STORY EXCERPT

7:03 a.m., Friday – two miles outside Destiny, Colorado

Though Erica Coleman wanted to scream, she couldn’t.

Anyone in her current situation—inside the trunk of a speeding car—would need to scream, but the gag around her mouth prevented her from yelling for help. She couldn’t move because of the ropes around her ankles and wrists. The hood over her head blinded her and was also making it very difficult to breathe.

All she could do was listen.

The roar of the engine rumbled in her ears, muting the voices of her two abductors inside the vehicle.

* * * *

5:40 p.m., Friday – Two Black Knights Tower in Destiny, Colorado

Dylan Strange knew the chances of getting Erica back alive were slim. Very slim.

No one had realized that she was missing until billionaire Scott Knight, one of the presidents of Two Black Knights, got an e-mail from the kidnappers.

When they’d checked the TBK system, they’d discovered that Erica hadn’t keyed in today at all. Not unusual, given her position as executive assistant to the copresidents. Many days, only Scott and his brother saw her, as she worked on sensitive projects for the two men.

The last person who had seen her was Phoebe Blue at the diner a little before seven this morning. Jason had retraced Erica’s steps from her car to the restaurant and found her uneaten bagel, her laptop, and a spilled cup of coffee on the sidewalk by the Green Dragon statue in the park.

The evidence pointed to it being over ten hours since she’d been taken, and less than an hour since the ransom note came in.

Fuck.

They were in the main TBK conference room, which Scott had set up as mission control to find her.

Sheriff Jason Wolfe was pacing around the large table. Scott was at another computer working away feverishly to get the ransom demands in place in case they couldn’t find Erica before the set time. Erica’s two brothers and their fiancée had left to check out her apartment for any clues they might find.

Why had the kidnappers taken so long to give their demands? Likely, they wanted to make sure Erica was out of Destiny and in a secure place. That was how he would’ve conducted the same kind of operation. Time was the enemy in this type of investigation. The more hours passed the colder the trail.

Fuck.

He stared at the monitor in front of him, praying for anything that might lead to her.

Nothing.

A man thought of just one thing when he looked at a woman like Erica—and he’d been thinking the same during all his time with her at the gun range. Hell, even his nights had been invaded by images of her, disturbing his sleep. Sex was one of the many compartments of his very structured life. Few could endure such an existence, but it had worked for him for a very long time. Find a willing partner. Maybe dinner. Maybe not. A few hours of wild sex. Move on. No regrets. No emotional bullshit.

But his logic was being shoved to the side by his feelings for Erica. Feelings weren’t something he knew how to deal with. Not a good thing given the current circumstances. Her life depended on him being his best, and his best was being analytical and detached. But how the hell could he stay detached when all he could think of was her being in danger?

Fuck.

Keeping his cool was his best weapon, always, but he was having a difficult time doing that at the moment. He adjusted his sunglasses, though they needed no adjusting. Everyone in town knew he wore them indoors and outdoors. What they didn’t know was the reason. They were his shield, his armor, his camo. Without his sunglasses, a chance glance from someone—anyone—might reveal his secrets. The risk was too great.

He was the head of security at Two Black Knights Enterprises. This shouldn’t have happened on his watch. If the people who had taken Erica harmed a single hair on her pretty head, he would crush them until they were nothing but little tiny piles of shit.

Several computers were on the table. They’d been working on finding her since the ransom e-mail had popped into Scott’s inbox just under an hour ago. Whoever was behind this had devised an intricate way for the monies to be sent.

Five international stock exchanges—India, Russia, South Africa, Dubai, and Germany—were part of the scheme. Each had one new company offering stock for purchase. An initial public offering, IPO. Doubtful if any of the companies were legit. Likely they were only fronts. Whatever stock the monies bought would certainly be worthless. The cash would be drained away in microseconds before the local governments had a chance to track it.

A brilliant plan, damn it.

The ransom demanded their stock be purchased at a certain time, ten million each for a grand total of fifty million US dollars.

“How’s it coming?” Jason asked Scott.

“The NSE transaction for India is ready to go,” the billionaire answered. Everyone in town knew that Scott and his brother thought of Erica as a sister. It was clear he felt guilty for not coming into the office until late afternoon. Scott had told them that he’d wondered why Erica wasn’t at her desk at first, but given all she’d been struggling with, he’d dismissed it. Then he’d gotten the e-mail that changed everything. “All I have left to set up is Frankfurt, and then we’ll have everything in place.”

“Hopefully, we'll find her before you have to do that.” The sheriff turned to Dylan. “We don’t have much time before Scott has to send the funds for the first purchase.”

Dylan didn't look up from the screen. He had to stay focused. “Sheriff, please call out the time every fifteen minutes for me.”

“Got it.” Jason glanced at the watch on his wrist. “It’s five forty-five right now.”

