Fatal Fugue (The Deadlier Sex Book 1) (10 page)

“You just watch and learn,
señor
,” she said sultrily. Then she entered Carmen with the huge strap-on, and Jay got to watch and feel as she fucked her on top of him.

“Best night ever,” he mumbled as he watched the perfect, mocha breasts bouncing and swinging over his face. It only took a few minutes for his cock to start getting hard again. This night was far from over.

Chapter Eighteen

Hayley lay on her side on the king-size bed. She had slept, and slept well, unplagued by dreams or tremors of the nightmare she had been living. The bed was of a premium quality, offering her tired body support enough but with a tender pillow top that did not aggravate her many bruises and small abrasions.

Sometime in the very early morning, a large, warm body lay down behind her. She did not stir until he put his arm over her, a large spoon in the darkness. She still did not startle but rose from slumber like a dolphin quietly surfacing from the ocean’s depths.

“Do not worry, you are safe,” a smooth voice rolled over her.

It was Alejandro’s voice. She was not concerned by his closeness, just as she had not been uncomfortable being nude in his presence earlier.

“What are you doing here, Alejandro? If you came for sex, I’m too tired.”

“I did not come for your body.”

There was a long silence while Hayley listened to him breath. She smelled his cologne, a musky scent, mixed with fresh soap. It was pleasing, and she sighed happily, inhaling his presence.

“I do not know why I came in here,” he finally admitted, and his arm started to lift from her shoulder. She held it in place, his smooth muscles tender beneath her grip.

“Please stay. Just hold me.”

Alejandro let out a long breath, one he had held for much longer than she could know.

“Can I ask you something, Alejandro?”

“Yes.”

“Were we lovers?”

Another silence, then his voice poured out over her again. “
Mas. Mucho mas, mi amor.
”

“I—I don’t know Spanish,” she said quietly.

“I know,” he whispered back. He said no more, nor did he leave. Hayley backed against him so that they were spooned tightly together. It felt comfortable, familiar. It felt right. His scent filled her with a longing she never knew, but she couldn’t pinpoint why. She fell asleep again quickly, and in the morning, he was gone.

With dawn came soreness. Her body ached from the abuse of the last few days, not to mention that which she had endured and could not remember. There were voices in the house when she rose, and Hayley found a pair of clean jeans and a Western-style, button-up, short-sleeved blouse.
Oh, thank god for clean clothes,
she thought, and marveled that they fit her. There was also a pair of frilly panties and a utilitarian bra. It was perfect.

After dressing, she emerged into his home and delighted in the smells of spicy chorizo sausage, peppers, onions and eggs cooking. Alejandro was there in the kitchen, working over a frying pan.

“
Buenos días, señora.
”

“Good morning, Alejandro.”

Alejandro turned around, and in the morning light, Hayley saw he was far from fearsome or threatening. He only looked handsome, happy and whole. As she studied him, two children entered the room. Each hugged their father in greeting and laughed as he joked with them. She could see he was a man, a real man full of love, strength and power. His eyes crinkled at the sides when he hugged his children. They glanced over at her curiously before settling at the table with their already prepared food and drinks. They were beautiful, with smooth, fair skin but black obsidian hair and even darker eyes. Their father’s eyes.

“
Señora
, this is Michael. He is nine.” Alejandro motioned to the boy.

The young man smiled.

“And this is Elaina. She is seven.”

“Very pleased to meet you,” Elaina said, her English perfect but with a soft touch of her father’s accent. Hayley smiled widely at the two. These children were so beautiful, and in the dirty world she had inhabited, their beauty was almost too much for her.

“And it is very good to meet you,” Hayley finally responded. Alejandro ushered the kids into the next room once they were done inhaling their breakfast. As Hayley watched, he filled two large tortillas with the remainder of the food and folded them. Then he wrapped paper around the tortillas and placed them in a small brown bag.

“Your breakfast, for you and your…
compadre
.” He gave her an awkward smile, which she returned shyly.

“I’m not eating with you?”

“I’m afraid not. Danger is following you. You cannot stay here.”

Hayley nodded but was disappointed. She had felt so close to him last night, and she wanted to feel like that again. Plus she wanted to question him about his cryptic Spanish message to her. But alas, as they say, it was not to be. Alejandro nodded for her to follow him, and he led her out into his large driveway.

The swath of asphalt was so wide that there was a circular median in the center. It was filled with decorative stones, large flowering barrel cacti and several stands of prickly pear. She turned back and looked at the house in the morning light. It was truly beautiful. Large, yes, but it felt more like a home than a mansion. The soft pink stucco walls showcased a clay tile roof, and copper awnings opened over windows with arched tops. She marveled at the exquisite simplicity of this place, a home that was made with both excellent design, a lot of love and most of all, strong enough to withstand an attack. She couldn’t help but smile.

Then her thoughts were interrupted by the growl of an open-topped jeep rolling up the drive and stopping in front of her. Jay gave her a boyish wave from the passenger seat. A dark-skinned, paramilitary-looking woman was driving, and she looked over at Hayley with what could only be described as… contempt? Jay climbed out and approached Hayley.

“Are you okay?” he asked, holding out a hand to her. She took it and squeezed it lightly before letting go. Jay looked well. He looked damn good, if she should say so herself.

“I’m fine. Did they take good care of you?”

The dark-skinned woman walked up and stood next to them, staring at her hard enough with those hawk eyes that she could feel them on her skin. Hayley thought she saw a brief flick of Jay’s eyes toward the woman, followed by an almost imperceptible twitch of his mouth.

