Escape (Last Chance Series, Book 3.5) Read online

  CRITICS HAIL DEE DAVIS AS

  A MASTER OF ROMANTIC SUSPENSE!

  ENIGMA

  "Tremendously gripping...truly riveting."

  —Romantic Times (4 1/2 stars, Top pick)

  ENDGAME

  "Dee Davis is at the top of her game in this clever and

  quick-paced ride over dangerous ground. With a hot

  love story and a coldhearted villain,

  Endgame is romantic intrigue at its best. Davis never disappoints."

  —Mariah Stewart bestselling author

  Escape

  Dee Davis

  Escape is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental

  Published by Pocito Press.

  Copyright 2013 by Dee Davis Oberwetter

  All rights reserved.

  Cover design: Frauke Spanuth, Croco Design

  http://www.deedavis.com

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please delete it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Table of Contents

  Also by Dee Davis:

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  More Last Chance

  Endgame

  About Dee Davis

  Also by Dee Davis:

  Romantic Suspense

  Dark Of The Night

  Dancing In The Dark

  Midnight Rain

  Just Breathe

  After Twilight

  Eye Of The Storm

  Chain Reaction

  Still of the Night (Novella)

  Last Chance Series:

  Endgame

  Enigma

  Exposure

  A-Tac Series:

  Dark Deceptions

  Dangerous Desires

  Desperate Deeds

  Daring (Novella)

  Deep Disclosure

  Deadly Dance

  Double Danger

  Dire Distraction

  Women’s Fiction

  A Match Made on Madison

  Setup In Soho

  Time Travels

  Everything In Its Time

  The Promise

  Wild Highland Rose

  Anthologies

  Hell with the Ladies (Marcus)

  Hell on Heels (Jezebel)

  To Robert and Susie. You always have my back.

  Chapter 1

  Manhattan – present day

  “I thought that man was never going to stop talking.” Seth Forester said as they stumbled through the door of Tracy Braxton’s apartment, Seth’s hands cupping her breasts, his breath hot against her cheek.

  “That man,” Tracy said, suppressing a smile as Seth pushed her back against the wall, “is the mayor. And as such, one of the most powerful players in the city.”

  “Should I be jealous?” Seth asked, his thumbs rubbing heated circles through the sheer lace bodice of her dress.

  “Right,” she sighed, shivering as he kissed her neck. “You’ve caught me. I’ve got my sights set on a septuagenarian.”

  “A billionaire septuagenarian,” Seth whispered. “There’s a difference.”

  “Not to me. I prefer to make my fortune, not marry it.” She tipped back her head as his mouth slanted over hers, his tongue sending fire lacing through her belly. It was always like this between them.

  “Works for me,” Seth murmured, as he pushed her skirt up around her thighs, his palm hot against her skin as he slowly stroked the inside of her leg. She bit her lip, closing her eyes and arching against him, reveling in his touch.

  His breath moved the soft curls at her neck, his tongue flicking out to taste the tender skin there, the rhythm matching the movement of his fingers as they circled across the smooth satin of her panties, the friction of material against skin threatening instant explosion.

  She lifted her hips, her entire being centered on the sensations he was evoking and the pleasure she knew that it would bring. But he pulled back, his slow smile taunting her as she struggled to breathe. “Tell me what you want,” he whispered, his voice deepening with his passion.

  “You, Seth,” she whispered, anticipation coiling inside her, hot and heavy. “I want you.”

  For a moment their passion stretched taut between them, their eyes locked together, their breathing almost in tandem now. Then finally, trembling with the sheer power of the feelings he evoked, and unable to wait a second more, she arched her back, welcoming his hands and mouth as he crushed her against him.

  He always made her feel like this. As if anything were possible. At least in the moment. She tipped her head, opening her mouth to his. Their tongues tangling together as they drank each other in. Each seeking to possess and be possessed. His fingers circled again against the sensitive skin between her legs, and she swallowed a moan, her body tightening again in anticipation.

  With a groan built on desire, he lifted her up onto the foyer credenza, sending a clock crashing in his haste, his need for her laid bare with his kiss. Passion rose, and she gave it to him freely, wanting him as much as he wanted her.

  His hand brushed against the delicate lace of her blouse, pushing it down from her shoulders until her breasts were bare. Cupping one with his hand, he ran his thumb across her nipple, gently at first, then harder, his other hand still resting warm between her legs.

  Gasping with pleasure, she arched back, offering herself to him. And with a wicked smile, he trailed hot kisses down the slope of her breast, the soft silk of his hair adding torment to the already unbearable heat.

  When his lips closed around her nipple, tugging gently, she whispered his name, urging him on. Sucking softly, he drew her breast farther into his mouth. Bracing herself on her elbows, she leaned back, her body responding with increasing fervor.

