Ransom Ch. 04

Hi guys! Apologies for the wait and the slightly shorter edition - I'm currently travelling Australia with no power and no internet, plus a hell of a lot of driving so writing has been interesting...however, here is the next chapter. Thanks for all the feedback I've received through comments and emails - I love hearing what people think, good or bad so keep it coming!

-AmandaSarah xx

***

"We have to track her down!" It was the first time Mira had ever heard Paul raise his voice in anger; he was usually the peacekeeper. Tonight his voice echoed through the halls at a decibel that met Nathan's own bellowing words.

"Don't be fucking stupid!" Nathan boomed. "We meet their demands and that's it."

"Kailee wouldn't want us to be weak and just pay the ransom to rescue her - you know that," Paul insisted, "She'd want us to take those bastards down!"

Mira sat on the soft carpet of the lounge room, collecting up shards of glass. The two brothers had been yelling at each other all evening. She should have felt uncomfortable sitting there, listening to their argument, but after seeing her best friend's desperate face on the television screen, she barely felt anything at all.

"I don't give a fuck what Kailee wants! She isn't exactly in a position to be making demands now, is she?" Mira could hear Nathan's heavy feet pacing the kitchen.

"You can't seriously think I'm just going to sit here and do nothing!' Paul continued to argue.

"No; what you're going to do is access the family safe and prepare the money."

"I'm bloody well not-"

"Yes you are!" Nathan growled and his words resonated through every room of the house, "Because I'm damned well not going to watch another family member get buried!"

A dark silence filled the kitchen and even Mira's hands came to a standstill. She listened as quick footsteps left the room and then the front door slammed with a loud bang as Paul made his leave. Her fingers continued to pick at the shattered glass, forming the pieces into a jagged mess in the centre of the room.

"Mira, what are you doing?" Nathan's voice was irritated as he filled the doorway to the lounge room, but she didn't look up from her pile. She heard him stepping closer, but still she kept her eyes down, her hands working quickly.

"Mira...jesus! Stop!" His arms suddenly gripped her upper arms and he pulled her forcefully to a standing position. "Look at your hands!"

Her feet were firm on the ground, but Nathan still had a fixed grasp on her forearms keeping her steady and he brought her hands out in front of her. She let out a gasp as she saw they were covered in blood.

Nathan swore under his breath and led her quickly into the kitchen by her wrist. She all but stumbled at the speed he pulled her and when they reached the sink, his hands came around her waist and lifted her easily so she sat on the countertop, legs dangling over the edge like a child.

She watched blankly as he crouched down and opened one of the cupboards near her feet, pulling out a red container and placing it beside her. Neither of them said a word as he scavenged through the container and then brought a pair of tweezers to her right hand. Mira yelped as they brushed against a jagged piece of glass caught between her thumb and forefinger. When had that happened?

"Hold still," Nathan said gruffly as he carefully drew the fragment from the bloody mess on her palm. It dropped into the sink with a soft clinking sound.

He dipped a cotton ball into a cup of disinfectant and the chemical scent made Mira scrunch her nose. She hissed as the wool was brought to her palm and Nathan gave her an apologetic look. His hands were strong and rough, but she could tell he was trying hard to be gentle with her. When he brought a coil of bandage tightly around her palm, Mira looked up at him and found his brow creased in concentration. His green eyes were bloodshot and overtired, making him appear older than his 26 years. She assumed she looked just as exhausted as him; her own slumber had been intermittent and she'd found herself tiptoeing upstairs several times to see if Kailee had miraculously returned. It was Kailee, after all, and if anyone were to find a way to escape a kidnapping, it would be her.

"Paul's right you know," Mira's voice was tiny in the eerie silence of the house, but it still caught Nathan off guard. "About Kailee."

His eyes met hers and she saw in them a hint of annoyance.

"She wouldn't want to be rescued."

"You think I should risk her safety for the sake of her dignity?" Nathan's words were bitter.

Mira thought for a moment and then shook her head. Nathan had stopped coiling her hands now, but he still held them as he looked at her curiously, waiting for her to speak.

"The girl on the DVD; that wasn't Kailee," she whispered. "That girl was frightened...helpless even. She needs to be rescued."

