CAPTURED: 9 Alpha Bad-Boys(2)

"They won't let you leave unless I allow it."

She turned to face the man at the desk.

"And I will not allow you to leave my house, or my country, until you have paid your debt."

She swallowed the lump forming in her throat.





Chapter Two

He stepped toward her and she froze.         

     



 

Did he mean to take her now? Here? With each step he took forward, her  heartbeat accelerated. Pounding in her ears. Demanding that she flee.  She had to fight the overwhelming impulse.

She sucked in a deep breath, and planted her feet firmly on the floor,  refusing to run. Even if she wanted to, there was nowhere to go.

She was intensely conscious of the distance between them diminishing.  When he stood within arm's reach, he wrapped his long, and very strong,  fingers around her arm, below the elbow.

Her stomach clenched. Oh, God, she wasn't ready for this.

His gaze locked with hers and he drew her toward him. Her heart flailed  like a caged animal crazed with fear and she couldn't seem to draw in  any air. He reached out with his other arm. She stiffened, expecting his  hand to clamp around her, to pull her against his body, but he didn't.

He pushed on the large wooden door behind her. It closed with a click,  then he tugged her back to her chair. Her legs had gone rubbery, so she  had no choice but to sink into it.

He stepped to his desk and pressed a button. A moment later, two women  came into the room. They inclined their heads in his direction and he  spoke to them in a language she didn't understand. The women stepped  toward her and linked their arms with hers. She tried to pull away but  failed. They seemed quite adept at this.

"Go with them. I will see you at dinner."

She let out a sigh of relief. A reprieve.

The women led her through high-ceilinged, marble hallways, up a wide  curved stairway, down several more hallways, then through an arched  doorway.

Before her stood a luxurious room with a large four poster bed in rich,  burgundy wood, and light-weight, sapphire-blue silk bedding. A sitting  area, composed of two plush, jade and blue paisley loveseats with a low,  round wooden table between them, filled one end of the room near a  large doorway leading to a balcony. Sunlight filled the room.

The women guided her across the room then through another doorway where  she saw a large, sunken, marble bathtub. One woman ran water into the  tub and the other gestured for Angelica to take off her clothes.

She'd been traveling for ten hours. Her feet hurt. She felt hot and  sticky, and she desperately wanted to get out of this cumbersome robe. A  bath would be wonderful, but she refused to do it with an audience.

She pointed at the door and made shooing motions to give them the idea  she wanted them to leave, but they shook their heads. Finally, she  crossed her arms over her chest in a stubborn stance and glared at them.  They must have gotten the idea, because they reluctantly stepped toward  the door.

Once they were gone, Angelica returned to the bedroom and glanced around. She stepped to the door and tried to open it. Locked.

She sighed. They could walk in at any time, but at least they had given  her some space. She stripped off the cotton robe, which clung to her  damp body, then peeled off her white lace bra and panties and laid them  on the bed. A moment later, she dipped her toe in the tub. The water was  slightly warm, which was perfect. She stepped in and sank into the  water. She sighed and leaned back, allowing the water to sooth and  rejuvenate her body. Her eyes closed and she began to relax, until  thoughts of the tall, sexy man with the coal black eyes, who'd  introduced himself only as Kadin, tumbled through her mind.

Did he really expect her to willingly give herself to him? Would he  force her when she refused? Fear welled up inside her, yet at the same  time, excitement thrummed through her. The man might be arrogant and  intimidating, but his dangerously sexy good-looks combined with the  overwhelming sense of power emanating from him played havoc with her  hormones. Just thinking about him kissing her, touching her, took her  breath away.

She sat up and reached for an oval bar of soap from a brass soap dish at  the side of the tub. As she rubbed it between her hands, it lathered,  filling the air with the sweet scent of jasmine. She massaged the smooth  bar over her shoulders, then along her arms. The velvety lather felt  good against her skin. She ran the soap over one breast, then the other.  Thoughts of Kadin shimmered through her.