  Still licking and teasing her breast, he slid his hand inside her panties, and she trembled as his fingers circled lazily, moving so slowly she thought she might explode from sheer anticipation. Then, suddenly, he was there, caressing her, stroking her, sending flickers of pleasure pulsing inside her. With a guttural moan, she arched upward, forcing his fingers deeper, and he obliged, the internal rhythm increasing as he suckled her breast.

  His mouth and his hands possessed her, driving her higher and higher, until there was nothing but the feel of him burning inside her. He moved down, raining kisses along the smooth skin of her abdomen, crossing the divide marked by her now bunched dress, the heat of his lips making her writhe against him.

  With amazing finesse he slid down her panties, removing them, lifting her legs over his shoulders as he bent down to take her in his mouth. With a soft cry, she abandoned all decency, pushing against his head, urging him on, balanced on the edge of a precipice that both enticed and terrified. She’d never given herself this completely before.

  But Seth had a way of reaching deep inside her carefully constructed reserve and coaxing her to trust him—to let go. For a moment, she considered retreat, and then his mouth found her, his tongue driving deep inside. And she was
lost on a wave of pure of sensation.

  He tasted her, drinking her in, pulling her soul from her body into his. Sensation surrounded her, caressing her as his tongue moved in and out, in and out, driving her higher and higher until she screamed his name, reaching to hold him, to anchor herself in the spinning vortex he’d created.

  She arched against him, her body vibrating under the power of his touch. And she knew suddenly that it wasn’t enough to find this heaven. She wanted more. She wanted him—inside her. She wanted him to need her as much as she needed him.

  Taking a shuddering breath, she pulled back, and, eyes still glazed with passion, pulled him up, wrapping her legs around him, feeling his hardness pulsing against her heat. The sensation almost sent her over the edge again, but she knew what she wanted. She reached for the buttons on his shirt, her fingers trembling with desire as she pulled them free one by one. With a sigh of pure delight, she pushed his shirt off his shoulders, her breath catching at the sheer beauty of his hardened muscles and velvet skin.

  “The bed…I can’t… I want…please.” She gasped the words, still shuddering from the intensity of her climax, her desire for him already building again.

  Green eyes glittering with passion, Seth swung her up into his arms and in two strides they were through the door and into her bedroom. Releasing her slowly, he stepped back, his eyes ravishing her with the sweep of his hungry gaze as he removed the rest of his clothing.

  Then, with a slow smile, she stepped back, reaching behind her to release the clasp of her dress, the black lace and satin sliding against her overheated skin as it pooled at her feet. For a moment she stood absolutely still, her gaze locked with his, and then with a slow smile, she ran her hands across her breasts and down her stomach, her eyes never leaving his as she moved her fingers lower, and then lower still.

  For a moment there was silence as his eyes devoured her. And then with a mumbled curse, he closed the distance between them, pulling her into his arms and carrying her to the bed, the cool cotton of the sheets a counterpoint to the heat that pulsed between them.

  Pushing him back against the sheets, she straddled him, her gaze falling to his erection. She wanted to taste him as he’d tasted her. Prove that she could give as good as she’d gotten. So she bent her head, and delicately ran her tongue along the edge of one nipple, pleased when it tightened under her touch.

  Then she dropped her hand, stroking first the hard ridge of his stomach and then letting her fingers slip lower. With a crooked smile, she closed her fingers around the hard heat of his penis, the velvety skin moving with her hand. Up and down. Up and down. Desire pierced through her, her own need building again, the fire inside her licking at her as she fought to contain it – to keep her focus on pleasuring him.

  Pulling him closer, she kissed him, first tracing the line of his teeth with her tongue, then thrusting it deep inside his mouth, the motion a prelude—a mirror image of things to come. Then with another wicked grin, she pushed him back onto the bed, sliding down as he rolled toward her, offering himself.

  The lights of the city, streaming in from the windows, illuminated the rugged planes of his body, and with a soft sigh, she took him in her mouth, stroking him with her tongue. Teasing, sucking. Then circling the base of his erection with her hand, she moved her fingers in time with her mouth in syncopated rhythm. Slowly at first and then faster and faster, feeling him harden beneath her touch, his pulse blending with hers as she tasted him.

  Then suddenly she felt him tense, his hands tightening on her shoulders as he pulled her up across his body.

  “I want to be inside you,” he growled, his eyes dark with passion.

  She rolled off him, spreading her legs invitingly, and he lowered himself on top of her, his penis resting hot against her. Then, bracing himself on his elbows, their gazes locked and with one slow stroke and he was inside her, penetrating only to the head.

  With an impatient sigh, she pushed against him, wanting more, but he shook his head, instead lowering his head to suck first one breast and then the other, rolling her nipples between his teeth, the sensation sending shards of white hot heat pooling between her legs.

