Once Upon A Midnight... (The Firsts Book 9.5) Read online

  “Yeah, it’s pretty creepy in total darkness.” After a pause, he cleared his throat. “Tell me about yourself. Tell me what you look like so that I can imagine you.”

  “All right. Then you need to do the same. It will be interesting to see how accurate we are in describing ourselves to each other once we can see each other.”

  “And I promise that’s going to happen. In fact, we have a dinner date, remember?”

  “I do. So…” Merry hesitated. “I’m not too big, you know that already, about five four. I think I’m very average looking, but I have had a few people tell me that I’m pretty. It’s nice to hear, but it doesn’t mean much to me. Right now, my look is that of a young business woman only because I thought that it might be the best way to make this floral shop more successful. When Lauren gave me the shop, I really didn’t intend to keep it. At that time, I thought I was going to save the world. I had dreams of joining Greenpeace and traveling around the world. But reality sticks its nose in and a lot of times, probably most of the time, people just end up working and making a living and giving up any dreams they might have had.”

  Sitting quietly in the darkness, Taggert heard a low sigh. Then Merry continued.

  “Sorry. I got off on a sad tangent. Anyway, I used to look like the girl you’d cross the street to avoid…black hair, heavy make-up, platform biker boots, fishnet stockings, and my favorite, a long dagger necklace that even scared me sometimes. It was sharpened and I cut myself on it more than once. Now, though, you’d probably look right through me on the street. I guess I’m respectable, normal, boring.” She stopped speaking, then finished. “That’s it.”

  A brief laugh penetrated the darkness before he spoke. Merry closed her eyes against the insistence of darkness, which felt more natural that way. She was getting used to the sound of his voice, and although she tried not to think of how sexy he sounded, she was failing miserably. Her body responded to the masculine timbre, her stomach tightened, and a little twitch between her legs cued her in to why.

  “Not much to tell either. I spent most of my young years in the military doing things a young man should never do. Then I got involved with that same freaky organization that Lauren did. I was head of security and eventually I came to the same conclusion that she did. Through a series of circumstances, I helped eliminate the entire project, and am now employed by, shall we say, the organization’s opponent. I can only assume that is one of the reasons he took me. I am humbled to admit that I may have some value to my employers.”

  “Hmmm. Wow. And what might I see if we had light?”

  “Nothing remarkable. You already know that I’m kind of big. I keep myself in shape because my job requires it. My hair is short cropped, dark, my beard short too, and I’ve been told I have bedroom eyes, whatever women mean by that.”

  “Sexy. Like a promise that the man is going to be good at…” What was she saying? “Ignore that. This situation is weird. It’ll be interesting to see if your description meets my assessment.”

  “Me too. Look at us, looking forward to the future.”

  A scraping sound and a brief slice of light under the door announced that their food tray was being pushed through. The light disappeared almost as soon as it came and it was so low to the ground that it gave away nothing about the space they were trapped in. Shuffling let her know that Taggert was already over by the tray.

  “Follow the sound of my voice. Once the light goes away, it’s too hard to find the food. I actually dumped it the first day. I’ll guide you in.”

  “Appreciate it. I can’t believe how hungry I am. I often go all day with little more than a candy bar, but now I’m ravenous.”

  “An extreme reaction to an extreme situation. You’ll get used to it.”

  “God I hope not. I hope we’re out of here before I can get used to being captured.”

  “That’s the plan. Here, I think it’s a ham sandwich. No condiments, but it isn’t half bad.”

  Merry felt around and found the sandwich on the tray. After a quick bite, she found herself nodding. Useless, of course, in here. “Yeah, you’re right. Did they provide something to drink?”

  “Juice packet. The slot is really narrow so anything that goes under it has to be pretty flat. Here, I have it.”

  Merry put her hand out and met his, her fingers wrapping around his hand before she realized it. Quickly, she took the packet and whispered another apology.

  “It’s all right, Merry. We’re going to touch. It’s expected, so don’t feel awkward about it.”

  “No, yes, I mean, you’re right. I just don’t want to invade your personal space.”

  “It’s pretty freaking cold in here. Invade my space any time you want.”

  He made her laugh at just the right time to nearly blow the sweet juice out of her mouth. “Yeah, I guess. Okay, pact. We do what we need to do, no worries, no apologies. I trust you, at least as far as I know right now, and you know that I can’t hurt you, so we’re good.”

  “Pfft. I’ve had my ass handed to me by a woman smaller than you. Size isn’t the only parameter for determining threat potential.”

  “I do swing a mean baseball bat.”

  “That might be handy sometime soon. I’ll keep that in mind.”

  They finished the sandwiches and slid the tray back under the door so that they could get to their plan of checking out the walls without someone on the other side of the door hearing any of their movements. The tray was taken instantly, and after listening to the receding footsteps, Taggert made a sound like he was rubbing his hands together.

  “Care to climb up on my shoulders?”

  Merry was concerned about this plan. “I’ve never been too comfortable with heights.”

  “Then it’s a good thing it’s darker than my last girlfriend’s heart in here.”

  She felt his hand on her arm and then her shoulder.

  “I won’t let you fall, I promise.”

