The simple statement stole her breath away. Natasha looked at him as if he lost his mind. Her eyes widened, mouth opened, but nothing came out. She was speechless. So she shook her head no.
He reached up, touched her cheek and Natasha turned her head away. Her breath caught in her lungs when he reared up and kissed her cheek. It was the same side that her father had slapped her.
“I never knew pure raw rage until I saw him slap you,” he said. The statement had her turning her head to face him, which was a small mistake. It put her just about nose to nose with him.
“You saw that?” she whispered.
“He had no right to do that.” He delivered another kiss to her cheek.
Light, gentle, pecks that stole not only her senses but her breath.
“Please stop.”
“I like touching you,” he said, his voice lowered, lips moving from her check down to her chin and lower still. “You’re like silk.”
Down the side of her throat his lips moved, all the way to her shoulder. She shivered at the gentleness of his touch, the heat from his breath.
“Please stop,” she breathed out. The feelings, the sensations he was making her feel confused her. She couldn’t think, could barely breathe.
“I don’t want to stop,” he mumbled ever so lightly. His lips closed over her shoulder, a gentle bite followed by a suck and Natasha jumped again, scooting away from him.
Drake also moved. He repositioned himself on his knees, between her legs dangling on the side of the bed, hands on her hips. The dark intent in his eyes frightened her. Natasha couldn’t stop shaking. There was just something about him that had her wanting to run as far away as she could get.
“I frighten you,” he stated.
“Yes,” the word left her lips on a breath.
What little breath she had left, he stole it. Drake rose up and kissed her full on the lips. Everything and anything she might’ve been thinking about went right out the window. He stole her senses just as he stole her 26
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lips, her breath, and her mind. Thinking was impossible.
Her first kiss. Drake was her first kiss and it was mind blowing. He slanted his head, pressed his lips against hers, and sipped until she opened her mouth to draw breath into her lungs. Once she opened her mouth, he slipped his tongue into hers.
Natasha couldn’t stop the moan from slipping from her lips. She couldn’t stop him from rising up, coming over her and pressing her back down into the bed. His body rested on top of hers, the heat of his flesh warmed her from the inside out as the kiss deepened.
She didn’t know what to do with her hands. Hell, she didn’t know what to do at all for that matter. Drake flicked his tongue inside her mouth touched her own tongue and seemed to go even deeper with the kiss. She jumped again when his hand touched her legs, his hips wedged themselves between her legs, and she felt him go up under the gown, all the way to her hips.
Where she got the strength, she didn’t know, but somehow Natasha pushed at his bare chest, breaking the kiss. She didn’t have the strength to push him off her completely.
“What’d you want from me?” she asked.
He kissed her again, and then began to skim his way down her body, kissing parts as he went. He didn’t answer her, only moved down until he was once more on his knees between her legs. When her skirt started to go up, Natasha put both hands between her legs and sat straight up, shaking her head.
“Shhh,” he soothed. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Why am I here?” Now she sounded desperate and couldn’t help it.
He stopped, looked up at her, and the darkness in his eyes had her once more shivering. He was so dark, so forbearing. “The moment I saw you I knew you were the one. I picked up your sweet scent. It called to me and then I saw you and I could feel your pain.” He picked one of her legs up and kissed the inside of her thigh before putting it over his shoulder. “I knew without a doubt that you would belong to me.”
“What?” the word squeaked out.
Drake took a deep breath and rubbed his lips over the inside of her thigh, eyes on her. “My father and I went to that party for a meeting to change the way the Gatherings are held. Your father doesn’t want to change it.” Up and down, he rubbed his face on her leg. “He wants to keep things the way they are and not follow the rules.”
“What’re you talking about?”
His hands went up under the skirt again. She felt him take hold of 27
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her panties and instead of pulling them down he yanked hard, ripping them off. She jumped at the roughness of the action.
“I’m claiming you as my mate, by your father’s rules and by the rules of our clan.” Again, he rose up and covered her body with his own.
“I saw you. I took you. And very soon I’m going to claim you as my own.”
Natasha’s eyes widened, she pressed her hands on his chest and shook her head. He shifted, wedged himself between her legs, and pressed her into the mattress, upper body held up by his elbows, hands free to touch her face, brush the hair out of her eyes.
“Don’t—don’t do this,” she whispered, shaking her head. “Please.
Send me back to my father.”
Drake cocked his head to the side, his dark eyes roaming over her face. “I can’t send you back. I won’t.”
Tears formed behind her eyes, one slipped free. She knew he couldn’t send her back. Deep down she knew. A reputation was everything to her father and with her being taken that reputation would be tarnished if she was taken back. No other male would have her as mate.
“Don’t cry.” He brushed the tear away then kissed the spot where it landed.
“I can’t help it.” She sniffed back more tears, which threatened to spill. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what you expect from me.”
“Just be my mate.”
