by Sykes, Julia
No. She had to be bluffing. She had to-
Mallory’s scream echoed around the small shack as cutting pain ripped through her. Celeste had plunged the blade an inch into her arm.
“Mallory!” She heard Jake shout her name.
“Beg,” Celeste hissed, wiggling the blade, tearing at Mallory’s muscle.
She couldn’t take it. “Jake!” She screamed as Celeste jerked the blade out, further slicing her skin.
She heard him shout her name again, but it sounded as though it was coming to her through a long tunnel. Her eyes honed in on the warm, red blood oozing from the deep cut on her arm. She was starting to feel light-headed; she was going into shock. She was vaguely aware of Charlie giving the details of the money transfer, of Jake hastily agreeing to the terms. But they wouldn’t divulge their location until they had gotten the money and gotten as far away from Mallory’s location as possible.
Mallory had no idea how much time had passed; she was lost in a world of pain. And self-loathing. She couldn’t believe that she had been so stupid. She had just walked right into Celeste’s trap, driven there by blind panic for Jake’s safety. If she had stopped to think for even one minute, it would have been obvious that it was a ruse.
She was jolted out of her reverie by Celeste’s voice. “What was that? Did you hear that?” Her tone was high and nervous. “Get her up,” she gestured at Charlie. “We might need to run.”
The tie binding Mallory’s wrists together was suddenly severed, freeing her arms. But the coolness of the blade was back at her throat once again as she was wrenched to her feet, Charlie’s strong hand gripping her injured upper arm, holding her against him. Mallory gave a small cry as his palm pressed harshly against her wound.
Then she jumped at a sudden bang as the door was kicked in. Jake was illuminated by the dim light of the room, his harsh expression made even more fearsome by the shadows that fell under his brows, hooding his eyes. He was glorious in his rage. And he was pointing a gun directly at Celeste’s icy heart.
Chapter 3
Jake’s brows rose in slight surprise as he recognized Mallory’s kidnapper. “Celeste,” his tone was clipped. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Lower your gun, or he’ll slit her throat,” Celeste’s voice was a hiss, but it was colored with alarm. Her eyes were locked on Jake’s gun. Charlie’s grip on Mallory’s injured arm increased, and she gave an involuntary whine of pain.
Jake took a step forward, his expression enraged. He didn’t lower the gun. “Let her go, Celeste.”
“No!” Her voice was high and panicked now. “We’re going to leave here now, Jake. You’re going to give me my money, and then you’ll get her back. But if you don’t play by my rules, Charlie will kill her.”
Jake hesitated, unmoving. “I’ll give you five minutes to leave Mallory and walk out of here, Celeste.” His voice was cold and merciless. “The police are on their way. You had better run, or you’ll be going to jail for a very long time. I promise you that.”
“You’re bluffing,” Charlie snarled as he pressed the knife into Mallory’s throat, breaking the skin. She stilled, hardly daring to breathe.
Jake growled and cocked the gun. Celeste shot him a cold smile.
“You won’t do it, Jake,” she said assuredly. “You care more about her than you do about getting revenge on me. You’re going to let us leave now. And she’s coming with us. I won’t let her go until I get my money. I’m not going to jail, Jake. I won’t.”
Celeste and Charlie began slowly backing towards the back door, dragging Mallory along with them. She wanted to struggle, to fight her way free, but she didn’t dare try anything while the blade was pressed to her throat.
“I’m so sorry, Jake,” she whispered, hating herself for being so stupid and putting him in this position.
His expression was anguished. “I won’t let them hurt you, Mallory,” he promised.
“I won’t hurt her if you let us get out of here. Don’t follow us,” Celeste commanded. “We’ll be in touch when you’re allowed to come get her. And I’ll be long gone by then.” She smiled triumphantly.
Charlie shot her a quizzical look. “You mean ‘we,’ don’t you, my love?” He asked, anxious.
“Of course, dear,” she answered absently. Mallory felt Charlie heave a sigh of relief, but she could tell from Celeste’s contemptuous expression that she planned to leave him behind, to leave him holding the bag for her crimes.