Nathan considered her words for a moment, before pinning the bandage in place. He let out a long sigh.

"I can't help thinking how different things would be if our parents were here," his eyes remained fixed on Mira's hands and she gave his fingers a light squeeze.

"I think," she spoke softly, "they would be proud of the way you've held this family together." She smiled slightly, "and that's coming from someone who knows firsthand what a dysfunctional family looks like."

She let out a little laugh, but Nathan wasn't smiling with her. His eyes were studying her carefully, an unreadable expression on his face. Mira went to speak again, but his hands suddenly came up to cup her face and before she could register what was happening, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

The unexpected gesture made her jump slightly in surprise. Nathan was kissing her. The very idea of it seemed ridiculous. But it was happening right now and the way he was kissing her...well there was nothing ridiculous about it. It was a gentle motion at first and quite sensual, Mira thought, in comparison to Carl's forceful tongue. His lips were soft and inviting, teasing her without imposing. Nathan's hands came down to her waist and Mira found herself relaxing into him. He slowly deepened the kiss, his tongue grazing the fullness of her bottom lip. She let out a little content sigh and Nathan allowed his tongue to fully enter her mouth. He kissed her slowly and erotically, but Mira could feel his urgency through the tightening grip on her hips. She was surprised to find her own body reacting fully to his attention. She'd practically known Nathan her entire life and though he was an attractive man, she'd never thought about what it would be like to kiss him. Right now, she was thinking about what it would be like to have him on top of her, undoing her bra, slipping his fingers into her underwear...

He pulled away from her abruptly and she stared up at him, eyes wide in surprise.

The palms of his hands were pressed on the counter, one either side of her body and she could see his chest rising and falling. She was panting a little herself. His face was contorted in frustration.

"I shouldn't have done that," he growled. He stormed out of the kitchen, grabbed a coat and strolled out of the front door. Mira sat breathless, completely confused and more than a little turned on.

***

Dominic flipped open his laptop and brought up the security camera of the guest room. He'd had the cameras installed weeks before kidnapping the girl as an added precaution. He highly doubted she'd be able to find a way out of those handcuffs, but if she did happen to try anything he'd know about it well before she had the chance to escape.

He watched her now as she pulled angrily against the chains above her head. Even with a scowl on her face she still looked as beautiful as ever. Her long brown hair fell messily down her bare shoulders and her cheeks were still flushed from when he'd taken her. He groaned at the memory of those gorgeous long legs wrapped around his waist as he filled her completely. There hadn't been anything virgin about her; from the moment she'd pouted her lips and let her dress slip down to her waist, she'd been a seductress. So it had taken Dominic completely by surprise when he'd forced through her tight, untried entrance and heard her cry out in pain. An eighteen year old, long legged goddess of a girl and she still had her virginity intact? Nathan Brooks must have been locking her up every night and fending off college boys with an axe.

Dominic didn't make a habit of sleeping with virgins. When you had a vast amount of experienced women throwing themselves at you, why waste your time having to be gentle and slow with a nervous young thing? But he'd been anything but gentle with Kailee. She'd worked him up to a point where he couldn't have taken things slow if he'd tried. And, to his astonishment, she'd enjoyed every minute of it. She could deny it all she liked, but from the moment he'd entered her to the moment he'd felt his release, she'd been a pooling, writing mess.

She'd had so much to lose and yet she'd used that in an attempt to manipulate him. She was either fearless or stupid. And the latter didn't quite seem to fit. She was unbreakable. He'd threatened her with violence and she'd mouthed off; he'd threatened her with rape and she'd tried to seduce him. Now he'd actually used her body and, aside from the pleasure he'd given her, all he'd done was fuel her fire. In all of his 27 years, he'd never come across a woman who could cause him so much fury, and yet so much pleasure at the same time.

He studied the screen in front of him where she sat, stretched out, her body wriggling in an attempt to bury herself beneath the privacy of the bed sheets. Her smooth flat stomach contrasted beautifully to the bobbing mounds of her luscious breasts. God, he wanted her again already and it had barely been half an hour since he'd left her. He snapped the laptop shut and shook all thoughts of Kailee Brooks from his mind. She was a means to an end, nothing more.

