Page 15 of Reckoning

She shrugged, acting indifferent, but she was visibly angry. “I’ll just come back when you’re not here.”

“Joshua will remove you.” He tucked his hands in his pockets, and I recognized the classic power pose he adopted when driving home a point or sealing a lucrative deal. He was flawless in his suit and tie. I had seen him in this getup on TV plenty of times, but being next to him lent an entirely different tone to his presence. I fixated on his rigid jawline as he contained his displeasure. “I won’t ask again. Go.”

Ignoring him, she turned to me and embraced me swiftly before Meyer could step in. “I’ll be back,” she whispered in my ear, then walked back toward her red Maserati parked in front of the house.

Meyer seemed frozen until she drove away, then he relaxed a modicum and faced me for the first time. I crossed my arms and turned back toward the fence.

“So it’s not just me you’re horrible to. Do all women get that treatment?”

Grabbing my shoulders, he spun me around and pushed me toward the house.

“Take my advice here. Stay away from my sister. She does not have good intentions.”

“Don’t touch me.” I was glad he couldn’t see my face. My cheeks burned at having him so near, recalling the memory of his hard cock pressed up against me as I leaned helplessly against the tree. The way his fingers felt inside me. The orgasm that claimed me before I snapped to my senses. And now, the raw mixture of hate and lust that swirled in my gut every time our eyes met. I felt sick to my stomach. How could I feel anything but loathing for this man? He had all but said he’d kill me if I didn’t bow to him, yet the goose bumps I got when he was near came from a mixture of fear and lust, and not simply unease.

“You’re looking better,” he said with clinical detachment. “Are you still in much pain?”

Pursing my lips, I was unwilling to admit I was feeling better because I worried he would use it as an excuse to hurt me again. I had nearly caved and let him take me yesterday. My eyes trailed down the muscles of his arms even now.

He frowned at my silence but didn’t push me and took me into the house. He gave me more painkillers, showing me the bottle to prove it wasn’t anything unexpected, then walked me back to the bedroom where he tied me to the bed again and pointed at the floor. I stayed where I was.

“Do as you’re told,” he growled, but I didn’t move.

“Forget it. I’m not getting on my knees before you, ever.”

The suggestion wasn’t lost on him. He gave a half smile, just one corner of his infuriatingly beautiful mouth turning up as he stepped closer. Standing less than an inch from me, he let his jacket fall to the floor. I realized I was pressed back against the footboard. He was always backing me into corners, trapping me against the nearest unmovable surface.

“You seemed pretty close yesterday.”

I swallowed, cursing the blush that rose to my cheeks. His hand darted to my neck, pulling my face to his. I screamed at myself to fight him, to pull back, but I let him draw me in less than a centimeter from his lips.

His scent was making me furious.

He traced his nose along my cheek, moving his breath to my ear.

“You belong to me. In every way.”

I willed myself to hold still, to stop the heat growing in my core. This was ridiculous. The man had struck me multiple times, on top of the injuries I sustained when I was abducted, but the very feel of him so close to me drew me toward him like a magnet. I thought the hairs on my arms were probably standing straight, reaching toward him as if I could lure him closer by sheer force of will.

I swallowed. “Not every way.”

Don’t kiss him.

He planted a firm, possessive kiss on my cheek before I could react. “You will soon enough.”

I made a show of rubbing my face where he had touched me, but he was picking up his jacket and hanging it carefully in the closet. I could just see him through the door as he brushed it with a lint roller before moving to pull off his tie. When he began to unbutton his shirt, he turned and looked at me. I flinched and looked down.

He walked out a few minutes later in jeans and a T-shirt, untying me as quickly as he had bound me only a few minutes before.

“Hardly seems worth the effort,” I said, rubbing my wrists. I felt dry skin where the material had cut through again and again, trying to callous. Noticing my discomfort, Meyer retrieved some thick lotion and spread it around the red skin with his own hands. He ran his thumbs along my palms, never taking his eyes off my face. I forced myself to focus on his fingers.

“I don’t want you running off. Who knows what animals you’ll run into.”

“Why should it bother you if someone shows me a bit of kindness in the midst of this nightmare?”

He pulled on each of my fingers now, flexing them until the joints cracked. I felt myself relaxing.

“Anita doesn’t want to help you. She’s after something. Better to stay away from her.”

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