Page 7 of Caught By Menace

Jennie grabbed her hand and jerked but she wasn’t strong enough. “Naya! Naya!”

“Leave her,” Josef shouted as he rushed toward them. He frantically forced Jennie’s fingers open and hauled her up into his arms. Eyes glistening and chest heaving, he sobbed, “I’m sorry, Naya. I’m so sorry.”

Panicked and overcome with dread, Naya screamed for help. “Jennie!Jennie!”

But Josef didn’t stop. He ran. He ran with the woman he loved tucked safely in his arms. Yet again Naya had been left behind.

Naya shuddered in revulsion as the warrior tried to flip her over. She balled up her fist and whacked him on the jaw as he finally succeeded in forcing her onto her back. He hissed in pain but didn’t strike back. Instead he captured her smaller hand inhis and restrained her arm overhead. Shockingly he didn’t try to hurt her.

“Enough,” he whispered harshly. “It’s done. You’re caught.”

“Please,” she sobbed, her emotions overwhelming her. “Please let me go. My friends—”

“They left you. They’re long gone.” The briefest flash of sadness crossed his face. “You’re mine now.”

Naya dragged a slow, shaky breath into her lungs. She hated herself for crying in front of him. Showing a man—especially one as dangerous as this—weakness was a terrible mistake. “You’re going to regret Grabbing me.”

“Probably,” he agreed with a sharp laugh. “The same way you’ll regret coming to the aid of your friend. You could have been halfway to space by now if you’d just kept running.”

“I will never regret saving Jennie from you. She loves Josef. She belongs with Josef.”

“And now you belong to me,” he reminded her.

“Not for long,” she warned.

He laughed again, the sound so cruel. “You aren’t the first bride to threaten that and you won’t be the last.” His fingertips trailed her cheek. “It won’t work. It never does.”

She choked back the sob that threatened to escape her lips. As if curious, he lowered his face until their noses nearly touched. Eyes closed, he inhaled deeply, drawing her scent into his lungs. When his eyes opened again, he tilted his head. “I’m Menace. What’s your name?”

“Naya,” she whispered. Menace? What the hell kind of name was that? She studied his face but it was pointless. Try as she might, she couldn’t read this man. The unsettling feeling of being completely at his mercy made her stomach lurch.

“Naya,” he repeated slowly. His fingertips moved down her jaw and along the side of her neck. “I like that. It’s different.”

Her breath caught in her throat as his fingers glided across her collarbone and down the center of her chest. Her ripped shirt displayed too much flesh. Menace took advantage and swept his fingertips across her bare belly. His touch, so intimate and possessive, caused goose bumps to blossom on her hot skin.

Pinned beneath his powerful frame, Naya could barely move. Trapped and terrified, she tried to slow her panicked breaths. She fought the claustrophobia gripping her chest.

Menace must have read the fear in her face. Caressing her arm, he urged, “Easy, Naya. Deep breaths. You’re safe with me.”

Despite his surprisingly kind voice, she chortled sarcastically. “Safe? With you?”

His jaw tightened. “Your people may think we’re all monsters, but it isn’t true. I’ve never harmed a woman in my life. I won’t allow you to be harmed either. Do you understand? You are mine now.Mine.”

The possessive word rang in her ears. Her new reality washed over her like cold water, chilling her right to the bone. Unlike many women in her world, she’d been able to live a fairly independent existence. Even as a homeless, orphaned teenager, she’d found a way to escape the clutches of men who wanted to make her their own. To now be owned by someone—by this stranger—left her feeling ill.

“I don’t want to be yours.”

His lips settled into a grim line. “It’s too late for that. I’ve Grabbed you. It’s done.”

Putting an end to the discussion, he reached into the front pocket of his black uniform shirt and withdrew a thin white collar. Squeezing her eyes shut, Naya cursed the tears that dripped from her lashes onto her cheeks. The collar was slipped around her throat and fastened, not too tightly, but snug enough to remind her that she was this man’s property now.

“Don’t,” he rasped and wiped the wetness from her face. “I gave you my word, Naya. I’ll take care of you.”

“Take care of me?” She laughed caustically. “If stealing me away from my planet and forcing me to be your sex slave is your idea of taking care of me, I’ll pass.”

“Luckily for me, I’m not giving you the option.” He rose to his full height, reached down and swept her up off the ground. His pale eyes fixed her with a warning stare. “Don’t even think about trying to kick or hit me or run away, Naya.”

She arched her brow and informed him of the obvious. “You’ll have to put me down sometime.”

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