Nothing Less Read online

  Only a total asshole with a death wish would come out and tell a drug lord he was in love with his wife, right? So he’d have to figure I was just wanting a quick fuck, like the others. No harm, no foul. And once I fucked her—and again, this is part of the brilliance of plan three—I would solve my dilemma by getting the girl out of my system once and for all.

  Vendras started to smile, very slowly. “My wife is, how do you Americans say, a burning piece of ass?”

  I nodded. “A hot piece of ass, yes. Look, Vendras, I’ve been here six weeks and I’m horny as hell. It’s common knowledge how you share Nora, so why shouldn’t I get a slice?”

  Vendras’s jaw tensed. The eyes were glazing into that look I’d already identified with killing. I was only slightly relieved when he began laughing.

  “You Americans crack me up,” he said. “Such cajones, eh? That’s why your country rules the fucking world, no?” Vendras paused now to push an old fashioned wooden box of cigars in my direction. “Have a smoke, my bold American friend.”

  I took one of the hand-wrapped Havana golds and leaned forward so he could light it for me. “Good, eh?” he said smugly, lighting one himself.

  I nodded. It seemed to me there was a good chance I was insane for coming in here. Postal, as they say back home.

  “Hector, are you there? Where are you?” Raoul punched the intercom buttons for the various rooms, one after another.

  “Si, hermano?” came the reply.

  “Hermano mio. Mandame Nora. Subito.”

  “Si.”

  I stiffened. She was being sent for. Right away.

  “Sienta se,” Raoul said, employing the polite form of expression.

  I sat in one of the wingbacks covered in the butter soft leather.

  A moment later, Nora came through the door, following Hector. The younger brother was wearing a white suit and a black shirt open at the neck. A semi-automatic bulged beneath the jacket. The two brothers embraced and exchanged words, employing a regional Spanish dialect with which I was not familiar. Hector looked at me and grinned as he moved past me, taking up a place over my left shoulder. As he did so, I noticed him unbuttoning the jacket.

  Meanwhile Raoul, who was still on his feet, straightened his blue silk tie and came round to give his wife a peck on the cheek.

  She remained impassive.

  “Esposa,” said Raoul, putting a hand on her bare arm. “Mr. Lawton has taken an interest in you.”

  I didn’t care for Vendras’s tone. Nor did I take it as a good sign that Hector was behind me, his fingers itching to pull out the gun. There was a very good chance I was about to die. Apparently my little theory about fooling the man with reverse psychology was not as clever as I thought.

  Nora, who may have sensed what I did, said nothing. She had a robe on over the swimsuit, but her feet were still bare. The straw hat covered her forehead, hiding her features. I was watching her hands, for the tiny motions of her fingers against her hips, a gesture that I had come to understand signaled discomfort on her part.

  “Mr. Lawton, he is a big man,” Raoul pressed, switching to English. “Big in all ways, I think.” He inclined his head to his brother who, not at all to my surprise, pulled out his gun and held it to my forehead.

  As far as subtlety went, these two were like elephants in a glass factory.

  Seeing my apparent paralysis, Raoul grinned. “On your knees, whore,” he menaced, knocking the hat from Nora’s head.

  The girl went down onto the marble tiles.

  “Take out your big American dick,” the gangster said now to me in thickly accented Spanish, his hand on Nora’s head like she was his dog. “My wife is gonna help you get your rocks out.”

  “It’s off,” I muttered. “Asshole.”

  Hector inserted the gun in my ear. “Shut the fuck up, gringo! Or I blow your brains out!’

  “Just do it,” Nora blurted, shocking all three of us. “Just do what he wants,” she continued, looking right at me with those depthless brown eyes. “You don’t have any choice.”

  Raoul looked at Hector and they both laughed.

  I unzipped my pants and pulled out my raging hard-on. I was going to kill these two today, so help me God.

  Nora crawled across the tiles and put her lovely mouth over my erection. Her eyes were closed. I wanted desperately to know why she’d just spoken up. Her reason would make all the difference in the world. If it was just hatred for Vendras or some kind of death wish for herself, then I was right there with her.

