Kidnapped by the Billionaire(14)

"Well obviously not, otherwise I'd be in a hospital bed right now and  this would be shitty hospital food." She didn't look at him. No, she  wasn't going to justify or explain herself. Her plan hadn't worked and  now she was stuck here. With him.

Fuck, she was an idiot.

"Now I guess I'll have to put up with your bullshit instead." Picking up  the fork, she jabbed it viciously into the scrambled eggs. "On the  bright side, there's always the chance for septicemia to set in."

There was a heavy, tense silence.

She tried to ignore him, taking a bite out of her eggs. They were annoyingly delicious.

"I should put you down in the basement," he muttered. "Lock the fucking door and throw away the key."

Violet flashed him a belligerent glance. "Oh come on. What would you  have done in my place? If some asshole took you hostage and told you  that he was going to give you to some douche-bag crime boss? I'm sure  you'd just sit around on your hands whining."

Elijah said nothing, standing there tall and dark and dangerous as hell.

Another of those shivers went through her, the feel of his hand on her  breast lingering on her skin like an echo. And for a second she couldn't  look away from him. Held completely by his cold, furious, magnetic  black gaze.

The silence between them deepened, lengthened.

Tension pulled tight.

And then she saw it, the briefest flicker of something that wasn't ice or fury in his eyes. Something hot.

Her breath caught.

She hadn't thought once about why he'd touched her or about why he might  have wanted to, especially when everything about him radiated ice and  snow and granite. As if nothing touched him, nothing affected him.

Except for the small fact that she had.

A memory came back to her, of the hard length of his cock pressing  against her as she'd lain in his lap. Oh, yeah. He'd been affected all  right, and judging from that brief glimpse of heat in his eyes, he  wanted her still.

Was that why he was so angry?

Sure, it is. He wants you and he doesn't like it.

He certainly didn't like it, especially judging by the way he'd shoved  her away the night before, despite the massive hard-on in his jeans.  She'd been so out of it, all she'd noticed was the fact that he was no  longer touching her and that she had been disappointed, before passing  out completely on the couch.

She took another bite of egg, chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed, her  gaze still on his. "You're really pissed at me, aren't you? So why  aren't I all locked up in the basement yet?"

He was silent, the look on his face impenetrable. Then after another  moment, he turned around abruptly and stalked back into the kitchen.

Okay then. So he wasn't going to answer her. Well, since she wasn't  locked up in his basement, it probably meant he either didn't want to or  wasn't going to do it any time soon.

Finding that vaguely reassuring, Violet continued to eat the rest of the  food while she turned over in her head what her next move was. Her  wrist was beginning to throb, but the food made her stomach feel less  unsettled, so that was something. She was still a prisoner though, and  obviously that wasn't going be changing any time soon, not unless she  could think of another way to get out. Tricky when she considered her  limited options.         

     



 

Then again, what else was she going to do? Just sit here and wait to be given to Jericho? Wait for someone to rescue her?

You'll be waiting forever. Mom isn't coming for you.

Violet put down her fork, trying to ignore the small, sharp pain that  slid through her. She'd been trying to tell herself that her mother  would come, but the reality was that Violet wasn't certain. Hilary  Fitzgerald had her own agenda that she didn't share with anyone close to  her-if there was anyone who was actually close to her-and Violet was  pretty sure her own daughter didn't rate on that agenda. Or if she did,  it wasn't high up.

The pain tightened, but she fought it down. No use getting  emotional-that wouldn't help. She had to think clearly here, and it was  better not to count on her mother. But Honor she could count on,  couldn't she? Her friend would want to find her. The only problem with  that was waiting until Honor realized she was missing, and who knew how  long that would take? Her father's death had to have made the news by  now though, so surely Honor would be trying to get in touch with her.

That didn't help her right at this moment of course. And there was still the info she had about Theo.

The sound of heavy footsteps came again, a mug of coffee appearing beside her empty plate.

"Coffee," Violet said, blinking at the mug. "You bought me coffee. What the hell kind of hostage taker are you?"

"I told you I wasn't interested in hurting you."

"Yeah, but making me breakfast and bringing me caffeine?" She picked up  her coffee and sat back on the couch, wrapping her fingers around the  warm mug. "That's above and beyond, Eli."

The expression on his face didn't even flicker. "You need clothing and  since I'm not leaving you here by yourself anymore, you're going to have  to come with me."

Hope flickered inside her. So maybe yesterday hadn't been such a total  loss after all. It was true, she did need clothes since she'd  conveniently gotten blood all over the ones she had, and since those  were the only ones she had, it was either she get more or walk around  naked.

That's one way of managing the situation.

She stared at him, the thought sitting in her head. What would he do if  she just threw off the blanket? She affected him, she knew that now, and  as her brain so helpfully supplied, using her female charms would be  one way to get what she wanted. It wouldn't be the first time she'd used  a bit of flirtation on a man-she might be a virgin but she wasn't  innocent, that was for sure.

Only, she wasn't sure if a "bit of flirtation" would have any effect whatsoever on Elijah.

Sex would though. Definitely.

"A shopping trip?" She took a sip of her coffee, watching him from over  the rim of her mug as she let her blanket slip a little. "How exciting."

And Elijah's gaze slipped with it, the darkness in his eyes deepening.

Her heartbeat sped up, the flicker of hope becoming a steady flame. He  wanted her, which was excellent, because once you knew what someone else  wanted, you could use that to get what you wanted. Hadn't her father  told her that?

Your father. The monster.

Violet pushed the snide voice in her head away. Yes, her father had been  a monster, but shit, did that make every lesson he'd ever taught her a  lie? And what else was she supposed to do? Sit there helplessly and wait  for rescue?

No freaking way.

Ostentatiously she hiked up the blanket, taking a silent breath as  Elijah lifted his gaze back to hers. There were flames in his eyes and  they burned.

Her heart beat faster and she became very, very aware of her nakedness,  her skin going all tight and sensitive beneath the blanket.

This is not a good idea.

She ignored that thought too. "Or"-her voice sounded a little husky,  which didn't hurt-"I guess the alternative being I could just walk  around naked."

The rough lines of his face hardened, the scar twisting his mouth  whitening. The bruises he'd been sporting the previous day had deepened,  and now he didn't look just dangerous. He looked lethal. Not an elegant  blade but a club. Heavy and brutal, ready to smash anything he didn't  like right out of existence.

He moved in that sudden way he had, the way that took her by surprise  since a man that big shouldn't be able to move that quickly, coming  toward her, inexorable as the tide. And a wild kind of panic wrapped  long fingers around her throat, her earlier confidence crumbling  utterly.

But she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of letting him see her  fear, so she remained where she was, clutching her pathetic blanket  around her as he came right up to the couch and stood in front of her,  bending down and putting his hands on the couch back, one on either side  of her head.         

     



 

There was nothing hot about him now as he leaned over her. He was black  ice. "You think you can play me, princess?" he demanded, his voice a  low, rough growl. "You think I'm going to follow you around like a puppy  dog with my tongue hanging out? I'm not one of those little rich boys  you can manipulate and toy with just by flashing your tits."

Oh no, she'd never make that mistake. She had an idea about what he was,  about what kind of man she was dealing with. But she wasn't going to  let him intimidate her, no matter what he threatened her with.

So she didn't look away, letting him see her own determination as he  bent over her. "You didn't seem to mind those tits yesterday, as I  recall. In fact, you seemed to quite like them." And he had. Right up  until the moment he'd suddenly pushed her off him as though she'd burned  him, oh yes, not forgetting that. "In fact"-she lifted her chin-"maybe  you even took advantage of them later? After I passed out?"