“Right. As if the gunman was after me.”
“Would you prefer returning to the courthouse to try and find out?” I resisted touching her face even though I longed to feel the softness of her skin.
She blinked twice as she folded her arms in a lame attempt to block out my presence. “Where are you taking me?”
Everything about this woman was a perfect storm of attraction. My hunger suddenly knew no bounds, which wouldn’t serve me well in finding my father’s murderer. What struck me as odd, perhaps even out of my control was when she’d almost been killed. Because of me or because of something else? Either way,the single averted action had awakened some level of darkness and need inside of me that I’d find difficulty controlling.
“Somewhere safe.”
“For how long?” Her voice remained seductive all while pleading with me to return her to her precious life.
At this point, I’d yet to decide whether I’d allow that to happen.
With grit in my voice, I gave her the only answer possible at this time. “For as long as it takes.”
CHAPTER 6
Catherine
It had beenTwenty minutes of sheer terror. I closed my eyes, willing myself to control the heavy anxiety making it difficult to breathe. The air in the oversized SUV was oppressive.
Maybe because of the company inside.
Broad.
Muscular.
Lethal.
Dangerous.
The four words continually reverberated in my mind. A question also continuously played out like a broken record. Who in the hell did Alexander think he was to kidnap me from a government building? The man had balls. What confused me was that even though I’d been yanked like property, my life disrupted, I continued to steal looks in his direction.
And that he’d been protective of me.
His features were far more defined than I’d realized. With his square jaw adorned with at least a three-day stubble, his thick hair lightly tousled from the chase, he was perhaps the most handsome man I’d ever laid eyes on.
More so than when I’d met him a week before. He’d been dark and brooding, so serious in his expression and body movements that he’d seemed like a statue. Godlike, yes, but untrusting of anyone. But the way he’d looked at me, his eyes darkening in the late afternoon sun had kept me intrigued.
Now he was totally different, a man possessed.
Or maybe the correct term was obsessed.
He also had a weapon in his hand, casually placed in his lap and it was difficult not to remind myself how much danger I was in. I’d felt his attraction when he’d driven his groin against my bottom, his cock hard and throbbing. Instead of being disgusted, something had shifted inside, a warmth that I hadn’t felt in far too long.
However, being this close to him inside a vehicle boosted the anxiety. Beads of perspiration were likely staining my silk knock-off blouse. He was decidedly calm yet red-hot heat radiated off his body.
The driver made a turn leaving the city. Where was he taking me? I did my best to pay attention to every turn, every twist in the road, but focusing was difficult. He’d done that to me, which was exactly what he’d intended by playing the intimidation game after the hearing.
In the harsh glare of the afternoon sun, his expression was unreadable, but his features and the cold look in his dark eyes were mesmerizing.
The sirens had faded, police cars no longer racing toward the scene and with every mile driven, a sense of hopelessness replaced my earlier defiance. Would he hurt an officer of the court? He had to know there were cameras inside every courtroom. They’d see us together. Unless they’d been hacked.
Whoever had gotten into the bowels of the building had skill and balls.
I realized Alexander was watching me carefully and as I’d experienced before, the trickle of heat between my legs increased. His dominating gaze alone made me weak in the knees.
“There’s no reason to be frightened of me, Catherine. I have no intentions of hurting you.”