Dylan’s mind immediately returned to Erica. He’d thought about asking Erica out. He hadn’t. Why? Because he couldn’t seem to figure out which one of his mental compartments she would fit in. She was a mystery to him. He was certain moving on after her would be beyond difficult. Now, there would be no after. No date. Nothing.

At the very least, I should have told Erica how beautiful she is.

So much for the former agent of the CIA keeping his mind on the task at hand.

Damn it, I’ve got to keep my head clear.

ADULT EXCERPT

“Damn, you’re beautiful,” Cam said with a tone of awe.

“Time to save the planet, sweetheart,” Dylan told her, lifting her back up into his arms. He placed her in the shower and then he and Cam got in, placing her between them—Dylan behind her and Cam in the front. The warm water felt amazing. The guys grabbed sponges, soaped them up, and rubbed them against her skin. Every cleansing sweep from them ramped up the heat building inside her body. Tingles began to spread through her as Cam washed her breasts while nibbling on her neck and Dylan washed her ass while kissing her back.

As the grime of the past couple of days was washed away, she began to shiver between them.

Cam lowered his mouth to her breasts, circling her nipples with his tongue, causing them to throb and ache. His hands moved down her abdomen until his fingers were at her waist. Moaning, she arched into his mouth on her breast, seeking more of the pleasure from his tongue, lips, and teeth.

As Cam quickly washed his body, she could feel Dylan’s fingers part her ass’s cheeks while his tongue circled the intimate, tight spot. His licks were driving her wild, and pressure began to build inside her.

The moment Dylan’s torture stopped, so that he could clean himself, Cam began licking her throbbing nipples until she was lost to a blazing need. As his tongue went lower and lower, she felt Dylan renew his attack on her backside. The warm water continued to rush over her skin but that wasn’t what was making her hot. The source of her temperature spiking was the men licking her pussy and ass. Dylan held her ass and Cam fingered her pussy, using his tongue as a wicked whip on her clit.

“I want you,” Cam murmured between licks.

Dylan remained quiet, though his mouth and hands on her ass ordered her into a dizzying state of desire.

She wanted them, too. God knew she wanted them. “Please. I need you. I need this.” Her brain was spinning and her body was burning, both with one want—to be filled by them, to be claimed by them, to drown in pleasure until all that remained in her world was this moment, with Dylan and Cam. No Russians. No trunk. No guns. Just here. Just now. Just her and them.

The pressure grew and grew and her trembles expanded and spread out through her body. More licks. More caresses. When Dylan laved her ass with his hot tongue and Cam captured her clit between his tightening lips, her womb convulsed as her climax exploded through every cell of her body, every synapse, every nerve—everywhere.

Giving in to her need to touch them, to connect with them in that instant, she grabbed Cam’s hair with her left hand and shot her right hand behind her until she could feel the top of Dylan’s head.

“That’s my sweet girl,” Cam uttered.

She closed her eyes, relishing in the sensations shooting through her body.

Dylan licked his way up her back until he was kissing her neck. Cam’s hands were back on her chest, massaging gently. With only their hands, they guided her to turn until she was facing Dylan.

“Give me your lips,” he demanded, his Dom side coming through.

She parted her lips ever so slightly as he crashed into them with his own. Her toes curled and her belly flip-flopped as he deepened his kiss. She could feel Cam’s hands come around her from behind until his fingertips were on her clit, once again raising her hunger back to a delirious state.

“Let’s take her back to the bed,” Cam said.

Dylan released her mouth. “I agree. I want to be inside her.”

She wanted that, too. Needed that more than anything right now.

As they helped her out of the shower, her climatic tingles continued, and her body would not be still. She clenched her fists and chewed on her lower lip, trying to keep her head. It wasn’t working. Not one bit. Dylan and Cam dried her off with a towel and then Cam lifted her up in his arms.

Dylan bent down and pulled out a condom from the pocket of his pants. “I only have one, Cam. You?”

“Left top pocket. There’s one in there,” Cam told him.

He bent down and got the promised package from Cam’s jeans. “Perfect.”

Cam carried her back into the bedroom with Dylan close behind. He lowered her onto the mattress. She watched the gorgeous, lusty men roll the rubbers down their shafts. They meant to fuck her, really fuck her. That was what she wanted. That was what she craved.

Dylan didn’t wait, but crawled on top of her, leaving Cam to fist his cock. Dylan’s body was like steel. Hard. Strong. She felt his cock pressing against her wet pussy as he positioned his body to grant him the best access to her most intimate flesh.

“It’s been a long time.” She was surprised how weak and trembling her tone was.

His smile went straight into her, coiling a new ball of want within her body.

She felt Dylan’s cock pierce past the lips of her pussy and into her channel, inching ever so slowly into her body. The delicious agony expanded within her, making her warm from head to toe. Dylan’s claiming of her was driving her insane. Another inch and another.

He was so big, so massive, so monstrous.

Another inch.

She fisted the sheets, feeling her breaths turn to pants and her heartbeats turn to heart skips.