  She tried again to move, to get him to engage, but he held her firmly, his tongue circling one nipple and then the other, his teasing touch making them so hard she thought they might burst. His thumb found her soft core and started the magical flicking, the rhythm matching the movement of his tongue against her breasts.

  She writhed against him, mewing like a small kitten, the sounds emanating from deep inside her. Colors washed through her head, and she fought to hang onto control, the power of his hand and mouth driving her closer and closer to the brink.

  Then suddenly he moved, his penis thrusting in and out, building a tension so sweet and so tight that she felt as if she was going to shatter. She matched his pace, her body pounding against his, the ferocity of their mating earthy and primal. Their scents mixed together, heated and sweating, and she wanted more, still more.

  As if reading her mind, he withdrew, the separation almost making her cry, but before she could protest, he had flipped her over and entered her from behind, the contact even more intimate than before.

  He covered her breasts with his calloused palms, squeezing and kneading in time to his thrusting. Again she spiraled upward, sensation reaching a fever pitch, and she tossed back her head, moaning his name.

  Tension built between them like a delicately strung wire, pulling tighter and tighter, pleasure and pain mixing as one, need driving every move. His hands tightened as he pushed deeper and deeper. Higher and higher they climbed, locked into a cataclysmic spiral that threatened to undo her.

  “Seth, now.” Her voice was rough with passion, barely more than a whisper. “Please.”

  He plunged again, deeper still, and she fell from the precipice, the explosion rocking through her with an intensity that satiated and starved all at one time. But before she could draw a breath, he broke contact again, pulling her down so that she was on the top. His breathing was as labored as hers, his eyes filled with passion, and his erection if possible even harder.

  Still shaking from the first climax, she slid down on him with a shuddering sigh, and began to move, the delicious friction igniting her passion all over again. Up and down, in and out, the movement creating exquisite agony. She was in charge, his fate in her hands, and the power combined with her desire was heady. She slowed, teasing him with the motion, torturing herself as well as him.

  Her body strained to find release again, even as her mind fought to control it. And she bent to brush her lips across his. He reached for her head, deepening the kiss, drinking her very essence. And with the contact, the power shifted.

  He grasped her hips, forcing his own rhythm, thrusting harder and deeper, faster and faster, the friction of their bodies moving together ratcheting her need higher and higher.

  And still he thrust. Her passageway tightened around him, holding him inside her, until she could no longer tell where he ended and she began. Deeper, deeper, faster, faster. And still they climbed higher, locked together in a kaleidoscope of emotion and sensation that seemed beyond endurance.

  She felt his hands tighten hard against her hips, and then the world exploded, light and heat combusting into sensations so intense she felt as though she might be ripped apart. Wave after wave washed through her, pleasure and pain so intricately bound, her body shook with the impact.

  And then slowly, still shuddering from the power of her climax, she drifted back to earth, Seth’s arms tightening around her as they rolled over, her head cradled against his chest, the steady beat of his heart matching the cadence of her own.

  Later, much later, Tracy woke to partial darkness. Nighttime in New York. Flickers of red and blue danced across her ceiling, undulating across the plaster. She frowned for a moment, her brain still fuzzy with sleep and the aftermath of sex. But then she focused, the light taking on meaning.

  A police car stopped somewhe
re along the street outside. Her pathologist’s brain immediately moved to the macabre. And she sat up, her brain clearing as she moved instinctively to the window, clutching the sheet around her.

  Below her, she could see a cruiser, lights flashing. And a second car. A woman in a beaded dress and four inch heels stood by the vehicle, teetering slightly as an officer administered a breathalyzer test. Just a drunk.

  Tracy shook her head, not sure if she was relieved or disappointed. Such was the nature of her vocation. She hated the idea of death—especially a violent one. But she also relished the mystery. The challenge of finding a body’s final truth. The ultimate last testament.

  With a small laugh, she climbed back into bed, tucking the sheet around her as she reached for the files stacked on the beside table. Braxton Labs only took on the most difficult cases. Or the most unusual. Things that stretched her abilities and pushed her to be better. Her father had always insisted that being at the top of one’s game wasn’t an excuse to coast but an admonition to strive for even more.

  Her father had never approved of her choices. But still there was a part of her that wanted to please him. To prove that she was worthy. Which, considering that she hadn’t been born a son, and more importantly, that her father was long dead, was impossible.

  Angry at the turn of her thoughts, she opened the first file, focusing on the report inside. An apparent suicide that on further examination had turned out to be murder. A discovery that had pissed off a couple of local M.E.’s but had proven to be well-founded. Especially when the culprit turned out to be a prominent state senator.

  It would probably be a while before she was welcome in Georgia again.

  Par for the course.

  But then she hadn’t chosen her profession to make friends. Truth be told, except for a very small group of people she truly trusted, Tracy was happier with the dead. They were a hell of a lot less judgmental.