it by the sea?’
‘It’s not—’
‘Can I go outside? Does it have a view?’
‘You’re not going to—’
‘How long can I stay? Will you be there?’ Her eyes were glittering with excitement and there was a flush in her pale cheeks, the live wire spitting sparks.
You’d think I’d just promised her the trip of a lifetime, not that I was going to hold her prisoner until her father did what I wanted.
Losing patience, I stared hard at her. ‘Interrupt me again and there’ll be hell to pay.’
Her lips pressed together obediently, but her eyes didn’t lose that excited sparkle. She didn’t even have the grace to look ashamed of herself. ‘I’m sorry. I always talk when I’m nervous.’ Then, clearly picking up on my irritation, she added, ‘I didn’t interrupt this time.’
‘This is a kidnapping. You do understand that, don’t you?’
She laughed. ‘I know. And?’
Laughing. She’d been kidnapped and now she was laughing. And, even worse, the husky, joyful sound sent a hot pulse down my spine, jump-starting something inside me. Something that had been dead a long time.
Shit. Just what I didn’t want.
I ignored the feeling and scowled. ‘You should be frightened of me.’
An arrested expression crossed her face, as if the thought had never occurred to her. ‘Should I? I mean, I was a bit unsure a moment ago. But...’ Her forehead creased. ‘Do you want me to be?’
The thing that had sprung to life inside me burned, her complete lack of fear for some reason more powerful than any aphrodisiac.
Dammit. I wasn’t looking to be attracted to her, for fuck’s sake. That kind of shit only got in the way and I was not looking for distractions right now. Not that I ever had. My own desires were irrelevant when I had a goal in mind and I let nothing distract me from that goal.
Including the bolt of electricity in human form sitting next to me.
I fixed her with a ‘don’t fuck with me’ look. ‘Anyone ever tell you that you ask too many questions?’
The colour in her cheeks deepened. ‘Kind of.’
‘Listen. You know who I am. You must have heard the rumours. They’re all true, understand? And yes, you should be scared. Because you have no idea what I’m going to do with you when I get you home.’
‘What are you going to do with me?’ She didn’t sound as if it worried her. At all.
Christ. If ever a woman needed a lesson in proper kidnapping etiquette, it was this one.
I leaned forward fractionally, letting my physical size intimidate her. ‘I’m going to ruin you, little one. That’s what I’m going to do.’
Or at least I would if her father didn’t do what I wanted.
Far from being intimidated, though, Imogen only frowned. As if I’d handed her a fascinating puzzle to work out. ‘Ruin me? Like...how?’
This was ridiculous. Did I really have to explain a sexual threat?
‘Like this...’ I reached out again and this time I brushed my thumb along her lower lip to illustrate my point, because the day I had to explain myself was the day I’d hand in my scary motherfucker badge.
Her mouth was just as soft and warm as it had been when I’d touched it not a minute or so earlier, and the burning thing in my gut flamed like a fucking firework.
Mistake. You shouldn’t touch her.
Bullshit. I didn’t make mistakes and I wasn’t a damn fifteen-year-old boy touching a woman for the first time. I could control myself. She had a pretty mouth but that was all. Pretty mouths were a dime a dozen and if I wanted one that badly, I’d find one. Later.
Her eyes went huge as I touched her. ‘Oh...’ The word was warm, exhaled against my skin. ‘That kind of ruin.’
So she understood. Good.
Yet she still didn’t look scared. Wary, yes, but there was definitely no fear in her expression.
Hell. What did I have to do? Pull a gun? A knife? A fucking bomb?
‘So how exactly do you ruin someone sexually these days?’ she went on, her eyes alight with interest. ‘It’s a bit nineteenth century, if you know what I mean. Virginity isn’t the big thing it used to be.’
‘That’s it?’ I dropped my finger from her mouth, ignoring the warmth that lingered on my skin. ‘That’s your response?’
‘Should it be different?’ A crease appeared between her brows. ‘If you’re going to ruin me or whatever—’ she waved her hand as if the ‘whatever’ was negligible and not the threat it very much was ‘—I’d like to know how you’re going to do it. Seeing as how I have a vested interest and all.’
‘Screwing you, that’s how I’ll do it,’ I growled, my patience starting to run even thinner than it was already, hoping that would quell her.
‘Oh, sure.’ She shrugged, very much unquelled. ‘Screwing goes without saying. But I’d still like to know how that ruins me.’
Shit, this woman was either simple or...she was playing me.
I was beginning to suspect it was the latter and if that was the case, she’d regret it. I could play that game better than she ever could.
‘You’re a virgin—’
‘Hey, how do you know that?’
‘Interrupt me one more time and I’ll give you back to your father’s men.’
Her mouth closed up tight. Interesting. She really didn’t want to go back. I filed that fact away for future reference.
‘As I was saying,’ I went on. ‘You’re a virgin and your father has been guarding that very jealously for a long time. You may not think it’s important, but it is for him because if he wants to make alliances with potential friends, he’s going to use you and your pretty hymen to do it. But how will that work when his virginal daughter has been in the hands of his enemy? Make no mistake. The ruin I’m talking about will make you mine and mine completely, and once you’re mine you’ll be useless to anyone else, including him.’
Emotion shifted in her eyes, gone so fast I wasn’t sure what it was. Not fear, something more complicated than that.
This girl seemed open and sincere, but maybe she wasn’t. Maybe there was more to her than there appeared.
The curiosity I thought I’d crushed earlier smouldered back into life, making me want to know exactly what more there was.
I’d always enjoyed
