I tilt my head with a quirk of my brow. “Oh, how thoughtful that you keep spares for the girls you kidnap.”
“No. You’re the first, and I prefer the term protecting rather than kidnapping.”
I turn around, holding onto the back of the chair under the breakfast bar. “Can I ask? Why?”
“Kidnapping makes me sound like a villain, protecting sounds more like a hero.” He tidies the plates away and opens the dishwasher.
“No, why do you care to protect me or whatever? You never gave me a straight answer before.”
He stops in his tracks, then takes two steps to close the gap between us. “Because I don’t like people tampering with what’s mine.”
Oh crap. He’s possessive too. “But I’m not yours. We hardly know each other.”
He runs his fingers through my long, damp hair down my back. “Yet. Get some sleep. There’s plenty of time to get to know me tomorrow.”
I scurry away, tugging the t-shirt over my arse, as I sense his eyes on me. I didn’t miss how he said get to know him, as if he thinks he already knows enough about me. He might think he knows me, but he only knows what I’ve told him. He doesn’t even know my proper name.
The spare room is minimal and cold. Not the temperature. I’m actually really comfortable despite the situation. Though there’s no lock on the door, which is a surprise as the rest of this place is locked up like Fort Knox.
For all I know, he could have fabricated this whole thing to get me here. I didn’t actually see a BMW on my estate because he had my head down so quickly; I didn’t get the chance to see what was going on. The night plays over in my head, but I refuse to actually believe he’s the villain. He may look like an escapee from Strangeways prison, but his warm brown eyes tell a different story.
I turn off the bedside lamp and close my eyes, thinking of his firm hand wrapped around my neck. How his fingers delicately caressed my skin, soothing me, despite forcing my face into his junk. A smile curls my lips, thinking of all the things he could do to me, and I’d enjoy every second.
The voice of reason pipes up, disrupting my fantasy.He’s a possessive stalker slash kidnapper. We know nothing about him.
I know killjoy is right, but I’d sooner take my chances with Dom than Malcolm, the premier player at the casino. I want my freedom. I’m tired of running.
* * *
The bed dips,startling me from a dream. I suck in a breath, ready to fight, flight, or fuck. His arm slips around me, then he jolts up as if I’ve given him an electric shock.
The light turns on, and I hold my breath. My heart pounds like a fox trapped in a snare. Staring into brown, predatory eyes, a scream sticks at the back of my throat, unable to escape. They’re not the same eyes that have held me captive all night. These are different. Unfamiliar. Who the heck is this?
“I see my brother’s left me a snack.” His hand reaches out to move the hair from my face.
I whip my head away, then grab the lamp from the bedside table. With all my strength, I yank the lead from the socket in the wall and jump out of the bed, holding it like a baseball bat in my hand. The scream clogged in my throat finally escapes, but he just fucking grins at me. Just like the skull tattoo grinning on his bicep.
The door springs open. Dom stands in the doorway. The bedside light highlighting his magnificent ink and all his naked glory. My eyes bulge, unable to look away at his package.
“You all right?”
I nod but don’t move or let go of the lamp in my hands, ready to swing at either one of them if they try anything.
“I thought you were in Rome?” Dom says, looking at the guy who kind of resembles him a little, though Dom’s more rough around the edges.
“I just flew back in. Cut the trip short. I didn’t know we had company.” He stands, still grinning at me. “You can put the lamp down. I won’t hurt you.” He turns to Dom. “A little spitfire you got here, brother.”
“She’s a feisty one, all right. Red, get in my bed.” It was more like an order than a request, but I do as he says. Anything to get out of this suffocating room with both their eyes on me. As if one predatory stare wasn’t enough. Now he has a freakin’ brother. After setting the lamp down on the bedside table, I warily pad over to Dom in the doorway. He’s still completely naked, and I try to shimmy past without touching his dangly bits. One very large dangly bit in particular that my eyes can’t unsee.
With my body still vibrating and adrenaline coursing through my veins, I pad across the hall, but listen to their conversation.
“What the fuck, Dom? I didn’t know she was in here.”
“I didn’t know you were coming home tonight.”
“Who is she?”
“She needed help, so I brought her home.”
