Chapter 13 #2
He isn’t done restraining me. The rope wraps around my chest, binding my arms close to the sides of my torso.
It isn’t tight enough to cause me any discomfort, but an intense sense of vulnerability settles over me.
I’ve been incapable of fighting him from the start, but now I’ve lost all illusion of control.
He finishes off the tie at my back, but he doesn’t release me from his embrace. His arms cage me, and that reassuring hand settles over my racing heart once again, preventing it from beating right out of my chest.
“Breathe, dolcezza,” he urges, the low command rumbling over my neck. “You’re not hurt. You’re safe.”
A slightly mad laugh bubbles from my chest, and I jerk against the restraints. The rope shifts around me, holding me firm without biting into my flesh.
“So, is this what you do to your enemies?” I accuse.
Massimo pretends to be my white knight, but he’s a criminal, a killer. He bound me with ruthless efficiency, even if he is careful not to hurt me.
His lips ghost over the shell of my ear as he murmurs, “Believe me, farfallina. This isn’t something I do with my enemies.”
Heat flashes beneath the surface of my skin, and my cheeks warm at the implication. The way he’s holding me is tender. Intimate.
Before I can process my body’s reaction to his nearness, he pulls away with a sigh.
“You have nothing to fear from me,” he promises. “This is for your own good.”
This time, my maddened laugh is more giddy than bitter. I can’t process what’s happening to me. I should be terrified that a strange man is tying me up on a bed with him while I wear nothing but his shirt.
But I’ve been through too much tonight, and my emotions are scrambled. Massimo has proven that he only wants to protect me.
Or maybe the prospect that my dark savior might violate me is simply too horrific for me to contemplate.
Exhaustion saps my mind and softens my body. Even my eyelids are heavy, but I keep my focus on him through sheer force of will.
Within less than a minute, he’s bound my ankles together with a second length of rope, rendering me truly helpless. I’m incapable of running now.
I can’t do anything but wriggle weakly in protest as he lifts me up again, carrying me back into the bathroom with him. He carefully sets me down in the tub, so that the curve of the jacuzzi cradles my body. It’s an odd position with my arms pinned to my back, but it isn’t too uncomfortable.
“I’m going to take a shower,” he informs me. “I’ll just be a few minutes.”
“This isn’t necessary.” I tug halfheartedly against the rope, but I’m so tired that I can’t muster up much of a fight.
“I told you I’m not letting you out of my sight. That means you’re staying right where I want you. Don’t pretend you wouldn’t have tried to run away as soon as I gave you an opportunity.”
I press my lips together, refusing to lie. It would be pointless, and it would only give him reason to rebuke me when he reads the truth on my face: I would do anything to get away from him.
Still, terror doesn’t grip my mind, not like it should. I’m too exhausted for my instincts to rule me, and the rope that binds me makes struggling useless, anyway.
I blink slowly, and it takes effort to keep my eyes open.
His hand cups my cheek, and he traces the line of my lower lip with his thumb. My sensitive skin tingles at the tender contact.
“You’re safe with me, Evelyn. I’ll protect you. Let me.”
“Let me go,” I manage to whisper, but there’s no fire behind my demand.
He’s resolute in his determination to keep me here, and there is nothing I can do to resist him right now.
His jaw ticks, and he slowly withdraws his touch from my face, long fingers lingering on my cheek as he pulls away. My skin sparks at the contact, the same sensation that’d pinged through me when I’d first touched him at the bar.
I can’t gather my hazy thoughts enough to contemplate the warmth that flashes through me. My brain blanks, too tired to continue worrying about my situation.
If Massimo wanted to hurt me, he would’ve done it already. He’s had every opportunity to beat me into submission or violate me while I’m bound and helpless.
Instead, he handles me with tenderness as he tugs the hem of his shirt down my thighs, ensuring I’m covered to my knees. His fingertips barely brush my sensitive skin, and more sparks dance beneath his heated touch.
The world softens at the edges, until he becomes the center of my focus.
“You can sleep,” he rumbles. “The sedative should help you relax after everything you’ve been through.”
Alarm barely lances my consciousness. “Sedative?”
He nods, unrepentant. “The doctor left it for you. I put it in your water. I had a feeling you might not want to take it if I offered it to you, but you need to rest.”
“You had no right to do that.” My indignant admonishment is strangely slurred, and I barely manage to twitch against my restraints.
“I’m going to take care of you, Evelyn. You’ll see.”
He finally pulls away and gets to his feet, all six and a half feet of him towering over me.
I feel small and achingly vulnerable, but I don’t experience a flicker of fear. The world has become surreal, my thoughts going quiet. There’s nothing for me to do but lay where he’s positioned me and wait for him to get cleaned up.
His eyes burn into me, pinning me with his full focus as his hands move to his belt. He unbuckles it and frees the button on his jeans before my slow mind processes the fact that he’s stripping right in front of me.
I suck in a soft gasp and close my eyes, my cheeks burning. I still feel his gaze on me, like a physical caress on my skin.
“You’re welcome to look.”
I press my lips together and swallow a reply. The unformed words come out like a soft whimper.
My cheeks flame hotter, and I squirm in his ropes. The jacuzzi is cool against my flushed skin, making me acutely aware of the warmth in my body.
A low, hungry growl rumbles through the bathroom, but he doesn’t say anything more. The sound of spraying water tells me that he’s in the shower.
My eyes open a fraction, and I peek at him through my lashes. The glass shower stall has already begun to steam up with the heat of the water, but I can make out the imposing shape of his powerful body.
I squeeze my eyes shut again, reasoning that I’ve only been studying my surroundings to assess my situation.
But there’s nothing more I can do to try to escape now, and staring at Massimo’s naked body won’t help me figure out how to get away from him.
If anything, the reminder of his physical strength and how easily he could overpower me should make my stomach sink with despair.
But the warmth between my legs doesn’t feel like despair.
I don’t dare contemplate it. Instead, I allow myself to drift, surrendering to the pull of the calming drug he gave me.
As I relax into the cool tub, the ropes cradle my body. My limbs are so heavy, and it’s almost a relief to have the excuse that I can’t try to run.
When the shower turns off, warm steam rolls over me. My eyelids are too heavy to lift, my body too tired to rouse any anxiety over what he might do next.
“Let’s get you to bed, dolcezza.” His low, sure tone blankets me with comfort as his scent enfolds me.
Those corded arms cradle me once again, and I can’t quite manage to see where he’s carrying me.
His calloused hands brush over my skin as he deftly frees the knots that bind me and slowly unwinds the rope from my body.
His fingertips trail along the slight indentations that the rope has left on my skin, and my nerve endings crackle with awareness even as I hover at the edge of consciousness.
I release a shuddering sigh, not quite waking at the strangely decadent sensation.
He lays my body down, and a plush pillow cushions my head. A thick duvet settles over me just before his warm body shapes around mine, his hard chest pressing against my back. His fingers play through my hair, further lulling me into relaxation.
“You can sleep, Evelyn. No one will hurt you. I’ve got you.”
With that promise, I drift down into deep, dreamless sleep.