"Kiss of Steel" to be Published!

Torque Press has taken on my baby, "Kiss of Steel" for publication in their locked and loaded anthology! This is to be both an on-line and print anthology. Too Cool, huh? I just love tough chicks and this is sure to be an awesome collection.

Got the edit back today from Torque and there are no major changes...just some typo stuff. I am attaching the rest of the story here...forgot to put it in dare to share. OOPS! Hope you like it and thanks for reading!

This story contains sexually explicit scenes! If you are offended by FF sex or sex using toys, stop reading now!

(Continued from previous post)

Jane’s tongue swept across her plump lower lip, and left the bit of flesh glistening. I cursed her for knowing how fucking wet that made me.

One of her gloved hands lifted toward my breasts.

“Behave,” I said slapping her hand away.

This certainly wasn’t a time to be fucking around, but Jane was all too tempting, and she knew it. She had a hold on me like no other woman ever had. Looks weren’t the only thing about her that kept me at her side. She’d saved my life on more than one occasion. And now she’d found me.

Why fight instinct? It’s what brought her to me. The leather glove made contact with my nipple and I leaned into her palm. The feel of the supple hide tightened my areola and sent jolts of electricity straight to my cunt.

“You want me,” Jane said with a sniff and a satisfied smile on her lips. It wasn’t a secret. “We could bottle that fragrance.” My desire was thick in the air, mingling with her more subtle flavors.

I’d been on the run for more than two months with nothing but my hope for a life outside The Order to keep me company. I had taken flight after flight, from one country to the next, and was called by names other than my own more times than beared remembering.

I had no friends but the woman who had been sent to kill me.

I drew my blade gently along a layer of air above Jane’s throat, careful not break her delicate skin and let the knife catch on the collar of the black turtleneck she wore. The steel took hold in the soft fabric, unraveling the expensive threads one by one.

Jane gasped, her black eyes narrowing into angry slits as I dragged the belly of my knife down her chest, between her breasts and across her stomach until I reached her belly button.

“You bitch,” she whispered huskily. “This top is a Michael Coors.”

“Was.”

I smiled and peeled back the thin fabric. Jane’s skin was golden caramel except for the flush that had spread from her nipples to her neck. A sure sign that she wanted to fuck as much as I did. I drew my blade across the pinkened skin in figure-eights, leaving a pale trail that flushed to red.

Her breath trembled.

I hooked my knife under the center of her bra. Jane glared.

“You wouldn’t!”

I tugged.

“La Perla!”

The fabric snapped and the lace fell away, her breasts swaying to the sides of her body. They were round and firm. The best breast job I had ever seen.

“You always had expensive tastes,” I said.

“They might cost me my life,” Jane whispered.

The tip of my knife circled one nipple and she moaned. The look in her eyes told me she wanted to move beneath me, but she knew my blade well. The steel was honed to a deadly point and lethal in my hands. Only my skill with the stiletto kept her skin from being torn.

Jane gasped when I pulled the blade from her and tossed it to the floor. I leaned forward until our tits touched. Heat spread through my torso and centered in my pussy.

My face was inches from hers, so close I could taste the mint of her breath on my lips. Her tongue slipped from between her lips and found my mouth. She traced my lower lip slowly and traveled to the dent in my upper. Jane then brought her tongue back into her mouth, licked her lips and moaned.

“You found me,” I said softly. When I had left I had told no one. Not even Jane. Her death would not be on my conscience.

“And I always will.”

I closed the distance between us in a quick swoop. Our tongues fought, teeth clashed, the coppery tinge of blood flavored our kisses.

“How long?” I gasped.

I took Jane’s face between my palms.

“Fourteen hours, maybe fifteen,” she said.

I slid my fingers across her scalp, pulling at the pins that held her thick black hair tight to her head. Her femininity wouldn’t allow her to cut it as I had mine—it was one of the things I admired about her. Jane was all woman, but tough as her manicured nails.

She sat up so I was in her lap and her hair slipped free. The silky strands fell around our shoulders, the floral scent of her shampoo invading my nostrils. A life on the road didn’t leave much time for fancy perfumes and spa appointments, but she still smelled of baby pink.

My palms traveled along her spine until they found her ass and I pulled her tight against me.
Jane nibbled her way over to my ear, her teeth tugging my lobe. “You’re not topping me,” she said, leaning back to meet my eyes. “Not tonight.”

“Is that a challenge?” I asked grabbing a fist full of her hair. Tears welled. This is how she liked it.

Hard.

Fast.

Rough.

“A promise,” she hissed. Her eyes narrowed and tears welled.

My fingers were already working her fly, but she had an advantage. I was buck naked and her hands were quick.

Jane pressed her leather-clad fingers against my pussy, slipped between my wet lips and tweaked my clit. I gasped as she circled my hard nubbin, but pulled free, although every instinct
I had told me to let her fuck me.

I used my hold on her hair to pull Jane back until she was nearly flat to the mattress again. “You should cut this,” I said giving her hair a yank. “Might not be me you’re in bed with next time.”

