Leaning up against a tree trunk, he crossed his ankles and waited.
“I’m coming for you, little ladybug. There’s nowhere to hide,” he called out, throwing his voice so it sounded like it was coming from behind her rather than in front.
From her sharp gasp, he knew she was close, and he couldn’t wait to catch a glimpse of her. With her skin flushed red from the cold, her long red locks billowing behind her, and defiance burning brightly in her forest green eyes, she would be a vision, the perfect prey, because even though she hated him, she was as affected by him as he was by her.
Fate played the cruelest of games, taunting him with something he could never have.
Or could he?
Rose couldn’t go home, it wasn't safe for her. Keeping her there was the only logical thing, because calling in Prey meant Eagle learning that they’d gone rogue. Where else would the little ladybug go? She hated him now, but maybe if he told her everything, she’d understand. After all, who better to grasp what a psychopath her brother was than Rose herself?
She’d slowed down, nearing the point of exhaustion and no doubt in all sorts of pain. If she wanted, she could paint him as the bad guy for this, but he would ensure she gave her body the rest it needed to begin healing.
Even if he had to tie her to the bed to do it.
Her pain … it affected him. He felt it in every way he wasn't supposed to anymore, in ways he’d thought had been stripped from him.
Maybe Dr. Gardner wasn't as good at creating soulless killing machines as he’d thought he was.
“There you are,” he said with a grin as his little ladybug stumbled through the trees toward him. “Are you ready to take your punishment like a good girl?”
December 28th
9:42 P.M.
Argh.
Why did she like hearing him call her a good girl?
What the hell was wrong with her?
Her body couldn’t seem to get it together and get in sync with her brain.
No one messed her up like this. She’d learned through necessity, basically from birth, to go with the flow, take whatever life gave you, deal with it, work through it, and survive.
Survive.
That was all she should be focusing on right now.
Mr. Bedroom Man was going to kill her. Rose didn't care that he’d denied it and told her that he wanted her to live. She wasn't naïve enough or stupid enough to believe that.
Why would he abduct her and then not kill her when his plans failed?
There was no way she was going down without doing everything she could to save herself, so instead of responding tohis ridiculous threat and her body’s reaction to it, Rose turned and darted back the way she’d just come.
Behind her, he sighed and moved with way more speed than her body had in it right now, grabbing hold of her wrists with one of his hands and lifting her up, draping her over his shoulder. The position sent pain searing through her worn-out body, and even though she hated to show even the tiniest amount of weakness in front of her kidnapper, a small moan managed to escape.
Stilling, she felt the tension in Mr. Bedroom Man’s body, and without warning, his hand came down with a dull thud on her backside. Immediately, he began to soothe the slight sting before she even had time to register it.
“Didn't want to do that yet, little ladybug,” he muttered. “Not while those welts haven’t healed. Not when you're covered in bruises. Can't seem to control myself around you. Knowing you're hurting …”
When he trailed off and didn't finish his sentence, Rose felt tears prick in the backs of her eyes. He sounded sincere, like her pain really did bother him, but she wasn't going to believe anything this man said to her. Especially when he denied her any answers to her questions or a meaningful explanation of why they brought her here to punish her brother.
“You don’t care if I'm in pain,” she said defiantly, with as much dignity as she could muster while hanging upside down with a much too close for her liking view of his perfectly toned butt.
The answering growl he gave was more animal than human, and he flipped her around quicker than she could process, so she was now cradled in his arms like a bride about to be carried over the threshold. Without any warning, his lips crashed down on hers, his tongue demanding entrance, and Rose found herselfpowerless to resist as he ravished her mouth with her very first kiss.
“Almost wish I didn't care, little ladybug,” he said as he walked back toward the house.
