Shipwrecked Ch. 02

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It was extremely late before Mark made it back to the cottage. His stomach was still a little unsettled from the rough ride across the channel, which was compounded by forgoing dinner so he could get home.

He noted that the streetlights were out as well as the traffic lights. He guessed the wind had knocked out the power again. When he pulled into the driveway he could see a soft glow flickering from the living room window. There was a fireplace there; he figured Arianna was still awake or sleeping on the couch to keep warm. The unmarked car assigned to watch over the place was in its usual spot.

She didn't hear him come in, just sensed him. She looked up she saw his eyes looking down at her. "Hmmm you're home." Her voice was husky from sleep.

"Yes" he replied before kneeling down beside the couch. His fingers brushed faintly across her lips. She opened her mouth slightly; the tip of her tongue darted out and slowly licked the pads of his fingers before she gently bit him. Mark groaned from the instant heat she had caused before sweeping down to take her lips in a deep mind drugging kiss.

Arianna encircled his neck with her arms, clinging to him as he lifted her and carried her to the bedroom. At the edge of the bed he gently set her on her feet before beginning to unbutton the soft cotton nightgown she'd been prone to wear lately. Goose flesh spread over her when it finally pooled around her feet. Mark began nuzzling her neck, whispering how much he had missed her while his hands quested over her body.

Mark laid Arianna back on the bed. His hands and lips touched her breasts, gently tugging on her sensitive nipples and tasting her warm flesh. She felt his teeth gently graze over her skin before he licked away the non-existent marks. Her breasts were so much fuller and they tasted even sweeter. He clasped a nipple between his thumb and forefinger, gently rolling the hard peak between them. Arianna bucked under the pleasure pain sensation.

When he moved lower over her body he kissed her swollen belly while he murmured to his son. A sheen of tears misted Arianna's eyes; Mark had never once made her feel awkward and unattractive during these past months... she felt even more beautiful then ever before from his cherishing words and gestures.

Mark stood up beside the bed and slowly removed his clothes before joining his wife again. When he was beside her he returned his lips to hers, touching his tongue against her lips to open them before exploring the soft warmth of her mouth. Her fingers slid into his hair to hold him to her when his hand moved to the soft folds between her thighs.

She was so wet and hot for him already; he gently slid his middle finger inside her before he began rubbing her clit with his thumb. Sheens of perspiration covered her body as he began to take her slowly up to orgasm. Her hands moved over his body until she found him already hard and throbbing. When she cupped him his body reared against hers and when she slid her fingers around his shaft his breath caught.

Arianna slid her fingers over his silken shaft until she touched the tip. She could feel a small amount of hot sticky lubrication already forming. She longed to taste him, to take him deep into her mouth and let her tongue bath him. It never failed to give her immense pleasure to hear him moan from her ministrations. She started to shift lower, urging him to move as well so she had better access to him but he stopped her before she could make any progress.

"Oh god, I can't wait baby... roll onto your side." he slid one arm under her neck and brought his hand forward to cup her full breast while his other hand continued to rub her hard clit. His fingers were slick with her honey. They had been very careful these last few weeks because she was so close to term.

"Tell me if this doesn't feel right ok?"

"Always." She panted before pressing her bottom against him in encouragement. She felt his blunt tip begin to press into her and began panting from the exquisite joy of having him inside her again. "Hmmm Mark, keep going." Her hand moved down to his, urging him to continue rubbing her clit while her inner muscles throbbed around him to draw him deeper.

Sparks of pleasure moved through her as he began his slow pace, thrusting into her and pulling out until he reached her g-spot and stroking in short movements. "Hmm you're so god damned tight when you're lying like this..." Mark breathed into her ear before he bit her neck and licked away the tiny teeth marks. Arianna moaned and arched her back trying to take more of him.

"Mark... Please. Oh god I'm so close."

"Not yet." He groaned before quickening his pace. His hand came up to cradle her belly as he drove deeper into her. Arianna griped his arm as she strained to reach her orgasm. Mark listened to her breathing and moaning for the tell tale sign that she was on the brink, when he heard it he stopped all movement and held her so she couldn't move.

"Oh god! Mark, don't do this to me..." she was practically weeping with the need for completion. She tried to buck back against him to get him to move with in her but it was no good... he held her fast.

"Tell me you love me..." She screamed her answer when his fingers found her clit and tenderly squeezed. He started thrusting into her again as she chanted those three words to him over and over. Her body began to tighten and he could feel her muscles begin to milk him as she came, sobbing his name the whole time.

Just hearing her was enough to finally finish him. He came harder then he thought possible, the waves crashing over him, his body shuddering as he poured into her. He murmured over and over that he loved her and how beautiful she was while his body quieted. He was still hard inside her when they drifted asleep.

Her mind was playing tricks on her... she shouldn't feel stiff and achy from the loving that Mark had given her earlier but her back just wouldn't stop aching. If she could just lie on her side for a while she was sure it would get better, but doing that put too much effort into moving and she just didn't have the energy to do that.

