She wanted to escape her life. Escape her stupidity at ever having gone out with Donovan. Let alone staying with him.

  And she wanted to escape from these men’s judging gazes.

  She tightened her arms, which were folded around her, and pushed herself to her feet.

  Steele’s gaze stayed locked on her. Assessing her. Judging her.

  “Where are you going?” he asked.

  She drew in a shaky breath and forced herself to speak. “Upstairs.”

  She could feel tears prickling at her eyes. She didn’t want these men to see her being so weak.

  “Are you okay, Laurie?” Shock asked.

  She nodded her head, barely trusting her voice not to break.

  She walked away from the table to the entrance, her pace increasing as she neared the stairway, then she hurried up the stairs, stopping herself from fleeing in an all-out run.

  She reached the bedroom and opened the door, then closed it behind her. She leaned against it, barely able to hold back the tears. She caught her breath, then pushed herself away and walked to the bed, feeling numb inside. She lay down, pulled her knees tight to her chest, and clung to them.

  Her body ached from walking so much today, especially through the rough terrain. And when she thought of the mess she was in, her stomach quivered and her mind whirled.

  And her heart ached.

  Why couldn’t she attract a nice man? So far, she’d only attracted men who didn’t really care about her, or in Donovan’s case, actively wanted to hurt her.

  Even kill her.

  She’d been alone in an isolated house with Donovan when he’d choked her. She’d been chained and couldn’t fight him. If he’d gone too far, like he had with that other woman …

  He could have killed her. Then he would have just gotten rid of her body and paid off anyone who questioned his word that he hadn’t seen her that weekend.

  Someone tapped at the door.

  “Laurie, may I come in?” Steele said from the other side of the door.

  She couldn’t believe he was asking permission.

  But she didn’t say anything. Her throat was too choked up. And what could she say? No? He wouldn’t accept that.

  The door opened and he peered inside. When he saw her curled up on the bed, he pushed the door open and entered.

  “I just wanted to make sure you’re all right.” He closed the door behind him. “I know Killer gave you a lot to think about.”

  She began to tremble from head to toe. She was in this impossible situation. She couldn’t go home, because Donovan might hurt her, and her only option was to stay here with these men who had kidnapped her.

  He stepped farther into the room. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “And say what?” She was surprised at how even her voice sounded. “Admit that I’m an idiot for having gotten involved with the man? To cry about the fact that now I’m in trouble and that my brother was right all along and if only I’d listened to him …” She ran out of air and sucked in a deep breath.

  Steele walked toward the bed. “Laurie, it’s not your fault. Guys like that … they have a way to pull people in. You’re the victim here. You’ve done nothing to deserve this, understand?”

  Tears welled from her eyes and she curled tighter.

  He sat down on the bed behind her, resting his hand on her shoulder. The warmth of his touch was comforting. A sob escaped her throat.

  “He was so charming at first.” She sucked in a breath. “He made me feel like the most important person in the world. I hadn’t been with anyone in a while … I’d had a bad breakup with a guy who didn’t really care about being with me … I was just convenient. So when Donovan treated me like I was someone special …” She choked up again, but took in a deep breath and relaxed her throat. “And he took charge. I liked that.” She hugged her knees tighter. “At first.”

  Steele didn’t say anything, just squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

  “Craig never liked him. He hadn’t even met him, but he started on about how I shouldn’t be with him. It was as if he didn’t trust a guy who thought I was special.”

  She shook her head. “And he was right. I was so stupid.”

  “You’re not stupid to think someone would find you special.” He squeezed her shoulder again, and warmth emanated through her. “And I’m sure that’s not what your brother meant. He cares about you.”

  She just nodded, barely hearing him, tumultuous emotions swirling through her. “When things started going wrong … they were just little at first, you know? … but Craig kept pushing me to drop the guy, but my friends kept telling me he was great and I was lucky to be dating a rich, handsome guy who seemed to adore me.”

  “What kind of things started going wrong?” he asked.

  She sniffed and shook her head. She didn’t want to tell hm. Didn’t want to admit just how stupid she’d been.

  But she needed to tell someone. She let out a pent-up breath.

  “He liked to dominate me. In the bedroom.” She closed her eyes and bowed her head. “I know it sounds stupid that I let him.”

  “Did you enjoy it?”

  She stiffened.

  He sighed, and his hand stroked back some hair that had fallen across her cheek. “I didn’t mean that as a criticism. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying giving up control to someone. Or taking it. As long as that’s what you both want.”

  “I did. I mean, I found it …” Her stomach quivered, but she wanted to tell the truth. To tell someone. “Exciting. It was strange, but he was so in control and confident. I found that … sexy.” She sucked in a breath. “But it was also a little scary.”

  “Why?”

  “He … liked to bind me. Sometimes with rope. Sometimes with leather restraints or handcuffs. But I had no way to tell him when I didn’t want him to do something. He liked me to pretend to struggle against him, so saying no became part of the playacting.”

  “You didn’t have a safe word?”

  “I …” She shook her head. “I didn’t know about … I mean, I’d never done anything like that before.”