“She’s lying,” Mallory gasped out. “Listen to me, Charlie,” she said desperately. “She’s going to leave you.”
“Shut up, bitch,” Charlie ordered, pressing his thumb into her wound. Mallory couldn’t hold back a small scream. As angry as she was at herself, it was nothing compared to her hatred for Charlie and Celeste.
“Don’t hurt her!” Jake barked, furious, but desperation laced his tone.
Celeste was smiling at him icily, her hand on the doorknob now. “Oh I won’t. Much. But the longer you wait to give me what I want, the worse things will go for her. I don’t think you’ll like her so much if I mess up her pretty face.” She blew him a little kiss. “Goodbye, Jake.”
But then Mallory heard one of the sweetest sounds she had ever heard in her life: police sirens in the distance, growing louder with every second. Jake smiled cruelly back at Celeste. “Did you really think I was bluffing? I gave you your chance, Celeste. Now you’re going to pay.”
“Celeste!” Charlie cried in a panic. “We have to run!”
In his hurry to get away, the knife eased away from Mallory’s throat with his distraction. Seizing her opportunity, she brought her elbow back hard, driving it into his stomach. Although he was fairly fit, he hadn’t tensed his abs to protect himself. She heard all of the wind rush out of him as he doubled over, releasing her as he clutched at his stomach.
Mallory tried to dart away from him, but he was on her in an instant, knocking her to the floor with a snarl. He turned her over roughly, and she watched as he raised the knife high, ready to plunge it into her heart. She felt strangely detached as she watched it descend, as though this were happening to someone else.
There was a sudden howl of rage, and Charlie’s weight was lifted from her as Jake’s body collided with his. She watched in horror for a moment as the men grappled, the knife flashing silver between them. But she breathed a sigh of relief as Jake squeezed Charlie’s wrist hard, and the blade clattered to the floor as he cried out in pain. Jake was holding his gun to Charlie’s head, and the man stilled beneath him.
Out of the corner of her eye, Mallory saw a streak of platinum blonde hair swinging out of sight as Celeste darted out the back door. Jake could clearly handle himself without her help, and there was no way that she was going to let the bitch get away. The police might have arrived, but it wouldn’t be difficult for Celeste to lose herself in the vast wood.
The sirens had almost reached them as Mallory ran out into the night, momentarily blind as her eyes adjusted to the blackness. But she could hear Celeste crashing through the underbrush, and she followed the sound. The forest began to materialize around her as the world turned from black to darkest blue, the tress dark shadows around her. She could see a bright point of light ahead of her where the moonlight shone down to illuminate Celeste’s blonde hair.
“Got you, bitch,” she whispered as she raced toward her.
Celeste suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground, crying out as fallen tree limbs broke her fall, scraping against her pale skin.
You think that hurts, bitch? Mallory thought savagely. I’ll show you pain.
Adrenaline coursed through her, giving her the speed and agility she needed to catch up to Celeste before she could pick herself up again. When she reached her, Mallory flung herself atop the blonde, her knees on either side of her bony hips, trapping her beneath her. Mallory could see the whites of her widened eyes.
“Don’t hurt me!” Celeste’s voice was high and tight with fear.
Mallo
ry smiled evilly down at her. “Beg, bitch,” she ordered in a mocking tone.
“Please,” Celeste said in a strangled whisper. “Let me go!” The last was a broken sob.
Mallory cocked her head at her, as though considering. “No,” she said softly, pitilessly. “I don’t think I will.” She grinned madly, vengeance filling her heart. “How about we mess up that pretty face of yours?”
Celeste whimpered beneath her. “Please! I’ll give you anything you want!”
“I want you to hurt,” Mallory replied viciously. Then she drew her fist back before swinging it down to connect with Celeste’s perfectly aquiline nose. There was a sickening crunching sound as it broke under her knuckles, but all Mallory felt was a surge of vindictive pleasure. This woman had tried to ruin her life, had threatened to kill her. She deserved to pay.
