Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 45371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
“What are you doing?” I hiss. “You can’t keep me here.”
He approaches slowly, his shoes making imposing noises on the floor the nearer he gets. His scent comes with him, musky and manly.
My body is playing the jester here, my underwear rubbing sorely against my sex, my tights clinging to my thighs as though attempting to impersonate his hands to give me a preview of what it would feel like with him holding me tightly.
“I can,” he says passionately. “I am. You’re staying here with me.”
“Why?”
“Let me show you to your room.”
“I won’t be your prisoner.”
He laughs darkly. “You already are.”
There’s a connection, an invisible rope looping around us both. Reaching down, he takes my hand. I should snatch it away the second we touch, but I can’t deny the instant surge of heat that comes the moment his hand wraps around mine. I feel the heat, electricity, and the spark people sometimes talk about, shivering up my arm and through my body.
No, no, no. I can’t let myself get romantic and dreamy about my… my what… my kidnapper?
He tugs me toward the staircase I passed on my way out. To the left, there’s the long hallway with the armor and the paintings leading to his office. Now, he leads me up the stairs. He doesn’t pull me aggressively, but there’s a firmness in his touch, enough to tell me he won’t let me go. He’s not going to let me run.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask as we reach the landing.
Two battle axes rest on the wall, crossed, their blades looking real and sharp, silver like the maturity in Blake’s hair.
“You’ll be comfortable,” he says, “and your dad will get his money. You’ll be helping him by staying here with me.”
“But why—”
“Look at your room before you get whiney and pouty,” he says sternly. “You might like it.”
He leads me down the hallway. I try to force myself to snatch my hand away and at least attempt to run, but there’s something strangely captivating about his touch. It’s like I’ve split in two. One half of me is all pounding heartbeat and wondering what the hell I’m going to do. The other wants to stay here and keep holding his hand.
This must have something to do with Blake and Dad’s secret history. Whatever happened between them led to this, to him keeping me prisoner.
“What did Dad do to you?” I snap. “To make you want revenge? To make you want to kidnap his daughter?”
These are searching questions. Whatever the answers, I should be able to learn something, but Blake looks at me with a smirk, as if he knows exactly what I’m doing, and refuses to play my game.
Finally, we stop at a tall wooden door. He pushes it open to reveal a plush, luxurious bedroom. There’s a four-poster bed and thick rugs laid over the wooden floor. A fire in the corner and three large, connected windows look over the estate. Sunlight bathes the room.
“You want me to stay here?” I whisper, telling myself I don’t want it. I don’t want him.
“You’re going to stay here,” he says. “There’s no want about it. You’re going to do what you’re told.”
I pull my hand free, staring up at him. His expression is so difficult to read. He’s smirking, but his eyes have the intensity of dying suns. It’s like he’s holding himself back.
“You can’t make me do anything,” I snap. “I deserve answers. I came here for a job.”
“And I’ve got a job for you.” He steps close, his hard body brushing against mine. “Doing whatever I tell you. That’s your new job.”
I laugh as harshly as I can as my mind skips to the possibilities. My thoughts are being real traitors right now, filling with a bunch of inappropriate stuff, like standing on my tiptoes and guiding my lips to this man and kissing him, feeling his hands roaming up and down my body. The future and children’s laughter and happiness somehow rise from this madness. What’s wrong with me?
“You can’t keep me here.”
I march away from him, looking out the window. The construction of the building means this window doesn’t have a wall beneath it. It’s an overhang, meaning I’d have to jump. It’s only one floor, but I’m not very athletic.
“I can. I am.” His voice is husky. “You have access to the estate, but you can’t leave. If you get hungry, the kitchen is downstairs and to the right.”
I spin on him. He’s moved to the door, his hand on it.
That’s it? He’s just going to leave me here?
“I don’t get what you want me to do,” I say.
He bites down. He clenches his fists, causing his forearms to swell, every inch of him barely contained rage and throbbing, powerful muscles.
“Anything. I. Want.”
With that, he leaves, shutting the door firmly behind him.