Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
AVA
Stretching my limbs in a long cat stretch, I glanced over at the empty side of the bed.
The bed in my room, not Emerson’s. He had moved me again.
It was almost like he could justify having me in his bed for only so long.
Like waking up next to me would cross some line.
Rubbing my eyes, I sat up and yawned. Memories of my nightmares sat on the cusp of my awareness, but I shoved them away, thinking instead of how his hold on me had brought me out of the darkness again.
The covers disturbed a note at the end of the bed, and I crawled over to it.
Get dressed and meet me on the deck. Wear shorts.
Commanding and just like Emerson. I traced the neat letters that formed the words. Elegant and formal, not like my chicken scratch.
After a quick shower, I pulled out a pair of jean shorts with frayed edges and a blue tank top, followed by a tan flannel shirt. Rolling the sleeves up, I decided to forgo shoes. My hair was still wet, and I hadn’t worn makeup for days. Why bother with shoes?
At the door, I lifted my hand to knock and let Breaker know I wanted to come out.
It was ridiculous to pretend all this was normal when the door to my room locked me in.
A reminder that even if my captor infatuated me, I was still his hostage.
Confusing didn’t even begin to describe the situation.
I scratched my nose instead of knocking, thinking again of that syndrome I had read about where the captive falls for her captor. Was that all this was?
Nothing more than some psychological condition that was making Emerson attractive to me?
My laugh was audible. There was no making Emerson attractive.
The man was hot. Even thinking about him had my legs clenching.
And I wasn’t delusional. I knew who he was and what he did.
Shit, he’d killed two men the night he’d kidnapped me.
I wasn’t fooling myself into believing he was a good guy, although I had discovered there were pieces of him that were good.
With an exaggerated exhale, I knocked on the door, hearing Breaker’s heavy steps followed by the clicking of the locks. He opened the door, his eyes scanning my body before he gave me a goofy smile.
“Damn, you’re pale. Like some kind of vampire.”
“Screw you,” I said, shoving by him.
“Seriously, do you ever see the sun?”
“Don’t make me hurt you,” I threatened. His laugh continued down the hall.
“You couldn’t hurt a fly, little girl. Tiny and pasty.” He laughed even harder and by the time we’d reached the main room, I’d had enough.
I hadn’t been able to fight my kidnappers, but I had gotten a few kicks in.
And there had been no option but to comply with Emerson that night.
Not with a gun pointed at my head. But I hadn’t trained in self-defense or beaten my knuckles bloody against punching bags to have some goon think I was a defenseless little girl.
It was time to show Emerson and his cronies I was compliant because I wanted to be, but I would fight back if pushed.
Pivoting quickly, I threw his step off. He glowered at me, his massive frame towering over me.
“I am not a little girl,” I snarled.
He snickered, and I hit him with an uppercut causing him to stumble back. Pain flared in my hand.
“Fuck,” he grumbled at the same time as I rubbed the ache from my knuckles.
He came at me and my instincts kicked in. I shifted, allowing him to grab me from behind before taking him out. Three quick moves and he was on his back.
“Impressive.”
I glanced up to find Emerson resting on the doorframe. He looked even sexier today. His hair was damp, a shadow of growth was on his face, and he wore a loose button-down with short sleeves that showed his sculpted arms and tattoos.
My attention diverted, Breaker threw me to the floor, pinning me.
“Enough!” Emerson bellowed.
“Ouch.” I rubbed my head. “That hurt asshole.”
The menacing expression on Breaker’s face cracked as he said, “Never let your eyes off the target, little girl.”
“Call me a little girl again and I’ll lay you out again.”
“Get the fuck off her, Breaker.” Emerson’s voice held a possessive quality, and I peered over at him, seeing how dark his eyes had become, like a midnight sky.
“You’ve got some moves,” Breaker said, standing and holding a hand out to me.
“Go,” Emerson said, shooing him off before I could take his hand. “Take a break. Our guest is due a scolding for inciting violence against my men.”
“Eh, boss, she was just playing.”
“No, I wasn’t.” On the floor still, I felt extremely small with the two of them standing over me. I’d never felt small, but now I did. “There was no play in that whatsoever.”
Breaker let out another laugh and walked away. “I’ll admit you’ve got some moves kid, but that would only give you a second to run before your pissed off attacker would hunt you down.”
