Caught (3)

Chapter 3

Their eyes locked, and for the briefest moment everything fell away; the noise of the crowd, the lights, and the past all melted until it was just them.

That lust that ran hot between them flared to life. The thud of her heart in her chest made her feel jittery. Her breath rasped out as she saw him smile only for her. She took an involuntary step toward him before she stopped herself. He must have seen that slip because his eyebrow lifted.

So damn arrogant, he was sure of his effect on her. She lifted her chin and returned his challenging stare with one of her own. He was baiting her, and her body reacted. Hunter always had a way of goading her into a challenge. Tonight was no different. With her shaky resolve, she wasn’t sure she could resist. She dropped her eyes

“Have a good time tonight.” The husky note in his voice had her squeezing her eyes shut. “Go wild.”

Gazelle turned to weave out of the crowd. Something slow and sexy slithered from the sound system as she retreated from the heat of his gaze. She refused to look back. She needed another drink.

In her blind haste, she ran into something solid. Huge arms circled her waist, pulling her against a hard body. “Whoa. Where you off to in a hurry?”

She looked up and up into ice blue eyes. They were the exact color of Hunter’s and she wondered if he’d somehow made his way through the crowd to her. Stupid, she realized after a closer look at him. His hair was shorter and seemed darker in the light. Her breath caught in her chest as the warmth of his body seeped through her dress.

“Just need something to cool me down,” she managed when she found her voice again. “It’s warm in here.”

When she attempted to step away, his arms tightened around her. “All these people have a way of jacking the temperature up.”

He hummed and she could feel the vibrations. Raising her hands, she laid them on his chest unable to resist touching him even a little. Gazelle watched his pupils dilate, and her temperature rose in response.

“Are you here alone?” His arms loosened and he slid his hands down to her hips.

She swallowed at the unspoken question in his words. It didn’t matter why she’d come, this man could satisfy the ache without expecting anything from her. Her hands moved over the hard planes of his chest. “Yes.”

His eyes roved over her face for a beat. “I don’t believe that. A woman as hot as you can’t be here alone. Either the guys here are stupid or you are elusive.”

Compliments were like candy to her. This one knew what to say. “Maybe it’s a little of both.” The down sweep of her lashes hide her eyes. “Maybe I just haven’t found one quick enough to catch me.”

The way his hands tightened on her hips made her smile. Her thoughts of Hunter shifted to the back of her mind, as the man holding her against him grabbed all of her attention. A sense of sexual power coursed through her at having someone so sexy all to herself.

Gazelle smoothed her hands up and around his neck, her eyes back on his. Rocking into him, she felt the large bulge that pressed against her stomach. Oh, this one felt very nice. She needed to get her hands on him soon.

She let her fingers toy with the hairs at the back of his neck. “I’m not feeling as thirsty, but I think I have a need for something a little different though.”

Understanding flickered across his face, lust chased after it. His head lowered and she tilted her head back so that his lips hovered inches from hers. Gazelle wondered what he tasted like, coffee or alcohol or some other flavor? The anticipation arced through them and she held her breath as she waited for him to bridge that gap.

Just when she thought he was going to kiss her, he stiffened and drew back. Gazelle stared up at him in confusion, but his eyes weren’t on her. The imperceptible change in the air behind her served as her alert.

“Luke, I see you’ve found Gazelle.” A thread of something, she wasn’t sure if it was anger or sadness, laced through Hunter’s tone.

This time when Gazelle took a step back, Luke let her go. She hated that she felt like a cheater caught in the act, but looking at the neutral look on Hunter’s face irritated her.

Luke shrugged and looked unrepentant. “She ran into me, all I did was stop her from getting away.”

Gazelle looked up at the man sharply and wondered what he meant by the words. She didn’t think she knew Luke, but from the aggression surrounding the two men, an old rivalry existed between them. They were of equal height, leaving her feeling like a rabbit between two hungry wolves. Enough turmoil swirled inside her without being the cause of anymore; she needed a way out.

“I think I’ll leave you gentleman to talk.” She kept her eyes diverted as she stepped around Luke.

