Chapter 15 #2
She clears her throat, straightening her dress, and takes my hand.
My jaw tics as I think about all the things I’d love to do to her.
But I won’t.
I won’t lay a hand on her, not in the way she wants at least.
Something Genesis will learn about me tonight is that I’m not to be trusted.
I walk her outside, back into the rain, and to my Escalade. Unlike when it was her car, she doesn’t fight me when I open my passenger door and push her inside.
“Seat belt,” I say, shutting her door before walking to my side. I open the back seat door, grab a bag, collect what I need from inside it, and hop into the driver’s seat.
As soon as I’m inside, I lock the door. She scoots away from me when she sees what’s in my hands.
“Don’t be scared,” I say calmly.
“Easy for you to say,” she replies. “You’re the one holding the serial killer accessories.”
“You’re right.” I play with the blindfold in my hand. “Yet you’re not running from me. Does that mean you’re into this kink?”
“No,” she snaps. “I’m just curious what this will lead to.”
“You ever heard that curiosity kills the cat?”
“I hope you’re not referring to me as the curious cat.”
I don’t say a word.
“Melissa would hate you.”
“Melissa isn’t here to hate me any longer.”
“She’ll hate you from heaven.”
“While I agree my sister is in heaven, you’re mistaken if you think I’ll see her there upon my death. A man with my sins falls straight down to hell.”
“The Lord forgives sins.”
“Yes, but how many sins does he allow before he stops?”
This might be the most I’ve talked to her in the years I’ve known her.
As she waits for my response, I tug the zip tie I grabbed from the bag from my pocket, snatch her wrists, and lock it around them.
“What the hell?” she shrieks.
“You have two options,” I tell her. “I can take you home, or we can go back to my place.”
“Will your place result in my murder?”
“I have no intention of murdering you tonight, Genesis.”
“Un-zip-tie me then.”
“No, but I can’t let you know where I live.” I smirk. “It’s a secret.” Before she can stop me, I curl my hand around her head, holding her in place, and drop the blindfold over her eyes. “This is only for safety precautions.”
“Fucking asshole,” she says, struggling against the restraints. “This isn’t funny. Get your weird kinks off somewhere else.”
“When we’re there, I’ll take it off.” I pull out onto the street. “You keep fighting, I’ll drop you off on the side of the road. I’ll make sure it’s a dark, deserted one too.”
Maybe this will be a lesson for her not to trust men like me.
“Right,” she whispers when I make my first turn.
“Left,” she says when I make another.
I slam on the brakes, and she jolts forward. Her head nearly collides with the dashboard.
“You’d better not be doing what I think you’re doing,” I say in warning.
“What are you talking about?” she asks, doing a terrible job at playing coy.
“You’re counting my turns.”
It’s smart—I’ll give her that.
“You threatened to drop me off in the middle of nowhere. Of course I’m counting your turns.”
“Words of wisdom: Next time, don’t give yourself up like that.”
I make a sudden U-turn.
Then another.
And another.
I drive through a parking lot.
Then a gas station.
Doing everything I can to confuse her.
Her body bumps forward, then to the side, then forward at my swerves.
“Game over,” she finally says. “Get this shit off me, Julian.” She attempts to wiggle her wrists to break free but can’t.
“Oh, Gen, you agreed to play this game. It’s not over until I say it’s over.”
She wrinkles her nose. “Who said you make the rules?”
“Considering I’m the one who can easily strangle you, I’d say I do.”
I tune out her blabbering about what’s fair and unfair.
About how the entire city will investigate her disappearance if I kill her.
She’s starting to give me a headache.
Fortunately, we reach our destination not long after.
I stop at the iron gate, lower my window, and hit the Call button on the speaker.
“Hello?” a gruff voice says from the other side. “Astor residence.”
I lean forward, resting my arm on the windowsill. “Tell Carlisle I have his daughter.”
“What the hell?” Genesis shrieks, returning to her struggle with her tied wrists.
The man clears his throat. “Excuse me, sir?”
“Genesis is in the car with me.” When rain drops into my SUV, I inch my window up some. “You have ten seconds to open the gate unless you want me to drop her off here.”
I notice a camera in the speaker box turn on. I lean back in my seat to show Genesis. I’m sure it’s a great scene—her blindfolded and restrained.
The gate immediately opens, reminding me I’m not dealing with the typical men I’m used to. No one from my world would ever open a gate so easily.
I speed down the drive and flatten my foot against the pedal when we reach the front door.
I jump out of the SUV, swing open Genesis’s door, and pull her from her seat. She fights back as I drop her onto the hard concrete and roll her body over with the sole of my foot.
“You motherfucker,” she yells, kicking at me. “I’m going to kill you.”
“We both know you can’t even lay a hand on me.” I nudge her farther away from the SUV. “You’re welcome for making sure you got home safe.”
I squat so we’re eye level, grab the pocketknife from my pocket to cut her zip tie, remove the blindfold, and tap her cheek.
Her breathing is noisy, her eyes cold, and she catches me off guard when she pulls back her fist, punching me in the face.
I wince, drawing back, impressed by the sucker punch. “I’ll give you that.” I cup her face. “Stay away from this world if you know what’s best for you.” I feel blood against my tongue.
She glares as I step over her body and drive away.
There’s only one woman I can never touch, under any circumstances—Genesis Astor.
She’s trying to make it damn hard for me though.
The best solution to that is to scare the shit out of her.
Make her fear me.
That’s exactly what I did.