Again, she shook her head, “Please, don’t ask me to do that.”
Another shift of his body and she felt that part of him press against her.
Once more, she widened her eyes and tried to push him away.
“I’m asking that, Natasha.” His voice thickened, became slightly harder. “I’m demanding it.” He took hold of a leg, hiking it up to his hip.
“I don’t want to be the bad guy here. You’re my mate and I will claim you.” A knock on the door saved her. At least that’s how she felt at the moment. “What?” Drake yelled.
“Got information already,” someone yelled through the door.
Drake glanced at the door then back at her. Natasha couldn’t stop herself from breathing out a sigh of relief when he pushed away from her. She stayed put, watching him walk over to a dresser, drop his towel, and open the drawer. Her mouth went dry at the sight of his backside.
The firm roundness of his rear, the strength in his back. Damn if he wasn’t powerful!
He grabbed a pair of sweatpants from the drawer, slipped them over 28
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his legs, and turned towards the door. Natasha watched him go, her eyes going down to the large tent at the front of his pants.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes. We’ll finish this talk then.”
Natasha covered her face with her hands the second he left. She cried for a few moments before sitting up and going to her bags on the floor. There were only two, making her wonder about the third. She didn’t have time for that.
All of her clothes were gone. Opening up the door next to the bathroom, she discovered where they all were at—hanging next to his.
As fast as she could she dressed in a pair of jeans, long sweater and put her sneakers on. Dressed now, she felt less vulnerable than before.
Running away wasn’t normally something she did, but then being kidnapped didn’t happen every day either. Being shifter though did have some advantages. One being she could jump out of a window and land with a light thud
if needed, which was just what she was going to do.
Even though her reputation might be damaged some, if she got back to her father before any of this got out then things should be okay. She’d go back to school and forget about all of this.
First, she had to get the hell out.
Opening the window, she crawled out to the ledge and looked down.
Wind picked up, blowing her hair around her face. Where the courage came from, she couldn’t say. The need to take charge of something in her life hit. So closing her eyes, taking a deep breath, Natasha took the jump and landed with a soft thud to the ground. A smile on her face, she stood and took off running. She had to get the hell out of here and fast before Drake Draeger went through with what he said and claimed her as his own.
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Chapter Three
“He called the Chairman of the Gathering Cabinet,” Tony said, walking down the stairs with Drake right behind him. “That’s it so far.”
Drake knew that Philip Millard wouldn’t waste too much time in trying to track down who took his daughter. He just didn’t think that the man would call the Chairman himself for help. Hell, the man wanted to keep the old ways going for life, as long as it didn’t involve his daughter it seemed.
Drake opened his mouth to speak but instead stopped two steps away from the foyer. He turned, looked up in the direction of the bedroom where he left Natasha and then back to the front door.
“Tony, close the gates.” Drake rushed to the front door, threw it open, and ran outside.
He sniffed the air, picked up her scent at the back of the house coming quickly to the front. Drake followed in the direction of her scent.
Around the house she came, skidding to a stop when she saw him.
Her blue eyes widened in shock. Clearly, Natasha wasn’t expecting Drake to learn of her running so soon.
“Where you going, Natasha?” he asked.
“You can’t keep me here Drake,” she huffed.
“Can’t I?” He cocked his head, narrowed his eyes on her, and took on step forward. She took two back. “I trust you know what it means to challenge me, and what a chase will result in.” Another step. “I don’t want it to end or start like that.”
“Then stay away from me!” She pointed her finger at him, and he grinned.
“Not going to happen.” He shook his head. “And I will warn you, honey, if I have to chase you down then I’m going to take something for my effort.”
Her face paled. “What?”
Drake couldn’t help himself. He licked his lips and roamed his eyes over her body on purpose. “A taste.”
“You’re out of your mind!” Natasha turned and ran and as much as Drake hated it, he loved it at the same time.
He went after her, took off running, chasing. The excitement of the chase fueled his blood, gave his cock new life, excited him. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on her and boy was he going to have his hands on 30
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her now.
The plan was to give her time. To ease her fears, seduce her slowly and hopefully before her cycle kicked in to mate her. Well sometimes shit just doesn’t go as planned and sometimes you just have to play the cards you were dealt. If Natasha wanted to run, then Drake was more than willing to chase her down.
He pounced—up in the air, and down on her. He wrapped his arms around her waist when he came down, landed on the ground taking the brunt of the fall. Natasha screamed and began to fight him. Drake was slightly shocked at the fight she gave. The first time he saw her she appeared very timid and afraid of her own shadow. Now she acted like a woman who knew exactly what she wanted and was willing to fight for it.
A foot to his gut loosened his grip enough for her to crawl a few feet away, but not enough that Drake couldn’t take hold of her ankle and drag her back. He had to give her credit. She could become a damn good fighter if need be.
“Let go!” she yelled. He flipped her over to her back and her legs went wild.
