Page 20 of Eternally Bound

Daniel had become a ruthless stranger. Who kidnapped me! Forced me here without my consent. The question was why? I felt fear clutching at my heart along with anger, intense and volatile.

“What do you want?” I asked him, hardening my face and my heart.

Chapter Seven

Daniel

Ainslee had been the most beautiful girl. Now, as a woman, she was the most breathtaking vision I had ever laid eyes on. Something about her spoke to me on a primal level. Her fiery hair ignited my blood with possessiveness, protectiveness, and, above all, desire.

My heart beat fast with an excitement I hadn’t felt in such a long time. My once frozen heart commenced melting with her back in my life. I couldn’t believe she was here, in my home.

Twelve years ago, I walked away from her. To protect her.

Today, I kidnapped her. To protect her.

She was mine now, even if she didn’t know it yet. Nothing would keep me from her now. That little piece of good that was left, the piece that kept her away from me and safe, was dead and turned me into a selfish bastard. I no longer cared. There would be no walking away from her this time. She was mine for the taking.

She had always been too good for me. I should have never touched her. But the young woman had my heart the moment we locked eyes. That night I went to say goodbye, she took my soul too. I was hers, have only been hers ever since. Yes, I had other women, but she was the only one I had ever loved.

Maybe if I had left her without saying goodbye, I would have had a chance to get over her. But Ainslee threw me off course, and we ended up tangled between the sheets. It was the best gift and the worst curse because I could never forget her.

I couldn’t say that night was a mistake. She would never be a mistake. I wasn’t sure she felt the same though. I kept tabs on her over the years. She was a fighter, she appeared to have moved on. She had a meaningful career, a man, and a child. I couldn’t do the same because she was my heartbeat. The only way I’d ever forget her was through death. And I had no intention of dying and leaving her unprotected. That night I spent with her was the last time I felt happiness. The last time I feltanything.

She stared at me in shock; her beautiful eyes sparkling like blue sapphires widened and a rush of primitive possessiveness rushed through my veins.

My woman.

She has always been mine. And I was hers, whether she wanted me or not.

“Would you like a drink?” I asked her in an effort to break the intensity of the moment.

“No thanks,” she said stiffly. “It is the fucking middle of the night, Daniel. What I want is to go home!”

I smiled at her fire and walked over to the little mini bar stored in the corner of the room. I knew she’d be pissed off. My Ainslee wasn’t a pushover. More like a firecracker that would go to battle to defend what she thought was right.

“What have you done, Daniel?” she questioned in an angry voice, her eyes glaring furiously at me. Her knuckles were snow white, parallel with her body, as she clenched her hands into fists. During those best six months of my life, she had not once gotten angry at me. I saw her playful side, her agitated side, her sweet side, but never her angry one. I knew it was there with little flares of her temper and the occasional expression of annoyance. But now, I saw her anger firsthand, and it was magnificent. It was also aimed at me. Deservedly so.

Her unique beauty drew me in when I first saw her, but it was her personality that sealed the deal. The mixture of fire and softness all wrapped up in what was uniquely Ainslee McLaren. I poured a drink of bourbon into a short glass and looked up at her.

“You mean, what has your boyfriend done?” I quipped with a raised eyebrow.

Her fair skin flooded with color and her eyes regarded me with hostility. Did she love Callen McLeod? She must have, to have a kid with him and to have had him in her life. I believed the only thing that kept her separated from Callen was his gambling addiction.

“Ex-boyfriend,” she croaked. “And what does that have to do with anything?”

Hmmmmm. Interesting.I liked the sound of “ex-boyfriend.”

But the delight was short lived knowing that piece-of-shit got involved with my uncle, then dragged Ainslee and his son into it.

“Well, he gambled you away.” I smiled tightly, hiding my rage behind a polite, impassive mask. The knowledge of how easily Callen put Ainslee on the poker table sent fury through my veins every single time. I had to force myself not to think about it. “And I’m his debtor.”

Her forehead creased in a frown, her pretty full lips partly opened with shock.

“You?” she gasped.

“Yes, me.”

She stood there, not moving except for her chest heaving with anger. She was pissed. I knew she would be.

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