12. Blood and Lies #4
She couldn’t rest because she feared if she closed her eyes, she’d wake up, and this would all be a dream. Tracking him like an addict tracks their next fix, she monitored his every step.
He moved with inhuman agility. Every natural gesture was an erotic glimpse into his private world.
She liked it when he casually tucked his hair behind his ear or scratched an itch.
He was poetry in motion. Incredibly powerful, yet those glimpses of ordinary motions brought him closer to her level and made him relatable. Perhaps even attainable.
It was then she acknowledged that she could see this evolving into something more. He could probably leave the door wide open at this point, and she wouldn’t run.
“I think you’ve domesticated me.”
He chuckled. “That’s an interesting way to put it. You were rather feral a few minutes ago when you came all over my hand.”
She hid her smile in the pillows, certain her cheeks were flushing pink. With a content sigh, she lounged back and stared at the amber shadows that glowed and flickered overhead. “If I’ve gone feral, it’s because you made me so.”
“One might say you have an issue with accountability.”
She snickered. “One might say you’re a savage.”
“Right on both accounts.”
He was as unruly as the flickering flames. Powerful and unpredictable. Her earlier opposition had been wasted on him. He claimed he’d get everything he wanted, and now she was convinced he would.
Twirling her hair around her finger, she stared at the canopy, wondering what would become of her.
Would he keep her as some sort of ship slave, tied to his bed by day and taken hard by night?
Grinning at the thought, she silently laughed.
There was definitely something twisted and wrong inside of her.
She should be questioning how much time she had left. Reality beckoned as the fleeting thought of her home life crept in. This was a dangerous place, and he was obviously a dangerous man, yet she felt secure in the fact that he clearly coveted her. Was she safe enough to ask what his plans were?
She rolled to her side, angling her elbow to rest her head on her hand. “Do you plan to kill me?”
He stilled from unbuttoning his shirt as if her blunt curiosity caught him off guard. “Ah, to die would be a great adventure.”
Her smile faltered. “Is that a yes, then?”
He glanced at her through narrow eyes. “I’m afraid you’re much more useful to me alive.”
Her smile returned. “Because of all the things you’re going to do with my body?”
“That, and other reasons.”
Other reasons? The sense of security she’d been luxuriating in vanished, and she frowned again. “What does that mean?”
The air chilled when he pinned her with a sharp glare.
“Don’t question me.” Malevolence flashed in his eyes, and she drew back.
His unreadable expression clarified nothing aside from the fact that they were not on the same side.
The sense of closeness was gone, as if he’d stripped off a mask and his true nature returned.
What a fool she’d been to think this was something other than a game to him. Seconds ago, she felt more connected to him than anyone else in the world. Now, she just felt stupid and alone.
How could she be so dumb? He was a criminal. A pirate. And she gave herself to him.
Her skin chilled as she sat up, pulling the covers to her chest.
She was a gullible idiot, desperately painting pretty pictures of her dishonor to somehow romanticize captivity. She could not have made it easier for him. He called her a slut because she conceded like one.
She could still fight him. She could escape the next time they docked. No one needed to know what happened here. She could bury it like a secret for the rest of her life.
“Would you like some wine before we continue?”
Her panicked stare met his. They weren’t finished. How was she going to stomach more now that she realized she meant absolutely nothing to him?
Or did she? She needed to know his reasons for taking her. She couldn’t believe anyone could be that detached and, at the same time, that intimate. There had to be something real between them.
Or was she thinking like a fanciful child again?
“There were at least fifty other women at that lagoon.”
He glanced over his shoulder and cocked a brow in question. “And?”
“Why did you only take me?”
He crossed the room slowly, not stopping until he leaned over her, forcing her to angle back as he caged her in and stared directly into her eyes. “Careful, darling. You’re trespassing on private territory.”
“Why won’t you tell me?”
“Because it’s not your business.”
“But you said?—”
He caught her chin and dragged his thumb over her lips, silencing her. “There are better uses for your mouth. This is the last time I’ll warn you. Don’t question me again.”
If she did, would he punish her?
He said there would only be truth between them, but that was a lie. He was holding something back from her, something he never planned to share.