I slithered from atop my lover, my fingers tangled in her thick mane, and inched my way off the bed until my feet were firmly on the floor. Using her hair as a rein, I led her to the edge of the bed. Tears trembled on her lashes and her teeth sank into her lower lip. Perfect white pearls on a cushion of─

The air was knocked from me as her foot made contact with my mid-section. I dropped to my knees on the stained carpet. The pain nearly overwhelmed my desire, but not quite.

Jane’s index finger took hold of my chin and she lifted my face until our eyes met. I smiled slowly, as the air returned to my lungs. God, I loved her.

“Think you’re more of a man than me, Mc Clane?”

She was stunning, her hair a wild disarray, nipples peeking between the lustrous strands, breasts heaving as she caught her breath.

I winked and said, “I know I am.”

I shot up from the floor and grabbed Jane’s right arm. She’d injured her elbow eight months ago and I knew the joint was still weak. It was a dirty blow, but that’s how I fought and Jane should have expected it.

Holding her arm behind her back, I twisted Jane around and pushed her stomach onto the bed.

“Not fair Mc Clane!”

“Who’s fighting fair, Sugar?”

With a swift tug I had Jane’s pants and panties around her knees. I slid my fingers along her ass crack and into her wet hole.

“Missed me did you?” She was wet, her petals soaking my palm.

Easily, three fingers returned home, swimming in her musky depths.

Jane moaned.

My thumb found her fat round clit and the button pulsed against me. I moved my hand in a steady, hard, rhythm. With the sound of every juicy movement my pussy creamed.

“Why are you here, Jane?” I put my weight into the motion and she cried out.
Sweat stung my eyes and dripped onto her back.

“For you,” she gasped. Elation raced through my veins.

My hand found heaven between her scented folds. I twisted my wrist and fell onto the bed next to her, pressing the length of my body to her torso. I humped her hip while my fingers fucked her cunt. The bed told our secrets as its squeaks found our heartbeats. For a minute we were flying free.

Free of danger. Free of guilt. Free of The Order.

We lay quiet, hearts pounding. Jane’s legs were wrapped with mine. Her damp breath began to slow against my shoulder. I stared at the ceiling.

Love was a gamble in our line of work.

I wasn’t sure how we were going to get out of this one. The Order was not an organization to be trifled with. Cliché it may be, but they were one of the most lethal organizations in the world. Neither of us had chosen to be one of its members, but fate had put us there. Everything we knew about survival had been imprinted on our brains through The Order’s skillful training.

That was the problem.

We had to be smarter and quicker than our teacher if we wanted to survive.

“We have to go,” Jane said beside me. She was right; they would be on our trail soon. But my arms tightened around her.

This moment. Skin glistening and the air heavy with our feelings.

“They’re only hours behind me.”

How had this become my life? Bad choices. I couldn’t turn back the clock. Wouldn’t. Not if it meant not knowing Jane.

“You’re with me then?” I asked her. A life on the run was not one many would choose. And it would be forever or until we were dead. She sat up and looked down at me, her face soft from pleasure and eyes moist with dreams.

How could Jane be what I knew she was? A killer and a damned good one. The Order certainly wasn’t going to be happy if their two best agents jumped ship. If they had been determined in find me, they would be twice as diligent in locating the two of us.

“I have more than three million put away,” Jane said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

“I didn’t expect you to come. You don’t have to do this.”

Jane looked over her shoulder at me and ran a hand through my short red hair, and then smoothed it down again. The familiar intimate gesture squeezed my heart.

“Marcus has someone waiting for us at the airport for a flight to Singapore.”

I didn’t ask if she could trust Marcus. She wouldn’t have asked for his help if she couldn’t.
Jane stood and stretched her long arms over her head, the muscles in her back and buttocks flexing in the light from the bathroom. She walked over to the TV stand where she had a small satchel. She tossed the bag to me and then picked up her pants from the floor and shimmied into them. Inside the pack were passports, I.D.s from several countries and a wad of cash as big as my fist.

I had left with a similar stash of my own, but the months had taken a big chunk out of it.

“Singapore it is,” I said.

***

“You two are a porn movie come true,” Marcus said, pulling Jane into a hard hug.
Although I found this to be insulting and glared to emphasize my disapproval, Jane smiled wide and said, “Thanks, baby.” She always did love ‘compliments’, especially when they came to her looks.

Seven hours from Los Angeles after a sleepless night and we were at a private runway in the desert somewhere outside of Vegas. Jane looked as fresh as a daisy and I felt like hammered shit. Marcus didn’t help the feeling with his greasy smile and unsightly comb-over.

“Do you two wanna?” He raised an inquiring brow and pumped his arms. Marcus then twirled a lock of Jane’s hair around his finger and brought it to his nose for a sniff.

“Fuck you,” I said pulling Jane to my side. I wasn’t usually so possessive, but Marcus’s high school theatrics made my skin crawl. Not so Jane. She giggled slipping her arm around my waist and rested her head on my shoulder.

