Page 5 of Kidnapped Forced Mate

As we draw toward the end of dinner, Luca pays the bill and shows a great deal of chivalry as he helps me get my coat over my shoulders and holds out an arm for me. He’s the polar opposite of the real man he hides behind this mask – the Devil himself, supplying weapons of mass destruction to those who wreak havoc in the world.

Still, I maintain my sheepish smile as we walk out onto the sidewalk.

“The limo should be here…” Luca says with a frown, stepping ahead of me and keeping me behind him with one hand. He lifts his wristwatch to his lips and begins speaking hurriedly in Italian.

“Luca, what’s–”

He grunts under his breath and shakes his head, continuing his stern orders in Italian into his watch. Out of nowhere, a pair of large hands grab me by the waist, my vision being snatched by whatever has gone over my head. I’m suddenly picked up, Luca’s voice ringing out behind me as he screams. It’s a blur of forceful footsteps, shouting, being thrown into the back of a metal van. The engine roars to life somewhere ahead of me, and the vehicle is set into motion.

Lugging in deep breaths to calm my nerves, I’m about to call out to the kidnappers to remove the bag from my head when I’m lifted off the metal floor of the van. Frowning deeply behind the bag over my head, I yell, “Hey! Let me down!”

Something’s terribly wrong – I can sense that much. Not only are the hands on my waist abnormally big, but they’re also hot, as if burned in a furnace. Like the claws of hellfire clutch my waist, leaving gravity behind as the air feels coolly distinct, like we’re flying toward the clouds.

The loss of gravity underneath me is unlike anything I’ve felt before. It’s nothing like flying in a plane, that moment of take-off that defies gravity. This has the wind blowing against my flesh, warmth exuding from whoever or whatever holds me, and my arms bound to my sides so that it’s impossible to wrestle free. All I can do is kick my legs, yelling even though my voice is lost in the wind.

The flight lasts only a few minutes, but in that time I haven’t given up trying to fight against the heat that envelops me and carries me forth. A shiver courses down my spine when the flight is slowed down, and I hear a flap of something that sounds like an eagle’s wings. Except, it’s much louder and more powerful, prompting me to finally settle down and pay attention to anything I can hear to get the slightest idea of what’s going on.

I’m slowed down even further, arms held in a vice grip beside me as we touch down. Whatever keeps me bound loosens steadily, turning into what feels like strong arms, like I’m being pressed against a warm body, a stone-walled chest., Despite how restricted my vision is, the unfamiliar circumstances don’t worry me enough as they should. For some reason, I feel safe. It’s the unknown that has me shivering as I’m set onto my feet.

Wobbly knees have me stumbling over the heels I’d paired with the red dress. I’m about to buckle over, when the pair of strong hands grab my arms to steady me. Without warning, the bag is removed from my head, striking my eyes with unfamiliar bright light. All I can see is the outline of a man in front of me, and I have to blink rapidly to settle my vision.

Once… Twice… By the third time, my breath catches in my throat, lodged by the sight of the ethereal beauty before me.

I open my mouth to speak, but nothing except a gasp falls from my lips. Piercing green eyes like emerald beams stare into my face. I can’t help but remain momentarily stunned, the facial features of the man so sharp and symmetrical, that it’s almost impossible to believe he’s real. With a nose so pointed and full lips so plump, his skin creamy as if carved from marble. Not even the faint traces of facial hair is enough to attest that he’s human. The gentle pricks that match his tuft of blonde head around his mouth and cheeks appear like skillful strokes of a painter’s brush to allude to his humannness.

“Who–who are you…?” I murmur, unable to form a coherent thought besides wanting to know if I’m imagining this being of beauty in front of me.

I’d never considered a human man to be a beautiful creature. But this one is pretty. He has me dazed, and the only way I can gather that he’s even real is from the way his bladed brows furrow in a moment’s hesitation.

“Who are you…?” he repeats my question, almost as if he’s the one who’s hypnotized. He quickly pulls back, his frown deepening as he stares at me accusingly.

“I’m–” I’m about to respond to his question, the accusation in his eyes, when he turns his gaze to his palms and visibly shudders. Almost as if he was appalled that with those hands, he’d touched me.

His reaction allows me to snap out of my daze and take a quick look around at my surroundings. We’re standing in the helm of a lavish bedroom – but not the one I would have expected in the best suite of the Bellagio.

No. This one is far grander, with pastel blue organza cascading from the ceiling around the bedpost on the left, plush golden carpets adorning the floors, and speaking of luxury that not even Luca Mancini could afford with all his tainted wealth….

“Where are we?” I snap back at the blonde man, narrowing my eyes at him.

The man’s frown softens, a fleeting smile forming on his lips. “Where we are doesn’t matter,” he says calmly. “All that matters is that you’re safe now.”

“Safe?” I frown, shaking my head slowly. “I wasn’t in any–”

“You were about to be kidnapped, woman!” he snaps back, the derision in his eyes returning and turning them almost jetted. “I saved you!”

Realization keeps me momentarily stunned into silence. He must have witnessed the kidnapping and thought I was in danger.

“That’s not…” I begin, watching as he casually strolls to the glass sliding door behind him. He pulls it closed, then there’s a clink of metal as he locks it. What is he doing?

“Excuse me… Whoever you are… You don’t understand,” I call out from behind him, my frown deepening as he pulls the curtains over the door. “I wasn’t in any kind of danger.”

“I know what I saw,” the man says as he turns around.

When our eyes meet again, the wind is knocked out of my gut. It takes every ounce of inner strength to remain composed, forcing me to take the deepest breath I’ve taken today.

“Do you work for Luca?”

He frowns again. “Luca? Who’s that?”

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