as Rex says and you’ll be fine. I drugged you at the bar—but I needed to. I had to have you with us. I’m sorry the after-effects are hitting you harder than most. Can you drink some water?”

  He lifted me until I sat up in the bed, my back against a padded leather headboard. “Where are we going?” He held a bottle of water to my lips and ignored my question until I’d drank enough to satisfy him. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close. I knew I should resist, but instead I crumpled into his embrace. At the moment, he seemed like the only friend I had. “We’re going home,” he answered simply.

  His pale eyes swept across my face—his fingertips tentatively brushed across my cheek. “I’ve always thought you were so beautiful, Penny. I remember when you were dating that jerk Clyde. I wanted to get to know you, but we just never seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Then when I saw you sitting across the bar, I knew it was all going to be just as it should.”

  I was shocked—I didn’t realize Nathaniel Slater even noticed me back then. “Clyde was a giant mistake,” I mused, remembering the humiliation he’d put me through. “But holy fuck, Nathaniel!” He swiped my bottom lip with his finger, unfazed by my freak-out. “You can call me Nate.” I sighed, fighting my attraction to him to think. “Nate, let me get this straight—you kidnapped me to get to know me? I’m flattered, but that’s really messed up.” His face reddened as if I’d slapped his cheek. “Kidnapped? Oh my God, no! I took you to keep you safe.” He took a deep breath and pulled me against him again, his face close to mine, the smell of his cologne causing me to stir despite my brain scolding my libido that this was no game. “I want to go home, back to Vegas, now,” I said, trying to sound assertive. With a sigh, he answered, “Can’t do that, babe. Even if I wanted to, it’s too dangerous now. We’re already almost to the compound. You’ve been sleeping for hours.”

  “Hours?” He nodded in response. I felt like I’d been out for days, not hours.

  “The other guy, Rex,” I whispered, “does he have you captured, too?”

  Nathaniel chuckled. “Rex? Nah, he’d never keep me against my will. I want to be with him—he saved my life.”

  “Saved you from the Amazon?”

  He shook his head, but stayed silent.

  “Are you related? Or…lovers?” I couldn’t help but ask as I thought back to Rex’s fingers gliding through Nate’s hair.

  With a snort, he answered, “No and no. You’re big into labels, aren’t you?”

  His eyes warmed as he leaned in, his nose brushing against the tip of mine. “I’ll keep you safe, Penny. Rex won’t let anything happen to you, either. He’s rough on the outside, but he’s not a bad guy. But, he is dangerous, so trust me and do what he says and we might just get out of this alive.”

  I was afraid of the dark Rex—and drawn to the exquisite Nate. I rolled toward him, my lips kissing his neck. “I won’t force you to do anything, Penny,” he sighed as I rolled on top of him. His erection ground against the silken fabric of my dress as his lips parted for my tongue. “I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you,” I confessed as my hands slid down to toy with the bulge of his hardness. If I was about to die a horrific death, I may as well cross an item off my bucket list. Fuck Nathaniel Slater, check. And, I felt like I really needed Nate on my side against the scary, tattooed giant.

  The slick suit pants fell away as I clawed at his clothing, desperate to free him. With a sharp tug, the zipper down my back opened, allowing him to pull me from the confines of the dress. We gracelessly pawed at clothing until we were skin to skin, writhing across each other like two teenagers after a school dance. “Are you sure?” he moaned into my mouth, his fingers pressing at my entrance, working their way inside me. “Yes, I want you,” I groaned in response, my fingertips stroking his tip, teasing the delicate ridge just underneath.

  Our tongues found each other, their sensual dance silencing us as we kissed—a kiss like none I’d ever known. He stroked my clit, the bundle of nerves near explosion as the sweet tension built. “I’m desperate for you,” I begged as my hand wrapped around the throbbing flesh of his thick cock.

  Strong arms flipped me over as he rolled on top of me. His warm lips found my hard nipples—so sensitive I howled in ecstasy as he sucked hard on one of them. “Oh, fuck,” I yelled, not caring that Rex might hear—not caring about anything but giving and receiving pleasure—as his impossibly hard cock sank deep inside me, scraping against my cervix in a thrust so deep I thought he’d tear me in two.

  “Shit, Penny, you’re so perfect and tight.” The pad of his thumb brushed across my sensitive bundle of nerves. As my hips thrust against him, he rubbed harder on my clit. I exploded around him as he fucked me, oblivious to anything but us. Oblivious, that is, until I slowly recovered from the intensity of my climax—and saw him lurking there.

