As if I should care that they’re ugly, as if his opinion should matter to me at a time like this.
Focus, Ellie!
His nostrils flare and that mouth goes thin as if he’s trying to contain the anger my words evoke. From this angle, lying beneath his towering form, I can see every muscle that tenses and am aware of his fists clenching.
He’s still looking at my body, but this time I realize it’s not done in a sexual way or to embarrass me, though how I can think something so ludicrous…but it seems like he’s cataloguing every scar, and getting angry.
“I told you I am not going to hurt you.”
“And I should believe that? Give me a break already and just untie me. It’s not going to make a difference, anyway, because there is no way I’ll get away, not with your big ass on me.”
Those lips twitch at my belligerent huff, and I tense, not wanting to think about how attractive he looks when he smiles as he places one knee on the bed and leans down to untie me.
I close my eyes when his scent and the heat of his closeness hit me. Holding my breath to block out his woodsy scent, I keep completely still and wait for my release, almost coming right out of my skin when gentle fingers touch the flesh just beneath my left breast where the knife—
Don’t, Ellie, don’t think about that time now.
“This must have been very painful,” he whispers and I swallow, blocking it all out, concentrating on each binding as it’s loosened. “You’re free.”
His heat leaves me fast, and I blink my eyes open to see him across the room, his back turned to me. It takes a few seconds, but when my brain fires back to life I snatch up the sheet and come to my feet, wrapping it around me.
“Who. Are. You?”
My words, gritted out from between clenched teeth, make him turn, and I almost gasp at the look of violence that flashes briefly in his face.
“My name is Wyatt.”
Why do the weirdos always have good names? Why can’t they have names that reflect their crazy, like Fester Adams or Something Killer?
“Well, Wyatt, could you do me a solid and maybe tell me why I am here, how I got here, and what exactly it is you have planned for me?” I ask sweetly, though I see from his lips twitching again that he’s not fooled by my tone.
He knows I’m pissed. If the distance he’s studiously keeping between us is any indication, the guy also knows I’m scared out of my wits and is trying to keep me at ease.
Fat chance, buddy! Been here before, remember? I know exactly how deceptive men can be and what they are capable of. This man may look like an angel and smell like he belongs in heaven, but demons were angels, too, once, and I won’t let his looks fool me.
“You’re here because you aren’t living, anyway, so why not? And as for what I have planned…well, I’m keeping you.”
“Er, okay, well see, the thing is I’m not a dog you just picked up at the pound. I’m a person, and as a fully functioning, thinking human being, I have to cordially decline. I want to go home.”
The smile drops and is replaced by no expression at all. Scary as heck and so immediate that I take a step back.
“You’re staying. Get that through your head and get over whatever bullshit you’re thinking right now. This place is in the middle of nowhere. It’s surrounded by ten-foot walls with electric fencing and motion sensors, and there are twenty-four-hour guards patrolling the perimeter and the ten-inch-thick steel gates. You’re not getting out, and if you hurt yourself trying, I will paddle your sweet ass. Now go shower and dress in the clothes I’ve put out for you. It’s lunchtime.”
He stalks out before I can say a word and closes the door softly. The lock snaps shut, and I finally breathe past the lump in my throat.
Well…
I shower and dress in the jeans, T-shirt, and Converse shoes sitting on the toilet seat in record time. Not because I want to obey or avoid his anger, but because I feel grungy and the clothes make me feel safer.
Plus, well, I can’t escape naked and shoeless.
Chapter Two
Wyatt
She’s so much more beautiful than I thought before and believe me, that shouldn’t be possible when I already believed she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on.
Ellie…God, to finally have her in my home and under my protection after months of watching her makes me feel so full of peace and joy that it had been all I could do not to grab her into my arms and just hold her close.
But she’s here now and I should just be grateful for that much and calm my ass down before I scare the poor woman more than she already is.
Though if my dick had a say…I’d probably already be buried deep in that pink gash between her legs, planting my seed where I want it.