“Mc Clane doesn’t do men,” Jane said, with a pretty pout. “She’s all about hot pussy.”
Damn straight. I hadn’t been felt up by a guy since junior high, and even then I knew I was touching the wrong body parts. I was the anti-dick poster child.

“So sad,” Marcus said. “You could make some hefty coin.”

I hadn’t asked Jane where she knew Marcus from, and I was now wondering if he was as trustworthy as Jane originally thought. He led us out of his cluttered office, and into the empty hanger. The building was crowded with crates from floor to ceiling. I was careful not to notice what was inside them as we hurried past. The dark of pre-sunrise greeted us outside the large doors on the other side. The pinks and oranges muted to purple by the clouds stretching across the sky.

“Your chariot,” Marcus said, extending his hand with a bow.

A private jet was parked on the tarmac.

“Thanks Marcus,” Jane said, throwing herself into his arms again.

“Anything for you doll,” he said. “I won’t forget what you did for my brother.” Marcus brought Jane’s hand to his lips and then left us, the wind whipping around our bodies.

“Come on,” Jane said clinging to my elbow as a gust of wind hit us. She led me up the stairs into the plane. The interior was sparsely decorated, but comfortable. There was seating for a dozen people. Out-of-date wood paneling curved along the walls.

I threw my knapsack in a corner and took a seat, leaning my head back against the cool grey leather. I was exhausted.

Jane returned from galley in the back of the plane with a bottle of wine and package of saltines. “You need to eat something,” she said, and handed me the wine opener and bottle then buckled herself into the seat beside me. “I’ve never been able to count your ribs.”

“And saltines are gonna fix that?” I twisted the screw into the cork and tugged. It wouldn’t budge.

“Just eat the crackers,” Jane said. She took the bottle from me and gave the corkscrew a swift twist, pulling the cork free. I must be more tired than I thought. “When we stop in Seattle to switch planes we’ll work on getting some real food.”

She took a swig of wine while I opened the crackers. They were stale but I ate a couple to make her happy.

“What’s up with Marcus’s brother?”

“New York last Spring.”

“Tommy Cocapelli.”

“Yeah. Hal is Marcus’s brother,” Jane said.

“Our Hal?”

Hal was an older agent and an ammunitions genius. Taught us everything we knew about firearms and weapons. My skill with the knife was his doing. But his reflexes were becoming slower and I knew they thought him a risk. Expendable.

Jane pulled her foot up onto the seat and rested her chin on her knee. “Intel said the Cocapellis knew Hal wasn’t one of them and were gonna take him out.” She ate a cracker. “The Order had decided Hal wasn’t worth the risk of compromising the lives of other agents. They were going to do nothing. I thought differently.”

There was no retiring from our calling, just death; by The Order’s hands or their enemies.

“That was the solo mission,” I gritted out between clenched teeth. Anger flushed my system.
The one she wouldn’t tell me about. Unsanctioned.

“He’s been with The Order more than twenty years. They wouldn’t watch his back, so I did.”
I took her hand in mine and swallowed hard. Anger twisted my gut. Jane had barely come back alive from that mission and it hadn’t been the mob that had gotten hold of her.

The Order was not our family. The people we worked with were not there to take care of us, but to keep us alive to further their goals. Where we lived, what we ate, who we fucked—that was with their permission.

Step out of line and there was a price. And knowing that, Jane was still with me.

“You’ve got some balls, Sugar.” The plane picked up speed.

“Nearly as big as yours.” We lifted off the runway, sunrise lighting the cabin.

I saluted her with the wine bottle and knocked back another swallow.

***

We touched down on a dirt runway just outside Olympia, in the small town of Yelm, Washington. Not much there but beautiful scenery and the beat-up Lincoln continental waiting for us in the overgrown grass.

“It’s pretty here,” Jane said, opening the passenger door. “It smells so clean.”

“But there’s no shopping,” I said.

Jane stuck her tongue out at me before she slid into the car.

I breathed in the pine treed earth and took in Mt. Rainier’s white cap in the distance over the hood of the car. A mountain cabin and fireplace to keep us warm in the winter sounded nice. It was easy to imagine Jane out of her four inch heels and designer labels. A nice warm flannel would be an inviting contrast.

We were still in the states. Not far enough away. Not yet.

The keys were behind the sun visor. The car started with a sputter, kicking up gravel along the dirt road. Two hours and we would be at Sea-Tac airport.

When I’d first met Jane I didn’t think she had it in her to do the job we did. I’d seen many, stronger, tougher broads fall under the weight of guilt our “profession” brought. Trainee qualifications had never been beauty school know-how and an ability to give hard-ons at twenty paces. Oh, don’t get me wrong, looks were an asset in our line of work. Many a man had been brought down by a nice pair of tits and a pretty smile. But taking life was not a woman’s specialty.

Jane’s husband was six feet under because he had fallen for a beauty that would not take his possessive jealousy. He had started locking doors and telling her what she could and could not wear Jane felt trapped. A month went by, then two and he no longer wanted her talk to her friends or leave the house without him. She no longer was allowed access to money. Nothing could be done without his approval. A year later she had been found guilty of poisoning him.