  Christ, when a man starts waxing about jigsaw puzzle sunsets, it’s time to pack it in, isn’t it?

  But what if there’s something else on pretty Nora’s mind? Suppose she has feelings for me? Then I’m liable to want to stick around, maybe see how thinks look in the final reel; the hero riding off into the sunset with the girl and all that crap.

  Damn, but this girl’s mouth is good. She’s the best, in fact. The best little cocksucker I’ve ever known.

  “You like that?” Hector spits on my cheek, grinding the barrel of the gun halfway to my cerebellum. “Huh, gringo?”

  “Watch out, Nora,” Raoul says to his wife in Spanish. “The gringo may piss in your mouth from fear.”

  Hector howled like a jackass.

  Actually, though, I was calm as a cucumber. And so was Nora; I could see that now. She hadn’t any more fear than I did. Which meant she was liable to do something as stupid as I was about to do.

  “Come in her mouth, Lawton. Make her drink your seed.”

  I shifted as she took me deep. I’d been dreaming of this moment for what felt like forever, but not like this. Here I’d wanted Nora for myself and instead I was just another one of Vendras’s fucking pawns. If I came like this, it would be humiliating, but what choice did I have?

  I was right there at the brink when she came up for air.

  Vendras had issued no such order and I could see the fury in his eyes at her sudden act of mercy.

  “Baby,” crooned Nora by way of explanation. “I need to suck you, too.”

  Raoul’s rage turned to sadistic satisfaction. You could see him soaking it in; his prostituted slave of a wife helpless to resist debasing herself even further by begging for his cock as well. “Sure,” he crooned magnanimously. “You can have a little taste.”

  I tensed, my willie shrinking. Vendras had just made a big mistake, I was sure of it. Something had changed in Nora, and neither of the brothers had picked up on it.

  The man leaned back on his desk now, allowing his wife to kiss and fondle him. She waited patiently till he was hard before taking him lovingly and completely between her lips.

  “Maybe you will suck me like that, too,” whispered Hector in my gun stuffed ear. “You can’t stop me if I want to either, can you?”

  Actually, I had a feeling things were about to change for the better in a hurry.

  Nora’s attack caught Raoul completely off guard, but not me.

  To anyone who says a woman on her knees taking dick is submissive, I have three words. Tensile jaw strength. To put it differently, have you any idea the force one set of teeth can bring to bear on soft tissue flesh?

  Vendras’s scream was blood curdling. Taking advantage of Hector’s momentary absorption in his brother’s plight, I reached for his arm, pulling him forward over the back of the chair. I had him unconscious on the floor in under ten seconds. Nora, meanwhile had bitten Raoul just hard enough to put him temporarily out of action, dickus intactus.

  For her sake, I left them both alive on the floor. We made it to the helicopter with no problems. Ironically, Vendras’s own intercom system helped us get away, as his men were unable to determine where his broadcasted scream for help was coming from until we were already in the air. I’d only had to knock down the door guard, and we were home free.

  “Hold tight; I’m going for the border,” I shouted over the rotors to Nora as we flew over the ravine that marked the border of Vendras’s territory. Thankfully I had yet to
install the anti-aircraft batteries, which meant there was little anyone on the ground could do but curse at us.

  Nora was shivering in the seat next to me. She appeared to be going into shock. There was blood on her lips. Vendras’s, not her own.

  “They’ll both be all right,” I called to her, sensing her concern for her tormentors. “You did what you had to,” I added, my hand on her bare thigh.

  My heart leaped to my throat as she leaned over against me, her head on my shoulder. I still had no idea what she felt about me, but whatever it was, this would do for the moment.

  “Raoul,” she said, her voice devoid of emotion. “He did things to me. And Hector, too.”

  “He’ll never hurt you again,” I heard myself reply. “I’ll protect you now.”

