“What is it gonna take for you to let me go?” I ask. If he’s surprised by my question he doesn’t show it.

“The truth,” he answers.

“About?” I throw back at him.

“The whereabouts of your brother,” he says without missing a beat.

I keep my composure as I fire back. “If you let me strap a dildo on and fuck your ass, I’ll tell you where he is.” It takes a whopping three seconds before all five sets of eyes are on me, then laughter breaks free from the four guys, bringing a winning smirk to my face. Alexander on the other hand looks like he is plotting ways to disembowel me.

“You think this is a fucking joke?” he roars. The room falls silent and suddenly for the first time since meeting him on the plane I feel it,terror.I gulp and try to appear unaffected by his outburst but the instant he pushes off the wall and stalks toward me, I lose the fight. My fight or flight instincts kick in and this time, I choose flight. I turn and run through the house not knowing where the fuck I’m going but the sound of his thundering footsteps chasing me spurs me on to find the nearest exit.

When I spot the entryway up ahead, I almost weep at the sight of it. I hear him getting closer but I don’t dare look over my shoulder, knowing that will cost me precious seconds of time I don’t have. I extend my free hand that isn’t carrying the stupid bottle of water ready to rip the door open, but then a scream of shock and pain tears from me when he grabs my hair and yanks me back. My feet slide out from under me, I’m about to land on my ass until an arm bands around my waist, securing me to his front. I barely have time to process what happened before he pushes me forward. I manage to turn my head to the side at the last second before I headbutt the front door. I push back but the asshole uses his body to hold me in place, his hands landing on either side of my head, caging me in.

For a solid minute all that can be heard is the sound of our ragged breaths. I don’t know what the fuck came over me. Rationally I know I would never be able to escape but the fighter within me refuses to give up and roll over and show this wannabe alpha my belly.

“I’veneverwanted to slaughter a woman so badly before,” he pants out. The sick twisted bitch inside me preens like what he just said is a compliment. I have no idea why I have the urge to push this man until I find his breaking point. I know who he is and what he has done, yet… I’m not afraid.

“Well, I guess I should be proud that I get to pop your cherry then, huh?” His answer is to growl and I can’t keep the satisfied smirk from my face.

“This isn’t a game.”

“Then what is it?” I fire back.

He grabs my arms, then spins me around and slams me back against the door. I grunt and glare up at the fucker. I hate the significant height difference between us. I may be little in stature but not in fight. I have faced hellhounds that wanted to rip me apart and survived. Alexander Denver is a fucking puppy compared to those monsters. When he bends down so we are eye level my breath hitches. Our breaths intermingle and the scent of mint and smoke hits me, I should be repulsed but… I’m not.

“This is your life on the line.” His voice is hard and firm but it's the look in those green eyes that has me tensing.

“Why do you sound so concerned about what happens to me?” I find myself asking. His eyes harden as his hands grip my waist in a bruising hold. He pulls me forward until I’m plastered against his front. I drop the water bottle and place my hands flat against his chest.

Alexander

Her blonde hair hangs around her face like a shield. I itch to brush the strands back but I keep my hands on her waist, resisting the urge. Her big blue eyes stare up at me with curiosity and hatred, but it’s the sight of lust mingling in the depths of them that has me wanting to say fuck it to my rules and claim her.

To claim her would be to kill her.

Her innocence shines in her eyes—her mouth suggests she is older than her eighteen years but her eyes are what give her away. They show you everything without meaning to. She is impressionable and hardened from something that hurt her in the past and I find myself needing to figure out what that was and destroy the cunt. I shutdown that line of thought, she is a means to an end and it has to stay that way.

“You are the only one who seems to know where the rapist is.” She flinches as if my words physically hurt her. Her eyes darken and her features harden. Her grip on the front of my shirt tightens as she presses in closer, ghosting her lips over mine which has me tensing in surprise. It takes a lot more self-control than I want to admit to keep my impassiveness.

“Do what you must, I’ll never give up my brother.” My upper lip pulls back in a snarl. I shove away from her and the darkness that lurks beneath the surface of my skin bristles at me for not inflicting pain. She grunts out her annoyance as I turn my back and stalk away. I make it four fucking steps before I grunt when something smacks me in the back of the head. I whirl around to see the bottle of water she had resting on the floor in front of me. I dart my gaze from it, then back to her. I was fully prepared to ignore her temper tantrum until she cocked her hip and placed her hand on it smirking.

I rush her, her eyes widening in terror at the sight of me coming at her. She doesn’t have time to react. I grab her waist and toss her into the air like she weighs nothing and she shrieks in fear. I don’t use my hands to break her fall. I push forward and trap her against the door with my body, her legs and arms banding around me by instinct. Her breathing is erratic and her eyes are as round as saucers.

“What the fuck?—”

I cut off her tirade before she can continue. “You ever fucking throw something at me again and I’ll show you who really has the biggest set of fucking balls out of the pair of us. Do you understand me?” I yell, her nostrils flaring, clearly not liking my tone or the way I just manhandled her. Truth is, I don’t give a fuck what she wants or what pisses her off. She is here for a reason and once she gives me the intel I need, she’ll be sent packing and never thought of again.

“Fuck. You,” she screams in my face.

“Not even in your wildest fucking dreams would I let your vulgar ass touch me.” Her mouth slackens as her eyes fill with indignation. Victory has never felt so fucking sweet. My train of thought is corrupted when her legs tighten around my waist and her fingers tangle in the back of my hair. She tugs on the strands, tilting my head back far enough so she is looking down at me, clearly loving the height difference between us now. Her blue eyes are filled with a cunning look. She slowly bends down and runs her nose along my jaw, a small moan escaping her and without permission my hands grip her ass to keep her steady. She darts her tongue out and licks the shell of my ear. I hiss in both intrigue and surprise. I loathe to fucking admit it but my cock is hard.

Her lips ghost over the shell of my ear just as she grinds down and feels what she is doing to me. All my threats from a minute ago are proven redundant now.

“Hmmmm,” she purrs in my ear, my hold on her ass turning bruising as I war within myself to either keep her steady or help her grind on my dick. “See, this is a game you will lose.” I grind my teeth so hard they begin to ache. “Want to know why, Alex?” She doesn’t give me a chance to reply. “You like to think you are the one calling shots but you’re not. I am. You showed me your hand when you didn’t rape me while I was passed out. You gave me clothes and water. You let me out of the room and allowed me free roam of your house. You just let the wolf into your straw house and I’ll blow this motherfucker down before I ever give up my brother.”

I release my hold on her and step back. She clearly anticipated the move because she lands on her feet with a smug smile. When she opens her mouth, to fire another insult I’m sure, I go with a different tactic of shutting her up. I wrap my hand around her throat, force her head back, then smash my mouth to hers. She turns to stone for a split second until I lick across her lips. She gasps, granting me the access I need. I swipe my tongue across hers and have to force my groan of pleasure down at the taste of her. Her hands fist the front of my shirt, I’m unsure if she wants to pull me closer or shove me away, but I don’t let that deter me as I step forward, forcing her back against the door.

She grunts into my mouth but I swallow the sound. I start to forget the reason why I started kissing her when she kisses me back with a hunger only matched by my own. The kiss turns from exploration to a fight of dominance, our teeth clashing as we fight against each other. The moment I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her against me so she can feel my raging hard on, she relents and allows me the control I fucking crave. Her submission strokes the darkness inside me.