As I took the ramp onto the highway I looked over at Jane. She was already asleep beside me, her body drifting toward mine across the cracked vinyl seat. I extended my arm and slipped it behind her neck, pulling her to my side. I’d always envied her ability to fall asleep quickly.
The Order had me in its fold for close to two years when Jane arrived, and I had hated every minute of my time there. It was worse than the year I spent in prison. Incarcerated, I had a release date and an option for parole in two years. The Order was a life sentence with no chance of making it to the outside again.

I had worked my way up in the ranks by keeping my eye on the prize. Learn fast, train hard and find a way out. All it would take was money and an opportunity.

Before the Order I had been a martial arts instructor. A hobby I had picked up after my uncle
Charlie had decided his niece was a perfect target to flash his sagging balls at. Mom had worked two, sometimes three, jobs to keep us fed and she couldn’t be a watchdog to his advances. So, I learned to protect myself and Callie, my little sister. Callie was knocked up when at fifteen, not by my uncle, but a boy from school. My niece was a beauty and my uncle thought so too. That was how I wound up in the pen and that was where The Order found me.

They looked for recruits that had skills they could use to their advantage. Mine had been an ability to kill someone with one swift move. Jane’s had been her talent of fucking coldly while stabbing the target in the back.

It had been hard to accept, Jane’s position within the organization. She shifted against me and I tightened my arm around her.

We hadn’t been lovers that first time they sent her out to fuck a stranger and steal his secrets. That mission had been kept from me. The Order knew I had a soft spot for Jane. Knew that I wanted her for myself. They wouldn’t let me have her. Not then.

Jane had come to me, tears streaming from her dark eyes and her lips bruised from another’s kisses. She’d sobbed into my neck, her mascara running down her formerly perfectly made-up face. Those calculated come-hither looks were a shield around her heart.

That first night together we had clung to each other and found our humanity. It wasn’t until weeks later that we took each other and found hope in one another’s eyes.

***

“Love your connections,” I said to Jane, buckling myself into the co-pilot seat of the Boeing 747 on its way to Singapore. Jane straightened her conservative navy blue pencil skirt made jaw-dropping by the curve of her ass. She fluffed the out-dated eighties style tie on the neck of her cream-colored stewardess blouse.

“And they love me,” she said holding up the mirror of her compact. I still couldn’t get used to Jane as a blonde. She was too sharp for the golds that framed her high cheekbones. She brought one finger to her mouth and wet it, then smoothed it along her narrow eyebrows. The make-up was a new acquisition from the airport drugstore. “But not like you.” My shoulder was given a quick squeeze and Jane left the cabin.

We had parked the car in twelve hour parking and then Jane had led me to the locker rooms for United Airlines. She knew exactly what locker to visit. Uniforms had been waiting for us, along with I.D. badges. I’d never had an easier time boarding a plane.

My training as a pilot was The Order’s doing, and I am sure they were regretting it now.
“Attention passengers,” I said into the intercom, flipping switches as I spoke. “This is your co-pilot, Patricia Anderson. If you would please take your seats, Captain Friedman and I will have you on your way.” This was the best way of skipping country. The Order wouldn’t be expecting us to fly a commercial airplane. They would be keeping all solo flights and small aircraft grounded.

We had been in the air two hours when Jane came back into the cabin and spoke into the pilot’s ear. Friedman smiled and I watched out of the corner of my eye as Jane’s finger ran down the side of his ear. A blush spread down his neck. He flipped his eyes over at me and shifted in his seat. I knew he wished I wasn’t here. Tough luck asshole.

“I’m already taking some pretty big risks,” he said, getting up from his seat. Jane smiled and tongued her lips. She set her palm on the back of his neck and twisted the curls against his nape. He needed a haircut. His glare softened. “Ten minutes.” Marcus left the cabin and Jane made herself comfortable in his vacated chair.

“Remember that flight to Belize?” She asked, setting her hand on my knee.

“You kidding?” How could I forget? The memory was made stronger by Jane’s traveling fingers climbing higher. Jane’s hand came to rest on the crease where my thigh met my hip. Last time she hadn’t stopped there. Her fingers had journeyed beneath my waistband and we had finger fucked at ten thousand feet. But then, I hadn’t been flying the plane, but had been sitting comfortably in first class.

“When we get to Singapore we’re gonna join a commercial fishing freighter to Australia.”

“Fuck!”

“They won’t be expecting you to travel by boat,” Jane said.

“’Cause last time nearly killed me.” I get violently ill traveling by water.

“You won’t be alone this time.”

And that was the only way I would get on a boat this time.

***
We were tall and unfortunately stood out quite a bit, but hopefully were perceived as we presented ourselves. Jane, although still striking, was playing down her looks. I am sure it was a hardship for her to wear the looser clothing and sans the make-up. I was in drag. My red hair was slick with pomade, making it appear brown. The narrow tuft of artificial hair on my lip was itchy. I had to force myself not to play with it. In a suit, I made a passable man, if a pretty one.

