Rogue Renegades (Rogue Trilogy) Read online

  Ryan examined the property intently and didn’t see or sense anyone lying in wait for them. He’d have been very surprised to find an ambush here. He’d never told anyone about the property. Not even Miranda had known that he’d bought it. He’d planned on saving enough money so that neither of them would ever need to work again. He’d planned to quit work next year and start the family that they’d always wanted, either by IVF or adoption. That dream had been shattered, but the house would still provide a safe haven for him and his unexpected guest.

  Pulling up next to the garage, Abby waited as Ryan climbed out, found another hidden key and opened the door. A light came on automatically when the door went up. She wasn’t surprised to find the power on. If she’d had a safe house, she’d have set up an electronic account that paid her bills automatically just for an occasion like this. Ryan wouldn’t have to contact anyone to get the electricity and water turned on. The house was ready to be used at all times and came in handy during an emergency like this.

  Ryan closed the door, but didn’t lock it just in case they needed to make a quick getaway. They’d stopped for supplies at a small town twenty minutes away and he opened the back door of the jeep and grabbed a couple of grocery bags. Abby took the other two and followed him through the door and into the house.

  The kitchen was the first room they stepped into and Ryan put the food away while Abby took a quick tour of the place. It was musty and in desperate need of cleaning, but it was livable. The living room adjoined the kitchen and a large family room opened up beyond that. The floors were polished wood, just like her apartment.

  A fireplace in the living room looked like it hadn’t been used in years. She wasn’t sure how long they’d be here, but she liked the idea of sitting in front of the fire next to Ryan.

  All of the furniture was covered in old sheets, but she took a peek to see a long, dark brown leather couch, a slightly battered coffee table and matching entertainment unit. The TV was much smaller and older than hers, but it would do in a pinch.

  The dining table could seat six and was also covered by a sheet. The chairs and table were blonde wood and the chairs had padded seats and backs in a truly hideous striped pattern of reds and greens. With new chairs and some paintings on the walls, it could easily become a home rather than just a house. Abby shook her head at such romantic notions coming from a killer like her. After all the things that she’d done, she didn’t deserve a home, or to be happy at all really.

  Large picture windows overlooked the lake, but the shutters blocked the view. Turning down a hallway to the right, she found a bathroom, two smaller bedrooms and the master bedroom at the end. It had its own private bathroom and door that led to a small deck. She couldn’t help but smile at Ryan’s precaution of having a quick escape route.

  Dust had settled on the floors and the protective plastic sheets covering the furniture. Abby found a vacuum cleaner in the linen closet and stripped the plastic off the beds first. There was carpet in all three bedrooms and it changed from a greyish color to light green when she was finished vacuuming them.

  Dust motes still swirled around when she was finished cleaning the entire house, but at least they could breathe without sneezing now.

  Ryan had taken care of cleaning the bathrooms and kitchen. He was a rare man that could multitask and he’d also prepared a meal. He placed two plates on the table just as Abby reappeared after taking a quick shower. She’d chosen the bedroom closest to the bathroom to sleep in. She’d stashed a few changes of clothes in her storage and had brought them along. Her outfit had been filthy from cleaning and she’d changed into a fresh T-shirt and jeans. She’d washed and blow dried her hair and it fell around her in dark waves. He had to resist the urge to bury his face in it.

  Tasting the spaghetti bolognaise, Abby gave Ryan the thumbs up and dug in. Being on the run had never affected her appetite before and it did little to dampen it now. After dinner, she washed the dishes while Ryan poured them both a glass of wine. They took a seat on the couch and stared at the moonlit lake through the window. Ryan had removed the shutters on their bedrooms and the living room, but had left the rest of the shutters in place. If anyone mistakenly managed to find their way to the house, it would still look uninhabited, unless the trespasser took a closer look.

  They drank in silence for a while, then Ryan spoke. “I have a confession to make.” Abby turned and raised her brows when he couldn’t quite meet her stare. “I lied when I told you that someone might be watching us in bed together.” He made himself look into her eyes and found she was amused rather than angry.

