Bay pressed his lips together when he saw me watching him. “Master Xavier has been waiting for you for some time. It won’t be much longer now.”
My eyes widened, and I wanted to ask what he meant, but he lifted the black hood and swept it back down over my head silencing my questions.
“No, please.” I cried out and gripped the edge of the hood as it lowered to my chin.
Chad spoke from the doorway. “Kitten, don’t fight. You will not win. Let Bay secure the hood.”
I gripped the edge, defiant and needing the tiny bit of freedom offered. Chad’s clean scent pressed close and I felt small and trapped between the two men. I dropped my hands to my waist in resignation, losing that battle.
“Good, girl,” Chad said. He reached around and tied the cords of the hood around my neck.
He and Bay guided me back to my seat. Bay buckled my seatbelt across my lap and then bent forward to begin strapping the webbing over my chest.
“No, Bay, please. Don’t. I won’t be a problem.”
“Ben’s orders,” Bay said.
Ben? Who was Ben? Chad, Bay, Mel, and Ben. Ben must be the boss. I now had all four of my captor’s names.
“Don’t want you pulling off the hood and taking a peek out the window.” Bay secured my hands beneath the webbing.
“Why does that matter?”
Bay didn’t answer as he quietly and efficiently restrained me in my seat. I was a fly caught in a web. A pungent smell wafted toward me, full of musk and cigarettes. This was the boss, Ben.
“Hey,” Bay said. “She’s restrained.”
“Good. I’ll take over,” Ben said. “Why don’t you get some shut eye.”
“Sure thing,” Bay said.
“You doing okay, kid?” Ben settled into the seat beside me.
I turned my hooded face toward him, wishing he could see the expression on my face. Then I made a face, thankful he couldn’t see what I thought of his idiotic question. I wanted to cross my arms and turn away from him in a huff, but I couldn’t. The webbing made that impossible.
Mechanical whirring noises sounded moments before my seat began tilting back. I gave a start as the leg rest extended and my chair turned into a bed. Ben leaned into me. A needle pricked my neck and a cold sensation flowed under my skin, followed by a burn.
“What…”
“Time to sleep,” Bossman Ben said.
“No…” I didn’t want to sleep. I didn’t want to lose control. I fought the sluggishness pouring through my veins and lost yet another battle. More frustrating blackness swallowed me whole.
Chapter Four
The next time consciousness wrapped its warm hands around me, tires bounced on a runway. My ears popped. In a foggy haze, I shifted in my seat, stretching shoulders left and right. Wait, my shoulders moved? I leaned forward, the webbing had been removed. Cotton filled my mouth and my scratchy eyes burned with irritation. My mind moved at half speed as I shrugged off the vestiges of whatever Ben the Boss had given me. I had no measure of how much time had passed. Hours? Days? Did it matter anymore?
My bladder spasmed painfully, letting me know I had been out for quite some time. I leaned forward and groaned. Spice and citrus floated beside me, mixed with minty goodness. Bay sat beside me. His easy-going voice soothed the frayed edges of my mind.
“Once we come to a stop, we’ll let you use the restroom.”
“Where are we?” I lifted my hands to my face, surprised I had that much freedom, and rubbed at tired eyes behind the fabric of the hood.
The plane taxied and rumbled across uneven pavement. The floorboard creaked in the aisle beside me and the scent of tobacco filled the air.
“Welcome to your new home, little one,” Ben said.
I cringed at his words, but didn’t have the strength to contradict him. I didn’t care what these men thought, or what their orders were, this wasn’t my home.
Tires bumped along the runway as the plane taxied to a stop. That’s when I first realized the seat I occupied was different from the plush recliner I had been in before. It was narrower too. Bay’s arm brushed against mine. I explored my surroundings with my feet, marking out the size of my seat. I spread my elbows and confirmed my fears. We had changed planes during my last bout of unconsciousness, this time to a smaller craft.
