Page 3 of Snow Bound (Odyssey #1)

T he rage threw off her aim, and the apple hit him in the belly instead of the balls she’d been aiming for. He let out a grunt, shock and pain flooding his face for an instant. Then anger was blazing out of his eyes. “ What the fuck was that for?”

“You know exactly what it’s for,” she shouted, and would have thrown another apple if the bowl hadn’t been empty.

“I really don’t—dammit, give me that.” He yanked the apple out of the dog’s mouth. “ What the hell are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what the hell I’m talking about. You ghosted me, and it was a shitty thing to do.”

A flicker of confusion joined the anger in his expression. “ I didn’t ghost you.”

Remembered embarrassment joined the rage, heating her cheeks. She’d been so excited for that play date, and so disappointed—so humiliated —when he’d stood her up. “ Oh really? What do you call it when you make a date with someone and never show up?”

He climbed to his feet, using the kitchen island for leverage, and she snatched the toaster off the counter. “ Don’t you come another step closer or I’ll bean you.”

“I believe you.” He eyed the toaster warily. “ Were you always this hostile and I just didn’t notice, or is it a new thing?”

“Pardon me,” she said, the words dripping with sarcasm. “ But I tend to hold a grudge when someone treats me like shit.”

His eyes flashed warningly. “ I did not treat you like shit.”

“The hell you didn’t. You made me think you liked me?—”

“I did like you,” he tried to interrupt.

“—showing me around the club, asking me questions like you were interested. What do you think of how he’s flogging her? Does bondage appeal to you? ” She mimicked his voice with a sneering sarcasm that had his eyes flashing again. She didn’t care. “ Making a date with me for a scene, you asshole.”

He straightened, eyes narrowed. “ Watch it.”

“Is that how you get off?” she demanded, ignoring the danger signs. She wasn’t scared of him, the asshole. “ Lead the newbies on, get their hopes up, then fuck them over?”

“I’m trying to be patient here, Anna , because you’re clearly upset. But you’re starting to piss me off.”

“ You’re pissed off? Fuck you,” she snarled and heaved the toaster.

It was still plugged in, so instead of sailing across the room to smash satisfyingly into that smug, sexy face it stopped two feet out and dropped to hang drunkenly from its cord over the counter. But she didn’t have time to worry about it, because the instant she threw it, he moved.

She squeaked and threw up her hands, but it was too late.

One moment he was standing on the other side of the room, the big kitchen island between them, and the next he had her hands in a steel grip.

He dragged them behind her, pinning them at the small of her back, and growled, “ I am this close to putting you over my knee. "

He was only a few inches taller than her five-nine, so even barefoot she could look him in the eye without much effort.

He was so close she could see the darker blue ring around his pale irises, the flare of his nostrils as he fought for control.

There was a small, quiet voice in the back of her mind that warned her it was a mistake to test that control, but she was past caring. “ I’d like to see you try.”

“Don’t tempt me.” He said it softly, almost carefully, and it was more effective than a thousand shouts.

Uneasy, she flexed her hands. “ Let me go.”

“Not until I’m sure you’re not going to throw the knife block at me. Henry , sit.”

She blinked, caught off guard, then realized he was talking to the dog, who had wandered over to sniff at her toes. She glanced down to see the big dog follow orders, then look up at his master as though waiting for further instructions.

“Good boy. Now , Anna .”

She whipped around to look up at him again, a spurt of renewed anger loosening her tongue. “ If you think you can order me around like your dog?—”

“Hardly,” he interrupted. “ The dog obeys.”

She was giving serious consideration to spitting in his face—damn the consequences—when he said, “ I didn’t ghost you.”

Outrage nearly rendered her speechless. “ You damn well did.”

“I was called out of town for work,” he went on as though she hadn’t spoken.

She snorted. “ Right .”

“I left a message with the bartender, Kell .” He cocked an eyebrow, an unspoken question.

“I got your message,” she told him with a defiant toss of her head. “ Kell said you had a work emergency, and would get in touch. Spoiler alert—you did not, in fact, get in touch.”

His eyes flickered. “ Things got complicated.”

“I’m sure.” She wanted to sneer, but she couldn’t quite manage it. His fingers were wrapped firmly around her wrists, holding her in place but not hurting her, and dammit, it was turning her on.

Since that was the last thing she wanted she yanked against his grip, trying to pull free. His fingers tightened warningly. “ Don’t move.”

“Asshole. Let me go.”

“If you don’t shut up I’m going to gag you.”

