Gray looked amused, hands in the air, and backing away.“Suit yourself.” He pointed behind me, still guiding me toward the trees.
A confusing cocktail of fear, anger, and… was thatlustiness?
Damn it.
Everything about him was captivating. He was all raw masculinity against the shadowy backdrop of the forest. He had that weathered, windswept look, a rugged beard, and shaggy hair peeking out from under a wool cap. A flash of flannel showed beneath his jacket, and his thick jeans hugged the sculpted muscles of his thighs.I could almost picture his perfectly chiseled chest under all those layers, thick, meaty pecks and a decent yet tasteful amount of dark body hair trailing down over strong abs.
About to drool, I glanced where he’d shown, trying to keep my scowl in place and not completely lose all visible defense over his appearance. He was nothing but trouble, a walking bear trap.
Behind me, a little hill sloped upward toward a cluster of young evergreens.
“You go pee, and I’ll wait,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest and moving to sit on the seat of the snowmobile to wait. One leg soon hitched onto the machine, looking like a model straight out of a wilderness magazine.
I glared, sharpening my defenses. As much as I wanted to keep fighting him, my bladder was about to pop.
I rolled onto my stomach with a grunt, thankful for the gloves as my hands dug into the soft snow, pulling myself forward. Up the small incline, I found vertical purchase on a three-foot evergreen and stood before using the small tree as support until I could reach for the next, larger tree. I rounded this one, knocking snow and ice to the ground as I worked to find the tie of the baggy snow pants. Working out the belt, I easily pulled the pants down, finding a puffy, loose pair of adult diapers replacing my usual designer thong.
He hadn’t been kidding. He’d actually fucking diapered me.“You’re a sick asshole!” I screamed.
I heard chuckling in response.
Okay, Betty, get it together. I didn’t have the strength to hate myselfjustyet. I had to stay strong. Using the tree to help me, I squatted as effectively as possible and completed the task.
Sweet relief.
I stood again on wobbly legs, wincing as my sore back struggled to hold me. Fingers shaking in oversized gloves, I re-clasped the belt to hold the pants on. With several stumbling steps, thankfully out of his view, I balanced myself as best I could and made it back around the tree. My legs felt like jelly after holding a squat that long. The wilderness gym was already kicking my ass.
With my chin held high, I slid back down the hillside, refusing to meet his assuredly smug gaze. One thing was for sure: I had no intention of climbing back onto that snowmobile.
I plopped down on my tushie at the bottom of the hill, crossing my arms and legs in protest.If he expected me to continue on, then he’d have to tie me up and throw me on the sled himself.
Another yowl came from the animal crate.
“Listen, we need to keep moving if we’re going to make it home before nightfall,” Gray said.
I narrowed my eyes and pursed my chapped lips. Several things were wrong with that statement. First, we were not heading to anyhomeI knew of. Second, I was not going anywhere withhim.Not anymore.I was stupid to have ever missed him, stupider yet to have worried about him. I’d misread this entire situationship.
He sighed and dropped his arms to his sides, melting out of the wilderness-model pose.“Do you remember what happened?” he arched a brow.
With a sardonic tilt to my head, I rolled my eyes. The universal sign for,yeah, duh.
“We had to leave New York. You weren’t safe there,” he tried to justify.
“You kidnapped me,” I snapped back.
“No…” his reply was fast and pre-loaded, like he knew I’d say that.“Isavedyou, Betty. A thank you would be appreciated.”
“You took meaway!”I yelled.“From everything and everyone that could help us. Don’t gaslight me,” I spat out.“Why didn’t you just drop me at the police station, Gray? A hospital? I mean, for all you knew, that Teletubby of a man injected me with drugs!” My voice was shaky and hoarse, but growing with venom.
Gray noticed the hoarseness, at least, rummaging in a side bag and producing a bottle of water. He tossed it to me. I didn’t catch it. It landed in the snow near my crossed legs with a dull thunk. I glared at it for a long while before giving in. Snatching it from the snow, I twisted off the cap and chugged half the bottle. It was cold and fresh; the best water I’d ever had.
He sighed.“It wasn’t drugs. It was a sleeping aid. I made sure of it after he injected you.”
“You made sure of it,” I parroted.“And so you thought, oh good, now I can take her and diaper her like a baby. You’re a sicko, aren’t you?”
He shrugged. Fucking…Shrugged.
“How long was I asleep?” I demanded.