I mentally prepared for the worst. Surely, this was the end of my journey. My head ached from being drugged, that and some degree of altitude dehydration. I needed to ready myself for what came next. This next stage of my life promised untold horror and I needed to protect myself. Be ready to run. Observe and gather information. I didn’t want to dwell on what waited for me outside the plane.
“Up you go.” Bay reached across my lap and sprung my seat belt. He guided me by my elbow into the aisle and steered me to the back of the plane. Behind me, the unmistakable sound of the door hatch opening brought the whine of the engines powering down as well as a blast of hot, humid air. The moisture saturated my clothes and brought beads of perspiration to my brow. Now more than ever, the infernal hood suffocated me.
We repeated the embarrassing process in the lavatory, this time with Bay assisting me with my clothes. Chad was nowhere to be smelled or heard. I couldn’t see a damned thing and Bay refused to remove the hood, despite my begging. He guided me back down the narrow aisle, my hips bumped against the seats and then he pulled me up beside the door. A hot breeze blew against my bare legs.
The plane engines had quieted. I heard men hefting luggage and calling out directions, and beyond that, birds squawked overhead. The wind brought beautiful floral scents to my heightened sense of smell. Exoticness screamed at my limited senses. I took in a sharp inhale, smelling a hint of brine, confirming my suspicions.
We had landed near a beach, on an island perhaps, or along a coast. Images of jungles, palm trees, ferns, exotic birds, lizards, and monkeys filled my mind. Without sight, my imagination ran wild. My body thrummed with nervous energy, terrified at what our arrival implied. I didn’t care how long I’d been traveling, I wanted to see my journey’s end. I wanted to explore this prison I had been thrust into by my wretched father and I needed to start making plans for escape.
Bay pressed a hand to the small of my back. “I’m going to help you down a set of stairs. Put your hands out, Chad will guide you down.”
A massive hand folded itself around my bound hands and I flinched at the unexpected touch.
“Relax, kitten,” Chad soothed, “and promise not to hit me.” Sarcasm laced his words and a ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of my lips before I realized how easily he had endeared himself to me. His hands covered mine and he tugged me gently forward. “First step is right here.” He pressed a hand to my foot, showing me the way.
With Chad and Bay’s help, I navigated my way down the stairs. Hot tarmac reflected back the sun, intensifying the heat, causing sweat to bead upon my skin. The heat under the hood became unbearable and I swayed.
Bay grasped my shoulders. “Just a bit farther.”
Tires churned on the asphalt and a car pulled close.
“Get her out of the heat,” Chad said, “and we need to pull the hood.”
“No,” Ben said. “He wants to do that himself.”
I didn’t know where Ben had come from, but my head was spinning, floating with disorientation. I wasn’t doing a very good job of paying attention to my surroundings, but I knew exactly who the he was that Ben referred to. My stomach twisted, threatening to empty the remnants of the protein bar I’d been fed some time ago.
A door clicked open and I was assisted into a blissfully cool, leather infused car interior. Bay moved me to the center seat, locked a seatbelt around me, and sat beside me. The door opposite opened and the smell of Irish Spring settled on the other side. My buddies, Bay and Chad, had me cocooned between them.
More doors opened and shut. The car rocked as people climbed in. I rested my head against the seat as the air conditioner whirred away. The car moved, bringing
me one step closer to the man who had taken me as his slave.
Debt paid.
Z’s words swirled in my head. What kind of debt demanded he give over his only daughter?
The men around me talked and laughed, while I sat in darkness. I wanted to scream at them, but kept silent as tears streaked down my face. My lack of any resistance frustrated me as much as it terrified me. All I had done so far was offer compliance, but then I’d never experienced this kind of fear before.
They had me at a disadvantage. How was I to run if I was blind? How was I to escape with shackled arms? I couldn’t outrun anyone, and they knew it. And it hadn’t escaped my notice that at least one of them was always within arm’s reach of me. I’d be grabbed the moment I made a break for it.
I had failed before I’d even had a chance to try. My fingers curled. Do not give up. Never stop looking for a way out. Stay strong and fight.
