Page 39 of Oh No, My Kidnapper Is Hot!

My jaw drops.

“What is the purpose of that?” I squeak. Sure, he seems to like me well enough after my two day foray into madness, but three days ago he was making it very clear that I’ve been nothing but a thorn in his side. Now he wants towoome? To what end?

He raises a single dark eyebrow at me.

“What purpose does a man ever have for wooing a woman?”

An unladylike noise of distress comes out of my mouth. He smiles – the smile of a cat about to catch a mouse. I crumble.

Stryker laughs as he catches me, sweeping me gracefully intoanotherprincess hold. I make a weak protest, knowing my legs wouldn’t hold me if he did actually set me down. Fortunately, he doesn’t. He walks me to the bed and gently lays me in it.

I stare wide-eyed at the ceiling. Eye contact avoidance is at an all time high. My face is twenty different shades of red, guaranteed.

I would like to be thrown off of a tall, tall cliff.

“You’re cute when you’re embarrassed,” he tells me. Iwhimper. This is not happening. I should have stayed in Denial Land. What was I thinking leaving it? It is a wonderful place of peace, free from hugs, forehead kisses, and massive men declaring their intention to “woo” me. I will stay there forever. None of this flitting to the real world and other such nonsense.

“Take your nap, darlin’,” a low voice calls from far, far away in Real World Land. I nod. A nap does sound nice. Nap Land is even better than Denial Land. It requires no effort at all on my part to remain in it. An amazing idea.

I close my eyes.

I’m covered, mysteriously, and tucked tight. A phantom finger traces the contours of my face from temple to chin. I think nothing of it. There is nothing to fear when you are in the space between Denial and Nap. I am cozy and safe here.

“Sleep well.”

My nose twitches.

Footsteps, then the soft click of a door.

I inhale. Exhale. Do not think about dark blue eyes or rough, calloused fingers tracing a line down my face. Nope, I don’t think about that at all.

And if it takes me longer than it should to fall asleep, well, that’s certainly not a problem. There are no problems when you’re in Denial.

Chapter Fourteen

The blanket is ripped from my body and a blinding light assaults my eyelids.

What fresh torture is this? I roll, groaning, only to find myself rudely unrolled.

“Millie, sweetheart, come on. Everyone’s waitin’ on us.”

Why is a man interrupting when it is clearly sleep time? They’re animals, all of them. Disrespecting the sacred nap time.

I squeeze my eyes tighter in my fight against the light and burrow down. A deep male chuckle, then a squeal as I’m lifted into the air. My eyes fly open, burn, squeeze shut again. I’m being attacked from all sides. This cannot stand!

“Whyare you always doing this?” I yell. I pound my fist in the direction of Stryker’s chest as he walks us through the cabin. “Have you no regard for the tranquility of others?”

“I let you sleep as long as I could, but we can’t be much later. All the cake will be gone.”

I carefully squint one eye open.

“Cake?”

I see a flash of straight, white teeth as he grins.

“Chocolate cake.”

Oh. Well. I suppose that’s alright then. I sniff.

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