  “You shouldn’t have had to know. He should have.” He stroked her back. “And I’m sure he did. He was getting off on controlling you, but not in a healthy Dom-sub relationship. He was enjoying your fear.”

  Tears welled from her eyes again and she squeezed her legs tighter to her chest, resting her face on her knees.

  “Aw, sweetheart, it’s not your fault.” He pushed himself onto the bed beside her and scooped her up, pulling her onto his lap. His big arms came around her and she found her head resting against his solid, welcoming chest. He rocked her as she sobbed in his arms, her head tucked under his chin. He was so strong, and she felt protected in his embrace.

  “My friends told me I just wasn’t used to kinky play in the bedroom and I was overreacting. Of course, I didn’t tell them all of it.”

  “Like what, Laurie. Tell me.”

  She gazed up at him, worried at how he would perceive her. She didn’t want him to think she was stupid or weak, when he was so strong. She admired Steele.

  “He would punish me. Which I know is something that turns some people on. I thought maybe I was just being too stuffy. At first, he’d spank me with his hand. I didn’t like it, but it turned him on, so I decided to push my limits and go with it. Then he started using a flogger of some kind. One day, I told him I didn’t like it … before we got started, you know? He seemed annoyed, but he agreed not to use it. Instead, he brought out a riding crop and struck me again and again, so hard it burned. I had trouble sitting for days after.”

  Steele must have been wondering why she didn’t stop seeing Donovan then. Why she’d been such an idiot. But he just stroked her back. And held her close.

  “What made you finally decide to break it off with him?” Steele asked.

  She began to tremble in his arms. “It was … He had me handcuffed to a … what he called a punishment bench. When he was …” She drew in a breath, remembering Donovan behind her, driving deep into her body in hard strokes. “Like … in the middle of things. He wrapped his hands around my neck.”

  Her fingers curled tight, grasping the fabric of Steele’s shirt.

  “I couldn’t breathe. And he just kept …” She couldn’t say it out loud. “I felt panicky. I thought, if he didn’t … uh … find … his release … I was afraid I’d pass out. That maybe I wouldn’t wake up again.”

  Steele’s arms tightened around her.

  “Sweetheart, you’re safe now.”

  But she wasn’t. Donovan was still out there, and eventually she had to leave here and face him. And she didn’t know what he’d do to her.

  “You’re safe here,” he said again, murmuring against her hair.

  And she did feel safe in his arms. She wished she never had to leave them. She shifted on his lap and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. Never wanting to let him go.

  *

  Steele’s heart ached as Laurie burrowed deep into his arms. She was so fragile right now. So vulnerable.

  That jackass had really done a number on her, and if he ever got his hands on the guy, he would likely kill him. At the fierceness of his thought, he held her tight, and she whimpered a little. He eased his hold on her and kissed the crown of her head.

  “It’s all right. I’ll never hurt you. You know that, don’t you?”

  She nodded, filling him with a deep sense of satisfaction.

  But he would have to make sure he never got his hands on that Donovan asshole. The last thing he needed was another assault and battery charge on his record.

  Or possibly manslaughter.

  *

  Steele heard her murmuring in the bed. Once she’d fallen asleep, he’d moved to the armchair, giving her space. In the darkness, though, her whimpers made him want to go to her, and he was just about to throw the blanket he’d pulled over himself aside when she sat bolt upright, with a strangled “no.”

  She sucked in rapid breaths of air and glanced around. His eyes were used to the darkness, but she probably couldn’t see him in the shadowy depths.

  “Are you all right, Laurie?”

  “Steele?” Her head turned in his direction.

  She pushed back her covers and, for a confused moment, he thought she was going to bolt, but instead of heading for the door, she hurried toward him and—to his total surprise—climbed onto his lap and flung her arms around him, then snuggled against his body.

  She was like a tiny child who’d woken up frightened in the night and needed comfort. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Her head rested against his shoulder and her soft breath brushed against his cheek. She was trembling—because she was cold or frightened because of the dream she’d been having he wasn’t sure, but probably the latter. He tugged the blanket from his knees and wrapped it around her. Within moments, she was asleep again, so he just held her.

  *

  Light washed against Laurie’s eyes and she opened them. She was in Steele’s big solid arms, on his lap in an armchair.

  Reminding her how she’d trotted to him in the middle of the night like a child seeking comfort. But she didn’t feel like a child now, snuggled against his muscular body, his strong arms encircling her.

  He glanced down at her. “Good morning.”

  “Morning.”

  He was so close. So masculine. Their faces were only inches apart. She gazed into his intense gray eyes, drawn in deeper and deeper. The two of them seemed to be drawn together by some magnetic force and his lips found hers. His mouth moved on hers tenderly, totally undemanding. Need welled up in her and she wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him closer.

  When they finally parted, their gazes were locked. She wanted him to carry her to the bed, and make love to her. To make her feel what it was like to be with someone who cared about her.

  She drew back with a start. How did she know this man cared about her?

  “Is there something wrong?”

  She shook her head.