Mallory drew her fist back again, ignoring the pain in her hand. But a strong hand was around her wrist, restraining her. She jerked her arm, barely aware of the wrenching pain as she pulled at her wound.
“That’s enough, Mallory,” Jake’s voice ordered softly. Mallory wanted to continue, but she couldn’t resist Jake’s command. The tension left her muscles, and she felt him grip her waist, lifting her up so that she was standing. Celeste stayed down, groaning.
Spinning her around, he pulled her into a tight embrace.
“But she deserves it,” Mallory whispered. “She threatened to kill you. And she hurt me.”
“I know she deserves it,” Jake’s voice was hard, his anger barely contained. “But I don’t want you charged with assault.”
Mallory clung to him, suddenly overwhelmed by everything that had happened. The adrenaline had run its course, and her legs suddenly felt like jelly. Jake lifted her up in his arms as her legs gave out beneath her. As he did so, he bumped up against her wounded arm, and she let out a small whimper. He growled in fury as he felt the wetness of her blood against him.
“On second thought,” he said, his voice tight. “Maybe I should have let you strangle the bitch.” He took a deep breath, visibly calming himself. “Come on, let’s get you patched up.”
The sounds of several people crunching through dried leaves filled the silence around them. “She’s over here,” Jake called out to the police.
An officer with a flashlight was at their side within a minute. He looked down at Celeste where she was moaning on the forest floor. “What happened to her?” He asked suspiciously.
“She fell,” Jake said harshly, his tone brooking no argument.
The officer met his hard eyes. “Right,” he said after a moment. He eyed Mallory. “Is she alright?”
“No,” Jake said, anger leaking into his tone. “She needs to see a doctor.”
The policeman gestured towards the cabin. “There’s an ambulance waiting over there.”
“Thank you,” Jake said simply before turning and heading quickly back towards the shack.
“How did you find me?” Mallory asked in a small voice.
“The Jag has GPS.” He gave her a small smile. “Thank god you took it.”
Mallory blushed slightly. “Sorry about that,” she said, feeling guilty.
“Not at all,” he replied, amused. “Please feel free to steal my cars anytime.”
Chapter 4
Mallory was feeling a little fuzzy as Jake tucked her into his enormous bed. The doctors had stitched up her arm and then had given her the most fabulous painkillers before letting her leave the hospital. She could hardly feel any discomfort at all anymore, just a dull, gently throbbing ache in her torn muscles. She had light scratches down her cheek from Celeste’s claws and a small cut at her throat where Charlie’s knife had bitten into her skin. But those would heal within a week or so. Her arm would take considerably longer to knit back together. Hence she had been sent home with a large bottle of these lovely pills.
Well, she wasn’t actually at her apartment; she was at Jake’s house. But she found that she felt at home with him. She gave a little contented sigh, feeling like she was floating on Jake’s soft mattress. He settled down beside her and shaped his hard body around hers, as though he couldn’t get close enough to her. Mallory breathed in his masculine scent and closed her eyes in rapture.
“Jake,” she mumbled his name sleepily. Shoving back the fog in her brain, she tried for a more normal tone. “I’ve been thinking.”
He tenderly stroked her hair back from her face. “Shhh,” he said. “You just go to sleep, Mallory,” he ordered gently.
“No,” she said as staunchly as she could manage. She wouldn’t give into his commands this time; this was too important, and she felt that she needed to say it now, to let him know how she felt.
“I want you to collar me.” Her voice was clear and she looked him directly in the eye.
Jake’s brows rose in surprise. “Mallory,” he said gently. “We should talk about this later.” But she could see the yearning in his eyes.
“No,” she said again. “Jake, they only caught me because I went there to save you. I thought that they were going to kill you.” She gave a little shudder. “I couldn’t bear the thought of my life without you in it, and if you need to collar me to have that, then that’s what I want to do.”
“Mallory,” he said a bit harshly. “I don’t want to collar you because you feel manipulated into it.”
“But I don’t,” she insisted. “I want to be yours.” Then her voice went quiet. “And I want you to be mine.”