My queasy stomach wasn’t going to make this easy. I had scored some Dramamine, but was still nervous. I hated it when I lost control and stepping onto a boat was a sure way of giving up my power. I wasn’t sure if this journey was going to keep us safe or make us more vulnerable to our enemies. If they found our vessel there was nowhere to run and I wouldn’t be able to protect us. I would have to rely completely on Jane. Not easy for me.

Our cabin was lacking in the amenities. The space was eight by eight foot, with a bunk bed, a trunk, and a small port hole. Claustrophobia was setting in already. My stomach began to roll. I took a seat on the lower bunk and lowered my head between my knees. I was a trained assassin, not this weak-kneed pussy .

“Already?” Jane said coming into the room. She shut the door behind her and tossed her pack onto the top bunk. “We haven’t even left the dock.” She sat down beside me and ran a soothing hand over my back.

“I told you this was a bad idea.”

“You took your pills?”

I nodded.
“Well, don’t throw-up, it’s gross.” Jane said and moved the waist basket closer to the bed.

I glared up at her. A loud bell sounded and the boat began to move, my stomach with it.

“You need a distraction,” Jane said.

Did praying to God count? I squeezed my eyes shut tightly committing myself to my newfound calling.

“Aren’t you hungry?”
Food was the last thing on my mind. “You’re not helping, Jane.” I gritted my teeth and stared at my feet, concentrating on the toes of my black leather boots.

“You really should eat,” Jane said standing.

“Look woman, anything I eat will end up painting the floor.”

The ship rolled and I felt myself turn green.

“But you haven’t eaten any pussy today,” she said pouting.

I lifted my head to see that Jane had taken off her pants and panties.
“Sugar, I don’t think─”

Jane took my head between her palms. “Don’t think Mc Clane.” She brought my head close to her mound and the familiar bouquet invaded my senses. “Eat.”

My face was so close I could see the stubble growing on her soft skin. Normally, she was smooth as silk, but our present situation didn’t allow for waxing. There was a small tuft of curly hair curving around the hood of her clit, the wet pearl just hidden.

I rubbed my cheek across her pubs, feeling the gentle scratch. Hands full of Jane’s ass; I turned my head so my nose bumped her heated nubbin. The treat poked free of its shelter.
My stomach pitched, but lower, my gut tightening as desire replaced sickness.

“Take your medicine, Mc Clane.”

Tongue sharp I leaned forward and pushed between Jane’s folds. They embraced my tongue, clinging to every taste bud. Sharp, sweet, sticky love. My tongue swam between the soft skin until her clit was anchored between my lips.

Jane gasped and took hold of the railing on the upper bunk.

I took my medicine, sucking her pill and tapped my tongue softly. With each pat her buttocks tensed and she moaned my name. I brought a hand around and slipped it between her thighs.

Wet heat warmed my fingers.

Suction centered.

Jane rocked against my face crying out my name.

***

After a couple of days my stomach found the pitch and sway of the boat. I wouldn’t say I felt one hundred percent, but I could stand on my feet and eat without my food coming back up to get reacquainted.

The two of us were working in the galley. Jane had more culinary experience so she was boss. She planned a menu and I was put to work prepping for her. Being good with a knife helped when you were a sous chef. It was peaceful chopping and slicing.

I liked to watch Jane . She had a way with the crew. Not a surprise considering they were all men. I think her breathy voice and flirtatious nature reminded them of girlfriends and wives back home. They also liked the low-cut shirts she wore with her apron. The men worked hard and were grateful for the thought Jane put into the menu.

The weeks on board fell into a pattern and I could almost forget the Order existed. There was nothing but the sea, the salt air, and Jane snuggled close at night. I was more happy than I could remember being in a long time.

If we could stay on the ocean they would never find us. But then my stomach would pitch again and I knew it couldn’t last.

***

We had been in Australia for two days and now that we had a secure place to live, I had gone out in search of a gift for my woman. Jane deserved a treat after those weeks at sea. It had taken longer than I expected and when I opened the door to the motel room, I was hit by Jane’s body flying into me.

“Where have you been?” Jane asked, squeezing me to her. “It’s been an hour!” She was shaking.

“I had to…”

“I thought…I thought…” She said her voice catching.

“Hey.” I pulled Jane’s head back and looked into her dark eyes and saw what I knew was in my own. Trust. Vulnerability. Love. “I’m okay.” I kissed her forehead. “I was getting you a present.” I led her over to the bed and tossed the brown paper bag onto the mattress. I took off my coat and turned to face her, rubbing my hands together expectantly.

“Take off your panties.”

Jane looked up at me blankly. She was wearing was a black tank-top and a pair of thigh-high hipsters. Conservative on most people, but on Jane a simple seduction.

