12. Jaelyn
CHAPTER 12
JAELYN
I slowly crack open my eyes, and damn, my eyelids feel like cement shades that insist on staying closed. After a brief struggle, they let in the blinding light that shines overhead. I blink fast to clear my blurred vision, struggling to lift my pounding head from…I look to my right and left to figure out where I am.
What in the hell?
I’m in a bed.
Shit.
Who’s fucking bed is it?
And where is said fucking bed?
I open my mouth to scream, but all that emerges is a raspy squeak.
Pebbles of sweat gather on the back of my neck as my head sinks farther into the fluffy pillow under it, so heavy I can’t imagine my shoulders being able to hold it up for even a split second.
Okay, if I can just get leverage, maybe I can sit up.
Relax, Jae. Just put your hands on the mattress and push off ? —
I choke out a gasp.
Fuck!
I jerk my wrists, straining my arm muscles with each flail, my hands hanging limply from their position.
No, please, no!
Silver handcuffs have my arms firmly attached to the bedposts, holding my body prisoner in the center of this mattress. Sharp breaths slice at my insides as I struggle against the metal cuffs that show no signs of loosening or cracking open.
“Help!” I sputter in a weak voice, still jiggling my wrists. “Help me!”
I grit my teeth, trying like hell to remember how I got here…what happened, where was I, how did?—?
And then fragments of the terror I felt come flying back at me with a vengeance. My tires exploding, my car spinning out uncontrollably across the desert road, a dark-haired man coming toward me, the needle he stuck into my arm…
But it wasn’t just any man.
Goddammit!
I kick my feet out as far as I can reach, knocking over a tray sitting at the foot of the bed. A loud crash reverberates between the walls as I try once again to screech in anger. But my mouth is so damn dry, I can barely make out a syllable.
“Villani!” I grunt through gritted teeth, clanging the handcuffs to the head of the bed as hard as I can.
The door opens a minute later and once again, my breath hitches.
This time it’s because he’s holding a glass of water with a straw in it.
I’d give my right arm for a sip…
Oh yeah, I’ve already given him that limb as well as my left one.
He walks toward the bed, holding the straw to my lips and despite my raging desire to claw out his eyes, I gulp down as much of the cool, clear liquid as I can without choking.
When I’ve guzzled most of the glass, I pull away, leveling him with a searing glare. I have no weapons except for my mind and unfortunately, I can’t gut him like a fish with brain waves as my only tool.
He’s standing close to my head, too close for me to launch my foot at his groin. I mean, if I was a gymnast or a contortionist, maybe ?
But in my reality, I’d end up in a full body cast.
“You shot my tires,” I mumble. “And drugged me.”
“Your memory is still intact. Good.”
“Where is my car?” I ask in a groggy voice. “I loved that car…”
“You should be more concerned with other things right now.” He folds his arms across his broad chest, staring at me taking in my new surroundings. The walls are stark, bare, and in need of paint. And there’s dust in the air. A lot of fucking dust which is doing a great job of choking me right now.
Well, dust and fury.
A dull ache settles between my temples, but it’s not enough to stop me from unleashing the pent-up animosity festering in my gut.
“What in the fuck are you doing, Villani?” I hiss, shaking my wrists. “Are you going to kill me to teach my brother a lesson? Is that how your people handle this kind of thing?”
“Nah. I believe the world is a lot more interesting with you in it.” His blue eyes flash with a hint of mischief, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel tingles erupt in my belly when his lips curl into a cocky half-grin.
But good that he’s not planning on fileting me.
My life hasn’t exactly turned out the way I planned, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to give it up without a fight!
“You can’t take no for an answer so you figured…what? That you’d kidnap me to convince my brother to take you up on your pathetic offer? Or is this the way you get girls to fuck you? By drugging them and chaining them up?” Bitterness mixed with disdain drip from my lips as I spit out those words.
He lifts an eyebrow, but his mouth remains closed as he rounds the bed and picks up the tray from the floor.
“Oh, now you stop talking?” I shriek now that my mouth actually works. “Do you have any idea who you’re dealing with? What my brother will do to you when he finds out that you’re holding me hostage?”
“I haven’t even begun to execute my plans for you,” he seethes. “And so we’re clear, your brother is an arrogant piece of shit who’s gonna find out very soon that we don’t bend after a fucking ambush like that. We attack right back!”
I furrow my brow. Ambush? Uhh. When I try to focus too hard, my stomach clenches tight and a wave of nausea washes over me. I take a few deep breaths, letting my eyes float closed before I launch my next assault of scathing rhetoric at him. “What the hell are you talking about? You came in with three guys last night! How the hell did we ambush you ?”
“You’re either ignorant as hell or a crap ass actress. I don’t have to explain myself to you or anyone else!” He narrows his eyes. “And for your information, I don’t need to chain women up to sleep with me. They fucking beg for it, sweetheart.”
“Beg, my ass! They’re just completely incapacitated from all the wine you need to pump into them to get them to open their legs!” Rage bubbles deep within my core, rushing to the surface and when it explodes…well, I won’t be able to do a goddamn thing about it since I’m chained to this fucking bed!
Sergio crosses the room, fisting my hair and yanking my head back. A hot flush creeps down my neck and over my prickled skin. I hate myself for even thinking this, but his whole ‘I’m the powerful and all-controlling alpha’ kitsch is way more sexy than it is scary. I gasp as his head dips lower, his lips hovering so close to mine.
Wow, am I a headcase and a half or what?
Heat pools between my own legs right now while here I am, trying to convince him that he has no carnal pull on me.
Jesus, any woman with breath in her body would react in the same way if his muscular body was pressed against them.
On a bed.
Handcuffed to the posts.
Legs open.
Oops. About that…
My ankles fly together like a magnet against steel.
Then he does the absolute unthinkable.
He smiles, trailing a fingertip down the side of my face while my traitorous body shudders. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he murmurs, backing away from me as I kick and scream like a banshee.
“Scream all you want, gorgeous.” Sergio smirks as he leans against the doorway. “There’s nobody around to hear you. But I’ll warn you now, that screaming will get on my nerves fast so if you don’t want to have a piece of duct tape slapped over those lips of yours, either you’re gonna suck my cock with them or you’re gonna shut the hell up.” He winks at me. “Your choice.”