Her jaw drops and her eyes narrow to slits in the most dramatic way possible. “I kicked and screamed the whole time you carried me out the door! That seems pretty clear!”
“But you didn’t once tell me to stop. Tell the truth… did you really want to go through with that wedding today?” I shrug, biting back a barrage of insults I have at the ready about her ‘fiancé.’ “You can do better.”
“Oh yeah?” She clears her throat and turns back to stare into the valley, but it’s been replaced by towering pines. “Like you?”
I laugh once and tighten my hands around the wheel until my knuckles are white. “I’ve never been good with people. I’d probably disappoint you too.”
Her gaze drifts toward me. “Yeah, well… I was excited to see you. I know Nathan spent so much money on that wedding, but I’d been pacing the bridal suite all morning, trying to buy time to figure everything out.”
All I hear is that she was excited to see me, and I’m not sure why that does something to me. Maybe this whole thing was a mistake. I knew I was attracted to her back when she brought the paint samples to the house, but I wrote her off astoo young and formulated a new plan. A plan that involves draining her fiancé’s bank account. I can’t see her as anything other than a pawn now. That’s how this has to be.
“I’m a total jerk!” she continues with more emotion, which again, I’m not good at. “I kept him waiting for over an hour, and now my phone is at the inn, and I can’t even properly end the relationship. I should’ve told him months ago I couldn’t do this. Lord knows he gave me plenty of opportunities to end it.” She sighs. “I don’t know why I convinced myself that I could change, and he’d stop being mean.”
I want to offer her options to end everything, but I need her investment in him until the ransom is paid.
“You can end it through email.”
“Email?” she gasps as though it’s the worst idea anyone’s ever thought.
“Yeah.” I shrug as sunlight flashes between the pines, strobing across my forearms. “You write up a note, send it on over, and—”
“I think that would make me a legendary jerk.”
“Look, I’ve only had a handful of interactions with you, but I know already that you’re not the type that’s out to hurt people. I’d bet you’re the type that cares too much, gives everything you have, exhausts yourself, then reaches out for help and no one’s there. Am I right?”
I catch her shallow nod out of the corner of my eye.
“Right, ‘cause people are assholes who take advantage of sweet, little angels like you. What you need is… a daddy. Someone to keep the leeches away.”
“A daddy? I have a dad, and he’s more into his fantasy football league than anything else.”
“No, you need adaddy. A protector who’ll crush anyone who hurts you, spank your ass when you’re naughty, then kiss it and make it all better.”
Shit. Even I feel the sharp, heavy jolt of my words. What the hell am I saying, and why is my brain,and my cock,circling back to the thoughts I had of her last night in my bed, ass up, pussy dripping wet as I sunk inside?
A good guy wouldn’t think shit like that. Hell, a good guy wouldn’t have taken a woman from her wedding. A good guy would know better, and he’d be here to help.
But, as stunning, innocent, and tempting as this girl is, I’m not here to be anyone’s daddy. I’m here to be the bad guy, and I’m okay with that.
Chapter Three
Pepper
Reality truly is stranger than fiction. Never in my life would I have believed the man I’ve been fantasizing about would simplytake mefrom my wedding. He hauled me up over his shoulder, tucked his hand around my legs, and carried me straight out of the building like he owned me.
Like I belonged to him.
Maybe there was something in those cookies the bakery dropped off. God, I ate like three of them. There’s a non-zero chance that I’m passed out in the bridal suite, having some sort of cookie-induced hallucination.
I squeeze my eyes shut and open them again quickly, inhaling the scent of lakeside pine and sagebrush.
Nope, still here.A humongous and sprawling lake house that my giant, inked, muscular kidnapper is renovating.
What the hell is going on? Why would Rhett take me from my wedding, and why was he kind of flirting with me in the truck? Most people would understand why I would think he’s attractive, but… him being interested in me? That’s insanity. Compared to him, I’m a round, distorted, little, field troll.
Clearly, he’s insane, and instead of getting married to Nathan, I’m here at this sprawling house with a view of the lake Nikki and I grew up playing mermaids at. She was Sunnyfin, and I was Pearlie. We could both talk to fish, and though we had nofins, we’d pretend our legs were fused together as we flopped around on the shore, half covered in the cold lake water.
Life was so easy then. Summers were spent in the sun with Mom’s frozen fruit cups, and the only worry I ever had was when Nikki had to go home. Somehow, I’ve gone from playing mermaids to playing runaway bride, except now, I’m not playing. Now, I’m making real-life mistakes that affect far more people than my imaginary underwater kingdom. That, and I don’t remember any of the mermen telling me they wanted me to call them Daddy.