“I love it when you’re forceful?” she purred. Jane hooked her thumbs under the soft cotton at her hips and slid the panties from under her ass. She leaned back on the bed to make a show of sliding the scrap of fabric down her long legs. “Like what you see Mc Clane?” How could I not? Jane flicked the panties off of her toes into the air and caught them in her hand. Impressive. With one finger, she twirled the panties in the air in a couple of rapid circles before flinging them so they hit me in the chest and fell at my feet.

“Open your present.”

Jane pulled out a can of shaving cream from the bag and a blush spread across her cheeks. I think it was the first time I had ever seen anything but a blush of desire.

“Not a carpet muncher Mc Clane?” she said, raising one long thin brow.

“What?—oh no, sugar,” I said, sitting down next to her and taking the shaving cream from her.
“This isn’t a complaint.” I pulled her down onto the bed so that we lay facing each other. “You could grow a jungle down there sugar, and I would go on a clit safari any day of the week.” I slid my hand between her legs and rested my palm on the soft hair that had grown up in the past few weeks. “But you like to be smooth, sweetie.” I kissed the tip of her nose and got up from the bed.

I went to the bathroom and came back with the ice bucket full of warm water. Jane lay on her back, knees bent and legs spread. I sat beside her and gave the can of shaving cream a shake, the bead making a loud ping against the metal. Just below Jane’s belly button I squirted a small ball of foam. She giggled.

I crawled between Jane’s legs and spread the mound of white flat and thin between her thighs. I massaged the white bubbles into her skin and pressed the smooth cream between her pussy lips until her hips followed my movement and soft moans played like background music in the room.
I took my knife from my boot. “Be still, Sugar.”

Jane froze her breath ragged.

“Ready?” I asked raising a brow. Jane looked obscene with the white foam covering her pussy and the golden tan of he legs fallen open. I could just see a hint of wet pink in the center of all that white.

“I’ve never let anyone shave me.”

My pussy creamed.

“Something Jane Paul hasn’t done?” I said. “Well you just lay still, sugar, while I demonstrate my skill with the blade.” I held my stiletto firmly between my fingers and Jane held her breath.

“Ready?” I asked and she nodded. I set my knife at the top of her hairline and drew the sharp edge across her delicate skin in the direction of her clit. She gasped as each hair caught on my knife and came free leaving a hairless reverse Mohawk across her mound.

I rinsed my blade in the ice bucket.

Again, I ran my stiletto across her skin, removing hair and leaving a blush of pink on her skin.
Jane’s desire clung to my nose hairs, making a home in my sinuses as I opened her legs further and cleaned her flesh free of hair until she was as bare as a newborn.

I leaned close and blew against the sensitive flesh. Goose bumps rose along the skin and Jane gasped, her hands flying to her pussy. The feel of steel on flesh had been too much for her and now she had to touch. My eyes followed her fingers as they played with her soft bits. Her thumb and forefinger took her clit firmly in hand and began to squeeze in soft controlled motions. Her other fingers were in her pussy diving in a forceful need to get off.

Again, I blew against her skin and she cried out. I leaned in close and my tongue found the spot between her fingers, wetting her clit, spreading her juices against the hard excited nubbin.

Jane called out my name, her thighs tensing, the long muscles stretching past my ears and collapsed against the mattress.

***

After Australia had been Russia and after Russia Brazil. We’d driven through the back roads of small villages, living off or rice and beans. The journey had lasted six months and now we were back in the states. We were in Borrego Springs, California. A small desert town with a population of three thousand. A single road ran between the shops selling south west souvenirs and Mexican food. We had driven across the border from Mexico yesterday and had a road trip planned to Canada, where we hoped we could stop running.

I sat at a table in the back of the bar, close to the kitchens and sipped a beer. Jane was at the hotel down the road sleeping off her jetlag, but I was restless, too tired to sleep. Something had me on edge ever since we arrived back. I was hoping it wasn’t instincts.

Bells on the door handle at the front of the bar rattled as another person came into the dimly lit room out of the desert heat.

“Can I help you?” The bartender asked.

It was the bartender’s tone of voice that had me sitting up straighter and turning in my seat.

“Have you seen these women?” They one who spoke was Bahir. He slapped a photo down on the bar. There were three men dressed in black and wearing sunglasses. The tall lanky man I recognized as Dawson. I didn’t know the shorter one. These were not tourists.

The bartender shifted his feet and I could see him reach beneath the counter, his hands resting comfortably on a shotgun.

My senses became heightened. The waitress drying the barware was still.

“No,” the bartender said, not looking down at the pictures.

“Perhaps you should take another look,” Bahir said, pushing the photos forward.

I slid down the blue vinyl seat of the booth until I was under the table and pulled a gun from the waistband of my Levis. My knife was in my boot.

“I saw just fine,” the bartender said.

Dawson and shorty were no longer at the bar. I knew they were sweeping the room, but I couldn’t see them from my position on the floor.

“Don’t let their good looks fool you. They’re armed and dangerous,” Dawson said.

There were five others in the bar. A couple was at a booth near the front entrance. She was black and dressed in a pretty white dress in sharp contrast with her ebony skin. He wore sandals with jeans and had a large tattoo on the back of his neck the disappeared under his white linen shirt.

