I just need to get away from him. And it’s not only because he kidnapped me. It’s because he kidnapped me,andI’m still so turned on by him and his kindness and caring and soothing voice. I’ve clearly lost my mind. The longer I stay here,the worse this Stockholm syndrome is going to get. For the sake of my own sanity, I need to leave.
With anxiety building, I try the last key in the lock, jamming it in and trying to force it to turn with desperation bolting through me like lightning.
“It’s a coded lock. It doesn’t need a key, Katerina.”
I spin around and see him standing a few feet away from me. He looks furious. His eyes are narrowed and so dark they almost look black. His fists are clenching and unclenching at his sides, and his jaw is set like stone.
“If it only uses a code, then why is there a keyhole?” I blurt out, annoyed that I got caught.
“That lock is an override system that I only use in emergencies. You can’t get out of there without the pin.” He’s fighting his own anger, and I’m starting to realize the danger I’m in.
And he used my full name. I never told him my full name. Just Kat. And he’s only called me Kat until now. If he knows my name, does he know myfull, fullname?
“You know who I am, don’t you. You know my family name?” I stammer, my heart sinking to the pit of my stomach.
“I know who you are.” His words are devoid of that kindness I heard earlier.
His voice is like ice cutting into me. Of course he knows who I am.
“Please just let me leave, Yulian.” My throat is tight with emotion. I’m fighting tears and panic, shifting from one foot to the other like a wild horse, ready to bolt in any direction, but trapped against the wall.
“Like you left last time? After you saw my wallet and assumed you knew who I was just by looking at my name?”
He also knows that I saw his full name. Shit. This isn’t good. He tricked me.
“I won’t tell anyone…”
“You’re not safe out there, Katerina. I can’t let you go.”
Yulian steps forward and takes the keys from my hand. I stumble backwards to try and get away from him, unsure of what he’s going to do. I press my back against the door and hold my breath.
He stands over me for a moment, staring down at me, pushing me up against the door with his muscular body. He takes my jaw in his long fingers, forcing me to look at him. “You can’t leave any other way than through that door. And I’m not opening it. So make yourself comfortable and get some rest.”
His breath is warm against my face, his cologne flooding my nostrils. My body heats with desire as he pushes against me.
I bite down hard on my lower lip and glare at him with what I hope looks like fierceness, even though my heart is racing a million miles an hour.
Chapter 5 - Yulian
I want to kiss her.
I want to taste her again.
She’s too beautiful with my fingers locked around her jaw and her eyes wide and terrified, yet still so defiant as she glares at me. She’s fierce. Bold. Angry. Scared.
And I want to kiss her.
My teeth grind together as I clench my jaw, urging myself to step back from her before I do something that will make the situation worse than it already is. She doesn’t have the right to be angry with me. I saved her life. She should be thanking me. She should be grateful. Instead, she’s stealing keys and trying to sneak away again.
But not this time. I won’t let her slip through my fingers and disappear again. Not when I finally have her close to me.
Day after day, I’ve been yearning for her, needing her, my obsession growing despite my ability to pretend that it was anything else. Curiosity. A way to pass the time. A way to keep her safe.
After all, Ididkeep her safe when it mattered. She would be somewhere untraceable now. In danger. Possibly hurt, tortured, crying…if she’s terrified of me, when I haven’t done a damn thing to harm her, imagine how scared she would be if those men had managed to drag her into the back of that van. If I hadn’t been there, watching her.
She should be thanking me.
But instead, she’s playing games. Pretending to appreciate my help, pretending to be meek and sweet, but assoon as I turn my back, she’s trying to escape. She’s a trickster, and I fell for it.