  That’s when she started crying. There wasn’t much I could do to stop her, at least not in the air. I had my work cut out for me getting past the border. We were damned low on fuel and a hell of a lot closer to dumping in the jungle than I let on. Why we weren’t spotted by anyone at this low altitude, I’m not sure.

  “Hang on!” I shouted as we began to plummet. The local flora absorbed most of the impact. I managed to pull her out and get to safety before the military patrol reached us. Four of them walked right past the hollowed out tree we were hiding in. From the insignia on their uniforms, I was able to determine we’d made it to the other side of the border.

  I breathed a sigh of relief. Vendras’s pull was considerably reduced over here. I’d be a fool to take chances, though. The army in these environs was as likely to turn us over to the cartel or shoot us outright as they were to bring us to safety. “We’ve got to keep moving,” I told her.

  She shook her head. Her hair was in disarray. Dirt covered her oily sunbather’s skin. Falling to my feet, she said emphatically, “I can’t.”

  One look at her panic stricken face told me arguing would get me nowhere. The only thing to do was carry her. She weighed next to nothing. I’ll admit to a swelling in my heart and down lower too as she snuggled against my chest. The trust was implicit. Her life was literally in my hands.

  I do know my way around a jungle and I’d spent some time in this locale before, back when I was assisting the local government in dealing with its rebel problem. The key was to stay well off the main trail and stick to higher ground. Military patrols tended to be lazy in this district, and I could use that to my advantage.

  You had to love the odds, though. Other than the Beretta I lifted off Hector, I was completely unarmed. On top of that, we had no food, no water, and between us just one pair of shoes. I’d snagged some matches from the helicopter so at least we could have a fire. That is if we could find a safe spot.

  Luck was with us, and we survived till nightfall. I had a pretty good idea we’d made it past the army patrols, though now we had to worry about insurgents in the rebel held area. We made camp in a clearing that looked to have been the site of an indigenous village at one point. For dinner, we had lizard, roasted on an open fire. Washed down with water from a nearby stream.

  All the comforts of home.

  “Why did you do it?” Nora asked me in her flawless English after we’d divided the second iguana between us.

  I looked into her eyes, the fire dancing off them in an amber glow. She looked so incredible like this. Wild, free, half naked. Nothing but a bathing suit and a diamond anklet.

  “I don’t know,” I answered honestly, shifting my bottom on the dirt.

  She lowered her eyes, looking shyly at her painted toes. Her legs were together, the knees drawn up demurely. “I had hoped you’d say it was because you wanted me.”

  Lust reared its ugly head. I was ever so close to throwing her down in the dirt and doing little better to her than Raoul had done. “I do,” I assured her, not wanting her to feel rejection. “More than you could know. It’s just that…”

  I trailed off. Christ, I muttered to myself, how did we get into touchy feely talk out here in the jungle?

  Nora knelt up, her back very straight. “Look at me, Frank.”

  Frank. She’d remembered my name.

  “You saved my life, Frank. You are a hero. I owe you my life.”

  “No,” I shook my head. “Anything I did just goes to paying off my own debt with the Almighty. At this rate, I’ll do enough good deeds by 2050 to get out of purgatory.”

  Nora raised her arms, slipping her fingers under the shoulder straps of the swimsuit. “I owe you my life,” she repeated. “I am yours.”

  With that she slid down the straps, lowering them maddeningly over her shoulders and arms. She then proceeded to bare the loveliest pair of breasts I have ever seen.

  “They hurt you,” I whispered, seeing the criss-crossed marks over both tits.

  She smiled. It was a smile like anything I’d ever seen before, nor could I begin to describe it. I’ve seen both whores and queens smile, but nothing even came close to this.

  “I’m a slave, Frank,” she whispered, her voice soft and sweet. “I am Raoul’s slave. He has the right to punish me.”

  I watched the fabric glide down ever lower, till it revealed her sweet belly button. I wanted her so bad I could taste it. “Slavery doesn’t hold up under any laws, Nora. Your father’s a judge, you should know that.”

  “And some women are natural slaves, Frank. You should know that.”