“Are you the police?” The waitress asked, coming to stand beside the bartender. She twisted the rag she had been drying the glasses with in her hands and shifted from foot to foot.

“Perhaps you should leave,” the bartender said addressing the newcomers and pushing the waitress behind him. She walked toward the kitchen looking over her shoulder nervously. I could hear the panicked conversation in Spanish after she went through the swinging doors from where I crawled along the tacky floor two booths away.

Two migrant workers and were playing pool near the jukebox on the other side of me. They stopped and stared at me, speaking rapidly in Spanish and pointing to the front of the bar.
The first bullet splintered the wood just above my head and I rolled, landing on the black and white tile floor in the kitchen at a crouch, surrounded by stainless steel. From my position I saw the pool players drop flat to the floor and shimmy under the table as bullets tore up the booth behind them.

The old drunken man at the end of the horseshoe shaped bar jumped from his stool and hit the floor with a crash.

My knife flew from the doorway, hitting the henchman who had fired at me. He collapsed without a sound.

The woman in white let out a blood curdling scream.

“Mc Clane!”

I stood and peered around the corner to see the woman pulled tight against the assassin, his gun at her temple. Tears were streaming down her face.

“Let her go!” the sandaled man was yelling. “Please!”

“Let’s all relax,” the bartender said. He held his rifle pointed at the intruders. People were going to die and there was nothing I could do about it.

“Do you want this woman’s blood on your conscience Mc Clane?”

Baher had ice in his veins and I had no doubt he would shoot her. I hurried around the prep station across the kitchen to the swinging doors on the opposite side. I lifted my gun and fired off two shots. Dawson fell across a table, a bullet in the head ending his life. The kitchen was empty now as I raced back to the other side. I scurried over to the first gunman and removed my knife, wiping the blood from my blade onto my jeans.

There was a sound behind me and I turned, leg extended, and another person dressed in black tripped over my ankle and fell to the ground. He sat up and I swung my arm in an arc hitting him in the jugular.

He’d come from the kitchen, which meant there were more outside. How many had they sent? Did they know where Jane was? They mustn’t find her.

Bahir was turning slowly back and forth, he eyes panicked. He knew I was about to end his sorry life.

“Let her go, Bahir and I might let you live.”

“You don’t have a chance Mc Clane!”

Without hesitation I stood.

Say hello to the devil from me.” With a practiced flick of my arm, my knife flew. Before Bahir had time to think, it sunk between the eyes with a soft thump. Blood flew in all directions and covered the girl he had been holding. She was screaming in short bursts, tears racing down her face.

“Get down!” I shouted, flying forward and knocking her to the ground. Bullets flew through the windows. Glass shatter splayed the floor in a sharp rainfall.

“Everyone stay down!” I yelled. On hands and knees I moved across the floor as quickly as I could toward the kitchen. The Order was shooting the place up, that meant that the agents had been miked and they knew they were dead. Their only goal was to take me out.

Once behind the wall, I made my way to the service entrance. I kicked the door open and saw nothing but blue sky and desert. All looked clear, but I knew it couldn’t be. My head was ringing and my eyes stinging from the sweat that was now running down my face. I lifted a hand to wipe my brow and it came back red. Blood.

I couldn’t stay. If they found me they knew where Jane was and they would have her shortly. Or they already had her. I blocked the thought out of my mind and threw myself out the door in a summersalt, gun drawn, expecting gunfire, but there was nothing. The silence outside mirrored the noise inside. It was two in the afternoon and close to one hundred ten degrees. The town was silent.

Siesta.

I was now behind the restaurant and shops. Nothing but discarded boxes and large trash dumpsters were there to greet me. The length of the buildings at my back, I made my way in the direction of the hotel half a dozen buildings away. There was a copse of aging palm trees lining the perimeter and I took shelter there, reloading my gun.

All was quiet. The wind blowing sand and grit against my sweaty skin. Was Jane asleep in there? Dreaming of a life together without violence.

I stepped between the towering trees and across the gravel parking lot to the hotel. Our room was on the back corner and I couldn’t see the door from where I was. Back along the wall I made my way down, the sound of my heart in my ears.

The door was ajar. Without thought I kicked it the rest of the way in.

“Ja─” An arm shot out clothes lining me. I doubled over and clutched at my throat afraid my trachea was broken, my vision blurring. The shadows of legs were in front of my eyes and then all went black.

***

The room was deathly cold and dark. A chill enveloped the solid interior of the cement structure I was held in. I could make out the outline of the door across from me. In it’s center was a small window and outside I could see sky and bits of green.

Freedom.

Mere feet from me, an exit, but it might as well been miles away. My arms had fallen asleep hours ago from being raised above me head, and my wrists were raw from my weight pulling at the restraints in the ceiling. My attempts at escape had been futile and served only to weaken me.

I may have been down here for days, or hours. Time was still to me.