A sudden, intensely sharp pain in her abdomen startled her and stole her breath. Her sharp intake was loud enough to wake Mark: he was instantly alert, his arms coming around her to comfort and assure him that she was safe.

"Is it time?" He'd been coaching himself to be prepared for this but it was a lot of effort to sound calm and in control.

"I think so... maybe we should wait a little LOOOOONNNNNGGGGGER! OOOOOOOOOOOOhhhhhh OWE!" The contraction hit her hard and fast and felt as if it was ripping her apart.

"Ok, Ok... easy baby. Remember your breathing." Mark began to breath with her in the rhythms they were taught during Lamaze class while he hauled ass out of bed and got dressed. "That's it. Can you get up and put on a night gown or do you need my help?"

She could barely speak from the contraction that was rippling through her. "I don't... think we can make it..." Arianna took in a deep cleansing breath before continuing. "Like it or not the baby is coming now..."

FUCK! He screamed in his head. "Ok I'm going to call 911."

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Mark looked at his sleeping wife and grinned. How could he not? He was definitely the happiest man alive, his wife was alive and well and he had a beautiful daughter.

Aurora Christine was 5 pounds, 8 ounces and had a pair of baby blues that rivaled the bluest oceans. She also had a set of lungs on her that could shatter glass. They had taken her down to the nursery so that Arianna could get some much-needed rest.

Mark was half asleep himself when he heard a soft knock on the door to their private room. The door didn't open right away so he dragged his bones out of the chair to see who was there. He didn't have time to react at all before a cloth that smelled sickly sweet covered his mouth and the blackness took him.

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The blackness slowly faded to a dull white around the edges... the workers that were pounding away in his head reminded him that he was alive but the rolling nausea in his stomach made him wish that he was dead. Vaguely Mark heard someone talking in the back ground; their voices were strained and excited all except one. His voice was cold, calm and controlled, and he was barking out orders like he was the general in his own private war.

Snippets of the conversation began to make sense to him. Arianna was his wife; he had been with her before he was knocked unconscious? No that wasn't right, he had been chloroformed or something because all he remembered was opening the door to her hospital room. So if he was here then where was she? The sudden realization that he didn't know, and that she was undoubtedly in danger, brought him to full consciousness and had him sitting up right looking for a fight.

He struggled and fought against the hands that tried to hold him down, tried to keep him from his love, from protecting her. A hard crack against his face and the burning residue of skin connecting to skin snapped him out of it.

"Mark! Buddy I really need you to stop fighting for a few minutes here. We really need your help to figure out what just happened!" Christian shook Mark again for good measure. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Mark worked hard to speak but his mind was still foggy from the knockout he took, his first attempt sounded more like a drunken slur. He had to stop and concentrate before he could try again. "I was watching her sleep, before a knock came...but nobody came in the door so I got up to check and see what was going on...that's it. I don't know what happened after that." Mark pushed at the hands that were holding him back against the bed. "Where is Arianna?"

Christian's face had a pained expression while he thought of the way to explain that the worst had actually happened. "We aren't sure yet... he took her out of the room but we know that he didn't get very far. In fact we think he might still be in the building somewhere. But it's a big hospital; it's taking time to search it all."

"What about Aurora? Where's our little girl?"

"She's fine. She's still in the nursery and they've locked it down like the Whitehouse. The important thing is that we find Ari. Did she give you any insight about what he would do if he found her again?"

"You know as much as I do. But I can't think that Arianna would go without a fight. She must have done something to give us a clue as to where he's taking her."

We don't think he gassed her because it would seem that he'd want her to experience all of the fear. My guess is that he used you as a way to keep her quiet. The threat that you or the baby would be harmed would be enough to subdue her for the time being."

The appearance of a short stocky man dressed in black combat gear pulled Christian away from Mark for a few minutes. When he returned the news was better then anything they had had so far.

"We found a piece of her bathrobe caught on some stair leading to the morgue. We think she is definitely still in the building because the way they were headed there aren't any exits and the building had a lock down issued less then five minutes after you were found." Christian turned and gave a few terse orders to the man waiting in the hall before he started to head out the door after him. "We'll go check it out, hopefully we will have this all over with soon."

Mark pushed off the gurney and gingerly got to his feet. "I'm going with you."

"No it's too dangerous. We don't even..."

"Fuck dangerous!" Mark yelled before Christian could finish. "I should have taken more precautions with her safety. I'm coming whether you like it or not god damn it!"

"Fine, but you do what I tell you to do and when I tell you to do it or I'll slap you in cuffs and chain you to that damn bed. Got that?" With Mark's curt nod of agreement then left the room and headed down to where the rest of the cavalry was waiting for them. "I have a bad feeling about this..."

