Page 3 of Obsession

If you hate him this much, why bother with the paternity test at all?

But then, Ella knew why. Susie’s public relations company had done well, but in recent years, her contracts had dried up, and she needed a new income stream. She’d moved in on ‘Daddy’ to provide one, and Ella didn’t blame her one iota. The man who stood before her had done nothing to contribute to her life beyond ejaculation. The very least he could offer was money.

“Don’t worry, Mum.” Ella smiled as she turned back to the man who’d fathered her. “I’m a big girl. No one’s going to take me without a fight.”

Chapter One

Trepidation

Ella

Present Day

“Tucker, don’t do this.” The plea was a strangled gasp from her dry lips. “Please.”

“Not Tucker.” His jaw stiffened, the blue oceans of his eyes darkening as he stared at her. “You know what to call me, and it would serve you well to start behaving, little girl.”

She shivered at the menace of his voice, although the blanket cast over her ensured she was warm enough. He’d called her his ‘little girl’ again, the so-called endearment all the more terrifying now that she was tethered to his bed.

“Sir,” she conceded, conscious of how fast her heart was beating. “You don’t have to do anything you’ll regret.” Like, hurt me.

She resisted the urge to vocalize the final three words but was sure they were there in her eyes. Certainly, they bounced around her head as she dared to meet his gaze. His expression was like thunder, intense and foreboding as he scanned her face.

“I don’t regret anything.” There was conviction in his voice, his resolve intensifying her terror.

“Nothing?” Heaving in air, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Everyone regretted something, didn’t they?

Plus, he’d been the one who agreed to take her as collateral. He’d hoisted her up in the barn and exploited her. How could he not have regrets?

Leaning closer, there was the flicker of something dark in his gaze, something that promised to be even more dangerous than his behavior so far.

“Nothing.” He elongated the word, lowering his face to hers.

“Tuc—” Pausing, she corrected herself as she recoiled as far back into the mattress as she could. “Sir. Don’t!”

“Don’t, what?” Less than a few inches from her, his lips curled. “Don’t look at you? Why not, little girl? You’re so beautiful.”

“I don’t want this.” Ignoring the praise, she breathed in his scent, her senses torn between her palpable fear and the alluring aroma of sandalwood.

Ella had always loved the smell, yet she couldn’t fathom how a guy who lived alone in the woods without so much as hot running water could have access to it. Never mind why, at the most disturbing moment of her life, her senses had been piqued by his or any scent at all.

But then there were many things she didn’t understand about Tucker. Primarily how her own useless father had come to owe him so much money and how she was supposed to resolve the debt for him. Let alone how she was supposed to survive the ordeal.

“You don’t know what you want.” His gaze was knowing. “You didn’t seem to mind being so close to me earlier.”

Memories of the gentle caress they’d shared in this exact spot flooded her mind, her breath hitching. Tucker was right. She’d welcomed his lips then and had even considered permitting more. But that had been before she’d been ill, before she’d fled through the trees again, and before he’d bound her to his bloody bed.

“This is different.” She decided not to argue his point. “I can’t even move now.” Fresh anxiety coursed through her system as she articulated her predicament, her wrists tugging at her unseen binds once more.

“You’re getting what you deserve.” Any hint of mischief in his eyes was replaced by something harder. Anxiety knotted in her tummy at the sight. “For tricking me and running.”

Tricking you? She searched his expression for any sign he was being disingenuous.

“I didn’t trick you,” she started, determined to try to reason with her captor.

What other choice did she have?

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