Page 18

Charlee

I’ve been sitting on my bed staring out the large window watching the leaves falling off the trees and trying to think of anything but that damn kiss, and failing miserably. It’s stuck on a continuous loop in my head. I’m reliving it over and over. Every single touch is permanently etched into my memory.

His lips shouldn’t have been able to manipulate me like they did. I’m angry at myself for giving in to it like I did, for how my body responded to him. It’s a betrayal of the worst kind.

The door to my room opens, but I keep my face shielded through a curtain of hair. It’s only been a couple of days since I’ve seen him, which is fine by me. I prefer the distance myself. Every time we’re near each other we’re like an explosion waiting to happen, a bomb of emotions that’ll detonate at the simplest touch.

Dealing with Axel these past couple of days has been much less irritating and stressful. He’s the easier going of the three. Whenever he comes in, he greets me smiling or trying to crack a joke. It’s a welcome change compared to all of the tension, but I still keep my face blank through it all. If he weren’t one of the bastards who kidnapped me and lied to my friend, I would find his southern charm endearing, but he is and here I am. I’m a prisoner in a cage, but I won’t be for long. I just need to pick the right moment and I’ll be free.

The sound of his feet shuffling on the wooden flooring grates on my nerves. I just want to be left alone to my thoughts. “Go away, Axel. I’m not in the mood for you right now.”

“Not Axel.”

My whole body tenses at that gravelly voice. “Good to know his good ol’ boy act doesn’t work on you, Princess.”

My face hardens when I glance up and meet his stare. His eyes watch me, assessing my mood, and I let him see how pissed off I am.

He steps farther into the room until he’s leaning against the wall next to my bed, with his hands hidden behind his back, and watches me. Silence stretches between us for what seems like hours even though it’s only seconds. It’s a battle of wills to see which one of us will cave first. If he expects me to break it, he has another thing coming. I have a will of steel.

His eyes roam around the room before bouncing back up to mine and I’m not sure I like what I see. It’s like he’s about to do something that’s causing him great discomfort.

Hackles rise on the back of my neck as I brace against the mattress and prepare to defend myself. He’s had me all turned around since I woke up here and there’s no telling what he’ll do next.

He reaches out and I do my best not to flinch, but it can’t be helped. I just hope he didn’t notice. It’s only a slight movement, but judging by the way he’s grinding his teeth, I’m thinking he did.

“Here. I brought you these.”

He sets down a sketchpad and pencil at the foot of the bed and then takes one large step back, giving me some much needed space.

“Why?”

I cross my arms over my chest and dip my head to the items on the bed. A part of me is touched at the fact that he knew I would like them, but another is pissed as hell because the only way for him to know such things means he’s been watching me for a while.

“I told you, Princess. You’re good, you get rewarded.”

His chin jerks up to the items he’s just given me like it somehow makes everything okay and he isn’t a manipulative bastard. That has my temper flaring.

I don’t fucking think so.

“You think this makes up for everything that you’ve done to me?”

I grab the shit and throw it back at him. It bounces off his chest and lands on the floor next to his feet with a hollow thump. “Well, it doesn’t.”

“Careful, Charlee.”

His tongue touches his upper lip as he puts his hand on his waist and glares down at me. A vein on the side of his neck pulses as his temper begins to rise. Join the club, asshole.

“Fuck you! I’m so sick of you treating me like a damn child.”

He towers over me, but it doesn’t intimidate me in the least. I’m too angry to give it a second thought—angry about so many things that I don’t know where to start.

He watches me in silence, and I should recognize the calm before the storm, but I’m just done with it all. Done being trapped here like a prisoner. And done being at his mercy.

“Then stop acting like one.”

His head cocks at me as if I’ve just proved his point.

“Fuck you! You think I’m some spoiled brat. You have no idea the shit that’s happened to me. Being the great Diego Vega’s daughter isn’t a fucking picnic.”

“I know everything there is to know about you, Charlee.”

He stands taller as his lips curl into a cocky grin, one that doesn’t reach his eyes.

“You have no idea how bad things can get, how fast you can have your life stolen from you.”

A vein on the side of his neck throbs and I know he’s close to erupting, but it doesn’t stop me from poking the bear.

“Ha! What the hell do you call this?”

I jump to my feet and sling my hands out, gesturing to my surroundings. “A fucking vacation?”

My feet carry me closer until we’re standing toe to toe.

“Last warning, Charlee.”

His voice comes out low and lethal.

“If you’re going to kill me, just do it already. I’m tired of being toyed with.”

I poke a finger against his rock-hard chest.

He moves so fast that I barely have time to blink. A hand comes up, knocking mine out of the way and gripping onto my wrist as his other hand latches around my throat. His fingers squeeze hard enough to cut off some of my oxygen, but I meet his stare head on. His nostrils flare as his jaw locks.

Emotions flitter across his face, but the only one that stands out front and center is rage. The longer he glares at me, the more unsure I am of whether it’s directed at me.

He leans in until we’re nose to nose, but doesn’t lighten his grip. “You in a hurry to die, Princess?”

The pressure increases until I can feel it build up behind my eyes, but I never look away from his glare. It’s another battle of wills. It may get me killed, but I don’t surrender. If I die, then I die. I’m at peace with that.

“If it means getting out of here and away from you, then I’ll take my chances.”

He squeezes even tighter until the room begins to fade into a sea of white noise, and I welcome it. Welcome the numbness that overtakes me and for him to finally kill me, but he never does what I expect.

His lips seize mine in a punishing kiss. Soft, gentle caresses whisper against my mouth, a contrast to the firm grip clutching my throat. All my earlier emotions fade away into the nothingness at the back of my mind. He’s eased up enough to allow me to breathe, but that’s it. I’m still a prisoner, at his mercy, and yet I don’t want to move from this spot. I want more of him. Heat floods my body as his lips work me over and over. He pulls back and I chase—chase more of the high he’s giving me. His kisses are a drug, one I can’t get enough of.

When his tongue slips inside my mouth, everything inside me explodes. A moan escapes me as I pull him closer. The hardness of his erection digs into my stomach and I’m thankful we’re still fully clothed or I’d be making a mistake there would be no coming back from.

I want to feel the heat of his body covering mine.

“Seems like you want to live to me, Charlee.”

His hard voice is like a bucket of ice on my flaming body.

Shame fills me as warmth blooms across my cheeks. The bastard was playing with me and like an idiot, I fell for it, yet again. “I hate you!”

“Good. I relish in your hate, Princess. You’ll do good to remember that.”

He slams the door shut behind him, leaving me with an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach. I may have just screwed up royally and made everything worse.