  “I know. I mean, I trust you, but doing this, doing anything, in total darkness is just nuts.”

  “It’s what we’ve got to work with.”

  Laying a hand over his, Merry stood. “Let’s do this then. Guide me where you want me.”

  “I think that, based on the orientation of the door where they feed us, which is the only entrance into this room, that there should be vents either to our right or left when we’re facing the door, so…” Taggert took Merry’s hand and led her across the room. Now, she just had to trust him, and strangely, she really did.

  He stopped. “Here. I’m going to lift you up as high as I can get you. All you need to do is to feel along the wall, carefully, and see if you can feel something, anything, that might be vents that have been covered up.”

  “Okay.”

  “How do you feel about sitting on my shoulders?”

  Releasing a held breath, she nodded again to the dark in answer to his question, then repeated herself. “Okay.”

  “Just, try to keep your balance while I get you there.”

  “Okay,” she said again, and knew that she sounded like a lame parrot, but she was having enough trouble breathing, let alone thinking, as she prepared to be lifted off the ground. Sightless.

  She felt his hand near her leg. “Put your foot in my hand and then try to swing around and straddle my shoulders. Hold onto my head and hands.”

  Oh, God…

  This had disaster and a broken skull written all over it. Merry used to fall over her own feet when she was a kid and she didn’t think she was any more graceful now.

  “I’ve got your foot, and I’ve got your hand, Merry, go for it!”

  Pressing into his fingers and pushing off, she did exactly what he told her to do, and swung her right leg over his shoulders. His right hand held hers, and she curled the fingers of her left hand around his head.

  “Are you all right, Merry?”

  “Whew. Yeah, I’m on. I still feel like I could throw up, but I’m on.”

  “Good girl. The
hard part’s over. Keep your balance, but let me know if you need me to lower you or if you’re going over.”

  “I’ve got it, Taggert, just get me to that wall.”

  He smiled, and although he didn’t think she’d know it, he was proud of her for overcoming her fear. Moving forward, just a few feet, he could feel the wall with his foot before he crashed into it.

  “We’re at the wall. I’ll stay close and equidistant, so you can let go and use the wall to maintain your position. Let me know if you feel something.”

  “Roger.” Merry began to slide her hands over the wall in front of her, but it was perfectly smooth. She could feel her ride slowly moving sideways to give her access to the length of the wall. Desperately hoping that she’d find something, she was disappointed when the wall remained smooth. Eventually they hit the corner where the wall connected to the one at the front of the room.

  “Nothing.”

  “Damn. Okay. Do you think you can keep your balance if I take us to the other wall? Or do you want me to let you down first?”

  “No. I can do this. Let’s just go.”

  Turning, Taggert struck out for the other side of the room, once again sliding his feet to feel for the wall.

  About halfway across, Merry shifted her weight and nearly slid off him, and felt a hand move rapidly up her thigh to support her. It didn’t stop, though, at the top of the thigh, it kept moving up underneath her panties. His fingertips slid along the edge of her privates, which made her body jump a little in surprise.

  “God, sorry. I was just trying to…”

  She cut him off. “Don’t worry about it. I know you were just trying to keep me from falling.”

  She could feel his head nod and he continued across the room.

  How embarrassing though. She was sitting on his shoulders with nothing between their skin except her thin panties, and that brief touch had caused a reaction. She was moist and prayed that he wouldn’t feel it. It would be uncomfortable if he knew how she reacted. Then, as quickly, she thought to herself that they weren’t teenagers, that an unexpected sexual touch wasn’t any big deal at all.

  But it had felt nice.

  “We’re here. Go ahead and balance yourself.”

  He kept his hands on her thighs again, but lower.

  Merry had to force herself not to react to his fingers just below where she kind of wanted them right now, and to focus on the important task at hand.

  Once the position was established, Taggert again started to move slowly from one side of the wall to the other, when Merry felt something sharp-edged.

  “Wait!” she called out. “There’s something here. It’s like you said, a big metal slab screwed to the wall.”

  “How secure does it seem? Can you lift it at all?”

  “No. Wait a minute. I’ll try to...”

  Merry slid her fingers all around the metal panel that was probably three feet wide and two high.

  “Not even possible. This has a screw every two or three inches all the way around. We’re going to need a screwdriver or something that we can use like one to get these out of here. No matter how hard I try, I can’t even budge the edge.”

  “Got it. Okay, Merry, come down. I’m going to lower you down against the wall. I’m turning around, and I’ll press you against the wall, and we’ll both slide down.”

  “Sounds easy.”

  It was. She was able to dismount with no other incident. Her mind went to that unexpected touch, though, not sure that she wasn’t hoping for another.

  “Fuck,” Taggert said.

  “We won’t be able to get it off, will we?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not. We need something to try to pry it loose. I’m pretty sure that we won’t be able to loosen that many screws without a tool to do so. I just need to think about the next move.”

  Since she’d been here, he’d been careful to maintain hope and a sense of humor. But she could hear in his voice that this set-back was serious.

  “Do you think…” Merry started to ask, interrupted when she felt his hands on her face, the fingertips gentle.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll figure this out. Why don’t we get some rest?”

