Chapter 9

The day had dragged on interminably, or so it seemed to Anya. Gus was jittery as a caged tiger, although he tried his best to conceal it. She was sure something new had come up, although no matter how many times she asked him, he just kept denying it. He exchanged several phone calls with Jimmy, all of which he conducted in a low voice, often even walking out of the room to talk.

"Don't keep me out of the loop," she finally told him, catching him out on the patio just ending a call.

"I'm not, darlin'. I promise you, when there's something to know, you'll be the first."

But he didn't quite look at her when he said it and her stomach lurched with anxiety. He took the time to show her how the security cameras worked, where they were placed, where the sensors were located and where the electronics controlling all of them were. Everything looked okay, but she couldn't get rid of the sense of unease that niggled at her.

Finally she asked him the question no one had been willing to answer up until now.

"How did Virgil actually make his escape? Obviously he couldn't just walk out. Not even from the infirmary."

Gus had just poured himself a fresh cup of coffee. Now he fixed one for her and sat down at the kitchen table with her.

"It appears someone—one of the visitors we're checking on—somehow brought something in to him that he could use to make himself sick. When they rushed him into the infirmary he was left alone with the nurse and one guard. Jimmy thinks both of them might be involved. It's the only thing that explains how he got out of the hospital so easily."

She wrinkled her forehead. "What do you mean?"

"They had to be the ones to call for the fake ambulance and let them take him out on the gurney."

"I thought Mr. Barton said he was sending someone to the prison to talk to them," she pointed out.

Gus nodded. "He did, but he got nowhere. They claim they made the usual call for an ambulance and that's it. Only the telephone logs don't show an outgoing call to the source the prison uses and neither the guard nor the nurse is saying anything else. After the first visit from the agents they lawyered up and that's that."

Anya ran her finger around the rim of her mug. "Does that mean we'll never find out anything? Especially where Virgil's gone to and if he knows where I am?"

"Darlin'." Gus reached across the table. "We'll find out. I promise you. And there's no way he can learn where you are." He gave her a lopsided grin. "Besides, how can you worry with me here to protect you?"

She tried to busy herself the rest of the day, but television held no interest for her nor could she concentrate on any of the books in the bookcase. Whoever had set this house up had taken care of everything except how to control her fear and put her mind at rest.

At dinner time John made an appearance and Gus grilled steaks for all of them while Anya made a salad. At least it gave her something to do. She insisted on cleaning up while John and Gus got ready to switch shifts. Finally it was late enough that she could wander into the bedroom, hoping tonight she'd be able to sleep.

She had just pulled off her jeans and t-shirt and headed for the bathroom when the door opened and Gus' presence filled the room.

"I was just going to take a shower," she told him. "I thought it might help me relax and sleep better."

He came up behind her, settled his hands at her waist and bent his head to nibble at her earlobe. "I think I have a better prescription for relaxing you."

"Oh?" She leaned back into him. "And what might that be?"

"Let's take it in the shower and I'll show you."

Anya tossed her bra and panties onto her other clothes while Gus stripped and tossed his own clothes aside. He strode in front of her into the bathroom, turning on the shower and adjusting the spray. When the water was warm enough to satisfy him, he lifted Anya up and stepped into the big shower with her. She slid down his body to stand in front of him and looked up at him.

His eyes had darkened to a deep chocolate and tiny lights of amber danced in the irises. Hunger deepened the lines of his face. When his mouth came down to hers she lifted her face to meet him, her lips slightly parted. Cupping her face in his big palms, he sucked lightly at her lower lip, pulling it gently and licking it with the tip of his tongue.

Heat shot through her, the walls of her cunt tingling and her nipples straining to press into his hard-muscled chest. He nibbled and sucked on her lip until every part of her body seemed to be on fire and her legs trembled. She gripped his upper arms, loving the feel of his skin as the water sluiced over it.

When his tongue swept inside her mouth she met it with her own, dueling with him, sucking on it, pulling it deep inside the wet cavern. His hands slid up her ribs and around to cup her breasts. Thumbs chafed her already aching nipples. Anya pressed her body to his, the thickness of his cock pushing against her belly, searing her with its fiery touch.

Anya slipped one hand beneath him to wrap her fingers around his thick shaft, stroking it up and down as she'd done the night before, wringing a groan from deep in his throat. He bit down on her tongue and dragged his teeth across its surface before leaving her mouth to trail watery kisses the length of her jaw and down her neck.

She rubbed her thumb over the velvety head of his cock, pressing lightly into the slit. Gus rocked his hips into her touch as he kissed his way down her neck to the pulse at her throat and down the valley between her breasts.

Without warning he moved her hand away from him and lifted her to stand on the built-in bench. Dropping to his knees, he nudged her thighs apart and plunged his tongue through her wet curls to the already throbbing lips of her pussy. Anya had to brace herself on his shoulders as his very clever tongue plunged and licked and lapped, leaving no part of her cunt untouched.

She shook with need as tremors raced through her, fingernails digging into Gus' shoulders as she sought to stay upright. The climax began to build low in her belly and she threw her head back, waiting for it to overtake her. But as she hung on the edge, Gus pulled back and abruptly turned her around. His fingers wrapped around hers as he raised her arms and placed her hands flat against the wall.

"Don't move," he rasped. "Stay just like that."