The vehicle swayed and bumped as it navigated rutted roads. Dirt and gravel crunched beneath the tires. I bounced in the seat, grateful for the two overly large men bracketing me for a change, because they supported me as the car tried to shake every bone in my body loose. After a few minutes, the car slowed and came to a stop.
My gut clenched. One step closer.
Doors popped open all around me as men spilled out of the car. Bay and Chad exited. Chad guided me out of the car and led me forward with a gentle grip on my arm. Moments later, Bay joined us, taking hold of my other arm. I was once again sandwiched between my buddies. I don’t know what happened to Ben or Mel, and I didn’t really care.
Bay and Chad guided me up a set of stairs. The heat and humidity beat down on the hood. Sharp inhales tugged into my lungs while the fabric of the hood grew wet with my breath. My head swam with light headedness and exhaustion.
This was it. My ending.
A door opened and a gust of air-conditioned wonderment brushed over me. Chad guided me over a threshold into the welcoming coolness of recirculated and conditioned air, while Bay shut out the heat with the finality of a lock clicking into place behind me.
Chad nudged me forward, guided me into what I assumed was another room. Then he sat me in a chair.
The presence of my captors surrounded me. Their breaths pulled at my sensitive hearing as they leaned over me. Chad tugged my leg to the side. The sound of Velcro unzipping alerted me moments before he secured my calf to the leg of the chair. I jumped at the restraint, kicking out with my free leg.
A chuckle sounded as I connected with open air.
“Missed me, kitten.” Chad’s strong hand pressed against my shin, inexorably lowering my leg to the opposite chair leg. Another rip of Velcro and the fabric wrapped around my leg. Immobilization had become my universe.
Bay’s sweet fragrance, tinged with citrus and mint, crossed in front of my body. He lifted my wrists and slid something hard and cold between the plastic of the zip tie. With a quick upward jerk, my hands were freed.
I rubbed at my wrists where the hard plastic had bit into soft flesh, but the men separated my hands, and pulled them to the side. More ripping sounds, and more Velcro bound me to the chair. Tears of frustration spilled from the corners of my eyes.
A new scent filled the room, a rich aroma full of spice and musk, layered with another deeper fragrance. A deep woodsy aroma penetrated the fabric of the hood, a decidedly masculine scent. The tread of a measured step and the rustle of fabric announced the newcomer.
Terror gripped me. That had to be him. I squeezed out tears and prayed for strength. Our first meeting would determine the entire tone of whatever warped relationship we would have. I needed to meet him with strength.
“That will be all, gentlemen.”
The deep, cultured voice did strange things to my insides. Terror gripped me, but something more alarming occurred as well. I was eager to meet this man called Master Xavier.
“Thank you,” he said. “You have earned your reward.”
“Thank you, Master Xavier.” Chad leaned down and whispered in my ear. “Behave, kitten.” Then his footfalls fell away.
I was in the presence of Master Xavier, and if I guessed correctly, we were alone. As my captors’ footfalls receded, I couldn’t help the pang in my heart at their disappearance. Some twisted part of me needed Chad and Bay by my side. It made no sense, but I felt more protected with them around. With them gone, I felt naked and exposed.
My heart thundered in my chest. My breaths turned ragged and shallow. I wanted to leap out of that chair and run out of the room, but the hood stole my sight and the chair had become a prison as well.
He approached with sure-footed steps. A single tug at my neck freed the cords of the hood. A quick jerk and bright light filled my universe.
I blinked scratchy eyes against the brightness as my dilated pupils struggled to accommodate to the change in illumination. Movement in front of me revealed the blurred image of a man walking away, carrying an empty black hood. He tossed the offensive thing on a table and turned to face me.
He regarded me as I blinked away sleep and dried tears from my eyes. Slowly, my vision cleared and the details of my surroundings revealed themselves. I wasn’t ready to face this person, so I focused on the room instead.