  “I think that’s a good idea. It’s gotten colder in here, hasn’t it?”

  “Yeah. With all the airflow cut off, there’s no heat, and any internal heat is gone, so it’s likely going to get even cooler. If you don’t object, we can stay close again for warmth.”

  She knew he was thinking about the slip with his fingers. So was she. “No, I don’t object.”

  They lay down, front to back, like spoons, with him wrapped around her, holding her with loose arms, careful to avoid placing them too high or too low.

  It didn’t help. She felt the moisture again, and her breasts ached. It had been a long time since she’d been with a man. This situation was so fucked up, the future that may not happen, the man that she already trusted and liked, who had a body that she knew she would enjoy…all of that played on her mind as she lay still, her eyes open and unseeing, her libido ramping up. Was it ridiculous that she wanted to have him touch her and make her feel good? That she wanted to do the same for him?

  He hadn’t moved at all. His breathing, however, had become more ragged as she lay listening to it in the dead silence of the room. Then she felt the movement against her butt, and smiled. She wasn’t the only one having trouble with her libido.

  After lying still and feeling his cock pressing against her, Merry made a decision. She slipped from his arms and sat up.

  “Taggert, we have to discuss something.”

  She heard him sit up, too. “What is it?”

  “This abduction, this imprisonment…the man who did this, he’s a professional, yeah?”

  “He is.”

  “So there is a very real possibility that we might not get out of this alive.”

  He was silent.

  “Tell me the truth, Taggert.”

  “Yes. There’s a very real possibility.”

  “That we’ll die here.”

  “It’s possible.”

  “Okay.”

  Both remained quiet.

  It surprised him a few moments later when Merry slid up to him from the front and her fingers touched his thighs and then moved up until he felt her caress him higher.

  “Your cock is quite awake.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m a man, you’re a woman, and in this situation, I’ll admit that I want you. But you’re safe, I promise. I’ll just roll away from you until it calms down.”

  “I don’t want you to. If we die soon, here, in this little room, I don’t want the last thing I feel to be fear and cold. I want you to make love to me. I want to feel every part of you against every part of me. It’s been a long time since I had sex and now, more than anything, I want it. Even though we actually haven’t seen each other, I know that you are kind, and smart, and sexy as all hell, and I really want to feel you inside me and on top of me.”

  He was quiet again for a full minute. “This isn’t just gratitude?”

  Slipping off her shirt and then her skirt, Merry stood and dropped the panties he’d touched earlier, the bra right behind it.

  As she dropped back to the floor, she moved his legs apart and slid between them. Pulling his hands forward, she placed them on her breasts. “Oh, there’s gratitude.”

  Taggert groaned. “Oh, fuck, yeah. Damn, I don’t want you to think I’d take advantage of you, but, if you want me to, I’d like to lick you from top to bottom. Let me come inside of you so hard, I’ll take you to the stars.”

  He rolled her over then, his tongue moving across her nipples, his fingers returning to the area that he’d brushed earlier. This time, they stayed there and moved back and forth, in and out, until Merry’s legs bucked and her knees dropped wide to give him complete access.

  “You are a skilled man,” she moaned.

  “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

  “Could you take your clothes
off? I’d like to feel you against me.”

  “I am in service to the lady,” he said. Merry felt the coolness return as he moved away from her, sorry for the moment that she’d asked him to undress since she already missed his touch. Her body tingled, her heart pounded, and she had to admit that she hadn’t been this turned on since…ever? She wanted his mouth on her, his lips and teeth on her skin, her nipples, and between her legs. She wanted to taste him. More than that, though, she wanted to feel the connection that only penetration would bring. She wanted him inside her, and she wanted to feel him come.

  When she felt his breath on her neck again moments later, she let her hand move down and touched him where she’d desperately wanted to since that first contact. His cock jumped, and when she circled it with her fingers and slid her thumb around the head, she knew that he would be inside her in moments. “You’re quite, uh, healthy.”

  “I haven’t had any complaints. That I can remember. It’s been a long time since I’ve taken the time to get this close to someone.” His hard muscles slid over her as he returned to running a path from her breast to the curve of her waist with his tongue. “It feels good to be this close to you, Merry.”

  “It does. I love what you’re doing to me, but I really need to have you inside me, Taggert. I don’t know why, if it’s our dire situation, but I need to feel you, now.”

  “I think it is. We’re facing the end of our lives and we need to belong to something, to connect to our lives, and this visceral touch is powerful. I’m immersed in you, and all I want now is to really be a part of another human being, a part of you in particular.”

  “Come,” Merry whispered, and meant both meanings.

  Taggert got on top of her, his cock sought her opening and found it immediately, and he surged inside of her. Merry let her hands roam across his shoulders and upper arms, then down his body. He was ripped, his body exactly what she had hoped it would be.

  He kept his hands wrapped around Merry’s face as he moved, the friction intense, the heat searing, the connection deeper than either had felt in their lives. Here, on the moment of truth before they both lost their lives, this sexual merge had all of their desperation, and hope, and lost possibilities wrapped up in emotions and physical reactions so extraordinary, that when they came, together, he held her as tightly as she did him.