Ellie wished he would have left her alone. “No. He stayed that night, using every minute to try to scare me into submission. Every time I argued, he hit me. It was a really long night.”
She felt Zane’s body tense beneath hers as he asked, “Did he strip you, or did you do that yourself?”
“He used a carving knife to cut off everything I was wearing. A scare tactic, and it worked. I was afraid he was going to rape me, kill me, or both.” She took a deep breath before adding, “He took my clothing that first night. When he left the next morning, I was pretty torn up.”
“Fuck! I wish I’d suspected him earlier when I could have had him followed. By the time I went back to Rocky Springs convinced it was James, it was too late.”
“There’s no way you could have known.” Ellie stroked his cheek and whiskered jaw. “I’m just lucky you’re a genius or I’d be dead.”
“Why didn’t he leave more supplies? He only left enough for you to barely stay alive.”
Ellie shrugged. “I think he wanted me weak and barely living. He also got a kick out of me begging for more food and water. I tried not to, but while I was still semi-alert, I did. I was always thirsty, always hungry.”
“He was a sadistic prick,” Zane rumbled.
“Very sadistic,” Ellie answered sadly. “And when I begged, I gave him exactly what he wanted.”
“Don’t,” he said urgently. “Don’t ever blame yourself. Every time he hurt you, it was because he was almost pissing himself with fear because Chloe left him to go work for Gabe. Walker pulled her out of a bad situation.”
“Thank God,” Ellie replied, sounding relieved. “James never told me that. He just kept saying they were getting married soon. I felt so helpless to do anything to save her.”
“You worried about her, and she drove herself crazy trying to find you. I’ve never seen Chloe as distraught as when you disappeared. I think for a while she was in denial, believing she could find you. When she couldn’t, she was destroyed,” Zane confided.
“But we’re both happy now,” Ellie observed wistfully. “I’m not going to let an evil dead man destroy my life or Chloe’s.”
Zane hugged her tightly and Ellie rested her head on his shoulder. He rocked her tenderly as he said, “I know you won’t. Christ! You’re the bravest woman I’ve ever known. And you managed to hold on until I found you.”
Ellie smiled against the soft material of his T-shirt. “I think I’ve spent my whole life waiting for you to find me in one way or another.”
“Not anymore,” Zane rasped. “Never again. I’ll never make you wait for anything again.”
“Mmmm…what about last night? I distinctly remember you making me wait.” In fact, he’d teased her until she was almost completely crazy with the need to climax.
Zane chuckled. “A different situation altogether. In that particular case, I was going to make it worth the wait. Was it?”
Ellie shivered as she remembered the way her body had come apart when Zane finally stopped teasing her and gave her what she needed. “Worth it, but completely unfair,” she admonished him in a faux-petulant voice. “I think it’s my turn to make you wait.”
He pulled her gently back by her hair so he could see her face. “Baby, I’d wait forever if I had to.”
The sincerity in his vow sent a wave of tenderness through her heart. He claimed not to be romantic, but his blunt words got to her in ways that nobody else’s ever had. She licked her dry lips as she stared into his earnest gray eyes. Every word he spoke was honest, every comment sincere. Her body clamored for her to take this man and savor him for a lifetime.
Zane was special.
And he was hers.
“I have to pack my orders,” she said weakly.
“I came down to help you,” he retorted. “But I also just got some pictures from Chloe.”
Getting on her knees beside him, she started feeling him up for his cell phone. “Let me see,” she insisted excitedly, rubbing a hand over the front pockets of his jeans to find his phone.
He stopped her marauding fingers by grabbing her wrist. “Jesus, woman. If you don’t stop that you’re going to find more than you’re looking for,” he told her in a husky, warning voice.
“Or I might find exactly what I want,” she told him in a sultry voice.
“How fast can we pack those items?” Zane asked desperately.
“Very. But can I see Chloe?” Ellie cherished every picture of her best friend. Occasionally, Chloe sent a video, and she looked so happy. “Where is she?”