Preston’s head slants. “Are you sure? You said it yourself, you’ve heard the rumors, yet you still found yourself wandering in the tunnels. If I had to gamble your life,” he throws back at me. How much of our conversation was he listening to? “I’d say you’re dangerously captivated by your curiosity and wanted to see what it would be like to dance with the dark.” My mouth parts, words escaping me. “I’d know precise knifework anywhere. By the looks of that long scar on your pretty neck, I’d say maybe you already have been.”
I’ve been trying to run from it. And somehow, I’ve found myself in this reality I can’t escape.
Out of the hands of one monster and into the hands of another.
Bolting up out of my chair, I push it backward with the backs of my knees. “I’m done with this conversation. I want to go home. I’m not responsible for whatever it is you think I’ve done.”
Storming past Preston, his eyes track me, raking over my body in the spanks and t-shirt I still have on. Feels like I’m naked beneath his stony expression.
Behind me, Carter exhales, “She’s all yours.”
Rushing out of the room, I turn right, trying to locate the nearest door to the outside. I need air. I need space. Funny how such a vast space’s walls can creep in on you.
I don’t get very far before I’m shoved forcefully into an alcove. My back slams against a hard surface, my body wedgedbetween the wall and a rigid frame that has desire flooding to my core despite his cold demeanor.
Preston slaps a hand against the wall above me, trapping me beneath him. The heat from his skin drenches every inch of mine. “Where do you think you’re going?”
My eyes draw up to Preston’s. His smoky scent, twisted with a hint of fresh earth, envelops me, numbing the part of my brain that wants to fight back. To slam my fists against those sculpted pecks that will probably shatter the bones in my hand. My head is a warzone—the blasts and explosions igniting that sweet, sensitive spot between my thighs. A flicker that damn well shouldn’t be there.
He effortlessly charges the few particles of air between us.
All my words come out in a rush. “If I’m going to be here a month, it doesn’t mean we need to breathe the same air.”
My fingers reach out, gripping onto the cotton of his shirt. But I don’t push him away, and he must notice because his lips shift into a smug grin that could have any woman submitting to his orders.
Too bad I’m not that girl.
Using all the force I can muster, I shove him backward. My features harden to stand my ground, though it feels like it's crumbling below me.
“Careful, Kate.” My toes curl at the way he says my name. “Your fight turns me on as much as your fear.”
I shake my head, attempting to move past him, but he seizes my wrist. In one quick, smooth movement, he spins me around, slamming my chest into the wall. He takes a step forward, pressing me against the wall with his pelvis. The weapon growing against my ass has my breath shuddering. I’d say I wiggle a little to prove it's not his gun, but we both know it's a lie. My traitorous sex-deprived body is acting out and defying my command to find this man repulsive.
He gruffly groans in response to my ass moving against his front. His fingers drift across the slope of my neck, pushing my hair to one side while the other wraps around my waist. The strands gliding over my neck make me shudder, jerking me back harder against his erection.
Yep. That thing could break me as easily as his hands could.
Preston’s hand cups the front of my throat before tilting and forcing my head back over my shoulder to meet those brutal, striking eyes. I swallow against his palm. “Lucky for you, I have business to deal with tomorrow and will be gone for the next several days.”
I try to withhold the relief from my tone. “Oh?”
His warm breath fans across my lips.
Doesn’t matter if this devil is in a suit or sweatpants. He holds the power to incinerate all my rational thoughts and command my body like it's his to own.
I am his prisoner after all.
“Don’t sound so excited. I said I’d keep you under surveillance for the next month, and I meant it. You aren’t going anywhere. Just because I won't be here to track you, doesn’t mean I won't be able to while I’m gone.”
What?
Without warning, his hands move hastily, wrapping something smooth and cold around my neck. Terror claws up my throat. I squirm beneath him, but it only reminds me of his hard length, fully aware of my body flush with his.
Nooo.Why are my panties dampening?
The cold feeling of heavy metal nips at my skin as I hear two clicks that have my heart plummeting into my gut.
Preston steps away, the loss of his warmth adding to the chill that skitters across my body when I reach up and drag my fingers over the collar ensnaring my neck.
