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His lips twitched and her stomach dropped. “Don’t look so sad, Charlee. Nathan Winslow and Maryanna Tony didn’t abandon you. Colson told them he’d hidden you safely in the nearby woods.” A tic jumped in his cheek. “They might still be searching for you there if Mr. Mayard hadn’t created such a disturbance.”

The blood in her veins turned to ice. “Where is he?”

“An hour away. Soon, he’ll be an ocean away. How does Italy sound, my beautiful girl?”

Panic shook her body. Her blood pressure elevated with every breath. “You willnotkill him.”

“No.” He traced a line from her pubis to her bra, dragging her shirt up with his invasion. “I’ve made mistakes in the past. Some unforgivable.” He stroked her flesh, rising goose bumps across her belly.

Her molars scraped, grinding in her ears. “Oh, you mean Noah, my father, the guard, and his niece? Did you rape her?”

The skin around his mouth tightened, and his eyes flicked down and back up. The air congealed around him. Dense and oily, it crept the distance between them and trickled over her skin, chilling her from head to toe.

His hand moved from her chest to her face, cupping her jaw. The movement was deliberate as though he were forcing himself to do it slowly. He bent above her, his face lowering, his eyes glazing over. “I’ll collect that kiss now.”

Her pulse beat a ringing drum in her head. She held herself immobile as his mouth covered hers, his tongue piercing through her lips and his fingers digging into her cheek. She tongue lay limp, her stomach rolling.

The grip on her face controlled her jaw. He was ruthless in the way he kissed her. His teeth sliced her lips. His tongue whipped and slashed.

When a sharp, pained cry escaped her throat, he sat back, lifted his hand, and smacked her. “Kiss me like you kiss Jay Mayard, and I won’t harm him, his band, or their careers.”

The heat from his strike rippled over her cheek, but the prick of his words was worse. How many times had Roy watched her kiss Jay through the hacked cameras at the estate? The violation was too much. No more. This ended now.

The clamor in her head narrowed, concentrated into a plan. Intent pumped through her blood and strengthened her limbs. “Promise his safety.” The promise wasn’t needed, but it was an expected thing to ask.

He studied her face with his uncanny ability to see everything, and his eyebrows lowered over hard eyes. “Not just one kiss, Charlee. Every kiss from now on. As long as you continue to give me that, I promise his safety.”

Resolution settled around her heart. She nodded, knowing it would only be one kiss, because she wouldnotbe walking off that bus.

Leaning forward, he sought her mouth, and she gave him what he wanted, a kiss she’d never given him before, one that would knock him off balance long enough to execute her plan. She drew in his bottom lip and nursed it tenderly. Licking and nibbling, her tongue pliable but demanding, she stroked deep into his mouth, tried to touch the innermost part of him.

Rather than kissing Noah’s murderer, she told herself he was just a man. A normal man made of flesh and muscle and stable mind. His hands tangled in her hair and swept down her neck. It was both revolting and heart-wrenching the way he welcomed her gentleness, hungry for affection, moving his mouth to follow hers as if she were his oxygen.

He broke the kiss, his cheek rubbing against hers, breath heavy and content. “I’ll do better,” he whispered. “I won’t hurt you anymore.”

Wow, real convincing, Roy.It’d been a whole two minutes since he’d raised his hand against her. “I believe you.” Because he’d never have the opportunity to do it again.

His hands clenched on her shoulders, his gaze boring into hers. “I won’t live another day without you. Do you understand, Charlee? If something happens to you, if I lose you again, I will not go on.”

Knew that. Counted on it. She blinked, expression blank.

“Mr. Oxford.” The Craig’s voice carried up from the bottom of the steps. “The jet is ready.”

“Thank you, Salvador.” His eyes never drifted from hers. “It’s important you believe me,” he said, softly. “I want you towantto be with me.”

What fueled his change of heart? Watching her with Jay on the cameras at the estate? Seeing her plastered all over the Internet and in magazines, always on Jay’s arm, smiling and happy?

Delusional, self-important prickadonna. He had a rather high opinion of himself to think she could ever have that with him.

He reached for the knots at her ankles and worked them loose. “My armed guards are just outside the door. I’m taking the first step in our new relationship.” He released the ties on her wrists. That done, he rose and stared down at her, a smile bending his vile mouth.

Holding out his hand to her, he must have thought he was making colossal progress letting her walk with him without restraints. In about thirty seconds, it would be one of the chief regrets in his life.

She closed up her pants, grasped his hand, and tried to ignore the escalating beat of her heart. With each step to the stairs, her breathing quickened and her palms grew slicker with sweat.

As he stepped into the stairway, she glanced at the ignition switch. No key. She grabbed the railing with her free hand and moved to follow him, slowing her pace, letting the distance stretch between them.

The hand he held slipped as her arm went taut with the extension of his pull. She yanked it back, gripped the other handrail. Bracing her upper body with the rails on either side, she hauled up her boots and kicked the middle of his back.