Page 6 of Bond & Protect

“You don’t want us here?” Sydney shoots back. “Mila might be dangerous…”

“I can handle Mila. I just need you two to get out of here.”

The men reluctantly leave, but as the one left behind, I can almost feel myself tumbling into a tailspin. What the hell is going to happen now? With me and Elias alone and that chemistry buzzing painfully, it’s almost like anything could happen.

“Come and sit here.” Elias pats at a table, which trembles a little because it’s unbalanced. I notice a shabby old book under one of the table legs, trying to keep it steady, but it isn’t doing a good job of it. The table is still a bit of a shit show. “So, we need to talk about what’s happened.”

“I already told you…” I take the seat but fold my arms defiantly across my chest, “…I don’t know what happened. One minute I was with you, and you were walking me home, and…”

“Are you new to town?” he interjects. “Because I don’t think I have ever seen you before.”

I nod while biting down anxiously on my bottom lip. I don’t want to share this part of my life with anyone else. I didn’t come here to draw attention to myself, to be honest, I’m supposed to be a wallflower, but I also don’t want to seem like I came here to murder someone.

“I am new. I came here for… personal reasons. Because my family is from here, generations ago.” A heat burns in my cheeks as I share this. “I also want to get away from life in the city because I was having a really hard time there.”

He cocks his head to one side curiously. “What do you mean? What happened to you?”

“I…” I suck in a sharp breath. I can’t believe that this is happening. “I worked at a local news station in the city. Not a big one, but one so some people knew my face, which led to problems.” Fuck, this is harder to say than I thought it would be. “Stalker type problems.”

Elias bristles. “You have a stalker? So you came here? That seems very… out of the blue.”

“Well, like I said, I’ve always wanted to come here. There are older generations of my family with photos from here, and it’s always been a place that’s fascinated me. So, to kill two birds with one stone, I escaped the city just when it seemed like things might really escalate with my stalker. Since the police were no help, I thought the best thing I could do was hide away.”

“I see…” Elias rubs his hands together thoughtfully. “And that just happens to coincide with the moment The Rift has reopened? You have to admit it’s a bit suspicious.”

There are those words again. The Rift. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about. I just opened my heart and was really vulnerable to you then. I don’t know what you mean.”

Elias gets in my face as if trying to see if he can scare the truth right out of me. I narrow my eyes and match his threats line for line… but his nearness is starting to have the opposite effect. My face flames and my undies are soon soaked through, and I wish he’d just touch me––touch me like I’ve never been touched before… by anyone. Take me, make me feel things.

All of the growing rage on Elias’s face drops in that instant, like a wall of stone burying his emotions from the world. Now I sense he’s being vulnerable with me in ways that neither of us expected. Now I’m the one who can’t stop examining him and the feelings flooding him.

“Listen, you need to stay in this cabin for the time being, okay? That’s nonnegotiable.”

“What?” I gasp. “I want to go back home. I just told you I’m innocent. Why are you trying to keep me trapped here? Huh? I haven’t done anything wrong. I told you that.”

“You can move freely around the cabin but can’t leave. Not until we have figured this shit out or there will be hell to pay, okay? You’re still a suspect in this crime.”

I feel like he’s punishing me just because he had to let his guard down a little bit. Just because we can’t stuff down the sizzle of chemistry between us. That isn’t my fault. I might not really want to push away this powerful electricity, but that isn’t the point. The point is I’m not allowed to go anywhere, and I don’t like that. I’ve been through enough with the stalking. I want to be myself now.

With a heavy sigh, I lean back and watch as Elias swiftly turns on his heel and retreats from the cabin. But not before I see him sporting an impossibly sized hard-on.

So he feels it too, I think to myself. This connection we seem to have.

I mean, I knew as much, but having it confirmed is something else. My head spins as I wonder why I’m listening to Elias. Shouldn’t I just pick up and leave already? What’s the point of sitting around? Just because he told me to? It isn’t for my safety, is it? It’s because I’m being accused of something I didn’t do… that I probably didn’t do. I guess I don’t know.

With a snarl, I rise to my feet and try the door. Much to my surprise, the door swings open easily. So, Elias hasn’t even locked me in. What the hell is Elias thinking? Does he honestly believe that I’m dumb enough to just sit here and wait for him to come back? No way.

I step out, ready to make a run for it. Elias and his guys can probably run faster than me, but I’m sure as hell going to give it a try. There’s no need for me to be here at all. The only issue is, I don’t know where I am. I don’t know which way I’m going to go. But it’s fine. I’ll do what I can…

I don’t get too far, though. Soon, one of the men with Elias jumps me, pinning me to the ground. And he’s the shirtless one. Freaking Sydney, the one who hates me more than anything else.

“You aren’t going anywhere,” he growls as we struggle. But I am no match for his strength. Unfortunately, with Elias’s earlier proximity giving me dirty thoughts, Sydney’s body movements against mine takes on a new meaning. I can’t help but let out a little moan as his hard thigh brushes between my legs.

He stops fighting me, looking stunned. “Are you in heat?” This confuses me. And he thinks for a minute, then clarifies. “I mean turned on? Is that what’s happening here?”

I can only nod, because I can’t exactly lie at this point. “Touch me again,” I mutter darkly.

“You’re a little fire cracker,” Sydney murmurs as he backs off of me. He reaches out his hand to me and pulls me to my feet. “I thought you had a thing with Elias.”

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