“Think again, darlin.” A warm breath in the sexiest Texas drawl she’d ever heard said into her ear.
Once her initial surprise had subsided, Marissa began to struggle. An elbow in his ribs didn’t faze him. She dug in her heels and pushed her body back into his, but she might as well have been up against a wall. At five foot eight and a hundred and fifty-four pounds Marissa was no lightweight, but this man made her feel helpless and dainty.
Whoever he was, he was as big and strong as an ox. He easily forced her in the direction of the window, controlling her with the movements of his body. For a moment they were doing a bump and grind as he forced her across the room. Then Kirk’s words about how the two models fell to their deaths came back to her.
He’s going to throw me out the window!
Panic set in and she began to struggle wildly. Whatever he intended for her she wasn’t going to make it easy for him. Since his hand was over her mouth, and his other arm around her waist, that left her hands free. She reached over her head behind her, hoping to gouge his eyes and claw his face, to hurt him any way she could.
Damn, he was too tall! And hearing his light chuckle wasn’t what she expected. As he continued to push her toward the window, Marissa bit down as hard as she could over the hand smashing her lips. He grunted, but didn’t release her. And the next thing she knew they’d reached the window and she was looking down at the dark alley below.
“You’d probably survive the fall,” the deep, slightly out of breath voice said into her ear, “but why take the chance?”
Marissa strained against him with all her strength. She dug in her heels and leaned into him, hoping to throw him off balance, but he was solid as a mountain.
“I could always strangle you first.”
Without warning, she’s spun around and pushed up against the wall. She barely saw the glitter of his eyes before two strong hands encircled her throat. Before he could exert any pressure, she brought her leg up to knee him in the groin. A soft laugh met her effort. And a hand came down on her naked thigh to stop her knee from meeting her mark.
“Oh, no you don’t, darlin!” He moved in and leaned against her. The hand on her thigh was warm, almost caressing, as it moved along her skin. “I plan to use this later.”
This, meaning his cock. He had an erection the size of a Kielbasa sausage. She stiffened and sucked in her breath. Her heart was hammering in her chest. His voice sounded low, husky. Did he rape the other women first? She couldn’t recall. As a different kind of threat entered her mind, Marissa turned wild against her assailant. She began to attack him with her hands, but it was over before it began. With one smooth move, he grabbed both her wrists and pinned her arms above her head. His body held the rest of hers immovable.
She whimpered helplessly. Struggling for breath behind his crushing hand, her eyes round with terror. If she could just make a little noise, something to alert anyone outside her door, she might have a chance. But she couldn’t budge him.
“You have a lot to learn about protecting yourself, Miss Lambert.”
What? His voice had turned serious. Marissa became still when he used her name. She stared up at the shadowy outline of his features, only able to make out the glitter of his eyes. He was close enough that she could smell his aftershave, something appealingly light, and teasing. The hands circling her wrists had relaxed somewhat, but his grip was still firm enough to keep her where he wanted her.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Beau Evans, at your service, ma’am.”
Beau Evans! Oh, lord. All the energy and fear drained out of Marissa when it dawned on her that she was going to be okay. Then anger surfaced because he’d frightened her unnecessarily.
“Get off me!” She made the mistake of trying to dislodge him by arching her lower body against him.
He thrust right back, indifferent to his hard-on.
She gasped.
He grunted.
Marissa found herself released at once. When he stepped back, she moved away from him and went back to the phone. As she reached for it, she could hear a frantic Kirk on the other end.
“Marissa! Is everything all right? Marissa! Marissa!” he screamed into the receiver.