  He obviously had a basic respect for her and her needs, but it wasn’t a caring for her like a man for a woman in a relationship. She didn’t even know him. She was projecting her need to be protected and cared for onto this man who was basically her captor.

  He was a good man. She knew that now. But he didn’t love her. He simply felt a responsibility to keep her safe.

  And she also believed he felt as intense an attraction for her as she felt for him.

  She stroked her hand across the defined muscles of his chest, wishing there could be more between them. Still, it didn’t mean she could appreciate all he’d done for her.

  “Steele, thank you for looking out for me, and for keeping me safe despite my best efforts to break away.”

  “Escape you mean?” He grinned. “Truth be told, that’s one of the things I love about you. Your tenacity.”

  Love?

  He didn’t mean that the way her pounding heart wanted him to. Did he?

  Shock zipped through her. Could she really want him to fall in love with her? This man she’d only met days ago? After he kidnapped her?

  But the kidnapping made him all the more appealing because it showed the lengths to which he’d go to keep her safe.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked, watching her changing expressions.

  “I just realized that everything about our relationship has changed.”

  His eyebrow arched. “Relationship?”

  “Well, you know … I mean …” But she noticed his eyes were glittering with amusement.

  “Yes, I know. I’m no longer the big bad man who has you chained to his bed.” He grinned and kissed her lips lightly.

  She smiled timidly at him. “True. But you know, if I had to find myself trapped in someone’s bed, I’m glad it was yours.”

  Fire blazed in his eyes and he drew her close, his lips ravaging hers.

  “Steele,” someone said while rapping on the door.

  Steele tore his lips from hers. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath, then snarled, “What do you want?”

  “Laurie’s brother is on the phone. He wants to talk to her.”

  He stared at her. “This isn’t over.”

  She smiled and slipped from his lap.

  Sometime during the night, she’d shed her jeans, so she quickly pulled them on as Steele walked to the door. He opened it, revealing Rip standing in the doorway.

  Rip handed him a cell phone and Steele nodded, then closed the door and handed the phone to Laurie.

  “Hello?” she said.

  “Laurie, I’m glad you’re okay. I heard about what happened,” Craig said on the other end of the line.

  She didn’t know which happening he referred to, and she didn’t care right now.

  “You’ve been out of town,” she said.

  “Yeah, I had to go on business, but I got back as soon as I could.”

  “But you were busy before you left.” Her hand tightened on the phone.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean arranging for my kidnapping.”

  “Laurie, wait—”

  “No, I’m not going to wait. How could you do that?” She was aware of Steele in the background, watching her.

  “I was just trying to keep you safe. And you must know that I made that suggestion when I was … uh … less than sober.”

  “But sober or not, you really thought that turning me over to a gang of bikers was a reasonable solution?”

  “I didn’t turn you over to a gang of bikers. I asked my friend—a cop—to help me look out for you. He knew these guys and one of them is an ex-cop, too. I knew you’d be in good hands. Anyway, I told you, I was drunk at the time, and desperate to protect you. But none of that matters, because they refused.”

  “And yet, here I am,” she responded, her hand balling into a fist. But she realized that it wasn’t fair to pin that on her brother, since it was circumstances that had caused Wild Card to snatch her. And save her from Donovan’s clutches, she admitted to herself. Her gaze darted to Steele.

  But despite that, she couldn’t let her brother get away with this kind of thing.

  “Craig, you really can’t do things like this. You’re overprotective and controlling. I need to live my own life. I’m an intelligent adult.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked, annoyance in his voice. “Because some of your choices suggest otherwise.”

  Anger flared inside her and she jabbed the END button, then spiked the phone at the armchair. It hit the cushion then bounced to the floor as she tugged the bedroom door open and stormed out. She strode down the stairs then straight out the front door. She ignored the stares of Dom, Rip, and Shock who sat in chairs on the grass overlooking the water and continued along the path to the isolated beach. She kept walking until the glittering water came into view and past the dense bushes, then stopped by a big tree and leaned back against it waiting for her pounding heart to settle down.

  “You okay?” Steele said from behind her.

  “Afraid I’d run away?” she asked, annoyance in her voice.

  But he ignored her barb. “I thought you might want to talk.” He stepped closer. “Your brother cares about you. You know that.”

  She drew in a deep breath. “Yet he arranged for you to kidnap me.”

  “He wasn’t really serious, and we didn’t go along with it.”

  She glared at him. “And yet I’m here.”

  He walked toward her. “Laurie, don’t transfer your anger at your brother to me. You know what happened.” He grasped her shoulders and gazed at her, his granite eyes intense. “Wild Card—or any of us for that matter—wouldn’t have ignored what was happening to you in that parking garage. He stepped in because he wouldn’t just stand by and allow that asshole to manhandle you like that.”

  She pursed her lips. “The point is my brother doesn’t think I can take care of myself.”

  “You’re a woman and he’s trying to watch out for you.” He shrugged. “And I can understand why he wants to protect his little sister.”

  She glared at him. “So you think that because I’m a woman I can’t take care of myself either? So tell me, if I wanted to leave right now, would you stop me?”

 

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