  “I know,” Abby said and calmly sipped her wine.

  “You knew all along that I didn’t have to pretend to force you?” He was genuinely shocked by that. “Then why didn’t you stop me?”

  Now it was her turn to look away. Staring at her glass, she shrugged. “It’s been a very long time since I’ve slept with anyone. I guess I needed to have some kind of contact again, even if it was just pretend.” Heat flooded her cheeks at her admission and she finished off the last sip of wine.

  Ryan rapidly played back every moment that they’d spent in bed together in Brazil and his eyes narrowed in speculation. “Did you come the first time I took you from behind?” He was fascinated to see more red stain her cheeks as she nodded jerkily. “Do you enjoy having someone hold you down and forcing you?” The thought brought heat to his groin and his shaft became rigid. It wasn’t the idea of rape that made him hard, it was Abby submitting to him that did it.

  Reluctantly meeting his gaze, she decided on total honesty. “I enjoyed it when you held me down. It was a first for me. I’ve never let a man have any sexual power over me before. It was a total turn on.”

  Hot excitement flared and Ryan put his empty glass down. He plucked her glass out of her hand and put it on the coffee table then shifted closer until they were sitting hip to hip. Placing his hand at the base of her neck, he stared down at her beautiful face. Her full lips were parted, waiting for him to kiss her. He did, slowly and deeply. Thrusting his tongue inside, he became fully erect when she made a sound of pleasure deep in her throat.

  Abby’s head spun when Ryan pulled away, and it wasn’t from the single glass of wine that she’d consumed. It would take a lot more than that to affect her. His gaze was intent when he stood and pulled her to her feet. His grip on her hand was unyielding as he led her to his bedroom.

  Once inside, he stripped off quickly and efficiently. She moved to take her shirt off and he stopped her. This was a task that he wanted to do himself. Taking her hands, he lifted her arms up over her head then lifted her shirt up until it covered her face. Pushing her back against the wall, he pinned her in place with his lower body. Lowering his head, he sucked her nipple through her bra. Abby ground her pelvis against his as he tormented her other breast and undid her jeans and slipped his hand inside. He rubbed her clit through her panties and moisture seeped through the thin fabric. She was ready for him already and he’d barely even started yet.

  Abby’s body ached for Ryan’s touch. She didn’t just want him, she needed him. She needed to have his hands and mouth on her, sating her desires. He unhooked her bra and pushed it up then cupped a breast with his hand. With her face covered by her shirt, she couldn’t see him as he bent and took it into his mouth. His thumb continued to rub her clit and she wasn’t sure how much longer her legs would be able to hold her.

  Feeling Abby’s body tremble, Ryan stripped her T-shirt off and her bra followed. Even before they’d landed on the floor, he’d tossed her onto the bed. Searching his dresser, he pulled out two ties that had never been worn and tied her hands to the bedhead. Straddling her, he kissed her and she responded with the passion that he’d already come to crave. Her pelvis sought his as he kissed his way down to her breasts and she moaned his name as he sucked her nipple into his mouth and pinched the other one lightly.

  Abby’s core was pulsing with need as they relived the night that he’d handcuff
ed her to the bed. He kissed his way down to the waistband of her jeans then stripped both them and her panties off. She opened her eyes when his hands came to rest on her ankles. He spread her legs apart as he moved his hands along her inner thighs until she wide open and was fully exposed to him. His eyes darkened to a deeper blue when he saw her moist center. Excitement clenched inside her when his dead dipped down and he tasted her.

  Savoring the salty taste of Abby, Ryan shuddered with his need to plunge into her depths. He was torn between pleasuring her with his mouth and satiating his own needs.

  “Take me,” Abby whispered, putting an end to his dilemma. “Please,” she added and he obeyed. Some part of him had hoped that their relationship would escalate this far and he’d bought some condoms while shopping. He’d stashed them in the top drawer of his bedside table and swiftly donned one now.

