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A manic smile pulls up his lips, his eyes deranged. “You’re gonna regret that, Killer.”

He grabs the taser from me, presses the button, and jabs me as swiftly as it pulls away.

“FUCK!” My hand grabs my thigh where he stung me. “THAT REALLY HURT!” I scream at him.

He throws the taser across the room, and it skids across the wooden floorboards, crashing against my bookcase.

He leans one hand against the wall, one hand clutching his side where a pink cluster of angry veins are collecting. He leans down, his height becoming all too smothering againstmine.

“Now that we’ve got that out of our system, let’s talk.”

I swallow, my eyes darting around the room, looking for anything I could use to defend myself against him. He leans in further, and I know it’s futile. I know that he could snap my neck right now if he wanted to. But he doesn’t. He waits. He’s still panting, still unbalanced from my brief assault. A warmth glows, and I fight the urge my lips have to tilt upward. Am I enjoying this? I didn’t enjoy being tasered at all, but the chase, the height difference, the feeling of helplessness. Do all bodies react like this when they’re about to die? Probably not. I’m really starting to think there might be something wrong with me.

“Fine. But I’m getting the taser back,” I say, shifting toward the bookcase.

“No more tasers.” His hands palm the wall as he leans down, his nose an inch from mine. His corded forearms cage me in, my back against the wall, and I know resistance is unavailing. Part of me likes that it is. At least I can pretend he’s forcing me to stay this close to him.

“This is my hostage situation. I’ll hold my taser if I want to.”

“No.”

“What do you meanno?”

He grabs my wrist and drags me toward the couch. Despite my protest, he pulls me down onto him. He spins me around and pulls me onto his lap so my back is on his chest. I poke the spot where the taser hit him in the hopes he might release me, but all it does is make his abs clench.

He twists and swings his legs up so he’s lying down on the couch, his head on the armrest. His thighs squeeze me tightly so I can’t shift, and all I can do is twist so at least I can look up at him from my stomach. From this angle I can feel every contour, every muscle, every hard thing about him. My cheek rests on his chest, my breasts on his stomach. His heart beats so calmly it's unnerving.

I feel his dick between his sweatpants throbbing into my stomach.

Holy hell.

I blush furiously and try to stay as still as possible.

“Now that we’re comfortable.”

His legs bend so his feet cross under my ass, and he pulls me in further so I’m basically thrust against him.Fucking pervert.

“Let’s talk.”

“Who said I was comfortable?” I spit back, digging my nails between his ribs.

His hands move from my back to grab each wrist.

He hoists me up so quickly that our lips are almost touching. “I will restrain you, Olivia. But I know you like to be the one tying someone up, so you’ll get that one for free. But I will gag you if you don’t behave, understand?”

My mouth waters, and my eyes can’t stop themselves. I dare to look down at his lips; the filth that comes out of them has my body singing. It’s like we’re drawn to each other in a way that I just can’t explain. It’s more than physical. It’s chemical...emotional.

I nod.

“Good. Now slide back down and get comfortable.”

He releases my wrists, and I do what he says. He is silent for a moment as I wriggle into position. Once I’ve settled, my cheek is back against his chest, and my left arm is hanging loose by the side of the couch. I sigh and close my eyes. Might as well lean into whatever this is.

While he runs the fingers of one hand down my back, he sweeps my hair out of the way and uses his other hand to stroke my head. If I hadn’t already closed my eyes I would do so now. The way his deft fingers delicately run through the strands of my hair is heavenly. Had I not just been tasered by this man, I would strongly suspect that this is what a real relationship could be like. Afternoons on the couch, cuddling, kissing, rough fingers teasing each other until eventuallyneither of us can take any more, and we tumble into bed.

Maybe I’m just touch-starved. That’s a thing right? I haven’t had a relationship in so long, but I haven’t been held like this either. Not even a hug. This job is so isolating sometimes. It’s weird to think how little I’m physically around people. And now that it’s just me and Danny, it’s hard not to feel a certain level of relief at being held by this man who, despite his obvious flaws, could protect me if he chose to.

“That embarrassing story I told you. About the man and the wife who were propositioning me. My father had given them the okay to pursue me. He’d told me what they wanted, and he didn’t outright say it, but I knew the expectation was that I would agree without question. In addition to that, something had transpired a few days after. Something had happened while I was on a job that put into question a lot of my own behavior, which ultimately led me to make some changes in my life.”