“Was I a target? Did you intentionally send Jukes to—” Her words cut off as he flung her to her back, pushing her onto the bed as his hand closed around her throat in warning.
He didn’t need to apply pressure. The warning was in his eyes. “Hush now.”
He abruptly released her, and she panted, unsure how much more she could push him without truly regretting her words. Only when he sensed she understood how truly serious he was did he release her and return to the table.
She watched his back as he finished the glass of wine in two long swallows and then stripped off his shirt. The flash of tanned flesh distracted her. Muscles bulged about his shoulders, ropes of sinew twisting down his arms.
White marks formed long, thin scars across his sun-kissed skin, every single one a secret he refused to share, yet she wanted all of them. Such beauty made it too easy to forget he had the body and the mind of a killer.
When he finally faced her again, his expression was unreadable. The engorged head of his cock peeked past the waistline of his black leather pants. It was the first time she’d ever actually seen a man’s body like that.
“It’s time we finish what we started.”
Uncertainty spiraled inside of her. She scooted back, her inner turmoil spinning into fear.
He no longer felt like someone she could trust—a foolish misapprehension if there ever were one. But that illusion of safety had helped her, and she wished she could have it back now.
Crawling further into the pillows, she tried to hide, but there was nowhere to go. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t give herself to a man like him.
“Look at me.” His words penetrated her panic, creating a false sense of intimacy between them.
She liked his hands on her, and now she hated herself for allowing him to touch her. She was losing her mind. “You tricked me.”
“I’ve been nothing but honest with you.”
That wasn’t true. He was hiding his motive. Until she understood why he chose her, there would be lies between them.
“What’s gotten into you?”
As if he knew her well enough to even ask such a thing. “Nothing.”
“That’s a lie. You’re upset.”
“How would you know?” The gall of him to call her a liar when he was the one hiding his motives.
His frown deepened. “I think we’ve established that I can read you like a book.”
“I’m not as transparent as you think.”
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t push me, darling. I’ve been more than gracious with you?—”
“You kidnapped me!”
His jaw ticked. Keeping his voice dangerously low, he warned, “I suggest you get over whatever fixation put you in this mood. My patience is expiring.”
“Mine already has.”
He grabbed her ankle and yanked her forward, making it unmistakably clear who had the final say. “Do you think I care?”
“You’re hateful!”
She tried to get away from him, but he pulled her back and snarled, “That may be true, but you signed yourself over to me knowing exactly what I was.”
They faced off in a moment of truth. He was a tower of secrets, and she was as transparent as glass. He saw through her and never lost the upper hand. When she took a swing at him, he caught her arm in an unbreakable grip.
“Careful, darling.” He watched her with the eyes of a depraved man. “Fight, and I’ll enjoy it just as much. Yield, and you won’t get hurt.”
She’d promised her surrender, and he intended to make good on that promise, no matter what.
Jagged breaths sawed in and out of her as he waited for her resistance to fade. There was no getting out of this. She was defeated and outmatched without a fight.
Closing her eyes, she turned her face away, letting go of all the tension in her body.
He eased back and frowned. “What is this?”
What did it matter? He won.
She lay limp before him until he fisted her hair, forcing her to look at him. “Answer me.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say!”
“Why are you acting differently?” His eyes searched hers, misleading her to believe, once again, that he cared.
“I’m acting like myself.”
“This isn’t you.”
“Maybe it is. Maybe I’m not as transparent as you thought.”
His eyes narrowed, and the energy between them chilled. “You think this attitude of yours will stop me?”
“No.”
“Then why not enjoy yourself.”
“Will that make it easier for you?” She met his stare with cold, hard truth. “If you’re the self-proclaimed monster you say you are, what does it matter how I feel?”
“I suppose it doesn’t.” He seethed, shoving his pants off. Somehow, her words offended him but did not deter his plans. “I told you before, good manners are wasted in carnal matters.” Jerking her forward, he pried open her legs. “Fight, cry, scream. Your fate is inevitable.”
He stroked himself as he leaned over her. His touch was cold, nothing like before.
The blunt tip of his erection nudged her opening, and she reflexively pulled back. Panic welled in her eyes. She always knew this part would hurt, but she feared him wanting to cause her more pain than necessary.