Page 13 of Captured and Bound

“No, I haven’t dated at all.”

“Because of your father?”

She huffs. “Yes. My father ruins most things, so I steer clear. That’s enough of me. Your turn. Why aren’t you married?”

I scrub my hand down over my beard again. “Now we’re asking questions? What happened to secrets?”

“Everything you say is a secret to me because I know nothing about you.”

“Okay… yeah. I did the relationship thing for a while, but it wasn’t for me. Women want you in one spot and I like to move around.”

“Where to? I thought you’d always lived in in Alaska.”

“It was home base, but I traveled a lot. Hunting trips mostly, but I do work everywhere I can find it.”

“What do you do?”

“Construction.”

She leans against the back wall. “Do you want a family?”

I pause, wondering how to answer her question. “I told you before, no.”

“I know what you said before,” she bites her bottom lip, “but now we’re telling the truth. Do you?”

I sigh. “You can want something but know it’s not in your future.”

“Right.” Her tone is curt. “So, you do want a family?”

“Your turn again.” I stand from the floor and sit next to her on the bed. “Would your dad hurt you?”

She shrugs. “He uses force when necessary.”

“So how bad was it?”

“Bad enough that I ran.”

I loosen the ropes on her arms and stare at her, brushing a strand of hair from her face. The thought of anyone hurting her kills me. It also justifies the shots I took earlier this evening and any I take in the future. I won’t have mercy when it comes to her life.

She looks toward me, her gaze wild again. “Can I tell you a real secret?”

I nod, her soft hand brushing against mine.

“Seriously? Like you won’t judge me?”

“Never.”

She looks down and up again. “The ropes… I kind of… I like them. Not like, when I’m trying to sleep or when I want to have a drink, but I like the way you look at me when I’m all tied up. I like how you’re in control when I’m bound in this spot. Like any second you could tell me to do the wildest things and I’d do them because that’s what you wanted.”

There’s no saving my cock now. He’s hard and pressing at the zipper of my jeans with an aching urgency that I can’t put into words. Hell, I can barely think right now.

“Tell me more, princess.” I clear my throat and brush my hand down over her arm.

She shrugs. “I liked watching you tie the knots. You were rough but also careful. You paid attention to where the rope landed. You didn’t want to hurt me. You wanted to control me, and I like that.”

“Why?” I’m breathing hard now.

She shrugs. “I feel out of control all the time, Niko. Since I was a kid, my dad’s moods were all over the place and I absorbed everything. The anger, the stress, the frustration. Now, I have no idea how to regulate myself, you know? It’s like I’m sleddingdown a hill uncontrollably reaching for something to slow me, but missing every time.” She swallows hard. “When you tied me up, something inside of me went calm. You took control from me, and for the first time in my life, I felt safe. Turns out,” she laughs, “feeling safe makes me horny.”

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