  Nate continued to pound into me—fucking me like he hadn’t touched a woman in years; fucking me like a starving man at a buffet. I froze, unable to speak underneath him. Rex stood in the shadows of the entryway, leaning casually against the doorframe. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his worn jeans as he stood motionless, watching us. Shocked and afraid, I tried to push Nate off, but he wouldn’t budge. The force of his thrusts never relented inside me; I could tell he was close to coming.

  “He’s watching us,” I hissed into Nate’s deliciously scented ear.

  His eyes fluttered open, the pace pausing briefly. “Huh? Oh, it’s okay, Penny. He said I could.” His rhythm increased again, despite my fingernails clawing into his back. After he shuddered in a powerful climax, filling me, I whispered, “He said you could what?” He panted, his toned chest still heaving from the effort of his release, and answered, “Rex gave me permission to have you.”

  I was horrified. Was I stolen as a sex slave? Or did they intend to rape me and… The thought was too terrible. I pushed at his chest; I wanted him off me. My eyes shot to the doorway; Rex was gone. Nate rolled off me, a look of concern flooding his face. “Penny, what is it? I-I thought you wanted… What did I do wrong?” His tone was soft, genuine. I relaxed as his fingertips brushed gingerly across my cheek. The steel-blue eyes were filled with concern. I was confused; unsure of what was real and what I was imagining. “Why did you take me? Is Rex going to kill me?”

  He shook his head, his eyes narrowing. “God, no, we’d never…I took you to keep you safe. I admit I hoped we might, um, hit it off, and that Rex would like you, too. Earlier he said if you wanted me, if we…he said it was okay if we were together.”

  That was twisted, my groggy brain screamed. “Let me go!’

  “I can’t. I’m sorry—I can’t explain. You were in danger in Vegas. When the danger is over, we’ll take you home.” He turned his face to mine; his hypnotic blue eyes locking on my brown ones as his palm cradled my chin. “I’ll take care of you, I promise.” I shouldn’t have, but I believed him. I fell asleep on Nate’s lean, muscular chest, naked and leaking his essence as we drifted off to sleep.

  The next morning, the soft awareness of awakening floated over me—my eyes were still closed, but the fugue of the drug Nate used on me was gone. I felt like myself again—and couldn’t help but let my hand wander over to the sexy Nathaniel Slater lying next to me. As my palm wandered across him, I skimmed a hard, clothed being. My eyes popped open in a startle.

  “Good morning, Princess. Was it good for you, too?” The scary man, Rex, was sitting next to me in bed—wearing the same dark t-shirt, worn jeans, and even the heavy black boots. Combat boots, I thought as my confused
brain fought to form a plan. His muscled arm reached across me, the thick pattern of tattoos ended just above his wrist. “What—um, where’s Nate?” He chuckled and groped at my sheet in an attempt to pull it off me—I fought back and yanked it with both hands. He relented, but we both knew he was strong enough to do as he pleased with me. Rex was a huge, hulking presence—his menacing midnight blue eyes raked over my exposed skin.

  “I sent him home ahead of us to prepare.”

  “Does he always obey you?” The man nodded.

  “Did you capture him like you did me?” I was terrified, but determined to keep my wits.

  He cracked his knuckles and stared at me. I wasn’t sure if it was a threat, but it felt very much like a warning. “Everyone obeys me here, Princess. I’m the king on this island—King Rex.” He laughed out loud, his enormous barrel chest rising and falling underneath the cotton of his t-shirt. He was toying with me, and enjoying it. “Besides, I didn’t capture you, baby. Nathaniel did. In fact, your presence here is pretty much fucking up everything right now.” He leaned over and wrapped his immense hand around my throat and squeezed in warning. “So behave, or I’ll fucking toss you to the snakes, Princess.”

  My hands shot up to my constricted neck, desperate to loosen his grasp as I struggled to breathe. “Are we clear?” His fingers effortlessly pulsed once more around my tortured throat before letting go. “Yes,” I coughed. “Yes, what?” He flexed his fingers as if he were going to choke me again. “Yes, Rex?” He rubbed at his knuckles and sighed, as if I’d failed my first test. “Yes, sir, would be nice. But I guess I’ll allow you to call me Rex. Now get up, we’re home. My home, not yours,” he said, pointing a long index finger at me. “Yes, sir,” I answered, my throat still raw from his strong hand.