Chapter-73

~MARLOWE~

I wasn’t sure how the hell it had come to this. Witness Protection! Oh my God! Never in my life had I thought I’d ever be in this position. But dammit, that's exactly where I had found myself! I’d done everything I could to adjust. It just hadn't happened. The first few days had been awful. I'd run to the window every time I'd heard a vehicle, a motorcycle, even freaking voices!

They’d told me that I had to cut all ties, leave everything behind, even my name. I'd assumed the name Rachel Peters, a young widow who had moved to a small town to start over. I'd felt like I was in a fictional crime novel, except it was real---all too real.

Now though, just as I was beginning to get comfortable being Rachel Peters, Casey shows up in my living room, her voice grim, she immediately starts tossing out orders. "We have a problem and we're going to need to move you."

Panic set in. Well fuck me! I couldn't help thinking.

"What's happened?" I asked, immediately setting about gathering my things.

There's been a security breach. Now come on, we need to go," she urged, as reaching out, she began pulling me out the door.

~~

The drive was nerve-wracking, as not even sure what she’d meant by a security breach, every stoplight and turn felt like it could lead to my death. When we finally arrived at the new location, the house was even more secluded than the last. "Holy schmoly, this is no ordinary safe house," I breathed, staring in stunned fascination at the hulking structure before us.

"No," she agreed with a laugh. "It isn't. It's a fortress."

Minutes later, as we stepped inside the monstrosity, I gazed around in amazement. Witness Protection had out done themselves on this one. They had made an old abandoned structure, into something beautiful; at the same time making a safe place from chaos.

The sight of Torin, took my mind off the impressiveness spread out before me, as gazing at him, I noted his bloodshot and the fact he'd grown his beard out.

Shaking off my initial shock, I breathed, "Torin?" Then, dropping my bag, I ran into his waiting arms.

A ghost of a smile played on his lips as he enveloped me within his hold. "Missed me?" he teased.

The warmth of his embrace washed over me. It was a comfort I hadn’t realized how much I needed. "You have no idea," I whispered, my voice muffled against his chest.

Chin propped on my head, he breathed, "I've been worried about you," into my hair.

I pulled back, looking up at him. "What the hell's going on? Casey didn't tell me anything, but that they needed to move me again."

He sighed heavily, his eyes searching mine. "They think the USB was tampered with," he replied.

"Shit," I whispered, then asked, my gut sinking to my toes. "And where does that leave us?"

"It leaves us not as safe as they thought," he answered, his voice tight.

I dropped down on a nearby couch, shock rendering my legs a mess. "So, what now?"

Torin shrugged, taking a seat beside me, as blowing out a breath, his hand found mine, and he murmured, "We wait. And hope that all this can be figured out."

We both knew what was at stake, but neither of us wanted to voice it. We had come so far, given so much—our entire lives had been turned upside down for this.

"What if it never is figured out?" I whispered, my voice shaking.

He squeezed my hand, his eyes filled with determination. "It will be," he said simply.

But the doubt was there, lurking in the shadows of the room, as thick as the silence that had descended upon us.

Thirty minutes later, Casey had gone, her instructions clear, but the weight of what was happening hung heavy between us.

We were stuck together in this fortress, bound by secrets and the fear of what was outside. And as the days grew longer and the nights colder, our unresolved feelings grew like a storm on the horizon, waiting to break.

The argument started over something trivial—a dirty glass on the coffee table. But it quickly escalated into a shouting match, our frustrations and fears coming to a head.

Our eyes met and for a moment, it felt like the world stopped turning. And then, without a word, Torin took a step toward me.

The next thing I knew, he had me pinned against the wall, his body pressed against mine, his breath hot on my face. The anger in his eyes had shifted to something else—desire, need, hunger.

Without thinking, I kissed him, hard and desperate. Our tongues clashed, a battle of passion and fear. His hands roamed over my body, ripping at my clothes, leaving a trail of fire in their wake.

He picked me up and carried me into the bedroom, our kisses never breaking. We fell onto the bed in a tangle of limbs and fabric. His hands found their way to my breasts, kneading them gently, sending waves of pleasure through me.

As he pulled at a nipple, tweaking it, I felt my core moistening in response. My hands roved his body, feeling every muscle, every scar, every part of him that was mine. And for that moment, it was like we had never been apart. Like we were in our own little world where the chaos outside didn't exist.

I pushed him back and pulled off my shirt, throwing it aside. His eyes raked over my body, hunger burning in their depths. "Marlowe," he murmured, his voice thick with desire.

I didn’t answer. Instead, I unbuckled his pants, pulling them down and freeing his erect cock. He groaned as I wrapped my hand around it, feeling the heat of him, the hardness.

With a swift movement, I straddled him, positioning him at my entrance. Looking down into his eyes, I sank onto him, feeling him fill me completely. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he gritted his teeth, his hands gripping my hips tightly.

Our bodies moved together in a dance as old as time. Each thrust was a declaration of love, each moan a promise to protect each other. And as we climaxed together, our hearts beating in sync, I felt a warmth spread through me, chasing away the cold of the outside world.

But as we lay there, sweat-dampened and breathless, the reality of our situation crashed back down around us. We were still in hiding, and the danger was still out there, waiting for us to make a mistake.

I pushed the thought aside and focused on the present, on the warmth of Torin's arms around me. For now, we had each other, and that was enough. But the storm clouds were gathering, and we knew that we couldn’t hide forever. We had to face whatever was coming.