  Abby moaned when Ryan’s length slid inside her. She no longer had to hide her desire for him and thrust her pelvis up to meet him, taking him in completely. He leaned down until their chests were touching and kissed her hard as he rocked his hips against hers. It was his turn to groan when she wrapped her legs around him. She was tight, hot and slick and she responded to him instinctively, matching his pace and giving him everything she had.

  Lost in pleasure at the sensation of Ryan’s skin on hers and his shaft sliding in and out of her, Abby felt herself approaching the edge of a chasm. Her body convulsed in ecstasy as he increased his pace and pounded himself inside her. He groaned when her core tightened around him as she came and he thrust harder and faster, making her come again as he climaxed.

  Knowing how heavy he was, Ryan collapsed beside Abby rather than on her. A dazed smile met him when he gathered the courage to lift his head to look at her. He’d been too fast and had been more like a desperate teenager than a man with finesse and control.

  “Wow,” she said and he smiled cautiously in return.

  “Was that ok?” he asked. It had felt pretty damn fantastic to him, but he was pretty sure she’d enjoyed herself.

  “More than ok. It was amazing.” Abby stopped herself before she started gushing like a lovesick girl. Ryan lay beside her and stroked a hand down her side and back up again. This was far more intimate than she’d ever been with a man before. Usually, the few times she’d allowed herself to have sex with someone, it was over with quickly and she left before they could ask her any uncomfortable questions. Being tied to the bed, there was no escaping from his intense gaze.

  He trailed kisses along her collar bone and she saw the distinctive scar of a bullet wound on his left shoulder. Unlike the freshly healed graze on his right shoulder, this bullet had gone all the way through his flesh. “When did you get shot?”

  Going still, Ryan gave an almost inaudible sigh. “Two years ago, when we almost took Montoya down. He got off a lucky shot and plugged me.”

  “The wound hasn’t hampered your movements at all?” she asked with a hint of a grin.

  “Not so far,” he said with a suggestive smile. Seeing the red stain Abby’s cheeks again, Ryan chuckled. “I haven’t noticed it impeding any of my skills. In fact, I believe I’m a little rusty in some areas and I could use some more practice.” He cupped her breasts with his hands and bent to plant a kiss between them.

  Abby’s smile was wide and wicked. “Maybe I can tie you down sometime.”

  Reaching out to untie her hands, Ryan held up the flimsy material. “Do you think they’d hold me?”

  Eyeing his bulging biceps, she shook her head. “I doubt it, but I’ll think of something.”

  Feeling himself growing hard again already, Ryan was certain Abby’s inventive mind would come up with a solution. First, he had another reenactment in mind.

  Having Ryan’s hands on her was as close to bliss as Abby had ever felt. He licked, sucked and squeezed her breasts, then trailed kisses down her torso to her center. He licked her folds delicately, then plunged his tongue inside her until she bucked and moaned in torment. Her eyes went wide when he flipped her over onto her stomach and pulled her back until her legs were hanging over the edge of the bed. She looked back over her shoulder as he stood behind her with his hands on her ass and his cock standing at full attention.

  Ryan had replayed the moment that he’d come so close to penetrating Abby from behind hundreds of times in the two months that they’d been apart. This time, he didn’t have to pretend to take her, he could now plunge himself inside her hot core. She watched him round the bed and don another condom without moving, waiting for him to finish what he’d started.

  Excitement licked at Abby’s insides when Ryan stood between her legs again. Sliding his hands beneath her hips, he lifted her slightly and slid his cock against her slit. His head teased at her opening, but he didn’t enter her. Reaching between her legs, she took his shaft in her hand and squeezed it lightly as she rubbed it against her clit.

  Ryan waited until Abby was panting and writhing before pulling himself out of her grasp. Spreading her open with his hands, he guided his head inside her tight opening. Her hands grasped the blanket as he thrust himself inside her shallowly, rubbing his head against the lining of her vagina until her moans became deeper and more desperate.