“Stop.” He growled, actually growled at her, and she hesitated at his command.

Lifting her chin, Gazelle kept going.

She didn’t go to the bar; instead she exited the room and entered the main part of the house. For some reason, leaving wasn’t even an option in her mind. She wasn’t ready to go, but needed some distance between her and the two men who set her body on fire. Reaching the closest set of staircases, she climbed a flight to a floor with plush green carpeting.

It was quiet. Only the highest strains of the music floated up. She felt herself relax as she started down the long hallway. She passed a set of white doors, one stood open and she paused just outside it. A woman was face up on a bed with her head hanging over the edge. Between her thighs, a large dark haired man splayed her wide with his shoulders while he lapped at her pussy. At the other end, a shorter bald man fed her his cock, rapture on his face as the woman sucked on him. The wet noises shot straight between Gazelle’s thighs.

Shaking away the haze, she moved further down the hall. She passed more open doors with sounds of pleasure pouring out, but she kept her eyes straight and resisted the urge to enter. Her resolve held until she reached twin red doors at the end of the long hallway. A thwacking sound came from the one to her left, but the right emitted no sound. The sound was enticing, propelling her into walking toward it and turned the knob.

The door opened in and she entered as quietly as she could. A handful of people lounged on the couches watching a man and a woman positioned in the middle. She couldn’t make out the faces of the people on the couches, but a bright spotlight illuminated the couple.

Gazelle settled on a couch nearest the door, not wanting to disturb the scene in case she had to leave. It wasn’t until she really focused that she realized the woman was being beaten. More than that, she was enjoying it.

Her arms were tied to the far end of a padded sawhorse, her stripped bottom hanging off the end so the wet, plump, lips of her pussy were visible to the group. Her back arched, and her long red hair fell along her back. It was an interesting contrast, the red against the snow white of her skin. She was a palette of reds, pinks, blushes, and corals.

The fully dressed man lifted a wooden paddle and brought it down across her thigh. She gasped and then moaned, a red mark rising on her skin. The woman lifted her hips to receive another, which the man gave her without pause. Gazelle squirmed in her seat at the way the woman arched and begged for each smack.

Turning away, Gazelle felt a deep clench in her core at the display. Each smack, each slap of wood on flesh roused a reaction in her so intense she worried she would climax from the sound alone. She pictured herself in that woman’s place, receiving the bite of the paddle and asking for more, wanting it. It was Hunter’s hand controlling the paddle, drawing out her pain until it was mindless pleasure. She shook her head to dispel the image from her mind.

A loud cry drew her eyes back, and she watched in fascination as the woman’s pussy clenched and released in climax. The tension and heat in her body threatened to overwhelm her. How could something so brutal turn her on so much?

Pushing to her feet, she stumbled to the door with the sound of the man’s lowering zipper in her ears. He groaned deep as she reached for the handle, and Gazelle knew he was taking his pleasure from the woman. She slipped through the doors, the sounds of flesh slapping flesh following her.

She leaned on the closed door, her body buzzing with suppressed longing. The sounds of sex filtered through the door and she squeezed her eyes shut as they ricocheted through her. She needed something to take the edge off, she needed…

“You were always so easily aroused.” She opened her eyes to find Hunter standing to her right.

His eyes slide down her body. Gazelle swallowed at the heat in his gaze when their eyes met. Danger danced in the air, but she couldn’t deny the need. He’d swallow her whole and leave nothing behind. But the possibility of pleasure in his arms was enough to toss her reservations to the wind.

Licking her lips, she felt a degree of triumph at the way his eyes followed the movement. “And you were always great at getting me aroused.”

“Until you ran away.” He took a step closer, his eyes glued to the rapid rise and fall of her chest. “Why did you run away, Gazelle?”

Something in his soft tone had her backing away. Shaking her head, Gazelle tried to calm the tremors racing through her. “I didn’t run.”

“Didn’t you?” Anger flickered across his face then disappeared so fast she almost missed it. His arms crossed over his chest, stretching the fabric of his blue dress shirt.

She ignored the way his body called out to her and simply shook her head in denial.