Page 10 of The Bratva's Hunted Bride
She sucks her lower lip between her teeth and bites down, her gaze darting to the open car door and then to the closed garage door. “They’d find me eventually.” Her head tilts to one side as she considers me. “But you seem awfully concerned about me screaming, so maybe there’s a better chance than you’re letting on that someone would hear me. Get a lot of joggers on these roads? Could someone be walking by right now?”
I lift the scrap of fabric again. “Give it a try and find out. I don’t want to hurt you, Talia, but I’m more than willing to keep you bound and gagged. I might even enjoy it.”
The thought of Talia naked and tied up on my bed, completely at my mercy, is enough to send the blood rushing to my dick. My fingers twitch toward her, but I steady them, fighting down the impulse. There’s a way to do this. I have her, but that’s just the start. Now, I need to move carefully.
She chews her lip, her white teeth flashing in the dim light. “Untie me and let me walk in myself, and I’ll come out right now. Quietly.”
It’s my turn to laugh. “I don’t think so. My shins are still bearing the marks of your previous escape attempt. I’d hate to see what you can do with your hands free.”
“You’re practically twice my size. What are you so afraid of?”
“Enough,” I bark. “You have ten seconds to decide. I can help you out of the car, and you can walk into the house under your own power, or I can drag you out and carry you. Either way, you’re coming inside.”
I hope she chooses the latter. She struggles against the ties behind her back in vain, making one last attempt to escape as I count down the seconds out loud.
“Wait!” she cries as I hit ten, but I’m tired of waiting.
She scrabbles against the door, but there’s nowhere for her to go. My hand closes around her ankle as she manages to get the door open, and I yank her forward before she can tumble out backward onto the hard concrete floor. Talia screams. Whether it’s from the near fall or my grip, I’m not sure, but she cuts it off a heartbeat later.
Despite her efforts to resist, I drag her across the backseat with ease.
“Let go of me!” She kicks her legs in an attempt to free them and opens her mouth to scream again.
I wrap one hand around both her ankles to hold her in place and clamp my other hand over her mouth. “Do not.” I feel her mouth open beneath my fingers, warm lips pressing against my skin. “And if you bite me again, there will be consequences. I’ve been gentle. That can change.”
My threat has the desired effect. Some of the fight goes out of her eyes, and she shuts her mouth, allowing me towithdraw my hand. Wrapping my arm around her back, I lift her from the backseat and step into the garage. The second she’s free of the confines of the car, she starts to fight, twisting in my arms like an eel.
It’s a valiant effort, but she’s half my size. I throw her over my shoulder and take her inside while she beats her legs into my thigh. The blows are harmless. Having her tight body squirming against me has a far greater effect, and my hand is resting just beneath her toned bottom on the bare skin of her thigh. I can smell the saltwater on her, along with a faint hint of coconut.
Thankfully, she’s quiet as I twist to fit us both through the garage door into the mudroom. I don’t set her down until we reach the kitchen, and she keeps up her assault the entire time. There’s a faint sheen of perspiration across her brow, and her hair is wild, spilling half free from her bun in wind-tousled curls.
She’s gorgeous. Her bikini top is twisted from her struggle, barely covering her nipples, and for a moment, I can’t remember what I’m supposed to be doing.
“Now what?” she asks, huffing as she looks at her surroundings. “What are you going to do with me?”
A thousand possibilities flash through my mind. I reach into the knife block and pull out a blade. Her eyes flare in fear. She backs away as I approach until she hits the counter behind her, and her gaze darts to the doorway beside me.
“Turn around,” I say, gesturing with my chin.
She shakes her head, refusing. “I’m not turning my back on you. Not with that thing in your hands.”
With a sigh, I move in closer until we’re toe to toe. She lifts her chin defiantly, big brown eyes meeting mine. It’s almost intimate. If things hadn’t gone so wrong, I could be leaning into kiss her right now. Instead, I grab her bound wrists and use them to spin her around so she’s up against the counter.
“Don’t move,” I caution her, palming the blade. She trembles, and the quiver of her skin makes my pulse jump.
Flipping the blade to its flat side, I run it harmlessly down the length of her spine before I slip it deftly into the gap between her wrists and slice through the zip tie. Her breath rushes out of her in a gasp, and she grabs hold of the counter before whipping around to face me.
“What the fuck was that?” she demands, pointing at the knife in my hands. “Your idea of a joke?”
“No,” I reply, putting the knife back on the block.
Nothing involving Talia is a joke. I’ve never craved anything like I crave her. All of my obsessions seem like childish hobbies now, nothing like this bone-deep need topossessher. To have her all to myself.
“There is something seriously wrong with you,” she spits, rubbing her wrists where angry red circles have formed.
If only she knew.
“The house is secure. Don’t bother trying to escape.” I saw to it myself before enacting this plan. There was no point in getting her here if she’d be able to break out, so I installed some extra security precautions.
