CHAPTER THREE
“That looks painful,” Lexi said smugly, motioning with a flick of her chin towards Kade’s marred face.
Surveying his shackled love with a critical eye, Kade bent down and placed a bottle of water at her bare feet.
It had been three long days since her escape attempt and her words to him were few and far between.
He knew she meant her comment to be a jab, but he was still pleased to finally hear her voice again.
“What, this?” he began, pointing to his splinted nose and scabbed over lip. “It’s nothing.”
Grabbing the plastic water bottle, she scooted her sitting form away from him to create some distance.
There was a dark glint in his warm brown eyes that she didn’t trust. It was apparent that the leash he kept himself on was on the verge of snapping again.
Even with the threat of enduring another “punishment” looming overhead, she couldn’t help but use this opportunity to poke the injured wolf.
“Oh, is that so? Then I’ll try harder next time,” she promised, pressing her back against the white padded wall of her new cell.
Pushing out an exasperated sigh, he sat himself down on the rubber lined floor and gave her a shrug. He wasn’t going to argue with the spitfire this time. They had already wasted too much time being upset with each other.
“I’m sure you will, Sweetheart,” he said, cautious about the way he moved his sore, swollen lower lip. “So, Alexandria, now that you’ve had some time to think, is there anything you’d care to say to me?”
Narrowing her angry eyes, Lexi pulled her scraped knees to her barely covered chest, sucking in a sharp breath as the metal chains binding her ankles bit into her bruised skin.
Oh, she could think of a million things to say to him.
None of them kind. He deserved every bit of the pain she had caused, especially with the humiliation he had put her through over the last seventy-two hours.
“People are looking for me,” she said, not giving him the apology he craved. “I know they are. If you let me go now, I promise you...I won’t tell anyone.”
Holding back a laugh, Kade folded his long arms over his chest and quirked his head to the side. Did she really think he would be worried about people looking for her? He had gone to great lengths to make sure she wouldn’t be missed for quite some time.
“People are looking for you? Really? Like whom, Leo?” he snickered.
Pulling her red rimmed eyes to meet his, she pursed her dry lips together and swallowed hard.
Hearing him say Leo’s name made her stomach instantly churn.
She knew Kade was capable of torture and murder, what if he had done something to him?
God help her, she would rip him limb from limb if he had hurt Leo.
Sensing her unease and simmering anger, he slid his hulking body closer, “Do you really think he will care that you’re gone? After all, he thinks you’re a cheating little slut ...that’s what he called you, right?”
Snarling at her abductor, she squeezed the bottle of water so hard that the thin plastic threatened to crack.
Her last fight with Leo had been fraught with confusion and panic the night before her abduction.
He had ended their long-term relationship abruptly with her, accusing her of lying and cheating.
Her once adoring lover had switched on a dime, calling her a “whore” and “slut” among other vile things.
Leo screamed that he had “proof” of her infidelity and that he never wanted to see her lying ass again.
At the time she didn’t understand what the hell he was talking about, she had never cheated on him.
Now, however, her confusion was starting to clear.
“ You,” she hissed. “What the fuck did you do?”
Furrowing his brow, Kade moved in closer. He hated to see her get so worked up over the loser. Didn’t she see that he did her a favor?
“Leo was no good for you...you deserve so much more,” he offered matter-of-factly.
“ WHAT... what did you DO,” she asked again through gritted teeth.
Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, he shook his head in warning. “Calm down, Sweetheart. You don’t want me to get the crop out again, do you?”
Resting the back of her head against the padded wall, Lexi swallowed a scream as she tried to settle her racing heartbeat. She could still feel the sting of the leather riding crop along her inner thighs from her last “punishment.” It was something she never wanted to experience again.
Play his game. Play his fucking game, she reminded herself. Closing her eyes for a moment, she centered her thoughts to suppress the rage bubbling to the surface.
“Please...please tell me?” she asked, slowly lifting her eyelids.
Happy with her change in behavior, Kade leaned his broad torso forward and placed his large hands on his knees. Feeling generous, he cleared his throat. He would tell her this story only once, she had better be listening.
“Good girl,” he began. “Well, I stopped by Leo’s office last Monday and caught him as he was leaving for lunch.
He pretended like he knew me, even offered to buy me a coffee and catch up on old times.
Can you fucking believe that? He’s such a bullshitting moron, you should be thanking me for freeing you of him, you really should!
I mean, two years and no ring? He’s a fucking tool, he never loved you. ”
Watching him in silent fury as he weaved his tale, her mind raced as she pieced together the ramblings spilling from his injured mouth.
Her abductor was becoming more and more agitated with every word, which made her skin prickle in anticipation.
They were two powder kegs on the verge of exploding, all it would take is one little spark.
“So, anyway, while we were having coffee, I told him that you and I had been fucking each other senseless for the past six months. He didn’t believe me at first, I guess you should know that,” he continued, using his animated hands to help him tell the story.
“He said that you weren’t that type of girl, that you were loyal and that you loved him.
I told him that was a lie, that you loved me and wanted to be with me.
He threatened to kick my ass, which I would have loved to see him try, but I didn’t want to cause a scene, so I showed him the proof-- ”
“Proof? What proof?” Lexi interrupted, confusion passing over her face.
“The pictures, of course,” Kade answered nonchalantly.
“The ones I took while you were sleeping. I suppose it worked out in my favor that you don’t like to wear anything to bed, huh?
I still can’t believe you didn’t feel me crawl in beside you.
But now that I’ve thought about it, I know why you didn’t wake up.
