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Her eyes flicked away from his. “No. I wasn’t. Why would I—”
She gasped and fell back as he came toward her; she hit the wall and he caught her by the shoulders.
“I don’t know, baby. You tell me.”
“I—I was looking for—for my purse. I thought I’d left it on—on the table, and—”
“That purse?” he said silkily. “The one hanging from your shoulder?”
She stared at him. “Look. I know how this seems, but—”
“How does it seem, Mia? You tell me.”
“There’s a simple explanation. If you give me a minute, I—” She cried out as he lifted her to her toes. “Matthew. You’re hurting me.”
“Isn’t it usually the guy who’s accused of ‘slam, bam, thank you, ma’am’?”
Her cheeks colored. “That’s vulgar.”
“And we wouldn’t want to be vulgar, would we?” His mouth thinned. “I mean, that sure as hell wouldn’t suit the kind of woman who screws a man in hopes it’ll make him careless.”
“You’re disgusting!”
“I’m just telling it like it is. We went to bed together, you screwed my brains out—”
Her hand flew through the air and struck his cheek with enough force to make his head snap back. Matthew grabbed her wrist, dragged her arm behind her back and pulled her tightly against him.
“You like to play rough? Hell, baby, I’m into that if you are.”
“Let go of me!”
“Sure. Once I’ve got you someplace nice and safe.”
He started back down the hall, half dragging her along beside him, propelled her into the bedroom and hit a wall switch that turned on the lights. Then he grabbed her suitcase and purse and shoved her toward the bed.
He could see the terror in her eyes. Good, he thought viciously. She damned well should be terrified.
“Get on the bed.”
“Please. Matthew—”
“On the bed,” he barked. She scrambled into the middle of the mattress, as if putting a few inches of distance between them would keep her safe. “One move,” he said, pointing his finger at her, “just one, and you’ll regret it.”
“If you’d just listen—”
“You give me two seconds of trouble, I’ll lock you in the safe room.” His smile was thin and cold. “After I empty it of weapons, of course, then lock it, permanently, from the outside. And then, who knows, baby? I might just forget I put you there.”
Mia ran to the balcony door as he strode from the room. It was locked. She didn’t see a key or a bolt but the door was locked.
“Open,” she said, pulling at the knob with both hands. “Damn you, open—”
She shrieked as Matthew’s arms closed around her. He carried her back to the bed, dumped her on it and tossed a pair of handcuffs on the nightstand.
A sob burst from her throat. “No. Matthew—”
“Lie down and hold your hands above your head.”
“Matthew. I implore you. Whatever Douglas told you—”
