Page 6 of Cruel Master

“But—what—!” Ron didn’t get to finish his sentence as I slammed the door closed on him.

“JFK airport, please,” I told the man in front before casting a look back to Ron as he cursed and rolled the window down. The men were getting closer. “Use the chaos at the airport to switch cabs,” I said, lowering my voice and leaning halfway into the cab as I tried to keep an eye on the men coming. I turned to the cabby. “There’s a two hundred dollar tip in it for you if you can get him there as fast as possible, sir. He’s late for a flight.”

The cabby’s eyes widened. “Yes, ma’am!” He nodded excitedly, and then—just as every other cabby in New York when there was a hefty tip involved would do—he threw caution to the wind and sped out into traffic. My lips twitched as I heard Ronald shriek just before the taxi was out of range.

Now, time to figure a way out of—I turned the opposite way the men were approaching and ran head-first into a massive chest. I stumbled, nearly going down on my ass, before the man’s hands gripped my elbows and steadied me.

Startled, I adjusted myself. Having been to New York several times on and off, it was a rare occasion when someone was kind enough to catch a person when they ran into them, much less if they fell.

Chivalry wasn’t dead, after all.

My eyes lifted. My lips parted. A thank you and apology were on the tip of my tongue, but as soon as I met the man’s eyes, every word in my vocabulary dried up and withered into dust. Every word except one.

I gaped up at the man and let that word spill from my lips as shock overtook me. “Gaven…”

Gaven’s face was hard. Lethal. His eyes were like twin chips of ice as he glared down at me. “Hello again, Angel,” he said. “Or should I say, hello,wife?”

I was so fucked, and not in a good way.

3

GAVEN

Five years had done nothing to dampen the taste of Evangeline Price on my tongue. Each day had only made the cravings harder. Now, standing before me was the woman I’d been searching for, the woman I’d been hunting. A burst of adrenaline poured into me. I bit down on my tongue, tasting blood. The primal urge to set my teeth to her flesh and rip her open rode me hard.Animalistic.That was what this woman made me. Luminous blue eyes turned up to me and widened in a mixture of shock and horror.

She hadn’t changed much in the last five years. She was just as beautiful as ever, only older, more mature. She’d cut her hair. Her face was leaner, body more toned as if she’d started going to the gym regularly. She’d changed her style of clothing. I wasn’t surprised. She was on the run, after all. Even she would be smart enough to alter her appearance. A part of me, I admitted, was proud of her.

I found myself smiling in the face of her surprise and especially her dread. My dark need for her was going to fuel me over the next several weeks. We’d never gotten that honeymoon of ours. I’d never gotten the chance to introduce her to the darker side of my desires. I’d treated her as a fragile creature, and now she was about to find that I was far crueler than she could have ever feared.

Perhaps she didn’t honor the vows we’d made five years ago, but I was nothing if not a man of my word. Those vows had meant something to me. Killer though I was, I’d meant every fucking word I’d said to her. I would honor her. Cherish her. Keep her.

And she would obey me now. Whether she wanted to or not.

“W-what are you—”

“Get in the car, Angel,” I ordered, cutting her off. She blinked up at me and then managed to collect herself, her back straightening as she tried to step away, trying to create distance between us. That, I would not allow.

Without a second thought, I brought my hand up to her neck and relished in her gasp as I tightened my hold—not quite cutting off her airway, but certainly keeping my fingers pinned over the blood rushing beneath her skin. “W-wait—” she wheezed.

I leaned down and hovered over her face. Her lips were right there. The very same lips I’d dreamed of for the last five years. The same lips I wanted to be wrapped around my cock as I pressed in deep to the back of her throat. It would be one of the many ways she would show her regret over leaving me. It would be one of the many ways I would punish her in the coming days. Perhaps she thought I’d forgotten my anger. Perhaps she thought she could still find a way out of this. She was so very fucking wrong.

“You should have kept running, Angel,” I whispered as I pressed down on her carotid artery. Her lashes fluttered and her hands came up, nails sinking into my forearm as I turned and pressed her against the nearest surface—the black SUV I’d ordered one of my men to bring around. It had neatly slid into place as soon as the cabbie Angel had been speaking to had sped off.

“Gaven…” She gasped and I could see it in her eyes when she realized there was no getting away. The darkness was encroaching on her now, swallowing her whole. I could feel the sting of her little nails biting into my flesh, but nothing could hurt me now with her in my arms. My lying, betraying little wife. “I c-can’t … you don’t understand … I h-have to…”

I understood perfectly well. I understood that the night we had wed, her father, Raphael Price, had been murdered. And Raphael’s youngest, his favorite—my Evangeline—had gone on the run, drawing all manner of speculation. Many believed that she was responsible, but I knew differently. I wasn’t a stupid man, but I had been too kind once. Too kind to her. Young and naive as eighteen-year-old Angel had been, seeing her now—five years later—all filled out, further along the cusp of her womanhood and definitely more ballsy and intelligent than even her father had ever thought her capable of being was a fucking masterpiece. She was a piece of art painted in blood, daring anyone who looked at her to delve beneath her layers and discover her secrets.

And discover her secrets, I would. If it took a day, a week, a month, or even a year—Angel Price … no, AngelBelmonte… wouldn’t be seeing her freedom anytime soon. Not until I heard the truth straight from her lips about what happened on our wedding night and until she paid for her deepest betrayal of all—thinking she could escape me.

“I promised I would come for you, Angel,” I said quietly into her ear as she slumped against the SUV’s door. I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her up. To any passersby, we’d look like an absorbed couple as I gently maneuvered her into the backseat of the vehicle. “I always keep my promises.”

Once the two of us were secured in the car, I lifted my head and gave the driver a nod and he steered out into slow crawling traffic. My attention fell back to the woman in my arms.

She had no idea how long I’d been watching her. Searching for just the right time to drop in and take her. I recalled what she’d mentioned about wanting to go to college before. She hadn’t gotten the chance, but then—on the run—she’d proven that she hadn’t needed it. She was innovative and far better at keeping a low profile than I’d expected.

It’d just taken the better part of five years to track her down. I’d almost had her two years ago. I didn’t know how she’d caught on, but she had. This time, I knew I couldn’t fail. So, it’d taken a few months more after finding her for the right opportunity. My hand slid up her face. I touched her cheek and smoothed her hair back. She looked just as beautiful as she had the night we’d said our vows. Only this time I knew the truth. She was a filthy little liar, and I was a fool for wanting her the way that I did.

Soft caramel curls sifted through my fingertips like silk. I leaned down and inhaled her scent. No other woman smelled as she did. No other woman satisfied me the way she did. I had her now and whether she knew it or not, there was no escaping from me this time.

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