***

Kailee was relieved the next morning when the door was unbolted. She didn't want to see Dominic's face ever again, but she'd been left all night with a bladder full of scotch and it was a miracle she hadn't yet wet the bed. She'd managed to cover the majority of her bare body with the crumpled white bed covering, but there was still a lot of revealed flesh. She had never in her life felt as humiliated and infuriated as she had last night. Not only had Dominic left her chained and with his release all over her back, but he'd also left her feeling unfulfilled; something she was refusing to admit to herself. Kailee was already beating herself up enough about the careless loss of her virginity; she didn't need to add to the confusion by considering how turned on she had become at the touch of the very man she hated.

As the door creaked open, Jakob's kind eyes met her seething ones and then moved downward slightly, taking in her exposed state.

"Jesus!" he immediately turned away in an attempt at being gentleman-like.

Kailee snorted, "Don't pretend to care about the state of my dignity! I need to go to the bathroom so hurry up and unchain me." Her haughty tone was worthy of her heiress title.

Jakob slowly turned around to face her again and he approached her cautiously. He took in the tightened chains securing her wrists and his brow creased in confusion.

"How did..." realisation registered in his features, then replaced with horror. "Dominic? Did he..."

"Oh calm down; he didn't touch me," Kailee spoke angrily. There was no way she was going to have Jakob feel sorry for her. "He just tightened my cuffs to make sure I wouldn't escape."

Jakob looked doubtful for a moment, but then his concern eased and he set about undoing her manacles. Her arms fell heavily to her sides and she let out a small gasp as the ache in her shoulders was relieved. It felt as though she'd been lifting weights all night and she rubbed her fingers firmly into them to try to dull the pain.

"I'll set you up a bath," Jakob said. He was facing the back wall again and Kailee took the opportunity to wrap herself up in the sheet, hoping it was enough to hide the dried evidence on her back.

"What?" Kailee wasn't sure she'd heard correctly.

"A bath." Jakob repeated, sneaking a glance behind him to see if the girl was proper. "The warm water will do your muscles some good."

Kailee was beside him now, wrapped up in the sheet like a Greek Goddess, and she gave him an accusatory glare.

"Why should you care about the state of my muscles?"

Jakob sighed. "I'm sorry," he said with a look of sincerity, "for the way you've been treated. Truly I am. But this is the best I can do to make your stay here a little less awful."

Kailee wanted to tell him to fuck off, but her muscles weren't the only part of her that was feeling sore this morning. Bringing her legs together, she could feel the tenderness of her sex. She was craving a relaxing bath.

"Okay," she muttered in a tone that wasn't entirely thankful, but not spiteful either.

Jakob smiled at her approval.

"Plus I'm sure we'll all appreciate you no longer smelling like a dead cat," he jested with a careful laugh.

Kailee didn't give him the pleasure of responding.

He took a light hold of her upper arm - pointless really, because if she wanted to escape she could quite easily knock him out - and led her through the doorway. She was certain Dominic must be hovering somewhere nearby, because why else would she be allowed to wander the halls unrestrained? Jakob guided her through the room she'd been filmed in, which was now stark aside from a few taped up boxes, and down a new hallway with depressing grey walls. Was the entire building grim and emotionless?

A door to the left opened into a bathroom with a large square tub and Kailee was relieved to see a toilet in the corner. She gave him a look of urgency and he took the hint.

"I'll be back for you in an hour," he said, before locking the door and leaving her to the pleasure of the bathroom.

Kailee dropped the sheet to the floor and quickly relieved herself, not even bothering to withhold her sigh of content as the pressure on her bladder eased. She then made her way to the tub and dropped the plug in, twisted the handles and watched as the steaming water began gushing out. There was a small oval mirror on the wall adjacent to the bath and Kailee let out a gasp as she caught sight of her appearance. She moved closer to the reflection and looked into the wild green eyes before her. Her cheeks were pinker than the time she'd tried and failed to use lipstick as a blush substitute. Her usually silky hair was matted and clung desperately to her face and neck. She looked like a wild creature, fighting for survival.

"I suppose I am just that," she whispered to herself.