I was in a three-story, wood-paneled library supported by pillars and decorated with intricate moldings. Books filled floor-to-ceiling shelves, and ladders on rails encircled the room. Overhead a dome soared, painted with the most amazing mural of cherubs frolicking in clouds suspended in a gold and blue sky.
A massive mahogany desk filled one corner. Piles of books perched precariously on its edges. In another corner, a set of reading chairs faced each other, matching folded tartans tucked neatly on their cushions. The only other furniture in the room was a matched pair of chairs, one on which I sat. The other faced me, a few feet away.
My vision solidified, cleared, and locked onto the dominant presence in the room. I searched for evil in the man standing before me, some sense of vileness I expected from a man who traded in slaves. What I saw instead was compassion.
“Good afternoon.” He bowed his head. “It is with great pleasure that I welcome you, my slave, to your new home.”
My gaze soared up to the cherub filled painting. He named me slave. Evil lurked within him no matter what I’d seen in his eyes. Dear God, what captivating eyes they were, too. They flashed in the light and seared me to the bone. Twin lasers of the purest blue fixed me in place and dissected me to the smallest sliver.
“Go fuck yourself.” Probably not the best first words to say to the man who held my fate in his hands, but I’d had enough of being drugged, bound, hooded, and—well, sold.
Our eyes locked, and my entire body clenched as his jaw bunched. His gaze smoldered as his lids narrowed. Everything about him screamed power. From the way he controlled the men who brought me to him, to how he held himself with a sense of absolute assurance, and to the way the suit of the blackest black conformed to his shape. He exuded confidence, authority, and mastery of everything around him. His clipped dark hair and clean shaven appearance told me much about this man’s attention to detail.
If I hadn’t learned that lesson already, from all the care put into my capture so far, then I was truly an idiot. Clearly, this man had planned and orchestrated every step of my abduction. There was no doubt this was his realm, his fortress. He was the master and I but his latest acquisition.
A sensation tingled across my flesh as he stared at me, not moving a muscle. I wanted him to react to my outburst. Why did he just stand there? His lack of reaction, or rather his extreme display of self-control, told me something important. This was a man in control of not only his surroundings but his reactions as well. This made him incredibly dangerous.
His lip twitched.
I sucked in a breath.
He placed his hands on a shelf. Long, strong fingers stroked the wood. The way he stared at me became too much and I cast my eyes down, breaking the connection between us.
&nb
sp; “That is good, slave. You’ve discovered your first rule. You will keep your gaze cast down in my presence. Now, say hello to your master.”
Chapter Five
“You’re fucking high if you think I’m going to do that.” My gaze flicked up to meet his, screw his rules.
He stalked toward me, a predator playing with its meal. I pressed back into the chair, desperate to put that fractional distance between us. My heart beat a furious tattoo, fluttering beneath my breastbone, as my fingers clawed at the arms of the chair.
There was no escape. I was at his mercy. A great weight settled over my chest as my situation became all too real. Grabbing my knees, he yanked them apart, then stepped into the empty space between them. He placed his hands over my Velcro bound wrists, leaned over me, then whispered in my ear.
“Second rule, no swearing.”
He straightened and some of the weight of his presence dissipated. We stared at each other, me glaring, him assessing, until he cocked his head and took a step back. He moved to the chair facing me and settled himself into the seat. Kicking a heel over his opposite knee, he pressed those long fingers together before placing them beneath his chin. Those laser blue eyes of his bore into me, while he regarded me with stony silence. I stared back as my heart thundered in my chest and attempted to regain control of my breathing. Intimidation aside, this man terrified me.
“You know you want to say it.” A chuckle escaped him and a ghost of a smile curved at the corners of his mouth.
My eyes narrowed. I wanted to kick and scream, hiss and spit. I wanted to hurl every vile obscenity I could think of in his direction, but they were only words; impotent weapons. I clamped my mouth shut, and bit at my lower lip. If he wanted me to say something, then I would say nothing.
She’s Mine: A Captive Romance Page 3