  Pushing her ass back against Ryan, Abby was close to begging him to fuck her hard. As if in response to her unspoken wish, he speared himself all the way inside her. Her back arched in response and their flesh slapped together as he allowed himself to lose control and let his instincts take over. Putting her head down, Abby frantically rocked against Ryan as his finger touched her clit and rubbed her hard. The friction instantly made the heat inside her rise and she gave a strangled moan.

  Rubbing Abby’s clit, Ryan loved the way she moved in synch with him. She widened her legs even more and threw a heated glance at him over her shoulder. Their eyes met and he grabbed her hips with both hands and slammed into her at a frantic pace. Abby’s body was wracked with shudders and she cried out her pleasure. Her orgasm made her contract around his shaft and wrung a moan from him as he came.

  Collapsing facedown on the bed, Abby gave Ryan a weak smile when he landed on his back next to her. “That was pretty hot,” she managed after a few moments.

  “We’ll kill ourselves if we keep this up,” he replied then ran a hand down her back to cup her ass.

  “At least we’ll die happy,” she said with a grin.

  “There are worse ways to go.” Snuggling her against his side, he drew the cover up to ward off the chill as she fell asleep. Abby hadn’t just given him access to her body, she’d given him her trust as well. Protectiveness swelled within him and he realized that he would do anything it took to keep her safe and out of harm’s way.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Twenty-One

  They spent a blissful month in the lake house, getting to know each other’s likes and dislikes both in and out of bed. Abby had never been in a close relationship before and this was all new to her. Ryan had been in love once and the feelings that he’d once had for Miranda were beginning to creep in for Abby.

  Both had secretly hoped that their happiness would last, but they also doubted that it would. They were on the run from their respective employers and co-workers and neither had forgotten the threat that Diego Montoya posed. Ryan had shown her the note that the drug lord had left taped to the compound door. She needed to know the full extent of danger that she’d be facing if she stayed with him.

  Abby was afraid of losing her heart to the man that she’d come to trust and to care for very deeply. Ryan was a spy and before that had been an Army Ranger. He’d lived a life of danger for even longer than she had. Could either of them be truly happy to settle down into a normal civilian life? They were enjoying their time together, but both couldn’t help but wonder how long it would last.

  They had their answer the next time they took one of their infrequent trips to the closest town, Abby stepped into the only café to order two coffees to go. It was lunchtime and the shop was cr
owded with locals. Knowing it would take her fifteen or twenty minutes before she could order, Ryan had opted to shop for their groceries in the supermarket across the road. This was their usual routine and nothing had changed, but a nagging feeling of disquiet had been with her since they’d left the house.

  Turning to look through the window after giving the girl her order, she saw Ryan leave the grocery store and step outside. Their eyes met and they shared a smile, then he was cut off from her view as a black van pulled up in front of him and screeched to a halt. Panic clawed at her, but Abby forced herself to remain calm as she ran for the door. The van windows were heavily tinted and she saw only the vague outline of the driver as she reached into her purse and grabbed her gun. Ejecting the clip, she exchanged it for a different one as she burst outside. She fired a single shot as the van took off with another screech of its tires.

  A few people blinked in surprise at the gunshot and ducked for cover as the vehicle sped away. Ignoring the bystanders, Abby spared a glance for the shopping bags that had been dropped on the sidewalk. The mess could have been a symbol of their lives. Chaos had returned and their short interlude of happiness had been destroyed.

  She watched the van recede for a few moments so the driver wouldn’t think that she was pursuing him. She didn’t want to put Ryan in any more danger than he was already facing. When it was almost out of sight, she ran for her jeep. She didn’t know who the assailants were, but they’d just made the worst mistake of their lives. They’d signed their own death warrants by kidnapping the boyfriend of the only surviving Black Squad member.

  A grim smile touched Abby’s mouth as she hastened towards the lake house. One detail that she’d kept from Ryan was that she hadn’t just been a member of the Black Squad, she’d been the team leader. No one could evade her once she was on their trail. Sooner or later, she’d find the kidnappers and she would get her lover back. Her smile faded as she wondered what kind of shape Ryan would be in when she saw him next.