Another hard kick to his chest and she was once more free. Natasha stumbled back up to her feet and Drake was right there to take hold of her. He grabbed the back of her jeans mere seconds before she was running again. He jerked back and she went flying into his arms where he held her tight against his chest.
“I must say,” he panted, trying to catch his breath. “I’m impressed with the way you fight. Didn’t think you had it in you.”
He stood up, her in his arms. She just about made it to the woods behind the house. As tiny as she is, he can take a guess and say she would more than likely slip through the bars on the fence.
“Go to hell!” She twisted and turned in his arms, causing Drake to tighten his hold on her.
Back to the house, this time entering from the back door instead of the front. Nelly was in the kitchen, hand over her breasts, shocked expression on her face.
“Help me, please!” Natasha pleaded towards Nelly.
“Save your breath,” Drake told her. “Nelly isn’t going to help you.”
Out the kitchen, through the dining room and back up the stairs he went, holding Natasha tightly. Back into the bedroom, he went over to his dresser, shifted Natasha to his left side, and opened the top drawer.
He dug until he found what he was looking for--his ties.
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“What are you doing?” she asked.
He heard the fear in her voice and ignored it. Drake couldn’t give in to her fear right now. Maybe before she ran he would’ve, but right now, he needed to make sure his mate stayed put. Drake also dug into the drawer he gave her and pulled out a new set of low cut lace panties. The pair she’d worn he’d ripped.
He tossed it all onto the bed before letting her go. The moment her feet touched the floor she backed away from him, pressing herself in the corner between nightstand and window.
“Take-em off.”
She shook her head, “No.”
“Natasha,” he gave her a warning growl. “Don’t make me do it for you. Take them off.”
He saw her hands shake, the color drain from her face. Inside, Drake hated having to take this step with her. He didn’t like pushing her like this, but he had no choice. Now that he knew she would try to run given the first chance, he had to take measures to stop her. At least until he made his claim. Once she bared not only his mark but carried his scent upon her body, could he let his guard down? Well, maybe a little.
Something told him that his little mate was going to be a handful all the time. At least once she got her self-esteem and backbone back.
“I—I don’t have any, um, you ripped them off.” She shuddered, her face reddening.
Drake tossed her the lace panties. “There you go.”
“You expect me to put these on if front of you?” she gasped, the red on her face going brighter.
“Well I sure as hell ain’t going to let you out of my sight now. Not after you jumped out the window.”
Those damn blue eyes of hers teared up. Drake was starting to wonder if she could make herself cry on a whim, if it got her what she wanted.
“Pl—please don’t make me do this in front of you.”
Drake crossed his arms over his chest and leaned to one side. “You know, I’ve only spent a few hours with you so far and I’m starting to think you play the pity game to perfection. Does it work on your father or just the people at your school?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you do,” he grinned. “You do the lady thing for your father, act all proper, sweet, and delicate, but I’m thinking deep down you’re a survivor. You know what people want, and how to go about getting it.
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Being strong willed and tough gets you nowhere unlike the ‘I’m weak act’.” He went up to her, his arms going over her head on the wall.
<
br /> Natasha’s eyes narrowed on up at him. “You’re father most likely beat that willpower of yours out, or at least out of his sight. I see the fire, Natasha. I can smell the burn. You want to fight, then fight, but don’t try to play both sides with me.”
He should’ve seen the slap before it landed on his face, but didn’t.
The blow had him swaying slightly to the right and her ducking under his arm.
“I’m not a toy for you or my father,” she stated. “I don’t put on an act and I’ve had enough of males like you doing what they want with me.” That fire he sensed in her eyes now—bright blue passion just tempting him to take. “My father expected me to be the obedient child, and I am, but if you are expecting me to give my kidnapper the same obedience then you can go straight to hell.”
Drake smiled at her, rubbed his cheek, and advanced slowly towards her like a prey. Natasha backed up.
“I don’t want your obedience, honey, I want everything else.”
Drake stuck fast. He lunged, grabbed hold of her waist, and jerked hard towards the bed. She went flying, landing on her back. Before she could move, he was upon her, flipping her over to her stomach, pulling, and yanking at her clothes. Natasha screamed, fought, kicked, and slapped at his hands.
Material ripped, jeans tore and in the end, Drake had his way.
Natasha lay naked on the bed, under him. She fought still as he grabbed the first tie and went to work at tying her wrists to the bed. He kept her face down, his body pressing hers into the mattress as he worked to get both of her wrists down. She screamed and cried at the same time.
“You bastard!” she yelled, jerking on her wrists when he finished.
“My father will rip your throat out for this!”
“He might try.” Drake turned himself on top of her. He sat on her ass, bracing most of his weight on his knees and began tying her ankles as well. He spread her out on the bed, stomach side down. When finished, he simply got off the bed and whistled. “Now that is a very pretty sight.
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