Willing Captive(27)

This is serious. Something’s wrong.

Nox shouts orders over the siren, but I can’t make out any of it. That freakin’ siren is so shrill, it’s going to make my ears bleed! All I can do is grip the back of his tank tightly and hold on for dear life.

Petrified and about to pee myself, I lift my head to see Nox run me right out the front door. Right out the front door and into a waiting black van.

No. No. Not again!

With no care at all, he throws me into the back of the van. I land in a seat with an ‘Oomph’ and he quickly seats himself next to me. As soon as the door closes, Nox booms, “Go!”

And we do.

Shaking like a leaf, I turn my wide eyes to my protector and see something familiar in his hands.

Ahh, hello old friend.

Nox holds up the blindfold and I internally grimace. Clearly, now is not the time to argue. Nodding once, I turn my back to him and he places the blindfold over my head. My butt pressed against his thigh, I almost whisper, “Where are we going now?”

He sighs and answers just as softly, “I don’t know, Lily. I don’t know.”





Chapter Eight

One of these things is not like the others





Lily





So here I am, standing in the middle of a dingy motel room.

I’m here after spending almost seven hours in the back of a van with Nox. This might not have been an issue if the guy knew the meaning of the words ‘lighten up’. Alas, this is Nox we’re talking about. The guy’s meaning of relaxed is sitting in a hardwood chair while watching me sleep.

A little creepy if you ask me.

The van stopped suddenly, the back door opened and I found myself being dragged to a motel room that looked like its previous occupants were roaches.

Nox paces in front of me and barks into the cell phone, “If you haven’t noticed, I’m not there right now! It’s your job to tell me what the fuck happened!” Pause, then, “Yes, she’s fine.”

Um, hello? Kinda freakin’ out here but whatever…

He stops pacing, looks me up and down and says, “Uh huh.” Pause. “Uh huh.” Pause once more. “Yeah. Okay. Lily needs clothes.” Pause. “I don’t know! Underwear and bras and somethin’ that won’t draw attention to us.” Silence, then, “Nah. Lily’s my wife. I asked them not to disturb us. We’re on our honeymoon.”

My brows almost hit my hairline.

Married?

The thought of being married to Nox is so damn ridiculous that the laughter I try to quell forces its way out. Hard. And loud.

Busting a gut laughing, tears roll down my cheeks as I lean my hip on the small table for two. Nox watches me with a scowl. He does this a long while before he walks over behind me and covers my mouth with his hand. All that does is make me laugh harder. He whispers, “Shut it, Lily. This is important. I can’t hear a thing.”

Finally getting a hold of myself, I suppress the laughter and pull his hand off my mouth. His arm falls lower, across my neck with a hand resting on my shoulder. I try to pull away but Nox has other ideas. As if he doesn’t even realize it, he talks away with his arm still around me. Looking around the room with wide eyes, I’m not sure what to do here. When his thumb absently strokes my shoulder, my core clenches, and my eyes flutter closed.

My breathing deepens as I listen to him speak. Every word he says vibrates through his chest and onto my back. “What do you mean?” Pause. “Well, when can you get here?”

Jeez, he smells so good. Like soap and something fresh and outdoorsy. His body is so big and hard, yet toasty warm. With one arm, he has me wrapped up tight. And I like it. A handful of erotic scenarios run through my head. Nox throwing me on the bed and telling me he’s going to take me right there. Nox pushing me to my knees and demanding I make him hard. Nox joining me in the too-small shower, soaping up my body. Nox bending me over the-

“Lily?”

Suddenly, a record scratches in my brain, rudely ripping me from my delicious thoughts. Whoa. Totally need to give it a rest with the erotic stories.

…But we like them!

My face falls and I mutter, “Books.”

Nox finally lets me free of his clutches and I fight hard not to make a mew or pout from the loss. He says, “What now?”

Heartbreak fills my chest as I explain while sulking, “Books. I didn’t take any books. Now I have no books.”

Every single night at the safe house I’d read before I went to sleep. Nox knows this as he’s been watching me sleep almost every night. The library had become an escape for me. Whenever I went missing, the guys knew where I’d be hiding.

Keeping my eyes to the floor, a large hand squeezes my shoulder, and although it doesn’t make me feel better, it makes me feel better. A little.