“Well? Where’s this supposed note?”
“It’s gone. Marla probably took it when she left the diary here.”
Kane snorted and rolled his eyes.
Elise felt her temper begin to override her sense of guilt. “Kane, be reasonable.”
“Reasonable? I think I’m being damned reasonable. After discovering those messages, I came into town to find you, but you weren’t even at work. You were across the street fawning over Bryan. It was amazingly reasonable of me not to go after him and rip him to shreds today, especially after Edward explained to me how he’d overheard you arranging to meet a ‘friend’ across the street.”
“Edward?”
“My friend, Edward Mancini. Your boss.”
“Mr. Mancini is your friend?”
“Of course!” Kane snorted derisively. “How do you think you got the job? You had no qualifications. I pulled a few strings to get you hired so you’d be happy.”
Elise gasped, her pride hurt. “How dare you interfere with me getting a job? I wanted to do that on my own!”
“You’re my mate. I can do as I see fit, but it doesn’t matter now. You’re done working. You are not leaving this property unsupervised again.”
“You can’t do that. It’s not the Dark Ages anymore!”
“I can do anything I damn well please. I’m the Alpha and you’ll do as you’re told.”
“Well screw you, because I’m not listening.” Elise couldn’t believe the rage boiling inside of her. She wasn’t acting at all like herself, but she couldn’t seem to stop the words spilling from her mouth. For some reason, she felt compelled to test Kane just to see what he would do. Twirling around, she made for the door.
“Don’t you dare walk away from me!” Kane grabbed her arm, yanking her back before she could even touch the handle. Automatically, she struggled against him, hitting his chest, and kicking at his legs. Kane merely growled and crushed her to him, easily restraining her flailing limbs. The look he gave her was hard and she could feel the coiled tension in his body. She’d challenged the Alpha wolf in him and he was in no mood to be lenient. Dominance and arousal radiated from him. He grabbed her ponytail and held her head still. As his mouth swooped down on hers in a punishing kiss, Elise knew she’d made a fatal tactical error.
There was no warmth in his kiss and Elise could taste blood from where her lips were pressed against her teeth. She gasped and Kane’s tongue plunged into her mouth, invading every corner while he used his free hand to sweep possessively over her body. She pushed against his chest and tried to raise her leg to knee him in the groin, but Kane thwarted her attempts, his superior size, and strength, making her efforts laughable. Finally, he lifted his mouth and she snarled at him, biting his lip. A tiny red trail dripped down his chin and if possible, his eyes grew even darker as a growl emitted from his throat.
Picking her up, he tossed her onto the bed. Her back came into contact with a brightly coloured box that was lying on the mattress, and she grunted as the sharp corner dug into her shoulder. Kane grabbed it and threw the package on the floor before quickly disposing of her clothes, ripping the material from her body despite her struggles and protests. When she was naked, her arms pinned beside her head, he crouched over her, his hot gaze devouring her form.
“I am your Alpha, Elise, and your mate. You belong to me. You are answerable to me. Don’t ever forget that.”
Despite the fact that her body was still screaming with need, her contrary emotions had her shaking her head. “I don’t belong to anyone especially not an ass like you!”
Kane laughed. “Yes, you do and you want me. I can smell your desire. You ache for me; you need me to fill the void inside you. Deny it if you want, but we both know the truth.”
Arching her back and twisting this way, then that, Elise struggled to be free despite the waves of heat bathing her from head to toe. Kane was right. She wanted to cry out for him to take her, to fill her with his hot pulsating shaft; nothing else would suffice.
Kane lay down on top of her. He buried his face in her neck while the weight of his body pinned her helplessly in place. His warm, calloused hand skimmed up and down her side, stimulating her already heightened nerve endings. While he nibbled and licked the juncture of her neck and shoulder, shivers of delight ran through her as his teeth lightly grazed her skin.
The feel of his torso pressed to hers further aroused her feelings of need. Elise fought to suppress them; she was angry with him, wasn’t she? But the reason for her anger was becoming rather hazy. Age-old instincts were surfacing and logic was slipping away. Struggling against her mate, being pinned down and dominated by him was exciting, erotic. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind, but it was no use. The maleness of him was calling to her, firing the ache inside. Desire was starting to consume her and without even realizing it, her legs were falling open as she submitted to him, allowing him to settle intimately against her body.