Her eyelids closed as she moved the bar around and around the smooth  flesh of her breast, imaging Kadin's hands caressing her. Curling around  her nipples, stroking them. The bar, like his imaginary hands, stroked  down her chest, then slid over her curls.

A sound from the other room startled her. She released the soap and sat  up, staring at the doorway. She heard female voices murmuring, then the  door close. Then silence.

Angelica grabbed a small bottle of shampoo from a basket of toiletries  beside the soup dish and washed her hair. The same jasmine scent as the  soap wafted around her.

A few moments later, she stepped out of the tub and dried off with one  of the large, cream, plush towels, then wrapped it around her body,  tucking the corner between her breasts. She towel-dried her hair, then  combed it in front of the oval mirror on the wall. When she returned to  the bedroom, she noticed with a start that her clothes were gone. All  that was left was a silk robe, which she quickly slipped into, dropping  the damp towel.

A tall pitcher full of ice and what looked like lemonade stood on the  low table. A small stemmed goblet stood beside it, already full and  waiting for her. The glass dripped with condensation and Angelica's  mouth watered at the thought of the cold liquid moistening her throat.  She picked up the goblet and sipped, enjoying the tartness of the lemon.  A few moments later, she decided to lie down, suddenly sleepy. Not  surprising, after the day she'd had. A short nap would be a good idea.  She closed her eyes and consciousness drifted away.



Angelica heard quiet murmurs and felt soft hands on her body. Her eyes  slowly opened as she felt her arms being raised and she realized two  women were sliding a bra over her shoulders. She found it difficult to  push back the blanket of sleep. Lethargy weighed heavily in the stifling  heat. Sunlight no longer shone in the window and long shadows filled  the room in the dim twilight. A third woman wrapped something around her  hips. She felt hands all around her, fastening and adjusting. She  pushed herself up off the bed and past the women, then shifted out of  their reach, backing away from them.

She glanced down and saw that they'd dressed her in a skimpy harem  outfit. Slowly, light filled the room from an overhead fixture dripping  with crystals. She saw a woman by the door sliding a switch upward. A  dimmer switch Angelica presumed. She glanced down at the costume again.  It was stunning in royal blue and gold with a gorgeous design formed by  the intricate beadwork. The bottom of the bra and the hip band were  dripping with beaded fringe. It cascaded from the bra and caressed her  bare midriff. She had taken belly dance classes over the past couple of  years and had eyed the instructors' costumes, wishing she could afford  one for herself, yet this was more exquisite than any she'd ever seen.

"You like it, yes?" one of the women asked. She seemed to be the one in charge.

"It's  …  beautiful."

The woman took her hand and drew her forward. "Wonderful. The master will be pleased."

Angelica's eyes widened. They were taking her to him in this?

Of course, what had she expected?

When she slowed down, the women gathered around her and kept her moving forward. She resisted, but they kept moving en masse.

"Stop it. I won't go dressed like this."

"You must. The master has ordered it."

They quickly approached the door. Panic flooded through her. She couldn't.

"I won't wear this!" She reached behind her back and tried to unfasten  the bra, but the unfamiliar closure and the fussing hands of the women  prevented her from succeeding. She pulled the straps off her shoulders  and tried to pull it forward.

"No, miss. You might rip it," one panicked woman insisted.

Rip it. That's exactly what she'd do. She tugged at the straps but they  were securely fastened on. She switched to the belt and tugged hard.  Despite the women pulling at her arms, she found where it fastened. She  realized they had stopped their forward momentum as they struggled with  her. She jerked several times until finally, she heard the belt tear,  then it fell from her hips.

The women spoke frantically in their own language. Next, she tore at the  shimmering, diaphanous fabric of the skirt, ripping it from her body.  She shoved her fingertips under the bra beside her left breast and  pulled hard. The elastic gave a little and she tried to pull it upwards.

"Stop! You will ruin it."

She felt fingers working at the fastening, then the bra loosened. One of her captors took it, scowling at Angelica.

The woman in charge stepped in front of Angelica, her hands on her hips.