Page 40 of Stripped

I stomped out of the room. I was halfway to the gym when my lungs started working normally again. I wasn't afraid of anything, darn it. Okay, fine, I was a little afraid of Leopold, but that was rational. It was irrational to be afraid of some yogi werewolf with terrible taste in movies. I marched into the tiny hotel gym and sighed. It had exactly one treadmill, one elliptical machine, and an exercise ball. I needed a punching bag, I needed something heavy to throw around. I needed to remember how tough I was and that no one would scare me, or hurt me, or stand in the way of my dreams.

I hopped on the treadmill and I ran, bare footed, until I'd remembered who I was. Until I remembered that I'd been orphaned as a teenager and I'd walked into that strip club and I'd gotten a job. I'd taken care of myself, I'd fended off handsy customers and angry customers and aggressive customers. I'd made sure I had food to eat and that the bills were paid. I was strong, and I was fine alone.

I ran until my legs were shaking and my breath was coming hard, which didn't take nearly as long as it should have. An exercise routine was in my future. To make full use of the facilities, I worked out on the elliptical machine and did crunches on the exercise ball. Once there was nothing left to do in the tiny room, I followed the smell of eggs and burnt toast to the lobby and the small dining area where the free continental breakfast was being offered.

I walked over to the buffet and filled my plate with eggs and silver dollar pancakes. “Walking around barefoot is a good way to get—”

I spun to find Zane closer than I'd expected, so close that I had to tilt my head back and look up to see his face. “What did I say about mentioning hotel germs?”

He held his hands up and took a step back, but his eyes were laughing. “The waffles are better.”

“You've already eaten?” Why did I feel disappointed about that?

He nodded. “My first course. I'm just coming back for seconds.” He held up an empty plate and I was shocked by the relief flooding me. What the heck was wrong with me? Was this some sort of delayed anxiety attack caused by Leopold?

“You know,” I said. “I'm suddenly not very hungry. I think I'm just going to go back to the room and lay down.”

His smile fell and concern filled his expression. “You should eat, especially after you exercised. I'll give you space if that's what you want.”

And how could I tell him that's exactly what I wanted without looking like a coward, without cluing him into exactly how much he terrified me? “I can never eat right after I've exercised.” I handed him the plate. “You can have this, I'll get something later.”

He opened his mouth like he wanted to argue, then he shook his head and smiled, though it looked forced. “I'll be up as soon as I finish eating.”

I walked away from him as quickly as I could without full-out running and looking exactly like the chicken I was. I took little delight in pushing the elevator button this time and couldn't hear the whirring of the gears over my heavy breathing. There was definitely something wrong with me. I hurried off the elevator and slid the key into the lock, the little light went green and I shoved the heavy door open. One step into the room and someone shoved me forward, two cold hands on my back.

I tripped into the room and hit the floor hard on all fours. “That's how I like to see you,” Leopold snarled. He stepped over me and looked down at me. “You should always bow down before me.”

I got to my feet and looked around for a weapon, some way to defend myself, but there was nothing. No weapon, and I had zero idea how to defend myself against him. I backed up until I had the door behind me.

He laughed. “You think you can run from me? I'll have my fangs in your throat before you can even turn that knob.” He stalked toward me and grinned, fangs flashing. “You thought you could escape me before, with your silly little stripper cops, but I found you.” He braced one hand against the door and leaned in close, sniffing me. “You're spending time with the werewolf, but you aren't fucking him. Can't imagine he'll want to protect you much longer if he's not getting a taste of your sweet pussy.”

“What do you want?”

He licked his lips. “I want you, sweetheart, broken and at my mercy. I could have you so easily. I could look into your eyes and ask you to suck my cock and you'd be on your knees like that.” He snapped his fingers and his pupils dilated, his eyes going red. “But I can get anyone I want to suck me off. You. You're special.”

He wrapped one hand around my neck and squeezed gently. It hurt, but I didn't flinch, didn't move. He could kill me with no more effort than it took me to walk across the room, and there was nothing I could do about it. I could, however, make sure he didn't see fear in my eyes, that he didn't get my tears.

He gazed into my eyes and I felt it, the pull, the desire to do whatever he asked. I fought against it, tried to keep my own will, tried to keep control, but I was slipping under his spell. He stroked a finger down my cheek. “You give in to me so easily, almost too easily. I want you to stay with the wolves for a while. Befriend them, fuck them if you have to. I want you to listen and I want you to meet me, every Wednesday at two in the afternoon at the Diner in Aspens Whiten. You will tell me everything you know about them, their weaknesses, their financial situation, the pack members most likely to leave, to betray the pack. You will give me all the tools to destroy the pack and then you'll watch as I do it. You'll watch me and then you'll be truly mine. You'll belong to me in a way no one ever has before. Tell me you understand.”

I wanted to scream at him to go fudge himself, I wanted to spit in his face, but my mouth formed his words against my volition. “I understand.”

“Good.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine, kissing me. I wanted to shove him off, but my arms were limp at my sides, my body immobile. He pulled back just enough to nip my bottom lip. He sucked on it, pulling blood through my lip until I was sure it puffy and swollen. “Sealed with blood,” he said, finally pulling away. “Until you come to me, pretend you're crazy about the wolf you're here with. Do whatever it takes to keep him from suspecting anything.”

He pulled me forward and slid past me and out the door. As soon as he was gone, mobility returned to my body and I dropped to my knees on the hotel carpet. Freaking hotel carpet. Leopold had ruined hotels for me, because now I'd think of him and his mind rape every time I visited this one. He'd ruined hotels for me and I'd never, ever forgive him. Tears streamed down my cheeks and I rubbed at them, I had to stop crying or Zane would be suspicious.

Behind me the lock clicked and the door swung open, I crab walked to the other side of the room and pressed my back tight against the wall. Zane stepped into the room, took one look at my face and was by my side in a moment. “What the hell happened?”

I shook my head, unable to speak. I couldn't tell him what happened and I couldn't lie to him, which is what my brain was screaming at me to do. He tilted his head back and sniffed the room. “A vampire? A vampire was here?”

I'd crawled into his lap and pressed my lips to his before I'd realized what I was going to do. I needed to distract him, needed to make him forget about the vampire.

He growled and shoved me off his lap. He looked furious and, for the first time since I'd met him, I was afraid of him. “What happened in here? You left me downstairs and you were scared, running away like I was the big bad wolf, and now you're kissing me? This isn't you.”

I was shaking, my whole body warring with the directive given to me by Leopold and my own desires. I couldn't hold up under this pressure, I'd shake until I split or went completely insane. A part of me wanted Zane. All it would take to fix this was a small white lie, and then I'd give in to the lust I'd felt for him for days. “There was a maid in here when I came back,” I said. “Maybe she was a vampire.”

His face reddened and his mouth started to shift, sharp canines lengthening. “I know that's not what happened, Abby. Tell me the truth.”

I wanted to tell him the truth, god did I want to tell him the truth, but there was… My stomach roiled and rose into my throat with a suddenness that had me bolting to my feet and racing for the bathroom. I bent over the toilet and vomited. What came out of me was vile, black and viscous, like black mold, and it smelled worse. Zane was at my side in an instant, holding back my hair and rubbing my back. “It's okay,” he said. “You're okay.”

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