Page 155 of Taming Seraphine

She swallows hard. “Today was the first time I ever had a chance to run.”

I understand her meaning immediately. She’s describing the invisible cage the Capellos placed over her mind, making her think her brother would die if she tried to escape.

Those bastards had a fucking nerve. She could have sought help from the police or even from her targets. Making her believe staying with them was the only thing keeping Gabriel alive was sick and twisted.

“You will never have to worry about becoming anyone’s captive again,” I say with so much conviction that my voice trembles.

“But Samson?—”

“Will die, just like those bastards who touched your mother.”

“What if he’s ready for us?”

“It doesn’t matter. We’ll find a way, even if it means the two of us sneaking into his hideout through heating ducts.” When Seraphine’s lips part to ask another question, I add, “But I’ll stand back and let you kill him in the most painful method he deserves.”

“Leroi,” she whispers, and brings her mouth to mine.

I kiss back, but as I slide my tongue between her lips, the air fills with the sound of gunshots.

SIXTY

SERAPHINE

Leroi helps me scramble to my feet at the first crack of gunfire, and I yank up my leggings and panties. My breath stills. The noise is coming from the direction of the nearest estate, even though I can barely see its walls through the dense trees.

In a blur of synchronized movements, Leroi extracts his pistol, scoops me to his chest and fires back at the shooter in a sprint. Clinging to his shoulders, I glance around for signs of an attacker, but he’s moving too quickly through the trees for a clear enough view.

Palpitations thrash through my heart. Both at the prospect of being hit, but at the thought that what Leroi said might be true.

Could he truly belong to me? This devastatingly attractive older man with his perfect life, perfect control? It hardly seems possible.

“Head down,” Leroi says, his voice low and urgent.

With a squeak, I tuck my head into his chest. The last time Leroi carried me like this, it was out of Dad’s mansion. Now, he’s become more than my rescuer or even my protector. Leroi is my lover.

He zigs zags, using tree trunks as cover until the gunshots finally stop. He keeps hold of his pistol long after the last bullet, but his grip on me relaxes.

“Are you alright?” he asks.

“Fine.”

“Looks like we’re safe for now,” he says, his lips brushing my brow.

“Was that another hitman?”

He hesitates several seconds before answering. “Hard to say.”

I look over my shoulder in the direction he’s carrying me and find his black SUV parked off the road, right beside a large boulder. Sunlight shines off its polished surface and bounces off the pieces of broken glass strewn across the tarmac.

“What’s that?” I point at the shattered glass.

“Smashed headlight.” He jogs across the road, flings the passenger side door open, and deposits me into the front seat. The airbags have deflated, coating the car’s interior with powder.

After sliding into the driver’s side, he pulls out onto the road and drives away with a screech of tires.

I stare at his profile, now knowing better than to distract him while he’s speeding through the twisting roads of Alderney Hill. My ass still smarts from the spanking, and my pussy aches from getting pounded.

It’s only once we reach a straight stretch that he takes his eyes off the road and turns to meet my gaze. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

---