It’s because you belong with me. Your body knows it to be true.
We are destined. Why else would you curl up next to me and let me take those pictures? Huh?”
Dropping her mouth open in shock, her blood ran ice cold.
Within a split second, a high-pitched sound filled her ears, and red spots blurred the edges of her vision.
His split mouth continued to move, but she was unable to hear his deep voice.
She could only hear the tight shrill of rage.
Somehow, he had managed to break into her apartment, climb into her bed , and take pictures with her sleeping, naked body.
Pictures that were shown to the love of her life under false pretenses.
Pictures that had effectively sealed her fate.
He was right, Leo wouldn’t care that she was missing. No one would .
“YOU SON OF A BITCH!” she screamed, awkwardly throwing the bottle of water at his head and lunging her tethered body at him.
Even with her ankles and wrists bound to metal chains anchored to the ceiling, she managed to land squarely on her abductor.
Knocking his hard body down onto the black rubber pad covering the soundproofed cell, she released her pent-up fury.
Spitting hateful phrases, she clawed at any bit of flesh her jagged fingernails could find.
Her only goal in that moment was to tear his handsome face to shreds.
If she had to be in pain, then so did he.
Thrashing his face from side to side, Kade let out a deep growl as her sharp nails raked across the flesh of his cheeks and neck.
Letting his instincts take over, he grabbed her upper arms and flung her slim body from his towards the wall.
Standing up quickly, he reached into the front pocket of his dark indigo jeans and removed a small key.
Although the new wounds weren’t deep, they stung just enough to piss him off.
Once again, she had made the wrong choice.
“DAMMIT, ALEXANDRIA” he spat, stomping his way towards her. “ WHEN WILL YOU LEARN?? ”
Remaining still on her side, Lexi’s chest heaved as searing tears spilled from her eyes. She didn’t care what happened to her anymore. Leo was the only person who ever cared about her and now that lifeline had been severed. If he was going to kill her then so be it.
“I hate you! I FUCKING HATE YOU!” she screamed.
Kneeling beside his tempestuous love, Kade set to work freeing her limbs from the restraints.
Pausing for a long moment after removing the last shackle, he looked over her beet red face.
His anger was at a critical breaking point, she was lucky that he loved her so much.
He would never have let the others talk to him like this.
Never.
“You need to calm down!” he ordered before yanking her into his arms and throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
Flailing her arms wildly, she repeatedly punched her closed fists against his back as hard as she could.
She wasn’t sure where he was taking her this time but wasn’t about to be the meek creature she had been the day before.
Bucking over his broad shoulder, she tried her best to slam her knee into his chest but failed when she was stopped by a sharp slap stinging her backside.
“ STOP!” he bellowed, giving her pert ass another smack for good measure. “Just stop! I’m not trying to hurt you!”
Thoroughly annoyed, he cleared the space from her cell to the bathroom at the opposite end of the bunker.
Hissing out a command for the screaming hellcat to be still, he entered the tiny room.
Pulling her from his shoulder, he set her legs gruffly down onto the cement floor and pointed to the corner shower stall.
Leaning down, he whispered hotly in her ear.
“ Get in now, Lexi!”
Standing rigidly with her fists clenched against her sides, Lexi shook her head. Like hell she would go in there willingly.
“I will not ,” she replied, her voice thick with defiance.
Wrapping his arm around her bare waist, he lifted her from the floor once again and held her tight against his torso.
Stepping over to the plastic stall, he turned the silver faucet and set the temperature to cold.
Squeezing her tighter as she attempted to wriggle out of his grasp, he pushed their fighting bodies into the small space of the shower stall, making sure that the frigid stream of water centered itself right on top of her head.
Lexi shrieked as the water hit her scalp and streamed down her body, completely soaking through her white sports bra and cotton panties.
Within a few heartbeats, her squirming limbs stopped fighting her abductor; her muscles instinctively choosing to conserve their energy for warmth instead of attack.
Smart man, she thought to herself as her thin form shivered. Smart man, indeed.
Feeling her spark extinguish, Kade released his right arm from her chest and reached towards the temperature dial.
Turning the metal lever from cold to warm, he bent down and nuzzled his bruised lips near her temple.
He had seen her use this technique on herself before and knew that it would reset her brain.
Now, he only needed to keep his little hellion subdued.
“Shhhh, shhhh, you’re ok. You’re ok. Please don’t fight me anymore. I don’t want to hurt you,” he pleaded, drifting his fingertips along the expanse of her exposed stomach. “Please don’t make me hurt you, again .”
Closing her eyes, she allowed her exhausted muscles to relax in his strong arms. It was against her better judgement to let her guard down, but her body wanted to betray her.
Just as it had during their illicit kiss.
She should hate the man draping over her, moving his calloused hands so reverently over her wet skin.
She should hate him for putting her through trial after emotional trial.
She should hate him for essentially taking her life away.
Only she didn’t.
Not fully, at least. And that thought alone was more terrifying to her than the possibility of never escaping.
Holding her close, Kade lightly swayed their bodies under the warm water, paying no mind to the fact that he was still fully clothed.
For the first time in days, he could finally breathe again.
His love was back in his arms, exactly where she belonged.
As the seconds ticked by, she softened beneath him.
Indicating to him that she knew what he had been telling her all along was true.
Just a little coaxing and she would be his.
“I love you so much, can’t you see?” he asked, his full lips tickling the delicate skin of her neck. His impatient touch moving to the waistband of her panties, skimming his long fingers between the drenched fabric and her pebbled skin. “Please...let me show you how much I need you.”