Page 8 of Grimm

“I’m your prisoner. I already assumed as much.” She tucked her good foot into the cushion of the chair and hugged her knee. “What about my job? My friends? My apartment? What about Megan?” She fired questions at him while she had his attention.

“Isn’t Megan the one who ran off with Marcus’s stash, getting you involved in this complete mess?” he asked. “Why would you care about her?”

“Because it’s not like her to just up and run off like this. I don’t think she would have done this willingly. I think she could be in trouble.” She pressed her chin into her knee. “Meghan wouldn’t have done this on her own without a good reason.”

“She was dating one of Marcus’s crew. That was her reason.” He pushed off the dresser and started to unbutton his shirt.

“What are you doing?” Her gaze locked on his fingers working each button open, the material of his shirt spreading apart to reveal the sculpted, tattooed chest beneath.

“I’m getting ready for bed. I had a long-ass day, and I have an early morning.” He yanked off the shirt and went to the closet. The muscles in his back tensed and relaxed in sync with his movements. Black inked tattoos of varying symbols covered his left shoulder blade. What did they mean? Or was he one of those people who just picked out things he liked and had them forever embossed on his skin?

When he stepped out of the closet, he wore only a pair of black boxers. Did he live in the gym? She’d never seen so many muscles on a man before, other than in magazines.

“Get undressed, Daniella, and get into bed.”

“I’m not sleeping in bed with you.” She jumped up from the chair. “I’ll sleep in another room.”

He cocked a dark eyebrow. “I paid fifty grand for you to mess up another bed in the house? No, you’ll sleep with me.”

She stared at the four-poster king-sized bed. It looked comfortable enough. Definitely better than the carpeted floor.

“You didn’t answer me about my friends and my apartment. Megan could be in trouble.”

He sighed and dragged his fingers through his thick, dark hair. “Your apartment will be taken care of and your things brought here. As for your friends, I don’t give a flying fuck about them. Now get in bed.” He jerked a thumb toward it.

“Megan.” She made fists. “Promise me you’ll help me find her, find out what happened. She could be in a lot of trouble.”

He blinked at her; surprise lit up his features. “Are you seriously making demands?”

So much for not making rash decisions.

“I’m worried about her.”

“You should worry about yourself. Now. Get. In. Bed.” His jawline tensed.

“I...” She looked at the bed again, “I won’t be your whore.” She clenched her teeth.

He laughed and shook his head. “You’ll be whatever I want you to be.” He yanked back the covers. “You have one minute to get your naked ass into this bed before I throw you in myself. And if I have to make you obey, you’ll have a sore ass for the trouble.”

Words emptied from her head. Just like that. He made one simple threat, a spanking of all things, and she couldn’t put one syllable in front of another to protest. Luckily, her limbs were still working, and she got out of the leggings without falling on her face. Leaving them in a puddle on the floor, she scrambled into the bed and moved as far away from his side as she could.

“See, a simple order, and you still couldn’t obey.” He climbed into bed and pulled the comforter over his body. He reached over to the nightstand, flipped a switch, and shrouded her in darkness. At least a foot away from his warm, mostly naked, absolutely hard, body.

“I did what you said to do.” She rolled her side, staring toward the window on her side of the bed. “My naked ass is in the bed.”

The bed jostled as he rolled toward her, his hand slipping across the soft sheets until he found her ass. She tensed as his fingers trailed along her hip, then downward to her bare ass cheek. The lace panties she’d been wearing weren’t comfortable, so she’d taken them off before getting dressed.

William ran his fingertips down the length of her ass crack until he was nearing her sex. She clamped her legs tighter, which earned her a chuckle.

“I suppose I’ll need to watch how I word my orders for you.” He pulled his hand away and gave her ass a swat. Not hard, but she doubted he meant for it to hurt. He wanted her to understand he could do what he wanted when he wanted, and if that meant touching her, she’d just have to deal with it.

All of which would shake her insides if not for the fact his fingertips had left a lingering trail of heat.

“Get some sleep, Daniella. Tomorrow’s going to be here before you know it.” He rolled onto his back.

Sleep? She wasn’t going to sleep. If she did, he could overtake her and do whatever he wanted to her. She would be powerless to stop him.

No. She was going to stay awake and alert. She could sleep while he was away during the day. The nights would be to remain vigilant against any of his advances.

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