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My eyes didn’t have to connect with his to know he was watching me. The heat coming from his gaze burned the side of my face. It was the same heat that raked over my body the night prior as he fixated on my every move. Solo’s stare was all encompassing, and there was no way you could escape it.

When curiosity forced me to look in his direction, I wished I hadn’t. His bare chest was highlighted by the light shining from the room window. His muscles flexed naturally, reminding me of how soft but strong his touch was. His pants were unbuckled as he slouched with his legs spread far apart. My eyes instantly fell between his legs where I wanted my mouth to be.

Running should have been my first thought when I woke up to my kidnapper sitting in a dark room staring at me, but my legs didn’t move. I wasn’t sure if they could. Solo had folded me into more pretzels than I’d ever seen. I was sure even walking would be a challenge. I wouldn’t be able to run even if I had the will to.

“You going to try to run away again if I leave for a couple days?”

“Yes,” I lied, but the way my body still craved him told the truth. I would be right here waiting for him to return.

“I don’t believe you.” He chuckled before a confident smile tugged at the sides of his lips.

He knew he had me. He could tell my need to leave was slowly dissipating. After last night, every inch of my body yearned for his presence.

I pulled my body to an upright position and sat with my back against his headboard. The room was dark with only the light from the window flickering small sparks. The sheets on his bed were still sweaty and tangled, reminding me that I’d lost my last shred of self-respect.

I could still smell his cologne throughout the room, especially on me. The smoky musk mixed with the natural scent of my essence was not only on the sheets but also every inch of my body. I was wrapped in him, and I didn’t hate it.

Bringing my knees to my chest, I winced at the pain my body was still in. My limbs ached from being stretched as far as they could go. My middle throbbed from being pounded until Solo finally reached his peak. There was even a soreness in my jaws, and still, I had no shame when my eyes kept landing in the same spot.

The regret I felt for wanting to have Solo in my mouth again was very little. His taste was as addicting as how good he felt inside of me. How well our bodies entangled didn’t feel wrong. I had rarely known anything else that felt more right. How was that possible?

“I have something important to take care of today, so try to be a good girl for me. Don’t get Brian fired.” Solo stood and walked over to his closet. While he shuffled to find something to wear, I tried to gather myself.

Instead of responding, I ran my tongue in between my lips. I could still taste his kiss. I pressed them together as if I could get rid of that taste or at least take back the screams that had escaped my mouth while he was deep inside of me.

I ran my hand down my legs as flashbacks of how easily they wrapped around him flooded my mind. My body responded to him like everything he said was true, and I really was his property now. If someone had witnessed us last night, they would have sworn I wanted to be owned by Solo.

“Do you hear me, Tash?”

“Yes.” I finally spoke with thoughts of him stroking my body still running rampant in my head. I couldn’t even focus on the present moment because I was still very much reliving every second of the night prior. There was so much to unpack.

Solo was already on my mind heavily after what happened in the garage, but now, he had completely taken over my every thought. After the things he did to my body last night, I would never be able to erase the memories I had of him. I still felt every position I’d been twisted into. I still felt his tongue roaming my body. How his hand felt against my skin would forever be marked.

The fact that Solomon Godfrey was the only thing I could think about was disgusting. I should have been focused on getting out of here. Not only had I been kidnapped from a courthouse, but I’d also been locked away and completely kept from the life I once knew.

There were a thousand reasons as to why I needed to get my head back on the right track with my initial goal—make it out of this house alive. Maybe Solo had kept me alive so far, but there was always tomorrow, and with a man like that, there was no telling what would come with the new day.

Why was I still sitting here instead of running downstairs and out of the house as fast as I could? Why did I welcome Solo into me without a fight or even a protest? Why did I crave him so much when he hadn’t done anything to deserve my attention?

History had made it clear that just because a man sleeps with you doesn’t mean he won’t kill you. In fact, it makes it more likely. The only thing I had working in my favor was the fact that Solo didn’t love me. He didn’t love anyone. I was convinced he was incapable of loving anyone, which told me I was even more disposable to him. A man who loved no one had very little to lose.

I was the one with everything to lose. I’d let Solo have a piece of me that I could never get back. Giving my body to him so freely may have been the very thing that signed my death warrant. Now that he had no incentive for keeping me, finding a way home should have been at the top of my to-do list, but it wasn’t. Thoughts of Tyson and the home I once knew was becoming more distant.

Not wanting to go home wouldn’t stop me from escaping, though. I still needed to be free of this place. The only problem was that I’d already tried to escape and failed. No matter how many times the thought crossed my mind, it was proven that I couldn’t get out of here no matter how hard I tried. Solo had Brian standing guard day and night, and there was nothing I could do to persuade him to help me. Not only that, but Solo could always tell whenever I had something up my sleeve. It didn’t matter how slick I thought I was… he always caught me. Just like in the garage.

Aside from that, I hated to admit to myself that my desire to leave wasn’t as strong as it was before. If you would have told me I would be having a conversation about love and marriage with a man like Solo just a few days ago, I never would have believed it. I could look at Solo and tell he wasn’t the type to wife anybody up. And if his looks didn’t tell you everything you needed to know, his lifestyle for sure painted the picture.

Solo was undeniably fine, but he was also a murderer. He had used the same hands he pleased me so well with last night to take so many lives. While I sat in court listening to the district attorney try to make her case, I never imagined staying under the same roof as a man so ruthless. Yet, here I was, sleeping more peacefully than I had in years.

I didn’t need twelve members of a jury to tell me Solo was guilty of everything he’d been accused of. I could feel it every time we were in the same place. His energy told me he would murder a man and then burn his house down to cover it up. Still, none of that made me any less attracted to him.

I hated how easy it was to be in sync with every move he made last night. The way I willingly gave myself to him repeatedly should have been a crime in itself, but I didn’t care. The sex we had was far more superior than anything I’d ever had with Tyson. Him being my first and only before Solo was easily replaced in my mind by one single interaction.