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"STOP YOUR WHINNING YOU SELFISH LITTLE WHORE!" his fist felt like a sledge hammer when it struck her across her cheek for what seemed like the hundredth time. "YOU REALLY THOUGHT YOU WOULD GET AWAY FROM ME!" He hadn't said a single word in anything but an outraged scream since he had dragged her into the utilities room and cuffed her to a pipe. Her wrists were raw from trying to work her small hands out of the cuffs. No matter how many times she spit on herself to lubricate the tight metal she could pull free. She could only hold on and hope that they would find her sooner rather then later.

"Bradley...Please! What can I...?"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" This time he kicked her hard in the thigh and took great pleasure in her stifled cry of pain. This was where she belonged; cowering on her knees begging him to stop. He couldn't believe the little bitch thought she was going to get out of here alive. Well he had news for her. Her and that fucking richy-rich guy that thought he could take his place. "I turn my back for one second and you take off and start playing house with some nobody. Tell me he's nobody baby, tell me you're sorry baby..."

Arianna felt the cold metal of the gun barrel that he had used to get her out of her room quietly press against her temple. She bit her lip to stop from crying harder, she didn't know how but she somehow found a way to swallow the bile that rose in her throat at the thought of answering him. "He... He's nobody Martin, I'm so sorry. Please just let me out of the cuffs and I'll show you how sorry I am..."

A hard sneer was painted on his face when he pulled her face close to his. "You always were an easy lay. Spreading your legs to anyone that had two legs and a penis...you thought I didn't know didn't you? But I knew all along because you are what you are. A nice little whore... my nice little whore."

Martin's stance became relaxed, almost cocky as he pulled out a cell phone and started absentmindedly dialing some number. "You know what baby?

"What?" She just had to keep him happy for as long as was needed. She just had to stay alive long enough to make sure that Mark and Aurora were safe. All she needed was time; she had to keep him talking... "What don't I know?"

"Hmm you will get to see that pathetic schlep again and real soon too. I'm gonna bring him down here and let you watch me kill him, right before I kill you baby cakes."

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It was all Mark could do to stop crashing through the double doors to the utility room. He could hear the mad man screaming at his beautiful Arianna and it would have given him infinite pleasure to put his fingers around his throat until he could never utter another fowl word.

He was surrounded by men in black with weapons and grease paint on. They were old buddies of Christian's from what he gathered. It sounded like he used to be a part of their team at some point. They had been able to get a camera down into the vent system so that they could see what was going on inside the room beyond but they were having problems picking up on all the vocabulary because of the boiler coming on and off.

"He just said something about phoning someone but we weren't able to catch the whole of that sir..." Mark was fortunate that he had an earpiece to listen to what was happening but most of it he didn't want to hear. He just wanted to hear that his wife was unharmed.

"Roger that Harvard, any sign of any other weapons besides that 9mm?"

"Negative. We have confirmation that he's calling the husband."

"Shit!" Christian turned and gave quick instructions to another guy who headed up the stairs quicker then a jack rabbit with a fire up its ass. "He's on his way up to grab your cell phone, we're gonna jam his signal for the moment and see if we can't buy some time."

"Fine, whatever just get her out of there!"

Christian's face was blank of any emotion except sheer determination. Mark could tell that he was in his element; that he was in combat mode and whether he admitted it to anyone he liked the feeling... he even missed it a little. "Just give it time; we don't want to make the wrong move."

"Sir, his call got through and I had to answer it. He is expecting the husband to be in that room in less than 5 or things will get bloody."

"Things are going to get bloody either way, let's just make sure that it's his blood guys. Let's get Mark ready to go in."

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The door to the utility room slowly creaked open. It was all Arianna could do to stop from screaming at Mark to turn around and head back out... but the gag over her mouth pretty much made any coherent speech impossible. She could just see his outline until the door shut, he was wearing a vest of some sort and a wire was coming from his ear. "Ok, I'm here. Now let her go Martin." Mark edged his way into the room until his eyes met his wife's. She was crying silently, she never took her eyes from his even when Martin put the gun barrel back against her temple.

"I don't think so my man. Take off that fucking vest and earpiece before I put a new hole in her pretty little head." Martin put his hand around Arianna's throat and slowly squeezed to drive his point home. "Take off the vest right now."

Arianna struggled a bit as her airway was slowly cut off but her eyes pleaded with Mark, begging him not to do as he was asked. But the love that was so strong couldn't stop Mark from doing what the mad man asked. He slowly pulled at the Velcro that held the vest on until it fell to the ground next to his feet.

It all happened in seconds; men came crashing through the vents and the doors, there were shots fired and screams as bodies crumbled to the floor. In horror Arianna watched as her beloved's chest was painted red and he fell to the floor with a resounding thud. The screaming in her head was so loud that she couldn't stand it, it wasn't until her wrists were free and the gag removed from her mouth that she realized it was herself screaming out loud.

She rushed to Mark's side and held onto him like a life line until she was pulled away so that the medics could work on him. She watched for some sign of movement to tell her that he was indeed alive but there was nothing...

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White roses adorned the casket and the surrounding area; the muted sounds of crying were like background music to the minister's somber sermon. He spoke of things that were meant to comfort and about how everything that is god's will has a purpose.