Jake looked dumbstruck, as though he could hardly believe what was happening. But his expression quickly became closed. “We’ll talk about this later, Mallory,” he said again.
She wanted to protest, but the drugs were swirling in her brain. She had fought it for as long as she could, but now she was being pulled under.
“I love you, Jake,” she mumbled, hardly conscious of what she was saying.
The last thing she heard before she fell asleep was his sharp intake of breath.
It had been three weeks since Mallory had been kidnapped. Thankfully, her arm was well on its way to being mended, and as she healed the nightmares became fewer and farther between. She had awoken in a cold sweat more times than she could recall, panicking that she was still trapped in the dilapidated shack, afraid for her life. But most often she revisited her fear for Jake when she had thought his life was in danger. Her heart would twist painfully for the moments that it took him to calm her, holding her and murmuring soft reassurances as he stroked her hair. She clung to him tightly, making sure he was real, until she finally fell back into sleep.
In her waking hours, she often felt a surge of vindictive pleasure at the thought of Celeste wearing a heinous orange jumpsuit in jail. Mallory had managed to break her nose, and there weren’t any plastic surgeons in prison. And Celeste wasn’t about to get out on bail after the stunt that she had pulled.
As much as Mallory was thrilled to find herself happily safe and sound with Jake, she was troubled. She had been hazy when she had first been released from the hospital, but she could still recall her insisting that Jake collar her. And that she had confessed that she loved him. He had said nothing about it since, and she was beginning to think that he might never say anything. Did he not want her in that way anymore? He had hardly touched her in the past weeks. He claimed that it was because he was waiting for her to heal, but what if he was just keeping her around out of guilt for what had happened to her?
And so today a mixture of apprehension and excitement filled her as she found herself being led into Jake’s dungeon for the first time since her kidnapping. Would this be their last session together before he let her go?
As Jake led her through the door by both hands, he gently rubbed the palms of her hands with his thumbs. His brow was furrowed with concern.
“What’s wrong, Mallory?” He asked earnestly, anxiously, as he sat down beside her on the huge iron bed.
“Nothing,” she said as dismissively as she could, not willing to confess her concern
s. She couldn’t bear it if she laid bare her soul just to have him callously ignore her words again.
His eyes turned a hard, sapphire blue. He roughly grasped her hair at her nape and sharply jerked her head back, forcing her to meet his gaze. “What have I told you about lying to me, sub?” His voice was soft and dangerous.
Mallory swallowed against the sudden dryness in her throat. She couldn’t deny him, not when he used that dominant tone; the submissive in her instinctively complied. “You… You haven’t mentioned collaring me again,” she began hesitantly. Her voice turned strangled as she fought back tears. “You’ve been so distant since… I’m worried that you don’t want me anymore,” she finally confessed in a whisper.
Jake let out a low growl, his grip on her hair turning almost painfully tight as he shook her slightly. “Do you know how hard it’s been for me to resist you these past weeks?” He demanded, an angry edge to his voice. “I didn’t want to hurt you, Mallory. Did you think I was lying?”
“Um,” she practically squeaked under his scrutiny. “Yes.”
Mercifully, his hard expression softened. “I won’t ever lie to you, Mallory; a good Dom doesn’t lie to his sub.” His gaze turned a bit reproving. “And a good sub doesn’t lie to her Master.”
Mallory’s jaw dropped slightly at the term “Master.” Did he truly still want to possess her? A pang shot through her heart as she realized anew how badly she wanted to be his.
“I’m sorry, Sir,” she said quickly, dropping her eyes as guilt shot through her. She found in that moment that she was truly bothered by his disapproval at her disobedience. Wonder at the change in her since she met him skittered across her mind; her pride never would have tolerated such demands by any other man. But she found that she didn’t care. Indeed, the idea of obeying Jake lit a warm glow in her, making her pussy throb. She blushed slightly at her reaction, keeping her eyes downcast.
Jake released her hair, but then his strong fingers were firmly gripping her chin, bringing her gaze back to his. Looking deeply into her eyes, lines of worry etched his face.
