AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That seemed to get through to her. Holly gulped and scrambled away, pressing herself against the wooden headboard. “You’ll leave me alone?”
“For now,” I grumbled, not wishing to give her the impression that I was soft. “But if you keep pissing me off, I can’t promise anything. Understand?”
Holly nodded slowly, finally glancing around the room. It was only slightly better than the living room.
Before she could get any bright ideas, I grabbed her hands with the intent to tie them again but her whimper made me pause.
“Please…my wrists hurt,” she said.
“And that’s supposed to matter to me why?” I countered softly.
“I won’t run.”
“Why wouldn’t you? I would.”
“Because I don’t know where I am.”
Fair point. “Something tells me you’re a smart girl, you’d figure out a way home.”
Holly bit her lip. I wanted to run my tongue along that pink divide. “I’ll make you a deal,” I surprised her by saying. At her wary silence, I said, “Either I tie your hands or you sleep buck naked. Take your pick.”
Holly’s eyes widened. “That’s hardly a fair deal.”
“I didn’t say anything about it being fair,” I replied. “Here’s how I see it…either I tie your hands so I can secure you to the bed or I take all your clothes and take the risk that you aren’t willing to walk naked through a bad neighborhood in a place you don’t know, on the off-chance that you might find a way home.”
I could fairly see the wheels turning in her little mind. She was right — it wasn’t fair. But I wasn’t interested in fair. I was interested in winning.
“Y-you won’t touch me?” she ventured, chewing that delectable bottom lip.
I scoffed, if only for my own benefit, “I have better offers waiting for me than a short, plump chick with a bitchy disposition.”
The lies tripped off my tongue so easily.
I liked her curves. All that curvy flesh. A nice fat ass and a banging rack. And that was just her body. Holly wasn’t ugly by any means.
I mean, those glasses were kind of hot.
In a dirty secretary sort of way.
Holly lifted her chin as if relieved by my rejection but I sensed it was an act. I could practically feel the pain of her bruised feelings.
Well, fuck it; life sucks, princess. I wasn’t trying to make friends.
“Yes, I’m sure the women are lined up to hitch their cart to your busted ass wagon,” Holly returned, shocking me with salt. A slow smile tugged at my lips. Yeah, I was fairly certain Little Miss Prissy Pants was a firecracker in bed because that kind of spirit was hard to contain. “I mean, I’m sure you’re a real catch.” She purposefully let her gaze wander the shitty little house, implying that this was all I had to offer someone.
“Damn, girl. You got claws hiding behind those soft paws, don’t you?”
Holly couldn’t stop the indignant blush.
I let my smile fade. “Make your choice. Tied or Naked.”
Her voice was barely audible. “Naked.”
Ahhh, girl. Good choice.
Chapter 8
Holly
I tried not to move.
But I was intensely aware of my own body lying next to Cason. I’d never slept beside anyone.
I’d never had a real boyfriend.
Hence, the whole “I’m still a virgin” confession.
I could smell him.
And it wasn’t awful.
No, in fact, it was…spicy and male.
Almost…delicious.
Was that an appropriate way to describe my captor?
No.
It was something an idiot would say.
I liked to think I wasn’t an idiot.
And yet, I was inhaling deeply, trying to catch another whiff of whatever yummy scent was coming off him in waves.
Like my nose was being assaulted by sexy smells.
“You should bathe more often,” I said with a delicate sniff. “All I can smell is you.”
That part was true.
I added, “It’s turning my stomach.”
That part was a lie.
His silence was unnerving.
“I suppose you’re accustomed to sleeping beside a stranger but I’m not,” I said, trying to find a comfortable spot on a lumpy bed. I wiggled a little, wanting to turn on my side but that would leave my backside facing him and frankly, I wasn’t that brave.
But I never slept on my back and I knew sleep wouldn’t find me in this position.
Unlike Cason, who seemed completely at peace.
Was he already asleep?
Of course he was.
I was nothing to him but a pawn. Why wouldn’t he sleep peacefully? He had what he thought was the winning move.
His slow, even breathing was soothing, even if I wanted to stuff a pillow over his scruffy face.
A thought occurred to me. If he was already asleep…maybe I could grab my clothes and run.
That could work, I realized with a sliver of hope.
I needed to bide my time, wait to make sure he was in deep sleep before I tried anything.
That seemed doable.
After what seemed like an eternity, Cason started lightly snoring and I knew it was my time to go. I cast a short smirk his way. And he’d asked if I snored? Ha.
I slid my feet over the side of the bed and gently tried to maneuver away from him without jostling the bed too much.
But just as I was about to slink out of the bed, an iron grip on my wrist caused me to yelp.
“Where are you going, baby girl?” he asked, his voice roughened by sleep.
“I…I…have to use the bathroom,” I said, thinking fast.
“Need help?”
“No,” I said, horrified. “Eww.”
Cason chuckled and released my wrist. “Make it quick.”
Damn it. Of all the bad luck, Cason was an incredibly light sleeper it seemed. And now I had to pretend that I needed to use the bathroom so he didn’t become suspicious.
The pale moonlight cast an eerie glow around the room, casting shadows on the walls that seemed to move if I stared too long.
The moonlight might as well be a floodlight seeing as I was naked as a jaybird.
And I was supposed to traipse across the room to the bathroom like it was no big deal?
I cast a surreptitious look Cason’s way. His eyes were still closed.
“Either do it or get back in bed,” Cason grumbled, prompting me to move quickly.
I scuttled to the bathroom and shut the door, flipping the light as I breathed for the first time since Cason had abducted me.
The bathroom was cramped, like everything else in this place, and definitely home to a bachelor. I don’t think that bathroom had seen a toilet brush in years. I might as well be using an outhouse.
As luck would have it, I did have to pee.
Good gravy. I’d rather pee in the sink.
I hovered over the nasty bowl, careful not to let anything touch my skin. I wasn’t sure if I could get hepatitis from a toilet seat but I wasn’t taking any chances.
For all I knew, I could become Patient Zero from whatever was lurking on that porcelain.
Right about now, I was lamenting my lack of gym time as I squatted, using thigh muscles that I didn’t know I had.
I flushed and cursed my luck. There had to be a way out of this mess.
Clearly, Cason didn’t believe me when I tried to tell him that Butcher wasn’t going to care about me enough to do whatever it was Cason wanted him to do.
Butcher was all about business.
I was just a loose end that he had to deal with.
Some sense of family honor tied us together but I didn’t doubt the thread was tenuous.
Maybe if I sat in the bathroom long enough, Cason would fall asleep again and then I could sneak out because I wouldn’t be disturbing the bed.
After long enough, I squared my sho
ulders and prayed for light feet.
I turned off the light and quietly opened the door, expecting to see Cason still in the bed, but he wasn’t. I yelped when he was right on the other side of the door.
“I thought maybe you’d fallen in,” he said, shocking me. Cason didn’t look sleepy at all. A hunger burned bright in his eyes as he let his gaze roam my body.
Heat warmed my cheeks as I fought the urge to cover myself. He surely couldn’t see much in this light. But Cason made me feel as if he’d just seen everything I had to offer and wanted his tongue to taste each place his stare had touched.
My breath caught as my heart quickened.
My insides felt like jelly.
My legs trembled.
My fingers itched to touch all that hard flesh, to marvel at the sheer strength encased in supple skin.
My lips parted as if readying for a punishing kiss.
No one had ever made me feel this way.
And thank God, for that, a voice reminded me shrilly.
Cason was a bad man.