  She had a point there. I’d seen my share of girls who got off on being owned, believe me. None of them had ever been like Nora, though. “That’s enough,” I said sternly. “Let’s stop this now before it goes somewhere neither of us wants.”

  Nora squirmed, bringing the suit down over her hips. I reached for her, to stop her, but she was too fast. Scooting backward, she fell on her behind and yanked off the bathing suit. Before I could get to her, she tossed the black fabric onto the fire. Flames leaped into the air as her only covering was consumed.

  “There,” she challenged, lying down on her back. “Now I’m your naked captive. Claim me.”

  Wrists extended and crossed, head lowered, Nora offered herself to me now. My head pounded, my cock throbbed. The last thing I wanted or needed was a slave.

  Or was it?

  “Nora, honey,” I reasoned. “You’re very sweet, and believe me, I’m attracted to you. But this doesn’t make any sense. You’re young enough to be my daughter, and besides, I’m a confirmed bachelor. I don’t keep pets, much less…”

  I’d been about to say female slaves. Putting her in the same breath as a pet did things to my insides, I’ll admit. Were a girl like this mine, I’d buy her an adorable collar and I’d spoil her rotten. Provided, of course, she followed all my rules. For one thing, there’d be no clothes unless we went out.

  You think I’d want even an inch of that body covered up?

  I felt a nudging at my feet. Nora was there, having crawled over to me on her belly. “Own me,” I heard her say, her lips pressing my boots. “Master.”

  Every man has his breaking point, and that was mine. I couldn’t explain how or why we’d ended up together or why an educated, gorgeous girl like this would want a fossil like me. And as a slave, no less.

  “What would we live on, Nora?” It was a last ditch attempt to fend her off. “You have to be practical.”

  “On my ankle, master,” she purred. “The bracelet is worth millions.”

  Son of a bitch.

  I bent down for a closer look. She was right, there were ten or eleven stones, each of them two karats or more. This Vendras was more of an idiot than I’d thought. Or else he was just too rich to care.

  “All right, Nora, I have only one question left.” And it was a significant one, at least if you were like me and couldn’t stand the thought of being in a relationship based on ulterior motives. “Why me? And it has to be something real and specific or you and me are over before we even get started.”

  “May I sit up, master?”

  “You can hang over a cliff, Nora, because as of right now, you and me a
re nothing together. Nothing.”

  I’d spoken a little more harshly than I needed, but I had to give her a dose of reality. A girl like this would want forever. Only five times in my life have I dated girls for longer than a month. Three of the five insisted on being tied down in bed every time. The other two wanted me to meet their mothers. Bondage I can manage. Relationships are out of my league.

  “From the first time I saw you, Frank,” said Nora, her pouting lips pronouncing each word with delicious precision. “I knew you were strong. And that you had no fear. I also saw in you the soul of a poet.”

  Okay, now she’d gone over the top. “Sorry, sister,” I laughed, rising to my feet. “You got me mixed up with somebody else.”

  She wrapped her arms around my legs, holding me in place. “No, Frank, your poems are your life. How you live, moment to moment, that is art. Ever since I was a little girl I waited for a man like you, a man to teach and treasure me, a man to show me honor, and justice and courage. Don’t think, Frank. Live. You must take what comes to you! You must!”

  Words of wisdom from a child. Certainly I hadn’t made it this far backing down from challenges.

  “I’ve never been with the same woman more than six months,” I warned, giving her one last chance to bolt.

  “That doesn’t matter.” She looked up at me with eyes of utter devotion. “Keep me a year, an hour, a lifetime. Sell me, give me away. Only take me now and do as your heart commands,” she declared with an intensity just short of religious fervor.

  “Okay,” I agreed. “For now.”

  We made love then. I have to call it that and not fucking, although it was hardly less intense. I threw myself on her, literally, pressing her body into the jungle floor, the dirt, the underbrush. She was a perfect vessel, hot, needy, demanding more and more of me. Over and over I took her, sending her to cataclysmic heights and down into depthless ravines.