There was no replying to him. He was too far by the time I thought of one. I looked back at Emerson, who had his arms crossed over his chest.
“So, you’re going to scold me? Is that some kind of punishment?”
His brow raised before he stooped next to me. Piercing blue eyes, now the color of the sky, bore into me. “You’ll know when I want to punish you, wildcat.”
My stomach knotted, my mouth going dry. That nickname was like a tongue against my clit and the way he said it left me incoherent.
“Uh huh,” I mumbled.
Hand extending out to me, he kept his intense gaze even after I was standing.
“Don’t try that again.”
The warning was clear, but as he turned to walk out to the deck, I couldn’t stop myself from saying, “Why not?”
He halted his steps and threw a look over his shoulder. “Because next time he’ll hurt you and I’ll have to kill him.”
No hesitation. No teasing tone. The words were serious, the darkness in those blue irises lethal.
He looked away and his steps became steady again. “Come get breakfast. I have plans for you.”
My spine stung from the flip Breaker had given me and I was still a little dazed, but I didn’t know if it was from being tossed or from Emerson’s words.
“Just Breaker?” I dared.
He shook his head, mumbling, “Any man.”
I sucked in a breath as he sat at the table and picked up his coffee cup while looking out at the ocean.
The opportunity to run was there. No guard stood over me.
Emerson’s back was to me. But I didn’t because that draw to the man who had just told me he would kill any man who hurt me was too strong.
Either that or I had hit my head too hard.
Standing, I stretched my back, knowing I’d have bruises. They would be worth the tradeoff of showing them I wasn’t some weak woman. A strand of my hair stuck to my cheek, still damp from my shower, so I pushed it away as I walked.
“You don’t have to prove yourself to my men, Ava.” Emerson placed his mug on the table, his eyes still on the horizon.
“I always have to prove myself. I’m a woman. Men see me as helpless and fragile.”
His chuckle skittered across my skin like the delicate rake of nails. “You’re anything but fragile. Between that mouth of yours and those fists, you can hold your own. That left hook is something Breaker won’t underestimate again. It takes a lot to make that man even flinch.”
I looked down at my sore knuckles, rubbing them. “Yeah, well…” I didn’t know what else to say.
His hand covered mine, and my eyes flew to him to see his focus on my fingers as he smoothed his thumb over them.
“The punching bag is different from hitting flesh and bone.”
“I’m fine,” I said, wanting to jerk my hand away but enjoying the warmth of his touch too much.
He released my hand, turning back to the view and avoiding my sight. I sat across from him, eating my eggs and thinking they were now my favorite food.
“Did your uncle teach you those moves?” he asked when the silence was almost unbearable.
“Some,” I said, wiping my mouth. After chewing the rest of my mouthful, I explained, “I never wanted to be vulnerable again…” No, too much, Ava.
He caught the choice of words, his head tilting toward me.
“I mean, Den insisted I know how to protect myself. He taught me the basics, but he worked a lot and having his niece tag along wasn’t safe, so he did what he could.
When I went to college, I took a self-defense class and loved it.
I took as many as I could and started working out at the local gym.
” A sip of coffee didn’t break the intensity of his gaze.
“I lived in some shady places when I left college. Uncle Den hated it, but I was stubborn, wanted to see how tough I could be.” Wanted to look death in the face again and laugh at it.
Wanted to prove something that didn’t need proving.
“And even now I work at a bar and walk home alone at two in the morning.” Shrugging, I added, “I need to know how to protect myself because no one else can.”
His eyes narrowed, catching my last words.
They weren’t necessarily true. My uncle would kill for me.
Now I had Greyson Tides because of Den and Riley, and there were men I worked with who continually asked to walk me home, who stayed after their shifts to make sure I was safe when I closed up.
There were good men in the world and some of them were in my life, but the bad one had overshadowed them for too long.
“If your guys hadn’t drugged me, I would have beaten the shit out of them.” I was hoping to erase his serious expression, but it remained. Unable to take it anymore, I looked away. I didn’t want to talk about my past, to tell him my secrets. They were my burden, not his.
“Since you trust me enough to sleep in the same bed with me, do you think you could let me out of my cell more often?” I asked, changing the subject.
“We’ll see.”