She turned off the taps and dipped a toe into the steaming water, allowing her skin to adjust to the hot temperature. Once satisfied, she brought both legs into the tub and submerged her entire body into the warmth, exhaling dramatically. The tub was spacious and catered for the full length of her body - rare for someone as tall as her. At home, Nathan had laid claim on the largest tub in the house and Kailee almost always used his bathroom when she wanted a good soak; her own tub was inferior in size.

She spotted two bottles of shampoo and conditioner perched on the edge of the tub and almost cried with happiness. It was a men's brand, but she couldn't care less. Letting her head fall back, she dampened her hair and then began lathering the shampoo into her long locks. The suds turned the water a creamy colour and she turned the tap back on to rinse the soap out with fresh water. She then massaged a good dose of conditioner in, repeating the rinsing process and smiling at the soft feel of her now clean hair. Her fingers collected a bar of soap next to the two bottles and she brought it to her nose, inhaling the scent. Wild Oak. It smelled like Dominic. She frowned at the thought of having his scent on her skin, but she ran it across the length of her arm anyway. It left a glistening trail along her skin and she drizzled a handful of water over herself to remove the suds. The warm scented water felt delicious as she trickled it over her shoulders and down her back. She brought the bar across her torso, running it softly along her breasts and she sighed, fully relaxed. Her nipples grew firm at the attention she gave them and she found her soaped hand trailing slowly down her stomach and towards her groin. When her fingers brushed against her sex, she let out a little gasp. She remembered the way Dominic had run his fingers across her and the bolts of pleasure it had sent through her. She thought about the way he had fingered her and tried to mimic the motion now with her own digits.

She let her head sink slightly back into the water, her ears fully submerged and her long hair fanning out around her face. Her eyes fell closed as her fingers continued to move in little circles. It felt good, but she couldn't quite bring herself the level of pleasure he had caused. She widened her legs slightly, and concentrated, trying hard to imagine a male figure above her.

Her eyes fluttered open and, to her utter horror, there was a male figure above her. Messy dark hair fell across his forehead and his captivating grey eyes were watching her with great amusement.

Kailee squealed and sat upright so quickly that a wave of water sloshed over the side, drenching the bottoms of Dominic's slacks.

"What are you doing here?" she cried, trying desperately to conceal her body with the palms of her hands, "Get OUT!"

"I came for a shower," he said, his eyes roaming freely over the curves of her body, "But what a pleasant surprise this is," the edges of his mouth curled up in delight and Kailee glared up at him.

"Tell me," he said, peeling off his singlet and revealing the array of abdominal muscles that made Kailee's knees weak, "what were you thinking about?"

Kailee's mouth dropped open slightly at his nerve, but she knew better than to leave his questions unanswered.

"My ex-boyfriend," she said quickly, determined not to let him know her true thoughts.

"Really?" Dominic sounded unconvinced.

"Yeah," Kailee continued, "he was amazing with his fingers."

"Hmm," Dominic mused, untying the drawstring of his slacks, "is that right?"

He slid his track pants down his muscled legs and his half erect penis bobbed out, mere inches from Kailee's face. She hadn't had the chance to see the full length of him last night and, now that it was staring her in the eyes, she couldn't help but look at it in amazement. It was long and thick with a glistening end and Kailee wondered how on earth it could have possibly fit inside of her.

Her expression obviously hadn't been well hidden, as Dominic let out a soft chuckle and she quickly averted her gaze. He started entering the tub and Kailee stood quickly, making a run for the door. To her dismay, it had been deadlocked. She eyed the pile of clothes lying on the floor, certain the key must be in one of Dominic's pockets.

"I'd have you pinned to the ground before you could slide it into the lock," he said casually and she knew he was right. There was no running from him today. She stood in front of the door, dripping all over the tiled floor. Her hair was sopping and it clung to the sides of her face. Dominic sank fully into the tub and ran his dangerous eyes over her exposed body.

"Get back in the tub," he commanded.

She shook her head stubbornly and he smiled, obviously expecting her refusal. His smile was nice when he was genuine, she noticed; it made his face seem younger and handsome in a charming, boyish sort of way. As quickly as it had appeared, though, it was gone and replaced with his signature threatening glare.