"Jeremy, I think you'll like our latest acquisition. You know her. Or you should. You went to school together." The boss sat on the corner of the desk and watched Jeremy for a reaction. When Jeremy only arched an eyebrow, the boss shifted slightly, disappointed and continued, "Sara Ann Birdsdale."
Jeremy smiled but forced his body to remain in the same casual pose. He couldn't count her as the one who got away because she was never his to begin with. But he remembered her. Smart and a goody two shoes. He'd always had a crush on Sara Ann. Or at least lusted after her. There was something about her that had always made him want to shove her against a wall and fuck her. He had spent five crazy years in middle and high school itching after her. Five years of frustration, and almost perpetual hard-ons before they caught him that final time.
"I remember her. What did she do?" He knew his voice was betraying his interest but didn't care. He'd deal with the repercussions later.
Happy with even the slight response, the boss conceded, "She's a Project Manager at Alcon Technologies. Rumor has it that her team created the new NSA encryption standard. I want that algorithm. It's worth a lot of money to the right people. We've got one of her employees but he only knows part of the algorithm. We'll need her access code to get into the server room."
That made sense. She had been a nerd and into computers, back before computers were cool. Jeremy remembered locking her floppy disk once during a BASIC programming class. The glare she'd given him was withering, but then she'd broken the password without looking. Just one, two, and she was in.
"Ok." Jeremy got up to leave, turning for the door.
"You know her. Is that a problem?"
"Knew. I knew her." When he glanced back at the boss, his smile was a little darker. "And no, that won't be a problem."
******
She could tell someone was watching her. She couldn't see through the blindfold and the gag kept her from asking but she could feel their eyes on her skin. A door closed gently and she heard the click of the lock. Sara could hear breathing and thought there was only one other person in the room.
Wait for the moment she told herself. Wait until you know what they want and where you are. It's Friday evening and if you don't show up at the function tomorrow, work will know something's wrong. Just last 24 hours. That's all. 24 hours. You can do that Sara. She repeated the mantra over and over in her head, trying desperately to block the little voice perpetually whispering "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit."
Footsteps sounded in front of her and circled to her right. They were slow and measured, sounding dull against the floor. Her own feet were cold from the floor. Her abductors had taken her heels when they tied her ankles to the chair. She could feel the rough texture and thought it was cement. So she was most likely in a basement or warehouse. She cocked her head to listen as the footsteps continued behind her and came closer.
"Sara Ann Birdsdale."
She started when the speaker's breath fanned her hair. She hadn't known he was that close to her.
"It's been a long time. Although I doubt you remember."
She felt a whisper light touch trail up her right arm. Her hands were bound behind the chair thrusting her shoulders and chest out. The ghost touch caught slightly on her silk shirt, scrunching it, then continued to her neck before she turned her face away just slightly. The hand whipped away.
Jeremy seethed. Even blindfolded and at his complete mercy Sara Ann was still rebuffing him. Just like back in school.
Sara concentrated on breathing slowly and deeply as he stalked the room. His steps were harder, angry sounding now, and her breath hitched. He, whoever he was, smelled good, masculine, with a hint of cinnamon on his breath. She was ashamed of noticing but she tried to imprint the scent in her memory anyway. Maybe if she got out of this alive that smell could help her identify him. She still didn't know why they had taken her. One minute she was unlocking the door to her place and the next something hit her from behind. Hands shoved her inside her place and the door slammed shut while was she was busy trying to process what was happening. When they slipped a bag over her head, it startled her into fighting. But multiple hands held her, then there was a sharp prick in her arm and darkness. When Sara awoke she was in this room, being tied to the chair.
A small sound across the room refocused her. It sounded like the scrape of chair across the floor and then a creak as he sat in front of her.
"We need some information from you. Not much, just a little bit and then we'll let you go and you can forget this ever happened." Cool fingers brushed her cheek and she tossed her head trying to shake them but the fingers only lowered the gag. "I just need a few details about your office. Your access code."
"I can't." She knew the quiver in her voice betrayed her fear.
"You can. And you will." The voice was flat. Like it didn't really matter to him; like the outcome was a forgone conclusion. "It's just a matter of time. And how much this has to hurt."
Sara drew in a shaky breath at that. As soon as he mentioned work she'd known what this was about. But to hear him casually mention hurting her... she bit her lip trying to stop the tears. Adrenaline pulsed through her veins urging her to choose fight or flight, but flight wasn't an option. And Sara wasn't sure she could fight. She was already trembling. She started repeating her mantra β 24 hours. Surely she could resist for 24 hours.
"I don't want to hurt you." The voice paused, considering. "Well...actually that's not true."
Jeremy caressed her cheek gently, then slid his hand a few inches down until it circled her throat. His fingers spread over her shoulder and dug in, anchoring his thumb over the divot where her throat met her collarbone. There was just enough pressure to remind her she was completely defenseless against him and her pulse spiked with the contact. He moved his thumb slightly to the side and pressed harder, making sure she felt the pressure against her wind pipe. Her skin was softer than he remembered. She gave in to his thumb and bowed her head into her shoulder. He knew it was an automatic gesture trying to lessen the pressure, but that didn't stop the spike of pleasure that arched through him.