That threat did not help her trying-not-to-be-turned-on situation. She hid her inconvenient arousal behind a sneer. “ Don’t you dare.”

“I didn’t ghost you,” he repeated, scowling. “ Dammit , stop wiggling.”

She ignored the order and kept writhing, trying to twist out of his grip. “ Fuck you.”

“You brought this on yourself,” he warned and leaned his full weight against her, pinning her between the sink and his big body, and too late she saw her mistake.

She had been doing a pretty good job ignoring his hands on her wrists, but there was no way she could ignore this. He was pressed against her from breast to thigh, not a whisper between them, and the hard, heavy weight of him went to her head like a shot of whiskey on an empty stomach.

“I can’t breathe,” she accused. The words came out breathless, lending credence to the claim. He didn’t have to know it was because she was horny.

“You’re breathing just fine,” he countered. “ Are you going to listen or not?”

She bucked, trying to shove him back. He shifted, and sensing victory, she struggled harder. Then he leaned back into her, his thick thighs wedged between hers, and she found herself dangling off the floor, his hips pinning her to the sink. Shocked , she froze.

He was hard, and oh God , she could feel…everything.

He didn’t seem to notice—or if he did, he was much better at ignoring it than she was. He was still scowling, disapproval and exasperation in his expression with no hint of lust, and for a brief, wild moment she wondered if she was imagining the erection jammed between her thighs.

“Well?” he demanded.

“Well, what?” she managed, trying not to wiggle on his dick. It was difficult, because it was right there , thick and hard and covered in rough denim that was like delightful, delicious sandpaper through the thin barrier of her t-shirt, so not wiggling was taking all of her concentration.

“Are you going to listen?”

Oh, right—he was still trying to plead his case. “ It doesn’t look like I’m going anywhere,” she said, attempting another sneer. It didn’t have much on it—she was having a hard time remembering why she was pissed at him.

He clenched his jaw, pleasing her. Why should she be the only one annoyed? “ I did have a work emergency. I was stuck in Istanbul for three weeks.”

That got her attention. “ Istanbul ?”

“Turkey,” he explained.

“I know where Istanbul is,” she snapped, forgetting about his dick for a moment. “ What the hell were you doing there?”

“It’s complicated,” he hedged.

“Oh, complicated ,” she drawled, dripping sarcasm. “ Well , that explains everything!”

“I work for a security company,” he ground out through clenched teeth.

“Uh-huh.”

He ignored that. “ We provide, among other things, personal security.”

“So you’re what, a bodyguard?”

“When necessary, yes.”

“And are bodyguards not allowed to have phones?” she demanded.

“I should have called,” he admitted, and to her surprise there was true regret in his crystal blue eyes. “ I didn’t have your number, and I thought I’d be back sooner.”

“You could’ve called the club, left another message.” She was starting to get mad again. “ I hung around that place for weeks hoping you’d show back up, and?—”

“Three weeks,” he interrupted.

“Yeah, that’s weeks,” she snapped, then blinked. “ Wait , how did you know that?”

“Because when I got back three and a half weeks later, I found out I’d missed you by three days.” The moonlight streaming in through the window at her back lit up his face, making his eyes glitter like icy diamonds. “ Three fucking days.”

“Three fucking weeks,” she shot back, pissed all over again, and forgetting herself, started to struggle.

“Goddammit, Anna , quit rubbing your cunt on my dick,” he ground out.

“Get your dick away from my cunt,” she countered, wiggling harder.

“I can still turn you over my knee,” he warned.

“You just fucking try it,” she snarled and fought all the harder, so incensed she could barely think.

She knew she was overreacting. They’d met once, and technically he hadn’t made any promises.

But she’d been so excited about having a scene with him, and it had made her feel so small and unwanted when he hadn’t shown up.

And now he was here, hard and hot between her thighs and pinning her down the way she’d always fantasized about, and it felt so good and it was so unfair she just couldn’t stand it.

“Anna, stop,” he ordered.

She ignored him, struggling in earnest now, yanking her hands and kicking her legs trying to get loose. He leaned into her even harder, trying to keep her still, but it just made her madder and hornier.

So much hornier.

“If you don’t stop, I’m going to stop you,” he warned.

“Jerk,” she spat and tried to head butt him in the chin. He jerked back and she missed, and that pissed her off even more. “ Swine . Asshole . No good, rat-dicked bastard, let me go !”

“No.”

Incensed, furious, she tried to bite him. He jerked back with a curse. “ Do that again and I’ll blister your butt.”