This woman… Jay had fucked her, hadn’t he? She wasn’t sure if she felt jealously or relief at the revelation.

“Oh, yes, they treated me very well. Once they got to know me.” Again, that faint almost-smirk.

“Good,” Hayley said, smiling at him. He was certainly a handsome man, clean and in a pair of tight-fitting jeans and a tight gray t-shirt. His beautifully sculpted body filled out his outfit in all the right ways. Still, he was lacking something, something she didn't quite know or understand—yet.

“
Señor
,” Carmen said in a thick accent over Hayley's shoulder, “the jeep is gassed and outfitted as you requested.”

“
Gracias
, Carmen,” Alejandro said. “Was our other guest well behaved last night?” he asked with his eyebrows slightly raised.

“
Sí, señor.
We did not give him an opportunity to do otherwise. He was confined to his room.” Carmen’s voice, while admittedly sexy, was monotonic, emotionless, brisk.

“Very good.” Alejandro turned toward Jay, giving him a knowing smile. “Mr. Jay,” he said, and extended a hand toward Jay. Jay took the hand and shook it firmly. “I trust you will take very good care of my friend, Hayley?” She saw the cords of muscles stand out on each of their arms in this societally accepted form of male dominance.

Fucking guys
, she thought.
Idiots
. Jay’s mouth was a tight line, but Alejandro was smiling, undeterred.

“The best care,” he responded with machismo.

“Ah, good. That’s very good.” Alejandro broke off the handshake and gestured toward the house. “Mr. Jay, there is a case of bottled water on the counter, just there. Would you mind grabbing that? I don’t want you two to get dehydrated.”

“Sure,” Jay said, clearly unhappy about being dismissed.

As soon as he walked by, Alejandro reached out, turning Hayley to face him. “Remember what I said. Do not trust that man.” As he spoke, he handed a leather and steel package to Hayley. It was a gun, small and black, which he tucked into a leather holster with a clip on one side. Hayley shook her head at first, but Alejandro silenced her before she could speak.

“It's a .38. It doesn't kick, and there’s no safety. Point and shoot, that’s it. It goes here,” he said and turned her around. He tucked the small gun and holster between her jeans and her lower back, where the stretchy piece of fabric in the back of the jeans was suddenly explained. The holster clip was all that was visible on the outside of her jeans and was easily covered by her shirt.

“You planned this, with my clothes and everything?” she asked.

She heard the door open behind them; Jay was coming back. Alejandro pulled her close and touched his forehead to hers in a gesture that was both confusing and comforting.

“
Señora
,” he said, with real tenderness in his voice, “I truly hope that you do not remember who you were. Whatever happened to you, it was a blessing. Don’t look back.” He pulled away, leaving Hayley feeling confused and somehow empty.

Nevertheless, she waved goodbye to Alejandro and his cadre of, well, whatever these people did for him, and climbed into the Jeep with Jay. Once they were in and the doors closed, Alejandro walked up and handed her a piece of paper through the open window.

“Here are the GPS coordinates to the safe house nearby. Good luck, and be careful you two.”

Jay nodded at him, and Hayley said, “Thank you again, Alejandro.” He gave her a nod as Jay typed in their coordinates. Then they were pulling away, and Hayley watched with an unexplainable sadness as the ranch shrank away into the distance behind them.

“Whew, I’m hungry!” Jay said beside her. “You’d think the guy could have fed us, huh?”

“He did. Here.”

Hayley handed one of the paper-wrapped packages to him, and Jay immediately dug into the folded tortilla.

“Perfect! Hey, he’s not all bad, I don’t think.”

“No, not too bad at all,” Hayley said quietly as she watched the desert pass by them. She didn’t know who Madame H. was to Alejandro. She didn't know who Madame H. was to Jay. She didn't know anything about this woman except that she was bad to the bone; a user, a pimp, and worst of all, a slave trader. The thought sent a frigid shiver down her spine.

How did any person, especially a woman, ever come to think it was okay to profit from the misery and enslavement of other women? She didn’t know; she couldn't fathom it, but she decided right then, rolling through the scrub desert of Nevada, that she would right those wrongs, whatever it took. She could not let her legacy be one of the rape and misery of her fellow women.

I will fix this,
she thought.
I will fix it all if it takes my life to do it. I will
.

But first, she had to find out who was trying to kill her. She looked over to Jay, who was driving the Jeep like a badass, the way he did everything. He glanced at her and smirked. God, was he handsome, but what the hell was his story? Jay had told her they were together, be it on and off, and that he would take care of her, but Alejandro had said not to trust him.

What would she do with that information? Something inside her believed Alejandro, but something inside her told her otherwise too.

Crap,
she thought.
What the hell am I going to do now?

End Book 1 of The Deadlier Sex

To be continued….

Coming soon:

Fatal Truths

(The Deadlier Sex #2)

About the Author

Maelani

Hello, I’m Maelani! I am the penname for two awesome co-writers: Maelani Reese & Nataleigh Sharp. Check our sites out and follow along for more intriguing, steamy hot stories! I write about love, romance, and sexy themes. I want to make you feel, cry, inhale, exhale, sob, scream and most of all...love. I live in Las Vegas, NV where the lights never cease and the heat can be sticky hot. I love to listen to music, travel anywhere, and love all people.

Love is but what we make. Be obsessed. It's the only way to live fully and love richly.

Join me now and remember most of all to let your inner she-wolf out.

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