Behind me was another door. It was where those loyal to the Order came through. They drizzled water into my mouth with a sponge, giving me just enough sustenance to keep me alive. They wanted Jane, but I would die before I told them. My back bore the proof of my resolve. The strikes of the lash burned and the blood stained my jeans.

Jane and I had been so close. Our time at sea had made us over-confident. We were beginning to feel normal, like real people. Why did we think we could come to the states?

The Order didn’t have Jane. If they did they would have mentioned her during the hours of torture. They would have brought her here and hurt in front of me. That was the only way they could break me.

A door opened behind me and I tried to see over my shoulder. The wounds on my back burned a like a mother fucker.

“I trust you are well Mc Clane?” Maxamilian said. He was the head of the United States branch of The Order. I hadn’t expected him here, not yet.

“Your girlfriend tells me she wouldn’t be happy if you were harmed in any way.”
“I don’t have a girlfriend,” I said.

The sound of his shoes echoed in the small space as Max came to stand in front of me, but I wouldn’t look up.

“We know better than that,” he said.

“Go to hell.”

“We hand picked her ourselves.”

“You don’t control me.”

“She a good fuck, Mc Clane?”

My vision blurred and I thought of Jane. Safe. Away from here, on an island sipping fruity drinks with colorful umbrellas in them. I could hear the crash of waves on the beach and the one-liners the men were throwing at her as they tried to get her into bed.

“I taught her everything she knows,” Max said.

I looked up and glared.

Max smiled, his teeth flashing neon white against his manufactured tan. He was a short, but handsome man somewhere between forty-five and sixty. His salt and pepper hair was overly long and curled around his nape.

“You weren’t so receptive to my advances, Mc Clane,” he said, standing too close. Max took hold of my chin in a rough grip. “That uncle of yours the only man to touch that twat?”

“Fuck you!” I spit in his face.

“No fuck you, Mc Clane!” He said taking hold of my Levis and dragging them around my knees. In that moment I was a ten year old girl again and frozen, terrified. The wounds on my back were nothing compared to the fear that sliced through me. Nausea made my stomach quake.
I shut my eyes tight and thought of Jane. Beautiful Jane.

Max’s tongue flicked against my lower jaw.

“Move one millimeter and I’ll cut off your dick!” Jane’s voice came from behind me and I felt despair fill me. She wasn’t safe.

“And you took such pleasure from my cock before,” Max said, looking over my shoulder at her.

“You prick couldn’t satisfy anyone but a teenager too stupid to know what fucking was,” she said.

Max took hold of my throat with one hand.

“You trained her to fuck and smile while hating every moment,” I said, and spit in his face. He squeezed gently, his eyes boring into mine.

“Let go Max!” Jane ordered.

His grip tightened, and my throat began to close.

Bright dots of color peppered my vision.

“Jospehine!” Jane shouted.

All went black.

I was in Jane’s arms. This could mean I’d died and gone to heaven. But my throat hurt like a mother-fucker. The pain in my shoulders was worse.

I opened my eyes. Max was gone.

“What…” I swallowed hard and cleared my throat. It was difficult to speak. I rubbed my tender vocal chords, “…happened?”

“Quiet Mc Clane,” Jane said and kissed my forehead.

“You found me,” I rasped.

“I keep my promises,” she said, helping me to my feet. I stood awkwardly shivering. The room was cold and I didn’t have a shirt.

The door behind us was wide open and the building eerily silent of movement.

“How long have I been out?” I asked, placing a hand against the wall for support.

“Not long,” Jane said. “Can you walk?”

“Of course,” I said, but wasn’t as confident as I sounded. I knew I was dehydrated and weak. Jane reached behind her back and drew my blade from her waistband. The familiar weight straightened my spine and my resolve. We would get out of this.

“Where’s Max?” There wasn’t a body.

“Gone.”

“What?”

“He’s gone.”


***

“Why didn’t you just inform Max that you had evidence of his part in Josephine’s murder before you came after me?” Josephine was legend amongst us. There had never been an agent more destined to run the Order. Not just the American branch, which Max was now head of, due to her death, but the world Order.

“The demand for your death had already been given. I had to get to you before anyone else did. I had to be sure you were safe.”

“I can take care of myself, Sugar.” I gasped as she applied ointment to my back, and then gritted my teeth.

“Yeah, looks like it,” she said, closing the jar and setting it on the nightstand.

“Hey, it was me against six.”

“And now, it’s you against me,” Jane whispered huskily. My savior lay down on the bed beside me and rested her head on her palm, elbow bent to the mattress. She stretched her long fingers to my forehead and ran them through my hair.

The Order would no longer bother us. Josephine’s ring had seen to that. I took Jane’s hand in mine and saw what Max had when Jane had come to get me out of my cell. On her ring finger was a large pink diamond set in a band of gold. Unique not only for its color, but for the microscopic camera that had captured her demise on film.

“At last, we’re dead Mc Clane.”

Max’s desire for power was more important than his need to see us dead.

I brought my arm around her waist and pulled Jane flush to my side so we were hip to hip. “You feel alive to me, Sugar.” And sleep found me.